Unbeaten record comes to an end for high-flying Queens

The Halifax club were the last remaining undefeated team in the league – until Wednesday, when they went down 15-7 at home to reigning champions Barnsley.

The South Yorkshire outfit clinched victory thanks to their top three players, with Andy Whipp beating Patrick Rooney 3/1, Peter Billson drubbing Connor Sheen 3/0 and James Peach overpowering world no.19 Sarah Kippax in straight games as well.

Amanda Landers-Murphy, the world no.35 from New Zealand, and John Hanson guaranteed some respectability in the scoreline by respectively defeating Mike Lowery 3/1 and David Evans 3/0 at four and five, but it was Barnsley who took the crucial five bonus points for the win.

That triumph lifted the champions above Queens into second place, but only on matches won, since they both share 101 points. The Halifax team do have one fixture in hand, though.

Still leading the league are Dunnington, whose 19-6 home success against Pontefract seconds was their sixth win in a row and boosted their season’s points tally to 118.

Despite missing their top player – world no.23 Chris Simpson, who was in Qatar preparing for the PSA World Championship – the York club, who have not lost since the opening day of the campaign, cruised to victory.

They conceded only one rubber – at four, where Ed Shannon was edged out 3/2 by Peter Lonsdale – with wins from Daniel Hockborn, Gareth Lumsden, Matt Marshall and Matt Stephenson ensuring Pontefract seconds remain bottom of the table on 43 points, 15 behind Heaton, although from a game less.

Meanwhile, Abbeydale halted a sequence of five consecutive defeats with a 17-7 triumph at Sheffield rivals Hallamshire.

Nick Wall, Neil Guirey and Murray Scott were their matchwinners at two, four and five, with Chris Fuller’s and Jack Allcock’s victories for the home side proving in vain.