IT was quarter-final week in the Bolton Badminton League cup competitions and in the Jane Fletcher Memorial Cup when Markland Hill D, currently fifth in B Section, hosted third-placed A Section outfit Hawkshaw A with handicaps in use.

Hawkshaw’s second couple opened the scoring for their team when Claire Edmondson and Cameron Holt won their games 21-3, 21-14, against Jayne Smith and Greg White, who had started their team’s collection of points.

Playing first couple for Hawkshaw, Nicola Duerden and Matt Green won their games 21-17, 21-10, but Kate Birley and Stefan Halsall collected a substantial amount of points for their team.

When the third couples met, Hawkshaw's Elaine Armstrong and Phil Worthington claimed both games 21-11, but Hafsa Ashraf and Chris Ball had added further to their team’s tally.

At the conclusion of the mixed games, Hawkshaw had 210 points and Markland Hill 95.

Hawkshaw continued to dominate and although they won the rest of the games, Markland Hill’s players slowly built up points but would they have done enough.

Hawkshaw had achieved maximum points of 378, while Markland Hill had 147.

The handicap envelope revealed +216 in the latter's favour, giving them a total of 363 so Hawkshaw secured passage through to the semi-final by 15 points.

In the same competition, Forrest D hosted Forrest B – the former sitting third in B Section at present and the latter second bottom in the top flight.

Forrest D started well, Nilisha Patel and Pete Lambert winning both opening games 21-19, 21-18, against Nicola Hill and John Mealor.

Forrest B then took the next two games, Janet Bailey and Matt Latham winning 21-18, 23-21, against Anne Egerton and James Wallen, but it was too close for comfort.

Forrest B’s Laura Bradley and Mahendra Patel won both games, 21-18, 21-13, against Lisa Harrison and Ivan Chee. However, the D team were accruing a lot of points along the way.

In the clash of the first couples, Forrest B again won both games 21-11, 21-14, when Bailey and Latham played Patel and Lambert.

When the second couples met Hill and Mealor won both in another two nailbiting games, 23-21, 22-20, against Egerton and Wallen.

Going into the level doubles, the score could have gone either way – Forrest B were on 210 and the D team had 178. The B team then found their form when Bradley and Bailey won the first pair of ladies' games, 21-12, 21-10, against Harrison and Patel and the first pair of men’s games went to Patel and Latham, 21-9, 21-12, against Chee and Lambert.

The B team also won the second pair of ladies’ games, Bradley and Hill beating Harrison and Egerton, 21-7, 21-13.

The final pair of men’s games went to Forrest B’s Patel and Mealor, but not without Chee and Wallen putting up a strong fight as they went down, 21-16, 27-25.

Forrest B had collected 379 points and the D team 287, then the envelope revealed +72 handicap and a final total of 359 to the D team meaning a win by 20 points for the B team.