D&DS&BL Week 14 Match Report

'Twas the last League match before Xmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... as the A & B Teams fought out the Xmas local derby!
 
The first frame saw newly crowned Club Singles Champ, Dave Rowe face Club Singles Runner Up, Captain Pete Billingham!  It was a quality hard fought frame with neither player wanting to give too much away (probably both respectful of each other, remembering Club Finals night last Friday!).  Pete knocked in a useful 26 break to give him breathing space, but Dave hit straight back with a timely 21.  As the frame came down to the colours, Dave slotted in a nice yellow & green but left just enough room past the blue for Pete to take frame ball brown, which was subsequently joined by blue & pink for a 75-44 win to make it 1-0 to Wallingford A.
 
Ex A Team Stalwart Bob Elliott (still keen & playing after all these years) was up next v Nigel Prior.  VC played solid match-play & steadily built a lead & which he held & expanded to run out a convincing winner by 57-11.  In the end, the only surprise was that VC didn't compile a trade-mark 25+ break (but will probably cite a 'dead' cushion when playing for the black when on 16 & counting!).
 
Andy Rance was on 3rd v Tom Williams (returning to play after a bought of Bronchitis).  It was a classic frame with Andy racing off to a 20 or so point lead.  Tom dug deep & 'toughed it out' also playing good solid match-play to drag himself back into contention.  Tom slotted in some nice pots in & around the pink but when it looked like it was his turn for a 25+ break, he bobbled a pink in the corner!  Andy tried to capitalise on the miss, but Tom was undeterred & 'hungry' (for supper?) & sealed a great come-back for his frame of the season (so far!) beating Andy 57-30.
 
After a lovely Oz Special of chilli for supper (yum!), Nigel dished out a surprise festive desert in the form of 2 boxes of mince pies!  Very nice VC!  However, unfortunately for the B Team, this turned out to be the only bit of charity from the A Team all night!
 
The 4th frame saw the 2 Kevs (Captain Pickworth & 'Cuz' Higgs) scrapping & Cuz, again playing good match-play was aided by some outrageous 'run' (I thought you said you had none of that?  Maybe the turning point last week then?), potting solidly as he won by 66-19.
 
In the final frame of the match, Rob House faced Dave Greathead in what was to be a battle royale!  Dave (in similar fashion to Andy & Tom's frame), dashed to a 17-0 lead before Rob knocked in a lovely 29 break to re-take the lead.  Now Anchorman is made of stern stuff (hence the nickname?) & no-one was surprised when he was snookered on the last red... that he came off 2 cushions & potted it in the middle to leave himself 'plum' on the black!  After taking the 8 points, it was nip & tuck with the yellow to brown before Dave sealed the frame by a quality clearance from blue to black to win 59-50!
 
All the matches were good quality frames & in fairness to the B Team, they fought well & deserved a point... but it was to be no Xmas cheer from the A Team (as they're still fighting to try to catch Abingdon Con!).  We just hope that it doesn't harm the B Teams fight for the 1st Division title!
 
So, after the last League match of 2012, I wish a Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year to all the Wallingford Comrades Club Snooker Blog readers!  Enjoy yourselves over the Festive Season, but be mindful that this year you only get Boxing Day off from snooker as the League recommences on 2nd January!  Here's to Health, Happiness & Success in 2013!

Wallingford Comrades Club Team Stats (Match 14)

19th December 2012 - Match 14
A TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 25
Pete Billingham	12	11	1	710	59	357	30	92	26, 30, 26
Nigel Prior	12	10	2	609	51	332	28	83	32, 32
Kev Higgs	11	9	2	610	55	363	33	82
Jon Hawkins	3	2	1	216	72	146	49	67
Tom Williams	10	5	5	420	42	434	43	50
Dave Greathead	8	3	5	330	41	427	53	38
Kev Gray	3	1	2	122	41	168	56	33
Nick Somarakis	0	0	0	0	##	0	##	###
	In the Xmas local derby, there's not much Xmas cheer for the B Team as the A Team secure all 5 points. In some quality hard fought frames, Captain beats reigning Club Singles Champ Dave Rowe, 75-44 (Pete making a 26 break & Dave a 21), Nigel plays solid match-play to defeat stalwart Bob Elliott 57-11...
B TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 20
Dave Glaves	3	2	1	133	44	140	47	67
Brian Orton	8	5	3	440	55	325	41	63
Rob House	10	5	5	500	50	384	38	50	31, 30, 29
David Rowe	4	2	2	179	45	190	48	50	21
Pete Beaumont	6	3	3	267	45	260	43	50	25
Andy Rance	11	4	7	425	39	547	50	36	27, 32
Bob Elliott	4	1	3	106	27	242	61	25
Kevin Pickworth	9	0	9	259	29	539	60	0
Simon Ellam	0	0	0	0	##	0	##	###
	... before Tom 'Sick-Note' plays his frame of the season (so far!) coming from behind to beat Andy Rance 57-30. The 2 Kevs scrapped to a 66-19 win for Cuz before Rob & Dave have a battle royale in which Rob knocks in a 29 before Dave clears from blue to black to win 59-50 in the 5th. Well played one & all!

Comrades Club Competitions Finals Night

The Annual Club Competitions Finals were played tonight (Friday) & here's a quick roundup of the Winners & Runners Up.

The Veterans Final was contested between Dave Greathead & Hugh Baker. Hugh was still suffering with a niggling cold & couldn't make the most of his handicap & Dave retained his title by 2 frames to 0.

The Doubles Final was between Dave Rowe & Nigel Woods and Rob House & Simon Ellam. Dave & Nigel started off +15 handicap (per frame) over Rob & Simon & it was an uphill battle for them over the aggregate score of the 2 frames. Dave & Nigel potted some good balls & played good tactics. Rob & Simon were not having the best of running despite potting some quality single reds but had to rely on good safety to prise an opening. With 4 reds left at the end of the 2nd frame Simon & Rob required snookers. It was to be a insurmountable task & the 'new boys' triumphed to take their 1st Doubles Title.

Rob had a second bite at a title in the Billiards against reigning Champion Pete Billingham. It was always going to be a long game with the final being first to 250 points & Rob was quick out of the blocks racing to a 60+ lead before Pete started to score. Rob was scoring regularly at each visit & Pete had to dig deep to just to pull level. Rob made a nice 28 break to which Pete responded with a 29 & at the halfway stage Robs lead had being closed to 20. It was nip & tuck through to the winning line with Pete briefly taking the lead before Rob reached the 250 target first, taking the title for his second time.

The 'Blue Ribband' Singles event was between Dave Rowe & Pete Billingham, with Dave having a 25 handicap. In the first frame Pete made a 24 early on to pull back the handicap & kept the frame tight, leading up to the colours. After potting the green Pete 'jawed' the brown & it was to be the decisive miss that Dave pounced on, taking brown, blue, a fantastic long pink with perfect position on the black to take the first frame. In the second frame Dave potted some incredible long reds & kept the lead throughout to take his 1st Singles Title (& a double winner with the Doubles Title).

Congratulations to all the Winners... & commiserations to the Runners Up... next year as the saying goes!

Last nights match concludes the first half of the season & Marlborough A were the visitors on a cold December evening.  The club was unusually busy for one of our home matches, as the B Team were hosting Kennington for a 'friendly' on their last BYE week (but paying particular attention to the A Teams match as Marlborough were only 2 points behind them!).

The A Team had both reserves out last night as neither Tom (having his brow mopped by Claire as he's still laid up with 'Man Flu'!) or Dave (family issues, which are thankfully not as serious as first thought) could make it... at one point Phil was heading up, but fortunately he wasn't needed (he thinks he's David Beckham and can play for the highest bidder!).

Pete kicked things off & played his usual quality game, knocking in a nice 30 (& then bottled it... I think the thought of getting near the highest break prize was too much for him!) in a 68-6 victory.  1-0.
 
Next up was Nigel.  It was a slow start after last weeks stuttering performance, but the lovely 32 he knocked in with some quality white ball control was enough.  It really was an excellent break in a 62-10 win.  2-0.
 
Next up Kev Grey, who appeared a little 'rusty' (but to be expected as he only found out he was playing at 6.00pm!) had a pretty loose frame with plenty of chances for both.  Kev knocked in a nice 22 & was leading most of the way.  As the frame went down to the colours after some fortunate running by both players, very oddly Kev's opponent quit with 22 on the table but only being 8 points behind!  Referee VC leapt in like a gazelle to set the next game up before he could change his mind!  67-49 & 3-0!

Tea next which was a lovely winter warming Rabbit Stew from Oz.  I don't know where he got it from, but I had a piece of Ford Mondeo number plate in mine.  It lead to an interesting discussion on pets you have eaten although I am not saying for one moment that you BBQ or roast your Labrador when his time comes.  We also discussed the best pets - it's a toss up between a tortoise, hamster and stick insect.  The tortoise won, although Freddie Star and the pet shop boys did not agree!

Next up was Cuz.  A solid performance & after the last game you would have thought his opponent would concede when he needed two snookers on the pink, but no, perhaps he knew that Cuz would promptly go in off twice so he could (mathematically) win!  A great relief when Cuz did secure the frame 62-44!  4-0.

Final match was Jon ('Super Sub'!).  After spending 4 hours on a frozen golf course he played a solid game, winning & amassing the highest points scored, 81-24.  5 nil.
 
A convincing win over a bruised team.  The A Team are now 2nd in the league with half the season gone, time to push on for glory, riches and fame!

(The above Blog Entry was written by VC... in case you couldn't tell!  Thanks for all your effeorts VC!  Captain was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press... out nicking burglars Christmas shopping after the shops close!).

PS.  Captains Comment - A nice big 5-0 for the A Team which moves us above Wantage at the half way stage of the season.  It does the B Team a huge favour too by keeping Marlboro off their 'top spot'... & Challow couldn't capitalise on the B Team's bye week either (losing 4-1 at home to Abingdon Con A), so the B Team are still top of the 1st Div!

Wallingford Comrades Club Team Stats (Match 13)

12th December 2012 - Match 13
A TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 25
Pete Billingham	11	10	1	635	58	313	28	91	26, 30
Nigel Prior	11	9	2	552	50	321	29	82	32, 32
Kev Higgs	10	8	2	544	54	344	34	80
Jon Hawkins	3	2	1	216	72	146	49	67
Tom Williams	9	4	5	363	40	404	45	44
Dave Greathead	7	2	5	271	39	377	54	29
Kev Gray	3	1	2	122	41	168	56	33
Nick Somarakis	0	0	0	0	##	0	##	###
	A Team host Marlboro B in the last match of the 1st half of the season & get the big 5-0 they need to move above Wantage to 2nd in the League! Captain knocks in a 30 break & VC follows with a 32. KG steps in as sub & makes a notable 22 & Cuz & Jon both record good wins. Same again next week?
B TEAM	Pl	W	L	Pts for	Av	Pts ag	Av	%	Breaks over 20
David Rowe	3	2	1	135	45	115	38	67
Dave Glaves	3	2	1	133	44	140	47	67
Brian Orton	8	5	3	440	55	325	41	63
Rob House	9	5	4	450	50	325	36	56	31, 30
Pete Beaumont	6	3	3	267	45	260	43	50	25
Andy Rance	10	4	6	395	40	490	49	40	27, 32
Bob Elliott	3	1	2	95	32	185	62	33
Kevin Pickworth	8	0	8	240	30	473	59	0
Simon Ellam	0	0	0	0	##	0	##	###
	No league match (again) for the B Team this week as they sit out their 2nd bye week... but pay particular attention to proceedings on table 4 as the A Team do them a huge favour by taking all 5 points off their nearest rivals! Now what was the deal...? Oh yeah, a pint per frame won please! LOL!