Can Rice or Herd dethrone the king of the South Wilts League?

TWO of the challengers bidding to dethrone the all-conquering king of the Cuestars South Wilts Snooker League kicked off the new season with victories.

Anthony Rice and Neil Herd, who finished second and third respectively in the 2016/17 campaign, are both chasing first ever titles.

Rice defeated Paul Burt 4-1 in the first week’s action at Salisbury Snooker Club but reckoned his opponent from Britford produced the highlight of the clash.

The 20-year-old from Fordingbridge said: “The standard of the match was really quite poor with the highest break being Paul’s 24.

“In fairness, I had the majority of the run and that was probably the reason why I managed to get the win.

“Nevertheless, it was a nice result to start the season as Paul is never an easy player to play against.”

Meanwhile, Neil Herd (Frome) compiled breaks of 47, 33 and 32 in a 3-2 victory over Steve Ashton.

Herd faces newcomer Lee Stagg (Fordingbridge) in his next fixture.

The Cuestars South Wilts Snooker League was founded in 2005 in memory of former Durrington professional Graham Lee, who died suddenly in 2004 at the age of 44.

Players from the Salisbury area compete on alternate Thursday evenings until March, 2018, at Salisbury SC.

All matches are played off scratch and consist of five frames. One point is awarded for each frame won with a bonus point for the winner.

Nine players are competing in this, the 14th season, for the Graham Lee Memorial Trophy.

Eleven-time and defending champion Hunter compiled the league’s highest break of 139 against Alex Thorn in the 2007/08 season.

Results: Anthony Rice 4-1 Paul Burt, Neil Herd 3-2 Steve Ashton, David Rice P-P Neil Carroll, John Hunter P-P Richard Arnold.

Highest break: Neil Herd 47

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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)

Picture by Tim Dunkley