Hosts set the pace, but SBCL Championship is close after weekend one

September 23, 2025 | Paul Stimpson

Hosts Nottingham lead the way after the first weekend of Senior British Clubs League, Championships Division action.

A competitive weekend saw all 10 clubs pick up at least two points, with Nottingham managing three wins and a draw to finish on 7pts, one clear of BATTS II and Urban, who both also remain unbeaten.

Nottingham started with a 7-1 win over Perry Dale, the most emphatic scoreline of the opening round of fixtures, which included two draws.

One of those saw BATTS fight from 4-2 down to claim a point against Finsbury, for whom Munib Ahmed won twice. Jack Bennett, who had earlier beaten Ho Yin Tam in a decider, won the seventh match 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4) against Jonathan Lancry and Ethan Walsh completed the comeback for BATTS with victory over Abdullah Ubaidullah in match eight.

The other draw was between Wymondham and Woodford Wells. Adam Alibhai (pictured above, photo by Michael Loveder) put Woodford in front by coming from 2-0 down to beat Umair Mauthoor 3-2 (5-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6), but Wymondham led 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 before Aarav Pariharâ€s win over David McKenzie sealed a draw for the young Woodford team. Alibhai won twice, as did Dan Ives for Wymondham.

Ormesby II started with a 6-2 win over Hurricane, pulling away from 2-2 as Thomas Rayner and Zac Greenhough won twice each.

Urban saw off Ormeau II 5-3, who threatened a draw when Paul McCreery beat Niall Cameron and Thomas Earley led Leon Thomson 3-2 in match eight – Thomson came back to win 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8) to seal overall victory.

Nottingham had to chisel out a draw from 4-2 down in the Saturday afternoon round of matches as Ormeau took charge of the tie early on – the Belfast club also led 2-0 and 3-1. Joseph Dennison started the revival by winning in five against Adam Faulkner, and Adam Fuzes sealed the draw as he beat Thomas Earley in the final match.

Finsbury got their first win, claiming the final two matches to prevail 5-3 against Perry Dale, with Ubaidullah winning twice. There were 6-2 victories for BATTS over Hurricane, Ormesby against Woodford Wells and Urban against Wymondham.

The only 8-0 scorelines of the weekend came on Sunday morning, BATTS defeating Woodford Wells and Nottingham dismissing Wymondham.

There were two drawn matches too, including a first point for Perry Dale, who fought back from 3-0 and 4-3 down against Ormeau. All four Perry Dale players contributed a win, including Daniel Moses beating Thomas Earley 3-2 (7-11, 6-11, 15-13, 11-6, 11-9) in match four and Harri Doherty overcoming Faulkner 11-8 in the fifth in match six.

The other draw was a see-saw encounter between Ormesby and Urban. The Londoners took the first match, then trailed 3-1 and led 4-3 before Josh Weatherby beat Thomson to seal the point for the Teessiders. Weatherby won twice, as did Alim Hirji, who came from 2-0 down to beat Greenhough in match six.

There was a first win for Hurricane, who trailed Finsbury 2-1 after Tam beat Joe Sawyer 13-11 in the fifth and Ubaidullah saw off Pawel Orzechowski in a decider. Hurricane came back to lead 4-2, but Ahmed kept Finsbury alive by defeating Adedapo Onakomaya – but Orzechowski won it for Hurricane as he beat Kevin Kan in four.

Sunday afternoon saw Nottingham make sure of top spot by easing to a 7-1 win over Ormesby, but elsewhere there were two draws and two narrow victories, with Ormeau and Woodford Wells notching their first wins, both by 5-3 scorelines.

Ormeau built a 4-0 lead over Finsbury but saw their opponents hut back to take the next two matches, including Tam beating Sophie Earley 12-10 in the fifth. McCreery made sure for Ormeau in the penultimate match.

Woodford led Hurricane 2-0 and 3-1 but were pegged back to 3-3, before Alibhai overcame Onakomaya in the fifth and Parihar completed victory for the Essex side in four against Richard Jermyn.

Perry Dale picked up a second successive draw as they recovered 2-0 and 4-2 deficits against Wymondham, for whom Oleh Biletskyi and Mauthoor won twice – the latter 14-12 in the fif th against Mohammad Salameh. For Perry Dale, Neil Pickard won twice, including the draw-clinching 3-2 (11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 6-11, 11-7) win over Adam Gigli.

Urban and BATTS both preserved their unbeaten records in a 4-4 draw – and it will be BATTS who are the happier as they came from 3-0 and 4-1 down after Gabriel Achampongâ€s double for Urban, including from 2-0 down against Josh Bennett (7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 1-8). But three wins in a row for Jack Bennett, Ryan Choong and Ethan Walsh saw BATTS rescue a point.

Two players remain with 100% records in the averages – Ormeauâ€s McCreery won all eight of his matches and Nottinghamâ€s Hobson won four out of four.

Hobsonâ€s team-mates Adam Dennison and Max Stevens, and Urbanâ€s Hirji, all have seven victories from eight matches played.

The next weekend of the SBCL Championship is 8-9 November.

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