HOLCOMBE Brook D won the Cecil Cup with a 61-56.5 victory over fellow Bolton Sports Federation Mixed Tennis League Division Five team Bradshaw C in the final.

It was the third time in the last five years the victors had been in the final, losing to First Division opposition on the previous two occasions.

Their last final was in 2016, when they lost narrowly to Hawkshaw A.

Bradshaw began with a +10.5 handicap in excellent conditions at Markland Hill Tennis Club, and got off to a great start when fourth couple Steve O’Riordan and Katie Holt defeated Andy Collins and Maggie Sloss 6-2.

It soon became apparent Holcombe’s more experienced team would be no pushover as mixed pairings Jeremy Stuart and Beverley Gerega, Pete Bell and Sheila Collins, and Peter Bird and Rachael Livesey each won their sets 6-2, 6-3 and 6-3, respectively.

After the mixed sets, Bradshaw had a narrow four-point lead, and when Jimmy Jackson and Brad Gould registered a 6-1 victory over Peter Bird and Andy Collins, and Rod Thornton and Steve O’Riordan took both their sets 6-5, it looked as if they were in with a chance of lifting the cup for the second time since 2006.

But their hopes were dashed as Holcombe’s ladies showed their experience by winning all four sets.

Captain Maggie Sloss avenged her defeat in her mixed set and led by example as she and Sheila Collins won 6-0 against Nicola Gould and Marie Lowther, and 6-5 against Katie Holt and Emily Caton.

This was followed by Rachel Livesey and Beverley Gerega easing their way to a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Holcombe eventually proved too strong for a spirited Bradshaw team, and while towards the end of the match Bradshaw trailed by just five games with two sets to play, it was the more experienced Sloss and her team that maintained the lead and deservedly took the honours.