British National League divisions 1-3
Division 1 North
With the leaders Drumchapel Glasgow II not eligible for promotion to the Premier Division the battle for the minor places has taken on a new significance. Elgre Nottingham I and Barrow Fastbats both have 14 points but it is Barrow Fastbats who appear to be finishing the stronger. They dented the leaders Drumchapel Glasgow’s 100 % record, winning 5-3 in round nine. New signing Jakov Krivic played a major part in this success winning twice and England no. 45 Bradley Evans followed suit. Barrow stalwart Jonathan Crawford had the honour (extreme pressure might be a better description) of winning the crucial game and he was up to the task. Crawford beat Terry McLernon Junior 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 to make the score 5-2. Glasgow’s Craig Hardie, who had only lost three of his 16 singles felt the full force of the Barrow push for promotion. He missed out 11-6, 5-11, 4-11, 8-11 to Brad Evans and 16-18,5-11, 4-11 against Jakov Krivic.
Barrow turned in another accomplished performance in round 10, beating fourth-placed Ormesby II 6-2. Jakov Krivic was again undefeated although Andrew Wilson’s five game win over Bradley Evans stood out from Ormesby’s perspective. Wilson triumphed 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7. Barrow no.4 Tristan Swam also impressed and he scored two notable victories. He beat Karina Le Fevre 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 and Karen Shepherd 11-5, 11-8, 11-8.
ELGRE Nottingham added four points to their score as well. Chris Rogers was undefeated as they beat Northfield I 5-3. Rogers looked sharp as he defeated Keith Rodger 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 and Bryn Drinkhall 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9 and he received solid support from his team-mates. Emma Vickers scored a fine 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-3 win over Danny Welsh and David Arrowsmith a last gasp 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 victory over Keith Rodger. Mark Green clinched the victory for the Nottingham side by beating Danny Welsh 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. Steve Bailey, returning to action after a break from the Sport fared best of the Northfield players. He marked a successful return to British League action by beating David Arrowsmith 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 12-10 and Emma Vickers 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11.
ELGRE were more comfortable 7-1 winners over bottom-side Sheffield. The score flattered them slightly as they won the two tightly contested five setters. David Arrowsmith who seems to specialise in playing five-enders was again involved in both of these battles. This time he beat Liam Carson 3-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3, 12-10 and then Bill Grant 12-14, 11-5, 14-12, 2-11, 11-7. England no.52 Veteran Simon Pugh was Sheffield’s sole winner, and he scored a fine 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 success over Mark Green.
At the lower end of the table Northfield I beat Halton I 6-2 to jump above them. Bryn Drinkhall and Keith Rodger were both undefeated for Northfield whilst Danny Welsh did well to beat Chris Ford in five ends, fighting back strongly to win 2-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4. Keith Rodger clinched the Northfield victory by getting the better of Michael Moir 11-5, 14-12, 11-9 and Steve Bailey wrapped up proceedings by beating Mark Ramsbottom 11-6, 11-8, 12-10. A very good performance from Northfield.
Division 2 North
With 18 points out of 20 Burton Uxbridge remain on course to take the title. However, this weekend wasn’t one of their better ones and they look to have been hard pushed to beat sixth placed Halton II 5-3. This match was tied at 3-3 before Alastair McTavish restored his team’s lead with his second win of the match, beating Fiona Dennett 11-4, 11-4, 11-8. James Ward sealed his side’s victory by getting the better of a luckless Ernest Mpundu very narrowly 13-11, 13-11, 12-10. Burton’s success against bottom-placed Barrow Fastbats was a little more convincing, and they triumphed 6-2. Barrows’s resistance came from the Bristol Academy student, the fast improving England no. 104 Scott Crawford who won twice. He impressed by defeating Alastair McTavish 3-1 and Russell Boone 3-1.
Second-placed Chesterfield kept up the pressure. They beat ELGRE Nottingham 5-3 and Derwent II convincingly 8-0. Andy Henry was their leading light and he remained undefeated in his four singles securing excellent wins against ELGRE’s Brian Hill (3-0) and Jimmy Brewster (3-0). The redoubtable Hill fought back strongly and in his second singles he beat Chesterfield no. one Andrew Horsfield 6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8.
Second to bottom ELGRE Nottingham punched above their weight against third- placed Drumchapel Glasgow II as well. A fiercely fought match ended in a 4-4 draw. Five games were decided in the fifth end and ELGRE shaded these 3-2. In a real grandstand finish Nathan Courtney got the better of Jimmy Brewster 11-13, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 17-15 but Jimmy hit back and in his seconds singles he beat Scott Barton 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8. Glasgow no. one Calumn Main was the Scottish team’s best player and he won twice. He saw off Craig Feargrieve 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 and he pulled through in five ends as he beat Brian Hill 11-5, 5-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-6.
Woodford I and Derwent were tied at 3-3 before Woodfield asserted themselves in the last two games. Andy Rich scored his second victory as he beat Nathan Horsley 3-0 to add to his 3-0 success against David Noutch. This was just the impetus Woodfield needed and John Collymore secured their victory by getting the better of David Noutch 12-10, 11-4, 11-7. Richard Moss had remained undefeated for Derwent II. He beat Chris Burgess 11-5, 14-16, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8 in his first singles and in his second singles he saw off Radek Mlynaczyk 12-10, 11-7, 12-10.
Division Two South - With two victories York Gardens I have moved into pole position in this relatively low-scoring division with 15 points, after beating second-placed Ashford II 5-3 and Westfield II (8-0). They have been bolstered (no - “reinvented” is a better word here) by the inclusion of a truly formidable top player in Peter Aranyosi from Budapest, best known to English Veterans as the player that Alan Cooke beat narrowly in five ends to win the World Veterans Championship in Bremen in 2006 from a field of over 1,000 competitors. Aranyosi won his four singles without dropping a game with his best performance taking place as he brushed aside Robert Lemon (Ashford II)
11-6, 11-6, 11-6. York Garden’s no.2 Rita Kacsandi played her part and she also beat Lemon : 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 13-11 as well as Trung Tran 11-3, 12-10, 11-5. Her appearance on the UK Grand Prix circuit would be greatly welcomed with displays of this calibre.
Fellows Cranleigh won twice to draw level with Ashford II and DHS Greenhouse Progress III on 13 points and their judgement day takes place on the final day of the Season when they will meet both Ashford II and York Gardens. England no.44 Umair Mauthoor retained his unbeaten record as Fellows Cranleigh beat Horsham II 6-2 as well as bottom-placed Bedford Modern I 5-3. Anthony Kent, a real Fellows Cranleigh success story played his part with a superb 11-5, 13-11, 11-6 victory over Stuart Seaholme and new signing Tony Halling won twice beating Mick Harper 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 as well as John Camilleri 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10 to ensure that the London team remains in the mix for honours.
The match between second-placed Ashford II and third-placed DHS Greenhouse Progress III was predictably closely fought and it eventually finished 4-4. Anthony Johnson beat Ryan Maynard 7-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-7 to seal a point for his side. Robert Lemon made his mark with two hard-fought wins. He beat Sullivan Morais 11-9, 4-11, 14-12, 11-9 and in his second singles he saw off Sherwin Remata 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10. Jogenes “Jo-Jo“ Senorin won twice for the Southall side beating both Anthony Johnson and Nicolas Ravalec.
The all Sussex clash between Horsham II and Pavilion Brighton II gave a chance to England no. one Under 13 Helshan Weerasinghe to “show-case” his talents. He produced two superb displays, beating Matt Brown 12-10, 11-4, 14-12 as well as England no.123 Mayur Majithia 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7. You can expect this young man to be playing in the Premier Division in two or three years. The hard-hitting Gary Bonner was the best of the Brighton players. He beat Martin Kellaway 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 and then he got the better of Jon Hall 2-11, 11-6, 11-8, 14-12 - a very good win as Hall had previously seen off Mayur Mayithia 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9. Oh I almost forgot amidst so many results going against the form-book - the match finished tied at 4-4!
Division 3 North
Results went pretty much to form in this division as the leaders Ormesby III won twice to move onto 18 points out of 20. They didn’t have it all their own way against St. Mary’s Hull and Formby but 6-2 victories were more than sufficient. Their no. three Michael Young was their most successful player winning all four of his singles. His victims were Mike Fraser, Rachel Baker, Cherith Graham and Rob Wylie. Formby no. one Jonathan Taylor gave them most to think about. He beat Martin Rutter by a last gasp 9-11, 11-8, 14-12, 5-11, 11-9 scoreline and he really turned it on against Ormesby no. one Simon Donnelly triumphing 11-7, 11-6, 11-6.
Second-placed Smiths Wood Bribar also won twice, but they trail by four points and know that they are realistically looking at finishing second. Their 8-0 victory over Drumchapel Glasgow IV was a little flattering as they won games four, five and six in the fifth end but it was still a strong team performance from Jack Williamson, Edward Lynn, Alan Caffery and Jack Styring. Williamsons’ win over Stephanie McCallum was arguably the hardest fought. Williamson had to fight back from 2-0 down before coming out on top 5-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. On the other hand Smiths Wood’s 5-3 victory over Rotherham Scorpions flatters the losers slightly as Smiths Wood had already moved into a winning 5-1 lead. Jack Williamson again won twice. He fought back from 2-0 down to beat Chris Cattell 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-5 and he also got the better of Lance Webster 11-6, 13-11, 12-10. Alan Caffery also did well to retrieve a 2-0 deficit and he came back to beat Richard Element 11-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8.
Third-placed Rotherham Scorpions lost ground when they were held to a 4-4 draw by Northfield II. Two games were decided at deuce in the fifth end. Northfield’s Mark Walpole levelled the scores at 2-2 by beating Mark Johnson after a really titanic struggle 11-5, 11-8, 19-21, 10-12, 12-10 and Rotherham’s Chris Cattell tied the scores at 3-3 by beating Jevon Chan 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10, 12-10. Mark Johnson was in no mood to be denied a second time and he gave Rotherham a 4-3 lead by beating Tim Surrey 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 but it wasn’t enough to earn Rotherham the victory. The match finished all square as Mark Walpole won his second singles encounter, easing home 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 against Richard Element.