Photo Credit: Michael Loveder

The Senior British Club League Premier Division is wide open after one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history.

Unbeaten Ormesby are, well, not unbeaten any longer. They suffered an incredibly surprising loss to North Ayrshire, who headed into the match with just one win from their opening six matches this season, compared to Ormesby who had gone six from six.

But it meant little on the day as North Ayrshire produced a result that has blown the competition open and actually knocked Ormesby off top spot due to an inferior sets ratio.

The star was Martin Johnson who produced one of the performances of his life to secure a sensational double. The young Scot started things off with a superb win over Ben Piggott, all the more impressive given he went two ends down. But Johnson rallied, firing back to take the third 11-6, squeezing through the fourth 12-10 before completing a remarkable fightback with an 11-7 triumph in the fifth.

Ormesby fired back through stalwart David McBeath, who came through Gavin Yuan comfortably then teamed up with Piggott to win the doubles 3-1, triumphing over Johnson and Colin Dalgleish.

But Dalgleish would fire the hosts back into the contest next up. An epic battle with Graeme Barella ensued and after a titanic tussle; Barella twice coming from a game down, it was Dalgleish who took the match with a narrow win in the fifth.

When Johnson then beat McBeath in a sensational 3-0 victory. This was a stunning display from Johnson who was completely worthy of the win. He flew out of the gates and never slowed down. McBeath, England’s number five, had no answer.

North Ayrshire were one win away from an extraordinary team victory. Yuan showed no sign of nerves either. He was fantastic in a straight-ends win over Barella, storming to an 11-4 win then taking out the next two ends to secure the win to the delight of the home support.

It meant the ongoing match between Dalgeish and Piggott, which was becoming another epic, was somewhat meaningless, not that the players felt that way!

Enormous credit goes to Piggott who took the match after trailing 2-0. He appeared flustered as he failed to take some early chances, but found a way to take the next three to ensure he did come home with a win under his belt.

That said, it was a damaging day for Ormesby’s title hopes, a fantastic day for North Ayrshire’s survival hopes, and a result that has thrown the competition wide open. You can watch the full match at this link.