Lillington trio dominate Division One of the National Cadet League

Lillington A's trio of Josh Yarrow, Eduardo Bolanos and Milly Green romped to top spot in Division One of the National Cadet League in Wellingborough on Sunday, finishing five points clear of their nearest rivals, writes Phil John.
Lillington C's George Barnes beat Sully Rymarz to stave off the whitewash against Corby.Lillington C's George Barnes beat Sully Rymarz to stave off the whitewash against Corby.
Lillington C's George Barnes beat Sully Rymarz to stave off the whitewash against Corby.

Day two of the league saw teams jockeying for position before competing for trophies later in the season and Lillington will now be full of confidence going into days three and four.

Draycott of Long Eaton were beaten 6-0, Lillington B and St Neots B were disposed of 5-1 and Bedford A were overcome 4-2.

The only blemish was a 3-3 draw with St Neots A.

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Yarrow finished with a 90 per cent average, with Bolanos returning 80 per cent, while Milly Green’s 60 per cent included a win over Anna Green who is ranked 20 places above her in England at number 34.

Lillington B had been promoted to the top flight on day one and found life tough.

As well as losing to their A side in a match which saw Eleanor Fletcher surprise Green, they lost 6-0 to Draycott and 5-1 to Bedford and St Neots A but managed a draw with St Neots B.

Fletcher enjoyed three wins, while Tom Yarrow’s two were both noteworthy, with a terrific victory against Chloe Pryke of St Neots A followed by the scalp of Thomas Nicoll of St Neots B. Nicholas Ho defeated St Neots B’s Lowri Hurd.

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Lillington C, promoted to Division Two on day one, faced Milton Keynes and Corby Smash A in their first two encounters, both of whom had come down from the top flight.

They fell 6-0 to Milton Keynes and 5-1 to Corby where George Barnes defeated Sully Rymarz but never looked back after that.

A 6-0 whitewash of Draycott B, in which Joe Shrimpton and Owain Jones both beat England-ranked Bethany Wootton, a 5-1 win over Bedford B and a draw against WDHA of Wellingborough put them in third position, ten points clear of the drop zone. Barnes and Shrimpton posted 60 per cent averages and Jones bagged 50 per cent.

Rugby had been relegated to Division 3B after day one but bounced back in style, with Alex Bowe, William Chen and Josh Tyagi posting 9-0 wins against Bedford D, Westfield B (Wellingborough) and Corby Smash B.

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Meanwhile, Warwickshire County Juniors competed in Division 1A of the County Junior League at Rugby on Sunday where they were represented by four players from Lillington Free Church and Colebridge’s Lisa Rinnhofer.

Lincolnshire were their first opponents and were edged out 6-4. Jack Green and Nikit Sajiv won both of their matches and Rinnhofer and Ricardo Bolanos added singles, with Rinnhofer (34) beating England number 32 Chloe Lingard.

Norfolk were next up and a more comfortable 7-3 win ensued. Rinnhofer and Sajiv won their twos, while Emily Beasley, Bolanos and Green grabbed singles.

The final match was a hotly contested draw 5-5 with Worcestershire (Green 2, Rinnhofer 2 and Beasley 1). The match hinged on the encounter between Sajiv and England number 40 Hawley Ellicott which went Worcestershire’s way 13-11 in the fifth.

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