Teesdale Pool League
THE finals and presentation night of the league, which is sponsored by Colin Watson PVCU Windows, was held at Barnard Castle Cricket Club and was a fitting conclusion to another successful season.
The division 1 championship was won by the Blue Bell, Barnard Castle, who took over top spot early in the second half of the season, and were able to hold off their challengers with a strong finish to the season to finish two points clear.
The runners up spot went to the Royal Oak, Butterknowle, who also finished the season strongly, however, they were unable to close the gap to overhaul the Blue Bell.
Third place was claimed by the Cricketer’s Arms ‘B’, Barnard Castle, who were part of a three-horse race for honours for most of the season, but faded badly late in the season to finish four points further back.
The division 2 championship was extremely tight, with only two points separating the top seven teams at the mid-season stage.
The title was eventually taken on frame difference by the Forresters Hotel, Middleton, ahead of Barnard Castle Rugby Club, who had both led the pack throughout the second half of the season and finished on the same points.
Two points back in third was the Diamond Inn, Butterknowle, ahead on frame difference from fourth place finishers, the Moorcock Inn ‘A’, Eggleston.
The finals evening began with the doubles knockout which was contested between final debutants Rob Kirkup and Josh Wade, of the Queen’s Head, Cockfield, and previous champion Steve Williams and his debutant partner Rob Wilkinson, of Bowes Social Club ‘B’.
The opening two frames were tactical affairs with both pairs appearing a little edgy in their play, however, it was the Bowes pair who managed to nick both to take a 2-0 lead.
The match changed tempo in the third frame and was a lot more open, with Rob Kirkup taking out a good clearance to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The change in tempo was short-lived as the match again became tactical, and yet again it was Steve and Rob who managed to edge the frame to clinch the match 3-1, and the title.
The singles knockout final was contested between three-time previous champion Alan Stobart, of the Royal Oak Inn, Butterknowle, and three-time previous doubles champion Anthony Wood, of the Queen’s Head, Cockfield.
The first three frames of the match were close and followed a similar style, commencing with safety exchanges between the players, before the frames opened up to allow the players to showcase their attacking play.
Alan took the first frame, before Anthony levelled, with Alan then responding to take the third to re-establish his lead.
As the match progressed towards a conclusion, it turned into a tactical battle as both players became edgy and started to make uncharacteristic errors, but it was Anthony who took the next frame to force the match to a decider.
After a close, drawn-out safety battle, it was Anthony who managed to force the error to allow him to nick the decider, and take the title for the first time with a 3-2 victory.
The team knockout final was contested between the Blue Bell, Barnard Castle, and the Royal Oak Inn, Butterknowle.
The Royal Oak had the perfect start as they stormed into a 3-0 lead with wins by Alan Stobart, Mark Little, and Martin Walton over James Teasdale, Clint Cole, and Tony Atkin respectively.
The Blue Bell refused to give any ground though, and hit back with wins by David Duxbury and Stuart Mannion, over Peter Todd and Mark Humble respectively to cut the deficit to 2-3.
It was then over to Liam Taylor, of the Bell, against John Straughan, of the Oak, as to whether the match would go to decider, and Liam duly delivered as he took the frame out to level the match at 3-3 and set up the chance of an amazing comeback.
The decider was played by the captains, as John Williams, of the Bell, and Mark Little, of the Oak, took to the table to battle it out for the title.
The frame began with a close tactical battle as both players vied for superiority, however, it was Mark who got the first real opportunity in the frame, which he took out to make the score 4-3 to clinch the title for the Royal Oak.
Two further trophies were also presented for the most sporting teams in each division.
These were awarded to Barnard Castle Cricket Club ‘B’, for division 1, and Barnard Castle Rugby Club, for division 2.
