Cuestars trio out of national U21 championship

ON A day when a borrowed shirt made all the headlines, three names familiar to Cuestars members saw their hopes of national glory end in Leeds.

Former under-14 and under-16 champion Shane Castle (Marchwood) was beaten 4-1 by Joe O’Connor (Leicester) in the quarter-finals of the English Under-21 Championship at the Northern Snooker Centre.

Earlier, the 16-year-old had accounted for Londoner Andrew Scott 4-1. You may remember that Scott made his Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour debut at Woking last November.

And Jordan Winbourne (Hedge End) was knocked out 4-1 in the last-16 by the newly-crowned European Under-21 Champion Oliver Lines, who now joins his dad Peter as a professional.

But what about the shirt?

Rotherham teenager Ashley Carty was forced to phone a friend after arriving in Leeds wearing the wrong clothes.

The 18-year-old then repaid the Good Samaritan by knocking him out in the semi-finals.

“I didn’t read the players’ letter properly,” he admitted. “So I turned up in a polo top.

“Oliver (Lines) hadn’t turned up yet so I rang him to see if he had a spare shirt and waistcoat. Luckily he had.”

Suitably attired, a relieved Carty won his first two matches and then fought back from 3-0 down to see off Lines 5-4.