Wheatley Hill A and Spennymoor A established themselves as the two points early leaders in the First Division after both completed good wins last week.

The Hill whitewashed the visiting Old Shildon with wins from Ronnie Peacock, Dan Bryden, who was making a welcome return to league play, Dave Walker, Dennis Clish and Alan Hall.

Spennymoor A beat the visiting Sherburn Village, who only collected one point when Albert Bower won. The Moors had wins from Paul Biddle, Eddie Rhodes, Michael Pratt and Paul Atkinson, who put in a 62 break.

Cockton Hill looked to be on their way to whitewash defeat at Witton Gilbert when the home side had points from Willis Joynes, John Rooney junior, John Rooney senior and Paul Nord, who put in a 47 break. However the visitors took the last frame in style when Andrew Aisbitt put in a 75 break.

Wingate recorded their first win in the First Division after they only dropped one point to the visiting Newton Aycliffe, who had Richie Young as their only winner. The home side had wins from John Bourne, Dean Jones, Steve Allen and Jimmy Mason.

Bearpark, back in the First Division after a long break, only managed to take one point from their visit to Fishburn A when Glen Morton won. The home side had wins from John Griffin, Peter Davison, Charlie Hirst and Brian Quest.

Shotton Palms made their first win of the season with an odd point success over the visiting Brandon. The home side had wins from John Armstrong, Dave Swindle and Jimmy Evans, whilst the visitor replied through Graeme Jackson and Brian Graham.

Coundon maintained their good run in the Second Division with a home win over Sacriston, whose only point came from Dale Evans. The Coundon points came from Frank Nicholson, Stephen Bennett, Willy Shoulder and Stuart Neil. This put Coundon two points clear at the top of the table.

Meadowfield only dropped one point on their visit to Stanley Central, who had Jimmy Dufton with a 32 break as their only winner. The visitors' points came from Malcolm Hughes, Ian Hodgson, Stephen Hughes and Martin Halliday.

Langley Park were taken to the decider before they beat the visiting Wheatley Hill B. Kevin Keers and Stephen Coates put the Park ahead but Steve Cave and Tony Ellison, with a 30 break squared the match. In the decider the Park went to victory when Stephen Renwick beat Ken Johnson.

Belmont were also taken to the decider when they visited Ferryhill, who were never ahead. Billy McGrath put the visitors ahead but Steve Wray levelled. Tom Robinson senior restored the Belmont lead only to see Neil Spender equalise. In the decider Belmont's Colin Robinson beat Ian Fawcett.

Newhouse came through to win in the decider on their visit to Willington. Arthur Goldsborough put the home side ahead but then Newhouse had wins from Paul Wright and Ian Dinsdale. Jeremy Martin squared the match but then Jimmy Hassen beat Willington's Tom Parkin in the decider.

Crowtrees A made an odd point win over the visiting Spennymoor B with wins from Sean Johnston, who cleared with 25, Keith McLaughlan and Sonny Hann, whilst the Moors replied with wins from Alan Rouell and Micky Anderson, who put in a 30 break.

New Durham went one point clearatthe top of the Third Division when they whitewashed the visiting Ferryhill B with wins from Gordon Bowes, Brian Birks, Neil Phillips, Tony Thompson and Thomas Cairns.

Hunwick B are in second place, one point ahead of Crowtrees B, after they only dropped one point to the visiting Tow Law A, who had Arthur Henderson as their only winner. The home side had wins from David Penman, Barry Fleming, Trevor Lomax and Tom Ward.

Crowtrees B moved up to third place in the tale after they won in the decider at Durham City. Martin Wolfe put Crowtrees ahead but Eric Wright and Barry Stoddart moved the home side ahead. Terry Gibson levelled the match and then the visitors' David Lowery beat Michael Pratt in the decider.

Bearpark B were never headed by the visiting Fishburn B as they edged through to an odd point victory. Steve Gott put the home side ahead but Keith Binks levelled. Bob Lumley restored the home lead only to see Michael Bell equalise. In the decider Bearpark's Ian Chamberlain beat Winston Hodgson.

Leeholme A made a whitewash victory in the Leeholme derby with wins from Ray Gill, Karl Thompson, Barry Shaw, Alan Roe and Ian North.

Tow Law B took the first and last points in their home game against Hunwick A with wins from Charlie Donaghy and John Warriner. However the visitors went to victory with wins from Peter Mernor, Ian Richardson and Des Mason.

Results: Tow Law B 2 Hunwick A 3; Crowtrees A 3 Spennymoor B 2; Wheatley Hill A 5 Old Shildon 0; New Durham 5 Ferryhill B 0; Coundon 4 Sacriston 1; Shotton Palms 3 Brandon 2; Leeholme B 0 Leeholme A 5; Willington 2 Newhouse 3; Spennymoor A 4 Sherburn Village 1; Hunwick B 4 Tow Law A 1; Stanley Central 1 Meadowfield 4; Fishburn A 4 Bearpark 1; Bearpark B 3 Fishburn B 2; Ferryhill A 2 Belmont 3; Witton Gilbert 4 Cockton Hill 1; Durham City 2 Crowtrees B 3; Langley Park 3 Wheatley Hill B 2; Wingate 4 Newton Aycliffe 1.

Kingsway Krugerrand Competition

Jimmy Evans of Birtley met Stuart MacKenzie of the Kingsway Club in the last 16 of the competition played at the Kingsway Club, above the Lightfoot Institute in Kingsway, Bishop Auckland. After a slow opening to the first frame Evans knocked in a decisive run of 23 and went on to take the first point at 54-29.

In the second frame MacKenzie was able to tighten up his play and potted with more confidence to eventually take the final pink to level the match with a 56-40 victory. Evans came back in the third frame with a run of 25 to move ahead with a 64-21 victory. He then went on to take the fourth frame and the match with a series of small breaks and some tight safety, which gave him the 58-21 win.

On the other table Sonny Hann of Crowtrees met Charlie Blake of Middleton-in-Teesdale in a frame, which started with very tight safety. However Blake was first to get a chance and he put in a 22 break. Hann, who had just replaced his tip, missed an easy chance and mentally must have blamed the tip for he never got back into the frame, as Blake put in a finishing 35 break to take it at 66-22.

The tip continued to dominate Hann's play, as he missed many balls that normally he would have put away. Blake steadily built up a lead and when he put in a 27 break, Hann conceded with one red left on the table.

In the third frame Blake put in an early run of 20 but Hann settled to his task and looked to be with a good chance. However Blake pulled out the stops late in the frame to take it at 64-42.

On Thursday, November 6 at the Kingsway Club, Paul Harland of Darlington meets Sean Johnston of Crowtrees, whilst Jimmy Dufton of Stanley meets Andrew Aisbitt of Cockton Hill. There is free entry for spectators, who will be very welcome.

Crook League

Crook Belle Vue Club pulled off a very good away victory to beat the reigning champions, Crook Olde Horse Shoe A by the odd point and join them in joint third place in the First Division. The Shoe had singles wins from Gavin Witton, who put in a 55 break and Richard Walker, with Brian Johnson joining Witton to take the doubles. The Club went to victory with wins from John Warriner, Pip Samson, Ian Hodkinson and Brian Wright.

In the Second Division, Crook Queen's Head A pulled off a home victory in the deciding doubles against Crook White Swan B. The home side had singles wins from Tommy Longstaff, Dougie Smailes and Lofty Harker, whilst the visitors levelled through Stephen Dawson, David Brown and Carl Maddison. In the doubles decider the Queen's John Howarth joined Harker to beat Andrew Finch and Maddison.

Crook Travellers Rest B lead the First Division by one point from the newly promoted Crook Golden Fleece B, who are three ahead of the Olde Horse Shoe A and Belle Vue Club. Crook Coach and Horses B lead the Second Division by three points with Crook Olde Horse Shoe B in second place, one point ahead of Crook White Swan A.

Failure to change the original fixture list to put the Brewer's Droop in position five and the Earl Derby where there was a bye, resulted in the Golden Fleece not travelling to Stanley for the match. Secretary, Les Scott reminds every team these changes must be noted to avoid repeats of this unacceptable situation.

Results: Crook Royal Sun 2 Crook Travellers Rest B 5; Crook Olde Horse Shoe A 3 Crook Belle Vue 4; Crook Travellers Rest A 2 Crook Spitfire Club 5; Willington Market 3 Crook Coach and Horses A 4; Crook Golden Fleece B 6 Crook Surtees 1; Crook Coach and Horses B 7 Crook Jelly's Bar B 0; Crook Jelly's Bar A 2 Crook Olde Horse Shoe B 5; Crook Queen's Head A 4 Crook White Swan B 3; Crook White Swan A 5 Crook Queen's Head B 2; Willington Brewer's Droop 3 Howden Australian 4. Stanley Earl Derby v Crook Golden Fleece A not played.

Jack Jobson Memorial Singles Handicap

The final of this year's competition in memory of Jack Jobson, who was the secretary of the C.I.U. Snooker League for over twenty years, will be held at Tow Law Club on Monday, 3 November at 7.30 p.m. A new name will be inscribed on the trophy when Alan Rouell of Spennymoor will meet Brian Quest of Fishburn.

After the match Mrs Joan Jobson, Jack's widow, will present the memorial trophy to the winner. Spectators who wish to pay their respects to the work done by Jack Jobson over the many years he was secretary are welcome. Refreshments will be provided.

Worthington CIU

Pairs Semi-Final

John Bower and Alan Greener of Sherburn Village met Stephen Bennett and Stuart Neil of Coundon at Stanley Central under the control of referee, Harry Coates of Crook Belle Vue. The winners would face Thomas Cairns and Gordon Bowes of New Durham in the final to be played at Langley Park.

Alan Greener made a great start to the first frame with 24 but the Coundon pair steadily pulled back. Bennett looked to be on a break to establish a big lead but missed a simple blue off its spot. Bower replied with two reds and two blacks but went in-off the second black. The Sherburn pair only managed the yellow from the colours and trailed by 56-48 after the first frame.

This narrow lead was extended to forty points in the early stages of the second frame but the Sherburn pair fought back and when Bennett went in-off the final blue, Bower took the last three balls to go down by 64-51, leaving Coundon with a 21 points lead going into the final frame.

The third frame was dominated by very tight safety play. When Neil potted the yellow and green, Bower replied with the Brown and blue to leave thirteen in the match. The match was won when Bennett tried a hard hit shot into the middle pocket but saw it hit the jaw, bounce onto the black cushion and fly up into the yellow pocket for one of the 'finest' flukes seen on the table, but sufficient to give the Coundon pair a 173-133 victory.

National CIU Championship

There were victories for both David Craggs of Tow Law and Andrew Aisbitt of Cockton Hill in the second round of the national competition. Both came through to win their best of five matches for the loss of only one frame.

Craggs met Spencer Hope of Throckley at Tow Law and raced through to take the first frame with a series of small breaks at 80-30. In the second, Craggs again was dominating and put in a decisive 33 break to go two up with a69-16 victory.

Craggs got away with a 28 break in the third frame but Hope tightened up his safety play and recorded breaks of 14, 16 and 17 to eventually take the frame at 56-33. Hope's confidence grew and he shot into an early lead in the fourth farme with a 27 break but then suffered a double kiss when trying to play tight safety. This allowed Craggs to the table to hit a 57 break and take the match with a fourth frame score of 83-34.

Andrew Aisbitt visited Hardwick Social Club in Stockton where he played Paul Weeson and was crushed in the first frame, which the home player took easily. However Aisbitt settled into a very tight safety encounter, where there were no breaks of note and took the next three frames.

Worthington CIU

Winter Singles

First round draw: Steve Armstrong (Crowtrees A) v Graeme Witton (Old Shildon); Lee Cullinan (Tow Law A) v John Robinson (New Durham); Stephen Coates (Langley Park) v Lawrence Jones (Leeholme A); Jock Frost (Wheatley Hill B) v John Bower (Sherburn Village); Paul Harrison (Wingate) v Colin Goodrick (Brandon); Neil Phillips (New Durham) v Dave Walker (Wheatley Hill A); David Taylor (Crowtrees B) v Martin Halliday (Meadowfield); Mark Appleby (Sacriston) v Stan Bennett (Willington); Scott Mallaburn (Sherburn Village) v David Blyth (Wheatley Hill B); Billy Goggins (Coundon) v Andrew Aisbitt (Cockton Hill); Thomas Parkin (Willington) v Jimmy Evans (Shotton Palms); Michael Aldworth (Old Shildon) v Charlie Blake (Coundon); Stephen Bennett (Coundon) v George Whitelock (Fishburn B); David Hudspeth (Leeholme B) v Sonny Hann (Crowtrees A); Peter Coates (Old Shildon) v Peter McGowan (Sherburn Village); Ian Hodgson (Meadowfield) v Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor A). There are 48 byes. Results to be into the League Secretary by November 24.

Curry Cup

First round draw: Stephen Coates (Langley Park) v Scott Mallaburn (Sherburn Village); Willis Joynes (Witton Gilbert) v Gordon Bowes (New Durham); David Blyth (Wheatley Hill B) v George Whitelock (Fishburn B); Steve Armstrong (Crowtrees A) v Stephen Bennett (Coundon); Frank Nicholson (Coundon) v Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor); Dave Walker (Wheatley Hill A) v Kevin Mordica (Cockton Hill); Andrew Aisbitt (Cockton Hill) v Robert Roche (Langley Park); Brian Graham (Brandon) v Charlie Donaghy (Tow Law B); Dean Jones (Wingate) v Jimmy Evans (Shotton Palms); John Bower (Sherburn Village) v Lee Todd (Leeholme A); Kevin Sample (Brandon) v Ian Renwick (Witton Gilbert).

There are byes for Tony Ellison (Wheatley Hill B); Lee Cullinan (Tow Law A); Thomas Cairns (New Durham); Sonny Hann (Crowtrees A) and John Bourne (Wingate). Results to be in by November 24.

Worthington CIU Summer Singles Championship

Willis Joynes of Witton Gilbert qualified for the right to meet Scott Mallaburn of Sherburn Village in the Final at Fishburn after he whitewashed Dave Walker of Wheatley Hill in the semi-final played at Newton Aycliffe.

In the first frame Joynes got off to the better start to move thirteen ahead but Walker retaliated with visits of eleven and fourteen to establish a 17 points lead with the final red on the table. However he missed a comparatively easy pot and allowed Joynes to take the frame on the pink at 46-38.

Once again the second frame was dominated by good safety play, although Joynes was able to build up a lead with a series of small breaks. He led by seventeen on the brown but missed four easy chances to clinch the frame before he finally won 57-48 by taking the final black.

The third frame was very one-sided as Walker never got into his stride and Joynes took advantage by building up his score with small breaks followed by tight safety. Joynes took the third frame at 60-6