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Derbyshire teams endure a mixed start to the year
by Jon Shapland
Derbyshire opened the 2010 season of Inter-County pool with varying degrees of success in a home fixture against West Midlands.
Under the guidance of new captain Dave Fernandez, Derbyshire’s men’s ‘A’-team were held to a 22-22 draw, while Craig Bousfield’s men’s ‘B’-team were 24-20 victors. The ladies and youth teams were defeated 27-17 and 30-14, respectively.
The men’s ‘A’-team began sluggishly, losing the first set 7-4 and the second 6-5 to trail by four at the half-way stage.
The arrears were reduced to three with a 6-5 third-set success, and a run of seven wins in ten frames gave Derbyshire the chance to steal the match right at the death.
Aiming for his fourth win of the day, Craig Lakin was defeated by West Midlands’ former England Youth team captain John Williams though, as the scores finished tied at 22-22.
Dinnington’s Glen McKay and Ben Clayton also recorded personal three-out-of-fours for Derbyshire.
Derbyshire’s men’s ‘B’-team began brightly with a 7-4 opening set success, but 6-5 second and third set reverses saw the hosts’ lead cut to a single frame going into the final set.
Five wins from the next eight frames put Derbyshire on the brink of victory at 22-19, before the honour of potting the winning black fell to Ilkeston’s Danny Baker.
The remaining two frames were shared as Derbyshire completed the 24-20 victory.
Chaddesden’s Mick Ruane was the top-scorer for Derbyshire with a perfect individual four-out-of-four return, while there were also three wins apiece for Ambergate’s Steve Burton, Dinnington’s John Carswell and Ilkeston’s Jon Shapland.
The ladies team suffered 9-2, 6-5 and 7-4 reverses as they headed into their last set needing all of the remaining frames to snatch a draw, but though this proved to be beyond them the set was creditably won by six frames to five.
Quarndon’s Hannah Jones, Ilkeston’s Sarah Hill, Chesterfield’s Amy Dunk and England Ladies team-trialist Melanie Adams of Burton all contributed three frame-wins out of four for Derbyshire.
Derbyshire’s youth team began life under new team manager Daz Finch with a baptism of fire against a West Midlands Youth team that had been regional champions in each of the last seven years and lost only one match in the period.
Debutant Chris Gair’s three wins out of four proved to be the only plus for Derbyshire, as the visitors took all four sets by scores of 7-4, 7-4, 8-3 and 8-3 en route to a 30-14 success.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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