The task to find the four Junior players who would be invited to represent the England in the International team event against Northern Ireland was complicated by the fragmentation of the Junior Ranking Tournaments into two separate regions last year. Rather than simply selecting the top two players from each ranking list it was felt that an attempt should be made to consolidate the positions with a North vs. South play-off.
Unfortunately this was not able to be arranged at the conclusion of last season and the event was therefore held over and played at Breaks SC, Lincoln on Sunday 22nd September. The matches were scheduled as four groups of four, playing round-robin matches of one-hour with the top two going through to a final Qualifying Round.
Problems for the North started when Robin Wilson, who finished top of the Northern rankings, was excluded from the competition, his application for professional status meaning that he was unlikely to be eligible to take part in the subsequent International event. Secondplaced Michael Donnelly did not turn up for the event along with three other top Northern players, so reducing their numbers to just four on the day. The South were also not without their problems as Peter Gamblin and Matthew Sutton, probably their best two players, declined an invitation to take part, their places being taken by Jamie Barker and Robert Hall.
Despite the absentees inevitably reducing the status of the occasion, there were some good performances on the day. Billy Bousfield with breaks of 85 and 51 (twice) was the only player to exceed fifty, but Craig Murphy Robert Hall and Daniel Dobbs all hit breaks in the forties. Dobbs also claimed the highest one-hour aggregate with 425.
Ultimately, the four qualifiers were evenly split between North and South. These being Craig Murphy and Billy Bousfield (North) who had finished sixth and seventh respectively in their regional ranking list last year, and for the South, Daniel Dobbs and Robert Hall. Dobbs was expected to be amongst the qualifiers having finished a close third in the Southern rankings, but Robert Hall who was placed a distant tenth, and had only obtained a place in the play-off due to the absence of others, produced the surprise of the event by winning through to earn a coveted England place.
Full results