Sussex News – 2011 Issue Number

Sussex News – 2012 Issue Number 1

Another New year is upon us and we enter what is traditionally one of the busiest times of the Bar Billiards calendar with the Sussex Individual Competitions, Inter League Main and One Day Competitions all being played in addition to the local Leagues and the start of the National Tournaments and County Opens. Good luck to everybody taking part in all matches this year, may all of your pegs be white ones….!! J

Inter League Series 7 was played on Sunday 19^th February and postponements of the matches between Worthing B v Brighton A and Tunbridge Wells v Mid-Sussex A enabled Worthing A to close the gap at the top of Division 1 with a 4-3 home win over Redhill A at the New Sussex Hotel. Martin Smith put the home team in front and although Geoff Jukes levelled the game, wins for Rick Dewdney and Jim Greensted put the home team in control. Wins for Terry Oakley and Dave Constable forced the decider but home captain Kevin Tunstall made sure of the win for his team.

In Division 2, leaders Brighton B visit to 2^nd place Littlehampton was cancelled which enabled Worthing C to draw level at the top of the table thanks to a close 4-3 win against Redhill B at the Old Oak. Martin Greenway (9,460) put the home team in front, Rick Cunningham (6,040) levelled the match, Pete Nicholls (6.380) won a close game with Steve Aylmore (5,380) to restore the lead but wins for Dave Jones (5,750), Colin Green (8,330) and Tony Jenner (8,890) gave the visitors the points, leaving Frank Doyle (7,860) to win the last game in consolation. Horsham had to fight back from 3-1 down to bottom of the table Eastbourne in another close 4-3 win at the Stout House. Colin Southouse (7,320) got the visitors off to a great start and although Dick Cable levelled the match, wins for Peter Payne (8,990) and Chris Haynes put the visitors firmly in charge. John Miller (6,880) pulled Horsham back into the game and a last ball win for home captain Adam Kuzimski forced the decider which Lee Cable (6,580) won the send the visitors home still seeking their first win of the season.

Division 3 leaders Hastings travelled to Mid-Sussex B and won a close game 4-3 at the Hurst Club. Paul Jobbins won the first game for the home side but wins for Roy Harmer and Mike Daw (6,320) gave the visitors the lead. Trevor Rees (9,580) levelled the game and then home skipper Richard Spurrier put them in front, but steady games from Sandy Harmer and Phil Osbourne made sure of the win to keep the visitors 4 points clear at the top of the table.. Brighton C had to wait a while for West Sussex to arrive at the Atlas after the visitors went to the Bib & Tucker by mistake but then had to wait a bit longer to win their first game as Tim Cole and Declan Dynes put the visitors 2-0 up. Steve Hurley pulled a game back for Brighton, but wins for Simon Mills, Ivan Wheal and Martin Cole sent the visitors home happy leaving Mick Pope to hit the best score of the game (5840) in consolation. Lewes made a cross-country journey to Billingshurst with a weakened team and went down 4-3 in a close game at The Limeburners. Colleen Park gave the visitors a good start only for Mick Johnson to level the game. Dave Knight put the visitors back in front, but wins for Chip Sawyer and Ding Johnson gave the home team the advantage and although Ric Bithell (5,830) forced the decider, Tony Temple just fell over the line in a very low scoring last game to keep Billingshurst in second place in the table.

The first National Tournament of the year, the Oxfordshire Open, took place at the Cowley Conservative Club on Saturday 18^th February and Grand Prix Winner Phil Collins repeated his win over Steven Sheard in an all Oxon Final, also reversing the result of last years Final when Steven had won the title. Both players had played superbly all day with Phil just overcoming Nigel Senior in the semi-finals, having beaten Bill Kerr in the quarter-finals and hitting the highest break of the day (19,690) to knock out Kevin Tunstall who had set Phil a challenging target of 18.7k in the second round. Steven beat former champion Tony Martin (Oxon) in the semi-finals, having beaten Dave Ingram the round before, with Mark Brewster (Kent) and Geoff Powell (Oxon) the other two quarter-finalists. Richard Wooton, Ian Lelliott and Phil Osbourne all reached the Last 16 with

Pauline Withey (Oxon) won the Ladies High Break Award with 5,260 and Barry Radford (Hants) won the Plate Competition defeating Bert Lovegrove (Oxon) in the Final, with Ricky Dewdney and Lee Radford (Hants) losing semi-finalists and Bob Osbourne reached the quarter-finals.

Inter League Series 6 was played on Sunday 12^th February and the big clash in Division 1 saw leaders Brighton A beat defending champions Worthing A 6-1 at the Duke of Wellington. Dave Ingram (15,350) and Richard Wooton (7,120) gave the home team a great start and although Jim Greensted (5,940) pulled a leg back for the visitors the home team ran out comfortable winners thanks to good games from Steve Mariner (12,450), Jim Millward (10,350), Nigel Senior (8,150) and Kevin Hall (9,910) to open up a 4 point lead at the top of the League. Mid-Sussex A gained their first victory of the season with a good 5-2 home win over Worthing B at the Hurst Club. Henry Brooks (12,390) put the home team in front and although Adam Squires (8,400) levelled the game, wins for Lorraine Hall, Adam Bateup (7,630), Derek Taylor (11,310) and Pete Edwards gave the home side the points, leaving Dave France (9,680) to win the last game in consolation for the visitors. Redhill A suffered their second consecutive defeat when they lost a high scoring encounter 3-4 against Tunbridge Wells at the Old Oak. Neale Chamberlain (6,520) just beat Geoff Jukes (6,150) in the first game and Doug Phillips (9,520) quickly put the visitors 2-0 up. Gary Powell (7.860) pulled out all of the stops to beat Pete Sainsbury (7,150) in another great game to give the home team a chance, but Vinny Mitchell (8,550) won the next game against the break to maintain the lead for the visitors. Tony Cross (6,990) pulled another game back for the home team against Richard Corbould (6,490), but Martin Russell (7,580) played a steady game to take the points back to Kent leaving Cliff Wayland (13,500) to knock in the best score of the night for the home team.

In Division 2, the match between leaders Brighton B and Redhill B was postponed and Littlehampton took full advantage of this to close the gap to 2 points with a good 6-1 away win at Eastbourne. Steve Hawkes won the opening game for the visitors and although Colin Southouse (8,770) levelled the game some good performances by the visitors saw wins for Steve Beach (6,570), Simon Chant (7,420), Dave Simmonds (7,780), Bill Harrison and Dave Hampton (9,360) took the points back west along the A27. Worthing C strengthened their place of third in the table with a good 5-2 win against Horsham at the New Sussex Hotel. Dave Jones (5,600) and Pete Brown won the first two games for the home team and although Dave Howlett (5,170) pulled a game back for the visitors, wins for Rick Cuningham (10,910), Tony Jenner and James Osbourne made sure of the points for the home team leaving John Miller to take the last in consolation for the visitors.

Division 3 leaders Hastings opened up a 4 point gap at the top of the table when they beat Billingshurst 4-3 at the Ashburnham Arms. Mick Johnson took the opening game for the visitors and Mike Daw (6,740) played superbly to level the match in a close game to beat Chip Sawyer (6,650) who hit the highest losing score so far this year in the Division. Roy Harmer (7,760) put the home team in front and Dave White (10,080) hit the highest Division 3 score of the season so far on his way to victory before Phil Osbourne (7,920) made sure of the points for Hastings. The visitors hit back to take the last 2 legs with good performances from Barry Dumbrill (5,810) and Tony Temple (5,410) to end a high scoring evening. Mid-Sussex B completed the double over West Sussex with a 4-3 away win at the Wickham Arms. Gary Evans won the first for West Sussex only for Paul Jobbins and Ron Sheridan to put the visitors in front. All square again after Martin Cole won the 4^th game, but wins for Ros Appleby and Trevor Rees (6,410) gave the points to the visitors leaving Tim Cole (5,440) to win the last game in consolation for the home team. Lewes had played their match a week early and had beaten Brighton C 4-3, see below.

Ros Appleby and Steve Beach booked their place in the semi-finals of the Sussex Mixed Doubles with a 2-0 win over Jenny Edwards and Rob Hall at the Albion in Brighton and now go through to meet the defending champions Sandra Race and Kevin Hall. Last years Over 50’s Champion, Neil Higgins, also moves through to the semi-finals of that competition with a 2-1 win over Dave Ingram at the Royal Oak in Bognor Regis and Neil will now play Peter Payne who beat Roy Jenkins 2-1 in a local derby match at the Hurst Arms in Eastbourne..In the Sussex Captains Cup, Jim Greensted beat Tony Jenner 2-0 at the Eight Bells in Bolney and will now face Kevin Stoner in the semi-finals.

Lewes played their Division 3 Inter League Series 6 match a week early and won a low scoring battle against Brighton C at the Bridge in Newhaven. Jan Bithell got the home team off to a good start only for Steve Hurley to level the match. Richard Todd won an important game against the break to put the home team back in front and although Mick Pope (4,560) levelled the game and Matt Knight then put the visitors into the lead, a good finish by Ric Bithell and Kevin Stoner (5,600) made sure of the points that move Lewes off the bottom of the table.

England beat a strong Jersey team in the International match played at the Ardington Hotel in Worthing on Saturday 4^th February. At the half way stage, England held a 7-4 lead with Jersey still due to have 6 breaks to come, but some good performances from the England team soon secured the game and they went on to win 25-8 in the end. Almost half the 11 man England team were Sussex players, with captain Kevin Tunstall leading the way with a 3-0 win over Steve Ahier, Nigel Senior also won his match 3-0 while Richard Wooton and debutant Rick Dewdney both came back from losing their first leg to win 2-1. Two other players making their debut were Martin Smith who lost 2-1 to the experienced Dave Gallichan and Tony Woolvin (Hants) who lost to Dennis Helleur, while the rest of the England team were Curt Driver (Kent, won 3-0), Paul Sainsbury (Berks, won 3-0) and the Oxford trio of Leon Beer (won 3-0), Steven Sheard (won 3-0) and Mark Trafford who played well to beat Graham Bisson 2-1. The reserve game saw Dave Ingram beat John De Gruchy 2-1.

Full results and scores from the England v Jersey match are available here.

Littlehampton moved up to second place in Division 2 after a good 5-2 win away against Horsham in their re-arranged Series 4 Inter League match at the Stout House on Sunday 29^th January. Dave Howlett (7,230) gave the home team the lead only for Alan Messer to level the match. Clive Thompson (5,220) maintained his 100% winning record to put the home team back in front but Simon Chant then won a last ball game to make it all square. Inspired by this, Dave Simmonds (6,350), Dave Hampton and Bill Harrison won the last three games for the visitors to secure the won. The re-arranged Series 1 Inter League Division 3 match was also played and saw Mid-Sussex B win their second consecutive match of the season with a 5-2 win over West Sussex at the Hurst Club. Paul Jobbins gave the home team the lead and a good game from Darren Newnham (5,510) quickly made it 2-0. Declan Dynes (6,620) pulled a game back for the visitors but wins for Ron Sheridan (7,010) and Ian Giffen (6,060) made sure of the points for Mid-Sussex leaving Tim Cole (6,890) to get a consolation leg for West Sussex and Darrell Skinner the last game for the home team.

A couple of Individual Competition matches were played at United Services Club in Haywards Heath with two times former Mixed Doubles Champions Hayley and Kevin Tunstall going through to the semi-finals thanks to a 2-0 win over Sam Short and Pete Hartley on Monday 23^rd January. The following evening, Kevin Stoner beat Colleen Park to reach the semi-final of the Sussex Captains Cup.

Tunbridge Wells enjoyed a close 4-3 home win over Worthing B in their re-arranged Series 5 Inter League match at the Constitutional Club. Pete Sainsbury (10,930) got the home team off to a good start and although Adam Squires (5,800) levelled the match, wins for Doug Phillips and Richard Corbould (9,890) put them home team back in front. Tony Lewis and Lorenzo Hickman both won to force the decider which Martin Russell (8,720) won to move his team up above their opponents and up to 4^th place in Division. 1. In Division 2, Redhill B had a close 4-3 home win over Eastbourne at the Old Oak in their re-arranged Series 4 match. Martin Greenway (5,830) put the home team in front and although Colin Southouse (9,150) squared the match, wins for Frank Doyle and Richard Plaw quickly put the home team in control. Peter Payne pulled one leg back for the visitors but Genette Nicholls claimed the win for the home team leaving Chris Turner to take the last leg in consolation for Eastbourne. The result moved Redhill B up to third place, while Eastbourne remain bottom of the Division and are still seeking their first win of the season.

A couple of the Sussex Mixed Doubles have now been played and the 2009 Champions, Bill Kerr and Helen Cleveland progressed to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over last years Runner-Up, Kevin and Bella Stoner at the Hurst Club, despite Bella setting a new Ladies High Away Break target of 11,180 to level the match. Bill and Helen will now meet Lorraine Hall and Jim Greensted who were runners-up in 2009 and 2010, meanwhile the defending champions, Kevin Hall and Sandra Race progressed to the semi-finals with a comfortable 2-0 win over Dave Ingram and Colleen Park at The Locomotive in Littlehampton. In the Sussex Captains Cup, Dave Jones beat Andy Farmer-Wright 2-1 at The Montreal in Brighton to complete the line-up for the Quarter-Finals, where he will now play last years Runner-Up Colin Southouse.

Brighton A maintained their 100% winning record in Division 1 at the half-way stage of the Home & Away Inter League Competition with a convincing 6-1 home win over Redhill A at the Duke of Wellington on Sunday 15^th January. Dave Ingram (11,290) gave the home team a good start and although Geoff Jukes (7,420) levelled the match up wins for Steve Mariner (14,510), Kevin Hall and Chris Tupper (9,050) made sure of the points leaving Nigel Senior (9,170) and Dave Reeves (8,220) to add the icing on the cake. The defending champions, Worthing A, also enjoyed a comfortable 6-1 victory over bottom team Mid-Sussex A at the New Sussex Hotel after Martin Smith and Ian Lelliott (8,680) got them off to a flying start. Henry Brooks pulled a game back for the visitors but it was one way traffic after that with wins for Barry Holt (12,410), Neil Higgins, Kevin Tunstall (10,600) and Jim Greensted (12,950). The match between Tunbridge Wells and Worthing B was postponed until Sunday 22^nd January.

Brighton B also have a 100% record and have opened up a good lead at the top of Division 2 thanks to a hard fought 5-2 win away against Eastbourne. Sandra Race, Bella Stoner and Alan Brackenridge swept the visitors into a 3-0 lead and although Peter Payne pulled the next leg back for the home team with a new Personal Best (11,290), wins for Terry Molloy and Jean Brackenridge (8,670) gave the points to the visitors leaving Stewart Chant (6,880) to take the last leg in consolation for the home team who are still seeking their first win of the season. Redhill B upset the form book with a fine 5-2 home win over high-flying Horsham at the Old Oak. Debz Pearse (6,090) made her debut in Inter League and got the home team off to a good start and although Clive Thompson levelled the match, wins for Richard Plaw, Pete Nicholls (7,310) and Frank Doyle gave the home team victory leaving Lee Cable to pull a consolation leg back for the visitors before Graham Holman (8,680) finished the night off in style for the home side. Worthing C moved up to second place after a 4-3 win away to Littlehampton. Dave Simmonds put the home side in front and Alan Messer (7,950) pulled off a good win against Rick Cunningham (5,510) to double the lead before Pete Brown (6,360) pulled a game back for the visitors. Simon Chant extended the lead again but wins for Steve Aylmore (5,930) and Tony Jenner forced the decider and a good performance by Colin Green (5,640) took the points back to Worthing.

In Division 3, leaders Hastings made the long journey over to West Sussex and came away with a well earned 4-3 win over their rivals at the Wickham Arms. Gary Evans (8,520) gave the home team a good start but wins for Roy Harmer and Mike Daw (5,240) put the visitors in the lead. Martin Cole (9,880) hit the best score of the night to make it all square again, but the games continued to go with the break with wins for Dave White and Denis Cole, leaving Simon Mills to take the last game in consolation for the home team. Brighton C moved above Billingshurst into 2^nd place thanks to a good 4-3 away win at The Limeburners. Steve Holden won the first game for the home side, but wins for Brian Muggeridge, Matthew Knight (8,280), Steve Hurley (6,380) and Mick Pope gave the visitors the points, leaving Mick Johnson and Chip Sawyer to win the last two games in consolation for the home side. Mid-Sussex B enjoyed their first taste of victory this season with a close 4-3 home win over Lewes at the Hurst Club. Paul Jobbins (6,520) put the home team in front, only for Jan Bithell to level the match. Trevor Rees (6,310) and Ron Sheridan (5,800) gave the advantage back to the home team, but wins for Ric Bithell (6,080) and Colleen Park forced the decider which was won by home captain Richard Spurrier.

A few matches were played in the Sussex Individual Competitions and Jim Greensted is the first to reach the semi-finals of the Over 50’s Competition thanks to a 2-0 win over Dave Jones at the Laughing Fish in Isfield, while Colin Southouse reached the quarter-finals of this competition with a good 2-1 win over Paul Barnett at The Watermill in Burgess Hill. Colin also moved through to the Quarter-Finals of the Captains Cup with a 2-0 win over Peter Payne at the Woolpack in Burgess Hill and Colleen Park also progressed to the same stage as Adam Kuzimski has unfortunately had to withdraw from the competition due to other commitments.

The Sussex Mens and Ladies Singles Competitions were held at the Hurst Club on Sunday 8^th January and two former champions regained the titles in style. Mark James won the Mens Singles beating Nigel Senior in a close final, sealing victory with a crucial 7k break in the second leg having taken a narrow lead after the first game. Mark had beaten Geoff Jukes in the semi-final and Bob Osbourne in the quarter-final, while Nigel had beaten Dave Ingram and Terry Molloy at the same stages with Kevin Tunstall and Kevin Hall the other two quarter-finalists. Kevin Tunstall did get some consolation from hitting the highest break (19,050) of the day in the first round and Rob Hall probably caused the biggest shock of the day with an excellent win over Terry Race.

Jan Bithell won the Ladies title thanks to a superb opening break of 7,420 in the Final to beat Bella Stoner after the first leg had left both Ladies almost level, although Bella still managed the highest break of the day with 7,590 in her semi-final against Jenny Edwards with Jean Brackenridge the other losing semi-finalist. Interestingly, the last time that Jan won the Ladies title in the 2001-01 season, a certain Mark James also won the Men’s Title that year…..!!

There was a good turnout for the Sussex Mens and Ladies Doubles Competitions, which were played at the Hurst Club on Saturday 7^th January. The Mens Competition was won by Kevin Tunstall and Martin Cole, who beat Henry Brooks and Dave Ingram on aggregate score after the match finished level on 2 frames each. Kevin and Martin had beaten Nigel Senior and Chris Tupper 3-0 in the semi-finals, while Henry and Dave had also beaten Colin Southouse and Chris Turner 3-0 at the same stage after beating the defending champions, Jim Greensted and Terry Molloy in a close Quarter-Final encounter. Kevin Tunstall also hit the highest break of the day with 17,610 in the second round and the l Mens Plate Competition was won by Dave and Chris Reeves who beat Kevin Stoner and Rob Hall 3-0 in the final.

There were 5 Ladies Pairs and the competition was played on a Round Robin basis with Hayley Tunstall and Chrissie Newson emerging as unbeaten winners with Jean Brackenridge and Sandra Race finishing as runners-up with 3 wins out of four. Chrissie also hit the Ladies High Break of 6,780, narrowly beating Jean’s break of 6,630.

Dates for your Diary in 2012…..

March 9-11 AEBBA Pairs, Queens Hotel, Bournemouth

March 11/12 Sussex Inter League Series 8

March 24 Sussex One Day Inter League (B&C Teams), Roffey Club, Horsham (To be confirmed)

March 25 Sussex One Day Inter League (Division 2), Roffey Club, Horsham (To be confirmed)

March 31 Sussex One Day Inter League (Ladies), Roffey Club, Horsham (To be confirmed)

April 1^st Sussex One Day Inter League (Division 1), Roffey Club, Horsham (To be confirmed)

April 1^st/2^nd Sussex Inter League Series 9

April 15 BIOC Ladies, Salfords Club, Redhill

April 22/23 Sussex Inter League Series 10

May 5 Guernsey Pairs, Les Rocquettes Hotel, Guernsey

May 5 Guernsey v England International, Les Rocquettes Hotel, Guernsey