2017-18: Season round-up from Presentation evening

By Mick Buckland

Friday night saw the league’s annual presentation night held at Belmont Services Club, Swadlincote. An enjoyable evening was had by a good turnout, with a tasty buffet and entertainment from the very talented Chrome Dome, who played covers from across the decades.

The league’s Division Two was sponsored by Simon Shilton of Newton Fallowell Estate Agents and during the season there were many topsy turvy results. Belmont D struggled all season but they turned out each week with a smile on their faces, despite probably expecting to lose- they’ll improve next season for sure. The Snookerettes of Spot On D played well in parts but could hardly ever gel on the same evening-they got close many times but just managed the one win with 5 draws and seven 5-3 defeats…… At the top end of the division, 6 sides scored over 100 points. Woodville B had another good year without being able to really challenge for promotion and the same could be said for Rolleston B. There were 4 sides near the top all year, with Ivanhoe D just falling away in the last few weeks. By virtue of drawing two and losing one of their last 3 matches the side that came third in the end was SDSC D but it’s a promotion back to Division One for them. The top two swapped places a few times during the course of the season and if were a football style league the second side would have won it….but runners up with an immediate return to Division One were Stapenhill B.There were clear favourites to win this division at the start…they faltered mid season, but in the end had too much for the rest so the winners, using 11 players during the course of the season are Spot On E. There were 32 breaks over 30 but there were only 2 over 50 …David Wain had a tremendous 52 but the winner of the high break prize with 53 was his team mate, Andy Bloor. In the Averages tables, showing the competitive nature of the division this year…there were only 4 players over 70% so notable mentions should go to Andy Bloor(who was shy of the number of frames required to play in the Ken Shipton this time), Gaz Ward, Ben Menzies, Bryan Sharratt, Matt Keay and Bob Birch. In second place only because he didn’t play the number of frames the winner did it was Andy Tomlinson. The winner losing only 8 of 48 frames with an average of 83.33% was Jared Cronje.

Division One was sponsored by Pete Maguire of PJM Fascias and many thanks to him for this. As ever the middle division was a keenly contested affair. At the start Spot On C were close to the top as they got a off to A flier…they however drifted away after Christmas. At the bottom SDSC C’s talisman of Nick Harcombe was unable to keep his side in the division single handed and they were the first side to be relegated. The promotion battle was between 6 sides although Stapenhill A were always just a little too far away. Ivanhoe B were up there for a while but the injury to Jason Pickering did not help their cause. As it was the final promotion and relegation positions were only decided on the Tuesday after the regular season finished due to the untimely funeral of former player Ray Plummer. The last fixture of the season saw Woodville A beat Newhall A to secure promotion leaving Belmont B needing a victory against Burton Cons C to pip Newhall to the third spot. This they duly did 7-1 and in the process relegated Cons C. Tutbury D had in the mean time fallen away to be demoted leaving the most unlikely of escapes from Alrewas B, who were dead and buried to win their last 3 fixtures and survive. So promoted were Belmont B, having lost only one all year, but the runners up were Woodville A. The winners, having risen to the top before Christmas and going 15 unbeaten towards the end of the season…and incredibly keeping the same four players in every fixture…Tutbury C…Wayne Smith, Steve Burrows, Steve Butler and Tom Lucas.

In this division, there were 91 breaks over 30 (last season, it was 65) of which 7 were over 50. Having scored two of these himself the winner with a 57 was Adam McInulty.

In the Averages table there were 9 players with an average over 70% so mentions go to Martin Hicks, Mark Satchwell, Jason Pickering, Steve Ford, Nick Harcombe, Steve Butler, Adam McInulty and Mick Kirk. But the winner, having won the Division Two averages last year and losing just 4 frames all year was Wayne Brewin.

Many thanks first of all to David Wain for his continued sponsorship of the Premier league. The division soon formed itself into two mini leagues, with Belmont A, the two Burton Cons sides and Ivanhoe A breaking away from the rest. At the bottom. Swad Cons A struggled and it was looking odds on they would be relegated with a month left-any one of nine sides could have gone down with only 23 points separating them at the finish. Towards the end there was some consistency shown by Tutbury A and Swad Snooker Centre B in particular. Despite losing their last 4, Alrewas A survived as did Tutbury B. Spot On A won 3 of their last 5 to retain their status and miraculously, Swad Cons survived after scoring at least 3 points in their defeats leaving SDSC A, Rolleston A and Spot On B to go down. At the top, the four teams beat each other but Belmont A were the first to slip away after not winning heavily enough. Burton Cons A and B fought for the runners up spot between them after both not being ruthless enough during the season-indeed they drew both derby games. In the end it was Cons A who held on to be runners up. The winners, having been runners up for the past four seasons and by virtue of some heavy victories inflicted during the season were Ivanhoe A.

There were 256 breaks of over 30, which is about 10 a week…45 of these were over 50….7 players got over 70…Harry Farrell had two 78s, John Chambers an 87 but with two of the top 3, 34 breaks of 30 plus and a best effort of 119, when he missed position on the brown for a 141, the prize went to Andy Marriott.

In the averages 9 players scored over 70% , having played 30 or more….6 got 75% plus, including John and Rob Chambers, Andy Grainge,Matt Milnes and Mike Buckland…but the winner, losing just 6 out of 44 was Andy Marriott.

The Divisional Final for Division 2 in the Nicholas Humphreys Estate Agents sponsored President’s Cup saw Spot On E just pip Rolleston B on the dreaded doubles. Division One was represented in the overall final by Spot On C after their narrow win over Woodville A also on the doubles. And The Premier League had seen Ivanhoe A get past a spirited performance from Belmont A 5-2. The final is a handicapped affair – the runners up were Spot On E and Spot On C with the match going right down the final game…and make it a league and cup double, the winners were Ivanhoe A.

There was an improved entry of 9 players into the Billiards Singles this year…John Sully and Steve Ford made it to the semi finals but the final was a battle of the Smiths. The runner up was Wayne Smith and the winner Tom Smith.

The Jack Dyche is a singles competition for the over 50s and this year was supported by 23 players. David Wain and Henry Tomas had good runs to the semi final. The final was contested by Martin Hicks and Jan Pawlaczyk….with Jan eventually runner up, and the winner from Newhall for the second year running was Martin Hicks.

The Geoff, Sheila and Graham Hinsley Handicap Doubles had an entry of 20 pairs. There were strong runs to the semi finals for Tony Coleman and Alan Orpwood as well as Mick Kirk and Ant Moore. The final was due to be played between Steve Cockeram and Jerry Cook against Rob and John Chambers ,before Jerry sadly passed away. In a fitting gesture of sportsmanship, Rob and John conceded the final so they were runners up….Karen from Ivanhoe and Roy Hickman from the club picked up the trophy on behalf of the winners Steve Cockeram and Jerry Cook,receiving a standing ovation.

The Handicapped singles named in the memory of Jason Hyde had 41 entries. Zaheer Hussein beat Arron Vaughan 2-1 in one semi-final whilst Andrew Thompson beat Karl Hancox in the other. In a final that was played off scratch. The runner up was Zaheer,and the winner Andrew Thompson.

The Scratch doubles known as The Arthur Edwards was sponsored by Ivanhoe Social Club and produced some surprise results throughout. Wayne Smith and Tom Lucas had a good run to the semis as did Mick Kirk and Ant Moore runners up in the end were Mark Press and Bobby Cliff. The winners 3-1 on the night and retaining their crown were Adam McInulty and Wayne Brewin.

Premier Blinds

Premier Blinds

The Premier Blinds Orme Shield kicked off in January with all 38 teams in the hat. The losers in the first round all went into the Plate.Having a great run to the semi final was Tutbury B but also The Snookerettes who lost out to Burton Cons A in the semi- particular mention to Marie Bridges, who took a frame against one of the Cons A boys. Winner of the other semi-final was Swad Cons A.

The final was played alongside the Shield final at Ivanhoe a couple of weeks ago and what a cracking night it was all round with two matches worthy of any finals. In the end despite Andy Grainger knocking in a 71 and Graham Stevens and Darren Coady getting past 50 along the way, it was Swad Cons who were runners up and Burton Cons A the winners.

8 good sides made it through to the quarters of the Shield itself with the semis contested by the A sides Newhall, Ivanhoe, Rolleston and Belmont. The final could not have been tighter with Mark Sherratt having a 56 but on this occasion it was Ivanhoe who were runners up. And after a great all round performance in a tremendous atmosphere, the highlight being the clearance worthy of being at the Crucible by John Chambers was Belmont A.

A couple of seasons ago after Karl Hancox had a hundred in a cup competition which would previously gone unrewarded, with the contribution of Trevor Heath at the time, the committee decided that any ton made would have a prize given. Andy Marriott’s had one in the league but he also repeated the feat in the Orme Shield semi final having a magnificent 124. Also this year Jon Fletcher compiled 110 in his Orme quarter final for Burton Cons B against Belmont.

The League’s Premier singles competition is The Evershed vase-this year sponsored by Bill Stewart of Crown Windows. 33 players lined up at the start.Narrowly losing in the semi finals both by a 2-1 scoreline were Wayne Brewin and Mark Stirling. In the final Trevor Heath, rolling back the years, took on Andy Grainger and it was Trevor who lost out on the night with Andy Grainger the winner .

The season’s end competition is the Ken Shipton Memorial Tournament. It’s held on one day with 16 of the top players from the averages across the season, with handicaps given and this year was a particularly high standard . Andy Marriott lost out to Jared Cronje, giving 21 in one semi final whilst Andy Grainger beat Graham Stevens in the other semi-Graham having won the past two trophies. In the final, it was not to be for Jared losing 3-1 so Jared Cronje was the runner up and the winner adding to his Evershed trophy was Andy Grainger.

Another great season and thank to all who have helped make it so.

In all 282 players played league snooker this year. In particular thanks to all of our sponsors especially David Wain Insurance, Pete Maguire of PJM Fascias, Simon Shilton of Newton Fallowell, Simon Smith of Nicholas Humpheys, Adam Walton of Premier Blinds, Bill Stewart of Crown Windows, Ivanhoe Social Club . Also to all of the referees, the clubs that provided venues for finals and those who gave their time up to make the league success…….the AGM will be on 26th July with a view to starting up again at the start of September.

2017-18: Week 26

By Mick Buckland

The David Wain Insurance Premier Division for 2017/18 drew to a close with a 5-3 win for the new champions Ivanhoe A after they defeated Swad Cons A 5-3. Ian Rennocks had a nice 34 as he drew his two with Simon Orpwood whilst Andy Marriott scored a regulation win over Simon Mansfield to ensure he topped the end of season averages chart. One of the players of the season, Andy Grainger, knocked in runs of 30 and 48 as he beat Ant Moore to make the result look in doubt but Dan Blunn ensured the victory for Ivanhoe as he beat Mark Hadley. In the end Ivanhoe won the title by 14 clear points having had many thumping wins during the middle of the season in particular. They remained undefeated from 19th October to the end of the season in the league and used just 5 players-Andy Marriott, Daniel Blunn, Ian Rennocks, James Hastie and Ant Moore, all of whom averaged over 64%. The three points gained by Swad Cons in this match ensured they remained in the Premier for another season-something that highly unlikely two months from the end of the season.

Burton Cons A needed a good win to ensure they claimed the runners up spot. This they duly achieved with a 7-1 triumph over Spot On B, which ended the Spots run of a few seasons in the Premier. A shock looked on the cards as Steve Lane played nicely to take the first off John Shilton but Shilly fought back for the draw. On the other table Graham Stevens beat Lee Cooke but not before Lee had fought well to keep himself in the frames and with some run might have stolen one. Loz Kennerson and Mike Buckland had a very tight first frame that Mike won in the end, meaning relegation was confirmed for Spot On-Mike then finished the season off with a nice 50 to ensure the overall win. Jon Swift rounded the match off with a solid 2-0 win over Steve Butterworth.

Burton Cons B rounded their season off with a good 7-1 away at Spot On A, who were still in some relegation danger themselves, if results went the wrong way. Fortunately for them the sides below them were all playing the top 4. Cons raced into a 4-0 lead courtesy of wins for Jon Fletcher over Nige Tomlinson and Matt Milnes over Ade Harper-Jon including a nice 36 along the way. Owen Jones then rolled in a 46 as he beat Tom Elliott. In the last match Mark Stirling nicked the last frame against Simon Smith who had won the first to prevent the whitewash. In the end Cons B came third and Spot On survived for another season.

Belmont A finished fourth after beating Rolleston A 5-3- a result which condemned Rolleston to the drop. John Chambers and Mark Press halved their game whilst Dean Marriott beat Tom Bassett for a 3-1 halfway lead for Belmont. Mark Sherratt was in outstanding break building form as he rolled in efforts of 37, 38 and 35 in his win over Rich O’Dell who could only look on in admiration. Ant Rushton beat Arron Vaughan to keep the score respectable but it was a little too late for the Rollers-Belmont will look to strengthen their squad in the close season to get closer to challenge for the title next term.

Having looked in some danger at one point, Tutbury  A finished their season in a very respectable 5th spot. On the last day they won the Tutbury derby against the B team by a 5-3 scoreline with wins for Chris Mabbutt and John Brentnall. Chris was the division’s player of the week with runs of 69,46 and 31 which would ensue a victory at any level. Steve Hathaway drew with Wayne Pereira whilst Jan Pawlaczyk  provided the B’s highlight with a win over Dave Mabbutt, leaving them to finish 7th.

SDSC B finished the season on a high after beating Alrewas B 6-2. They managed to be the only side in the three divisions not to have a draw all season-a rare feat in 24 matches, whilst Alrewas will look to come back stronger next year after having a poor season. Henry Tomas played nicely to beat Karl Hancox, for whom the summer can’t come quick enough. Again Karl knocked in a 30 but Henry’s 36 meant he could come away with the victory. Ben Davies was too strong for John Richardson on the night in John’s first game since surgery whilst Lee Louch for Alrewas played well to beat Rich Hinks in return. Harry Farrell turned in another good performance as he rolled in a 56 to beat Tom Smith.

So Ivanhoe A are the new champions-well played to them with Burton Cons A runners up after 10 straight league wins. SDSC A, Spot On B and Rolleston A were relegated. There were 256 breaks of 30 plus, 45 of which were over 50 with a top effort of 119 from Andy Marriott, who also won the Averages table with only 6 frame losses all season.

 

Tutbury C celebrated their already confirmed winners spot in the PJM Fascias Division One by thumping Ivanhoe C 7-1. Despite Gaz Dolman having a 31, Steve Butler hung on for a win to start thing off for The Tutters. Wins for Steve Burrows and Tom Lucas ensured the win whilst Wayne Smith and George Cawkwell halved theirs. Tutbury also won the league by 14 points and will be a welcome addition to the Premier next season whilst Ivanhoe just about did enough in the end to stay in the division after a tough year all round.

The big match was a winner take all affair between Newhall A and Woodville A with the winners guaranteed promotion.In a tense and tight match with no significant breaks, it was Mark Satchwell who was the star man as he overcame Carl Glover. Fran and Adam McInulty drew theirs, perhaps predictably as did Nick Walker and John Chambers and Martin Hicks and Wayne Brewin. Woodville would claim the runners up spot whilst Newhall had to wait to find out the result of a rearranged match between Burton Cons C and Belmont B.

Ivanhoe B did not win in their last seven fixtures, having looked good for promotion at one point-not helped by an injury to talisman Jason Pickering.

Stapenhill A’s season finished with a whimper as they went down 5-3 at home to Tutbury D who were relegated already. Colin Bell and Jeff Siddalls were on target for The Tutters whilst the consistent Steve Ford scored a double for The Institute. Andy Gretton and Ian Day halved theirs for Stapenhill to finish 6th after not winning in their last four whilst Tutbury return to Division Two after just one season.

Spot On C looked one of the favourites fro promotion at the halfway point but only one win in 2018 meant a mid table finish for The Spots.

Alrewas B gave themselves some hope of avoiding the drop after beating SDSC C 5-3. In another tense match Ian Hiley and Adam Walton both scored wins for The Legionnaires against the already relegated SDSC C. Nick Harcombe scored his customary winner for The Snooker Centre but Carl Poulton’s draw against Ray Bancroft meant Alrewas picked up the extra winning point.

So the season for four sides went down to the fixture between Burton Cons C and Belmont B, which had been re-arranged due to the sad passing of former player Ray Plummer. Cons needed to win to stay up and relegate Alrewas B whilst a win for Belmont would give them promotion over Newhall A, who were hoping Belmont would manage no more than a draw. Mick Morris, for Belmont, took the first frame for Belmont with something to spare whilst Greg Read and Shaun Gebbie had a very tight first frame that saw Shaun just about come out on top. Simon Shilton then responded for The Cons by winning a scrappy frame to get the overall score back to 1-2. Shaun then won his second for 3-1 versus Greg, who could count himself unlucky to lose both. The match and promotion went the way of Belmont in the second half after Graham Bailey took two off Ian Shrive, although this was not without a scare as Bala handed Ian a lifeline fouling the black and giving a free ball having already  won the frame . It wasn’t straightforward though and Graham hung on for the win. This relegated Burton Cons C, despite them scoring 80 points and having 9 wins during the season, the same number as the side that beat them and got promoted. Rich Goldby confirmed the win for Belmont with a victory over Bill Davidson.

 

So congratulations to Tutbury C, up as champions-and also Woodville A and Belmont B, who in the end were only beaten once. Relegated were SDSC C, Tutbury D and Burton Cons C. Wayne Brewin won the Averages table for the second season in a row and will be back where he belongs in the Premier next term. Adam McInulty had the highest break with a 57. There were 91 breaks of over 30 with 7 over 50.

Spot On E were already guaranteed to be champions of the Newton Fallowell Division Two but they went out with a bang after beating The Snookerettes 7-1. Clare Peaty had the only highlight for the ladies as she took a frame off Adam Edwards. There were wins for Jared Cronje, Ben Menzies and Kyle Cope to ensure their fine season finished well – they will be welcomed into Division One, where they will give a lot of the more experienced players a run for their money. Spot On D have played the season again with a smile on their faces and are improving all the time- as the editor knows only too well with Marie Bridges scoring a win against him in the Orme Plate semi-final.

Stapenhill B returned to Division One after just one season finishing well clear in second after drawing 4 across with Woodville C. Bryan Sharratt top scored on the night with a 32 against Mark Gallagher whilst there was another draw between  Greg Britton and Wayne Allen. Andy Tomlinson rounded off his fine season with yet another win whilst Denis Moore did similar for Woodville. Woodville also beat The Snookerettes 5-3 with a win for Mark Gallagher with the other 3 games halved.

Swad Snooker Centre rounded their season off having achieved promotion with a 4-4 draw against Woodville B. The match saw a great comeback from The Worriers as they came from 4-0 down to gain the half. Andy Bloor was made to struggle by Billy Bob Brooks as Bob missed a straight pink for Andy to steal it, who then went on to win the second more easily. Brain Bloor won both against an out of sorts Alan Orpwood although he did appear to have the better of the run available. After the break Tony Coleman got the Worriers on the scoreboard taking both from Garton Bloor. David Wain, who has had a great season, needed a snooker to claw himself back into the frame against Pat Ryan, which he duly got only to fluff his lines on the blue and leave the first frame win for Pat. He then went on to play some of his beat snooker of the season to win the second more easily in a match played in a great spirit.

Belmont C finished off with a 6-2 win over Burton Cons D. Greg Hall and Al Munnien notched a frame each for The Cons against Terry Bosworth and Dave Press respectively but wins for Graeme drayton and Brian Cutting ensured the win for The Servicemen.

Ivanhoe D were also 6-2 winners as they got past Rolleston C. Aaron Doyle and John Ward were the frame scorers for The Rollers against  Tom Freeman and Adam Briggs whilst there were wins for Tony Tredger and Matt Tewkesbury.

Belmont D were humbled by Rolleston B in their last fixture-Lionel Lewis, Rob Sanders, Kev Norris and Rob Tubey all scoring doubles as the lads were whitewashed.

So promoted will be Spot On E, Stapenhill B and SDSC D- with Andy Bloor picking up the High Break prize with a lovely 53. His team-mate David Wain came a creditable second in this with a 52-the division’s only other 50 plus break. A special note though goes to Jared Cronje, who had 7 of the top 15 breaks and who also won the Averages table, by the tightest of margins over Andy Tomlinson.

Well played  to all 283 players who played league snooker this season- with congratulations to all the winners, commiserations to those for whom the season did not go so well. Thank you to all the leagues sponsors without whom we could not survive and all the referees who give up their time to let all players enjoy their evenings, without having to pick the balls out as well. Don’t forget the League Presentation is on Friday 27th April at 7-30 at Belmont Services Club, with entry just a fiver to included entertainment, a raffle, food and the presentation-you don’t need to be a winner to come along. Every person who attends is helping the league move forward in a healthy condition. See you next season…

2017-18: Premier Blinds Orme Shield Final report

Premier Blinds

Premier Blinds

by Carl Poulton

The Premier Blinds Orme Shield final was played under the excellently prepared lights and tables of Ashby Ivanhoe. The teams, Ivanhoe A and Belmont A, completed the draw and match referees Mark Stirling and Carl Poulton got proceedings underway.

Ian Archer of Belmont took on Andy Marriott in the first round of four matches. Whilst the early stages were tight, as expected, the frame opened up and Marriott was able to pot enough balls towards the end to keep Archer at bay. On the other other table an attacking frame of snooker was played by John Chambers of Belmont and Ant Moore of Ivanhoe A. Moore looked to be cruising to a frame win with a nice 34 but a slightly misjudged safety late on gave Chambers a chance and he cleared a final long pink to snatch the frame.

Next up was Mark Sherratt of Belmont A versus Daniel Blunn of Ivanhoe A. Blunn broke off and left Sherratt a long red which he duly potted. A lovely break of 56 followed leaving Blunn with too much to do in the later stages with Sherratt cruising to the frame win.

A less open frame was played on the other table where Ian Rennocks of Ivanhoe A edged past Rob Chambers on the final colours.

So 2-2 half time…

In the second half first up was Andy Marriott versus John Chambers and a re-match between Mark Sherratt and Daniel Blunn. Marriott overcame Chambers comfortably with a nice 30 and a decent mini-clearance after a brief saftey bout. Unfortunately Blunn could not exact revenge on Sherratt with the Belmont man always in control and Blunn unable to recapture some excellent season form.

With the match poised at 3-3 the final games saw Ian Archer take on Ian Rennocks and Rob Chambers do battle with Ant Moore. Rennocks played some excellent match play against Archer chipping away teen sized breaks and then leaving Archer in trouble. After a number of close snookers Archer finally left Rennocks the killer chance and he took it to take the frame. Rob Chambers came out of the blocks quickly against Ant Moore and held a sizeable lead throughout keeping Moore at bay and whilst some good attempts at snookers followed to try and win the match for Ivanhoe Chambers comfortably held on to take the match to the doubles decider.

So at 4-4 the doubles got under way: Sherratt and John Chambers for Belmont and Rennocks and Marriott for Ivanhoe A. There was a significant crowd now watching and as expected a nervy and tentative opening to the frame ensued. Both teams missed what would ordinarily be stock balls during the frame and the cat and mouse continued with Ivanhoe edging ahead. An in-off on a long potted green by Ivanhoe got Belmont back in the frame and the frame edged to the final 3 colours. Belmont needing the three ball clearance to take the trophy.

And what a clearance it was from John Chambers. A smashed long blue, deep screwed pink with the extension the white careering back off the baulk cushion leaving a 10ft black down the right hand rail that he smashed in with both a roar from him and the crowd.

So a 5-4 win to Belmont – an excellent game played in excellent spirit and a worthy end to the league season.

Thanks to Ashby Ivanhoe Club, Karen and all her staff, for hosting the event in such excellent fashion alongside the Orme Plate.

2017-18: Week 25

By Mick Buckland

Ivanhoe A confirmed their status as champions of the 2017/18 David Wain Insurance Premier Division with a 5-3 win at Alrewas A. Daniel Blunn beat Colin Wood whilst James Hastie overcame Lee Louch despite Lee top scoring with a 32. Ian Rennocks had runs of 45 and 33 but Tom Smith hung in there for a half as the Alrewas captain, Karl Hancox,  had a good win over Ant Moore including a 30 to score valuable points for the home side. Ivanhoe thoroughly deserve the title having consistently dispatched the teams below them with some ease, notching some tremendous breaks along the way, notably by Andy Marriott. They had been runners up for the past four seasons so have proven to be one of the most consistent sides in the league with no weaker players. Well done to them.

Burton Cons A moved clear in second after beating Swad Cons A 5-3 away. John Shilton had visits of 38 and 35 as he got past Simon Orpwood with Mike Buckland beating Vince Draper on the other table with the aid of a 32-Vince having a 30 of his own, before mis-cueing and causing a push shot when right in the balls. Andy Grainger beat Graham Stevens with the aid of a 42 and a 31 and also some good run at the right times to keep Swad in the match. This was then followed by Paul Slater playing some excellent safety to beat Jon Swift in the first. In a drawn out second frame which could have gone either way, Jon got 27 in front on the brown only to foul the pink leaving Paul a chance. He couldn’t take it though and Jon pulled out a great snooker of his own to ease himself over the line.

Burton Cons B and Belmont A perhaps predictably played out a 4-4 draw in a good quality match. John Chambers top scored on the night with the second highest break of the season knocking in an 87 against Cons’ floater Mick Simpkins.  Owen Jones drew with Ian Archer on the other table for 3-1 to Belmont at half way. In the second half Jon Fletcher and Rob Chambers had a great match ending all square with Jon having a 55 and Rob a 34. Matt Milnes squared the match up with a victory over Josh Gebbie.

The Swad Snooker Centre derby went the way of the B team 6-2 and this has sent the A team into Division One, whilst securing the status of the B. Harry Farrell and Ben Davies were winners on the night whilst the games between Andy Goldingay and Henry Tomas and then Steve Ayre and Rich Hinks were halved.

Spot On B are in serious trouble after going down 6-2 at home to Tutbury A, who have moved up to 5th. The two Steves, Hathaway and Mabbutt, did the damage both scoring doubles. Steve Lane and Chris Mabbutt shared their two with a similar score between Simon Tarrant and Dave Mabbutt. Top break of the night was a thirty by Loz Kennerson.

Spot On A, who had been floundering, did their cause no harm with a 5-3 win away at Tutbury B, who are just about safe themselves barring a last week disaster. Andy Speirs was the man to make the difference as he scored a good win over Wayne Pereira with the other three games being drawn. The Spots need a draw in their final game to be sure of staying up.

 

Tutbury C confirmed themselves as worthy winners of the PJM Fascias Division One title with their 5th straight draw this time against the absolute draw specialists Belmont B who were having their 12th stalemate of the season. Tom Lucas had a good share of the run to beat Shaun Gebbie in the first with Brett Craddock knocking in his trademark long pots to take the first against Steve Butler. Steve then played nicely to win the second with Shaun knocking in runs of 38 and 29 to halve his game as well. Steve Burrows played solidly to win the frame that took the title, with the match pausing for Belmont to sportingly give a round of applause to the Tutbury boys. Graham Bailey went one up against Wayne Smith and with Micky Morris coming back for a half to put Belmont 4-3 up, Belmont only needed the last frame for the victory. Graham took a strong lead before Wayne got it down to the pink -only then to have an outrageous fluke to take a share of the spoils.
Woodville have put themselves in pole position to be promoted after a whitewash against Burton Cons C. Fran McInulty, Wayne Brewin, Mark Satchwell and Bob McInulty all had too much on the night for the Cons, who are now right back in the relegation dogfight.

Newhall are in third after a cracking 7-1 away at SDSC C, who are already relegated. Nick Harcombe scored the Snooker Centre’s only frame as he drew with Nick Walker. Elsewhere there were wins for Adam McInulty, Martin Hicks and Carl Glover-with Carl knocking in a good 27.

Ivanhoe B’s ship for promotion sailed some weeks ago, not helped by the injury to Jason Pickering. Last week they lost 6-2 to Alrewas who have given themselves a sporting chance of staying in the division. Ian Hiley and Adam Walton both scored victories for The Legionnaires with draws for Carl Poulton against Stu Tagg and Dave Trueman against Nick Sewell.

Two sides that will end mid table fought out a 4-4 draw in Stapenhill A and Ivanhoe C. In a match of rare quality the only winners were Gaz Dolman for the Ashby side and Andy Gretton for the Insitute.

Second and third play each other in the last week with Newhall A hosting Woodville A with the winners guaranteed promotion. Belmont in fourth have to play Burton Cons C in a match that has had to be re-arranged due to the funeral of former player Ray Plummer who has sadly passed away. The league would like to send its very best wishes to Ray’s family and friends at this sad time.

Spot On E have deservedly won the Newton Fallowell Division Two having been the most consistent team this season. They won last week without playing sadly but will be a welcome addition to next year’s Division One. From a massive squad, particular credit to Jared Cronje, Ben Menzies, Jordan Watts, Adam Edwards and Brad Williams.

Stapenhill B confirmed their runners up spot with a 6-2 win over Ivanhoe D, who will finish just outside the promotion spots. Bryan Sharratt and Andy Tomlinson were both winners on the night with draws for Greg and Colin Britton against Matt Tewkesbury and Tony Tredger.

In third are SDSC D, who had a rest week last week. Well done to The Bloors, Andy, Brian and Garton as well as David Wain and Andy Rice.

In other dead rubber matches Burton Cons D finished all square with Woodville B with all four games halved.

Rolleston C beat Belmont C with Graham Fisher making the difference as the only winner on the night.

Swad Cons C beat Rolleston B 6-2 with wins for Gaz Ward and Bob Birch with the other two games halved.

Anyone in or near the top 8 in the Premier Division averages or in or near the top 4 in Divisions One and Two-if you haven’t already, can you please let Mike Buckland know if you are available to play in the end of season Ken Shipton tournament in Swadlincote on Sunday-10-30 start. Thank you….

2017-18: Week 24

By Mick Buckland

Ivanhoe A moved another step closer to this year’s David Wain Insurance Premier Division title with a 6-2 home win against SDSC A. The score was tied at 2-2 at half time though as there was a surprise with Andy Marriott losing both frames to an inspired Chris Dewey. On the other table Ian Rennocks beat Andy Goldingay to provide the parity. In the second half James Hastie knocked in a 30 followed by a 32 to get past Steve Ayre whilst Ant Moore beat John Davis.

Burton Cons A drew level in second with their clubmates the B after beating Alrewas A 6-2. Mike Buckland was in fine potting form and didn’t really miss anything as he rolled in a 36 and a 42 to beat Rob McMeecham, making his first outing of the season. On the other table Graham Stevens won both against Lee Louch with neither player hitting top form. In the second half Darren Coady won both against Karl Hancox with Tom Smith keeping the score respectable with a win over Jon Swift in a dour match lasting nearly two hours.
In fourth are Belmont A after beating Tutbury B 5-3. Man of the match was Rob Chambers as he knocked in a good 49 during his win over Jan Pawlaczyk, with the other three matches halved- Josh Gebbie with Daz Lester, Mark Sherratt with Wayne Pereira and John Chambers with Bill Stewart-Bill having a nice 35 in his frame win.
At the bottom, Swad Cons A moved themselves out of the bottom 3 with a 5-3 win over Spot On B, who are now in the relegation zone instead. Simon Orpwood and Andy Grainger were the men to do the damage both with wins in the first half. Simon Mansfield scored an all important draw with Steve Lane to grab the extra winning point , whilst Simon Tarrant beat Paul Slater in the last rubber.
SDSC B scored a good 6-2 win over Rolleston A, who are in serious trouble as a result. Ben Davies notched a fine win over Mark Press with Henry Tomas also scoring a double. The other two matches were drawn with the Snooker Centre captain Pete Maguire making a rare appearance as he drew with Bobby Cliff and Harry Farrell sharing with Tom Bassett.
Spot On A v Tutbury A was rearranged and although the Spots are bottom they obviously have games in hand. Rolleston A and SDSC A only have one fixture left to rescue their seasons with Spot On B and Swad Cons A the other teams who still have work to do to retain the Premier Division status. At the top, Ivanhoe A only need a few more frames to secure the title after several seasons of being runner up whilst the battle for second could not be tighter between Burton Cons A and B.

Newhall A versus Ivanhoe B was the heavyweight contest at the top of the PJM Fascias Division One and perhaps unsurprisingly the match ended all square at 4 across. Carl Glover drew with Stu Tagg and Adam McInulty halved with Nick Sewell in the first half. Man of the match Nick Walker rolled in efforts of 42 and 44 as he beat Ivanhoe’s Bren Mattley before Adam Pickering restored the equilibrium with a hard fought 2-0 success over Martin Hurdman. Newhall are now in the promotion spots by virtue of more wins than Woodville A whilst Ivanhoe’s chance may have gone as they have played a game more than their rivals.
Woodville kept themselves in the hunt with a well fought 4-4 draw against runaway leaders Tutbury C. Steve Butler for the Tutters was in tremendous potting form as he knocked in efforts of 31 and 44 but Bob McInulty hung in their for a share of the spoils. Mark Satchwell scored a double over the home side’s Wayne Smith, whilst Steve Burrows did similar for the leaders. Tom Lucas and Fran McInulty halved in the final match for an all round draw. This is four straight draws for Tutbury but another one in their last two will see them crowned as champions. Woodville are level in fourth with Newhall so every frame is crucial in these last two weeks.
Belmont B are clear in second after a thumping 7-1 win away at Ivanhoe C. Micky Morris, Brett Craddock and Graham Bailey were all in fine form with Graham Measures the only bright spot for Ivanhoe securing a half against Zaheer Hussein. They play the league leaders this week in a match that may well determine their fate at the end of the season. Ivanhoe look to have done enough already to preserve their Division One status.
At the bottom, Burton Cons C had a home draw with SDSC C 4-4 with wins for Simon Shilton for the home team and Nick Harcombe for the away. Ian Shrive top scored with a nice 30 on the night but this only won him one frame with Ray Stretton with Greg Read easily winning his fist versus Ray Bancroft only for Ray to fight back to take the second.The result means that SDSC C are relegated to Division Two whilst Burton Cons’ recent change in form sees them probably having done enough to secure another term in Division One.
Alrewas B kept their fading hopes of staying in the division alive with a 5-3 win over early season leaders Spot On C. Ian Hiley was man of the match as he scored a win with draws in the other three, rolling in a nice 32 along the way. Adam Walton, Carl Poulton and Dave Trueman drew with John Hardy, Trevor heath and Tony Clements respectively.

The big match in Newton Fallowell Division Two was played out at Spot On where the club’s D team, AKA The Snookerettes, thrashed Belmont D 7-1. This was a first league win for the ladies with Belmont remaining winless. Gilda Horvath, Kate Stirling and Yvonne Spendlove were all inspired as they knocked in everything with Ian Gibson preventing the whitewash in his draw with Marie Bridges. The result is the perfect warm up for their upcoming Orme plate semi final clash with Burton Cons A – it also means they will not come bottom , having handed the wooden spoon to the Belmont boys. Both sides, having struggled with results for most of the season, could teach many other teams the value of playing for enjoyment every week with the result being secondary to having a decent night out.
For Woodville B, Billy Bob Brooks was in superb form as he won both frames fairly comfortably in his match against John Ward of Rolleston C-his potting being his best of the season, including a nice 24. Maurice Dawkins won both fairly lengthy frames against Daz Scott with both players producing some excellent safety. The master destroyer pat Ryan won both of his against Steve Atkin with a master class of potting and body movement, playing particularly well in the first. Tony Coleman came out on top in both frames against Neil Cheadle , winning both on the pink.
At the top Spot On E were gifted a win by confusion over the fixture with Swad Cons C. This has guaranteed promotion for the Spots. Stapenhill B won 7-1 away to Belmont C in second with wins for Greg Britton, Andy Tomlinson and Simon Piechowicz – Terry Bosworth stopping the rot with a half against Colin Britton. This result has also secured promotion for the Institute.
Looking to complete the promotion picture were SDSC D but they were held to a 4-4 draw by Rolleston B. David Wain continued his good form with another victory but Rob Tubey replied with a win of his own for The Rollers. The other two matches were halved with Kev Norris holding Andy Bloor and Lionel Lewis sharing with Brian Bloor. SDSC will have to wait to secure that last promotion spot.
Elsewhere Woodville C drew with Ivanhoe D, who would need two thumping wins to stand a chance of pipping SDSC D to the last promotion spot. Mark Gallagher for Woodville and Dave Watson were the men to score wins on the night with draws in the games between Wayne Allen ad Matt Tewkesbury and then Denis Moore and Tony Tredger.

2017-18: Week 23

By Mick Buckland

Ivanhoe A further strengthened their grip on this year’s David Wain Insurance Premier Division by thumping Rolleston A 8-0 on their own patch. Tom Bassett of Rolleston played two good frames against Ant Moore but it was Ant who took the first on the blue. The two matched each other on the second until the last red when Ant cleared what he needed.James Hastie played Rich O’Dell having a good 53 in the first , which could have been more. He also played nicely to comfortably win the second to leave Ivanhoe 4-0 at half time. Ian Rennocks took the first against Luke Speed on the colours and then the second down on the black. Ant Rushton went 32 in front against Andy Marriott in the first only for Andy to fluke the pink and take the frame on the black. The second was hard fought until the end when Andy had just too much to complete the whitewash.

In second place, Burton Cons B were just able to squeeze past SDSC B 5-3. Matt Milnes was in fine form as he included runs of 43 and 36 in his win over Henry Tomas. Owen Jones was also potting well as he beat Adam Harrison. In reply Harry Farrell was man of the match as he had contributions of 78 and 46 as he disposed of Jon Fletcher who really did nothing wrong. Simon Smith had a 31 in his draw with Ben Davies.
In third, Burton Cons A were only able to field three against SDSC A. From 2-0 before the start , the score soon became 4-0 as Chris Dewey beat Jon Swift in the first and Steve Ayre beat Graham Stevens. Graham though had a lovely 57 in the second, which might have been more, before leaving Steve a chance to clear at the end. Steve was unable to take it though for Graham to hang on for the win and therefore a draw. Jon Swift got the snookers he required to win the second against Chris on the black. Mike Buckland somehow then came away with both frames against Andy Goldingay, the first on the black and the second after a respot in a match that saw both players pot well.
In fourth are Belmont A but they went down to a spirited Spot On A side who came away 5-3 victors. Tom Elliott was the star man as he scored a double against Josh Gebbie. The other three matches were drawn with runs of  36 for Ade Harper and 39 for Mark Stirling of the Spots and 36 from Rob Chambers of Belmont.
Alrewas A lost 5-3 at home to relegation threatened Spot On B. Loz Kennerson beat Tom Smith, despite Tom having a 38 and Tim Hodgkinson beat Colin Wood. Karl Hancox replied for The Legionnaires with two runs of 33 in his victory over Steve Lane. Colin Kinsella and Lee Cooke drew their encounter.
Swad Cons A look like they may be slipping towards the trap door after losing 5-3 at home to Tutbury A. Dave Mabbutt and John Brentnall were the men to do the damage as they both scored doubles, John having a nice 40 along the way. The usually reliable Andy Grainger was held to a 1-1 draw by Chris Mabbutt, who had a lovely 48 along the way. Simon Orpwood had a comfortable win over Dan Mabbutt in reply.

In the PJM Fascias Division One, champions elect Tutbury C drew for the third week on the bounce, this time against bottom side SDSC C. In  a lacklustre match there were two wins on either side-Nick Harcombe and Ray Bancroft for the Snooker Centre and Wayne Smith and Steve Burrows for The Tutters.
Since losing 7-1 to the leaders at the end of January, Newhall A have won 5 league games in a row to them favourites to join Tutbury in the Premier next season. Last week they did just enough to get past Spot On C 5-3 away. Nick Walker was the main man as he scored a double over Trevor Heath with the other three matches all drawn. Adam McInulty, Martin Hicks and Martin Hurdman with Tony Clements, Steve Gaunt and Rich Turner respectively.
Woodville A were only able to manage a draw against Ivanhoe C with all four matches being tied-Fran McInulty providing hte highlight with a 31 in his draw with Gaz Dolman.
As things get nervy with promotion and relegation places at stake there was another 4-4 at Belmont where the club’s B team drew with Stapenhill A where all four matches were also tied. In the match  there were 7 contributions over 25 but nothing to separate the sides in the end. Belmont have still lost just the once this season whilst Stapenhill could have done with winning to keep alive their own faint hopes of promotion.
Tutbury D drew with Alrewas B 4-4-a result which may mean both sides being relegated. Carl Poulton for Alrewas provided the highlight as he included a 31 in his win over Dave Brady on the night whilst Colin Bell was on target for The Tutters with two games drawn.
Ivanhoe B’s promotion push was undone at home by a resurgent Burton Cons B side 5-3. Greg Read was the man to make the difference as he won against Greg Gallup whilst the other three matches were halved-Nick Sewell and Bill Davidson, Adam Pickering and Simon Shilton then Bren Mattley and Ian Shrive. Four wins on the bounce for The Cons has pulled them clear of the relegation zone whilst Ivanhoe have slipped out of the promotion spots after 5 without a win and their rivals having a game in hand.

Two of the top three faced each other in the Newton Fallowell Division Two with Spot On E coming out 5-3 winners away at SDSC D. Jared Cronje drew with David Wain, Adam Edwards halved with Brian Bloor and Andy Bloor shared with Brad Williams before Ben Menzies saw the leaders home with a dour win over Garton Bloor. The result virtually seals promotion for Spot On whilst SDSC will need a few more frames before they can say the same.
Stapenhill B look a good bet to join these two in Division One next season as they beat Woodville B 5-3. Bryan Sharratt was man of the match., making the difference with a win with draws in the other three.
The Snookerettes of Spot On D scored another draw as they shared their match with Swad Cons C 4 across. Star lady was Kate Stirling as she beat Andy Boam with Colin Cope replying for The Cons. The other two matches were halved-Clare Peaty with Bob Birch and Gilds Horvath with Gaz Ward.
Belmont C may have ended the outside promotion hopes of Ivanhoe D after winning 6-2 away there. Terry Bosworth, Brain Cutting and Dave Press all had their potting boots for Belmont on whilst Adam Briggs responded with a double for Ivanhoe.
Woodville C had a thumping 7-1 win over Belmont D with wins for Jim Marcer, Denis Moore and Mark Gallagher, Tom Holland, for Belmont , continued his recent good form by taking a frame off Wayne Allen.
Rolleston B were the star side of the week in the division by going away to Burton Cons D and coming away with a maximum. The two Robs, Tubey and Sanders both had twenty plus contributions in their wins whilst Lionel Lewis and Kev Norris were also on target for The Rollers.
In a re-arranged match Spot On E won 7-1 at Rolleston C with wins for Ben Menzies, Jared Cronje and Brad Williams who had a 33 along the way.

2017-18: Jack Dyche Final

By Graham Stevens

Martin Hicks 3 – Jan Pawlazyck 1

The Jack Dyche Final got off to a bit of a nervy start with both players having chances but neither taking full advantage. Martin forged a 20 point lead before Jan played a nice snooker behind the yellow. Martin attempted a two cushion escape but was unable to find the angle needed and conceded 20 points from this position. Following this it was nip and tuck down to the colours until Martin potted a great long brown and in doing so cannoned the blue over the pocket to secure the first frame.

Martin then relaxed a bit in the second frame and potted well with a 16 and 18 break which put him in a strong position and he took the frame comfortably.

In the third frame Jan settled down and made more of his chances and took a nice 20 point lead. Martin then made a lovely 25 break which could have been more. On the colours Jan had his nose in front until Martin took on a long green and potted it cleanly, he followed this with the brown and a good solid long blue. The pink was tight next to the black near the corner pocket and it was debatable whether it would pot or not. With little other option Martin tried to squeeze the pink in but missed it. The pink went near the opposite corner pocket leaving a chance for Jan. Jan played the pink nicely with the rest and got good position on the black which he potted well under pressure to keep himself in the match.

In the fourth frame the reds scattered and the black went safe on the side cushion. Following a safety exchange around the black spot Martin potted a couple of great long balls to gain a nice lead. With two reds left Jan fought back but required a couple of snookers on the colours. He got one and put Martin under pressure before Martin was able to pot the pink and retain the title.

Martin is the fifth player to have retained the title in the 24 year history of The Jack Dyche Trophy, he may now have his sights set on Terry Bosworth’s record of four consecutive wins.

2017-18: Week 22

By Mick Buckland

The big match in the David Wain Insurance Premier Division was played at Ashby where the champions elect Ivanhoe A drew 4-4 with second placed Burton Cons B. Two of the top local players over the past few years clashed and fittingly the match ended halved with Andy Marriott having a 57 in his draw with Jon Fletcher. Ian Rennocks scores a good win against Matt Milnes for a 3-1 lead for Ivanhoe at the break. In the second half though there was a spirited performance from Owen Jones to beat Ant Moore whilst Simon Smith got a half against James Hastie despite James having runs of 36 and 31.

Burton Cons A lost a 4-0 half time lead for the second week running as Rolleston A came away with an all important 4 points from the Cons. Mick Simpkins making a rare appearance beat Rich O’Dell whilst captain Graham Stevens beat Tom Bassett on debut with the aid of a 46 and a 73. Ant Rushton then played well to beat Mike Buckland with the help of a 53 with Mark Press overturning Jon Swift.

At the bottom, Swad Cons A lost 5-3 at home to Alrewas A. Colin Kinsella starred for Alrewas rolling in a 43 as he inflicted a rare defeat on Andy Grainger. whilst Lee Louch was in fine form with runs of 35 and 40 to defeat Mark Hadley. The Cons responded after the break with Simon Orpwood having a 46 in his win over Karl Hancox but the defeat of Simon Mansfield to Tom Smith meant the Legionnaires travelling home with the extra winning point.

In a relegation tussle at Spot On, it was SDSC A who were victors as they beat the home club’s B team 5-3. Chris Dewey and Andy Goldingay were the men to do the damage as they both scored doubles, with Simon Tarrant doing likewise for the Spots. Loz Kennerson and Syeve Ayre drew their encounter-both sides still need more points to stay up though.

SDSC B went down 5-3 at home to a good Tutbury B side. Bill Stewart and Andy Thompson were on form for the Tutters with wins whilst Adam Harrison responded for the Snooker Centre. The match between Harry Farrell and Daz Lester was halved.

Clearing up a couple of games postponed due to weather Burton Cons B beat Spot On B 6-2 away whilst the club’s A team beat Tutbury B 5-3.

Belmont A’s challenge for the title looks to have faded as they were only able to draw at Tutbury A 4-4. In fact all matches were drawn with Rob Chambers providing the highlight as he knocked in a nice 47 in his draw with Steve Mabbott.

Tutbury C are on course to be champoins in the PJM Fascias Division One but they only managed to draw for the second week running. It was 4-4 between themselves and another promotion contender Ivanhoe B. Steve Butler was their only winner on the night whilst Bren Mattley returned the compliment for Ivanhoe. Wayne Smith and Jason Pickering drew as did Steve Burros with Nick Sewell, leaving the Ashby side in third although others have a game in hand behind them.

Belmont B and Woodville A who are both in contention for promotion drew four across at The Servicemen’s Club. Yet again Wayne Brewin was man of the match as he rolled in a nice 53 as well as a 27 in his win over Shaun Gebbie. Graham Bailey responded though to beat Bob McInulty with two draws in the games between Mick Morris and Mark Satchwell and then Brett Craddock and Fran McInulty. Woodville are now second whilst Belmont have still only lost once this season.

Spot On C’s challenge for promotion looks to have faded as they failed to win for the 5th match running. Last week.they went down 5-3 to relegation threatened Burton Cons C. Greg Read and Simon Shilton were winners for the Cons with Tony Clements, for The Spots, having a cracking 52 on his way to beating Ian Shrive. Bill Davidson and Dave Mawhinney drew theirs.

The Newhall A boys had their potting boots on as they brushed past Tutbury D 6-2. Adam McInulty’s 40 helped him to a win on the night but Nick Walker’s 35 only one him one frame as he drew with a spirited Ian Day.Martin Hurdman scored a double for Newhall with carl Glover and Colin Bell sharing their two frames.

SDSC C stopped their losing streak as they held Ivanhoe C 4-4. Nick Harcombe won for the Snooker Cntre whilst Graham Measure was on form for the Ashby side. George Cawkwell and Ray Stretton halved as did Steve Cockeram and Ray Bancroft. Ivanhoe still have games in hand on those around them but SDSC C looked destined for Division Two next season.

Stapenhill B still lead the way in the Newton Fallowell Division Two, despite having a rest week. Spot On E are in hot pursuit though and did their cause no harm at all with a good 6-2 win over Burton Cons D. Jared Cronje with a 37 and Ben Menzies with a 47 did most of the damage with Brad Williams also winning for The Spots. Al Munnien gave the score line some respectability with a win over Adam Edwards.
SDSC D still look a good bet for promotion after defeating the Snookerettes 7-1  Only Yvonne Spendlove had any joy as she drew with Garton Bloor. Elsewhere there were wins for Brian Bloor, Andy Rice and Andy Bloor.
Ivanhoe D slipped up in their chase by going down 5-3 against Woodville B in a match that could have gone either way. Billy Bob Brooks snatched the first against Matt Tewkesbury who responded with the aid of 20 in fouls in the second. Alan Orpwood drew his encounter with Adam Briggs as did Tony Coleman with Brian Lowrie. Pat Ryan was the star man for The Worriers by beating Tony Tredger.
The Rolleston derby went the way of the B team by a 6-2 score line over the C. Rob Sanders included a 28 on the way to beating Neil Cheadle. Rob Tubey and Lionel Lewis were also both on target for the B whilst Steve SAtkin replied for the C with a double of his own.
Swad Cons C won 5-3 away at Belmont D with the aid of victories for Bob Birch and Andy Boam. Tom Holland continued his good form with a win over Jon Petcher whilst Andy Biggadike and Gaz Ward drew.
Woodville beat Belmont in a battle of the C teams. Jim Marcer and Mark Gallagher were the men in form for Woodville with Wayne Allen and Brian Cutting halving theirs as did Denis Moore and Matt Keay.
The big game in the division will come this week as Spot On D face Belmont D to see who can score their first win of the season….

2017-18: Week 21

By Mick Buckland


Ivanhoe A strengthened their grip on this year’s David Wain Insurance Premier Division title by virtue of a closely fought 5-3 win over Tutbury B. Jan Pawlazcyk played James Hastie and It was James that started strongly with a good 62 to take the first. Jan then dug in and potted well on the colours to take the second. Alan Davies took on Andy Marriott in a tight first frame, which Andy took it on the colours. Normal service in the second frame with a good 73 which could of been more. Andy then finished with a 32. Daz Lester payed Ant Moore in a tight first frame that went to a respotted black which Ant potted. Daz then potted very well in the second to take it with some to spare. Dan Blunn played Andy Thompson last and it was Andy that potted well to take the first. The second look like going the same way before Andy missed a black. Dan then knocked a good 41 to take control. Andy got the snookers he required but then missed a red. Dan then potted the ball he needed for a 5-3 win.

For the second time this season, the derby between Burton Cons A and B was drawn four across. Mike Buckland played nicely to get past Owen Jones, including a 52 in the second which Owen managed to still take down to the black . Graham Stevens missed very little as he got past Simon Smith with the aid of a 34 to put the A 4-0 up at the break. In a change of fortunes, Matt Milnes and Darren Coady exchanged thirty plus efforts with it looking for all the world like Darren would force a draw before Matt finished nicely. Despite John Shilton having a 42 for the A, Jon Fletcher dug in to win the first and then force a respot in the second ,which having been put back in , he then duly doubled the black into the yellow bag for the win.

Alrewas A lost 5-3 at home to Tutbury A, despite captain Karl Hancox’s best efforts of a nice 40 in his win over Chris Mabbutt. Steve and Dave Mabbutt though were on form as they secured wins as the match between Tom Smith and Steve Hathaway was drawn..

Mark Press and Tony Rushton were the men on form as Rolleston A defeated Spot On B 5-3. Loz Kennerson included a 41 on his way to beating Rich O’Dell in return with the game between Bobby Cliff and Steve Butterworth halved.

Swad Cons A showed there is still hope for them to escape relegation by beating SDSC A 6-2. Runs of 31 and 33 saw Simon Orpwood home to a win over Chris Dewey with Paul Slater knocking in a 32 in his win. Only Steve Ayre could respond for the snooker club as he beat Mark Hadley as Andy Grainger also scored his customary win for The Cons.

Spot On A beat SDSC B 5-3 with the match of the night the Mark Stirling versus Harry Farrell game. Mark had a 37 and Harry a 40 but it was the Spot On man who won both frames which made all the difference with the other three games all halved. Andy Speirs was welcomed back to the side as he rolled a nice 32 in during his draw with Rich Hinks. Ivanhoe A look to have the title at their mercy after being the most consistent side this term-the top four will be filled by Burton Cons A and B and Belmont A.

Behind these there is a 29 point gap(plus a game in hand) to Alrewas A and then only twelve points separating them from bottom side Swad Cons A so anything can happen with all these sides playing each other over the coming weeks.

In the PJM Fascias Division One, the Ashby derby ended all square between the B and the C. Stu Tagg won for the B with Steve Cockeram doing same for the C , the other two games were halved.
Belmont B kept up their late push for promotion with a hard fought 5-3 win away at SDSC C. Graham Bailey was the star man as he secured both frames against Ray Bancoft, including a 26. Mick Morriss, Brett Craddock and Shaun Gebbie all drew with Nick Harcombe, Chris Craddock and Ray Stretton, with Ray having a nice 29.
Burton Cons C went to Tutbury D and came away 5-3 winners. Greg Read being star man as he scored the win in another match where the other 3 games were shared.
Woodville A kept up their promotion push and Damages Stapenhill A’s as they came out 5-3 winners. It was the turn of John Chambers to shine as he was the solitary winner on the night. The game of the evening though was between Mark Satchwell and Callum Coleman as Mark rollled in 33 and 35 with Callum responding with a 29 for a well earned half.
Tutbury C look home and hosed at the top but the two other promotion spots are up for grabs with any of Woodville A, Ivanhoe B, Belmont B, Stapenhill A, Newhall A, Spot On C or even Ivanhoe C being able to make a run over the next few weeks. At the bottom SDSC C look doomed whilst the other two relegation spots look at this stage to come from Tutbury D, Alrewas B or Burton Cons C.

In the Newton Fallowell Division Two, Belmont C lost to Woodville B 5-3. Alan Orpwood knocked in a 30 as he drew with Matt Keay, whilst man of the match here was Pat Ryan as he scored a double over Terry Bosworth.
Greg Hall and Al Munnien were on target for Burton Cons D as they beat the Snookerettes 5-3. Kate Stirling though responded for the ladies of Spot On D by beating Jim Jennings. The game between Paul Brooks and Gilda Horvath was shared.
David Wain kept up his excellent form with another win for SDSC D backed up by Andy Rice as they defeated Belmont D 6-2. For the Servicemen Andy Biggadike had a nice 30 as he drew with Brian Bloor. Simon Deakin scored the other Belmont point as he drew with Garton Bloor.
Stapenhill B kept up their promotion charge with a 5-3 win over Rolleston B. Again, it was down to one man to amke the difference and this time it was Andy Tomlinson as he beat Rob Sanders with the other 3 games shared.
Swad Cons C got past Woodville C 5-3 with aid of wins for Bob Birch and Colin Cope. Mark Gallagher responded for the Woodvillians with a win of his own whilst the game between Gaz Ward and Jim Marcer was halved.
At the top, the promotion race is really down to 3 from 4 as Stapenhill B, Spot On E and SDSC D can be joined by Ivanhoe D with a late run.

2017-18: Crown Windows Evershed Vase Final

By Graham Stevens

Andy Grainger 3 – Trevor Heath 0

Tonight’s final of the Crown Windows Evershed Vase was played in a good spirit down at Burton Cons between Andy Grainger and Trevor Heath.

The first frame started off a bit nervy with both players having chances. Andy went in front with a nice 30 break but Trevor came back and it was anyone’s on the colours. Andy then potted a nice green, brown and blue to secure the frame.

In the second frame Andy made a nice 45 break to take control of the frame. Trevor made some nice pots but was unable to amass enough points to get himself back into the frame. Some good long potting from Andy then secured the frame and a 2-0 lead.

The third frame was a tight affair. Trevor took an early lead with some good single ball potting before Andy brought the scores level with the last five reds on. He then compiled a lovely 32 break mainly with the pink as the black was on the side cushion. This left Trevor requiring two snookers on the colours. He had some great efforts trying to snooker behind the pink, but the white just fell short on a couple of occasions, one of which let Andy in to clinch the frame and match 3-0