Wait is over as Newbury clinch cup thriller

May 9, 2014

NEWBURY ended a 10-year wait to lift the Blackford Cup for a 10th time when beating Andover Sports over two legs in the Newbury Badminton Association’s annual handicap knockout competition.

Andover started the opening leg with a five-point lead in each match and they led by 21 points after their trip to Newbury.

Newbury dominated the ladies games, while Andover had the better of the men’s and edged the mixed rubbers with Chris Clarke winning all six of his and Neil Atkins and Emerson Cumberbatch scoring five apiece.

Newbury’s Julie Eatwell and Ruth Martin replied with four wins.

The return leg at Andover saw changes to both line-ups and the opening two singles saw Newbury cut the deficit to nine points.

Four more went in the first mixed clash before Newbury’s ladies repeated their first leg performance with two wins picking up 40 points. Both men’s games were halved, but Andover clawed back 16 points to leave the match finely balanced with three mixed games to go and Newbury ahead by 19 points.

The first was even and Andover’s Fiona Garnet and Neil Atkins won the second to leave only four points in it before Newbury’s Suzy

Mugford and Paul Gearing claimed a 21-16, 21-9 win to leave the final result at 722-701 in their team’s favour.

 Shaw B beat Kennet B 9-0 to seal the Newbury League Men’s 2 title with Oli Adams and Pete Schofield, Keith Watts and Paul Olive and Trevor Poore and Richard Hicks all unbeaten, while Kintbury claimed top spot in Division 4 with their 5-4 defeat of Whitchurch.

St Mary’s B finished top of Mixed Division Two after a brace of wins, beating Hurst 7-2 and Kennet A 8-1 with Lindsay Gerrard and Ross Parsons unbeaten in both. Downlands B continued their push for promotion from Mixed Division with wins over Bucklebury A and Newbury C by 6-3 and 7-2.