Match report by veteran reporter Neil Wheatley.
COLEBRIDGE TOMAHAWKS 5 – TANWORTH PASTIES 5
With all six players belonging to the same club and with Tomahawks’ two leading members absent, it was perhaps inevitable that this would be a close encounter – and so it proved.
Hawks’ Farooq Kakar was playing his first match for 12 months and it showed, with more than usual of his fast drives missing the table. Fortunately he got enough on to defeat Jason Rainey and Ben Rycroft-Stanley, both in four games, but Pasties’ ‘Man-of-the Match’ Mike Evetts, managed to keep him in check in a five game marathon, to record a deserved victory, with 4 of the games going all the way.
Mike had another close set against John Overton, three of his four game win also going the distance, but was far too consistent for Neil Wheatley, winning in straight games, an achievement made all the more remarkable, considering that earlier, Neil had defeated both Jason and Ben.
Having just failed to overcome Neil’s combination bat defences, Pasties’ young star also struggled against John’s similar style, but emerged victorious in the penultimate set after five more close games, to put his team ahead for the first time in the match. However, his pairing with Jason was not good enough to contain the Kakar/Wheatley combination, the latter securing the draw that all present agreed was a fair result.