Right on Cue

Bradford No 1 secured the Division One title in the Yorkshire Inter-District League when Sheffield No 1 failed to win their game in hand at Castleford.

Sheffield were hammed 5-1 and the surprise result ensures Bradford regain the trophy they last won in 2006.

The squad of Mark Slater, Simon Bedford, Wayne Cooper and Sajid Khan have enjoyed a fantastic season, losing only one in 11 games - ironically at Castleford by the same score as Sheffield.

The trophy will be handed over at the Yorkshire presentation evening on May 16, immediately following Cooper's Yorkshire final against Jonathon Bagley of Leeds.

In Division Two, Bradford No 2 had an outside chance of finishing in the top two but could only draw when needing a big win against second-placed Sheffield No 2.

They went into the match trailing Thorne and Sheffield No 2 by six points, Thorne having played their full allocation of games, and a maximum win would have left a three-way tie at the top of the table.

Unfortunately for Bradford, Wayne Wootton hit top form for Sheffield against Gareth Green to win the opening frame with a 59 break and this gave the away side the title.

Green showed why he is one of Bradford's brightest young talents and responded to level the match with a run of 91.

Boover Singh then won his first frame comfortably against David Dalton but the Sheffield player tied the match with a break of 49.

Peter Bardsley rattled in three breaks over 30 against Hanif Rafiq, who then impressed in the last frame as a break of 49 earned a share of the points.

Green is action this weekend in the English Under-19 Championships, when he will be competing in the last 16 at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.

Should he make the final, this will be played at the Sheffield Academy of Snooker as part of the EASB finals weekend on May 17-18.

Defending champion Wayne Cooper edged out Simon Bedford 4-3 in the Bradford Championship semi-final at Great Horton Cons.

The pair shared the first four frames up to the interval and Cooper took the initiative to win the next.

Bedford held a 34-point lead in the sixth frame with 35 on the table and Cooper cleared only to miss a straightforward black, allowing Bedford to level at 3-3.

In the decider, Bedford raced away with a 65 break, only for Cooper to lay an impressive snooker behind the yellow.

Bedford seemed in an impossible situation and gave away a succession of fouls after being pulled for a miss on five occasions.

This was a tough call - and even more so when Cooper made a match-winning 49 break to book a final date with Mark Slater on Saturday, May 17 at Eccleshill Victoria Cons.

In the Bradford Pairs Championship, holders Bedford and Chris Brannan are through to next Thursday's final at Great Horton Cons.

This followed their 3-1 victory over Darren Goy and Simon Jackson, with Bedford making an impressive 102 for the competition's highest break to date.

Cooper and Donald Procter will play the defending champions after they came through their game 3-1 against Bingley Cons duo Richard Duffield and Mick Sharp.

The Yorkshire Pairs Championship takes place on May 11 at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. Full details will appear in next week's column.

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