MARKLAND Hill A have clinched the championship, beating current title holders Christ Church away in a tense match this week.

It was level-pegging from the outset with Roger Taylor and Bev Hamblett taking the opening game for the home team, and then Chris Taylor and Carole Cronshaw the second for Markland Hill.

Simon Bamber and Julie Lowe snatched the next, and then another 15-4 to lengthen the visitors' lead, with James McCormick and Vicky Askew adding their two.

After the mixed, the visitors were in a commanding 8-2 lead, but Christ Church's ladies immediately made an impact with Denise Vines playing particularly well.

In the men's however, Markland Hill played solidly to take three of the four games, to clinch an 11-7 victory and the long-awaited title.

It will be interesting to see if their B team can push themselves into runner-up position for a rare double.

Teams elsewhere have moved through to the finals of the cup competitions courtesy of some exciting semis.

In the Jane Fletcher Memorial Cup for A and B Sections, GMT A entertained Farnworth A in a game that see-sawed through the mixed.

Eileen Brown and Phil Santana Reedy had the best results for the home side, but Farnworth notched up important wins to keep the points coming, notably from Debbie Schofield and Tim Barrow.

In the men's and ladies' doubles, the tight situation continued. Farnworth finished just 11 points in front of GMT but the envelope revealed a +50 handicap for the home side. This put GMT through to meet ABC, who overpowered Forrest B in the other semi-final by restricting them to single figures in all the games.

In the Robert Cup for C and D Sections, Smithills A entertained Westhoughton C in a close match which must have had nerves on edge during the mixed doubles.

The men's and ladies', however, were a different matter. Lyn Butcher and Linda Hawker took both top ladies 15-4, 15-4, and Ken Blood and Neville Walmsley won the first top men's 15-6.

In spite of a fightback by Brian Hutchinson and Paul Heyes and then Val Marsden and Linda Evans for Westhoughton, Smithills scored heavily in the remaining games. They took the final game of the night 15-1.

The score was 227-194 for the home side, and when the handicap was revealed as scratch for both sides, they stepped into the final.

Springfield C took the other semi final in a real thriller of a night which saw both teams fighting hard for success. It finished with Hawkshaw ahead 224-210, but the +90 handicap for Springfield took them through.

The David Ashcroft Memorial Cup for E and F Sections brought Moorside D to Farnworth D's David Lloyd Centre base.

The home team got off in cracking style thanks to Irene Crompton and Liam Casey's opening two games 15-1, 15-4.

Apart from sterling work from Moorside's Chris Smith and Richard Latham, Farnworth had the best of the mixed games.

The men's and ladies' started off all the visitors' way, but Farnworth continued amassing points, and when they took the final four games, they had won 214-178 even without the +80 handicap on offer.

Farnworth will now play Forrest F who managed an excellent win in spite of a determined performance from Deane B.

Kathryn Gregory and Andrew Massey got Deane off to a first class start with 15-3, 15-8 wins, but Forrest kept up the scoring and took enough games to keep in the hunt.

Deane took the first four games of the men's and ladies' doubles to single figures, but failed to stop the predominantly young side from gaining double figures.

And their 281-247 win put a delighted Forrest side into the final.

Players are invited to Markland Hill's popular annual open mixed tournament next Saturday. The all-day event includes a supper in the £10 entry fee. Contact 01204 840000.