Billiards tournament hits 100

2:45pm Wednesday 26th March 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

The Bradford billiards team championship, the Moorhouse Shield, celebrates its centenary this season and will get underway next week.

This competition is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the Yorkshire District and has seen many different winners over the years since Dudley Hill Liberal Club won the title back in 1908.

Bingley Conservative Club are the current champions and will start the defence of their title against Undercliffe Cricket Club. Other ties: Clayton Rugby B' v Manningham Ward, Great Horton Cricket v Queensbury Cons, Clayton Liberals v Harold Club, Chapel Green Liberals v Eccleshill WMC and Low Moor WMC v Great Horton Cons. Lilycroft WMC and Clayton Rugby A' receive byes.

Ties are expected to start next Thursday, with second legs the following Thursday, although it is understood teams can rearrange their ties where necessary, as long as these are played by the weekend of April 12.

Details of the competition, together with team handicaps will be sent out this week by tournament director Brian Watson, who can be contacted on 816307.

• In the Yorkshire Inter-District Snooker League, Bradford No 2 had an excellent 5-1 victory at Huddersfield in Division Two.

Boover Singh and Gareth Green put Bradford 4-0, before captain Hanif Rafiq extended the lead to 5-0 and a whitewash was only avoided by the home side after they won a very scrappy final frame.

This result keeps the pressure on second-placed Sheffield No 2 and, with both sides due to meet on the final weekend of the season at the end of April, promotion is well within sight.

Bradford now play Wake-field No 1 at the Manningham Ward club on Sunday (7.30pm).

Bradford No 1 are also in action this Sunday at Thornton Conservative Club (7.30) against third-placed Castleford.

• In the quarter-finals of the Yorkshire Snooker Championship, defending champion Wayne Cooper defeated Ian Glover from Doncaster 4-2 - aided by a best break of 92.

He will now face fellow Bradfordian Gareth Green at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds on Saturday (7.30).

Cuedos-based Green played consistently throughout his victory over highly-rated Brett Miller from Barnsley, winning 4-2.

Simon Bedford crashed out to the host club's Jonathon Bagley 4-2.

Bagley will now play Leeds' Alan Trigg, who edged out fellow clubman and 2004 English champion David Grace 4-3 - the tie being decided on the final black.