JOHN Hunter returned from a summer playing cricket to carry his bat in his first snooker tournament of the new season.

Hunter, who is based at Salisbury Snooker Club, brushed off the earlier disappointment of a missed maximum chance to claim the first leg of the Cuestars South of England Seniors (40+) Tour. A 2-1 victory from 1-0 down over Bracknell’s Matt Ford in the final at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, earned him £100.

Ford, the Cuestars Championship Tour winner for the past two seasons, killed off the first frame with a 65 clearance. Hunter levelled with a run of 58 and took the decider on the yellow.

High Wycombe sharpshooter Nick Birney’s 85 break in his final group-stage match against Jon Walker was eclipsed when Hunter took blacks with the first 12 reds for a 96 against Chris Stocker. But hopes of a first 147 (“a long time ago” he broke down on 120) ended with a failed tricky plant on two of the last three open reds.

Portsmouth ex-professional Mike Talmondt’s bid for a hat-trick of Seniors titles faltered with a 2-1 last-eight defeat by Martin Wallace (Reading). To avoid a three-way tie and a play-off for the second qualifying spot in his round-robin group, Wallace had needed to win at least one frame against Hunter. He duly obliged with a 58 break in the opener.

Dave Pullman (Wokingham) made the semi-finals for the first time and Paul Shears bowed out in the quarter-finals on his Cuestars debut.

The 19-strong field returned 14 half-century breaks.

Fareham Snooker Club hosts the second leg of seven on Sunday, October 23. The top-20 ranked players at the end of the series will play off for £500 prize money in Newbury on Saturday, April 23.