Kintbury off to a winning start

THE 2021/22 Newbury Winter League has started with some highly-competitive matches.

In a thrilling 42-game contest, Kintbury JOG (Ray Powell, Pete Sinyard and Mark Wheeler) beat Woolton Hill Wildcats (Viktor Veres, Simon Sonsino & Ajai Kamath) 8-2.

However, the scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the closeness of some of the individual matches.

New signing Veres started confidently, beating Powell 3-0 and Wheeler 3-1.

However, player-of-thematch Sinyard proved too strong, beating Veres 11-6 in the fifth game.

Sonsino was unlucky to end up without a win, losing 1-3 to Wheeler and 8-11 to Powell in the fifth game.

The match against Sinyard was even closer, Sonsino losing out again in the fifth game, 10-12.

Kamath lost to Wheeler in five games and to both Sinyard and Powell in four games.

Sinyard and Wheeler beat Sonsino and Kamath 3-0 in the doubles.

Woolton Hill Wolverines (Richard Fettes, Sue Purton and Jonathan Hopson) were beaten 7-3 by Thatcham C (Colin Price, Jack Savage and Nestor Ceron).

Fettes won all three and Purton lost 1-3 to Savage and Ceron before narrowly losing to Price in four games, 11-3, 1214, 9-11, 11-13.

Ceron and Savage both beat Hopson 3-0 and Price beat Hopson 3-1.

In the doubles, Savage and Ceron beat Fettes and Purton 3-2, winning the fifth game 1412.

In a fiercely contested match, Thatcham Xtra Edge (Clive Welsman, Jamie Cole and Celia Hooker) beat Thatcham Scorpions (Lee Calcutt, Duncan Groves and Bill Stamatiou) 6-4.

Welsman beat Calcutt 3-0 and both Stamatiou and Groves 3-1, but Groves beat Cole 3-1 and Hooker 3-2.

Cole beat Stamatiou 3-1 and Calcutt beat Cole 3-2, before Hooker beat Calcutt 3-1 and Stamatiou 3-2.

In the doubles, Calcutt and Groves outgunned Welsman and Hooker 3-0.

In Division 2, an all-Thatcham encounter between Lions (Jeffrey Rogers, David Martin and Philip Jones) and Hawks (Ian Dickason, Robert Lynch and Christine Milne) resulted in a 5-5 draw.

Martin beat Dickason and Milne 3-0 and lost to Lynch in four games.

Rogers lost to Lynch in three games and also lost to both Dickason and Milne in five games.

Jones beat Milne and Dickason in four games and lost to Lynch in five games.

The doubles proved to be decisive, with Rogers and Martin beating Dickason and Lynch 3-1 to clinch the draw.

Kintbury Cobras (Ian Wu, David Taylor and Bob Nash) lost 6-4 to West Ilsley (Steve Cobrin, Robert J Jones and Robert F Jones).

Wu beat Cobrin and Robert J Jones 3-0 and Robert F Jones 3-1.

Taylor lost to Robert J Jones and Cobrin 0-3 and Robert F Jones 1-3, while Nash beat Cobrin 3-0 and lost to Robert F Jones 1-3 and Robert J Jones 0-3.

In the doubles, Wu and Taylor lost to Robert J and Robert F Jones in 3 games.

In the only game in Division 3, another all-Thatcham encounter, both teams were only able to field two players.

A & E Specials (Lorraine Mortimer and Peter Blunden) beat Spitfires, (Joshua Price and Christine Haines) 7-2.

Mortimer outgunned Price 3-0 and Haines 3-2, while Blunden beat Haines 12-10, 15-13, 11-8 and Price 3-1.

In the doubles, Mortimer and Blunden edged out Price and Haines 3-2.