DaveR
01-14-2008, 09:07 PM
British League Report
This year's British League Divisions have followed a similar trend and in eleven of the thirteen Divisions the leading teams have notched up the impressive total of at least 17 points out of a possible 20. The exceptions are Division One South where Brighton I lead the way with 15 points, closely followed by DML Woolwell I on 13 points, DHS London Progress II (11 points) and Fusion I (10 points). Division Two North is equally competitive with Fastbats (16 points) leading the way from Barrow (14 points) and ELGRE
Nottingham (13 points). The battle to avoid relegation from Division One South couldn't possibly be closer with Byng Hall (8 points), Cippenham I (8 points), York Gardens I (8 points) and Generation 2 I (7 points) all battling it out.
Division One North - Drumchapel Glasgow II's lead over ELGRE Nottingham I was cut to a single point after they were held to a draw by Ormesby II.
Andrew Wilson and Danny Welsh were both undefeated for Ormesby with Wilson in particular playing very well to beat Ian McLean 11-9, 2-11, 11-5, 11-3.
Glasgow trailed 4-2 and were clearly in trouble but they rallied well to
save a point. Craig Hardie came through to beat Simon Donnelly 11-9, 7-11. 11-8, 11-13, 11-6 and Richard Main earned the Scottish side a draw by beating Edward Fambelly 7-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-6. Glasgow also had their work cut out as they beat Rotherham Scorpions 5-3. This time Ian McLean won both of his singles and Craig Hardie followed suit. Kim Daybell fared best of the Rotherham players and he was a 3-2 winner over both Richard Main and Terry McLernon.
Suddenly things are looking more optimistic for ELGRE I and they did their
chances a power of good by beating third placed Derwent I and fourth placed Grantham. They produced a storming second half display to beat Derwent 6-2 after finding themselves tied at 2-2. Chris Rogers won his second singles as he beat Stephen Horsfield 3-0 and this seemed to give ELGRE the impetus they needed. Lee Neil beat Mark Simpson 3-1, Mark Green scored an excellent 3-0 win over Richard Smith and David Arrowsmith wrapped proceedings up by getting the better of Richard Moss 3-2. A very impressive display. ELGRE were able to take this renewed belief into their match against Grantham and although Chris Rogers was a first game faller to that much travelled defender Paul Cicchelli ELGRE built up a 3-1 lead. Rogers lost a terrific tussle against David Harvey 12-10 in the fifth end but Mark Green redressed the balance as he came back from 2-1 down to beat Cicchelli 10-12, 12-10, 12-14, 11-5, 11-7. Andrew Leighton gave Grantham a glimmer of hope of getting a point by scoring a fine 13-11, 11-6, 14-12 victory over Lee Neil but it was to no avail. David Arrowsmith came through a widely fluctuating five ender to get the better of Michael Harvey 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5. Match result - 5-3 to ELGRE.
Halton I and Chesterfield I, the two bottom sides fought out a 4-4 draw, a result which Halton will probably be disappointed with as they had raced into a 3-0 lead. Shaun Bibby led the fightback with an excellent 3-1 win over Phil Biggs and Alan Fullwood also had the bit between his teeth as he got the better of Richard Lightowler 3-2. Further wins for Daniel Lowe against Mike Moir and for Sean Cullen against Phil Biggs gave Chesterfield a 4-3 lead and they just failed to clinch the victory in the last game. Tom
Bray fought his way back from 2-0 down to beat Shaun Bibby 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10. Quite a match for a bottom of the table clash.
Division One South - There were more twists in this low scoring Division as the leaders Brighton came unstuck against Byng Hall I, losing 2-6 whereas third placed DHS London Progress lost to Fusion I (6-2) and also to Brighton 5-3. The battle to avoid relegation is the most intense in the whole League and a single point covers the bottom four sides.
Brighton started well against Byng Hall and with the score tied at 2-2 they must have fancied their chances. However, they failed to register another win as the Kent team hit top form. Mark Brown beat Dov Katz 11-8 in the fifth end, Mark Romano beat Evan Sharp 3-1, Phil Cox defeated Eli Baraty 3-1 and Dicon Gray got the better of Zac Zilesnik (again 3-1) as the Kent side executed the perfect second half performance. Brighton must have been in good spirits after beating DHS London Progress II 5-3 in their morning fixture. Progress were not at their strongest and it was left to Marco Essomba to record two of their three wins. Marco beat both Jevgeni Paramanov and Dov Katz. Darren Blake looked well short of practice and he lost both of his singles 3-0, going down quite tamely against both Dov Katz and Eli Baraty. Evan Sharp who had already scored a fine 3-0 victory over James Sprackling sealed the Brighton victory by beating Jon Maxwell 3-1 in the last game.
Second placed DML Woolwell picked up three points, with York Gardens I holding them to a draw. York Gardens' Wing Yung Chan, ranked no. eleven in England at Junior level looked really sharp as he beat Darren Reed 11-7, 11-9, 11-3 and he also won his second singles, a rather different encounter where he beat Marketa Myskova 11-9 in the fifth end. Ian Girdler, making a rare appearance in the British League could make no headway against Marketa Muskova losing 6-11, 6-11, 6-11 but he fought back well in his second singles by beating Kevin Buddell 3-1 to earn the London side a well earned draw. DML's James Whiteman also deserves recognition and he beat both the hard-hitting Dorian Robinson (11-3, 11-7, 11-6) and Adam Leow (11-2, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7).
York Gardens moved level on points with Cippenham I after beating the Slough Club 5-3. Five games went to a fifth end and crucially York Gardens won three of them. Most importantly of all Wing Yung Chan won the seventh game, beating Lee Dredge 15-13 in the fifth end to seal his side's victory. It was certainly a good day for the young Surrey player as he had also beaten Martin Adams 11-9 in the fifth end to level the score at 1-1. Adam Leow impressed again and he beat both Rob Lemon (3-1) and Mark Butler (3-1).
Division One South & Midlands - Leaders after the second round, Westfield didn't have the best of days and without Chris Doran (who was undefeated in the last round of matches) they only picked up one point. Ben Barlow proved to be an adequate replacement for Doran but you can bet that they would have liked to have fielded both of their best players. A 4-4 draw with third placed DHS London Progress III wasn't such a surprise as the young Progress team are clearly getting better all the time but a 5-3 defeat against fifth placed Carrara Polska I was certainly not a result they will enjoy reading about. Ben Barlow held his side together against the London side beating both Ryan Collins and Garth Kinlocke but Progress hit back in the shape of their no. four player - Emran Hussain, who was playing in Division four two seasons ago. Emran beat both Steve Cowley and Greg Yarnall to earn his side a share of the spoils. In the battle of the Hampshire Junior first team stars Garth Kinlocke came out on top by beating David McBeath 3-1.
Westfield will feel that they were hard done by in their clash against Carrara Polska I. Five games were decided in the fifth end and they only won two of them which included two nail-biting defeats. Former Premier Division star Tomasz Gretschell beat David McBeath 12-10 in the fifth end and when they really needed a bit of luck Daniel Kolesnik got the better of Greg Yarnall 13-11 in the decider. With the scores tied at 3-3 Marcin Pijanowski came back from 2-1 down to beat Steve Cowley 11-8, 9-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-7.
OLOP Impact I take over as the new leaders and they will have mixed feelings about their walkover against Oxford Fireplace Centre I. No one likes to receive a walkover however valid the reason.and if this Division goes "to the proverbial wire" then any extra games they have secured because of the non appearance of the Oxford team could be crucial. OLOP
turned on the style in their other match, beating Cippenham II 8-0. David Barr, Stephen Gertsen, Chris Bush and Neil Wright were all undefeated with only one game going to a fifth end. David Hayes was tied with Stephen Gertsen at 2-2, but he wasn't able to compete on equal terms in the fifth end. Gertsen ran out a 11-3 winner.
Bedford Modern I had a day where their points total was bolstered massively. They were the second beneficiaries of a walk-over from Oxford
Fireplace Centre I and their 5-3 win over Urban Progress was amended to 8-0 after Urban Progress were both a player short and another of their players (Lindsey Armstrong) had not been registered. This match started in fine fettle with Bedford's Mick Harper coming back from 2-0 down to beat Laszlo Varga 7-11, 2-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 but thereafter I doubt it had the same impetus. Bedford Modern have almost certainly created a "first" in the British League's history, the first team to receive a walk-over and an 8-0 victory due to their opponents not fielding a complete team - on the same day !.
Division Two North - Leaders Fastbats took two more steps towards capturing the title and they lead Barrow (14 points) by two points going into the last weekend of the season. They beat Ormesby III 6-2 although the win that stands out here is England No. one Under 15 Girl Karina Lefevre's outstanding 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 victory over Tim Dyson. Steve Crosby avenged this defeat by getting the better of Miss Lefevre 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-2 and he also scored a hard-fought 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 win over Robin Donnelly. James Brown also remained undefeated for Fastbats. With Keith Rodger in the opposition line-up any opponents know they are going to be in for a tough encounter and sure enough the former Scottish International won both of his singles in Northfield's 2-6 defeat against the leaders. Rodger downed James Brown 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-1 and in his second singles he really turned on the style as he powered past Tim Dyson 11-7, 11-1, 11-9.
Barrow dropped a point in the "second plays third" clash against ELGRE II. Barrow built up a 3-1 lead but a 3-1 victory for Emma Vickers over John Crawford followed by a 3-0 win for Craig Feargrieve (his second victory) against Steve Dixon levelled proceedings. Steve Lyons gave Barrow the lead again by getting the better of Adam Feargrieve 3-1 but it wasn't enough to seal a victory. Mark Naylor earned ELGRE a point by getting the better of Tristan Swan 11-9, 11-9, 11-8.
Bottom placed Ormesby did well to hold Sheffield to a draw. And, again it was Karina Lefevre whose opening victory caught the eye. She secured a superb 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 11-9 victory over Simon Pugh but again she came up short in her second singles encounter. This time it was the improving Jack Grant who got the better of her 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8,
11-6. Grant deservedly took the Player of the Match Award after battling his way past Combination bat defender (or should that be "brick-wall" ?) Robin Donnelly 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8. Simon Pugh hit back in his second singles by getting the better of Ormesby no. one Karen Shepherd 11-4, 12-10, 10-12, 13-11.
Market Rasen were bolstered by the inclusion of the formidable Brian Hill (the England no. one Over 60s player) in their squad and his two wins went a long way to ensuring that they beat ELGRE II 6-2. Hill beat both Adam Feargrieve (11-5, 11-4, 11-8) and Emma Vickers (11-5, 12-10, 11-5). Lesley Keast also won twice, with her very hard-fought 11-6, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9, 13-11 success against Mark Naylor giving the Lincolnshire side an important 2-1 lead, one they were never to lose.
Division Two South - BATTS Team Peniel II took a step closer to the title by beating Club Cornwall (6-2) and Brighton (7-1) and whilst they were winning they will have been interested to see second placed DHS London Progress IV losing 5-3 to Mossford and third placed Fusion II being held to a draw by Horsham II. Progress may not benefit from the fact that their best player - Koji Hirota plays in the number three position and can't influence the match to such an extent. Hirota showed his class by beating
both Shelley Uzal (11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4) and Matthew Spero (11-8, 11-2, 11-7) and his only defeat this season came against no less a player than BATTS' former England International Sean Gibson. The inform Euan Liddle avenged a first half defeat against Rafael Marom triumphing 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 and he also beat Dhaivat Pandya 11-8, 11-9, 11-6. Pandya found the going tougher than expected and Matthew Spero also powered his way past Pandya for a 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 victory. Shelley Uzal, who had played for Essex Senior Second team the day before (how many Counties would love to have a player of her stature in their first team ?) sealed the Mossford victory by beating Tony Alvarez 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8.
Horsham II's 4-4 draw against Fusion II was perhaps the biggest shock in this Division as this was only Horsham's fourth point of the Season. Marc Burman did most to achieve this scoring excellent wins over Martin Smith (3-2) and Thomas Hughes (3-1) whilst Chris Pickard added a fine 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 victory over Smith. It was left to Farhat Rasul to hold the Fusion side together which he did by beating Chris Pickard (11-6, 11-4, 11-9) and Gary Wilson (11-4, 11-7, 11-6). Full marks are afforded to Fusion for their sportsmanship in allowing Chris Pickard to turn up late after he had experienced unavoidable delays at Liverpool Street Station.
BATTS Team Peniel's 7-1 victory over Brighton I was harder fought than the scoreline suggests with BATTS winning all three games that were decided deep in the fifth end. Oscar Selfridge won his two games the hard way, downing Garry Bonner 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 and beating the hard-hitting Phil Richardson 3-11, 4-11. 11-9, 11-8, 12-10. Paul Carter was Horsham's only winner and he did well to beat the fast improving Billy Deville 10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. Mayur Mjithia won't often lose two games but he did on this occasion, falling 11-13, 11-13, 11-7, 8-11 to Sean Gibson and 4-11, 8-11, 11-6, 5-11 to Martin Kubrt.
Division Two South & Midlands - Two more wins for Kingfisher saw them move a massive seven points clear of Eastbourne and a single point next month will give them the title. Richard Andrews, Tom Maynard, Mark Banks and Bela Hegedus were all undefeated as they beat Kinghurst Bribar 8-0 although Andrews (now ranked no. 88 in England) was given his toughest examination of the season. Stephen Bertie just wouldn't lay down and die and Andrews finally scraped home 11-5, 7-11.11-8, 8-11, 11-8. Bela Hegedus sealed the whitewash for his side but only just, seeing off Alan Caffery 11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10, 14-12. Kingfisher's 6-2 victory over Ashford disguises the fact that they had moved into a 5-0 lead. The evergreen Ramesh Bhalla scored the win of the match, a superb 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10 victory over Tom Maynard and John Robinson also came through over five ends beating Mark Banks 4-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Second placed Eastbourne (Nicky Mason, Koray Ozcan, Lewis Mayhew and Tony Rowell) showed their muscle in disposing of Kingshurst Bribar 7-1 but they were held to a draw by an improving Guernsey team. Eastbourne led 4-1 after Nicky Mason had won both of his singles but Gary Dodd led the fightback by securing a superb 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9 victory over Koray Ozcan. Phil Ogier made no mistake in beating Lewis Mayhew 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 and Peter Bretel earned Guernsey a very well deserved point by getting the better of Tony Rowell 18-16, 15-13, 11-7.
De Vere NETTS struggled against two strong sides - Guernsey and Horsham I, losing 7-1 and 6-2 respectively. A Peter Hayden win over Peter Bretel was their sole success against Guernsey as Scott Romeril, Phil Ogier and Gary Dodd were all undefeated. Phil Ogier in particular impressed, getting the better of Paul Davison 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 and Peter Hayden 11-3, 8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9. Hayden was responsible for NETTS' wins against Horsham I as he beat Stephane Bonnafous and then most impressively Patrick Thomas 11-2, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, an excellent victory. Horsham's Peter Bartram looked very sharp as he raced through his singles : 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 against Alex Facey and 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 versus Paul Davison.
Division Three North - Mathematically Halton II cannot be crowned as Champions just yet, but, in reality with an eight point lead this Division is well and truly sewn up. Halton have excelled in the close matches and yet again they came good when it mattered most. They were tied at 3-3 with second-placed Murrayfield but with the tension mounting Jonathan Taylorprevailed 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10 against John Magnall and Ray Jackson sealed the victory for Halton by getting the better of Brian Hunter 11-6, 11-9, 11-5. Stewart Armitage had caused Halton the most problems and he beat both Ray Jackson (14-12, 11-7, 15-13) and Malcolm McEvoy 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4. Halton were more comfortable 7-1 winners against Drumchapel Glasgow III with Chris Ford, Malcolm McEvoy and Jonathan Taylor all contributing to the success. Andrew McFadyen was Drumchapel's sole winner and he beat Phil Luxon 11-3, 12-10, 11-9.
Bottom placed Formby produced the biggest shock of the weekend by taking a point off of Hartlepool. Darren McVitie and Michael Young were both undefeated for Hartlepool but Formby competed with real determination in the remaining games. Jamie Hewitt kept them in the match by beating Keith Thomas 3-0 and he sealed their second point of the season by getting the better of Jake McVitie 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7 in the last game. Another Darren McVitie "double" wasn't sufficient to earn Hartlepool a point.as they struggled against second to bottom side ELGRE III. Jane Vickers beat both Jake McVitie (3-0) and Michael Young (3-1) and single wins for John Taylor, Andy Portlock and Eddie Croydon-Fowler sealed ELGRE's 5-3 victory.
The clash between second placed Murrayfield and third placed Uxbridge fittingly ended tied at 4-4 in a match where neither team ever moved more than one game ahead. Murrayfield's James Russell played his part by beating both Roy Norton (3-2) and Paul Malkin (3-1) whilst Stewart Armitage who won twice also grabbed the scalp of Roy Norton. Dave Savage who won twice fared best of the Uxbridge players.
Division Three South - There was no change at the top of the table with York Gardens II and TTK/Greenhouse II both winning their games.York Gardens were reinforced with Marcia Ma (the England no. eight Lady player) playing in the number two position and she won all four of her singles. She was relatively untroubled by Ellenborough's Chris Marlow and Stephen Kong but Horsham III provided a stiffer test. Marcia had to call on all her experience to see off Rory Scott (3-2) and Steohen Denman (again 3-2). Denman, ranked no. 98 in England at Junior level really put Marcia under pressure, before succumbing 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 8-11.Ellenborough only missed out 5-3 and it took the experienced Trevor Campbell to seal the York Gardens victory in the last game. He was up to the task and he beat Ellenborough newcomer Madhi Qatri 3-1 to secure his side's victory. Chris Marlow fared best of the Ellenborough players and he recorded an excellent five game win over near namesake Chris Martin. York Gardens' victory over Horsham was by a 6-2 margin and Stephen Denman impressed again as he recorded am excellent 3-1 win over Trevor Campbell whilst Chris Martin hit back for York Gardens and he came up trumps by beating Rory Scott 12-10 in the deciding fifth end.
TTK/Greenhouse were not quite so strong without.Y.C. Philakaratne playing at number four but they still won both of their matches. Daniel Basterfield, playing at no. three won all four of his games as TTK beat Ellenborough 5-3 and Cippenham III 6-2. Basterfield turned on the power as he blasted his way past Mardi Qatri 11-7, 11-1, 11-7 and Paul Martindill 11-8, 11-6, 11-8. TTK trail York Gardens by three points and the two top teams go face to face in the Saturday morning fixture in the last round of
matches. York Gardens will know that a draw should be sufficient to enable them to take a title whilst a defeat may leave them needing to take maximum points in their other three matches.
Hastings' 5-3 victory over OLOP Impact represented the best match in this Division with five games decided in the fifth end. Hastings won four of these so it is no surprise that they also won the match. Paul Barry was involved in two cliff-hangers and he needed all his experience to see off Krasimir Ivanov 11-9 in the fifth end and Neil Cartwright at 12-10 in the
decider. Nick Standen got in on the act and he beat Abhay Gehlot 14-12 in the decider after trailing 2-0 whilst Matthew Porter completed proceedings by getting the better of Susan Johnson at 11-7 in the decider. OLOP Impact must have concluded that it just wasn't their afternoon.
OLOP Impact I had in fact impressed greatly in the morning by beating Horsham III convincingly 7-1. Neil Cartwright, Krasimir Ivanov and Abhay Gehlot were all undefeated with only Stephen Denman's 3-0 victory against Susan Johnson escaping them. Denman came really close to winning his second singles as well and he just missed out 13-11, 9-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-13 against Krasimir Ivanov. Quite a battle !.
Division Three South & West - DML Woolwell II (17 points) lead the table by a point from Westfield II but a point dropped against bottom side Fusion III represented a bad result from their perspective, especially as the Fusion side were a player short. The Devon side displayed outstanding sportsmanship in agreeing to a 25 minute delay in the match which prevented Fusion from being two players short, but on the table they struggled. True, Fusion were bolstered by the inclusion of Jogenes Senorin in the number one position and he beat both Harry Cutler (3-2) and Chris Smith (3-1) whilst Rodney Farquharson added an important win over Sally Smith (3-2) and David Fraser got the better of Simon James (3-1). Woolwell put this disappointment firmly behind themselves on the Sunday afternoon and beat third placed B&S Group 5-3. After a superb start they had raced into a 4-0 lead and although B&S Group hit back they had left themselves too much to do. Harry Cutler who beat both Mike Hugh (3-2) and Joe Clifford Junior 3-1 was their match-winner. Chris Smith just failed to win his second singles when he missed out 6-11,11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 12-14 against Mike Hugh. With over 150 Club members of all standards Woolwell are a thriving Club and one suspects that they will be just as proud if this side manage to win this Division as they are of the successes of their formidable teams who have been crowned the Champions in the Veterans British League and Ladies British League Premier Divisions.
A three man Fusion side were less successful against Generation 2 II, losing 6-2. Fusion's still improving David Fraser was an excellent 3-1 winner over Roger Hookey but he met his match in Charlie Childs and Hookey hit back in his second singles by securing a fine 11-8 in the fifth game win against Jogenes Senorin. Daniel Lucking added to the Fusion tally by beating Rodney Farquharson 13-15, 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10.
Westfield II were reinforced by the inclusion of Aaron Fennell (ranked no. 162 nationally) in the number one position and his four wins made a big difference. He beat both Mike Bishop and Paul Savins in their 5-3 win against Oxford Fireplace Centre II and his victories enabled Westfield to shade the match 5-3 against NWF. Matthew Carter secured the victory against NWF by getting the better of Andy Whitcher 3-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 in the last game. A great fight-back. Whitcher will consider himself slightly unlucky as he also lost 7-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-8, 8-11 against Amrish Rana.
Division Four North - The top four teams in this Division look rather strong and it was no surprise that this Division produced the least closely fought set of matches of the day. Three games were decided by 8-0 margins, two games were decided by 7-1 scorelines and a further two games decided 6-2. Leaders Sunderland (Kevin Wilson, Keith Weatherby, Graeme Barella and Anthony Barella) took no chances and they disposed of Rotherham Scorpions II and Drumchapel Glasgow IV both by an 8-0 scoreline. Sunderland retain a slender one point lead over Pudsey although they have a far superior games average. Pudsey (David Smith, Phil Cawser, Chris Parker and Lee Orange) weren't quite as dominant but they nevertheless managed to beat Isle of Man 7-1 and Chesterfield II 6-2. Paul Corran was the Isle of Man's sole winner beating Lee Orange 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 whilst Chesterfield started well andwere level with Pudsey (2-2) at the half-way stage. David Smith restored the Pudsey lead by notching his second singles win, a 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 victory over Warren Slaney and Chris Parker added to the lead by beating Neil Marples 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 14--12. Pudsey were on a roll and Phil Cawser and Lee Orange completed proceedings by beating Mike Bradbury and Andy Middleton respectively.
Third placed Barnt Green were involved in the Division's closest match and they trailed Chesterfield II 3-2 at one stage. Chesterfield's top player Warren Slaney caused them most problems beating Sasha Grokhotov (12-10, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5) and Patrick McCabe 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 and they will have been relieved to have won 5-3. Grokhotov levelled the scores by beating Mike Bradbury 11-6, 2-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7 and this was the filip Barnt Green needed. Chris Hewitt gave them the lead by beating Neil Marples 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 and Gordon Shaw wrapped up the Barnt Green victory by getting the better of Andy Middleton 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7.
St.Mary's Hull (Luke Carrington, Julien Gittens, Adam Smith and Kevin Hodgson) are only placed fourth but again their squad looks rather strong for this level of play. They had few problems beating Drumchapel Glasgow IV 8-0 and they also beat Isle of Man 7-1. Paul Corran did well to get the better of Kevin Hodgson 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 for the Island's only
success.
Division Four South - As with Kingfisher in Division Two South & Midlands and Halton II in Division Three North it is mathematically possible for Brighton City to fail take the title. However, their opponents know that isn't going to happen and they retained their 100 % record by beating second placed Carrara Polska II 5-3 and Byng Hall II 8-0. Polska gave the leaders a real test and the tension must have been mounting as Wen Wei Xu and Adam Trela couldn't be separated in the seventh game. Wen Wei Xu finally clinched the weekend's closest encounter by getting the better of Adam Trela 21-19, 5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 13-11 !. Mark Forder made no mistake in the last singles and he saw off Josef Woznica 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 to seal the Sussex Club's victory. Newcomer Marcin Jaskolski made a difference from Polska's view-point and he beat both Wen Wei Xu and Harry McCarney. Such was Brighton's level of superiority against Byng Hall II that the Player of the Match Award went to Byng Hall's Andrew Lockwood - "the only player to win a leg !".
With three teams tied on 14 points in second place (Carrara Polska II, Southampton West and DHS London Progress V) it is the seemingly strengthened Polska side who perhaps look best equipped to stay there. They beat SEH Britannia Ipswich II very convincingly 8-0 in their second match with Marcin Jaskolski, Maciej Nakielski, Adam Trela and Jozef Woznica all remaining undefeated.
Further down the table BATTS Team Peniel III recorded their first victory of the Season, as they edged out DML Woolwell III 5-3. This was a good team performance from the Essex side with all four of their players - Rachel Jamieson, Jack Cleminson, Jared Patel and Alex Holland contributing. The team were certainly bolstered by the inclusion of Rachel Jamieson in the number one position and the England no. four Junior girl made her mark by beating Simon Fellows 3-1. However, she missed out in her second game when she met her match in Freddy Cutler. The best win of this match was recorded by BATTS' Jack Cleminson who won twice which included a superb 3-1 victory over Freddy Cutler. This side will get better, and who knows, they could well be challenging for honours next year.
DML Woolwell III put this setback firmly behind themselves and they did well to beat Byng Hall II 6-2 in their second match. Father and son duo (actually that should be son and father duo I think !) - Toby and Graham Mattacott dominated affairs by winning their four singles from the numbers three and four positions.
Division Four South & Midlands - In the last report I suggested that Crusaders would have real difficulty holding off the challenge of Fellows Cranleigh. They seem to have taken heed of my warning as Ian Kelly was restored to their side in the number two position and they beat both York Gardens (6-2) and Uxbridge II (7-1). Darren Pumford, Dean Rose and Ping Ho were all undefeated against York Gardens whilst Pumford, Kelly and Ping Ho remained unbeaten against Uxbridge II. Chris Newton was responsible for the Uxbridge win beating Dean Rose 11-9, 11-2, 5-11, 12-10.
Fellows Cranleigh's senior players - Tony Halling, Zayd Mauthoor and John Tendler had things pretty much their own way as they beat Woodfield II 8-0 with Anthony Kent filling the number four position and winning his two singles as well. Kent wrapped up the 8-0 victory for the Essex side (that needed saying !) by getting the better of Errol Watkins 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9. Fellows Cranleigh fielded another Essex County Junior player - Joe Stannard in the number four position against TTK/Greenhouse III and
Stannard wasn't too far away from getting his name in the "right column" on the scoresheet. Joe missed out 11-13,11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 3-11 against Igor Morais and by a tantalising 9-11, 14-12, 6-11, 13-11, 11-13 margin against Willliam Morais as Cranleigh ran out 6-2 winners. Igor Morais is ranked no. ten in England in the Under 13 age group, and it is very pleasing to see teams taking the opportunity to blood such young players at this level. Ditto the same with Crusader's Ping Ho, ranked no. nine in England at Under 15 level.
Ashford paid the price for being a player short against DHS London Progress VI and lost 6-2. Progress didn't have it all their own way and it required a five game victory for Andrew Hagger against Winston Wong to notch up their fifth win. Hagger had also impressed in his earlier singles running out a 3-0 winner against Robin Pretty.
British League Premier Division action takes place this weekend (Saturday/Sunday 19/20 January 2008) at BATTS Team Peniel Table Tennis Club, The Norman Booth Centre, Elderfield, Mulberry Green, Old Harlow, Essex, CM17 OEY. Play commences at 11.00 hours on the Saturday and at 10.00 hours on the Sunday and many of the country's top players will be taking part including a star-studded squad from the DHS London Progress Club who will be bidding to win the title for an unprecedented tenth successive time. The Progress side has amazing strength in depth and their Supremo Jon
Kaufman is able to call upon the likes of Hong Ming Zhang, Jiang Chang Hong, Colum Slevin, Terry Young, Jason Sugrue, Jiang Zhi Tao, Pan Li Chun, Marco Essomba and Tong Fei Ming. Jiang Zhi Tao is well worth looking out for, and he must be the strongest no. six ranked player in the history of the British League.
Local side BATTS Team Peniel I are currently in second place, and they expect to field a squad of Wang Zheng, Craig Bryant, Shuying Xu, Ritchie Venner and Clive Carthy. BATTS have three games over the weekend and their top match takes place on Sunday afternoon against TTK Greenhouse I whose side may include the formidable Commonwealth medallists and English Internationals Andrew Rushton and Gareth Herbert.
Any Club who are looking to enter new team(s) in the British League next Season are requested to give British League Chairman Keith Ponting an early "heads-up". Keith can be contacted at 21 Southport Avenue, Redhills, Exeter, Devon, EX4 1RA, telephone No. 01392-278642, E-mail address keithponting4570@btinternet.com (keithponting4570@btinternet.com) . Please let him know by 31 January 2008 if you are interested.
Steve Kerns
British Table Tennis League Press Officer (ETTA Report)
This year's British League Divisions have followed a similar trend and in eleven of the thirteen Divisions the leading teams have notched up the impressive total of at least 17 points out of a possible 20. The exceptions are Division One South where Brighton I lead the way with 15 points, closely followed by DML Woolwell I on 13 points, DHS London Progress II (11 points) and Fusion I (10 points). Division Two North is equally competitive with Fastbats (16 points) leading the way from Barrow (14 points) and ELGRE
Nottingham (13 points). The battle to avoid relegation from Division One South couldn't possibly be closer with Byng Hall (8 points), Cippenham I (8 points), York Gardens I (8 points) and Generation 2 I (7 points) all battling it out.
Division One North - Drumchapel Glasgow II's lead over ELGRE Nottingham I was cut to a single point after they were held to a draw by Ormesby II.
Andrew Wilson and Danny Welsh were both undefeated for Ormesby with Wilson in particular playing very well to beat Ian McLean 11-9, 2-11, 11-5, 11-3.
Glasgow trailed 4-2 and were clearly in trouble but they rallied well to
save a point. Craig Hardie came through to beat Simon Donnelly 11-9, 7-11. 11-8, 11-13, 11-6 and Richard Main earned the Scottish side a draw by beating Edward Fambelly 7-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-6. Glasgow also had their work cut out as they beat Rotherham Scorpions 5-3. This time Ian McLean won both of his singles and Craig Hardie followed suit. Kim Daybell fared best of the Rotherham players and he was a 3-2 winner over both Richard Main and Terry McLernon.
Suddenly things are looking more optimistic for ELGRE I and they did their
chances a power of good by beating third placed Derwent I and fourth placed Grantham. They produced a storming second half display to beat Derwent 6-2 after finding themselves tied at 2-2. Chris Rogers won his second singles as he beat Stephen Horsfield 3-0 and this seemed to give ELGRE the impetus they needed. Lee Neil beat Mark Simpson 3-1, Mark Green scored an excellent 3-0 win over Richard Smith and David Arrowsmith wrapped proceedings up by getting the better of Richard Moss 3-2. A very impressive display. ELGRE were able to take this renewed belief into their match against Grantham and although Chris Rogers was a first game faller to that much travelled defender Paul Cicchelli ELGRE built up a 3-1 lead. Rogers lost a terrific tussle against David Harvey 12-10 in the fifth end but Mark Green redressed the balance as he came back from 2-1 down to beat Cicchelli 10-12, 12-10, 12-14, 11-5, 11-7. Andrew Leighton gave Grantham a glimmer of hope of getting a point by scoring a fine 13-11, 11-6, 14-12 victory over Lee Neil but it was to no avail. David Arrowsmith came through a widely fluctuating five ender to get the better of Michael Harvey 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5. Match result - 5-3 to ELGRE.
Halton I and Chesterfield I, the two bottom sides fought out a 4-4 draw, a result which Halton will probably be disappointed with as they had raced into a 3-0 lead. Shaun Bibby led the fightback with an excellent 3-1 win over Phil Biggs and Alan Fullwood also had the bit between his teeth as he got the better of Richard Lightowler 3-2. Further wins for Daniel Lowe against Mike Moir and for Sean Cullen against Phil Biggs gave Chesterfield a 4-3 lead and they just failed to clinch the victory in the last game. Tom
Bray fought his way back from 2-0 down to beat Shaun Bibby 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10. Quite a match for a bottom of the table clash.
Division One South - There were more twists in this low scoring Division as the leaders Brighton came unstuck against Byng Hall I, losing 2-6 whereas third placed DHS London Progress lost to Fusion I (6-2) and also to Brighton 5-3. The battle to avoid relegation is the most intense in the whole League and a single point covers the bottom four sides.
Brighton started well against Byng Hall and with the score tied at 2-2 they must have fancied their chances. However, they failed to register another win as the Kent team hit top form. Mark Brown beat Dov Katz 11-8 in the fifth end, Mark Romano beat Evan Sharp 3-1, Phil Cox defeated Eli Baraty 3-1 and Dicon Gray got the better of Zac Zilesnik (again 3-1) as the Kent side executed the perfect second half performance. Brighton must have been in good spirits after beating DHS London Progress II 5-3 in their morning fixture. Progress were not at their strongest and it was left to Marco Essomba to record two of their three wins. Marco beat both Jevgeni Paramanov and Dov Katz. Darren Blake looked well short of practice and he lost both of his singles 3-0, going down quite tamely against both Dov Katz and Eli Baraty. Evan Sharp who had already scored a fine 3-0 victory over James Sprackling sealed the Brighton victory by beating Jon Maxwell 3-1 in the last game.
Second placed DML Woolwell picked up three points, with York Gardens I holding them to a draw. York Gardens' Wing Yung Chan, ranked no. eleven in England at Junior level looked really sharp as he beat Darren Reed 11-7, 11-9, 11-3 and he also won his second singles, a rather different encounter where he beat Marketa Myskova 11-9 in the fifth end. Ian Girdler, making a rare appearance in the British League could make no headway against Marketa Muskova losing 6-11, 6-11, 6-11 but he fought back well in his second singles by beating Kevin Buddell 3-1 to earn the London side a well earned draw. DML's James Whiteman also deserves recognition and he beat both the hard-hitting Dorian Robinson (11-3, 11-7, 11-6) and Adam Leow (11-2, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7).
York Gardens moved level on points with Cippenham I after beating the Slough Club 5-3. Five games went to a fifth end and crucially York Gardens won three of them. Most importantly of all Wing Yung Chan won the seventh game, beating Lee Dredge 15-13 in the fifth end to seal his side's victory. It was certainly a good day for the young Surrey player as he had also beaten Martin Adams 11-9 in the fifth end to level the score at 1-1. Adam Leow impressed again and he beat both Rob Lemon (3-1) and Mark Butler (3-1).
Division One South & Midlands - Leaders after the second round, Westfield didn't have the best of days and without Chris Doran (who was undefeated in the last round of matches) they only picked up one point. Ben Barlow proved to be an adequate replacement for Doran but you can bet that they would have liked to have fielded both of their best players. A 4-4 draw with third placed DHS London Progress III wasn't such a surprise as the young Progress team are clearly getting better all the time but a 5-3 defeat against fifth placed Carrara Polska I was certainly not a result they will enjoy reading about. Ben Barlow held his side together against the London side beating both Ryan Collins and Garth Kinlocke but Progress hit back in the shape of their no. four player - Emran Hussain, who was playing in Division four two seasons ago. Emran beat both Steve Cowley and Greg Yarnall to earn his side a share of the spoils. In the battle of the Hampshire Junior first team stars Garth Kinlocke came out on top by beating David McBeath 3-1.
Westfield will feel that they were hard done by in their clash against Carrara Polska I. Five games were decided in the fifth end and they only won two of them which included two nail-biting defeats. Former Premier Division star Tomasz Gretschell beat David McBeath 12-10 in the fifth end and when they really needed a bit of luck Daniel Kolesnik got the better of Greg Yarnall 13-11 in the decider. With the scores tied at 3-3 Marcin Pijanowski came back from 2-1 down to beat Steve Cowley 11-8, 9-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-7.
OLOP Impact I take over as the new leaders and they will have mixed feelings about their walkover against Oxford Fireplace Centre I. No one likes to receive a walkover however valid the reason.and if this Division goes "to the proverbial wire" then any extra games they have secured because of the non appearance of the Oxford team could be crucial. OLOP
turned on the style in their other match, beating Cippenham II 8-0. David Barr, Stephen Gertsen, Chris Bush and Neil Wright were all undefeated with only one game going to a fifth end. David Hayes was tied with Stephen Gertsen at 2-2, but he wasn't able to compete on equal terms in the fifth end. Gertsen ran out a 11-3 winner.
Bedford Modern I had a day where their points total was bolstered massively. They were the second beneficiaries of a walk-over from Oxford
Fireplace Centre I and their 5-3 win over Urban Progress was amended to 8-0 after Urban Progress were both a player short and another of their players (Lindsey Armstrong) had not been registered. This match started in fine fettle with Bedford's Mick Harper coming back from 2-0 down to beat Laszlo Varga 7-11, 2-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 but thereafter I doubt it had the same impetus. Bedford Modern have almost certainly created a "first" in the British League's history, the first team to receive a walk-over and an 8-0 victory due to their opponents not fielding a complete team - on the same day !.
Division Two North - Leaders Fastbats took two more steps towards capturing the title and they lead Barrow (14 points) by two points going into the last weekend of the season. They beat Ormesby III 6-2 although the win that stands out here is England No. one Under 15 Girl Karina Lefevre's outstanding 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 victory over Tim Dyson. Steve Crosby avenged this defeat by getting the better of Miss Lefevre 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-2 and he also scored a hard-fought 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 win over Robin Donnelly. James Brown also remained undefeated for Fastbats. With Keith Rodger in the opposition line-up any opponents know they are going to be in for a tough encounter and sure enough the former Scottish International won both of his singles in Northfield's 2-6 defeat against the leaders. Rodger downed James Brown 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-1 and in his second singles he really turned on the style as he powered past Tim Dyson 11-7, 11-1, 11-9.
Barrow dropped a point in the "second plays third" clash against ELGRE II. Barrow built up a 3-1 lead but a 3-1 victory for Emma Vickers over John Crawford followed by a 3-0 win for Craig Feargrieve (his second victory) against Steve Dixon levelled proceedings. Steve Lyons gave Barrow the lead again by getting the better of Adam Feargrieve 3-1 but it wasn't enough to seal a victory. Mark Naylor earned ELGRE a point by getting the better of Tristan Swan 11-9, 11-9, 11-8.
Bottom placed Ormesby did well to hold Sheffield to a draw. And, again it was Karina Lefevre whose opening victory caught the eye. She secured a superb 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 11-9 victory over Simon Pugh but again she came up short in her second singles encounter. This time it was the improving Jack Grant who got the better of her 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8,
11-6. Grant deservedly took the Player of the Match Award after battling his way past Combination bat defender (or should that be "brick-wall" ?) Robin Donnelly 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8. Simon Pugh hit back in his second singles by getting the better of Ormesby no. one Karen Shepherd 11-4, 12-10, 10-12, 13-11.
Market Rasen were bolstered by the inclusion of the formidable Brian Hill (the England no. one Over 60s player) in their squad and his two wins went a long way to ensuring that they beat ELGRE II 6-2. Hill beat both Adam Feargrieve (11-5, 11-4, 11-8) and Emma Vickers (11-5, 12-10, 11-5). Lesley Keast also won twice, with her very hard-fought 11-6, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9, 13-11 success against Mark Naylor giving the Lincolnshire side an important 2-1 lead, one they were never to lose.
Division Two South - BATTS Team Peniel II took a step closer to the title by beating Club Cornwall (6-2) and Brighton (7-1) and whilst they were winning they will have been interested to see second placed DHS London Progress IV losing 5-3 to Mossford and third placed Fusion II being held to a draw by Horsham II. Progress may not benefit from the fact that their best player - Koji Hirota plays in the number three position and can't influence the match to such an extent. Hirota showed his class by beating
both Shelley Uzal (11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4) and Matthew Spero (11-8, 11-2, 11-7) and his only defeat this season came against no less a player than BATTS' former England International Sean Gibson. The inform Euan Liddle avenged a first half defeat against Rafael Marom triumphing 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 and he also beat Dhaivat Pandya 11-8, 11-9, 11-6. Pandya found the going tougher than expected and Matthew Spero also powered his way past Pandya for a 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 victory. Shelley Uzal, who had played for Essex Senior Second team the day before (how many Counties would love to have a player of her stature in their first team ?) sealed the Mossford victory by beating Tony Alvarez 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8.
Horsham II's 4-4 draw against Fusion II was perhaps the biggest shock in this Division as this was only Horsham's fourth point of the Season. Marc Burman did most to achieve this scoring excellent wins over Martin Smith (3-2) and Thomas Hughes (3-1) whilst Chris Pickard added a fine 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 victory over Smith. It was left to Farhat Rasul to hold the Fusion side together which he did by beating Chris Pickard (11-6, 11-4, 11-9) and Gary Wilson (11-4, 11-7, 11-6). Full marks are afforded to Fusion for their sportsmanship in allowing Chris Pickard to turn up late after he had experienced unavoidable delays at Liverpool Street Station.
BATTS Team Peniel's 7-1 victory over Brighton I was harder fought than the scoreline suggests with BATTS winning all three games that were decided deep in the fifth end. Oscar Selfridge won his two games the hard way, downing Garry Bonner 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 and beating the hard-hitting Phil Richardson 3-11, 4-11. 11-9, 11-8, 12-10. Paul Carter was Horsham's only winner and he did well to beat the fast improving Billy Deville 10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. Mayur Mjithia won't often lose two games but he did on this occasion, falling 11-13, 11-13, 11-7, 8-11 to Sean Gibson and 4-11, 8-11, 11-6, 5-11 to Martin Kubrt.
Division Two South & Midlands - Two more wins for Kingfisher saw them move a massive seven points clear of Eastbourne and a single point next month will give them the title. Richard Andrews, Tom Maynard, Mark Banks and Bela Hegedus were all undefeated as they beat Kinghurst Bribar 8-0 although Andrews (now ranked no. 88 in England) was given his toughest examination of the season. Stephen Bertie just wouldn't lay down and die and Andrews finally scraped home 11-5, 7-11.11-8, 8-11, 11-8. Bela Hegedus sealed the whitewash for his side but only just, seeing off Alan Caffery 11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10, 14-12. Kingfisher's 6-2 victory over Ashford disguises the fact that they had moved into a 5-0 lead. The evergreen Ramesh Bhalla scored the win of the match, a superb 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10 victory over Tom Maynard and John Robinson also came through over five ends beating Mark Banks 4-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Second placed Eastbourne (Nicky Mason, Koray Ozcan, Lewis Mayhew and Tony Rowell) showed their muscle in disposing of Kingshurst Bribar 7-1 but they were held to a draw by an improving Guernsey team. Eastbourne led 4-1 after Nicky Mason had won both of his singles but Gary Dodd led the fightback by securing a superb 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9 victory over Koray Ozcan. Phil Ogier made no mistake in beating Lewis Mayhew 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 and Peter Bretel earned Guernsey a very well deserved point by getting the better of Tony Rowell 18-16, 15-13, 11-7.
De Vere NETTS struggled against two strong sides - Guernsey and Horsham I, losing 7-1 and 6-2 respectively. A Peter Hayden win over Peter Bretel was their sole success against Guernsey as Scott Romeril, Phil Ogier and Gary Dodd were all undefeated. Phil Ogier in particular impressed, getting the better of Paul Davison 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 and Peter Hayden 11-3, 8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9. Hayden was responsible for NETTS' wins against Horsham I as he beat Stephane Bonnafous and then most impressively Patrick Thomas 11-2, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, an excellent victory. Horsham's Peter Bartram looked very sharp as he raced through his singles : 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 against Alex Facey and 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 versus Paul Davison.
Division Three North - Mathematically Halton II cannot be crowned as Champions just yet, but, in reality with an eight point lead this Division is well and truly sewn up. Halton have excelled in the close matches and yet again they came good when it mattered most. They were tied at 3-3 with second-placed Murrayfield but with the tension mounting Jonathan Taylorprevailed 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10 against John Magnall and Ray Jackson sealed the victory for Halton by getting the better of Brian Hunter 11-6, 11-9, 11-5. Stewart Armitage had caused Halton the most problems and he beat both Ray Jackson (14-12, 11-7, 15-13) and Malcolm McEvoy 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4. Halton were more comfortable 7-1 winners against Drumchapel Glasgow III with Chris Ford, Malcolm McEvoy and Jonathan Taylor all contributing to the success. Andrew McFadyen was Drumchapel's sole winner and he beat Phil Luxon 11-3, 12-10, 11-9.
Bottom placed Formby produced the biggest shock of the weekend by taking a point off of Hartlepool. Darren McVitie and Michael Young were both undefeated for Hartlepool but Formby competed with real determination in the remaining games. Jamie Hewitt kept them in the match by beating Keith Thomas 3-0 and he sealed their second point of the season by getting the better of Jake McVitie 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7 in the last game. Another Darren McVitie "double" wasn't sufficient to earn Hartlepool a point.as they struggled against second to bottom side ELGRE III. Jane Vickers beat both Jake McVitie (3-0) and Michael Young (3-1) and single wins for John Taylor, Andy Portlock and Eddie Croydon-Fowler sealed ELGRE's 5-3 victory.
The clash between second placed Murrayfield and third placed Uxbridge fittingly ended tied at 4-4 in a match where neither team ever moved more than one game ahead. Murrayfield's James Russell played his part by beating both Roy Norton (3-2) and Paul Malkin (3-1) whilst Stewart Armitage who won twice also grabbed the scalp of Roy Norton. Dave Savage who won twice fared best of the Uxbridge players.
Division Three South - There was no change at the top of the table with York Gardens II and TTK/Greenhouse II both winning their games.York Gardens were reinforced with Marcia Ma (the England no. eight Lady player) playing in the number two position and she won all four of her singles. She was relatively untroubled by Ellenborough's Chris Marlow and Stephen Kong but Horsham III provided a stiffer test. Marcia had to call on all her experience to see off Rory Scott (3-2) and Steohen Denman (again 3-2). Denman, ranked no. 98 in England at Junior level really put Marcia under pressure, before succumbing 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 8-11.Ellenborough only missed out 5-3 and it took the experienced Trevor Campbell to seal the York Gardens victory in the last game. He was up to the task and he beat Ellenborough newcomer Madhi Qatri 3-1 to secure his side's victory. Chris Marlow fared best of the Ellenborough players and he recorded an excellent five game win over near namesake Chris Martin. York Gardens' victory over Horsham was by a 6-2 margin and Stephen Denman impressed again as he recorded am excellent 3-1 win over Trevor Campbell whilst Chris Martin hit back for York Gardens and he came up trumps by beating Rory Scott 12-10 in the deciding fifth end.
TTK/Greenhouse were not quite so strong without.Y.C. Philakaratne playing at number four but they still won both of their matches. Daniel Basterfield, playing at no. three won all four of his games as TTK beat Ellenborough 5-3 and Cippenham III 6-2. Basterfield turned on the power as he blasted his way past Mardi Qatri 11-7, 11-1, 11-7 and Paul Martindill 11-8, 11-6, 11-8. TTK trail York Gardens by three points and the two top teams go face to face in the Saturday morning fixture in the last round of
matches. York Gardens will know that a draw should be sufficient to enable them to take a title whilst a defeat may leave them needing to take maximum points in their other three matches.
Hastings' 5-3 victory over OLOP Impact represented the best match in this Division with five games decided in the fifth end. Hastings won four of these so it is no surprise that they also won the match. Paul Barry was involved in two cliff-hangers and he needed all his experience to see off Krasimir Ivanov 11-9 in the fifth end and Neil Cartwright at 12-10 in the
decider. Nick Standen got in on the act and he beat Abhay Gehlot 14-12 in the decider after trailing 2-0 whilst Matthew Porter completed proceedings by getting the better of Susan Johnson at 11-7 in the decider. OLOP Impact must have concluded that it just wasn't their afternoon.
OLOP Impact I had in fact impressed greatly in the morning by beating Horsham III convincingly 7-1. Neil Cartwright, Krasimir Ivanov and Abhay Gehlot were all undefeated with only Stephen Denman's 3-0 victory against Susan Johnson escaping them. Denman came really close to winning his second singles as well and he just missed out 13-11, 9-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-13 against Krasimir Ivanov. Quite a battle !.
Division Three South & West - DML Woolwell II (17 points) lead the table by a point from Westfield II but a point dropped against bottom side Fusion III represented a bad result from their perspective, especially as the Fusion side were a player short. The Devon side displayed outstanding sportsmanship in agreeing to a 25 minute delay in the match which prevented Fusion from being two players short, but on the table they struggled. True, Fusion were bolstered by the inclusion of Jogenes Senorin in the number one position and he beat both Harry Cutler (3-2) and Chris Smith (3-1) whilst Rodney Farquharson added an important win over Sally Smith (3-2) and David Fraser got the better of Simon James (3-1). Woolwell put this disappointment firmly behind themselves on the Sunday afternoon and beat third placed B&S Group 5-3. After a superb start they had raced into a 4-0 lead and although B&S Group hit back they had left themselves too much to do. Harry Cutler who beat both Mike Hugh (3-2) and Joe Clifford Junior 3-1 was their match-winner. Chris Smith just failed to win his second singles when he missed out 6-11,11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 12-14 against Mike Hugh. With over 150 Club members of all standards Woolwell are a thriving Club and one suspects that they will be just as proud if this side manage to win this Division as they are of the successes of their formidable teams who have been crowned the Champions in the Veterans British League and Ladies British League Premier Divisions.
A three man Fusion side were less successful against Generation 2 II, losing 6-2. Fusion's still improving David Fraser was an excellent 3-1 winner over Roger Hookey but he met his match in Charlie Childs and Hookey hit back in his second singles by securing a fine 11-8 in the fifth game win against Jogenes Senorin. Daniel Lucking added to the Fusion tally by beating Rodney Farquharson 13-15, 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10.
Westfield II were reinforced by the inclusion of Aaron Fennell (ranked no. 162 nationally) in the number one position and his four wins made a big difference. He beat both Mike Bishop and Paul Savins in their 5-3 win against Oxford Fireplace Centre II and his victories enabled Westfield to shade the match 5-3 against NWF. Matthew Carter secured the victory against NWF by getting the better of Andy Whitcher 3-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 in the last game. A great fight-back. Whitcher will consider himself slightly unlucky as he also lost 7-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-8, 8-11 against Amrish Rana.
Division Four North - The top four teams in this Division look rather strong and it was no surprise that this Division produced the least closely fought set of matches of the day. Three games were decided by 8-0 margins, two games were decided by 7-1 scorelines and a further two games decided 6-2. Leaders Sunderland (Kevin Wilson, Keith Weatherby, Graeme Barella and Anthony Barella) took no chances and they disposed of Rotherham Scorpions II and Drumchapel Glasgow IV both by an 8-0 scoreline. Sunderland retain a slender one point lead over Pudsey although they have a far superior games average. Pudsey (David Smith, Phil Cawser, Chris Parker and Lee Orange) weren't quite as dominant but they nevertheless managed to beat Isle of Man 7-1 and Chesterfield II 6-2. Paul Corran was the Isle of Man's sole winner beating Lee Orange 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 whilst Chesterfield started well andwere level with Pudsey (2-2) at the half-way stage. David Smith restored the Pudsey lead by notching his second singles win, a 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 victory over Warren Slaney and Chris Parker added to the lead by beating Neil Marples 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 14--12. Pudsey were on a roll and Phil Cawser and Lee Orange completed proceedings by beating Mike Bradbury and Andy Middleton respectively.
Third placed Barnt Green were involved in the Division's closest match and they trailed Chesterfield II 3-2 at one stage. Chesterfield's top player Warren Slaney caused them most problems beating Sasha Grokhotov (12-10, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5) and Patrick McCabe 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 and they will have been relieved to have won 5-3. Grokhotov levelled the scores by beating Mike Bradbury 11-6, 2-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7 and this was the filip Barnt Green needed. Chris Hewitt gave them the lead by beating Neil Marples 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 and Gordon Shaw wrapped up the Barnt Green victory by getting the better of Andy Middleton 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7.
St.Mary's Hull (Luke Carrington, Julien Gittens, Adam Smith and Kevin Hodgson) are only placed fourth but again their squad looks rather strong for this level of play. They had few problems beating Drumchapel Glasgow IV 8-0 and they also beat Isle of Man 7-1. Paul Corran did well to get the better of Kevin Hodgson 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 for the Island's only
success.
Division Four South - As with Kingfisher in Division Two South & Midlands and Halton II in Division Three North it is mathematically possible for Brighton City to fail take the title. However, their opponents know that isn't going to happen and they retained their 100 % record by beating second placed Carrara Polska II 5-3 and Byng Hall II 8-0. Polska gave the leaders a real test and the tension must have been mounting as Wen Wei Xu and Adam Trela couldn't be separated in the seventh game. Wen Wei Xu finally clinched the weekend's closest encounter by getting the better of Adam Trela 21-19, 5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 13-11 !. Mark Forder made no mistake in the last singles and he saw off Josef Woznica 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 to seal the Sussex Club's victory. Newcomer Marcin Jaskolski made a difference from Polska's view-point and he beat both Wen Wei Xu and Harry McCarney. Such was Brighton's level of superiority against Byng Hall II that the Player of the Match Award went to Byng Hall's Andrew Lockwood - "the only player to win a leg !".
With three teams tied on 14 points in second place (Carrara Polska II, Southampton West and DHS London Progress V) it is the seemingly strengthened Polska side who perhaps look best equipped to stay there. They beat SEH Britannia Ipswich II very convincingly 8-0 in their second match with Marcin Jaskolski, Maciej Nakielski, Adam Trela and Jozef Woznica all remaining undefeated.
Further down the table BATTS Team Peniel III recorded their first victory of the Season, as they edged out DML Woolwell III 5-3. This was a good team performance from the Essex side with all four of their players - Rachel Jamieson, Jack Cleminson, Jared Patel and Alex Holland contributing. The team were certainly bolstered by the inclusion of Rachel Jamieson in the number one position and the England no. four Junior girl made her mark by beating Simon Fellows 3-1. However, she missed out in her second game when she met her match in Freddy Cutler. The best win of this match was recorded by BATTS' Jack Cleminson who won twice which included a superb 3-1 victory over Freddy Cutler. This side will get better, and who knows, they could well be challenging for honours next year.
DML Woolwell III put this setback firmly behind themselves and they did well to beat Byng Hall II 6-2 in their second match. Father and son duo (actually that should be son and father duo I think !) - Toby and Graham Mattacott dominated affairs by winning their four singles from the numbers three and four positions.
Division Four South & Midlands - In the last report I suggested that Crusaders would have real difficulty holding off the challenge of Fellows Cranleigh. They seem to have taken heed of my warning as Ian Kelly was restored to their side in the number two position and they beat both York Gardens (6-2) and Uxbridge II (7-1). Darren Pumford, Dean Rose and Ping Ho were all undefeated against York Gardens whilst Pumford, Kelly and Ping Ho remained unbeaten against Uxbridge II. Chris Newton was responsible for the Uxbridge win beating Dean Rose 11-9, 11-2, 5-11, 12-10.
Fellows Cranleigh's senior players - Tony Halling, Zayd Mauthoor and John Tendler had things pretty much their own way as they beat Woodfield II 8-0 with Anthony Kent filling the number four position and winning his two singles as well. Kent wrapped up the 8-0 victory for the Essex side (that needed saying !) by getting the better of Errol Watkins 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9. Fellows Cranleigh fielded another Essex County Junior player - Joe Stannard in the number four position against TTK/Greenhouse III and
Stannard wasn't too far away from getting his name in the "right column" on the scoresheet. Joe missed out 11-13,11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 3-11 against Igor Morais and by a tantalising 9-11, 14-12, 6-11, 13-11, 11-13 margin against Willliam Morais as Cranleigh ran out 6-2 winners. Igor Morais is ranked no. ten in England in the Under 13 age group, and it is very pleasing to see teams taking the opportunity to blood such young players at this level. Ditto the same with Crusader's Ping Ho, ranked no. nine in England at Under 15 level.
Ashford paid the price for being a player short against DHS London Progress VI and lost 6-2. Progress didn't have it all their own way and it required a five game victory for Andrew Hagger against Winston Wong to notch up their fifth win. Hagger had also impressed in his earlier singles running out a 3-0 winner against Robin Pretty.
British League Premier Division action takes place this weekend (Saturday/Sunday 19/20 January 2008) at BATTS Team Peniel Table Tennis Club, The Norman Booth Centre, Elderfield, Mulberry Green, Old Harlow, Essex, CM17 OEY. Play commences at 11.00 hours on the Saturday and at 10.00 hours on the Sunday and many of the country's top players will be taking part including a star-studded squad from the DHS London Progress Club who will be bidding to win the title for an unprecedented tenth successive time. The Progress side has amazing strength in depth and their Supremo Jon
Kaufman is able to call upon the likes of Hong Ming Zhang, Jiang Chang Hong, Colum Slevin, Terry Young, Jason Sugrue, Jiang Zhi Tao, Pan Li Chun, Marco Essomba and Tong Fei Ming. Jiang Zhi Tao is well worth looking out for, and he must be the strongest no. six ranked player in the history of the British League.
Local side BATTS Team Peniel I are currently in second place, and they expect to field a squad of Wang Zheng, Craig Bryant, Shuying Xu, Ritchie Venner and Clive Carthy. BATTS have three games over the weekend and their top match takes place on Sunday afternoon against TTK Greenhouse I whose side may include the formidable Commonwealth medallists and English Internationals Andrew Rushton and Gareth Herbert.
Any Club who are looking to enter new team(s) in the British League next Season are requested to give British League Chairman Keith Ponting an early "heads-up". Keith can be contacted at 21 Southport Avenue, Redhills, Exeter, Devon, EX4 1RA, telephone No. 01392-278642, E-mail address keithponting4570@btinternet.com (keithponting4570@btinternet.com) . Please let him know by 31 January 2008 if you are interested.
Steve Kerns
British Table Tennis League Press Officer (ETTA Report)