All square for Bradford duo in warm-up (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

All square for Bradford duo in warm-up

11:18am Wednesday 3rd October 2007 in

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Right on Cue

It finished honours even when Bradford's two representative snooker sides faced each other in a valuable warm-up game at Thornton Conservative Club.

With the Yorkshire Inter-District League due to start on October 13, the match gave the teams an ideal opportunity to shake off the cobwebs in preparation for the season ahead.

It was Bradford No 2 who got off to the best possible start, with Boover Singh winning both his frames against Wayne Cooper.

Yorkshire and Bradford champion Cooper was not at his usual best, missing too many pots by his own high standard, but Singh played well and was solid throughout.

Bradford No 1 soon pulled level at 2-2 as Simon Bedford made a 75 break in his first frame and 33 in the second to see off Hanif Rafiq, who struggled with his form after completing the Great North Run that day.

The last match saw two players making debuts for their respective sides, with Richard Hagerty stepping in for Bradford No 1 and Stephan Risidi for No 2.

It was expected that both players would be a little nervous to start with, and this was the case, but they settled down well and it was Hagerty who took the first frame.

But in the final frame, Risidi found his confidence and started to pot with fluency, finishing the game with a 28 break to ensure the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

The first Yorkshire League matches are Brighouse away for Bradford No 1 in Division One and a trip to new arrivals Thorne for Bradford No 2 in Division Two.

The billiards league starts the same weekend and Bradford are represented by only one side this year, with the players previously making up the No 1 team dropping out for varying reasons.

This will mean only seven sides will be competing for the title, currently held by Leeds No 2, and the first match for Bradford will be at Thorne.

• In the third pro-ticket event at Pontins in Prestatyn, Simon Bedford was knocked out in the last 64 by Paul Sweeny, another former professional looking to make it back on to the main tour whose consistent form secured the match 4-1.
• Mike Hallett opted out of his first-round match with Bedford, who received a bye at this stage, but despite the setback in this tournament the Bradford star still lies second on the rankings behind Kuldesh Johal of Leeds.

This weekend sees the start of the secondary pro-ticket tour, with Cooper in action against Ian Burns in his first-round match at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.

The event is played to a conclusion over the weekend, with a further five tournaments being played throughout the season.

Should Cooper finish the regular events in first place he will automatically gain entry to the professional ranks next season but if placed in the next 32 he will have to compete in play-offs for the right to join the main tour.

• The draws for the all-Bradford Championships are being made this week and details will be sent out in due course.