Holcombe Brook men’s Premier team are just one victory away from clinching a place in the Aegon National Team Tennis finals in Bournemouth next month after a convincing away win against local rivals Bamford last Sunday.

The match was a one-sided affair, won comfortably with the Brook winning 6-0 without losing a single set. The win keeps them in pole position in the North West qualfying league table.

Attention now turns to next Sunday’s crucial home match against second-placed side Wrexham, where the winner will earn a ticket to Bournemouth and the losers could even lose out on a play-off place if Manchester Northern win their remaining matches.

Understandably, Brook captain Andrew Davies, from Walmersley, is keeping details of his team very close to his chest for their crucial match.

He said: “I cannot give anything away at this stage. To say anything now would give a potential advantage to our opponents, and I am not doing that.”

What is certain is that the team will be led by long-time member Simon Roberts, from Bolton, who has been a stalwart for the club at this level for many years and rarely loses.

Whether Davies, whose form has improved this year, plays himself will depend on who is available. He will also have to take into account whether his prefered team have enough appearances to qualify for the finals.

The ladies’ Aegon national team will have to wait another week before finding out who they meet in the June 29 play-offs.

In the last regional Aegon league matches both Holcombe teams signed off with a win. The men finished mid-table, whilst the ladies were runners up to Manchester Northern, who were promoted, being left to rue the match they lost to Northern from a 3-1 leading position.