Brighton’s defence of the Senior British Clubs League Premier Division title started in emphatic style as they thrashed North Ayrshire 7-0. Brighton, who made history by securing the title last year, laid down a marker for the rest of the competition as they stormed to a convincing victory that saw them set out their stall in the first fixture of the new season.

With all games being streamed on YouTube for the first time, Brighton certainly made an impression in front of an expectant audience. They dropped just three ends on their way to a whitewash, with it clear early on that they will be in the mix for honours once again this year.

The new campaign has seen Brighton sign Shoma Nishihara, a regular in the Swedish League and, on this evidence, he will be a force to be reckoned with. He took out Chris Main in straight sets to set the tone for the morning fixture.

It was then the team’s mainstay, Swede David Andersson, who extended the lead, defeating Martin Johnson 3-1 to get his campaign off to a good start. 

Brighton extended their lead further with a 3-1 win in the doubles as the pair of Andersson and Nishihara got the better of Main and Jamie Johnson.

Johnson was on debut in the Premier Division and gave a good account of himself, having impressed at junior levels on the European and world circuits. That said, Paralympic legend Will Bayley proved too good for him in the end, albeit in four closely-fought ends, to secure victory for the hosts.

Nishihara continued his strong form in a straight-set victory over Johnson and two more 3-0 wins followed for Brighton, one of them enforced as Chris Main had to pull out of his match against Will Bayley halfway through due to injury, which is never nice to see,

The other came as Andersson saw off a battling Johnson to complete the whitewash and lay down a marker to the rest of the division.

For context, North Ayrshire were without Colin Dalgleish and Viktor Gormen, so they will no doubt come again optimistic that better days are ahead this campaign. But it does little to deter from a Brighton performance that has put the rest of the competition on watch. Brighton still have Alex Naumi, the Finland international, to bring into the reckoning.