Results

Division 1 – It was a shock defeat for seven time and current division 1 champions, Wiveliscombe when they travelled to play Basement Dwellers. This was the first defeat for the champions since the 27^th January 2015 when it was again Basement Dwellers that claimed the victory. This week it was Mike Vickery who led the way for the home team by scoring a maximum and receiving the player of the match award – exactly as he achieved in that 2015 match. Vince Court twiddled his way to a maximum and Paul Rees also added 4 points. With 5 scored in the doubles the final tally for Basement Dwellers was 27 points. Wiveliscombe fielded their top players for this crucial match but never managed to dominate. John Edbrooke and David Woodland each scored 6 and Paul Nutkins a further 3 singles points. There was a little more success in the doubles with 7 points, however, it meant that Wiveliscombe ended with 22 points and second place on the night.

A couple of weeks ago we had the unusual position whereby teams ended with identical match scores. Well, it has happened again. This week it was at an all Alcombe affair where Mad Batters took on Minehead A. This time Mad Batters had a full complement of players and it was again Marcus Short who narrowly missed his maximum, with 8 points. Jasper Pye and Matthew Short each added 6 singles points. The doubles were evenly contested, with Mad Batters just prevailing with 7 to take their total to a winning 27 points. Star turn of the evening was Minehead A’s extra thick bat, and spin specialist, Toby Kerslake. One set against Marcus Short ended at 23 – 25 [a record so far this year] and could have gone either way. This win for Toby gave him his maximum and the player of the match award. Further singles points were added by David Veale with 4 and Terry Cadman with 3. The 6 doubles points were however not enough to turn the match, leaving Minehead with a score of 22 points.

Gnomads entertained Shooting Stars. Player of the match for the home team was Nigel Foster with his new super spin and high-speed bat which helped him score his maximum. Martin Rant also scored a maximum but had to grind out his victory against Geoff Williams in their 5^th set. From the doubles games played, Gnomads scored 6 points. Late in the match Eddie Ferris withdrew and we all sincerely hope you are now feeling much better Eddie, and back to full fitness. Final score for Gnomads was a victorious 24 points. Shooting Stars never hit top form but battled bravely. Geoff Williams led the way with 5 singles points scored and Robin Arkell added a further 3. From the doubles games played a further 3 points were scored. When the points from the forfeit games were allocated Shooting Stars went home with 18 points

Division 2 – Only one match to report this week when Allsorts repelled Space Invaders. For the home team it was again the on-form and ambidextrous Sifa Vea that scored the only maximum of the evening, to receive the player of the match award. The ever-improving left-hander, Roy Pointer, added an excellent 7, and Mike Lawrie a further 6 singles points. Doubles specialist for the evening was Barbara Parker. Allsorts’ doubles scores for the season to date have been perfect, however, one game eluded them this week to put an end to their unbroken run of maximums. With 6 doubles points scored, Allsorts ended the evening victorious with 28 points and the lead of division 2. Space Invaders came down to Earth with a bit of a bump as Matt Lawrence landed their only singles points when he scored 7. There was however more success in the doubles where 6 points were scored to mirror their opponents. At the end of the match Space Invaders score rose to an altitude of 13 points before it was game over.

TABLES:

Division 1

Division 2