THE destiny of this year’s Division One title race is in the hands of champions Torridge following Thursday night’s results.

While Torridge were cruising to a 10-0 success at second bottom Whitstone which saw Steve Cragg, Peter Freeburn and David Streak all go unbeaten, their nearest challengers North Hill A were recording a 7-3 success at third-placed Helland.

The visitors eased into a 3-0 lead before skipper Mike Fisher defeated Iain Oxenham 11-9 in the fifth and deciding end to claw one back.

Shirley Luckhurst made it two wins from two for the night when she beat Ingus Abolnieks, before Ritchie Bartlett condemned Michael Briggs to just his second loss of the season.

North Hill won the next two, which included Luckhurst securing a treble, before Bartlett beat Oxenham for a double.

In the final match of the evening, Briggs recovered from 2-1 down to defeat Abolnieks.

The result leaves Torridge 11 points clear despite having played game more. But with Torridge and North Hill having played each other twice already, Torridge remain in control.

Budehaven B moved level on points with fourth-placed Budehaven A after thrashing Budehaven C 9-1.

The hosts raced into a 4-0 lead before the match of the night saw Ashley Taylor face the rapidly-improving Sam Jennings.

Both men like to attack which led to a back-and-forth contest. However in the end, Taylor saved two match points in the fifth before going on to claim it 12-10.

The next match was equally as close but this time the victory went the way of the C team as Tim Orchard beat skipper David Sillifant.

Orchard won the first two before Sillifant made it all square. However Orchard held his nerve the better to record a deserved success.

Ewen and Taylor won the doubles in straight ends before the home trio took the final matches.

Elsewhere, Crackington A picked up a fifth win of the season with a 7-3 success over Budehaven D.

Frank Barnes continued his superb season with a treble for the hosts while team-mates Ross Paynter and Ross Wilmshurst joined in with a double apiece, although both were made to work hard by Anthony Ward.

Ward joined forces with Gary Bickle to beat Paynter and Barnes in the doubles, while Bickle defeated Paynter and Wilmshurst.

The defeat leaves Budehaven D now just two points behind Whitstone with a game in-hand. Both fixtures between the two are yet to be played.

Crackington B require just three points from their final two fixtures to secure promotion back to Division One after a 9-1 success at Launceston.

Crackington went 2-0 up before Judith Cook and Zach Parker were forced to dig deep to come from behind to defeat Stephen Parsons and Steven Logg.

Cook and Chatterjea recorded comfortable wins to make it 6-0 before the doubles point was secured in four ends.

Launceston got on the scoreboard when Logg beat Cook in four before Parker and Chatterjea completed trebles.

North Hill B bounced back from their defeat at Crackington B by winning the derby against Altarnun, 7-3.

Adrian Davis and Michael Kinger won close contests against Paul Burden and Alex Whitfield either side of Trevor Luckhurst’s success over Geoff Hale as the hosts went 3-0 ahead.

Although Burden got Altarnun off the mark, Davis and Kinger won their next singles before combining in the doubles.

Whitfield and Burden both won in four ends to make it 6-3 before Davis ensured an unbeaten evening in the final match.

Budehaven E are seven points behind North Hill with a game in-hand after being held to a draw at Bridgerule A, who led 5-3 at one stage.

Alan Quilter fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Roy Stubbs before Ian Westaway made it all square by beating Jay Brewer.

The next four matches were traded before Brewer and Quilter won the doubles in the fifth.

Brewer then recorded his first victory in the singles with a thrilling 12-10 victory over Ian Edwards in the fifth.

However Stubbs and the unbeaten Westaway ensured a share of the spoils by claiming the final two matches.

24 hours earlier Budehaven E lost 5-3 to Launceston in the Division Two Knockout Cup semi-final, meaning Launceston will face double-chasing Crackington B at a neutral venue in March.

The other match in the division saw Crackington C whitewash North Hill C with Robin Evans, James Ellis and Trevor Dean all unbeaten.

Budehaven F have opened up a nine-point lead, albeit having played three games more than second-placed Altarnun B, following a 5-0 victory over Bridgerule C. The other match in the division saw Budehaven G lose by the same score to Bridgerule B.

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