http://surreypool.com/ Surrey County Pool Association en-us http://surreypool.com/ The Home of Pool in Surrey 88 31 http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=342 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:38:26 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=341 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:35:00 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=340 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:32:33 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=339 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:27:38 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=338 <img src="http://www.surreypool.com/dump/jacksmithers5.jpg" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="15" align="left" />
Playing the old enemy on their home ground is not the best start to a season that one can wish for, especially when half your squad are new recruits. Plus, as their manager reminded me, London also benefit from having the England captain and vice captain in their team. Nonetheless, I was quietly confident before the match that we could cause an upset to their plans and we did!

The first session started well with us winning 7 frames. London managed to slightly narrow the gap to 10-12 by half time but the third session saw us build up a dominating lead of 7 frames. So, 13-20 going into the last session and only 3 frames needed to secure the win. These were quickly gained within the next 4 frames and a significant margin seemed on the cards. Unfortunately, the momentum petered out, bringing the final score to 20-24.

Special mention goes to Tom Telford and Jack Smithers. Tom won 4 out of 4 earning him the Man of the Match award. Jack followed his 2009 Regional Title win with another 100% return.

Also, a very warm welcome and thank you goes to the 6 newcomers who attended. They all played in the match, making the result a true team effort. Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:26:10 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=337 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:00:38 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=336 <img src="http://www.surreypool.com/dump/jacksmithers5.jpg" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="15" align="left" />
Congratulations are in order for Surrey Junior Jack Smithers, who was the clear winner in the 2009 Region 7 Junior Individual Rankings race.

Jack won 27 frames out of a possible 32 frames giving him a very impressive win percentage of 84%.

Jack beat his nearest rival and fellow teammate Michael Hope by 3 clear frames.

Well done Jack, keep it up. Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:59:26 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=335 <img src="http://www.surreypool.com/dump/pidgeon.gif" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="15" align="left" />
With nothing left to play for, it was going to be tough to get motivated for our last fixture of the year.  This was made even more difficult as out of the original 41 squad players selected, only 31 were able to attend, so we were potentially 2 players short.  Thankfully, three other squad members, who had not been selected, were there, hoping to get involved and each of them made a contribution in, what turned out to be, an enjoyable end to the season.
 
Unfortunately, we got off to another bad start and, not for the first time this year, we found ourselves 5-0 down.  Once again, it was Brian Petty to the rescue, as he registered our first frame of the day and the start of his man of the match performance.  Mark Miller, Simon Le Marchant and Dave Tootill followed his lead to bring us back to just 5-4 down, however London took the next two to lead 7-4 at the end of the first quarter. 
 
The second quarter was our best part of the match, which we started by taking four of the first frames thanks to wins from Steve Sherstone and Luke Willsher (two of the players who stepped in at short notice), Brian and Max Brooker.  The next six were shared and the three Surrey winners were Chris Pidgeon, Darren Porter and Simon, which meant that it was 11-11 at the halfway stage.
 
It was tight overall during the third quarter, although every time we looked like we were getting on a roll, London bounced straight back.  We took the first two, thanks to Scott Lee and Max Brooker, however, we then lost the next two.  We then won the next three, as Brian, Luke and Darren won their frames, however, we then lost the next three!  Chris then won the last frame of this quarter to give us a slim 17-16 lead. 
 
One change was made at this point as Bob Taylor was brought in for the unfortunate Dan Barthrop.  Bob played and won the opening frame and with Steve also winning the next, we appeared to have an important three frame lead.  Although London won the next frame, Luke and Darren put us four ahead with five to play and just one frame away from a guaranteed draw.  London did then win the next frame, however, Brian made another significant, and ultimately crucial contribution, by winning the next.  We then only needed to win one of the next four to finish the year on a high, however, London's final four proved too strong for us, as they took them all.  Although we were disappointed not to finish with a win, a draw was probably a fairer reflection of the match overall, which both teams appeared to enjoy.
 
Individually, there were solid performances from Max, Chris, Simon and Steve, however, there were great performances from Luke, who bounced back from losing his opening frame to win the next three, and Darren Porter, who could not do any more than win three himself as he was "dished" in his first frame.  My Player of the Match was Brian Petty, not just because he won all four, as he got us going after a bad start (once again!) and won the frame that ensured we got a draw.
 
Thats it for, what turned out to be, a challenging and (for the majority of the time) enjoyable year.  What we must not forget is that we were in the hunt for the Region title until we lost at Berkshire in September, which, in my opinion, was a credible performance, particularly considering how many players we used during the course of the year.  My player of the year was Chris Pidgeon, who came into the squad this year, ended up with the best record and will be knocking on the B Team door at the start of 2010.  Brian Petty and Dan Barthrop also had pretty good years, in my opinion, as did Mark Miller and Darren Porter (in also his first year in the squad).
 
Next year will be an even bigger challenge for Surrey as a whole, as a few of the squad players are stepping down now, however, I am sure that there are plenty of others out there ready to step up. Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:58:21 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=334 <img src="http://www.surreypool.com/dump/playerprofile/markmiller.gif" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="15" align="left" />
With the Region Title now out of our reach for another year, we had just our pride to play for against Kent, who were under pressure themselves to get as good a result against us as possible bearing in mind their upcoming potential title decider with Berkshire.
 
We were looking to get off to a better start this time, particularly as we had performed so poorly in this area against Berkshire.  Some changes were made at the top as Max Brooker started his first County match of the year, Michael Cook returned and Brian Petty was moved up the order a couple of places too.  Although Max lost the opener, Dan Barthrop, Michael and Brian took the next three.  The next four frames were shared, thanks to wins from Scott Lee and Mark Miller.  At this point we were 5-3 up, but we could not maintain our good start, as Kent won the next three to lead 6-5 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The second quarter did not start well, as Michael was the only winner in the first five frames and Kent stretched their lead to 10-6.  At this stage, it was beginning to look like the wheels were going to fall off, however, we then got back on track as wins from Scott, Mark, Chris Pidgeon, Dave Tootill and Simon Le Marchant pulled us back level 11-11 at the halfway stage.     
   
Two changes were then made as James East came in for Jim Miles and Steve Rains replaced Darren Porter.
 
It was nip and tuck during the third quarter.  The first four frames were shared with Dan and Brian winning their frames and although Kent won the next two, we then only lost one of the next four, thanks to Steve, Mark, Chris and Simon.
 
Going into the last quarter we had a slender 17-16 lead.  A further two changes were made at this point, as Hugh Telford came in for Max and Bob Taylor for Dave.  The next two frames were shared, as Dan won his third frame of the day, however, at this key point in the match, Kent stepped up a gear or two and only lost one more frame, which Steve won.  The final score of 25-19 was a little flattering to Kent, who would have been pleased to get 25 after having been 18-17 down.
 
Overall, I felt we played a lot better than we did against Berkshire, which was probably helped by a good start and the way we got back on track during the second quarter after losing our early lead.
 
Individually, Michael and Scott were good in the first half; Brian, Chris and Simon were also steady throughout; however, the outstanding performers were Mark who was close to another perfect four and Steve who came in at the halfway point and won both his frames.  My Player of the Match was Dan Barthrop, as although he got his usual three, this was probably the best he had played at County this year.
 
Just one match to go now, which will be a tough finish, as we are away to London, however, we won well at home to them earlier this year and will be looking to finish on a high." Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:49:53 UT http://surreypool.com/article.php?sid=332 <img src="http://www.surreypool.com/dump/playerprofile/scottlee.gif" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="15" align="left" />
After a seven week wait, it was time for our summer day trip to the South coast.  The weather was beautiful, the beach was crowded with sun worshippers, the town was full of tourists and day trippers, however we were stuck in a pool hall, but with a very important job to do!
 
Having performed well against Hampshire back in the early summer, another good score was vital to keep our challenge for the Region 7 title alive.    
 
Some late "no shows" meant that the B Team had to call on two of the players that were due to start for us.  This may have affected us initially, as once again, we didn't start well.  We went 5-2 down (however, in the reverse fixture earlier this year we actually lost the first five!) even after Dan Barthrop and Scott Lee had put us 2-1 up.  The captain Simon Le Marchant then stepped in to stop the rot and Chris Pidgeon, Dave Tootill and Mark Miller helped us to a strong finish to the first quarter to give us a slender 6-5 lead.
 
After that, we really got into our stride, taking 9 out of the next 11, thanks to wins from Scott, Brian Petty, Chris Cornelis, James East, Dan, Dave, Mark, Simon and Darren Porter.  At the half way point we were eight ahead and well on our way to the big score that we were looking for.
 
We were not quite as dominant in the next quarter, however, we still won 7 out of 11, thanks to frames from Brian, Scott, Chris, Mark, Simon, Darren and Dave.  The match was all but won at this point, as we had a very healthy 22-11 lead.
 
Going into the last session, we had four players with a chance of winning all four.  Once again, we dropped only four frames, as Dan, Scott, Brian, James, Darren, Chris Pidgeon and Simon all won their frames.  The final score was a very comfortable 29-15 win, in a match that was played in a good spirit by both teams.
 
Once again, it was a good Team performance, particularly after a poor start.  A number of players won 3, including Dan (3 out of 4) Barthrop, Brian (Mr Reliable) Petty and Darren (Cider and Black) Porter.  Dave (stuck in my chair all afternoon) Tootill and Mark (Thriller) Miller also won 3, however, they were both a little disappointed not to get the magic 4 after losing their final frames.  The captain, Simon Le Marchant, got a perfect 4 for the second time in three matches, however, Scott Lee, who also won all 4 to add to his 2 out of 2 from the previous match, was deservedly, the Man of the Match.

It's Berkshire away next month, a key match in our push for the Region 7 Title and how good it is to be in the hunt at this stage of the season!" Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:39:04 UT