BROCKHALL and Salesbury A had previously played out an exact draw - a rare occurrence indeed - and spectators were not disappointed when the two first division sides contested the reverse fixture.

In a hard-fought match, favourites Brockhall were able to even things in the mixed doubles by taking four of the events, but were 21 aces behind.

Things were very different in the level doubles where the men from the home side exerted their strength and skill to achieve three results while the ladies had to be content with a share of the spoils.

This proved the deciding factor and Salesbury were able to clinch a well-deserved victory.

At the bottom of the table Stanhill A helped themselves to some valuable bonus points, in their close match against Independents A. Although losing by just two games, they have been able to increase the gap over St Philip's while still remaining in trouble. However, they now put pressure on YMCA B.

The current leaders Fourth Division leaders Accrington Falcons, suffered their second defeat of the season, this time against St Nicholas B. The home side were playing much better than their current form suggests, and although taking nine games and finishing two aces behind, they did record a technical win.

In spite of Accrington Falcons losing a second time in three league weeks, they still dominate the top placing. The fight to avoid relegation at the foot of the table continues. The two bottom sides Telecom B and Olympic B played a controlled but exciting match, with visitors Olympic getting the better in the end to record a 10-6 win and climb up a place in the table. In the Second Division British Aerospace continue their run of bad luck in that they always seem to be just beaten on the night, and this week was no exception. They took eight games against home side Abacus, but still finished three aces behind. In a bottom of the table clash Independents B climb up a place as a result of a well deserved win over Stanhill B, leaving the visitors now in the relegation zone.

In the Fifth Division, Salesbury B continue to dominate the play. This time dropping only one game against Olympic C. Salesbury are the first club this season to score 2,000 aces.

The Blackburn second team earned their second win of the season, playing against a strong Lancaster side, which included Sam Wadsworth who is a strong second team county player.

This was a close match with most players performing well above their normal standards and winning at least one of their individual events. Blackburn had the edge in the singles by taking two out of three, with Wendy Higgin and Clive Roscoe - promoted from the third team - putting in very good performances for their victories.

The men's and ladies doubles were both split evenly, leaving the match with a score of 4-3 in favour of Blackburn, with just the mixed doubles events to be completed.

The top mixed doubles went, as expected to Lancaster, but the middle order pairings of the visitors comfortably took the games to give Blackburn the match. A 6-5 win doesn't give Blackburn the maximum bonus points they were looking out for, but two wins out of two matches is a good foundation for a realistic crack at promotion in this tight and competitive division. Results - Division One: YMCA A 16-240(20), Belgrave Carpets 0-29(0); YMCA A 14-223(18), YMCA B 2-154(5); Stanhill A 7-168(10), Independents A 9-186(12); St Philip's 1-123(3), Pleckgate 15-231(19); Salesbury A 9-188(12), Brockhall 7-165(10).

Division Two: Mount Carmel 14-230(18), St Nicholas A 2-135(4); Independents B 11-207(15), Stanhill B 5-179(8); Abacus 8-186(12), BAe 8-183(11).

Division Three: Olympic A 9-211(13), Westholme 7-179(10); Aztec 2-142(4), Tag 14-225(18).

Division Four: St Nicholas B 13-227(17), Telecom B 3-117(5); YMCA D 5-155(8), Accrington Falcons 11-223(15); Blackburn Juniors A 13-232(17), College 3-129(5); Telecom B 6-138(8), Olympic B 10-195(13); St Nicholas B 9-181(12), Accrington Falcons 7-183(10).

Division Five: Blackburn Blinds 15-232(19), Roefield LC 1-68(2); Olympic C 1=93(2), Salesbury B 15-236(10); Westholme WL 13-228(17), Roefield D 3-107(5).

Lancashire Inter-League Division Two: Lancaster 5, Blackburn 2nd 6.

Fixtures for Saturday: Blackburn v Manchester (noon). Dec 19: Blackburn 2nd v Bolton 2nd (noon), Blackburn 3rd v Southport 3rd (noon).

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.