WHITE Hart’s Yardley & District League Division Three team are one match away from the title after a fine win at Hockley Heath B.
With the light fading on a very wet Wednesday evening last week, wins from Kirk Wright (21-9), Neil Laxton (21-13), Gill Croft (21-16), Tim Hollingshead (21-16) and John Meredith (21-18) gave them eight points and they are ten clear at the top, although two of their main rivals have a game in hand.
As the Standard went to press, a convincing return home win over Hockley Heath this week could have seen White Hart bring the title to Redditch in the team’s first season in the league.
In Heart of England League Division One the White Hart A team achieved a narrow 137-128 home win over Kings Norton Ex-Servicemen.
Sue Sugden and Tim Hollingshead both won impressively 21-5, supported by 21-17 victories for Mick Perrins and Mike Estell.
This followed their very impressive performance in reaching the Consolation Cup final to be played next month. They had to overcome a huge points handicap to do so but won both the home and away legs of the semi-final.
The B team jumped out of the relegation places in Division Three after a vital 142-136 win at Marston Green, who now drop down to second from bottom.
Ray Richards and Norman Batchelor both won to single figures and victories for Paul Matthews, Gill Croft and Ken Brown gave White Hart 15 crucial points to put them safe by six points with the final return match with Marston Green to come.
In Heart of England League over 60s Division One White Hart A played out a thrilling 96-96 draw at home to Wythall A. Captain Ian Humphreys led by example, winning his tie 21-7, while Tom Hawks (21-16) and Stephen Turner (21-10) gave them further points, taking the team to a respectable seventh position following a much-improved second half of the season.
The over 60s B team lost 102-91 at Solihull RBL B, their only winners being Norman Batchelor (21-8) and Sheila Humphreys (21-10). They are down in ninth in Division Three but six points clear of the relagation places.
In the Saturday Warwick & Worcester League White Hart were heavily beaten 240-138 at Banbury after the single-point victory at home to the same opponents the week before.
Their only winners were captain Stan Pritchard (21-17) and Mike Estell (21-13) but they had six single-figure scores and still lie precariously near the foot of Premier League Division Four.
In the SW Birmingham League White Hart’s A team beat Hall Green A 119-102 in Division One to lift them to only four points from safety in tenth place.
Hall Green are the team narrowly above them so their final return match with them will provide another exciting climax to the season.
The B team impressively defeated hosts Hall Green B 113-76. There were easy 21-5 wins for Brian Chatterley, Anne Batchelor and Tony Sugden and a 21-11 scoreline from Sheila Humphreys lifted them to eighth and well clear of relegation.
