The final of the Basildon TTL Premier Divisional Cup final took place on Tuesday 22 April. In a rematch of last season’s final, Basildon A took on Northlands Park B. Basildon A had beaten closest rivals Northlands Park A (5-0) and Basildon B (5-0) en route to the final. Northlands Park B had a decidedly easier time of it, as they received a first-round bye and then a walkover to reach the final! Basildon A were victorious in last season’s final by a scoreline of 5-1, so could Northlands Park B up their game and push it closer? Or will Basildon having the home advantage this time mean an even more emphatic victory is on the cards?
Both teams had the exact same players as last season’s final, with Ian Wall, Liam Squirrell & Eric Green featuring for Basildon, and Neal Barker, Richard Jackman and Steve Sawyer featuring for Northlands.
The night kicked off with Wall/Squirrell taking on Jackman/Barker. The Basildon duo started off a bit rusty and found themselves 7-5 down in the first game, but a run of 6 points in a row saw them steal the game. The match remained close as Jackman & Barker had leads in games 2 and 3, but just couldn’t get over the line. Squirrell and Wall took the match 3-0 to get their team off to a perfect start.
Wall remained on the table for match 2, as he paired with Green to take on Barker & Sawyer. Northlands got their night up and running as they took the first game 11-8 but that was as good as it got, as the Basildon pair won the next three games by a scoreline of 11-9 to win another close match.
Squirrell/Green dominated match 3, beating Jackman/Sawyer by a scoreline of 11-3, 11-4, 11-8. Match 4 saw Wall/Green take on Jackman/Barker, a match-up which the Northlands pair won in the previous season’s final. The Basildon pair got off to a great start by winning the first game 11-4, but were pegged back in the second as Northlands took it 11-5. Green then started taking a more aggressive approach, and started hitting several winners off the Northlands serve. This helped the Basildon pair take the next two games (11-7, 11-6) and the match.
Squirrell & Wall partnered up again in match 5, and finished the night in comfortable fashion as they beat Jackman & Sawyer 3-0. A huge congratulations to the Basildon A team for retaining the Premier Divisional Cup along with the league title for an impressive double.
