Queens remain on the throne atop the Yorkshire Premier League table but they were given their most rigorous workout so far by Pontefract 1 in round four on Wednesday night. 

The Halifax club had won their three previous YPL fixtures 5-0, but Ponte’s fast-rising star Patrick Rooney and no.2 Lewis Doughty inflicted their first individual defeats of the season. 

Although Rooney downed England’s top junior Finnlay Withington in straight games and Doughty conquered Josh Taylor in four, the Queens victory was already in the bag by that point thanks to their hugely impressive lower-order. 

Sran Ngiem, the 17-year-old from Manchester who is coached by Taylor, beat veteran John Riley at fifth string, the visitors’ Danny Bray won a marathon against James Wilkinson and James Earles scored a rapid win over George Wileman at no.3. That early spadework ultimately earned the table-toppers a 15-8 victory. 

Chapel Allerton recorded a third victory in four matches to remain in second place (albeit a hefty 16 points off the leaders) following a triumphant trip down the M1 at Hallamshire. 

Nick Matthew (fresh from a few days in Mauritius celebrating the retirement of long-time friend, rival and fellow former world champion Gregory Gaultier) was the star turn for the hosts, but his 3/0 win over Chapel’s Richie Fallows at no.1 was too late to save Hallamshire from a 16-10 defeat. 

Fergus Hunt, one of Matthew’s academy protégés, won an epic battle with Henry Duncanson at fifth string but on the adjacent court Chapel A’s Paul Allen was winning an equally lengthy duel with the home side’s Danial Choudhury. 

Continuing the theme, the visitors’ YPL veteran Declan Christie won a five-setter with Alex Cutts before Chapel A bagged the crucial third victory of the night through Conor Sheen’s straight-games win over Hallamshire no.2 Harry Falconer.  

Pontefract 2 celebrated their first win of the season (and drew level with Hull & East Riding at the bottom on 28 points) as a fine performance from their lower order sealed a 16-8 win at YPL newcomers Doncaster. 

Dominic Pegg and Matt Godson were pretty comfortable winners early doors (impressively so in Pegg’s case as he ended opponent Nick Ratnarajah's unbeaten run that stretched back the three opening YPL games of this season and 18 in a row throughout Doncaster’s promotion season in 2019/20!) 

When Ponte 2’s fourth string Billy Hawes saw off a comeback bid from Craig Huckerby to win in four games, the five bonus points were sealed. However, Doncaster’s top two – New Zealander Joel Arscott and world no.119 Miles Jenkins – did claw back six points for the South Yorkshire side later in the evening, the latter thanks partly to an injury to opponent Adam Taylor. 

Defending champions Abbeydale claimed a second win of the season with Nick Wall Snr’s five-game victory over former world no.21 Fiona Moverley proving crucial in their 16-8 victory at strugglers Hull & East Riding. 

Wall won 11/7 in the deciding game, laying the foundations for Phil Scully and Adam Turner above him in the order to seal straight-games wins that confirm the five winning bonus points for the visiting Sheffield side. Hull’s Yusef Forster had earlier beaten Sam Watts in four, but the jig was up for the hosts before Ben Smith’s consolation win over Welshman Elliott Morris Devred at top string. 

Woodfield joined the clutch of clubs in mid-table with two wins from four after beating Dunnington 14-8 in a thriller. 

Matthew Stephenson and Ed Shannon got the visitors from York off to a flyer with rapid lower-order victories, but Woodfield roared back with Luke Parker winning an epic battle against Cai Younger and Simon Herbert equalising via a straight-games win over Julian Tomlinson. 

It all came down to a big-name top-string tussle between firebrand world no.36 George Parker and ex-England international Chris Simpson. It was Parker who took it in three following a close first game to bag the win for Woodfield.