In a late result from December 12, the Russell finally win a match, albeit over their relegation rivals, Henries A.
In a match in which every game went 2-0, Ray Hemley was first up for the Russell, taking out a surprised Richard (Birdy) Toms. Next up was Ray Tomlin, taking a straight two frames from Christian Spry before Dale Bussell managed to pull back a point for the visiting Henries team. J Plummer secured the win for the home team with his win over Lee Provost and Jason Richardson fought back against Ivan Tomlin to give Henries their second point.
Unfortunately for the Russell, it was back to normal for the 19 December match with a 5-0 trouncing by the Pirates. Similarly, Henries A experienced much the same as they entertained the Marquee A and lost 4-1, despite a relatively close frame difference of only three frames.
In a match which saw the Ship Inn Dales increase their lead over the rest of the pack, Vince Beall was the man of the match as he not only saved the Drifters from what looked like it was going to be a whitewash, but did it in considerable style as he took out Jason Bond 2-0. This win takes Vince to 10th on the 'Most Wins' table, whilst Jason Bond moves down to 13th. Shaun Pengelly took the other frame for the Drifters in the final game, sadly losing 2-1 to John Storer. The first three games went 2-0 to Peter Ivey, Martin Holtman and Marcus.
The battle between third placed Pelynt B and second placed Marquee C saw Pelynt play home advantage taking the match 4-1. However, the frames scored of 9-5 shows how close it was, with the most decisive win being Pelynt's Glenn Northcott 2-0 over Richard Jenkins. The ever-reliable Mark Stevens took the Marquee's single point by defeating Phil Hearndon 2-1, thereby retaining his joint fourth place on the 'Most Wins' table.
The Marquee B had a very unlucky night, losing 0-5 to a very happy Wreckers. Wins went to myself (Darrell), losing one frame to Anthony Lewis; Phil Matthews and Alan (Tiddler) Hayward; Nick Alan, losing one frame to Roy Saxby and finally, Matthew Leslie. The Wreckers now reside in a respectable fifth place.
Results - Henries A 1, Marquee A 4 (5-8); Marquee B 0, Wreckers 5 (2-10); Pelynt B 4, Marquee C 1 (9-5); Pirates 5, Russell 0 (10-1); Ship Inn Dales 4, Drifters 1 (8-3); late results from 12/12 - Marquee B 3, Legion A 2 (6-6); Russell 3, Henries A 2 (6-4).
No matches were played in Div Two other than the World Rules Knockout. See the draw below for the second round to be played on 9th January.
Pelynt A victorious
In a late result from 12 December, Pelynt A maintained their recent good form by scraping a Third Division win over the Rowett B. Pelynt's Simon Emery and Chris Gascoyne took the first two games before Matthew Winterson and Jon Puckey levelled the match for the visiting Polperro team. Jon Gascoyne took the final game 2-0 to give the Pelynt team the three points.
See the draw below for the second round of the World Rules Knockout (to be played on 9 January).
Late result from 12/12 - Pelynt A 2, Rowett B 3 (5-7).
Copley scrape through
As with division three, the only action in division four is a late result. This time, the Copley Arms managed a relatively narrow win over Millendreath B, thanks to Guy Berncastle, Dave Spencer and G Rodgers. Michael Eldridge and the ever-reliable Matt Thompson replied for the home team.
Late result from 5/12 - Millendreath B 2, Copley 3 (6-8).
Eight-ball leaderboard
Lee Bryant (Noughts A) 2; Doug Jones (Strugglers B) 2; Marcus LePage (Henries B) 2.
Charity Competitions
The entry forms for the Charity Competitions have been left in the venues despite an initial entry deadline of 20 December. To maximise the leagues contribution to charity, entry forms will now be collected on Sunday and Monday 9 and 10 January. The provisional 13 January Charity Competition date for Men's singles is confirmed but the other Millendreath dates will have to be re-arranged and will be confirmed in next weeks Cornish Times. The £1 entry fee for each player should be passed to the venue, ready for collection by a committee member.
As always, please remember that League Teams and Charity Competitions are not related. Any player who has played in the league during the 1999/2000 season can enter the competitions.
Team Knockout Quarter Finals
To be played Thursday 6th January
Drifters v Henries D, Marquee A v Foreigners, Ship Inn Dales v Wreckers, Strugglers B v Lugger.
World Rules Team Knockout Second Round to be played Sunday 9th January - Bullers v Bye, Globe Trotters v Noughts A, Jolly A v Ship Polperro B, Millendreath v Boscarn C, Noughts B v Copley, Pelynt A v Marquee D, Rowett v Henries C, Social A v Jolly B.