It was honours even when Shottery B entertained Royal Mail, but the hosts could count themselves unlucky having narrowly lost out in the two closest matches of the evening. Wilf Chan overcame Tony Remes, and then Malcolm Heritage got the better of Gareth Hepworth both over the distance. The outcome of the fixture constantly see sawed and at 4 - 5 Hepworth took on Nello Mauri, who was looking to complete his treble. The Postmen's captain started with a bang, winning the first game with the loss of just a single point, before his opponent stemmed the tide and secured the next three to earn his team a draw. Hepworth and Tim Fell both finished with braces, with the Villagers also claiming the doubles, while Heritage and Mauri each won two for Royal Mail.
Meanwhile, on the adjacent table, Shottery C took on FISSC.
Proceedings got off to an exciting start as Malcolm Smith chalked up the first game against Rob Poole. At 11 - 11 in the second the Farmer got two lucky 'edges', both of which his opponent had the grace to call, to go into a two - love lead. However this inspired the Village captain to dig deeper and he won the next three games to take the match. Smith made a great recovery of his own when facing Chris Bowles where, despite being 1 - 8 down in the first game, he found his form to secure both that and the following two games. Nevertheless the star of the show was most definitely Poole who registered a treble for the hosts and followed it up by overcoming an early disadvantage to claim the doubles. He was partnered by the rapidly improving David L Lewis, who is beginning to earn some reward for his efforts and was unlucky to lose 10 - 12 in the decider against Richard Bennett. In the other encounter to go the distance, after four games where the pair were neck and neck, Peter Florence finally opened up a winning margin over Bowles. The three visiting players each went home with braces and a vital 4 - 6 victory in their pockets.
Henley A submitted a much shorter report than usual, probably because they lost out surprisingly easily to the visiting Shottery A. Only three matches went to a fourth game, and at no time were the champions elect under any real threat as Gary Stewart, Steve Foster and John Price all put in perfect performances. Price, after failing to get on the card in their previous fixture, was back to his best while Foster used his new bat to good advantage.
Just five days later Henley A travelled to Royal Mail where their lack of form continued. When the teams met earlier in the season the points were shared, but the Postmen dominated the return fixture. Wilf Chan and Malcolm Heritage both delivered fine performances and were rewarded with braces, although the latter was taken the distance by Geoff Shephard. However neither was able to overcome Robert McCluskey who stepped up from Henley's second string and showed his senior colleagues the way by claiming the team's only successes. McCluskey was foiled in his search for a treble by Nello Mauri who's excellent display of attacking strokes made him the evening's only unbeaten player. He also combined with Heritage to secure the doubles and send the Villagers home on the wrong end of an 8 - 2 scoreline.
