2011 Northern Tournament: Shrewsbury injury jinx hands title to Dunbar and Cooley

The Northern Tournament took place at Shrewsbury over the weekend with around 50 pairs taking part, split across the main tournament and the festival. Much of the interest was centred on how the newly formed partnership of Tom Dunbar and Seb Cooley would perform. A slightly tentative start in their semi-final against Howard Wiseman and Peter Cohen was soon overcome as they won through in straight games to face top seeds James Toop and Matthew Wiseman, who had seen off a determined challenge from Peter White and George Campbell in the other semi.

Last year, the final was cut short by an injury to Peter Dunbar which handed the trophy to James and Matt, but this year the roles were reversed. A good-sized crowd were enjoying a terrific first game which was beautifully poised at 10-9 when a shot from Matt went straight into James's eye, which meant he was unable to continue. Although not the way they wanted to win, Tom and Seb were delighted to have got their partnership off to a winning start and will be looking forward to the Kinnaird Cup later in the season.

Results:

Semi-Finals:

J.Toop & M.Wiseman (1) beat G.Campbell & P.White (4) 3-0

T.Dunbar & S.Cooley (3) beat H.Wiseman & P.Cohen (2) 3-0

Final:

T.Dunbar & S.Cooley beat J.Toop & M.Wiseman 3-0 (9-10 ret)

Festival Winners: I.Mitchell & R.Wilson