Cup action Hinckley Phoenix retain the Yates Trophy
The Trojans second half shot well with the 27s of Matt Newman, Leigh Hall, and Mark Smith all topped by a closing 30 from Chris Sills. This gave them victory in the league match with 193, but unfortunately, despite an extra 2 points from Roger Sills, they finished short in the Yates Trophy competition with 9 points.
The loss by the Trojans meant that the outcome of the match between Smallshaws and the visiting Hinckley Phoenix would decide the trophy winners. Put in by their hosts, the visitors enjoyed a strong first half that started with Roxy Ratheram’s 27 and also included Karen Bown’s 30, Craig Bown’s 26, and Luke Bown’s 29. The reply from the home side was much less assured with Rob Wainwright’s 27 and Lee Clark’s 26 being the best their first half had to offer. The Phoenix performance dropped off in the second half with Mick Edwards and Geoff Herbert doing best with 27 and 26 respectively, but the resulting totals of 190 and 12 points were both enough for wins with Smallshaws finishing on 182 and 10 points after a second half that included Jackie West’s 27, and the 26s of Bob West and Chris Rose. Consequently, Hinckley Phoenix retained the Bernard Yates Trophy.
The New Plough team got off to a strong start in their match at the Sporting Lions thanks to Paul Barwell’s 28 but unfortunately their first half couldn’t build on this, with the only score of note being Glenn Sephton’s 26. Their second half was remarkably consistent with all four shooter – Tom Bray, John Bray, Steve Reynolds, and Nigel Hill – all scoring the same. Unfortunately, they all scored 26s and so they finished on a slightly disappointing 183, and a less disappointing 8 points.
The home team’s first half did a little better than the Plough’s thanks to Glen Dainter’s 28, Jeanette Mulkeirin’s 27, and the 26s of Taryn Cockerill and Bill Bend, but a second half 29 from Karl Bunting together with the 27s of Melanie Jenkins and Mark Davies helped them to a comfortable win in the league match, finishing on 190. However, they finished short in the Yates Trophy with just 4 points.
The results of the match between Ashby Road ‘B’ and the visiting Hounds were never in doubt as the visitors could only muster five shooters. The home side had an excellent first half thanks to the 29s of Andrew Cryer and Rikki Hammersley, Stephen Watson’s 28, Jon Storer’s 27, and Kim Baker’s 26. Their second half weren’t quite as good but Alf Shore’s 26, Martyn Woods’ 27, and Mike Sansome’s 28 helped them to totals of 194 and 12 points. These would have been tough to beat even for a full -strength Hounds team but their five strong team never had a chance in ither competition, with Richard Allen’s 26 and Paul Huddlestone’s 28 being the best individual scores in their 121 and 3 points totals.