WEEKLY UPDATE 21 NOVEMBER 2024

It was a bad week for the Princeville teams this week, with three losing 3 - 1 and the D team scrambling a 2 - 2 draw.

League leaders Princeville A got off to a good start at the Deaf Centre when Edward Lawson beat Graham Lambert. Things then changed dramatically as Ian Ford recorded a mammoth 265 in beating Gareth Kershaw by over 100, and Jeremy Dixon then included a break of 30, in beating Trevor Kershaw by another 50, to secure a 3-1 win for Deaf Centre B. On the other table Princeville C also picked up a point in the first game, as Keith Tomlinson beat the returning Peter O'Connell (nice to see him back fit to play) by 11, but the middle game again proved crucial, as Brian Robinson racked up 242 in beating Graham Bentley by 78. Ihjaz Hussain and Paul Devitt actually scored a similar number of points each but Ihjaz's 40 point handicap advantage sealed a 3 - 1 win for Deaf Centre A.

Pudsey B replaced Princeville A at the top of the table, following up their 4-0 success last week with a 3-1 away win at Princeville B. Dave Howarth got them off to a strong start with a confident display against an out of form John Bedford. Sid Ash, who is yet to lose in this campaign, comfortably pulled back a 50 point handicap deficit to beat Peter Turner by 21, and so the aggregate point was already settled before Richard Bowes and I started the last game. Or was it  - with the aid of a 35 break I led by about 90 with around 20 minutes to go, but Richard came back with a break of 39  to lose by only 14 at the end. On the other table Princeville D were off to a great start, as Steve Gatenby beat Peter Allan by 43, and an early 36 break by Mick Cockcroft saw him almost on terms with Ralph Allan with plenty of time to go, but Ralph then did what Ralph does and was still 12 in front at the bell. I didn't see too much of the last game, as I was playing on the other table, but John Allan beat Chris Jarvis by 17, with Steve Gatenby effectively collecting both Princeville D's points, as they secured the aggregate by 14 for a 2 - 2 score line

This coming week the Deaf Centre teams visit Pudsey, with league leaders Pudsey B entertaining Deaf Centre A, while Pudsey A play Deaf Centre B. At Princeville this week it's a true derby week, with bottom of the table Princeville B at 'home' to second placed Princeville A, although both play on the same table. On the other table it's the C team who have notional  'home advantage' against the D team.

The scorecards can be viewed on the Scorecards page and I've updated all the usual tables and also updated the Merit and Pairs page with the Billiards Pairs Preliminary Round draw (although I know it won't be played on the advertised date) and I've also listed the 16 players who have entered the Individual Billiards and Snooker competitions, along with the snooker handicaps

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

WEEKLY UPDATE 15 NOVEMBER 2024

 Princeville C's stay at the top of the league table proved to be short lived, as they went down 3 - 1 to Princeville A, who replace them in top spot. Pudsey B had what Dave Howarth described as a  'somewhat surprise' 4 - 0 win against Pudsey A, which puts then in second spot, while after being 2 points adrift at the bottom last week, Princeville B defeated Princeville D 3 - 1 to draw level with Deaf Centre B, who lost 3 - 1 to their mid table stablemates Deaf Centre B.

Sid Ash finished on 227 at Pudsey, while at Princeville Gareth Kershaw bettered that with 231, both scores being the highest this season by more than 10 points. Gareth's opponent Graham Bentley was also in scoring mood, with 196, and their combined score of 427 was the first over 400 this season.

Gareth's win got Princeville A on their way, and Edward Lawson's 32 point win over Keith Tomlinson meant that the aggregate point was never in doubt, despite Paul Devitt picking up a point for the C team with a 28 point win over Trevor Kershaw. On the other table, I got the B team off to a good start, as an early break of 47 put me in command of the game with Chris Jarvis. John Bedford fell by 9 to Mick Cockcroft and then in a nail-biting finish Peter Turner's 4 points at the end saw him finish a single point in front of Steve Gatenby, for a 3-1 win to the B team.

Pudsey A might have regretted using both tables for the Pudsey derby, as Graham Tudor edged out Ralph Allan, to go with Sid Ash's comfortable victory over Peter Allan. I don't know which table John Allan chose for the final game, except that it must have felt like the wrong one, as Dave Howarth completed the whitewash for the B team with a 63 point win. The Deaf Centre got things off to an early start this week, by playing their derby fixtures on Monday, but the A team were still one short with Brian Robinson again called on twice. For the first time he pulled off two victories, against Ian Ford and Graham Lambert, but Jeremy Dixon salvaged a point for the B team, beating Ihjaz Hussain by 9.

After two consecutive derby weeks at Princeville, the B and D teams will be happy to welcome visitors this week, in the shape of Pudsey B and A respectively. The other two Princeville teams will visit the Deaf Centre where Deaf A entertain Princeville C and Deaf B play league leaders Princeville A

This week's scorecards can be viewed on the Scorecards page and all the other regular pages have been updated

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 WEEKLY UPDATE 8 NOVEMBER 2024 (Episode 2 - see below for Episode 1)

Two weeks into the new league program and last season's wooden spoonists - Princeville C - lead the table with 6 points from a possible 8. Last season's champions Pudsey A are in joint third, on 4.5 points. In fact 4 of the 8 teams include a half point, after two drawn games in week 2 (There were none in the whole of last season). Ralph Allan got Pudsey A's half point, as he and Brian Robinson finished level, while at Princeville it was Trevor Kershaw (A team) and Chris Jarvis (D team) who finished all square

At Princeville, Steve Gatenby picked up a full point for the D team, beating Gareth Kershaw, but Edward Lawson's 38 point win against Dave Bowers, also secured the aggregate point for the A team, who won 2.5 to 1.5. On the other table Princeville C went top, defeating Princeville B 4 - 0. Two tight finishes saw the C team just 15 points in front going into the final game, but an in form Graham Bentley (3 wins from 3 games in little more than a week across both leagues ) beat John Bedford by 44 to seal all 4 points for the C team

At Pudsey, Peter Allan was the A teams winner against Brian Robinson - who was playing twice again this week due to Deaf Centre player shortages, while Ihjaz Hussain's 65 point win, against John Allan, saw visitors Deaf Centre A pick up the aggregate point and a 2.5 to 1.5 victory. On the other table Pudsey B squeezed an 8 point aggregate win against Deaf Centre B. Graham Tudor beat Ian Ford by 10 and Sid Ash beat Graham Lambert by 43, while Jeremy Dixon just failed to overhaul the 51 point deficit in the final game beating Dave Howarth by 45 - so a 3-1 win for Pudsey B

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary.

 WEEKLY UPDATE 8 NOVEMBER 2024

Just a short update this week, as I'm away to play in a couple of tournaments in Northampton this week end

I have however posted a summary below of the Minutes from the League Committee Meeting held this week which includes the Pairs Preliminary Round Draw. No Billiards or Snooker Prelims as there were 16 entries for each. I've also updated the following pages

Fixtures and Results

League Table

Players Table (not that it shows much after just 2 games)

Handicaps (to include new registration N Paul)

Scorecards

It's derby week all round on 12th November. At the Deaf Centre it's B v A. At Pudsey it's A v B and at Princeville it's A v C and D v B

I hope to post the usual reports early next week time permitting

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

 SUMMARY OF MINUTES FROM LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETING 6 NOVEMBER 2024

1. Minutes of August meeting approved

2. No matters arising, but Deaf Centre congratulated on winning Knock Out competition for third year in succession, that is all seasons while the competition has been played in it's current format

3.Treasurer reported a balance in hand, before the meeting, of £54.78 having paid an outstanding invoice from last season only recently received

4. Merit entries - Billiards 16, Snooker 16 Pairs 9 - a reduction from last season.. Snooker handicaps were reviewed but as there was no need for a preliminary round in the individual competitions, draws were deferred to the January meeting. One Pairs match was required on 17 December and the players drawn were J Bedford & S Gatenby v R Bowes & R Allan. As two of the players are not available on that date they will need to arrange to play before the next round on 25 March. (A full list of end of season dates is now shown on the Fixtures page)

5. Deaf Centre registered N Paul. As last year, handicap will be Rec 110 with an asterisk for review after 4 appearances

6. Brian Robinson (not present) had advised both the Chairman and Treasurer that Deaf Centre A would have difficulty fielding a team in December. As both matches are against Princeville teams, the Secretary would contact him and try to sort out alternatives. Possibly Monday's maybe in the New Year (Subsequently discovered this only relates to one match on 10 December)

7. Date of next meeting Wednesday 8th January at the Deaf Centre

 WEEKLY UPDATE 2 NOVEMBER 2024

First week of the league fixtures and all eight teams picked up points, with three 3 - 1 results and a 2-2 draw. Who exactly got what at the Deaf Centre is not entirely clear but time will tell.

The fixture list and handbooks (for those who have them) showed 

Deaf Centre A v Princeville A and Deaf Centre B v Princeville C

The scorecards showed

Deaf Centre A v Princeville C and Deaf Centre B v Princeville A

The team selected as Princeville A were listed under Princeville C, while the team selected as Princeville C were listed under Princeville A

Last seasons Deaf Centre A were shown under Deaf Centre B and vice versa

The names on next week's scorecards may provide some clarity but the early league table and results page should be viewed with some caution at this stage.

On the tables Deaf Centre had reserve Graham Lambert in one team and Brian Robinson playing twice to cover a vacancy in the other. Gareth Kershaw posted on Facebook that although his handicap is shown as 85 on the scorecard he played off 80, which is the correct handicap (well he would wouldn't he) but as he won by 42 it didn't matter much anyway. Edward Lawson reported that there was a mix up with scores at the start of his game (and as he lost by 5 he clearly thought didn't work to his advantage). Among this carnage Trevor Kershaw appears to have been on top form, defeating Ihjaz Hussain by 99 and including a break of 40, which makes him the early leader in the race for the highest break prize

In the other match Graham Bentley got the other Princeville team off to a good start, beating Ian Ford by 32, and Keith Tomlinson beat Graham Lambert by 22 to give Princeville a substantial lead, but Jeremy Dixon then claimed two points for the Deaf Centre team beating Paul Devitt by 56 to squeeze the aggregate point by just 2. (Late Correction. Since posting this I've been told that Graham Bentley and Ian Ford actually played last, with Princeville 34 behind, and so it was Graham's win by 32 that came up just short. Still a 2-2 result though) 

At Princeville things were a little more straightforward, although Dave Bowers and Don Hardcastle had been drafted in and I didn't arrive until the tea break, by which time John Bedford had lost heavily to Ralph Allan (again) in their third meeting of the season already, and on the other table Chris Jarvis had recorded a 34 break in beating Richard Bowes by 49. Don Hardcastle hung onto 9 of his 54 start against Peter Allan, to secure Princeville B's only point of the night, before I lost to John Allan in a low scoring game on a table that felt as if it had had the sprinklers on. The game between Dave Bowers and Graham Tudor seemed to keep the spectators entertained in a variety of ways, with Dave coming out on top by 36. In the last game however, Dave Howarth gave a sterling performance in beating Mick Cockcroft by 74 to almost steal an unlikely aggregate point for Pudsey B, the final deficit being only 11.

So last seasons champions Pudsey A are among the early leaders as one of 3 teams with 3 points apiece

In this coming week's fixtures the Deaf Centre go to  Pudsey where it's A v A and B v B, while it's derby day at Princeville with A v D and C v B. Just a reminder to captains to record breaks over 20 for players on handicaps of 85 and above - while for the rest of us it's still breaks over 30.

On Wednesday (6th Novemver0 there is a League Committee Meeting at Bradford Deaf Centre at 7.30pm. The draws will be made for the preliminary round matches in the Individual and Pairs competitions, so get your entries in to your league representatives (or to me) before then

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary