All four regulars were involved in Bradford Sunday School Billiards League action earlier this week in the Princeville Derby. Originally this fixture was moved forward 24 hours to Monday for live Sky Sports TV coverage in place of the Leeds United v Middlesbrough game, as eccentric Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino has successfully appealed to ban live television cameras at Elland Road by The Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Contract details between BSkyB and BSSBL are undisclosed, but a BSSBL spokesperson has said that the exposure is worth more than any financial reward and he hopes that it will revitalise the sport. Officials of the Pudsey Billiards League are reported to have taken a keen interest in this groundbreaking television deal, whilst the Princeville Patriots Executive Committee plan to start discussions with sports promoter Barry Hearn in order to "jazz up the sport".
First up was the battle of the captains, K.Tomlinson and G.Kershaw. In a match with was attritional at times, Keith possessed a handy lead of 20 to 30pts throughout. However the in-form Gareth is not one to give up that easily and launched a comeback at the death with a late teens break at the end, only to miss a scoring shot that would have put him on score required. Keith secured a win, by spawning a shot, which has crept into habit of late to secure a win for Princeville "B".
On the other table it was I.Tomlinson and A.Holdsworth. Ian got on the front foot from the off and never really looked back as he secured a 50pt victory against Alan to put Princeville "B" 2-0 up.
Next up was J.Butcher and W.Oates Fresh from a productive weekend at Cue Gardens, James continued where he left off and registered a 37 break early doors. Despite trailing from there on, Bill never looked completely out of the game but unforced errors became an element and James finished off with a 50pt victory to put Princeville "A" on the board.
After Princeville "A" registered two further victories, the final game was D.Hardcastle v D.Bowers. A match which was evenly contested, Don was scoring steadily but Dav was rolling back the years with some fine stroke play, only to be let down with some wild misses. Things got very tense in the nervous nineties and both players had opportunities to win the game, but the Don got a second bite of the cherry to win for Princeville "A", securing a 5-2 win and completing a Patriots "clean sweep".
Due to the Patriots success, the boot training camp at the Sport and Craft Hotel has been cancelled this week. One Patriots player decided to spend his Thursday evening at the Indoor Cricket Centre at Headingley, a decision he may regret as the post net stiffness has already taken hold.
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| Massimo Cellino outside Court 17 in Lausanne |
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| A regular appearance in the Princeville Derby |
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| New Patriots Motto |
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| Patriots Boot Camp |
