WEEKLY UPDATE 25 OCTOBER 2024

Congratulations to Bradford Deaf Centre who retained the Knock Out Competition trophy with a comprehensive win away to Princeville A - who fielded probably their strongest line up of the competition.

Going into the final round of matches, all four teams still had a chance of lifting the trophy - if results went their way. Princeville B did their best at Pudsey but alas it was not enough. Deaf Centre and Pudsey had a slight advantage; going into the week two points ahead of the two Princeville teams.

At Pudsey, Steve Clark and John Bedford (teammates in the St Andrews B team in the Pudsey League) were in opposition, and Steve's break neck pace just got the better of John's more measured style. A 25 point handicap advantage for Steve however had got Pudsey off to a good start. On the other table, fortune favoured Peter Turner, as Sid Ash's better billiards only got him a 28 point victory which was not enough to overcome a 45 point handicap advantage. Peter Allan and Keith Tomlinson kept close order and again it was a 20 point handicap difference that meant advantage to the Princeville man. Paul Devitt, on the other hand, put in a fine performance on the other table, including a break of 37 in defeating Dave Howarth by over 100, which could have been worse as Dave 'kept his cool' to score about half his 61  points in the last 10 minutes or so. Princeville's final two players went into their games thinking that they had a 101 point advantage and therefore only needed to keep close to overcome an 81 point deficit from the first leg. It emerged much later however that something had gone wrong with their adding up (possibly Pudsey's 390 handicap total being seen as 300) so in reality they were only 11 in front. In the battle of the Graham's (Tudor and Bentley) the Princeville man did what he needed and lost by only 8. My game with John Allan started a bit scruffily and in the first 15 minutes or so the only runs over 10 seemed to include some good fortune, and the scores kept close. From then on the better leaves seemed to all come my way, with the mystical change of running never seeming to appear, and I ran a 161 - 78 winner. When the scores were totalled Princeville B were surprised and relieved to learn they had won the match by 86 and therefore  the aggregate point by 5. Any euphoria however was quickly dashed as news came in of a big win for the Deaf Centre at Princeville as they claimed the title

The Deaf Centre turned up with only 5 men, Peter O'Connell being indisposed (Harrogate Town 0 Port Vale 1?) and Ian Ford was chosen by Princeville as the man to play twice for the visitors. His first game against Gareth Kershaw got the Deaf Centre off to a good start, with a 127 - 98 victory (plus a 5 point handicap advantage for good measure). On the other table Princeville A's Brian Haigh started this competition strongly but has faded a bit recently and could not get the better of Brian Robinson who lost by only 5 (handicap advantage 25). Things got even better for the Deaf Centre in the next 2 games as Ihjaz Hussain and Trevor Kershaw finished level (handicap difference 45) and Peter Wood beat Mick Cockcroft by 30, to go with a 50 point handicap advantage. Chris Jarvis was returning from 4 weeks away but still  included a 31 break in beating Jeremy Dixon by 19 but this did little to dent a handicap difference of 45. Ian Ford's second appearance was less successful than his first, as he lost by 12 to Edward Lawson, but the Deaf Centre still won the match by a whopping 184 and with it the trophy. Congratulations to them

The scorecards are of the Scorecards page. I also hope to have a Players table for this competition shortly

Next week is the start of the league competition with 8 three man teams. Pudsey visit Princeville, where the home Institutes B and D teams meet Pudsey A and B respectively. At the Deaf Centre Princeville's A and C teams meet the host A and B teams respectively

Some handbooks are out but due to a few technical issues the others have been delayed and will be out shortly. The Individual Merit and Pairs entry forms are however already in circulation with a closing date of 6th November - which is less than 2 weeks away

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 17 NOVEMBER 2024

There was drama at Princeville on Tuesday, but more off the table than on it, as Peter Turner, was taken ill towards the end of the second set of games - and before he had played. Thankfully, with considerable assistance from members of the visiting Pudsey team, he recovered in time to leave under his own steam at the end of the match, accompanied by family, who had been summoned for support.

Don Hardcastle (93 at the end of the month) has been a regular spectator at Princeville's matches this season and took no persuading to step into the vacancy created by Peter's indisposition, and in a low scoring game with Peter Allan - and with a handicap of 140 - he was the only Princeville player to perform better than handicap. Solid performances from the other Pudsey players, including a big win for Sid Ash, secured an away win by 81 points.

At the Deaf Centre it was the home team who produced the solid displays, with four players performing at or around their handicaps. In a high scoring first game Princeville's Trevor Kershaw had breaks of 42 and 31 but could not hold off Jeremy Dixon who won by 8. Gareth Kershaw was the only one of the first four Princeville A players to outperform handicap, with a score of 123, and a good win against Peter Wood. So the Deaf Centre went into the last two games with a 33 point lead and not much between the handicaps of the last four players. Ian Ford contributed a further 9 in a tight game with Steve Gatenby but Princeville's hero was Edward Lawson who racked up a score of 130 in a 53 point win against Peter O'Connell, to give Princeville A a somewhat unexpected 11 point victory.

So going into the final round of fixtures all four teams have a chance of lifting the trophy. Deaf Centre and Pudsey must be favourites, with 7 points each, but as the Princeville teams are both on 5, neither are out of the hunt, if they can take all 3 points from this coming week's fixtures. The various potential combinations are too numerous to list here but the possibility of a play off is also on the cards.

Pudsey have home advantage against Princeville B while the Deaf Centre visit Princeville A.

The league season starts the following week (29th October) and fixtures are on the Fixtures and Results page. Individual Merit and Pairs entry forms have been issued, and the closing date for all competitions is 6th November. Handbooks are still in the pipeline.

On the wider scene, this coming Sunday (20th October ) sees the northern area qualifying competition for the English Championship, when Mark Hirst and I, from the local area, will be competing and the following weekend the English Open will be held at Landywood in the West Midland, followed by the World Championships through the following week. Again Mark and I will be competing from the local area

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 11th OCTOBER 2024

Bradford Deaf Centre suffered their first defeat of the season this week but remain in pole position to retain the Knock Out competition trophy, with two rounds of fixtures still to play. Their conquerors this week, Princeville B, and Pudsey - who have taken all 5 points off Princeville A over the past two weeks (after collecting none against the Deaf Centre in the first two weeks) - are both two points behind the Deaf Centre and remain in serious contention. Meanwhile, Princeville A, who have only 3 points, will need to win both matches against the Deaf Centre over the next two weeks and hope the other two reams share the points 3 - 2, to get themselves into a play off for the trophy.

At Princeville, Jeremy Dixon and I clocked up 281 points - the highest of the week - but the points were shared in such a way that Jeremy had just a 6 point advantage with handicaps added. A similar situation on the other table, between Keith Tomlinson and Ian Ford, saw the home man hold onto just 4 of his handicap advantage. The middle games swung the march Princeville's way when John Bedford - who had lost heavily to Peter Wood at the Deaf Centre the previous week - turned the tables with an 87 point win (72 with handicaps added), while Graham Bentley also defeated Brian Robinson to leave the home team 129 in front going into the final two games. At halfway the Deaf Centre were up with the requirement as Ihjaz Hussain led Paul Devitt by 20 plus and Peter O'Connell led Peter Turner by roughly double that. Mr O'Connell was not quite so prolific in the second half but still won by 74.  On the other table however Paul Devitt rolled back the years with a fine break of 35 (the highest of the week) and several other runs into the high teens, as he racked up a total of 143, while Ihjaz - who rarely seemed to get to the table and even then with little to play at - was only only able to add a battling 20. So a surprisingly comfortable 116 point win for Princeville B

At Pudsey the home side beat Princeville A by 23 but my brother tells me it was never that close and only late scoring by himself and Edward Lawson made the scores look respectable for the visitors. Princeville A were off to a bad start, Brain Haigh - who apparently had spent his working day breaking up concrete, - failed to find any touch at all and lost a low scoring game by 9 to Graham Tudor; when the handicaps suggested a 30 point margin the other way was more likely. Meanwhile, Pudsey captain Dave Howarth, promoted to number two in the absence of their lower handicap players, did slightly better than handicap against Mick Cockcroft. Speed merchant Steve Clarke had stepped into the Pudsey team for a first Bradford League start, and with Gareth Kershaw - no slouch himself - they accumulated 255 points between them, with Steve just adding to Pudsey's advantage. Sid Ash was also in the Pudsey side, while Princeville had recruited Dave Bowers for a rare appearance due to absences, and Sid similarly added to Pudsey's increasing advantage which was 127 going into the last two games with all handicaps included. Trevor Kershaw and Edward Lawson accumulated the highest scores of the match with 294 between them. Trevor's 71 point win only just overcame Ralph Allan's handicap advantage, while Edward's 34 point win over Peter Allan still left the visitors trailing

All scorecards can now be viewed on the Scorecards page

Bradford Deaf Centre's final two games are against Princeville A starting at the Deaf Centre this week, while Pudsey are matched with the Princeville B who have home advantage first.

League fixtures are on the Fixtures and Results page, while handbooks will be available before the league season starts and Individual Merit and Pairs entry forms are currently being distributed. Closing date for entries is 6th November

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 3rd OCTOBER 2024

A chastening tale to start with this week

I was sat at the Deaf Centre on Tuesday evening feeling very pleased with myself, having made a break of 40 and winning by 118 - when news came in from Princeville that Richard Bowes had made breaks of 94 and 54 and won by 161. Well played Richard. (Talk about being put in my place!!)

Despite the best efforts of the remaining Princeville A players, Richard's big win was sufficient to see Pudsey win by 51 points and record their first victory of the season. At the Deaf Centre however normal service was soon resumed, as Ihjaz Hussain and Peter Wood significantly outperformed their handicaps, and so the Deaf Centre recorded a 57 point win to remain unbeaten with 7 points from their 3 matches. The other 7 points on offer have been shared between the other 3 teams with Princeville A on 3 and Pudsey and Princeville B on 2 each

This coming week sees the return fixtures of those played this week, with both defeated teams close enough to contest the aggregate point if they have a good night. Princeville A will be at Pudsey while the Deaf Centre visit Princeville B

Richard's score of 265 was comfortably the highest of the night (and of the season) and even with his minus 50 handicap applied, he still had the highest score plus handicap this week. Trevor Kershaw scored a creditable, if distant 104, which contributed to the pair recording the highest combined score of the week (by almost 100 points) . Ian Ford's score plus handicap has now exceeded 200 in every game so far, giving him and his opponent the highest combined score plus handicap again this week (assisted this time by Peter Turner) and had he and Peter Allan managed another 8 between them in the first week he would have achieved this distinction in all 3 weeks so far.

I seem to have sorted my techy problems (not sure how) but all 3 weeks scorecards can now be viewed on the Scorecards page. Fixtures for the League competition, starting on 29th October, have also been loaded to the Fixtures and Results page. Handbooks and entry forms for the Individual and Pairs competitions will be available shortly

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary