JUNIOR CHALLENGE MATCH
NE Derbyshire SC, Clay Cross(Sunday 28th January 2001)
The top ranked English juniors from last season would normally have been invited to take part in an International fixture against Northern Ireland, but with the visiting Irish unable to bring a junior team with them a special challenge match between the North and South of England was arranged to take place at Clay Cross, on Sunday 28th January.
Matthew Sutton, the leading player from the South was unable to take part due to holiday arrangements, but this was balanced by the absence of the North's leading player Robin Wilson.
Perhaps reflecting a greater strength in depth, the final score was an overwhelming win for the North by 15 to 5. This was highlighted by an impressive performance by Martin Shutt who ran up an aggregate of 632 points in his 90 minute game against Peter Gamblin. This included a rapid-fire 53 and many minor contributions in the 30s and 40s. Chris Appleton also recorded two 50+ breaks in his 431-200 victory over Calvin Daws. The position could have been even worse for the South as a break of 43 by Billy Bousfield opened up a lead of over eighty points against Jimmy Chambers at one stage in their match. Bousfield had recently recorded his personal best beak of 78 in the Middlesbrough Friendly League and was evidently still full of confidence. However, the experienced Chambers came back with a break of 64 and eventually took the match 384-318. His three points for this win just about kept the South in the hunt as they trailed 9-3 after the 90-minute games. However, the short format matches failed to produce a recovery as only Peter Gamblin had any success with two wins against Bousfield.
Results (Northern players first)
