SECOND placed Hurst A extended the gap to BH Pegasus A in third to seven points with a 6-3 victory over Beechdown A in Basingstoke and District Badminton Open Division One.

Hurst A put in a solid team performance with David Irvine and Vaughan Lewis leading the way with a treble, Stephen Lambe and Michael Nash scoring a double and third pair Colin Dangerfield and Winsun Seng a single to see them across the line.

A double from Simon Hughes and Karen Hume and a single from Peter Leeds and Lisa Moran were the scorers for Beechdown A who are up to fourth despite only having won once in the campaign to date.

Leaders Waverley weren’t given an easy ride against BH Pegasus A with five of the nine rubbers going the distance. However, Waverley held their nerve in all but one of those three setters to run out winners by an 8-1 margin.

Ian Aherne/Wayne Drake and Peter Bevell/James Higgins notched hat-tricks and Phil Hood and Andrew Mountford recorded a double, Nick Choi and Rob Clayburn scored a single for BH Pegasus A to avoid the whitewash.

The eight points gained takes Waverley A eleven points clear at the top, with second placed Hurst A having played a game more.

Andover Sport A won the derby with a narrow 5-4 victory over bottom side Andover.

The win takes Andover Sport A out of the relegation places by one point and it now looks like it is a scrap between themselves, Beechdown A and Viking A to avoid joining Andover in Division Two next season.

Despite the four points scored, Andover are still thirteen points from safety and have played a game more than two of their rivals in the bottom four.

A hat-trick from Chris Clarke and Ben Sellers and brace from Nithin Veeraarasu and his partner saw Andover Sports A over the line, with Joe Li and Martyn Isherwood scoring a brace for Andover.

Challengers are disappearing over the horizon in Open Division Two, with their lead at the top now stretched to sixteen points following a 9-0 win over a two pair Aldermaston side.

The score doesn’t do Aldermaston justice, as they took four of the six rubbers played on the night the distance, but Challengers held firm to win all of these three setters.

Beechdown B were grateful to receive three rubbers from their opponents BH Pegasus C who were only able to raise two eligible pairs for their recent encounter.

A hat-trick from James Blackman and Karin Themsen earned BH Pegasus C their points in a 3-6 reverse with Beechdown B moving temporarily top of Open Division Three.

This week a 7-2 victory for Hurst B over Alresford took them back to the top, a treble from Chris Puxley and Keith Lawrence led the way, backed up by doubles from Chris Young and Richard Silk and from Christopher Best and John Lang.

Bret Charman and Mark Emmerson battled hard for Alresford and were rewarded with a brace of rubbers for the losing side.

Waverley A beat their club mates Waverley B 8-1 to open the gap at the top of Mixed Division One to nine points, with second placed Beechdown A having a game in hand.

Trebles from Wayne Drake and Emma James and from Neil Atkins and Sarah Fenton, together with a brace from Peter Bevell and Hannah Scott saw Waverley A home, a hard-fought single from Craig Ford and Gina Rapacioli prevented the whitewash.