Dunnington extended their lead at the top of the Yorkshire Premier League in the first game back after the Christmas break as defending champions Queens stumbled again. 

Club stalwart Matthew Stephenson got Dunnington off to a great start in their away game at Woodfield only for Alec Tomlinson to level matters for the hosts with a win over Taminder Gata Aura in four games. 

Michael Andrews and Luke McFarland, Dunnington’s nos. 2 and 3, were both victorious in quick time to ensure the five bonus points would return home to York. However, Ben Smith, the 20-year-old from Grimsby who has made a fine start to his Challenger Tour career, grabbed a notable consolation win at no.1 over veteran Chris Simpson. 16-6 was the final margin of victory. 

Hallamshire met Queens in the night’s clash of the high-flyers and it was the hosts who grabbed second spot – 16 points behind Dunnington – with a splendid 17-6 win in Sheffield. 

Ollie and Adam Turner laid the foundations with lower-order wins over some high-profile opponents, namely former world no.15 Sarah Campion and ex-England coach Josh Taylor. 

Although the mercurial Bader Almaghrebi pulled a win back for Queens at no.4, the stage was set for three-time world champion Nick Matthew and his protégé Nick Wall to clean up in straight games at the top of the order and confirm the win. 

Pontefract 2 continue to live up to their self-styled moniker of ‘The Unexpected Dream Team’ as they bagged a 16-7 victory in the derby against stablemates Pontefract 1. 

In fact, the seconds had the ‘W’ wrapped up early in the evening with Ben Beachill winning in four, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Hollie Naughton in three and Matt Godson overcoming George Wileman with relative ease after a lengthy opening game. 

Ponte 1’s top order restored some respectability to the final scoreline. No.2 Ben Hetherington, from Cumbria, battled out a five-set win over Tom Bamford and the prodigal Sam Todd, now ranked 67 in the world, breezed past Adam Taylor. 

Down at the bottom, Chapel Allerton are gradually waking from their early-season slumber. They picked up their third victory of the season – 14-7 against fellow strugglers Harrogate – although they remain bottom by 15 points. 

It was Chapel A’s lower order, Richard Hinds, Isacc Green and Cameron Ward, who did the damage, dropping just one game between them. That meant Stuart MacGregor and world no.88 Lwamba Chileshe’s victories for Harrogate were only consolations. 

Elsewhere, Abbeydale eased their relegation worries with a surprise 18-4 win at mid-table Doncaster. 

Josh Payne, James Blythe and Phil Scully all claimed straight-games wins early in the night to seal the five bonus points. New Zealander Joel Arscott got a four-game win for the hosts at no.2 but Welshman Elliot Morris-Devred's win over Simon Herbert at no.1 made it a healthy points haul on the night for the visitors from Sheffield.