Thorn beetles to first win
SHREWTON cueman Alex Thorn has picked up his first win of the season in the Cuestars South Wilts Snooker League.
After four straight defeats, the 36-year-old, whose other hobby is racing a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, stepped up a gear against Southampton’s Neil Carroll.
Playing on Nathan Williams’ “tight” match table at Salisbury Snooker Club, Thorn won 3-2 after Carroll forced a decider with a black-ball game in the fourth frame.
Thorn said: “It was good to win. I was pleased with how I played and enjoyed the match.”
Elsewhere, 16-year-old James Bolton (Amesbury) potted the final pink and black to edge a closely-fought match 3-2 against Richard Arnold (Salisbury).
League leader John Hunter (Andover) recorded an 80 break, the highest this season, and added a 50 in a 5-0 romp over Steve Ashton (Shrewton).
Gary Hart (Porton) described his 3-2 win over second-to-bottom Stuart Dreyer (Salisbury) as a “comedy of errors”.
He said: “It was a close match as always with lots of strange in-offs and cannoning colours into the pockets.”
And in a mid-table clash, Jeremy Dawson (Gillingham, Dorset) lost 3-2 to Paul Burt (Britford).
Results: Jeremy Dawson 2 Paul Burt 3, Gary Hart 3 Stuart Dreyer 2, Neil Carroll 2 Alex Thorn 3, James Bolton 3 Richard Arnold 2, John Hunter 5 Steve Ashton 0.