In the customary season opener, Bedfordshire beat Buckinghamshire 10-6 to win the (frankly enormous) Fleming Trophy. Four Bedford club members contributed 2 of the points and Neil’s win can be perused here.
The full result (courtesy of Kevin Williamson) was as follows:- (Bucks names first, Beds white on odds)
1. William Claridge-Hansen (209) 0-1 Gary Kenworthy (193)
2. Hans Hansen (200) 1-0 John Sharp (190)
3. Simon Finn (188) 0-1 Steve Law (184)
4. Ray Edwards (187) 0-1 Graham Borrowdale (183)
5. Roger de Coverly (186) 0-1 Adrian Elwin (181)
6. Ray Sayers (181) 1-0 Pete Clarke (178)
7. Richard Symonds (175) Draw Steve Pike (168)
8. Mat Dydak (170) Draw Marc Obi (163)
9. Edward Basham (169) 1-0 Brian Valentine (162)
10. Sean Benson (160) 1-0 Tim Lawson (161)
11. Jonathan Melsom 0-1 Rob Whiteside (161)
12. Peter Finn (154) 0-1 Neil Hickman (154)
13. Kevin Hawkins (148) 0-1 Pete Taylor (153)
14. Darrell Watson (146) 1-0 Gerry Nolan (151)
15. Andrew Hill (119) 0-1 Colin Solloway (143)
16. Default 0-1 Peter Rawcliffe (143)
Well done Beds. Outgraded but not outclassed.