Report 15th October 2002

In the top division, the Alma A travelled to Ash and shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw against the Lion.  Tim Hayes of the Lion scored 7230 to beat Ted Batchelor, and Paul Smart won his match against Tim Bourner to take a 2-0 lead.  In the final singles game, Chris Saville opened with a break of 8170, to which Neville Potts replied with 5590.  With too little time left, Chris gained the point for the Alma.  The momentum was now in favour of the visitors as initially Ted Batchelor & John Mitchell, then Chris & Gill Saville won both the first doubles legs for a 3-2 lead.  Tim Hayes & Wack Sampson hit back for the Lion  in the final game with a 5590 score to restore equilibrium.
The other completed fixture in division 1 saw an excellent 5-1 for the Magnet A at the Greyhound Sandwich.  In the first game Matt Brown, playing his first ever competitive match, notched a creditable 1050 break, but was eventually beaten by Mike Callanan of the Magnet.  Lin Callanan won her leg against Craig Carlson for a 2-0 lead to the Deal side, before Daniel Jackson took the sole point for the Greyhound in a 3410-2630 win over John Higgens.  All three doubles games went the way of the visitors to complete the victory, which moves the Magnet to third in the table behind the Plough & Harrow Bridge and the Chantry Club from Canterbury.
 
In division 2, the Greyhound A continued their impressive start to the same when they travelled to Deal and beat the Brickmakers A 5-1.  Dave Carliell beat Paul Garlinge to win the first singles game, then Alan Farra won his leg, which included a break of 3100, to protect his 100% record this season.  Another player unbeaten this season, Stuart Pearcy of the Brickmakers team, won the home side's only point in his 5140-1760 win over Gareth Butcher - Stuart notched a 2800 break en route to victory.  All three doubles legs went to the Greyhound, including a score of 5720 for Gareth Butcher and Christine Farra in their game.
The Fitzwalter Arms are only one point behind the Greyhound at the top of division 2 after a superb 6-0 way to the Alma B, the first whitewash of the season.  The first game was close until the end as Nigel Scott edged a win against Harry Pearson 1650-1510.  Mark Graves and Roger Oldfield followed with more comprehensive victories in their singles games.  Steve Lake played and won all three doubles, first two with Roger Oldfield and then Mark Graves as the Fitzwalter Arms extended the lead to 5-0.  The final saw the lowest winning score of the season so far, and closest game, as Nigel Scott & Steve Lake beat Rick Cowdrey & Anne Cope 450-440.  Both teams black pegged late in the game before Nigel Scott potted the last ball to win.
The Magnet B and the Plough & Harrow Tilmanstone shared a 3-3 draw.  Ken Keen beat Rob Robertson 2900-2290 to give the Plough the early lead, before Steve Philpott levelled the tie.  Anne Keen took the final singles leg to restore the lead for the way side.  Steve Philpott & Chris Gent combined for a 4320-3160 win over Brian Carpenter & Ken Keen to pull even again, and next Ward Griffiths & Tanya Philpott won their doubles game to give the Magnet the initiative for the first time.  Anne Keen & Brain Carpenter rallied in the final leg to earn a good away draw for the Tilmanstone team.
In the final fixture, the Brickmakers B travelled to the Butchers Arms to earn their first win of the season, 4-2.  Paul Dargan took the first leg for the Brickies, before Paul of the Butchers Arms beat Dave Carter 1550-1160.  Simon Jones scored an impressive 6540 to win for the away team and take a 2-1 lead into the doubles.  Janet Kershaw and Doug Vickers took the first doubles leg for the Butchers to level the tie at 2-2, but the visitors won the final two legs and the match, including a score of 4450 for Simon Jones and Simon H. in the final game.