It is still any two of three to progress through from Group A to the semi-final stage of the Leicester League’s summer competition for the Elbow Tankard, but two of the three secured victories during the last batch of results so that the third team, Park Strollers, cannot afford to slip up in their final two matches.

Vicars retained top spot with a good performance against Park Strollers with both Raju Rahul and Tosh Singh winning three from four. Star of the match was Shabnam Ahmed, who won three of her four singles and also returned 3-1 in the doubles for an overall 12-8 result. For Strollers, Aman Rashid overcame some hefty handicap deficits to win four from six.

Nomads also won 12-8 to keep well in touch near the top of the chart, beating Villagers. Andy Searle maintained good form to win four from six, including an excellent 2-0 victory over Alex Mason. Cliff Smith shared games at 3-3 while Trevor Hawkins took a turn in the doubles and still won three from four of his singles. The doubles were 2-2.

Villagers also lost out to Park Strollers, but by the narrowest of margins at 11-9. Alex Mason won four from six but could find no answer to Strollers’ strength in depth. Rashid again won four, with the match starting with a terrific contest between he and Mason, resulting 1-1. Mike Smith won three from four for Strollers.

In Group B, the two who are already through to the semis had their first clash, with perhaps the inevitable 10-10 stalemate. George McClurkin of Park Keepers is showing splendid form and won five from six, backed by four from Jack Mooney. Park Attendants’ Angela Bowness featured prominently in the doubles to win 4-0 and took a crucial game from McClurkin. Patrick Cox won three for Attendants.

John Bowness
(August 18th, 2014)