Doncaster began their Yorkshire Premier League title defence with a victory at Harrogate that was soured by falling foul of new rules concerning professional players.
New regulations ratified at Yorkshire Squash’s AGM in May stipulate that teams cannot field more than three full-time pro players and that at least two players in a team must be eligible to play for Yorkshire in the Inter-County Championships.
All five of Doncaster’s line-up on Wednesday night are full-time professionals on the PSA Squash Tour and thus the 2023/24 champions will be hit with a points deduction.
Doncaster’s world no.69 Asia Harris began the evening with an epic 12-10 6-11 2-11 11-9 13-11 victory over the hosts’ no.5 Ross Kneller, polishing off victory on her third match ball. On centre court, Aussie David Turner took four games to see off the home side’s Richard Hinds.
Lewis Doughty and Gabriel Cox shared some lung-burstingly long rallies before Doughty claimed victory in three lengthy games before Paul Broadberry got Harrogate on the board with a 7-11 11-7 7-11 11-9 11-9 win over Doncaster’s Kiwi captain Joel Arscott.
World no.55 Simon Herbert finished off the visitors’ 19-5 victory (with points deduction still to be applied) by beating Stuart MacGregor in four at top string, leaving Harrogate to rue an injury to their new signing from Dunnington, former world no.20 Chris Simpson.
Newly-promoted Cleethorpes received a brutal welcome to the top flight as they went down 20-0 at home to Pontefract 1.
The highlight of the evening for Ponte was the return of Sam Todd after an 18-month injury layoff. Once hailed as a potential future world champion by the late, great Malcom Willstrop, 21-year-old Todd made a long-awaited return to action with a straight-games win over old friend Harry Falconer.
Scottish star Rory Stewart made his Pontefract debut and defeated Wales’s Elliot Morris Devred in three games, while Tom Bamford, captain Matt Godson and Aussie James Lloyd also won in routine fashion.
Dunnington, who were champions in 2018 and 2019, began their season with a 19-3 home win over Woodfield. The first four encounters were all pretty routine for the hosts, with Sam Gibbon, Taminder Gata Aura, Luke McFarland and Jamie Brown all winning in straight games.
It was a more even contest at top string, where Pakistani Amaad Fareed battled for over an hour with Londoner Caleb Boy to grind out a victory 13-11 in the deciding game.
Hallamshire, title winners in 2023, also dished out a hammering at Ferriby Hall. Three-time world champion Nick Matthew beat Guyana’s Sam Ince-Carvalhal in three games, and Adam Turner, Matt Gregory and Canadian Sam Boulanger also won in quick time. Only Welsh youngster Oliver Jones so much as dropped a game, winning in four at fifth string against the home side’s Dan Lawrence.
Queens, champions in 2022, faced pre-Covid title winners Abbeydale in Sheffield and it was the Halifax side who took the five winning bonus points in a 17-6 victory.
Danny Bray and Lowri Roberts kickstarted the night positively, then Northern Irishman Stephen Hearst overcame Hayden Tetley in a marathon duel to seal the win. Kuwaiti Bader Almaghrebi made it four wins for Queens before Abbeydale got a late consolation with Rhys Evans’ straight-games win over James Earles at top string.