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Week 1 (Hospital A 3, BHB 7) A first game in a new division for Hospital A with a weakened side, Richard Bryant playing up for the A team. The score didn`t reflect the way in which the hospital side played, Anthon Ranjit-Singh losing in five to Cliff Firth 11-9;6-11;10-12;11-8;10-12 and Richard Bryant losing in five to Bluehouse's Brian Spencer 11-6;12-14;9-11;11-7;9-11.In the doubles Sudharkar and Ranjit-singh were 2-1 up but eventually losing in five to Firth and newcomer and hat-trick man Jim Stait 11-5;7-11;11-7;3-11;6-11. Not the best start for the new boys in division one, but an encouraging one (from Anthon). (KWA 6, WCC A 4) A good start for newly promoted Wickford CC A against the strong Kingswood A side, with Terry Jasper and Brian Ward picking up two apiece, including the prize scalp of Colin Clements, Terry recovering well after he had badly lost the first two games. Steve Appleby was denied a maximum by by Brian, losing in three close games, and Ray Farmer managed a solitary point at Keith Bushell's expense, although he was unlucky to go down 13-11 in the fifth to Brian. The Cricketers struggled to manage a draw in the doubles, but although Brian and Terry were level at 2-2, they collapsed 11-1 in the final end to Steve and Colin. (KWB 4, Shell B 6) Good to see Gus Heath looking fit again, but together with team mates Paul Churn and Peter Lucraft they could only manage one singles win apiece against a useful Shell B side. Russ Bright, nearly recovered from a shoulder problem, Dave Norris and newcomer to the team Brian Amos all scored a brace of wins, with Brian looking particularly impressive with victories over both Paul and Gus. Kings reduced the deficit in the doubles as the latter two defeated Russ and Brian in four. (Selex B 6, BHC 4) A narrow victory for the home side thanks mainly to a hat-trick from Gary Hartgrove and Graham Farmer with two points. Karen Faulkner made a welcome reappearance for the Blues, defeating Graham in four and Alan Wood in five, and Dave Reynolds and Mark Jupe scored one apiece. The visitors just failed to level the account in the doubles, as Dave and Mark recovered to level after being two down, but Gary and Alan held their nerve to win the final end 11-9. Week 2 (Shell B 6 Hospital A 4) Sudharkar Raj was the redeeming soul for the Medics, winning all three of his singles away to shell B, with Russell Bright just losing in five to Raj:11-8;11-9;6-11;5-11;9-11.Richard played up again for the medics and Anthon could have evened the score, but lost to Dave in five :11-9;6-11;11-8;9-11;11-9.This time however, Raj and Anthon won the doubles giving the medics four points (from Anthon). (Wickford CC 3, Kingswood B 7) Kings fielded a rather strange looking side comprising Peter Lucraft, Gordon Swan playing his first game for his new team, and Bill Wall playing up from Div. 2. Luck favoured the visitors however with Bill clocking a hat-trick after three tough five-enders, including the scalp of Terry Jasper. Peter and Gordon managed a brace apiece, but Terry scored the Cricketers' only two singles points although Brian was a trifle unfortunate to concede all three singles narrowly in the final ends. Terry and Brian, always consistent in the doubles, signed off with a win in three against Peter and Bill. (Bluehouse B 5, Selex B 5) With six of the singles going the full distance, this was going to be a late night. Paul Brown, after a convincing display in the Premier last week, suffered a relapse and struggled to gain a point, losing to Alan Wood in five and Gary Hartgrove in three and just edging a 11-9 win over Graham Taylor in the fifth. Graham played remarkably well after not picking up a bat for six months, defeating Ian Rattray, and Gary picked up two points in defeating Paul and Cliff Firth. Alan and Gary surprisingly made short work of the doubles to beat Cliff and Ian in three and earn a hard fought draw. (Bluehouse C 4, Kingswood A 6) It seems that all games are close in this Division, and this one was no exception. Colin Clements was the turning factor with a hat-trick for the visitors, dropping just one game in the process, Steve Appleby won a brace, defeating Peter Hilton 11-7 in the fifth and Tony Stonell in four, but was denied a maximum by Karen Faulkner in a topsy turvy contest which saw Karen go into a two game lead (including one to love) then lose the next two before finally triumphing 16-14. Ray Farmer came away pointless for Kings, although taking Karen and Tony to five, and a final very nervy doubles saw Colin and Steve clinch the victory as they toppled Karen and Peter 7,-8,7,-12,5. Week 3 (Hospital A 6, WCC 4) A first win for the Medics against fellow promotees Wickford A. Sudharkar Raj was maintaining his good run dispatching all three wickford players comfortably. Anthon Ranjit-Singh didn't get out of the starting blocks, but eventually beat Brian Ward and Nagendra Kumar recently back from holiday failed to complete a hat trick, losing to Terry Jasper :13-11;10-12;9-11;11-8;8-11.Terry was the leading light for Wickford and together with Brian Ward they beat Sudharkar and Kumar in the doubles. First blood for the Medics (from Anthon). (BHC 1, BHB 9) The B team's 9-1 win didn't reflect the games in that they were competitive and well fought with lots of good humour thrown in for good measure. Both teams' attacking styles proved for a very enjoyable evening with some great attacking rallies. Karen Faulkner was in top form for the 'C' team and was unlucky to only come away with the one win against new signing for the B team, Jim Stait from the Warehouse, who is a strong player and gives extra strength and depth. The B team were generally too strong in all departments and no doubt will be contenders for promotion at the end of the season. Paul Brown and Ian Rattray both scored hat-tricks. (Dave Reynolds). (Selex B 6, Shell B 4)
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