Sussex News
With the start of the new year, I thought it would be nice to have an area devoted to the latest news of matches played, competitions and results affecting teams and players within Sussex…… contributions will be welcomed with any items of interest of what is happening within Bar Billiards in Sussex.
So, starting with the most recent results and working backwards since the start of 2010……
The re-arranged Sussex Individual Competitions took place at the Hurst Club over the last weekend of March and there were some very exciting and high scoring matches thanks to the excellent tables that had been set up by Graham Sparksman and several helpers. Many thanks must also go to Tony Jenner for all of his hard work in running the competition (with plenty of Admin help from Colleen Park, which gave Jean a weekend off!), Nigel Senior for providing the playing schedules, the Hurst Club for their superb hospitality and Colin Robbins (and Brenda of course) for the excellent food which, as always, was reasonably prices and plentiful! Inevitably, lots of other people also helped and….. as I always forget to thank people individually….. I will thank you all collectively now!
The Men’s Singles was won by reigning Sussex Masters Champion Richard Wooton in a close final against last years Runner-Up Terry Race. Richard took a lead of 10,740 into the second leg, Terry managed to just overhaul that before breaking down on 11,160. Richard seized the opportunity and played the table out for 3,560 to seal his victory. In the semi-finals, Richard had overcome a deficit of just under 10k against Kevin Tunstall, while Terry had beaten Dave Ingram. On a day when there were 23 breaks in excess of 10k, Richard also managed the highest break of 20,760 in his quarter-final match against Nick Brown, with Kevin Hall, Jim Greensted and Roger Taylor the other quarter-finalists.
Bella Stoner won her 3rd Ladies Singles title, beating Gina Sherratt in another close match. Bella took a lead of just under 5k from her break game into the 2nd leg, and although Gina won the leg well a lost break of 3k cost her dearly. In the semi-finals, Bella just overcame defending champion Jean Brackenridge (10,360 to 10,070) while Gina beat Sandra Race.
It had still been a good weekend for Jean and Sandra though as they did retain their Ladies Doubles Title, beating Ros Appleby and Helen Cleveland 3-0 in the Final on the Saturday. Jean & Sandra won both of their Round Robin Group matches against Bella Stoner & Sheena Wood and Jenny Edwards & Lorraine Hall, while Ros & Helen had also won their matches against Gina Sherratt & Hayley Tunstall and Colleen Park & Nikki Hinkins earlier in the day.
Barry Holt and Dave France are the new Sussex Men’s Doubles Champions after beating Alan Messer and Mal Spier 3-1 in the Final. Barry & Dave had beaten Nigel Senior and Jim Greensted on aggregate in a high scoring semi-final, while Alan & Mal beat Charlie Cooper and Edge Butler 3-0 in their match. Nigel at least had the consolation of the highest break of the day, with 18,450.
Although there were lots of exciting and close games over the whole weekend, possibly the match of the weekend was the Men’s Doubles Plate Final, which saw Neil Higgins & Nick Brown playing Mark James and Tony Lewis in an all Worthing Final. With the first 3 games all going with the break, Neil and Nick took a 2-1 lead and 16,700 aggregate score lead into the last game. Mark James to break in the last and with the clock running down he was on track to catch up, but missed a split and came off on 16,650. The bar dropped and all 4 players had nervous visits to the table, but it was Nick Brown who cleared one ball and then popped the last into the 100 hole to seal the win for Neil and himself. A terrific game to watch and a great shame that one pair had to lose. The losing semi-finalists were Terry Molloy Steve Aylmore (Brighton) and Martin Crowhurst and Nigel Pead who were among a good contingent over from Eastbourne for the weekend, great to see some new faces at the Competitions.
Series 8 of the Inter League competition saw Redhill A maintain top spot in Division 1 with a win at home over Littlehampton, who are now relegated. Jason Wadsworth top scored with 8,330 for the home team and solid scoring from Gary Powell, Geoff Jukes, Jim Greensted and Dave Constable took them to a 5-2 victory, Steve Beach and Dave Simmonds replying for the visitors. Brighton A moved into 2nd place, thanks to a 4-3 win over defending champions Worthing A. Jim Millward started the evening off well for them with 17,880 and Richard Wooton put them 2 up with the important win against the break. Ian Lelliott (11,760) pulled a game back for the visitors only for Steve Mariner (9,800) to make it 3-1 against Kevin Tunstall (9,030) who just ran out of time chasing his score. Neil Higgins (8,460) and Chris Lawman (13,400) made it 3-3, but Nigel Senior clinched the win with 13,240 in the decider. Tunbridge Wells won 5-2 away to Worthing B, which ensured their Division 1 status for next season, no scores available from this match yet.
In Division 2, Lewes pulled off a shock 5-2 win against leaders Horsham at the Roffey Club. Rick Dewdney started the match off well for the home team with the highest score of the night, but consecutive wins for Jan Bithell (6,020), Darren Newnham (5,690), Dave Todd (5,420) and Ric Bithell (4,700) gave the visitors the match. John Miller pulled a game back for the home side, before Richard Todd took a close last game for Lewes. Billingshurst moved level on points at the top, but stay in second place, with a 5-2 win away at Worthing C, Steve Eely top scored with 5,750 for the visitors with Gina Sherratt (4,510) top scorer for the home team in a generally low scoring match. Brighton B move up to third place after winning their 4th consecutive match with a hard fought 4-3 win over Mid-Sussex A at the Hurst Club. Jean Brackenridge (9.610) top scored for Brighton with Rob Hall (7.010) replying for the home team, but Doug Dawson won a close decider to secure the points for the visitors.
Eastbourne moved a step closer to the Division 3 title thanks to a 4-3 home win against Mid-Sussex B, which leaves them 4 points clear at the top with just 2 games left. Chris Turner started the evening off well for them with 7,670, some close games followed and it was left to Dave Smith (6,590) to win the decider. Paul Jobbins top scored for the visitors with 7,060. Brighton C move off the bottom of the table thanks to a 5-2 win over Redhill B at the Montreal, Steve Hurley topped scored for the team with 8,510 and good scores from Gary Mechan, Mick Pope and Bob Mechan with Frank Doyle and Genette Nicholls winning for the visitors.
Redhill A moved to the top of the Inter League Division 1 table with a hard-fought 4-3 win over title rivals Brighton A in their re-arranged Series 7 match at the Old Oak. Geoff Jukes gave them a great start hitting 13,360 in the first game, but Nigel Senior (11,250) and Steve Mariner hit back to give Brighton the lead. Gary Powell levelled the match but Brighton skipper Richard Wooton put the visitors back in the lead again with 7,090. The 6th game proved to be the turning point in the match with Dave Constable levelling the match against the break with a narrow win (5,750 to 5,610) over Jim Millward and Terry Oakley held the final break game with 6.760 to seal the win.
Moving into March and a number of Sussex players made the trip down to the Queens Hotel in Bournemouth for the British Open Pairs. Richard Wooton and Dave France beat defending champions Nigel Senior and Chris Reeves in the Quarter-Finals before losing to Keith Sheard and Mark Trafford who went on to win the Competition by beating World Pairs Champions Phil Collins and Leon Beer in an all-Oxford Final. The two Kevins (Tunstall & Hall) reached the Quarter-Finals of the Plate Competition which was won by Syl Murphy and Merv Yearwood from Bucks.
Both of the cancelled Division 2 matches from Series 7 of the Inter League Competition were played on 28th February and Billingshurst closed the gap on Horsham to just 2 points with a 4-3 victory of bottom of the table Lewes, no scores available from this match yet. Mid-Sussex A move up to 3rd place with a close 4-3 win away to Worthing C, despite Adam Squires giving the home side the perfect start with his first ever competitive 10k. Gina Sherratt put Worthing C 3-1 up with a good 6k+ score, but the visitors then won the last 3 games with Pete Edwards top-scoring with 5,970 for them in the decider against previously unbeaten Rick Cunningham.
Brighton completed the “Double” on Sunday 28th February when their A Team won the Division 1 One Day Inter League Cup at the Roffey Club, winning all 4 of their matches including a hard fought 8-6 victory over runners-up Worthing. Redhill finished in a comfortable 3rd position, leaving Tunbridge Wells and Horsham to battle it out for the relegation spot. A 7-7 draw between the two teams meant that they went into the last series exactly level, but Tunbridge Wells took 5 legs from Worthing and Horsham could only manage 3 legs against Brighton which left them in last place and meant that Brighton won the Cup by just 3 points from Worthing.
Nigel Senior (Brighton) topped the averages with 7 wins out of 8 at an average of 8,765 including the highest score of the day with 16,860 in his final Game. Steve Mariner (Brighton) and Barry Holt (Worthing) also won 7 games, with Dave Ingram and Chris Lawman (both Worthing), Terry Oakley (Redhill), Richard Wooton and Chris Tupper (both Brighton) winning 6 games.
Nigel (58 wins) and Steve (57 wins) remain at the top of the Overall One Day Records, with three Worthing players, Ian Lelliott (52 wins), Neil Higgins (also 52 wins) and Barry Holt (49) close behind them.
I’m sure that everybody will join me in saying a very big THANK YOU to Jean & Alan Brackenridge for all of their hard work in running the One Day Competitions over the past two weekends, also to Graham Sparksman (and helpers) who set up the tables which seemed to offer a fair challenge to all of the players and Dave Alder and the AEBBA who supplied the tables and did a great job collecting them while under considerable pressure from the “dancers” who arrived on the Sunday evening and seemed unhappy that we were still playing! Colin Robbins and Brenda, as always, provided an excellent range of food at reasonable prices and the Roffey Club Staff for their hospitality.
Brighton Ladies put in a terrific performance to win the Ladies One Day Competition at Roffey Club on Saturday 27th February, winning all 5 of their matches 4-1. Jean Brackenridge led from the front, winning her 5 matches and finishing with an average of 7,754 and also hitting the highest score of the day of 10,150. Jean was well supported by the rest of her team with Sandra Race, Bella Stoner and Sheena Wood also undefeated on the day. Redhill A were runners-up with Denise Wills and Genette Nicholls both winning 4 games, while Lorraine Hall won all 5 of her matches and helped Mid-Sussex finish in third place. Worthing A, Redhill B and Worthing B occupied the remaining places on the day.
Jean also leads the overall Ladies One Day Record with an incredible 40 wins from 41 matches, her only defeat coming in 2008 to Lynne Moyes-Robb of Mid-Sussex. Lorraine Hall (34 wins), Denise Wills (30) and Gina Sherratt (Worthing – 29 wins) are the nearest players to Jean.
Littlehampton won Division 2 of the One Day Competitions at the Roffey Club, winning 4 of their 5 games and finishing with 24 points. Runners-Up Mid-Sussex were the only team to beat them and ended up just 2 points behind with 3rd place Billingshurst the only team to beat them. Eastbourne, Lewes and West Sussex occupied the remaining positions. Henry Brooks (Mid-Sussex) topped the individual averages and had the highest score (10,530) of the day with Colin Southouse (Eastbourne), Steve Beach (Littlehampton) and Chase Newman (Lewes) also winning all 5 of their matches. Steve Eely (Billingshurst) with 10,290 was the only other player to top the 10k, although Martin Cole (West Sussex) got very close with 9,910. A special mention must go to Daniel Wheal who, aged just 10 years old, represented West Sussex and must be the youngest player to have played in an Inter League Competition. Although he lost all of his games, he gave several of his opponents a real fright and everybody who watched him play were impressed with his choice of shots and the way that he played all of his matches with a smile on his face….. a great prospect for the future, look out Nigel!
Daniel does have a long way to go though to catch Colin Southouse who leads the overall Division 2 Records with 43 wins, Graham Sparksman (Mid-Sussex) with 30 wins jumped up 6 places to second as none of the players who had previously been above him took part in this years competition.
Worthing B won a closely fought B Division in the One Day Competitions courtesy of a 4-3 win against Redhill B who finished level on 23 points with them. Going into the last series of matches, 4 teams were still in with a chance of winning the competition and Brighton B gained third place from Worthing C when they beat them 4-3 in the last match of the day. Brighton C and Mid-Sussex B finished in 4th and 5th places respectively. Brian Richards (Worthing B) won all 5 of his matches and topped the averages with 7,516 and Jean Brackenridge (Brighton B) somehow managed to combine organising the day, finishing as the only other unbeaten player on the day and knocking in an excellent 11,010 in one of her matches! Tony Jenner (Worthing C) hit the highest score of the day with 12,410, Doug Mahy (Worthing B) and Terry Molloy (Brighton B) both hit two 10k’s in their matches with Alan Brackenridge (Brighton B) also hitting 10,460.
The ever-reliable Bill Kerr (Worthing B) still heads the Overall B Division Record, despite losing his first game since 2006 to Doug Dawson (Brighton B) which ended an incredible run of 21 consecutive wins. Bill now has 54 wins with Charlie Cooper (Worthing B) next on 38 wins, with Alan Brackenridge (37), Tony Jenner (37) and Jean Brackenridge (35) close behind.
Several games in Inter League Series 7 were postponed as this was due to be played on Valentines Day…… nice to know that the age of romance is still alive!
In Division 1, Worthing A took full advantage of the Redhill A v Brighton A being cancelled and moved level on points with both of them at the top of the League with a 6-1 victory away to Worthing B at the Swan. Neil Higgins top-scored for the visitors with 12,210 and Kevin Tunstall and Ian Lelliott both knocked in 9k plus, after Nick Brown had given the home side the lead with 7,830. Tunbridge Wells won 5-2 at Littlehampton despite Steve Beach giving the home team a great start with 13,560 in the first game. A break of 9,130 by Pete Sainsbury was the highest of the night and put the visitors into the lead with Neale Chamberlain (Tunbridge Wells) also taking a liking to the Locomotive table with 11,370.
Horsham remain top of Division 2 despite suffering their first defeat of the season with in-form Brighton B winning 5-2 at the Roffey Club. Bella Stoner hit her third consecutive Inter League 10k plus score with 10,520 (is this a ladies record?) with Jean Brackenridge hitting 8,370 for the next highest….. girl power at it’s best! Billingshurst v Lewes and Worthing C v Mid-Sussex A were both cancelled….. possibly more “girl power” behind those decisions?!
In Division 3, West Sussex grabbed a good 4-3 win away at Brighton C with Tim Cole (6,180) beating Sheena Wood in a captains game to decide the match. Interestingly, 6 games were won against the break in the match with Martin Cole of West Sussex the only player to hold his break. Gary Mechan (Brighton C) top scored with 7,970 for the home side and James Bicknell with 7,420 for the visitors. Mid-Sussex B beat Redhill B 5-2 at the Hurst Club, despite Graham Holman top scoring with 8,210 (in one break, playing against the break) with Graham Sparksman top scoring with 7,400 for the home team in his first appearance this season. Eastbourne remain top of the Division and had the bye in this round of matches.
The first Open Competition of the year took place on 13th February at the Didcot Conservative Club and saw the in-form Nigel Senior win his second Oxfordshire Open title, having previously won in 2006. Nigel beat world champion Phil Collins (Oxon) in the Final after a very close victory over Barry Radford (Hants) in the semi-final. Nigel’s win lifts him to the top of the UK Rankings, just ahead of Kevin Tunstall who reached the quarter-finals as did Dave Ingram.
Inter League Series 6 took place on the 31st January and Brighton A keep top spot in Division 1 after beating Worthing B 5-2 in a high-scoring match at the Romans. Nigel Senior had another table play-out for 23,200, against Doug Mahy this time, with Steve Mariner (16,930) and Kevin Hall (13,910) also scoring well while Mal Spier (12,700) and Dave France (11,110) grabbed the 2 legs for Worthing B. Redhill A remain level on points at the top after a close 4-3 win at Tunbridge Wells, Bryan Stevens top scored with 13,800 for the home team but victories for Jim Greensted (8,930) and Dave Constable (8,900) in the last 2 games gave Redhill the points. Worthing A completed their second 7-0 whitewash over Littlehampton this year at the Balltree with Dave Ingram (12,270) and Ian Lelliott (11,070) top-scoring.
Horsham made it 6 straight wins in Division 2 with a 4-3 victory at Mid-Sussex A, Gareth Lloyd top-scored for the visitors with 14,570 while Adam Bateup hit 10,360 for the home team. Worthing C came back from 3-1 down to beat unlucky Lewes 4-3 with Steve Aylmore (9,360) hitting top-score to level the match and Tony Jenner playing the captains part to knock in a 6k break at the end of the decider to clinch the match. Brighton B demolished 2nd place Billingshurst 7-0 to gain their second consecutive with, Bella Stoner top-scored again with 10,840 with Jean Brackenridge also hitting 10k.
In Division 3, Redhill B defeated leaders Eastbourne 4-3 at the Old Oak with captain Richard Plaw top-scoring with 8,770 in the decider while West Sussex defeated Mid-Sussex B 6-1 in another low-scoring match at the Woolpack where only two players managed more than 3k. Ironically enough, they were playing against each other and Simon Mills (West Sussex – 5,750) beat Trevor Rees (Mid-Sussex B – 4,180) to gain revenge for his defeat to Trevor earlier this year at the Hurst Club. Brighton C had the bye this time.
Sussex was well represented at the Redhill Invitation at the end of January, with teams from Brighton, Horsham, Mid-Sussex and Worthing taking part in addition to two from the home side, Tunbridge Wells and Oxford. Redhill A were the winners with 35 points, Worthing finished in runners-up spot with 31 points, Mid-Sussex on 27 points were third and Brighton and Horsham joint 4th on 25 points. Kevin Tunstall (Worthing) and Tony Jenner (Brighton) were the only two players to win all 7 of their matches, Rick Dewdney (Horsham) had the highest break of 16,140 on the day with Kevin Hall (Mid-Sussex), Steve Aylmore (Brighton) and SirKT winning the high-break trophies for their respective teams.
Heavy snow throughout the area meant that the Sussex Individual Competitions had to be cancelled as Tarratts were unable to deliver the tables to the Hurst Club for the second weekend in January. These have now been re-arranged to be played at the Hurst Club on the weekend of 27th – 28th March. The draws for the Sussex Mixed Pairs and Captains Cup, which are due to be played at various venues throughout the County over the next couple of months, are both on the Sussex Website and also on the Bar Billiards Forum.
The New Year started with Series 5 of the Home & Away Inter League, which took us to the half-way stage of this competition.
Comfortable wins for Brighton A (6-1 over Littlehampton) and Redhill A (also 6-1 over Worthing B) kept them level on points at the top of Division 1, with defending champions Worthing A close behind after a 5-2 win at home over Tunbridge Wells. Nigel Senior (Brighton A) played the table out against Hayley Tunstall for 20,050 to be the highest scorer in Division 1 and there were also 10k plus scores from Steve Mariner (also Brighton A), Tony Lewis (Worthing A), Nick Brown (Worthing B) and Gary Powell of Redhill A.
Horsham extended their unbeaten run at the top of Division 2 with John Miller winning the decider against Worthing C, Billingshurst stayed second after coming back from 0-3 down to beat Mid-Sussex A with Chip Sawyer holding the break in the last game. Brighton B gained their first victory of the season with a 6-1 victory over fellow strugglers Lewes, Bella Stoner top scoring with 11,620 in that match. Terry Molloy (Brighton B) with 8,700 and Mick Johnson (Billingshurst) with 8,120 were the next highest scorers.
Eastbourne maintained their lead at the top of Division 3 with a 5-2 home win over rivals Brighton C, Nigel Pead (Eastbourne) top-scoring with 9,030 against the break and Brian Muggeridge (Brighton C), Chris Turner and Dave Smith (both Eastbourne) also hitting 7k plus. A low-scoring encounter at the Woolpack saw Redhill B gain a 5-2 victory at West Sussex, James Bicknell (West Sussex) had the highest score with 4,800 for the home team. Mid-Sussex B had a bye.
Dates for your Diary…..
April 11 British Ladies Open, Redhill
April 11-12 Sussex Inter League Series 9
April 18 Portsmouth Open
April 25-26 Sussex Inter League Series 10
May 1 Guernsey v England International
May 2 Guernsey Open
May 9 Surrey Open
June 12 Sussex Masters, Roffey Club
June 13 Sussex Open, Roffey Club
July 4 Kent Classic, Tunbridge Wells
July 25 Under 25’s / Over 50’s / Over 60’s, Reading
August 8 Bucks Open
August 22 Mixed Pairs, Reading
September 12 Berkshire Open
September 19 Division 1& 2 County Champs, Reading
October 3 Ladies County Champs & AE Open Singles, Reading
October 17 Division 3 Count Champs & AE Ladies Singles, Reading
October 31 AE Alternative Rules, Reading
November 5-7 World Championships, Jersey
November 21 National Team Championships & Special Ladies, Reading
November 28 Open Grand Prix & Ladies Grand Prix, Reading
December 5 AEBBA AGM, Reading