Right on Cue

Bradford’s billiards team were on the wrong end of a 7-0 scoreline when they travelled to Harrogate in the Yorkshire Inter-District League.

England international Stephen Crosland was the only Harrogate player to have featured in the reverse fixture earlier in the season and his game against Paul Devitt had a very similar result.

The Bradford player had been beaten 200-124 in the first match and this time it was 200-130 in favour of Crosland.

Devitt kept close in the early exchanges but a 37 break by Crosland gave him a 109-51 lead, from where he progressed to a comfortable victory.

Brian Hardcastle returned to the Harrogate side, in place of Tom Halliday, after being absent for several seasons due to illness.

But he defeated John McEachran 200-146 in his usual ebullient style, although the final score did not really reflect what, for the most part, had been a very close game.

With Harrogate captain Tim Godolphin suffering back problems, the hosts were able to bring in Jonathan Marwood on his home table at Harrogate Conservative Club.

He duly produced breaks of 44, 57 and 30 in defeating Stephen Kershaw 200-169 to complete the whitewash.

Meanwhile, the Bradford No 1 snooker team entertain Ossett at Undercliffe Cricket Club on Sunday (7pm).

Defending champions Bradford will be looking to bounce back after their shock home defeat to Castleford No 2. They still lead Division One but now only by a narrow margin.

Bradford No 2 travel to Wakefield No 2 looking to avenge their opening-day 6-0 defeat, having improved greatly over the last few weeks while logging some excellent victories.

A good win on Sunday could see them move to the top of Division Two and emulate their first-team stablemates.

Mid-season standings – Division One (played seven unless stated): 1 Bradford No 1 27pts, 2 Leeds 26, 3 Castleford No 2 23, 4 Sheffield No 3 21, 5 Harrogate 21, 6 Castleford No 1 17, 7 Ossett (6) 14, 8 Sheffield No 1 (6) 13.

Division Two (played six unless stated): 1 Huddersfield 23pts, 2 Bradford No 2 22, 3 Brighouse 22, 4 Wakefield No 2 (5) 19, 5 Castleford No 3 14, 6 Selby (5) 11, 7 Wakefield No 1 9.

* Second-leg matches in the Hey’s Trophy second round and both Hopkinson Plate preliminary-round ties conclude tomorrow night. Results should be forwarded to Eddie Ratcliffe.