Embassy 'B's Andy Hewitt turned the tables on his 'A' team with a scintillating display in the Bingley derby.
The ex-Somerset County Junior player reacted well in the first following a 21-17 reversal at the hands of Neil Foley to take the rubber by hammering Foley in the next two 21-11 and 21-5. Now fully in gear, Hewitt destroyed Palminder Sandhu and eventually shook off the challenge of top player Carl White 21-15, 21-23, 22-20.
Both White and Foley beat Derek Briggs and Nadim Asghar, but Briggs (21-18, 17-21, 23-21) and Asghar (13-21, 21-18, 21-17) got the better of Sandhu to leave things on a knife edge going in to the doubles.
However, a fluctuating encounter saw the 'B' boys Briggs and Asghar just pip White and Foley 9-21, 21-7, 21-16 to earn their team a 6-4 victory.
Despite this set back, Embassy 'A' still maintain their lead at the top with a surprisingly easy 10-0 away victory at Nelson Nomads.
Peter Kirby was untouchable in his 21-10, 21-16 defeat of David Ayrton, Carl White's max included a 21-9, 21-12 defeat of Catherine Lawson and Richard Crowther's full house saw him get the better of Michael Wrigley 16-21, 21-5, 21-15.
Nemesis are showing an improvement this season, and with the recent signing of top players Steve Taylor and John Stones they should soon move away from the foot of the table. Neither player was signed in time to play against Oakbank and they could not avoid a 7-3 defeat by the youngsters. Peter Worger played well to grab a couple against Nick Clegg and Katie Lightowler but once again there was no stopping Gareth Wiles who celebrated his county call up with a max.
Lightowler showed great maturity to add to this with a couple including a 15-21, 21-17, 21-17 defeat of Tom Sampson and a Nick Clegg win against Tim Moran. The doubles sewed it up for the Oakbank team.
Lothersdale 'C' are top of Division Two following a couple of good performances. Away at Embassy 'C', although suffering a defeat by the narrowest of margins the trio of Jack Anderson, Jack Webber and Richard Crookes played well, only just missing out on a share of the spoils by losing the doubles 17-21, 21-7, 21-10. At home to Ilkley Road 'B', Jack Anderson was in commanding form with a treble that included a 21-7, 19-21, 21-12 defeat of Karl McIntyre as Lothersdale won 7-3. McIntyre was the Riddlesden team's best player with a couple against Alec Pue (21-9, 15-21, 21-11) and Jack Webber (15-21, 21-19, 21-19).
Terriers 'C' made an early season leap towards safety with a crucial 7-3 victory over Stockbridge Spartans. Paul Lister was outstanding with a faultless display beating Ryan Foulds, Ray Wallace and Abid Hussain. Steve Wands lent good support with defeats of Foulds 21-13, 21-14 and Wallace 23-21, 21-13. A couple for Hussain and a Foulds defeat of John Morris was all that Stockbridge could muster in a lacklustre performance.
In Division Three, Haworth 'B' already look like Championship contenders after at South Craven. Azeem Khan, with only one defeat in the first four games, saw off Tom Fryett and Michael Hebden, but was made to struggle by Jordan Ross, winning in three 21-9, 21-19, 21-12. Kamran Ramzan also earned a hat-trick that included a 21-18, 21-23, 21-14 victory over Tom Fryett as his team cruised home 8-2.
Skipton 'B's promotion challenge foundered on the St Peter's rock as the home team collected an 8-2 win. Both Richard Foster and Tony Richardson helped themselves to maximums and then combined to defeat Paul Griffen and Tom Fawcett 21-18, 14-21, 21-13 in the doubles. David Tomlinson chipped in with a good 9-21, 21-16, 21-14 success against Gerard Heselwood as his team swept into second place.
William Lister refused to allow Craven LTC to have it all their own way in their clash at home to St Wilf's. A good 21-5, 21-13 win against Graham Southam was followed by a further success against Maggie Kitching. However, the Gargrave team look to have a major find in Stuart Harrison who notched a full house on his debut to earn his side a 7-3 win.
Crossflatts 'B' must wish they could call on the services of Ben Hinchcliffe every week. Making his debut against their 'A' team the youngster blazed his way to a fine max that included a 21-16, 21-17 defeat of John Patrick. Both Anthony Mann and David Bairstow collected a couple each with Bairstow's 21-10, 19-21, 21-19 defeat of Roy Durn being a gripping encounter as the 'B' team ran out 8-2 winners.
Ilkley Road 'C' remain nicely placed in third spot despite a 6-4 reversal at Oakworth 'B'. Steve Smith stretched his tally to 8 from 9 with a full house for the home team that was added to by Paul Hollindrake's 21-17, 21-19 defeat of Paul Stead and Jason Procter's fighting 15-21, 21-15, 21-8 win over Ken Feather. Steve Ives with two was top man for the visitors with Ilkley Road's other points coming from a 21-18, 21-12 Feather defeat of Hollindrake and a 21-19, 21-10 win for Stead against Procter.
RESULTS
Division One; Embassy 'A' 4, Embassy 'B' 6; Nelson Nomads 0, Embassy 'A' 10; Oakbank 7, Nemesis 3; Ukrainians 5, Oakworth 'A' 5.
Division Two: Embassy 'C' 6, Lothersdale 'C' 4; Lothersdale 'C' 7, Ilkley Road 'B' 3; Stockbridge Spartans 3, Terriers 'C' 7.
Division Three: Craven LTC 7, St Wilfs 3; Crossflatts 'B' 8, Crossflatts 'A' 2; Oakworth 'B' 6, Ilkley Road 'C' 4; St Peters 8, Skipton 'B' 2; South Craven 2, Haworth 'B' 8.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article