Home match – Bessacarr Barnsley A v Cawthorne A – 29th October 2026.

This was never going to be a relaxing night of badminton. Cawthorne had just beaten Staincross B 5-4, a team that we had lost to 7-2.

The Bessacarr Barnsley A team was, first pair: Craig Harrop and Richard Webby Webb, second pair: Andy Wassell and Mark Shipway, third pair: Brandon Stapley and Raj S M.

Cawthorne only had two available couples for the first hour of the match so we had to play out of sequence. First couple of games saw a wins for the first pair and a loss for the second pair, 1-1.

Our first couple then took on Cawthorne’s second couple (their strongest pair). After a nip and took three ender, the Cawthorne couple took the rubber 21-18 in the third end. Meanwhile Bessacarr’s second couple played the just arrived, third couple. Another three ender finished with a Cawthorne win, 1-3.

The next four rubbers ended with three wins for Bessacarr and one for Cawthorne 4-4.

It was a one rubber shoot out. Brandon and Raj needed to beat Cawthorne’s third couple (possible their second best couple). After the Cawthorne couples previous two battles, they looked liked favourites for the rubber. Brandon and Raj played two controlled games that put the Cawthorne pair under pressure from the start. A fantastic finish to the match and another win for Bessacarr Barnsley B 5-4.