A crowd of around a hundred spectators gathered at Winchester to watch an enthralling contest between Linden Homes Winchester and Heaton Bradford.

The first match pitched up-and-coming Alex Stait against Scott Handley. The match began in very tight fashion with the two players edging their way to 3-3 before Handley took control, winning four consecutive rallies and the first game 9-4.

That set the tone for the next two games with Stait battling hard in the early stages before succumbing to the strength and speed of Handley to lose the match 9-4, 9-4, 9-3.

The second match saw Ben Garner take on Mark Chaloner. Garner started the first game slowly but then took control to go 7-4 up, finally wining the game 9-6.

The mixture of bold play and excellent retrieving that had characterised the first game gave Garner a momentum that meant he was always on top in the second, going on to win 9-5. The third started much more tightly before Chaloner seized the initiative and won the game 9-6. However, Garner dug in to reassert himself, winning the fourth game, and with it the match, 9-7.

With the match balanced at 1 tie each, the audience were treated to an epic battle between the first strings. The Winchester crowd are well used to seeing Alex Gough put on amazing retrieving displays, but even they would have felt sympathy for Parke as Gough's outrageous get secured the first game 9-5. The balance then shifted towards Parke, who seemed to have Gough beaten as he won the next two games 9-3, 9-5.

However, as seems to happen every time he steps on court at Winchester, Gough managed to find some reserves of energy to outplay Parke. He wonn the next game 9-2 to take the match in to a deciding game.

In the last game Gough built on his confidence from the previous game and went on to win it 9-4, securing a 2 ties to 1 win for Winchester.