WEEKLY UPDATE 15 DECEMBER 2024

Only 3 matches to report on this week, as the fixture between Princeville D and Deaf Centre A has been postponed until Monday 6th January. Also another death to report on - this time one of our Life Vice Presidents and former Eastbrook player Trevor Bowman. There is a separate tribute to Trevor, and his involvement with the league, immediately below this weekly update.

League leaders Pudsey B,  with five consecutive wins after a first match loss, topped and tailed the first half of the season with defeats when Princeville C defeated them 3 -1 on their own table. Keith Tomlinson curbed Sid Ash's high scoring run and restricted him to his lowest total of the season (181)  but Keith only scored 47 points himself to finish on 152 and a 29 point defeat. Graham Bentley must have scored much more freely however, as he racked up 219 to Graham Tudor's 151. In the other game, home captain Dave Howarth missed out by 16 against Paul Devitt, to give the visitors a 3 - 1 win and move them into second place in the table 3 points behind the leaders. Princeville A went into the week in second place but were unable to take advantage of Pudsey B's slip up, going down 4 - 0 for the second week in succession, this time against Pudsey A whose inconsistent form has seen them sandwich two 4 - 0 home wins around a 4  - 0 away defeat. Peter Allan upped the bottom division highest break to 27, in his game with Edward Lawson, although his the winning margin was only 13. The second game was even closer, as Ralph Allan edged out Gareth Kershaw by just 2. Captain John Allan however had a more comfortable 46 point victory over Trevor Kershaw as Pudsey A moved up to third in the table, at least until the postponed fixture is played in January

At Princeville it was the bottom two teams - Princeville B and Deaf Centre B - who were in opposition, but it didn't look much like it as the Deaf Centre romped away to a 4 - 0 victory. John Bedford's poor run of form continued, as he lost to Ian Ford, and then with both tables available, the other two games were played at the same time, allowing Don Hardcastle to play on his preferred table. He might have wished he'd stuck to the teams regular table however as Graham Lambert recorded his first win of the season beating Don by 12 (Well done Graham). In the other game, I never got to grips with an in form Jeremy Dixon, who sits high in the Players Table. My unfinished break of 41 at the bell still left me 53 behind, when I had needed a win of similar proportions to secure the aggregate point.

There are no matches this coming week, as the scheduled Pairs Preliminary round game has been postponed until the New Year, and so the next update will not be until after the first set of fixtures in 2025, which are due to be played on Tuesday 7th January. Committee members are reminded that there will be a League Committee meeting on Wednesday 8th January at the Deaf Centre 

In the meantime can I wish all players and visitors to the web site a very Merry Christmas and  a Happy New Year

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary

                                                  T. G. (TREVOR) BOWMAN 1952 - 2024

Trevor started to play billiards as a teenager at Prospect Methodist, and when the church closed and merged with Eastbrook Hall the billiard teams, including Trevor, moved there with them. When Eastbrook closed they set up Eastbrook Sport and Social Club and found premises in what had been Bradford Moor Library in Planetrees Road at Laisterdyke. When that building was acquired by an adjoining business for redevelopment they moved back to Prospect (by then a mosque) and somewhere along that journey Trevor became treasurer, a post he held until the team disbanded in 2021, having subsequently played as tenants of Gt Horton Cricket Club and then Gt Horton Conservative Club.

I don't know when Trevor first played in the Prospect team, as I only have scorecards going back to when I became league secretary in 1967, but one of the earliest cards I have, dated 24 October 1967, shows him, then aged 15, at number 6 in the Prospect second team and winning his match 120 - 114 against Princeville's Steve Roper, who was also 15 at the time. The league had a very different age profile at the time and the following season Prospect entered a third time - and looking at the names on their scorecards it looks as if all six players were probably still teenagers.

Trevor was appointed a Life Vice President of the league in 2009 after playing for over 40 years. He also played with Eastbrook in the Pudsey Sunday School League when they also had a team in that league.

Trevor was never a star player and his handicap was never lower than a steady 80 but he was always a sporting opponent and one who was always happy to fraternise with the opposition. Poor health restricted his appearances in recent years and probably one of his last games was also against Princeville in the Pudsey League about 10 years ago, when he had to concede part way through, when his diabetes meant he suddenly couldn't see the length of the table. (About an hour later however his vision had cleared and he declared himself fit to drive home!!)

RIP Trevor

Trevor's funeral will beheld at Scholemoor on Monday 6th January 2025 at 12.40pm

 WEEKLY UPDATE 6 DECEMBER 2024

Some sad news to start with this week. The funeral of former Gt Horton player Pete Bennett took place yesterday (Thursday) following his recent death. Pete played most of his billiards in the South Bradford League, initially for Lidget Green Liberals, and then, as clubs in the Lidget Green area closed, he moved to Gt Horton Conservatives. It was after the Gt Horton Meths team moved from the church to to the Conservative Club that he started to appear in the Sunday School League, mainly in the period 2008 to 2016, playing over 100 games in total - but even when not involved in matches he could often be seen in the billiard room at the club. RIP Pete.

Two more 4 - 0's this week, both at Princeville. Princeville A, who had won 4 - 0 the previous week, went down 4 - 0 to league leaders Pudsey B, while Pudsey A, who had won 4 - 0 the previous week, went down by the same score to Princeville C. At the Deaf Centre both home teams went down 3 - 1, to Princeville B and D respectively.

Princeville A were missing top board man Trevor Kershaw, while Pudsey B were strengthened by another appearance from Richard Bowes, and it proved a telling combination. Princeville A were off to a bad start, when Edward Lawson went down by 74 to the high scoring Sid Ash. Brian Haigh, making his first league start of the season, lost a tight game with Dave Howarth by 7 but Richard Bowes included four breaks over 30 in a score of 227, against stand in top board man Gareth Kershaw - who scored 100 points himself in getting to 180. So the league leaders Pudsey B march on as we head towards the half way point of the season

Keith Tomlinson got Princeville C off to a winning start, by beating Peter Allan by 14, and he was supported by Graham Bentley, who beat Ralph Allan by 16, and Paul Devitt, who included a break of 45 in a 7 point win over John Allan

It seemed to be the week for top board men going missing, as Jeremy Dixon was not available at the Deaf Centre after a hospital procedure (don't ask - but some of his teammates seemed to be mildly amused!). With no reserve available, Ian ford was called upon to play twice and started with a win against Princeville D's stand in at the top of the order - Mick Cockcroft. For the next game, Graham Lambert without a win all season playing off 120, must have been a bit surprised to find himself  conceding a 20 point handicap difference to Peter Turner, but gradually he pulled back the difference to be more or less level going into the final few shots. I have to admit that I was sat a long way from the action but it looked as if Peter missed a simple pot red into the baulk pocket leaving the red ball on the pocket lip, with the yellow almost touching it and snookering Graham. Graham took the plant to pot the red but ran his ball  up towards the middle pocket, with yellow ball staying in the pocket mouth, but instead of potting it, he chose to play the red which he missed. Cue the bell and Peter had won by a single point. I didn't see a lot of the last game, as I was playing, but Ian Ford and Steve Gatenby started level and seemed to remain close for much of the game. With time running out my attention was focused elsewhere (see below) but the final score showed that Steve had won by 21 and with it took the aggregate point for Princeville D by just 4 points

First up in the match between Deaf Centre A and Princeville B were Peter O'Connell and Don Hardcastle. Don started 55 in front on handicap, and while Peter looked at one stage as if he might overhaul the deficit, the game ended with him still 12 points in arrears. In the next game Princeville's John Bedford, without a win all season, looked a bit more like his normal self, while opponent Brian Robinson struggled throughout, with John recording a first win of the campaign by a healthy 40 points. This left the team 52 in front as I attempted to overcome an 80 point handicap difference against Ihjaz Hussain. An early 36 break gave me cause for optimism but the game then became more notable for shots missed on both sides, until going into the last 2 or 3 minutes I had a good opportunity with 32 points to make up. With the break on 26 I played a loose canon, which lost position, missed a tricky middle pocket pot red and Ihjaz held the table to win by 10 points.

So Pudsey B now lead he table by four and a half points, from both Princeville A and Princeville C ,while Princeville B are joined by Deaf Centre B at the bottom only another five and a half points away. This coming week it's Pudsey A against Princeville A and league leaders Pudsey B against Princeville C. Princeville B entertain Deaf Centre B, while the match between Princeville D and Deaf Centre A has been postponed until January, as several players start their Christmas holidays early.

This week's scorecards can be seen on the Scorecards page and all the usual tables are up to date, including the Past Winners page which I've brought up to date this week

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary 

 

 WEEKLY UPDATE 1ST DECEMBER 2024

Apologies for a rather late update this week - although all the tables (the important bit!) - were updated last Friday morning

Two 4 - 0 scorelines last week - after only two in the first 5 weeks of the season. Princeville A's 4 - 0 win takes them just half a point behind league leaders Pudsey B, who won 3 - 1 at home to Deaf Centre A. There is then a 3 point gap to a crowded mid table, with Princeville B 2 points adrift at the bottom. Princeville B's 4 - 0 defeat was their second of the season, but having drafted in Don Hardcastle, he almost prevented the whitewash, as he only lost the last game by 3 and his final scoring shot of 3 could so easily have been 6. John Bedford's defeat to Gareth Kershaw was only by 6, while his dad had a more comfortable looking win against me, but Princeville A, who spent most of last season in the lower reaches of the league, are looking like serious contenders this time around

The other match at Princeville was a 3 - 1 win for the D team against the C team, with Graham Bentley picking up the C teams point, while Chris Jarvis and Paul Devitt traded 30+ breaks before Chris came out on top. Pudsey A's Peter Allan recorded the first 20+ break (21) in the new 85 and above handicap category but there still hasn't been a 30 break in the middle range of handicaps 40 -80, although somebody has tried to draw attention to Ralph Allan by recording three 20+ break on this week's scorecard, despite his handicap being 65. (Nice try, but they don't qualify). Ralph and Peter Allan both scored over 220 in a 4 - 0 win for Pudsey A against Deaf Centre B, while Sid Ash recorded the highest total of the week with 226 (his third over 200 in 4 matches, plus a 198) as the league leaders won 3 - 1 against Deaf Centre A,  with Ihjaz Hussain picking up the visitors point and Brian Robinson being only 6 short against Graham Tudor

In this week's penultimate round of fixtures before Christmas, there is a top of the table clash at Princeville, where league leaders Pudsey B visit second placed Princeville A,  while Princeville C entertain Pudsey A. In the fixtures at the Deaf Centre, the A team play Princeville B, and the B team play Princeville D. While most teams have another fixture to play before Christmas, Deaf Centre A and Princeville D will be signing off for a month, as 3 players who would normally be playing in this fixture the following Tuesday, are unavailable and the match has therefore been postponed until January

Stephen Kershaw

Secretary