Barnsley League News

17/09/08 The Barnsley and District Badminton League kicked off a week earlier this season due to Staincross having 3 teams in div 1! Staincross A faced their own B team in a very close match and showed to the rest of the league that there is going to be no easy games this season in any of the divisions. The A team were without Ian Roscoe who is out for most of the season due to a ankle injury so young gun David Hyde was drafted in and was paired with Liam Sloan.The match started off well with games going too & throw. Liam & David beat all three pairings of the B team. Dave Hoson & Mark Hinchcliffe were pushed hard but were able to pick up 2 games out of 3. Third pair Dave Burgin and Simon Clarke lost their first two games in 3 sets but managed to beat veteran pair Mick Sides & Ricky Oldfield in 2 sets. Other B team members were pairings Mark Fisher and Mick Flyn, Simon Bladen and Steve Flyn. Both pairs played well showing the A team that they are going to be hot on their heels this season. In total, 23 out of a possible 27 ends were played before the match finished and just goes to show how close these two teams are actually matched. The final score was a hard fought win for the A team. Staincross A 6 Staincross B 3.

22/09/08 - The first of two Staincross club clash matches this week was hosted by Staincross C against their own B team. The two teams finished top of Division 2 last season, with the B team winning the Division by a mere 7 points ahead of the C team. This season both teams have been promoted to join their own Staincross A in the First Division (Feathers). With such a close finish last season both teams fancied their chances, and with only one player change in each team from last season it was always going to be a long night. Mark Fisher returns from injury to the B team this season, and created a formidable new pairing with Mick Flynn who together took two hard fought games. Renewed partnership of Steve Flynn and Simon Bladon put in a solid performance taking two of their three games. A magnificent effort by Chris Riley and Keith Winch winning all three of their games put the C team well in contention, but unfortunately the other C team pairs could only manage one more game between them with Neil Stewardson and Jason Coles winning against the B team Home Guard of Mick Sides and Ricky Oldfield. After nearly 6 hours of badminton the final score was a close 5 v 4 to the B team.

30/09/2008 In Div 2 newly promoted Manvers "B" made the trip to Rosyton on Tuesday 30/09/08. Krill & Brooke for Manvers "B" won two rubbers early on, helping keep the score level at one stage at 3 each. Royston "A" finally emerging as 6-3 victors winning the last 3 rubbers. Harston & Eaden took all 3, Harrison & Schofield 2 and Hague & Gill picking up one. Harker & Moxon picked up the third rubber for Manvers "B".

01/10/08 In Div 3 Cawthorne continued their strong start to the season by beating Wrenthorpe, 8 games to 1. This match was an excellent advert for the next generation of badminton players, with 7 of the players involved all being under 18 - great to see! The greater experience of the Cawthorne players was key however. John Bedford and Alex Heeley continued their 100% record this season, taking all three of their rubbers, as did John Baker and Andy Hadfield, who once again were only taken to double figures once. The new all-junior partnership of Jordan Lockwood and Andy Exley gained more valuable games together, taking two out of their three games, losing the last rubber in 3 ends to Wrenthorpe's number one pair. Despite the rather one-sided scoreline Wrenthorpe's youngsters showed plenty of promise, and can go back to Wakefield having given a more than credible account of themselves.

03/10/08 - Wakefield Warriors A took on Cudworth at home and received a massive blow to their title hope for this season. Tony Illidge and Wayne King only managed to post 1 win out of 3 although Tony Illidge suffered a bad shoulder injury in the second game that totally changed the outlook of the match. Mark Illidge and Richard Johnson partnered up for the first time again only winning 1 game out of three. They lost an epic game against Kate and Trevor Haller in 3 ends losing the final end 21 23. Next up was Jon Schofield and Rohan Quarmby. The reunited pair got 2 sets out of 3 to salvage a very close loss on the night for the Warriors. Lee Evans and James Noble of Cudworth showed their class on the night by posting 3 wins from 3. A McNiesh and R Spencley were the unfortunate pair for Cudworth not posting any wins. The performance of the night has to go to Kate and Trevor Haller though for those 2 wins decided over 3 sets each to take the match for Cudworth. Final score Warriors 4 Cudworth 5.

03/10/08 Next in Div 2 Wakefield Warriors took on Staincross D. James Grist and Simon Booth posted 3 wins out of 3 for the warriors outfit and are looking like a strong tip for this seasons averages title. Dave Farrah and Alex Celibricanin paired up for the first time and won 2 games out of 3 only losing a game to D Wilkie and D Braithwate. Katherine Taylorson and Andy Boothroyd got won win from 3 but were very unlucky as they lost their last set 20-21 and 20-21 against E White and K Beardshall. R Cobley and L Kelly got one win from three to make the final score Wakefield Warriors C 6 Staincross D 3. The Barnsley Badminton League website is now up and running.

09/10/08 ManversPark Push Hard To Top The Div 2 Table! The final result does not reflect what was a very close match overall. Bamforth & Coefield for Manvers beat Quinn & Celebricinan of Wakefield Warriors comfortably in the first game and went on to take all 3 for Manvers including an extremely closely contested 3 setter against Booth & Grist in game 8. Manvers were 2 - 1 down after the first 3 games with Farrah & Taylorson of the Warriors beating Simpson & Parker of Manvers and Booth & Grist for the Warriors overcoming Bell/Robinson comprehensively. The remaining games although fiercely contested went to the home side with the veteran Simpson showing that age is no barrier to sporting success. ManversPark A 7 Wakefield Warriors C 2

10/10/08 - Staincross A played Wakefield Warriors B in a close fought battle on Friday night. Things began well for Staincross as David Hyde and Mick Flynn, and Dave Burgin and Simon Clarke won their opening games, with only Rob Archer and Richard Johnson managing to win for Warriors. Warriors then began to mount a comeback with Simon Booth and James Grist taking a game, and the score moving on to 4 – 3 to Warriors. Staincross finished the strongest, however, with Dave Hobson and Mark Hinchcliffe overcoming Steve Nottingham and Dave Farrar to make the final score 5 – 4 to Staincross.

10/10/08 Wrenthorpe B played Ossett B on Friday 10th October at Outwood Grange College. Despite the score of 8-1 to Ossett, all the games were very close. Wrenthorpe had 3 players under the age of 15, but although they played very well, they couldn't quite match the more experienced players in the end.

10/10/08 - Ossett Sports A went into this match having lost 1 out of their previous 3 matches. Manvers B however were underdogs from the start having won only 1 of their first 4 matches. Steve's Brown and Rayner Of Ossett Sports started as they meant to go on beating B--- Harker and T- Moxon of Manvers in 2 ends 17 and 1, whilst Deanne Whitehead standing in for the absent Ian Ellis partnered Ian Pescod and made hard work of winning their first 2 sets in 3 end for Ossett Sports. R Robinson and M Lewis came close with 19 pts in their 3rd end for Manvers. Ossett Sport's teenagers Shane Livingstone and Jordan Mitchell continued their rapidly improving form taking all 3 games with little trouble. Only Manvers captain John Krill and D Brooke were able to put good points on the card against them.So with Ossett in line for a clean sweep it was down to Harker and Moxon of Manvers to salvage some pride.Again Ian and Deanne took the set into a 3rd end and at 21 all the set was on a knife edge but the end went to the pair from Manvers 23-21. Although the games were close Ossett Sports gained a convincing 8-1 win over the Manvers B side setting up what should be a real cracker against their A team on 4th Dec at Manvers

14/10/08 In Div 1 DHTC ‘A’ hosted LSW in a title contenders battle, with the hope of unseating other title favourites Wakefield Warriors’ ‘A’.LSW got off to a hot start with Clarke and Goodridge who on current form will be looking to take the averages title this year beating Anderson and White in 2 ends. The match continued to go in LSWs favor with them leading at halfway 3 – 2, with Clarke/Goodridge taking Willetts/Plaice in 3. DHTC then launched the winning fight back winning games 6, 7 & 8 to lead 5 -3. The last game of the night between Dickinson/Cotterall and Clarke/Goodridge ended at 1 end all when time ran out. There will be little to separate these teams this year as 4 games went to 21-20 with DHTC winning 3 of them. Small margins created this DHTC victory. Final Score: DHTC 5 – 3 LSW

16/10/08 Newly promoted to Div 2 Manvers B, who were at home to FSJH on the Thursday. Brooke and Kril of Manvers took all their rubbers, with a hard fought first game against Hirst and Featherstone from FSJH. Harker and Moxon took 2 rubbers for Manvers, but time was against them in the final match, in which Hirst and Featherstone took the first game, before the game ended. Robinson and Lewis took their first rubber, but lost the next two to Hirst and Featherstone and Carter and Lester. Manvers B were overall winners 6-2.

17/10/08 - Northgate get off to a great start in their new venue! Last Friday was the first match in the new and very bright hall at Minsthorpe High Northgate Carniegie faced Wrenthorpe. The result was a hard fought 7-2 win for Northgate Carnegie. George Baker and Andrew Pearson of Northgate won all 3 of their rubbers while Mick Edge/Mark Ball and Andy McCann/Peter Hatherley again of Northgate both dropped only one game. Four of the rubbers went to three sets with Wrenthorpe only winning one of these although the two others were very close scores. All in all the match was much closer than the score suggests!

22/10/08 - Back in Div 1 'having soundly defeated Staincross C 7-2 in the previous week, Cudworth faced Staincross A on Wednesday at Wesley Hall. Without some key players and forced into some unusual pairings, Cudworth faced an uphill climb. Staincross pair, Liam Sloan and Dave Hyde cruised to an easy victory against Roger Spencerley and Andy McNeish. Trevor Haller and Karen Hirst from Cudworth put up stronger resistance in the second rubber loosing in three to Dave Hobson and Mark Hinchcliffe. Chris Kendal and James Noble brought Cudworth back on track easily winning the third rubber against Dave Burgin and Simon Clarke. Cudworth were still one rubber behind when Trevor Haller and Karen Hirst took on Burgin and Clarke in what turned out to be the turning point of the match. In a long three setter, the Staincross pair came out on top 21- 19 in the third end. Despite the hatrick of Kendall and Noble the writing was on the wall for Cudworth. A real team effort ensured Staincross their victory, a convincing 6-3 by the end of the evening.

31/10/08 - A real shock result as title favourites DHTC A lost 5 -4 against lowly Wakefield Warriors B. Things began badly for DHTC as two of their players pulled out of the game at extremely short notice. This left DHTC A with no choice but to field only 2 pairs, meaning they started the match 3 - 0 down. Their two pairs of Lee Willitts & Lee Dickinson and G White and R Lindop were still strong enough to comfortably beat Warriors lower pairs of Tony Fox and Dave Farrar, and Rob Archer and Steve Nottingham, but it was a different story when they faced Richard Johnson and Tim Howcroft of the Warriors. The Warriors first pair put on a real show of form by coming back from one end down in their first game to comfortably beat Dickinson and Willets 18-21 21-13 21-16. Next up against them were G White and R Lindop, with the match score a 4 games all it was a real nailbiter for both teams. DHTC A took the first end 15-21 and were leading in the second end comfortably when the Warriors came back and won the second end 21-20. Going into the third end it was anyone’s match with the lead changing hand a number of times. The Warriors first pair then put there foot down in the change of ends and finally beat the DHTC pair 21-14. This result was a big upset for the DHTC A team and probably their first loss of a match in a number of seasons. The Div 1 title race will now be back on in the Division as DHTC A were just beginning to get a strangle hold on the Division1.

09/11/08 Battle-hardened Warriors came off the battlefield 7-2 to the good. With players returning from injury and holiday the Warriors fielded a stronger team to attend to LSW. Wayne King and Will Browne lead the way with a solid victory in the first end. However, it was a costly rubber for Browne who used his racket as a weapon with too much vigour to find a drop shot disintegrate the head.
LSW pegged the Warriors back to 1 all with Tony Illidge and Jon Schofield not finding any real combinations. Rohan Quarmby and Mark Illidge took to the field and held the nerve to take the next game in three ends against Tony Ruttle and Rob Field. Tony Illidge and Schofield rejoined the fray and looked good in the first end, only losing out on what can only be described as a debatable line call by the opposition. Rather than stiffening the sinus, the line call affected the mental edge and Warriors found themselves back at 2 all in the overall game. Browne and King found their second game a comfortable knock (new racket in hand) to push ahead against Ron Mellor and BOK. This helped Tony Illidge and Schofield drive toward victory taking a nail bitter in 3 ends agist Ruttle and Field. Quarmby and Mark Illidge had sat off for too many games and started slowly in the 7th rubber. They pegged the score back in the first end and at 20 all with Illidge set to return the serve, Ken Williams served short, his partner called "NO", Illidge left it... only to see it fall spot on the line. Rather than asking for it to be replayed since he was unsure he immediately started walking to the other side of the net for the return. The sportsmanship shown was repaid in the form of a tight victory with all ends going to 17 or above. This put the Warriors in a dormy 5-2 position. The final games were to be reduced to 1 rubber under the new league ruling. King and Browne blasted their end in 10 minutes against Ruttle and Field but as Mark Illidge was taking to the court LSW's stand in captain ( Ken Williams)decided to avoid paying for an extra hour of court time and to concede the final end making a 7-2 victory for the Warriors. This result now puts the Warriors 1 point behind the usual title favourites DHTC A on equal games. It is now looking like it will be a battle to the end of the season for who is going to take the title honours this season.

13/11/08 Manvers B opened a convincing win over Staincross D with a close 1st rubber going to the visitors 21-20. Manvers then took the 2nd and 3rd Rubbers with Harker & Moxon combining well to beat Fisher and Sanderson of Staincross. Kril& Brooke are showing consistently that they are a force to be reckoned with by beating Beardsall & Green 21-18 21-10, next up they faced Kelly & Cobley of Staincross who made life difficult for the home pair but Kril & Brooke came through the victors 21-15 20-21 21-14. Kril & Brooke finished off their evening by beating the ageing Pair of Fisher & Sanderson 21-10 21-14. Mason and Robinson of Manvers quickly finished off Fisher & Sanderson in the 4th game while Beardsall and Green of Staincross showed real determination against Harker& Moxon but lacked the quality to take the rubber. It was the same again in the 8th rubber in what was a 3 end thriller against Mason & Robinson of Manvers in which the home pair proved too strong and took the rubber in the end 21-19 20-21 22-20! The Staincross Pairing of Kelly& Cobley showed the only true quality for Staincross beating Harker & Moxon 17-21 20 21 in a close final rubber that finished five minutes over the official allocated match time. Final score Manvers B 7 Staincross D 2.

13/11/08 Wrenthorpe B visited Denby Dale in a match that was even at 3 all after the 6th rubber, although it was very nearly 4-2 to Denby Dale with Giles and Reynolds just losing 23-21 in the 3rd end. It sometimes happens that the low ceiling in the Pie Hall helps the home team win quite a number of easy points, and this was certainly true in this match at times, although the visitors adapted well, and many of the game scores were very close. Shackleton and Leigh won the 7th rubber in convincing form, and Fewster and Bowman were able to win the match in the 8th. A fitting end to a match played in good humour throughout was the contest between Kealey and Osborn for Wrenthorpe, and Giles and Reynolds of Denby Dale. This was a very entertaining finale, with neck and neck scores, which went to 24-22 in the 3rd game; Giles and Reynolds just clinching it for the home team. Final score Denby Dale 6 Wrenthorpe 3.

14/11/08 Warriors C took on the Wrenthorpe A in what was a typical local derby match with both teams going toe to toe and trading blows. Simon Booth and James Grist toughed it out and won all three for the warriors setting of with a cruise win of 21-10 21-10. Against A Carter and D Hooley it was a little tighter winning 21-19 21-15. Fatigue for James and Simon was beginning to set in but they managed to convert the 3rd game in three ends 21-16 14-21 21-19 against the battling pair of R Cowther and S Pickles of Wrenthorpe. Rob Thomas and Andy Pickett Cruised to 3 easy wins for the Warriors against the Wrenthorpe pairs that sealed the match for the Warriors. Only the pair of Neil Dix and A Celibricanin lost all three of their games to salvage some pride for the Wrenthorpe outfit. Final Score Warriors C 6 Wrenthorpe A 3

14/11/08 Warriors C took on the Wrenthorpe A in div2 that what was a typical local derby match with both teams going toe to toe and trading blows. Simon Booth and James Grist toughed it out and won all three for the warriors setting of with a cruise win of 21-10 21-10. Against A Carter and D Hooley it was a little tighter winning 21-19 21-15. Fatigue for James and Simon was beginning to set in but they managed to convert the 3rd game in three ends 21-16 14-21 21-19 against the battling pair of R Cowther and S Pickles of Wrenthorpe. Rob Thomas and Andy Pickett Cruised to 3 easy wins for the Warriors against the Wrenthorpe pairs that sealed the match for the Warriors. Only the pair of Neil Dix and A Celibricanin lost all three of their games to salvage some pride for the Wrenthorpe outfit. Final Score Warriors C 6 Wrenthorpe A 3 The Warriors C team were back in action against Royston A on Friday night and were given a bit of a lift on the road to victory due to Royston only showing 2 pairs on the evening. First up was Kathryn Taylorson & Mark Ellis of the Warriors against A Hague and T Gill winning 21-15 21-7. Mark now back in the team after recovering from knee surgery proved to be a formidable partner for Kathryn as they cruised through the next game against W Harston and S Broadhurst. Simon Booth and James Grist were back in their usual form for the Home side beating Hague and Gill 21-11 21 -7. In the next game against Harston and Broadhurst thing were a little more difficult as the home side won 21-15 19-21 21-16. Rob Thomas and Nathan Quinn were put together on the night for the first time and things set off great as the Warriors pair woneasily against A Hague and T Gill of Royston 21-13 21-13. But it was in the next game against Harston and Broadhurst that proved one step too far for the home pair as they lost the game 17-21 20- 21. It was a real shame that Royston could only manage to field two pairs on the night as both teams at the end of the season will be pushing for title honours.

18/11/08 DHTC ‘A’ bounce back from defeat to record an enjoyable 9 – 0 victory against the every willing and happy Staincross ‘B’. Staincross ‘B’ credentials for retaining Division 1 status where summed

up by Simon Bladon after the defeat to Holmes and Dickinson, when he said “We have the shots to compete, we just need to be near the shuttle in the first place”. The weight of playing in Division 1 showed for some. However, this summed up the night where the match was fun, but lengthy at times with Willetts/Plaice taking about an hour to beat Oldfield/Sides – battle of energy to see who crumbled first, old friendships do not extend onto court. Overall Staincross ‘B’ managed to reach double figures in most rubbers but did not manage to win the rubber which their efforts deserved. Next up for DHTC are Staincross ‘C’ – we hope they enjoy their badminton as much as there B team. Final Score DHTC A 9 Staincross B 0

21/11/08 The Warriors C team were back in action against Royston A on Friday night and were given a bit of a lift on the road to victory due to Royston only showing 2 pairs on the evening. First up was Kathryn Taylorson & Mark Ellis of the Warriors against A Hague and T Gill winning 21-15 21-7. Mark now back in the team after recovering from knee surgery proved to be a formidable partner for Kathryn as they cruised through the next game against W Harston and S Broadhurst. Simon Booth and James Grist were back in their usual form for the Home side beating Hague and Gill 21-11 21 -7. In the next game against Harston and Broadhurst thing were a little more difficult as the home side won 21-15 19-21 21-16. Rob Thomas and Nathan Quinn were put together on the night for the first time and things set off great as the Warriors pair woneasily against A Hague and T Gill of Royston 21-13 21-13. But it was in the next game against Harston and Broadhurst that proved one step too far for the home pair as they lost the game 17-21 20- 21. It was a real shame that Royston could only manage to field two pairs on the night as both teams at the end of the season will be pushing for title honours.

21/11/08 In other news Cudworth YM went down heavily to LSW in a usual hard fought match. Cudworth did not have their full strength team out so LSW proved too strong at the end winning 8-1 with Clarke and Goodridge of LSW still on 100% this season. 27/11/08 Warriors A and C teams Right In the Dog Fight. It was to time for the Warriors A team to show how much they want this season’s Div 1 title against Cudworth YM who in previous season have proved a thorn in the side of the Warriors A side. The night didn’t start well as R Quarmby & J Schofield went down to B Hurp & S Johnson 21-13 21-17. The Warriors pair were not knocked out by this defeat and showed true fighting spirit to go on and win their next against S Bramfoot & K Jones 21- 19 21-12. Their final game wasn’t played due to S White getting an injury so the YM pair conceded the point. Things began to look up as for the Warriors as W King and T Illidge faced as Hurp & Johnson as the second game of the night due to the other pairs turning up at different times as work constraints took precedence. They cruised to an easy victory of 21-10 21-13. The next pair they faced were D Riley & S White and again victory came easily in the form of 21-9 21-8 win for the Warriors pair. To finish of the night Illidge & King took on S Bramfoot & K Jones destroying any hopes of the YM side salvaging any further points winning 21-15 21-12. Will Browne & R Johnson did a top job on the YM side beating all 3 pairs in 2 ends and never looked like loosing an end all evening. Their scores against Hurp & Johnson were 12-21 15-21, against Bramfoot & Jones 10-21 18-21 and then Riley & White 16-21 18-21. The Warriors A side now only have one match left before the Xmas break and are looking like they could be right in the dog fight for the title honours by being just a couple of points off league leaders DHTC A. A top effort so far.

On the same evening Warriors C took another long trip down to Manvers to face their B side. R Mason & R Robinson of Manvers had a close start loosing out to N Dix & R Thomas of Warriors 21-16 20-21 21-23. J Krill & O Brooke proved to be the strongest pair for Manvers winning 2 games, first up they beat S Booth & J Grist ( average’s title chasers) comfortably 21-19 21-12. Next they faced the young Pair A Celebricanin & N Quinn again cruising to victory 21-18 21-14. Only the hardened Warriors pair of N Dix & R Thomas proved one step too far beating the Manvers pair 16-21 19-21. B Harker and T Moxon of Manvers couldn’t convert any rubbers against the high flying Warriors team. Final score Manvers B 3 Warriors C 6.

23/01/09 After the Christmas break games resumed in the Barnsley and District Badminton League. It's tight at the top of Division 2 so the eagerly anticipated first meeting between leaders Ossett Sports A and the undefeated Manvers Park A on Friday 23 January at Ossett was set to be a close encounter.Both teams were able to field all their first choice players. Ossett pair Steve's Brown and Rayner were out first against Andy Bell and Darren Ellis-Townsend. The Manvers pair lead both games in the home straight but failed to press home their advantage going down to 17 in both ends. The two Ian's, Ossett's strongest pair, beat Matt Ellis and Mark Bamforth to 15 and 18 whilst the young guns Jordan Mitchell and Shane Livingstone took Denis Simpson and James Parker to 9 and 20.The two Steve's had more trouble against Mark and Matt scraping through 22 20 in the 3rd end. The two Ian's won their other 2 matches 16/16 and 18/12 whilst the teenagers were taken to 3 ends in both their remaining matches. But as usual they ground the opposition down with excellent retrieving and counter attack. Everything went Ossett's way on the night and Manvers Park were unlucky to loose with 5 of the 9 being close scores. So Ossett took a surprise 9 - 0 victory to put themselves clear at the top - for the time being. They meet again in the last match of the season. No doubt Manvers will be more than keen for revenge!

28/01.09 Cawthorne A v Denby Dale.This was an eagerly awaited top of the table clash in Division 3. The result was crucial – victory for Cawthorne meant they would be in pole position to take top spot at the end of the season, whereas a victory for Denby Dale would put them right back in the hunt. The match started well for Cawthorne, with Bedford & Heeley and Baker & Hadfield continuing their dominant form this season, taking the first 2 rubbers easily. The experienced Shackleton & Leigh, and Reynolds and Thompson then took the next two rubbers to level the scores. Scores kept swapping, and Denby Dale took advantage of a below-par Heeley & Bedford, taking two rubbers from them. Going into the last rubber, the score was level at 4-all. It was left to Baker and Hadfield to dispatch Fewster and Bowman 21-7, 21-12 to seal the match, 5-4 to Cawthorne A

28/01/09 In Div 1 Cudworth battled to a 7-2 win over DHTC B in a battle of the mid table teams. Haller and Noble recorded 3 wins from 3 to give Cudworth a stranglehold on the match. Hainsworth who has returned from injury and Whitaker took 2 for Cudworth that was backed up by McNeish and Spencerley who also took 2 for the Cudworth outfit. The young Hyman pair Barber and Dakin picked 2 up for the away team to rescue some embarrassment for the local rivals. Bailey and Pinder of DHTC B had to concede the last game of the night due to injury. Young pair Doughty and Race didn’t record a win but battled hard and gained valuable experience. Cudworth are now looking too strong for DHTC B to catch in the table being 17 points in front on equal games but it will only take one slip from Cudworth for DH to be right back on their heels.