SPRINGFIELD A kept themselves well clear of the Division One drop zone after winning 7-3 at Sonning Common & Peppard C as Graham Diplock returned to action with a hat-trick, while Phil Burke won twice and Denise Weller picked up two good wins for the Commoners.

They also overcame Sonning Common & Peppard A 8-2, Diplock with another maximum, while Grant Wheatley and Alan Cummings both hit trebles as Kingfisher C beat Curzon Club A 8-2.

Sonning Common & Peppard C bounced back to beat Curzon Club 7-3, Matt Stone back to his best with a maximum, while Tony Baker and Lee Calcutt both got maximums as Tidmarsh A downed Kennet Valley A 8-2.

Two-man Tidmarsh B were thrashed 10-0 at championship favourites Kingfisher A, while Liam McTiernan grabbed a treble for Our Lady of Peace Premier as they beat Kingfisher B 8-2.

Division Two leaders Tilehurst Methodists A suffered a 6-4 loss at OLOP B, despite a Keith Winter treble. as Thomas Lewis and Binit Bhaskar both won twice for the victors.

OLOP A closed the gap by winning 8-2 at Springfield B, Chris West and Benedict Carless in good form, while Sonning Sports A maintained their chances with a convincing 9-1 victory over Kingfisher D, Nick Sears just getting the better of all his opponents, as did Paul Savage.

Alan Mollett hit a maximum as Sonning Common & Peppard D won 6-4 at Pangbourne WMC, Jon Abbott with two.

Roger Pritchard starred as Kingfisher E won 7-3 against OLOP C and David Wells starred with a treble as Kingfisher D triumphed 6-4 at Pangbourne WMC.

In Division Three, a Terry Hardie hat-trick helped Tidmarsh D beat Kingfisher F 7–3.

Leaders Reading FC A won 7-3 at Curzon Club B, Mike Childs winning all three, while Tidmarsh C maintained their push for promotion by beating Springfield C 7–3 with Richard Hudson gaining a maximum.

Trebles from Andrew Adair, Nils Wedi and Gabor Radnoti gained Kingfisher G a 10-0 win over Sonning Sports B.

Milestone B defeated Curzon Club C 8-2, Shawnik Thakur with a maximum, while there was a 5-5 draw between Tilehurst Methodists B and OLOP E with Jes Eassom for Tilehurst and Louise Forster and Wendy Porter for OLOP all gaining doubles.

Division Four table-toppers Sonning Common & Peppard E eased past Milestone C 8-2 with Jim Warren and Anthony Reeve undefeated on the night.

Sonning Common & Peppard G maintained their promotion push with a narrow 6-4 win at Reading FC B, courtesy of Simon Berry’s maximum, the doubles and a brace for Melvyn Lovegrove.

OLOP F thrashed Sonning Common & Peppard F 10-0, Qing Wu, Alona Slobodskoy and Jan Polnik all unbeaten.

Kingfisher H closed the gap on the leaders by beating Sonning Sports C 9-1, and despite Springfield D’s Chris Taylor showing a return to form by recording his first maximum of the season,they lost 7-3 to Tidmarsh E.

The last of the second round matches in the Team Handicap saw Reading FC A defeat Tidmarsh D 5-4, while in the quarter-finals, Reading FC B also won 5-4 against Sonning Sports C.

Sonning Sports B progressed with a 6-3 victory over Kingfisher F, a second maximum on the bounce for Keith Machin well supported with a pair for captain Cris Reynolds.