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Competition in Division Two of the Boston Table Tennis League has been more or less sorted out for some time, Lodgers B dominating the division since the half way mark. They completed their fixtures this week with a 10-0 win over Belchford, who to their credit have suffered some heavy defeats but have turned up every week for their matches, knowing that defeat would be certain. It is this commitment that I like. All ten games were over in straight ends, the Lodgers lads being far too strong for the Belchford team, who must now be looking forward to next season, when they will be hoping to do a little better.

The two Sibsey teams met in their last game of the season the A fielding their heavy squad of Daniel Meyer, Peter James and Phil Coote. The B also put out a strong team of Wayne Grooby, Richard Hill and Steve Hill, and from two evenly balanced teams a draw seemed to be a fair result. The A opened the scoring, Meyer brushing aside Grooby, while James after a second set hic-cup just got the better of Richard Hill. Steve Hill reduced the deficit with a five set win over Coote but James extended the A’s lead to two with a three set win against Grooby. Richard Hill, who was having unbelievable luck, still couldn’t get the better of Coote but Steve Hill, who was having a tremendous night, completed his hat-trick to keep the B in the hunt with an 11-6. 11-3, 7-11, 12-10 victory. Probably the shock of the night occurred when Grooby beat Coote in five and when one looks at the averages and sees Coote with a 22% lead this is a fantastic result for Wayne. 4-4 and all to play for Richard Hill who was still having all the luck still went down to Meyer, leaving the result resting on the doubles. This was a hard fought game the two Hill just clinching 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9 to force the draw.

Penmaen D who started the season slowly, have gradually improved as the season progressed, and completed their programme with a6-4 win over Lodgers E to finish in fifth spot. Without No.1 ranked Colin Bell, Mark Vere stood in, Mark not having it all his own way, being pushed to four by Gavin Herberts and Matt Lilly but by the time he played his third, Mark had got his eye in beating Adam Elston 11-5, 11-6, 11-6. Tom Bell and Pete Bell struggled a little although Tom narrowly lost 9-11 to Lilly in the fourth, while Pete Bell pushed Adam Elston all the way, only to fade in the vital fifth. Pete Bell and Mark Vere made the scoreline look respectable, comfortably winning the doubles giving Penmaen a 6-4 victory.

Lodgers H, who saw their chance of second place had gone, could only field two players for their last match of the season against stablemates Lodgers D, who themselves only had two players. Tony Kime No. 8 in the rankings opened the scoring in a terrific battle with No.9 ranked Boyd Smith, Tony winning the last end 11-7 to claim the honours. Neither of the H lads had any problem with Nev Leggate, and although Steve Marshall took an end out of Kime the result was never in doubt. 2-2 and it was down to the doubles, Smith and Marshall proving too strong for the D duo of Kime and Leggate swamping them 11-2, 11-8, 11-7 to guide the H to a 3-2 victory.

Division One: Penmaen A 10, Graves Park B 0; Graves Park A 3, Lodgers G 7; Graves Park D 1, Graves Park A 9; Penmaen B 4, Lodgers A 6; Lodgers A 4, Graves Park C 6.

Division Two: Lodgers B 10, Belchford 0; Belchford 0, Graves Park F 10; Sibsey A 5, Sibsey B 5; Penmaen D 6, Lodgers E 4; Lodgers H 3, Lodgers D 2.

Report for week ending April 2

The Boston and District Table Tennis League entered its final week and remarkably the Division One title is still not sewn up, Penmaen A leading Lodgers G by a mere two points. Penmaen still have to play Graves Park B, so there is a solid eight points there, while Lodgers G have a difficult task at Graves Park A, where if they are lucky they also may get eight points. That scenario would leave Penmaen champions by two points.

However, the Division Two title is sorted, Penmaen C handing the accolade to Lodgers B. Penmaen scraping a 6-4 win over Lodgers H and two nights later being held to a 5-5 draw by Lodgers F, meant that Lodgers B only had to turn for their match against Wrangle B.

Penmaen’s match against Lodgers H was one of those close encounters with first one team and then the other taking the lead. Boyd Smith put Lodgers on the board needing five to beat a battling John Shortland but Penmaen hit back, Chris Cooke enhancing his reputation beating Simon Raistrick, while Dave Smith gave his team the lead beating Steve Marshall, both these game being tight five setters. Penmaen extended the lead to two, Cooke making short work of No.6 ranked Boyd Smith but Lodgers hit back, Marshall getting his name on the board, beating Shortland in three straight. Raistrick put Lodgers on level terms beating No.5 ranked Dave Smith, (good win this), but Penmaen shook this off taking the next two putting them within touching distance of victory. Lodgers were not out of it yet, Raistrick having to work hard to overcome a battling Shortland leaving the doubles the decisive game. Bit of an anti-climax considering how some of the earlier games had gone, Dave Smith and Cooke overcoming a lack lustre pair of Marshall and Raistrick 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 for a 6-4 victory.

Two nights later Penmaen C saw their faint hopes of becoming champions snuffed out only managing to draw 5-5 with Lodgers F. Lodgers F, who have had a good run in to the end of the season, saw Penmaen open the scoring, Chris Cooke beating Ian Gorrie quite comfortably. David Kime quickly levelled beating Shortland and Steve Harker put Lodgers in the lead with a narrow victory over Dave Smith. Kime extended the lead even further, narrowly beating Cooke 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-6 but Smith forgetting about his earlier defeat blasted past Gorrie. Lodgers bounded on Harker beating Shortland and :Penmaen looked in deep trouble, However in a rousing finale Penmaen took the last three singles of the evening, leaving the result reliant upon the doubles. A tight encounter saw Lodgers rise to the occasion, Kime and Harker narrowly beating Cooke and Smith, thus ensuring an equal share of the spoils.

In the meantime, Lodgers put the seal of approval on the title with a game to spare, beating Wrangle B 7-3. No.2 ranked Tim Day was the star of the show winning his singles beating Cliff Davey (back in the acting captains role), and Tony Hall quite comfortable but being made to fight all the way by Tim Sampson. Pete Truepenny had to be content with one narrowly beating Davey while Vic Clements chipped in with two, beating Davey and Sampson but having no answer to Tony Hall who picked up his second of the night. With only the doubles remaining Lodgers put the icing on the cake, Clements and Day beating Hall and Sampson 08-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9.

Division One is more or less sorted and it just depends how the results pan out in the last few matches for the minor placings.

Graves Park B playing two matches in quick succession had mixed fortunes, beating their D team 9-1 but losing 0-10 to championship chasing Lodgers G. A score of 9-1 might sound like a resounding win but it was clearly not the case, all of Mick Dodes’ games going the full distance, Mick seeming to fade in the fourth and fifth set each time. Paul Matshull pushed Mick Maltby and Mike Freeston all the way but having no answer to David Graham who breezed past him in three straight. Dave Walters never managed to get to grips with any of the B lads, but surprise, surprise Matschull and Dodes found a bit of form in the doubles to beat Freeston and Graham and avert a whitewash.

Not a surprising result against Lodgers G, the Park working very hard pushing some of the Lodgers players all the way, Mick Maltby in particular, taking ends off Mark Hulme and Gary Hill but being well beaten by Kelvin Clements. Mike Freeston gave Clements and run for his money while Dave Graham played some good Table Tennis for no reward.

Lodgers G, who I think by now have given up any hope of landing the title, had a very difficult fixture against Stickney. Lodgers started the stronger, Kelvin Clements beating Paul Hartnett, while Mark Hulme added to the lead beating Vince Lozynsky 11-8, 11-8 11-3. Andrew Benjamin redressed the balance with a good win over joint No1. Gary Hill but the respite was brief, as Lodgers strode on, Hulme making short work of Hartnett while Clements claimed the scalp of Benjamin. Hill made the score 5-1 before Stickney added their second Benjamin having no trouble at all with Hulme. The next game was probably the best of the night Hill scraping home at the death against Hartnett while Clements tidied up the singles with a fairly easy win over Lozynsky. The doubles were far from straightforward as Hartnett and Benjamin shook the Lodgers pair of Clements and Hulme, narrowly taking the second endbut the Lodgers pair settled down to ease home in the next two, making the final score 8-2.

Graves Park Nomads completed their season with two crushing defeats losing 2-8 to both Graves Park A and Wrangle A.

The match with Park A was fairly one-sided Tris Clow being the only Nomads player to offer any resistance beating Nick Langley and taking Phil Brooks to five. For the A Rob Smith had no trouble while Nick Langley and Phil Brooks despatched Mark Sargeant and Harry Paul quite easily but there was a sting in the tail; Clow and Sargeant teaming up For Nomads to take the doubles, adding a bit of gloss to the score.

The two teams who were promoted last season, met in their last match of the season, Wrangle running out 8-2 winners. I would think it fair to say that of the two Wrangle have had the better season and despite finishing bottom but two, they have done enough to remain in Division One. The Park got off the mark in some style, Tris Clow beating Sam Cooper and despite Dave Coulson levelling the score, making short work of Mark Sargeant, Walt Bridges regained the lead beating Dennis Pattrick 15-17. 11-5, 11-9 11-8. Nomads thought it would be a good idea to finish the match whilst they were in the lead but Wrangle had other ideas, Cooper Coulson and Pattrick all going on to win their remaining singles and completing the night with success in the doubles.

Stickney completed their season in fine form beating Graves Park D 10-0 to send them (the Park) down to Division two next season and I don’t know if there will be any reprieve this time. Straightforward result with only Dave Walters and Paul Matschull showing any resistance, Walters taking Lozynsky to five while Matschull despite beating Lozynsky 11-5 in the first end faded in the next three going down 9-11, 8-11, 8-11.

Division One: Graves Park D 1, Graves Park B 9; Graves Park B 0, Lodgers G 10; Lodgers G 8, Stickney A 2; Graves Park A 8, Graves Park Nomads 2; Graves Park Nomads 2, Wrangle A 8; Stickney 10, Graves Park D 0; Wrangle A 1, Penmaen B 9.

Division Two: Penmaen C 6, Lodgers H 4; Lodgers F 5, Penmaen C 5; Wrangle B 3, Lodgers B 7; Sibsey B 1, Penmaen D 9; Graves Park F 7, Sibsey A 3; Lodgers E 3, Lodgers F 7.

Report for week ending March 26

The Boston and District Table Tennis League season is beginning to wind down with the majority of teams only having one or two matches to play.

The big match which will no doubt decide the Division One title took place, Lodgers G taking on the current champions Penmaen A. Alan Ashberry opened the scoring narrowly beating Mark Hulme in five ends, while Brewster extended the lead making short work of Kelvin Clements. With the late arrival of Gary Hill, Hulme went on to play his second game of the night only to lose 4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6, 7-11 and at 3-0 up Penmaen were in charge. By this time Hill had arrived and went straight on to play Brewster. The first two ends Gary was never at the races and despite doing better in the third he just went down 11-13,while Ashberry made short work of Clements comfortably beating him in straight ends and it was all Penmaen. Lodgers at last got on the board, Hill running into form beating Heppenstall in four but Brewster made sure of a Penmaen victory brushing aside the challenge of Hulme. 6-1 and it was just a matter of how many Penmaen was going to win by but Hill revived Lodgers hopes a bit by beating joint No.1 ranked Ashberry 11-13, 8-11 11-5, 11-8, 12-10. Clements who so far had had a poor night, got in on the act with a fine straight set win over Heppenstall, while Hill and Hulme gave the score a respectable look beating Ashberry and Heppenstall in a tight doubles encounter, giving Penmaen a narrow 6-4 victory.

Graves Park C look like clinching third place with two wins (one good the other not so good) beating Wrangle A 10-0 and the following night struggling to a 6-4 win over Penmaen B. The 10-0 win against Wrangle was pretty one way traffic, only Dave Coulson putting up any resistance, taking Martin Walters to five and James Quinton to four. Mick East barely put a foot wrong winning his singles in three ends while Walters and Quinton tidied up in the doubles. The following night against Penmaen, the Park got off to a flyer, James Quinton beating Scott Sykes, Martin Walters making short work of Neil Snaith, while Mick East needed four to see off Roger Hooton. Looking good for the Park, then it all went pear shaped, Penmaen storming back, Sykes getting his name on the board with a narrow win over Walters, Hooton hitting a purple patch to overcome Quinton, while in a tight four ender Snaith did well to beat No.8 ranked Mick East in four .The Park began to wonder where it had all gone wrong but in a complete turn-around they (Park) took the next three for an unassailable lead The doubles was probably one of the closest games of the night, the Penmaen pair of Sykes and Snaith putting a bit of a gloss on the score giving the Park a 6-4 win.

In Division Two, Penmaen C picked up a convincing 8-2 victory over two-man Lodgers D and these factors assures them of the runners-up spot. No.3 ranked Chris Cooke was again on top form winning his singles despite needing four to ward off Tony Kime . Dave Smith had to be content with one beating Nev Leggate but in a terrific battle with Kime he just lost out 6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 8-11. John Shortland comfortably beat Leggate but he was all at sea against the on form Kime, Tony winning all three ends 11-6.

Lodgers B have the champions look about them, beating Sibsey A 8-2 and now need just five points form their remaining two matches to be sure. No.2 ranked Tim Day brushed aside the opposition winning all his games in three straight. No.4 ranked Vic Clements gave him excellent support also winning his three but being taken to four by all the Sibsey lads who made him work hard for his victories. Pete Truepenny had a bit of an off night and although beating Michael Hobbs, he lost in four to Phil Coote and was taken to the cleaners by Daniel Meyer, Daniel winning in straight sets

Wrangle B, who, since the Christmas break have had bleak time, picked their second victory on the trot, beating whipping boys Belchford 9-1. With Tony Sharpe back at the helm, Wrangle looked a different team than of late, both he (Sharp) and Tim Sampson winning their singles. Having said that it was far from one-way traffic, Sharpe being taken to four by Peter Hughes and Scott Baker while Jon Newby was involved in a five ender where all the scores incredibly ended up 11-6. Cliff Davey relinquishing his role of acting captain, blotted the copybook, only picking up two beating Hughes and Baker but losing to Newby, who picked up Belchford’s consolation point.

Lodgers F and Lodgers H are fighting it out for third place, the H looking slight favourites.

The H had a difficult match against their E team, the H lads taking two apiece, all of them beating Pete and Thomas Bell reasonably easy enough. Although Pete Bell took a set out of Boyd Smith, the result was never in doubt. None of H players could touch Colin Bell, who again won his three to confirm his no.1 ranking and although Steve Marshall took him to four, Colin‘s 11-4 win in the fourth was comfortable enough.

Lodgers F who would be much nearer to finishing third if they could field a full team each week, having played five matches over the season with only two players. However they are making a valiant attempt to catch their H team but after this weeks match with Sibsey B they are still six points adrift with only one match remaining. Lodgers struck off in fine style Ian Gorrie beating John Hobbs while Steve Harker brushed aside the opposition of Richard and Steve Hill. David Kime chipped in with wins against Hill and Hobbs, despite losing the first end to Hill. Sibsey at last got on the board, Steve Hill beating Gorrie in straight sets but it was to no avail as Lodgers ground on, taking the next four singles and a close fought doubles for a 9-1 victory.

Division One: Lodgers G 4, Penmaen A 6; Graves Park C 10, Wrangle A 0; Graves Park C 6, Penmaen B 4.

Division Two: Penmaen C 8, Lodgers D 2; Sibsey A 2, Lodgers B 8; Belchford 1, Wrangle B 9; Lodgers H 7, Lodgers E 3; Lodgers F 9, Sibsey B 1.

Report for week ending March 19

With only three weeks of the season remaining, current champions Penmaen A and Lodgers G still battling it out for the Division One title. With Lodgers having a week off, Penmaen stole a march on them beating perennial strugglers Graves Park D 10-0. All the games were pretty straight forward, Paul Matschull taking an end out of Alan Ashberry and Mick Dodes extending Brett Heppenstall being the only exceptions. The remainder were all comparatively easy three enders, all going the Penmaen way and almost certainly sending the Park to Division Two.

Graves Park Nomads booked their place in Division Two next season when losing to stable-mates Graves Park B 2-8 and with only two matches remaining their fate (Nomads) has been sealed. The B started off in fine style, Mick Maltby, Dave Graham and Mike Freeston all winning their opening games. Walt Bridges gave Nomads a glimmer of hope taking Dave Graham to five but 11-6 in the final end says it all. Mick Maltby, although beating Tris Clow in three, had to fight hard to inch home 11-9, 12-10, 11-9, while Freeston had a momentary hiccup in the third, allowing Mark Sargeant to nick an end. Nomads eventually broke the ice, Tris Clow gaining his reward beating Graham, but the B pressed on winning the remaining two singles in straight ends. Probably the doubles was the shock of the night Sargeant and Clow combining to win a four set doubles to gain a deserved second point.

For Stickney, despite beating Graves Park Nomads 10-0, it looks likely that they will have to settle for fifth place as they are running out of games to catch the team above them up. Andrew Benjamin who has slipped to sixth in the rankings, had no trouble at all winning his three. Paul Hartnett and Vince Lozynsky also won their singles but both had to work a bit harder, a battling Walt Bridge taking Lozynsky to four, while Tris Clow took an end out of Paul Hartnett. The doubles was pretty straightforward, Benjamin and Hartnett blasting past Sargeant and Clow to chalk up a 10-0 victory.

Penmaen B, in no danger of being relegated, could only field two players for their clash with Graves Park A, who have had a much better season than last time round. The Park took the first game, Rob Smith playing well to beat Scott Sykes in four, but Penmaen hit back, Andy Birks levelling with a four leg win over Nick Langley. Sykes regained the lead beating Brooks, nearly losing by throwing away a two set lead but scraping home 11-8 in the vital fifth. In a five set thriller against Birks, Smith kept the Park on equal terms winning an eventful game 11-9 in the final leg, but Sykes regained the one set cushion with a five set win over Langley. Park levelled the score again in the last singles of the evening but with three walkovers and a comfortable doubles win the Park strolled home to a 7-3 victory.

Lodgers B seem to have the Division Two title in the bag and an 8-2 win over Penmaen D seemed to emphasise this point. However Penmaen could only muster two players, only Matt Lilly and Adam Elston turning up, both of them losing in straight ends to No.1 ranked Tim Day. Elston reduced the deficit beating Vic Clements in five but in an equally close contest Vic gained some revenge for his earlier defeat beating Lilly 11-13, 11-7 11-1 12-10. Lilly had no answer to Truepenny but Elston gave the score an air of respectability with a five set victory over Truepenny for Penmaen’s second point.

It looks as though Lodgers H are going to miss out on promotion and the best they can hope for is third place. Playing Sibsey B, who are bottom but one in the table they hardly covered themselves with glory, taking an early lead the lead but not seeming to pull away from a dogged Sibsey side. Boyd Smith was in brilliant form for Lodgers winning his singles, beating Wayne Grooby and Steve Hill in straight ends, (good win this last one) and despite Richard Hill taking him to four, the result never looked in doubt. Steve Marshall and Simon Raistrick could only manage one each, both of them beating the unlucky Grooby. The two Hill’s, (father and son), had a good night, both of them seeing off Raistrick in straight ends and although Marshall ran both of them a close, he fell at the final hurdle.

After their defeat at Lodgers B, Penmaen D this time with a full team, bounced back taking on Graves Park F, winning 7-3. Penmaen got away well Matt Lilly struggling to beat Alan Davy, while Gavin Herberts increased the lead with a straight win over Fred Calvert. Barry Frankish cut the lead to one but Penmaen strode on, Herberts picking up his second of the night with a no-nonsense win over Davy. The Park though kept in the hunt, Frankish who was having a good night, beating Lilly 11-9 in each set, in a game that could have swung either way. Elston got his name on the board beating Calvert, while Herberts completed his hat-trick defeating the Park’s best player Frankish 16-18, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5. Penmaen were now in the driving seat, Elston brushing aside Davy to make sure of the win. The Park struck back in the last singles of the evening, Calvert playing well to beat Lilly in a five set thriller but the damage had been done Herberts and Elston tidying up in the doubles for a 7-3 victory.

Division One: Penmaen A 10, Graves Park D 0; Graves Park B 8, Graves Park Nomads 2; Graves Park Nomads 0, Stickney 10; Penmaen B 3, Graves Park A 7.

Division Two: Lodgers B 8, Penmaen D 2; Sibsey B 4, Lodgers H 6; Penmaen D 7, Graves Park F 3.

Report for week ending March 12

The Division Two title race, which, up to a few weeks ago looked a foregone conclusion, has been thrown into the melting pot by two poor results from long time leaders Lodgers B. Last week they scraped a non too convincing 6-4 win over their F team, while this week saw a 3-7 defeat (their first reverse of the season) inflicted on them by their E team.

However the result, while not doing the B any favours, can be tempered a bit by the E’s Captain Colin Bell pulling in Mark Vere, this only being Mark’s second appearance and if he played regularly this team would win the league.

Pete Truepenny and No.1 ranked Tim Day posed no threats to the E lads No.2 ranked Bell and Vere beating both them in straight ends, resulting in Day and Bell changing positions in the rankings. Vic Clements posed more of a threat, narrowly losing to Bell in the fifth after holding a 2-1 lead and also taking the second leg off Vere but narrowly losing the next two. None of the B team had any problems with Pete Bell, Truepenny and Day beating him in three straight and although he (Bell) took a set from Clements the result was never in doubt. The B who usually are so solid in the doubles, lost only their second of the season, Colin Bell and Vere cruising a 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 win to guide their team to a7-3 victory and at the same time denting the B’s championship challenge.

Penmaen C ominously closed the gap on Lodgers B to 7 points with two good victories, beating Graves Park F 7-3 and a few night later Lodgers E 8-2. Against Lodgers E, Penmaen C expected a strong challenge but there was no Mark Vere or Colin Bell to shore up the Lodgers team who could only field two players. Chris Cook and Dave Smith did what was necessary to win their singles, although Smith was taken to four by Thomas Bell, Dave sneaking home 13-11 in the fourth. John Shortland must have been disappointed to lose to both Thomas and Pete Bell, John falling away in the fourth end both times. The doubles is usually one of Penmaen strong points, Smith and Cooke despite not firing on all cylinders beat the two Bell boys for an 8-2 victory.

Graves Park F, although playing three match in 10 days, had little to show for it losing 3-7 to Penmaen C, losing 3-7 to Lodgers H and being beaten 8-2 by the strong Lodgers F. Lodgers open strongly opening up a 5-0 lead, David Kime beating Alan Davy and Fred Calvert. Ian Gorrie narrowly beat Calvert in a close four ender, while Steve Harker blew away Barry Frankish and Alan Davy in straight ends. Frankish put the Park on the board beating Gorrie but it was an uphill battle. Lodgers put the issue beyond doubt winning the next two, Harker back to his best form beating Calvert, while Kime despite dropping the third end 10-12 to Frankish won the fourth with ease. Just the doubles then the strong Kime and Harker putting the icing on the cake giving Lodgers an 8-2victory.

Lodgers D who have been much better this season than the previous one handed Belchford a 9-1 thrashing mirroring the score from the first half. Tony Kime and Graham Bonsor had little trouble with the Belchford lads, apart from Jon Newby who turned in a sterling performance against Bonsor, only to lose 11-13, 11-13, 13-15. Nev Leggate turned in his best showing of the season winning two beating Peter Hughes and Jon Newby but losing out to young Ben Kirby who save Belchford the ignominy of a whitewash.

Wrangle B stopped their steady slide down the table with useful 7-3 win over Sibsey A. Tim Sampson and Tony Hall both picked up their singles without too much trouble, although Phil Coote who has not shown the form of last season, took them to four. Cliff Davey had a bit of an off night failing to win a game and despite taking both Hobbs and Coote to four legs he faded in the vital end.

Report for week ending March 5

The top two in Division One of the Boston Table Tennis League matched each other point for point this week, both of them beating the league’s strugglers 10-0. Penmaen A were playing Graves Park Nomads and apart from Tris Clow taking the first two ends off Brett Heppenstall it was pretty much one way traffic. Jimmy Brewster and Alan Ashberry had no trouble with any of the Nomads lads, every one of their games being straight ends win.

The following night, Lodgers G not to be outdone, took on the two man Park D team, with Dave Walters being unavailable. The games here were a little bit closer, Mick Dodes taking Mark Hulme to four and then just losing 10-12 in the fifth to No.2 ranked Gary Hill. The first two ends of the doubles were anything but close but Dodes and Matschull got their game together to spring a surprise on their more illustrious opponents to win the third 13-11. The fourth end swung back and forth but in the end the G pairing of Hulme and Clements nicked it 11-9 guiding the team to a 10-0 victory.

Graves Park B, who last won a match early December, slumped to yet another defeat losing 2-8 to Penmaen B.

Park B against Penmaen B is traditionally close and despite the score this one was no different, with no less than five five setters, four of them swinging Penmaen’s way. Scott Sykes and Neil Snaith made short work of Mick Maltby and Dave Graham respectively but Mike Freeston reduced the arrears with a three set win over Roger Hooton. However Penmaen strode on picking up the next two, Snaith beating Maltby and Sykes beating Freeston. These two games however were so close that on another night they could have swung the other way, which could have resulted in a whole new ball game. Graham gave the Park a bit of hope with a solid win over Hooton but Penmaen ground on, Snaith just scraping to a 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6 win over Freeston while Hooton got his name on the board with a narrow win over Maltby. Things just weren’t going for the Park, Sykes winning a tight five setter over the unlucky Graham and to put the icing on the cake, he (Sykes), combined with Snaith to win the doubles 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 for an 8-2 victory.

Graves Park C, after a couple of heavy defeats (admittedly by the big two), bounced back putting some good results together, beating Stickney 9-1 and the strong Lodgers A side 7-3. The test of how much the Park have improved of late would be against Lodgers A, Walters giving the Park a good start with a narrow 11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10 win over Ian Stones. Graham Lacey levelled beating Quinton but East put the Park in front in a five set thriller against Evans. The Park took the next for 3-1 lead Quinton beating Stones but they were unable to shake off the challenge of Lodgers, Evans keeping them in the hunt beating Walters. The game that swung it in the Park’s favour was the East/Lacey encounter, two adversaries from the old school, and in an all out attacking game East ran out a narrow 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 winner. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Lodgers, Quinton beating Evans while East picked up his third with a straight set win over Stones. Lacey pulled one back beating Walters but it was too little too late, Quinton and Walters easing home in the doubles to guide the team to a 7-3 victory.

Penmaen C kept nagging away at Lodgers B at the top of Division Two with an 8-2 win over Sibsey B but being 19 points adrift with only five games remaining is going to be a big ask. No.4 ranked Chris Cooke and No.5 ranked Dave Smith were again in tremendous form winning their singles, despite Steve Hill pushing Cooke all the way, John Shortland could only pick up one beating the unlucky Hobbs but losing, albeit in five ends, to both Richard and Steve Hill whose wins saved Sibsey from a much heavier loss.

Penmaen D moved into the top half of the table with a 6-4 victory over Wrangle B who just lately have suffered a dip in form. Matt Lilly and Adam Elston did the main damage winning their singles, both of them struggling with Cliff Davey and Tim Sampson before edging home. Darron Kent failed to register, losing in straight ends to all the Wrangle lads, while Hall and Sampson gained some revenge for their singles defeats by Lilly and Elston with a11-8, 4-11, 11-9 11-0 doubles win giving the score a respectable appearance.

Sibsey A had one of their better results when they entertained bottom-of-the-table Belchford. Unfortunately the visitors could only field two players so this left Sibsey with an easier task than was first envisaged. Daniel Meyer and Peter James had little trouble with either Peter Hughes or John Newby and although Hughes took an end out of Meyer in the first game of the evening the outcome was never in doubt. Michael Hobbs battled hard for no reward losing in straight ends to both Hughes and Nerwby for Belchford’s two points.

Lodgers B stride on but a narrow 6-4 win over rivals and stable-mates Lodgers F is hardly championship form, but when you are so far ahead of the chasing pack it hardly matters. The B team started off well enough winning the first two, Pete Truepenny getting his name on the board, needing five to overcome Ian Gorrie and when No.1 ranked Tim Day beat David Kime in three it looked plain sailing. Steve Harker had other ideas, beating Vic Clements in four and with Kime beating Truepenny in a hard fought tussle, the plain sailing theory was thrown out of the window. Undeterred the B ground on, Clements beating Gorrie and with Day seeing off Harker in straight legs, the B looked in control. The F stormed back, Kime beating Clements in five close ones, while Harker levelled the score beating Truepenny 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 2-11,11-5. Day completed his hat-trick to put the B’s nose in front and then combined with Cements to beat the Kime/Harker combination 6-11,11-7, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7 for a narrow 6-4 victory.

Lodgers E, playing two matches within a week, saw only average results, equally sharing the points against both Lodgers D and Graves Park F. Against Lodgers D, Colin Bell had little trouble, brushing aside the opposition and although Graham Bonsor took him to four, Colin was never in trouble. Tony Kime and Bonsor replied for the D picking up two apiece, both of them beating Pete and Tom Bell, Kime being taken to four by Thomas Bell while Pete Bell pushed Bonsor all the way but faded in the final end. With the doubles deciding the result Kime and Bonsor turned in a sparkling display to beat Colin and Pete Bell in four ends making sure of an equal share of the points.

A few night later Lodgers E entertained Graves Park F, Colin Bell being on form once again winning his three, although Barry Frankish took a set out of him. Pete Bell had one of his better nights and although losing against Alan Davy in the first game of the evening, he upped the tempo against Frankish and Calvert with comfortable victories. With the doubles deciding the result Lodgers were confident, but the Park pair of Davy and Calvert pulled out all the stops narrowly winning a five set doubles encounter to equally share the points.

Division One: Graves Park Nomads 0, Penmaen A 10; Graves Park D 0, Lodgers G 10; Graves Park D 0, Lodgers G 10; Penmaen B 8, Graves Park B 2; Graves Park C 9, Stickney 1; Graves Park C 7, Lodgers A 3.

Division Two: Penmaen C 8, Sibsey B 2; Penmaen D 6, Wrangle B 4; Sibsey A 8, Belchford 2; Lodgers F 4, Lodgers B 6; Lodgers E 5, Lodgers D 5; Lodgers E 5, Graves park F 5; Lodgers D 8, Sibsey A 2.

Report for week ending February 26

The battle for supremacy in Division One of the Boston Table Tennis League continues to rage, current champions Penmaen A and Lodgers G both locked on the same number of points from the same number of games. The decider will come on the March 23, when these two giants meet and whoever wins this will certainly be favourites to take the title.

Prior to the match this week Penmaen A were two points ahead of Lodgers G but they (Penmaen A) could only manage an 8-2 victory over their B team, while rivals Lodgers G were thumping Graves Park Nomads 10-0.

Penmaen A were at full strength for their clash with their B team, Alan Ashberry looking sharp, winning his three, comfortably beating Scott Sykes and Andy Birks but being taken to five ends by Roger Hooton although in fairness Alan won the final end 11-3. Jake the Pegg making one of his rare appearances and Brett Heppenstall picked up two each, Brett being taken to four by Scott Sykes but losing a hard fought match against Hooton, Roger losing a two set lead but just scraping home 12-10 in the final leg, to put the B on the board. Jake had little trouble with Hooton, although being extended to four by Birks, Jake always looked to be favourite. He (Jake) didn’t bargain for Sykes, who despite losing the first end 5-11, hit back to win the next three 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 to earn the B team their 2 points.

Meanwhile Lodgers G met Graves Park Nomads, who already have accepted that they will be relegated at the end of the season. As expected it was pretty one way traffic, Walt Bridges being the bright spot for Nomads, taking Mark Hulme to four and despite losing in straight ends to Gary Hill it was close, Gary inching home 11-8, 11-9, 12-10.

Elsewhere Graves Park C consolidated third place with an 8-2 victory over their B team, who haven’t found the fluency they had last season. Even with Peter Munch in the team, the B never got going and it was game 8 before they broke the ice, Munch beating Martin Walters in a close five ender. Mike Freeston was a little unlucky to lose to the aforementioned Walters letting a 2-1 lead slip, while Dave Graham although beating Walters in the first end, lost the next three fairly easily. The doubles were close but Graham and Freeston put a bit of a gloss on the score winning in four, beating East and Quinton 12-10, 2-11 13-11, 11-4.

Graves Park A had their best victory of the season with a 9-1 win over Wrangle A, Park’s new signing Leo Bobdanov turning in a consistent and controlled performance, sweeping aside the Wrangle lads. Even though Dennis Pattrick nicked an end off him Leo replied in the fourth with an emphatic 11-0 victory. Rob Smith picked up his singles beating Sam Cooper and Dennis Pattrick in three and though Dave Coulson took a set off him, the fourth end was never in doubt. Nick Langley failed to make it a clean sweep with comfortable win over both Cooper and Pattrick but fell at the final hurdle losing 11-7, 10-12, 11-6, 6-11, 5-11 to Dave Coulson who thus saved Wrangle from complete humiliation.

Lodgers B continued their relentless drive towards the Division Two title with an impressive 8-2 win over third placed Lodgers H, No.1 ranked Tim Day again winning his singles without too much trouble. Vic Clement gave him excellent support also winning his three but had ends taken out of him by Boyd Smith and Simon Raistrick. Vic replied by winning the fourth end both times with no bother. Pete Truepenny had to be content with one, a straight set win over Simon Raistrick but being narrowly beaten by both Smith and Marshall.

Penmaen D surged to a 10-0 victory at Belchford the visitors swamping the home side and although some games were close and others went to four the results were never in doubt. Max Spence was possibly the unluckiest player of the night. taking all the Penmaen players to four but each time losing out in the vital set.

Wrangle B with only two players took on the strong Lodgers F side and although losing 3-7 this was not a bad result for Wrangle. David Kime swept aside Cliff Davey and Tim Sampson, while No.6 ranked Steve Harker had no trouble with Davey but went down in four to Sampson (good win this), Tim winning 11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8. Ian Gorrie failed to register never posing any problems to either Sampson or Davey.

Then there was one, Colin Bell being the only player to turn up for the visitors when Lodgers E played Sibsey B. Sibsey, who are desperately in need of points, could not believe their luck and unsurprisingly Colin went on to win his singles without breaking sweat. With no other players available, Lodgers had to concede the remaining seven games giving their team a valuable 7-3 win.

Division One: Penmaen A 8, Penmaen B 2; Lodgers G 10, Graves Park Nomads 0; Graves Park B 2, Graves Park C 8; Graves Park A 9, Wrangle A 1.　

Division Two: Lodgers B 8, Lodgers H 2; Belchford 0, Penmaen D 10; Wrangle B 3, Lodgers F 7; Sibsey B 7, Lodgers E 3.

Report for week ending February 19

Lodgers G surged to within two points of Penmaen A in Division One by beating unlucky Penmaen B 10-0. The score perhaps flatters Lodgers a little, for although Kelvin Clements won his three in straight ends his two team mates didn’t find it so easy, Mark Hulme while dismissing Andy Birks in three, found Neil Snaith and Scott Sykes a bit of a handful, dropping the third end each time, but winning the fourth comfortably enough. No.2 ranked Gary Hill had three tough matches struggling to overcome Snaith, needing four to see off Sykes and coming from 1-2 down against Birks to win the next two.

Lodgers A were in cracking form when they met Graves Park B winning 9-1, some of the games being tight, and on another night could easily have swung the Park’s way. Graham Lacey comfortably eased past Mike Freeston and Mick Maltby but was surprised when David Graham took the second leg 14-12. However Graham rallied to win the last two 11-4, 11-4 to complete his hat trick. Ian Stones also picked up his singles but both Freeston and Graham took him to five, Stones scraping home 12-10 in the final set against Graham. Trev Blackbourn’s night didn’t start so bright losing in four to Graham, but he didn’t let this get to him, beating Maltby and Freeston in straight ends,.

A few night later Lodgers A moved up to third place with a 7-3 win over Stickney, who again were without Andrew Benjamin for the second match in a row. Despite this setback, Stickney went down fighting, Paul Hartnett taking Graham Lacey to five and beating Trev Blackbourn and Ian Stones over four ends. Vince Lozynsky failed to register, just losing in the fourth end to both Blackbourn and Stones. The doubles saw the Stickney pair give the scoreline a credible look, Lozynsky gaining some consolation for his singles defeats, and Hartnett narrowly beating Stones and Blackbourn 7-11, 2-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8.

Graves Park Nomads and Graves Park D who both look as though they will be in Division Two next season met, the D picking up their first win of the season with a hard fought 6-4 victory. Tris Clow opened the scoring for Nomads with a five set win over Dave Walters but the D hit back taking the next five, Mick Dodes making short work of Tris Clow, and Walt Bridges. Paul Matschull added to the score beating Mark Sargeant and Bridges while Walters completely destroyed Sargeant beating him 11-2, 11-5, 11-4. Sargeant atoned for this defeat by pulling one back in a five set thriller against Dodes, but it was only a token gesture and Walters made sure the D would grab a victory, winning a tight five ender against the battling Bridges. With the game beyond their reach Nomads started to find some form, Clow beating Matschull in five, he (Clow) then joined forces with Sargeant to beat Walters and Dodes 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8 to give the score a respectable appearance.

The top two in Division Two met and from two unbeaten teams a draw looked the most likely result. A close encounter saw Vic Clements give Lodgers the lead beating John Shortland fairly comfortably only to see Chris Cooke level the score with an 11-6, 8-11, 11-13, 11-5, 11-8 over Alan Marshall who was making his Lodgers debut after many years out of the game. No.1 ranked Tim Day needed five to see off Dave Smith but Cooke levelled up the score with a four set win over Clements. Day picked up his second, while Marshall in another five ender just lost out to Smith. Lodgers looked as though they might break the deadlock, getting their noses in front, Day in the match of the night nearly losing it, giving away a two set lead to beat No.3 ranked Cooke 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 5-11, 4-11, 11-9. Clements in another close game put Lodgers in the driving seat with a four set win over Smith. Shortland reduced the arrears beating the unlucky Marshall who had strived all night for no reward (again in five). The result was finely balanced and it was down to the doubles, with four of the top five players in the Division taking part. This was another tight contest, Clements and Day taking the first 11-5, only to see the Penmaen pair of Smith and Cooke hit back to take the next two. The fourth end was perhaps the best doubles we will see all season, Smith and Cooke edging a memorable 19-17 win to earn Penmaen a well deserved draw.

Lodgers H held onto third place in the table with an 8-2 victory over a depleted Wrangle B side, who, due to unavailabilities could only field two players. Simon Raistrick opened the scoring, beating Tim Sampson in a tight five ender, while Boyd Smith extended the lead with a straight set win over Acting Captain Cliff Davey. Sampson pulled one back beating Steve Marshall 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, but Raistrick picked up his second of the night with a win over acting captain Davey. Wrangle still hung in there, Sampson gaining a consolation, beating Boyd Smith fairly comfortably. Marshall tidied up the singles with a win over Davey while Raistrick and Smith put the icing on the cake with a narrow five set win over Sampson and Davey in the doubles.

Lodgers F could only field two players for their match with Belchford eased home 7-3, all the games but two being straight sets wins. David Kime had little troubles with Richard Kirby or Peter Hughes but John Newby sprang a surprise, nicking the first end but Kime won the next three comfortably enough. Ian Gorrie despatched Newby and Kirby easily enough but Hughes gave him a run for his money, taking him to four but the result never looked in doubt. This is the fifth time this season that Lodgers have turned out with only two players and come the end of the season this could cost them third place in the table.

Division One: Penmaen B 0, Lodgers G 10; Lodgers A 9, Graves Park B 1; Stickney 3, Lodgers A 7; Graves Park Nomads 4, Graves Park D 6.

Division Two: Penmaen C 5, Lodgers B 5; Lodgers H 8, Wrangle B 2; Lodgers F 7, Belchford 3.

Report for week ending February 12

As it was competition week only a few Boston Table Tennis League matches were played, Penmaen B pulling away from the relegation zone in Division One with a 7-3 win over fellow strugglers Graves Park D. Scott Sykes and Neil Snaith got Penmaen off to a good start, both of them winning in straight legs beating Dave Walters and Paul Matschull respectively. Roger Hooton making one of his rare appearance added to the score, needing five sets to see off a concerted challenge from Mick Dodes. The Park at last got on the board Matschull beating Sykes in straight ends (good win this) and looked like they were going to make a game of it, Walters getting his name on the board beating Hooton 7-11, 16-14, 11-2, 11-7. However after this brief flurry Penmaen took control, Snaith beating Dodes, while Hooton picked up his second of the night defeating Matschull. Park kept the game alive Dodes beating Sykes, who after a bright start at the beginning of thre night seemed to fade. Snaith made sure of victory, beating Walters 11-7, 11-2, 5-11, 11-8. He (Snaith) then partnered Sykes in the doubles putting the icing on the cake winning in four guiding the team to a 7-3 victory.

Stickney suffered probably one of their worst results of the season losing 4-6 to Wrangle. What that score doesn’t tell though is that Stickney could only field two players, star man No.3 ranked Andrew Benjamin failing to arrive.

With three already on the board Wrangle started strongly, winning the first two putting them into an unassailable lead, Sam Cooper beating Paul Hartnett in five, while Dave Coulson just got the better of Vince Lozynsky, beating him 10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 in a game that could have swung either way. With the result slipping away, Stickney decided to make a game of it, Hartnett playing well to beat Coulson and Dennis Pattrick, while Lozynsky put them with striking distance with a straight set win over Pattrick. Alas all the hard work was to no avail, Cooper snatching the chance of a draw away from Stickney beating Loznnsky 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-13, 15-13 in the closest game of the night. The game was in the bag but the Stickney pair gave the result an air of respectability by comfortably winning the doubles.

Penmaen A opened up a 12-point lead at the top beating third placed Graves Park C 7-3. Penmaen got away to a bright start Alan Ashberry beating Martin Walters quite easily, while Brett Heppenstall just got the better of Mick East in a tense five ender. Brian Hill made it 3-0 beating James Quinton, the only surprise here was James taking a set off Brian, which doesn’t happen very often. East got the Park on the board with a win over No.1 ranked Alan Ashberry, which could see him deposed at the top, but Penmaen ground on picking up games. Hill went on to win his three and despite Quinton pullling one back for the Park it was too late to make any difference. In a close game Heppenstall just got the better of Walters, while Ashberry put the issue beyond doubt beating Quinton in four. However the Park drew on their reserves for the doubles, picking up a four set win giving the score sheet an air of credibility.

Wrangle B, without the services of Tony Sharpe, dropped to6th place in the Division Two table, only managing a draw against perpetual strugglers Lodgers D. Tony Kime can take most of the credit for this result, easing to wins over Tony Hall and Cliff Davey but finding Tim Sampson a difficult opponent. Graham Bonsor had to be content with one beating Davey but although taking Hall and Sampson to four, he faded in the final end.

Lodgers H consolidated third place with a 10-0 win over Belchford who have found this season to been a steep learning curve. With so many players signed on (8) Belchford never field the same team two weeks running, and this takes away any hope of continuity. Most of the games were over in straight legs and despite John Newby taking Steve Marshall and Simon Raistrick to four the final outcome was never in doubt. Frank Cannon was the pick of the Belchford side taking Steve Marshall and Boyd Smith to four but being well beaten by Simon Raistrick.

Sibsey B racked up a well-earned victory with a narrow 6-4 win over fellow strugglers Lodgers D, Richard Hill and Wayne Grooby doing the main damage for Sibsey picking up two apiece. Neither of them though knew how to handle Tony Kime, who again won his three and being taken to four by Grooby but winning the vital end 11-4. With John Hobbs picking up his first win of the season, just beating Nev Leggate 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 15-13, the game was evenly balanced. Hill and Grooby then combined to guide Sibsey to victory beating Kime and Bonsor 11-4, 12-10, 4-11, 12-10.

Division One: Graves Park D 3, Penmaen B 7; Wrangle A 6, Stickney 4; Graves Park C 3, Penmaen A 7.

Division Two: Sibsey B 6, Lodgers D 4; Belchford 0, Lodgers H 10; Wrangle B 5, Lodgers D 5.

Report for week ending February 5

Wrangle A felt the full wrath of Graves Park C in Division One of the Boston Table Tennis League this week, the Park handing out a 9-1 thrashing. However the result does not show a true reflection of the game, the scores of matches being much closer than the score suggests. Sam Cooper took all three Park players to four and was a bit unlucky not to take more from the game. Dave Coulson rescued Wrangle from a whitewash, beating No.9 ranked Martin Walters in straight sets for a consolation point.

Lodgers G though put Graves Park C in their place hammering them 8-2, which keeps Lodgers within striking distance of leaders Penmaen A. It was Mark Hulme who turned out to be the star of the show picking up his singles beating Mike East in straight sets but against Martin Walters and James Quinton, both games went the full distance. Kelvin Clements picked up two beating Walters and Quinton but having no answer to East, while No.2 ranked Gary Hill almost dropped to No.3, beating East and Quinton in tight five enders but losing 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 7-11 to Walters (good result this for Lodgers but a poor one for the Park).

Graves Park B and Wrangle A, both with identical records, met and with two teams so equally matched a draw came as no real surprise. Wrangle got away well, Sam Cooper beating Dave Graham but Mike Freeston immediately levelled in a drama packed game, narrowly beating Dave Coulson 11-5. 11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10. The Park regained the lead, Peter Munch having no bother with Pattrick but Wrangle were never far away, Cooper making it all square beating Freeston in five. This was the pattern of the game, the Park taking a lead only to see it pulled back in the next. With Freeston beating Pattrick and Munch having a good win over Cooper, the Park eyed the winning post but Wrangle fought back, Coulson picking up his second of the night beating Graham and then combining with Cooper to nick the doubles to earn their team an equal share of the spoils.

Lodgers G kept Penmaen in their sights with a 8-2 hammering of Stickney, No.2 ranked Gary Hill who at present is playing real well winning his singles. Kelvin Clements and Mark Hulme chipped in with two each both of them beating Vince Lozynsky and Geoff Bourne who was making his second appearance of the season. Neither of them though could handle Andrew Benjamin who consolidated his No.3 position in the rankings.

Penmaen D continued their steady climb up the Division Two table, although drawing with Lodgers D must have come as a bit of a disappointment. Penmaen found Tony Kime in tremendous form, Tony working hard to win his singles, all of them going the full distance, but inching home in the end. Graham Bonsor picked up one beating Adam Elston 7-11, 11-7, 11-8 11-7 (good win this) but he had no answer to Gavin Herberts and despite holding a two sets to nil lead over Darron Kent he frittered the next three away. The vital doubles saw Tony Kime cap a great night combining with Bonsor, to narrowly winning a tight four ender 11-9, 9-11, 11-3 13-11 to guide Lodgers to an equal share of the spoils.

Wrangle B, since the Christmas break appear to have gone off the boil, winning only one so far in the second half.

This week it was no different being beaten 3-7 by promotion chasing Penmaen C, Chris Cooke being in sparkling form, winning his singles, although Tony Hall was unlucky not to take him to five. No.5 ranked Dave Smith chipped in with two beating Hall and Cliff Davey in straight sets but he (Smith) had no answer to Tim Sampson, who beat him 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8. Cooke and Smith then put the icing on the cake with a straight set doubles win to guiding Penmaen to a 7-3 victory keeping them on the promotion trail.

Sibsey B racked up only their second win of the season beating an unfortunate Belchford team 10-0. Some close games saw Richard and Ben Kirby push Richard Hill to five and the same pair taking Wayne Grooby to four. Steve Hill was in solid form and despite dropping a set against Richard Kirby the outcome was never in doubt.

Division One: Wrangle A 1, Penmaen 9; Wrangle A 1, Graves Park C 9; Lodgers G 8, Graves Park C 2; Graves Park B 5, Wrangle A 5; Stickney 2, Lodgers G 8.

Division Two: Lodgers D 5, Penmaen D 5; Wrangle B 3, Penmaen C 7; Sibsey B 10, Belchford 0; Lodgers D 0, Penmaen C 10 (walkover).

Report for week ending January 29

A busy week in Division Two, especially for Lodgers F who played three games in the space of seven days. Mixed results came from these though, Lodgers drawing two and winning one and although it has lifted them up the table a place or so it is not enough to trouble the top two.

In their first match against Penmaen D Lodgers opened well bursting into a 3-1 lead, Steve Harker beating Gareth Herberts and Adam Elston while David Kime struggled to see off Matt Lilly over five tight legs. Penmaen hit back to draw level, Lilly beating Ian Gorrie in four while Elston warded off the challenge of Kime. The game was finely balanced but Lodgers got their noses in front, No.8 ranked Harker picking up his third of the night, narrowly beating Lilly 11-7, 13-11, 8-11, 12-10. Penmaen pulled one back through Elston leaving the result reliant upon the doubles, both teams needing it for differing reasons. Lodgers edged the first end with a hard fought 18-16 win but they (Lodgers) couldn’t hold the momentum, the Penmaen pair of Elston and Lilly comfortably winning the next three to force a 5-5 draw.

Against Graves Park F a few night later, Harker and Kime were again in fine form both of them winning their singles in comprehensive style. Ian Gorrie failed to register and although doing well in the first end against all three Park lads he faded in the next two. The doubes were immaterial but Kime and Harker steered Lodgers to a 7-3 victory, with a close 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8 win over Calvert and Frankish.

The game against Sibsey A was a disappointment as far as Lodgers were concerned but for Sibsey it was perhaps one of their best results of the season. Steve Harker was again in fine form winning his singles but being taken to five by Daniel Meyer and four by Peter James, who despite these defeats, have made Sibsey quite a strong team. David Kime had an off night winning only one beating Phil Coote but losing to the aforesaid Meyer and James. With only the doubles remaining Sibsey held a slender lead but Harker who again was the man of the match and Kime rescued his team from defeat, beating Meyer and James 12-10, 11-7, 11-6 to force the draw.

With Penmaen C and Lodgers H jostling for second place in the table Penmaen stole a bit of a march on their rivals beating Belchford 10-0, while Lodgers could only manage an 8-2 victory over Sibsey A. Penmaen’s victory over Belchford was pretty straight forward every game but one being over in three straight. Peter Hughes caused a bit of a stir taking the first end out of John Shortland but after that it was never in doubt, Shortland easing home 11-4, 11-4, 11-1.

Lodgers H consolidated third place with a 8-2 victory over Sibsey A, Simon Raistrick continuing his spell of recent good form winning his singles, convincingly beating Michael Hobbs and Peter James. He did however have a tougher ride in a thrilling game against Phil Coote coming from 1-2 down to scrape the last two 15-13. Boyd Smith chipped in with two, needing five ends to beat Coote and dismissing Hobbs with some quick fire action but he surprisingly lost to James in three straight, (excellent win this for James). Steve Marshall also weighed in with two beating James and Hobbs but losing to Coote, who isn’t producing the form he showed last season.

Graves Park F pulled well clear of re-election worries with a solid win over Sibsey B, all of the Park lads comfortably beating Richard Hill and Wayne Grooby. None of them though could handle Steve Hill, who is slowly beginning to re-discover his form of many years ago, Steve winning his singles but being taken to four by all the Park players. Wayne Grooby and Richard Hill couldn’t make any inroads intro the Park team and it was left to Fred Calvert and Barry Frankish to put the icing on the cake beating Steve and Richard Hill 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 in the doubles for a convincing 7-3 victory.

The battle in Division One continues to rage, Lodgers G only beating their A team 6-4, thus falling 12 points behind the leaders Penman A with only one game in hand. Graham Lacey got the A away to a bright start, beating Mark Hulme with some ease but the G hit back taking the next three, Kelvin Clements beating Ian Stones, No.1 ranked Gary Hill making short work of Trev Blackbourn, while Clements picked up his second of the night with a comfortable win over Stones. Lacey reduced the arrears for the A with a hard fought win over Hill but the G edged into a 4-2 lead Clements blasting past Blackbourn. Probably the shock of the night occurred in the very next game, The A’s Ian Stones defeating Gary Hill 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, knocking him off the No.1 spot in the rankings. Lodgers replied with two on the run, Hulme picking up his second of the night beating Blackbourn, while in the best game of the night Clements gained his revenge for his defeat by Lacey from the first time round, beating him 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3 giving the G an unassailable lead. However, Blackbourn and Lacey gave the score sheet a respectable appearance beating Clements and Hulme in a five set doubles, inflicting upon them one of their rare doubles reverses.

Two teams who have come to the fore this season Stickney A and Graves Park A met the result perhaps fittingly ending in a 5-5 draw. With Phil Brooks being unavailable, the A drafted in Leo Bobdanov who proved what a top player he is winning his singles, beating No.3 ranked Andrew Benjamin in straight legs but somewhat surprisingly scraping home in the fourth against Vince Lozynsky and having to come from two sets behind to Paul Hartnett, before comfortably winning the last two ends 11-8-11-6. Rob Smith and Nick Langley picked up one each both of them beating an unlucky Paul Hartnett but losing to Benjamin (this I can understand) and Lozynsky, who turned in probably his best performance since joining Stickney last season. With the score a 5-4 to the Park, the doubles was the deciding factor, Lozynsky and Benjamin teaming up to win a hard fought doubles to make sure of an equal share of the points.

The all Park clash saw the C taking on the D the D being steamrollered to a 0-10 defeat. James Quinton had a particularly good night winning his singles in three, while compatriots Martin Walters and Mick East were made to work harder. East being taken to four by Paul Matschull and Dave Walters, while Mick Dodes pushed him all the way but faded in the vital fifth. Martin Walters also struggled against Dodes needing five, but against his dad Dave Walters, despite it going to four, the result never looked in doubt

Division One: Lodgers A 4, Lodgers G 6; Stickney A 5, Graves Park A 5; Graves Park C 10, Graves Park D 0; Graves Park A 8, Graves Park B 2.

Division Two: Lodgers F 5, Penmaen D 5; Lodgers F 7, Graves Park F 3; Sibsey A 5, Lodgers F 5; Penmaen C 10, Belchford 0; Lodgers H 8, Sibsey A 2; Graves Park F 7, Sibsey B 3; Graves Park F 6, Lodgers D 4.

Report for week ending January 22

Lodgers B opened up a gap of 40 points in Division Two of the Boston Table Tennis League by thrashing Sibsey B 10-0 and leaving their nearest rivals Penmaen C trailing in their wake. Even though Penmaen have two games in hand, 40 points is a lot to make up and even at this mid stage of the season Lodgers look odds on certainties to take the crown.

The result against Sibsey was a mere formality, No.1 ranked Tim Day comfortably winning his three in straight ends. Sibsey’s Steve Hill put up a bit of opposition taking Vic Clements to four and Pete Truepenny to five but the vital set in both games went to the experienced Lodgers lads.

Belchford and Lodgers E two teams down at the foot of the table fought out an honourable 5-5 draw, Colin Bell. who would grace division one, winning his singles though he was taken to four by both Matt Spence and Frank Cannon. Belchford replied through Cannon and Spence both of them beating Thomas and Pete Bell, Cannon being taken to five by both players. Jon Newby picked up his first win of the season beating Pete Bell in a close four ender, Jon just winning a memorable game 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10. With only the doubles remaining Belchford led 5-4 but Colin and Pete Bell made sure of an equal share of the spoils beating Cannon and Spence 9-11,11-5, 11-7, 12-10.

Lodgers E put the big guns on display when they entertained Wrangle B, Mark Vere making his first appearance of the season. Despite a lack of practice, Mark had no trouble in winning his singles, although Tim Sampson took him to four, the vital set was never in doubt. Colin Bell won his three in similar style, although this time it was Tony Hall who took him to four ends. Pete Bell chipped in with one beating acting captain Cliff Davey in straight ends, Pete being unlucky not to get something from both Hall and Sampson both games going the full distance.

Lodgers G kept current Division One champions Penmaen A in their sights with a 10-0 victory over Wrangle A, the match being closer than the result suggests, many of the games being tight five setters. Mark Hulme had terrible trouble with Sam Cooper being at one stage 1-2 sets down, while against Dave Coulson he scraped to a 15-13 win in the fourth. Kelvin Clements needed four sets to see off spirited challenges from Coulson and Pattrick while No.1 ranked Gary Hill needed four before beating Coulson 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4.

Lodgers A, still without Graham Lacey, made hard work of their match with Graves Park D, the Park lads turning in a valiant display, all of them being unlucky not to take something from Trev Blackbourn. Mick Dodes extended Ian Stones to five but the shock of the night was Dave Walters putting the Park on the board beating Pete Evans 11-6, 11-5, 11-3. Nevertheless Lodgers roared on but were shocked in the doubles Dodes and Walters stunning the Lodgers pairing of Blackbourn and Stones with a 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 20-18 win (the longest doubles set for some time) adding a bit of credibility to the score card.

Penmaen B lifted themselves two places up the table, beating Graves Park Nomads, the whipping boys of Division One 9-1. Neil Snaith despite winning his three, was taken to four by Harry Paul and five by Tris Clow, while Scott Sykes didn’t have it all his own way, having to work hard to beat Clow and to a lesser extent Mark Sargeant. It was perhaps fitting that it was Clow who saved the Park from the humiliation of a whitewash coming from two sets down against Andy Birks to win the last three ends 11-6, 11-4, 11-3.

Division One: Lodgers G 10, Wrangle A 0; Graves Park D 2, Lodgers A 8; Penmaen B 9, Graves Park Nomads 1.

Division Two: Lodgers E 8, Wrangle B 2; Sibsey B 0, Lodgers B 10; Belchford 5, Lodgers E 5.

Report for week ending January 15

With the long Christmas break over, the second half of the Boston Table Tennis League season began, bringing with it the snow and the ice which on the whole didn’t cause too much disruption.

Penmaen A strengthened their grip on the Division One title with a 9-1 victory over third placed Stickney, Stickney’s new No.1 ranked Andrew Benjamin losing for the first time since the opening match of the season. Andrew was well beaten by both Brian Hill and No.3 ranked Alan Ashberry but he saved the teams blushes, narrowly beating Brett Heppenstall to avoid the whitewash.

A few nights later, Penmaen met two-player Graves Park A who only had Rob Smith and Nick Langley available, Penmaen running out comfortable 8-2 winners. Good performance though from the two man Park team, both players picking up one each, beating Jake the Pegg while Rob Smith pushed No.2 ranked Alan Ashberry all the way and just losing out to Brett Heppenstall.

Wrangle A and Graves Park D, two teams who are at the wrong end of the table met, both teams desperately needing points. It was Wrangle who broke the ice, Sam Cooper and Dave Coulson beating Dave Walters and Paul Matschull respectively but Mick Dodes pulled one back for the Park beating Dennis Pattrick in a tight five ender. However Wrangle strode on, Coulson trimming up Walters but the Park hit back, Dodes picking up his second of the night beating Sam Cooper in four (good win this). Park drew level Matschull getting the better of Pattrick but Wrangle broke away to win the next two, Coulson completing his hat-trick with an 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 while Pattrick ruined Walters night, beating him in four. Park again fought back Matschull nicking the last two off Cooper to leave the result resting on the doubles. The Wrangle pairing of Cooper and Coulson held out to win in four guiding their team to a 6-4 victory.

Lodgers A, again without Graham Lacey, entertained Park Nomads, Lodgers taking the first four games and looked to be cruising. Tris Clow halted their winning run beating Trev Blackbourn in straight sets but Pete Evans opened the gap to four again making short work of Harry Paul. Clow turned in a cameo performance with a brilliant 7-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 win over Ian Stones coming from two down to win the next three but it was too little too late, as Evans and Blackbourn wrapped up victory, beating Mark Sargeant and Paul respectively. The result could have been much worse for Lodgers as Sargeant took both Blackbourn and Stones to five and with a bit of luck could have picked up at least one of these.

Stickney held on to third place in the table by thumping of Graves Park B 9-1, Andrew Benjamin getting over his defeats of a week or so ago, winning his singles in straight legs. Paul Hartnett gave him excellent support winning his three but being taken to four by both Mick Maltby and Mike Freeston. Geoff Bourne playing his first game of the season showed that form hasn’t deserted him, beating Maltby and Freeston in a close game but losing out to Dave Graham who picked up the Park’s solitary game.

Graves Park C, who have matches in hand on the teams above them, moved up a couple of place to fourth beating Park Nomads 10-0. The only bright spot as far as the Park were concerned was the performance of Tris Clow who despite being well beaten by Mick East was a little unlucky not to get something from James Quinton and Martin Walters.

Penmaen C held on to second place in Division Two by narrowly beating their D team 9-1 who have come on in leaps and bounds since the start of the season. Dave Smith showed that the two week break had not done him any harm, being in sparkling form winning his three in straight legs. Chris Cooke picked up two making short work of Adam Elston and a hard fought win over Matt Lilly but in an equally close contest lost out to Gavin Herberts. John Shortland failed to register and although going to four with Lilly and Elston faded in first two ends against Herberts to go down 8-11, 5-11, 11-13.

A few nights later in an equally close match, Penmaen C again just scraped home beating Sibsey A 6-4.

This was a game that could have swung either way, Chris Cooke finding some form to win his singles but being taken to five by Phil Coote, Chris running out a 17-15, 7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-2. winner. Dave Smith who has steadily climbed the rankings lost for the first time in 15 games only picking up two, beating Daniel Meyer with some ease although Phil Coote presented him with a few problems. However in a tight game with Peter James, he (Dave) lost out 11-5, 9-11. 9-11, 11-9, 6-11, (good win this for Peter.) The game once again revolved around the doubles the experience of Cooke and Smith pulling through in four to give Penmaen another 6-4 victory. Whilst they are comfortably in second place in the table, there is no way in the world that they can take the title being a massive 30 points behind the leaders.

Division One: Stickney 1, Penmaen 9; Penmaen A 8, Graves Park A 2; Wrangle A 6, Graves Park D 4; Lodgers A 7, Park Nomads 3; Graves Park B 1, Stickney 9; Park Nomads 0, Graves Park C 10.

Division Two: Penmaen C 6, Penmaen D 4; Sibsey A 4, Penmaen C 6; Lodgers F 7, Lodgers D 3; Lodgers B 10, Graves Park F 0; Wrangle B 7, Sibsey B 3; Graves Park F 7, Wrangle B 3; Lodgers E 7, Sibsey A 3; Lodgers D 3, Lodgers B 7; Lodgers H 5, Lodgers F 5.

Report for week ending January 1

Although most teams have completed their fixtures for the first half of the Boston Table Tennis League season there are still eight matches outstanding (four in each division) making it the worst season for unplayed matches for some time.

Stickney moved up to third place in the Division One table, thumping Graves Park D 9-1 but this may be short lived as there are four teams all waiting to pounce. Incidentally Stickney outstanding match is against second placed Lodgers G and anything gained there will be a bonus. The match against Park D was not as one sided as the score suggests, and despite Andrew Benjamin taking his three he was pushed all the way by Paul Matschull, Andrew just sneaking the fifth end 14-12. His other two were not that clear-cut either, both Mick Dodes and Dave Walters taking him to four. Paul Hartnett gave him excellent support picking up his singles and despite handing Walters a two set lead, bounced back to win the next three quite comfortably. Vince Lozynsky chipped in with two, playing brilliantly to beat Matschull and Dodes and it looked as though a clean sweep would the order of the day but Walters rescued the Park from complete annihilation beating Vince 11-9,11-7, 11-8 giving the Park a hard fought consolation point.

A few nights later, Park D met their A team and with Phil Brooks being unavailable, the A drafted in new signing Leo Bobdanov who had no trouble at all in disposing of the D lads. Neither Rob Smith nor Nick Langley had little trouble with the opposition and although Langley was taken to four by both Mick Dodes and Dave Walters and Smith being extended by Matschull the result never looked in doubt.

Lodgers A showed that they are still in the mix for a top four spot with an 8-2 win over Penmaen B plunging them down the table to join the also rans. Lodgers were without Graham Lacey, which usually spells trouble. But on this occasion, showed that they can play a bit without him. They struck off well but tended to spin the games out a bit, five going right to the wire, while another three were tight four setters. Trev Blackbourn struggled to a narrow five set win over Scott Sykes but had no trouble at all against old adversary Roger Hooton, disposing of him in three straight. Ian Stones was his usual self chipping in with three, Sykes pushing him the closest, Ian inching home 11-4, 9-11, 8-11.12-10, 12-10. Pete Evans picked up two beating Andy Birks and Hooton but struggled against Sykes going down 9-11 in the fifth. Sykes and Birks sprang a surprise in the doubles to give the score an air of respectability beating Blackbourn and Stones 11-0, 4-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8 giving Lodgers an 8-2 win.

All conquering Penmaen A went into the Christmas break registering an 8-2 victory over Graves Park B. Not too much to write home about although Peter Munch turned in a great performance beating No.1 ranked Alan Ashberry 11-8, 14-12, 11-3, while just losing out to Jake the Pegg in five. Mick Maltby took an end out of Jake but otherwise he and Mike Freeston were just innocent bystanders.

The big match in Division Two was the local derby between the two Sibsey teams the A and the B, which turned into a real thriller, all of the games being fiercely contested. The first two games of the night were equally shared, the B’s Peter James requiring four to see off Richard Hill, only for Steve Hill to promptly reply with a four set win over Phil Coote. With Daniel Meyer beating Wayne Grooby fairly comfortably the A took control as James overcame Steve Hill 9-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 14-12. Tensions ran over in the fifth game between Richard Hill and Daniel Meyer in a dispute over an alleged illegal serve the two Hill’s (both in the same team, almost coming to blows. In the end Meyer ran out a comfortable winner in three straight, but apart from that there was an excellent atmosphere between the two sides. Coote picked up his first of the night beating Grooby, while Steve Hill reduced the deficit beating Meyer 5-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 (good win this). However the A charged on, James making the result safe beating Grooby but the B although it was too late staged a grandstand finish, Richard Hill defeating Coote, who so far has not shown last seasons form. The two Hills then gave the score a look of credibility, beating Meyer and James 11-7, 13-11, 11-5 (another good win this), Steve Hill doing himself no harm at all looking like a cert. to be in the A team next season.

Graves Park F picked up another useful win by beating Belchford 10-0 and for Belchford, the first half of the season has been a steep learning curve. Not as straightforward as the result suggests, and although most of the games were over in thee sets, many of them were close, Richard Kirby just losing 10-12 in the fourth to Alan Davy. Young Ben Kirby showed promise, taking Barry Frankish to four and giving Fred Calvert a run for his money, going down 7-11 in the fourth, while Peter Hughes also ran Calvert close. The doubles were equally as close and hopes were high when the Kirby pair nicked the second 11-9 but Calvert and Frankish eased home in the next two 11-5, 11-2.

Penmaen C’s charge towards promotion was put on hold despite a narrow 6-4 victory over seventh placed Lodgers F. Dave Smith who after a slow start to the season, has as expected run into form, again winning his singles but it was far from easy being taken to four by both David Kime and Ian Gorrie while Steve Harker took him to five Dave narrowly winning the decisive set 15-13. Meanwhile Chris Cooke’s form has dipped, dropping from No.2 to No.4 in the rankings. His ranking Number wasn’t helped in this match either and although beating Ian Gorrie in three, he lost equally easily 8-11, 8-11, 8-11 to David Kime. John Shortland picked up one beating the unlucky Gorrie, and then scored the doubles watching Cooke and Smith beat Harker and Kime 11-8, 9-11 11-9, 5-11, 11-9 guiding Penmaen to a narrow 6-4 victory.

At the top, Lodgers B march on opening up a 25 point gap over the second placed team beating two man Wrangle B 10-0. Tim Sampson gave Wrangle some hope in the first game of the night just losing out to Pete Truepenny but Vic Clements and No1 ranked Tim Day snuffed out any hopes of an upset and despite Sampson and Tony Hall taking Day to four, the result was never in doubt.

Division One: Graves Park D 1, Stickney 9; Lodgers A 8, Penmaen B 2; Graves Park A 10, Graves Park D 0; Graves Park B 1, Penmaen 9.

Division Two: Sibsey B 4, Sibsey A 6; Graves Park F 10, Belchford 0; Penmaen D 10, Sibsey B 0; Penmaen C 6, Lodgers F 4; Lodgers B 10, Wrangle B 0.

Report for week ending December 18

The battle at the top of Division One in the Boston Table Tennis League continues unabated, Penmaen A leading the way this week playing Lodgers A, who sometimes choose not to shine. In the first two games of the night, Lodgers chose to shine with Graham Lacey inflicting upon Alan Ashberry his second defeat of the season, while Ian Stones playing some tremendous table tennis, beat Brett Heppenstall 15-13, 8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, Ian just nicking the points at deuce in the vital fifth. Trev Blackbourn also looked on form but had the misfortune to meet Brian Hill and despite taking the third leg 11-9, Brian moved up as gear winning the fourth end 11-4, while Ashberry got his name on the board making short work of Stones to make it all square. The best game of the night saw Lacey take on Hill, Graham playing a strong flat hitting game and although being 1-2 down, fought back strongly to win the fourth end 11-7. Despite being 6-4 up in the vital fifth the bubble finally burst, the class of Hill shining through to win 11-7. Lodgers were now in the ascendancy, Heppenstall although winning in three, having his work cut out for his victory over Blackbourn, while Hill had little trouble with Stones. Blackbourn despite losing in straight legs to Ashberry, played some of his best Table Tennis of the season and against any other team he could well have taken all three. The result was in the bag but Lodgers gained some small consolation, Lacey picking up his second of the night narrowly beating Heppenstall 11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9.

Lodgers G kept Penmaen in their sights by hammering Graves Park B 10-0. However the Park to their credit never gave up the fight, vital games slipping away from them on more than one occasion. Mark Hulme set the ball rolling beating Dave Graham in five, while Kelvin Clements required four to see off the challenge of Maltby. Gary Hill had little trouble with Mike Freeston and Lodgers were on a roll. Clements picked up his remaining two, beating Graham and Freeston while Hill and Hulme followed suit in their remaining singles. Pick of the Park side was Mick Maltby who fought all night for no reward taking both Hill and Hulme to four but fading in the vital end both times.

Wrangle A secured their second win of the season with a narrow 6-4 victory over Graves Park Nomads, who themselves are still trying to find that elusive first win. Sam Cooper and Dave Coulson got Wrangle off to a flyer, both games being tight four setters but Mark Sargeant, Nomads new signing pulled one back with a straight set set win over Dennis Pattrick. Wrangle forged ahead winning the next two, Coulson making hard work of it against Paul, while Cooper brushed aside Sargeant in three. Nomads hit back, Bridges beating Pattrick, while Sargeant picking up his second of the night kept Nomads in with a shout. 3-4 and all to play for but Wrangle took control to win the next two and despite losing the doubles over five ends just ran out 6-4 winners.

In Division Two, Lodgers E’s season seems to keep going down hill losing to both stable-mates Lodgers F and a few nights later to Penmaen D. The match against their F team was a strange affair, both teams taking to the field with only two players, the E taking the lead Colin Bell beating Ian Gorrie. The F quickly drew level David Kime easing past Pete Bell the game being a warm up for David, who stayed on the table to beat No.1 ranked Colin Bell 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 13-11 this being only Colin’s second defeat of the season and this result has knocked him off No.1 spot in the rankings, Tim Day of Lodgers B taking his place. Pete Bell made it all square at 2 -2 beating Gorrie while Gorrie and Kime combined for the doubles beating the two Bell lads 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4 for a 3-2 victory.

Against Penmaen Lodgers had a full team out but it was the visitors who broke the ice, Gareth Herberts beating young Tom Bell in straight sets. Lodgers bounced back taking the next two, Pete Bell beating Darren Kent, while Colin Bell featured in a close game with Adam Elston, before running out a comfortable 11-5 winner in the fifth. Lodgers then went into decline, Herberts easily beating Pete Bell, while Elston dished out the same treatment to Tom Bell. Despite Collin Bell pulling one back for Lodgers it was too little too late as Penmaen cruised the next three and the doubles for a 6-4 victory.

Lodgers H completed their fixtures for the first half of the season (the first team to do so) with mixed fortunes, losing 3-7 to Penmaen C but on a brighter note crushing Lodgers D 7-3. The match against Penmaen was match where four of the players were all in the top ten, so something had to give, No.3 ranked Chris Cooke getting Penmaen on the board with a comprehensive win over Steve Raistrick. Lodgers quickly levelled the score, No.8 ranked Simon Marshall beating John Shortland in three but it was very close and could easily have swung the other way. Penmaen then took charge winning the next three, Dave Smith beating namesake Boyd Smith, while Cooke picked up his second of the night beating Marshall and Dave Smith picked up his second of the night beating Raistrick. Lodgers pulled one back, Boyd Smith beating Shortland but it made little difference as No.7 ranked Dave Smith completed his hat-trick for Penmaen, beating Marshall 12-10, 11-9, 11-6. Boyd Smith kept Lodgers in the hunt beating No.3 ranked Cooke 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9 (good win this) but it was all to no avail, as Shortland got his name on the board with a five set win over the unlucky Raistrick, who fought hard all night for no reward.

Against their D team, Lodgers H got away well Boyd Smith beating Tony Kime but the form book was turned upside down in the next Graham Bonsor beating No.8 ranked ranked Simon Marshall 11-8, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11. The H not allowing this to upset them strode on, Simon Raistrick easily beating Nev Leggate, and Smith picking up his second of the night with a four set win over Bonsor. Kime reduced the arrears with a comprehensive win over Raistrick but it was all to no avail, the H winning the next three, Smith completing his hat-trick beating Leggate, while Raistrick made short work of Bonsor and Marshall dished out the same sort of treatment against Leggate. Kime picked up a consolation game for the D beating Marshall but Smith and Marshall put the icing on the cake beating Kime and Bonsor in five tight sets for a 7-3 victory.

Division One: Lodgers A 3, Penmaen A 7; Lodgers G 10, Graves Park B 0; Wrangle A 6, Graves Park Nomads 4.

Division Two: Lodgers F 3, Lodgers 2 (only two players in each team); Lodgers E 4, Penmaen D 6; Lodgers H 3, Penmaen C 7; Lodgers D 3, Lodgers H 7.

Report for week ending December 11

The big match of the week in Division One of the Boston Table Tennis League was the “clash of the titans”, last season’s champions Penmaen A taking on last season’s runners-up Lodgers G.

Presently these two lie first and second and prior to the match Penmaen had 64 points to Lodgers 61 so basically a win for both teams was a priority. Penmaen, who had Jimmy Brewster in place of Brett Heppenstall, started off strongly, opening up a two game lead, Alan Ashberry beating Mark Hulme while Jim Brewster trimmed up Kelvin Clements 11-4, 11-8, 11-3. Gary Hill redressed the balance a little, beating Jake the Pegg and although dropping the third leg, in the end he won quite comfortably. Penmaen strode on Brewster opening up the two game advantage, cruising past Hulme but Hill who was having an excellent evening, kept Lodgers in the hunt beating Ashberry 8-11, 12-10, 11-5, 13-11 to inflict upon him (Ashberry), his first defeat of the season. Clements after winning the first two ends against Jake inexplicably dropped the next two and he needed all his stamina to win the fifth end 11-6. However it was too good to last, Brewster completing his hat-trick for Penmaen, beating Lodgers star player Hill in three but Hulme kept Lodgers in the frame beating Jake 11-6 in the fourth. (I’m not sure but I think this is the worst night Jake has had since he joined the Boston League.) With Ashberry making short work of Clements, Penmaen held the lead and with only the doubles remaining Ashberry and Pegg cruised home in three to guide their team to a 6-4 victory.

Graves Park B after their 10-0 thrashing of Graves Park Nomads, kept on the winning trail with a 9-1 comfortable win over stablemates Graves Park D. Park B were very rarely threatened and although Paul Matschull took Mick Maltby and Pete Munch to four, the result was rarely in doubt. Mick Dodes never seemed to hit form, although having said that he took Maltby to four, only to lose the vital set 8-11. The one ray of sunshine for the D came from Captain Dave Walters, who narrowly beat Dave Graham 7-11, 12-10, 15-13, 11-9 thus saving his team from an ignominious whitewash.

Graves Park A, who lost the first two matches of the season (albeit to the two best teams in the league) and have not lost a match since, picked up a good win this week beating Penmaen B 7-3. The match with Penmaen is traditionally a close affair and in the early stages this looked to be par for the course, the games being equally shared. Penmaen opened the scoring Scott Sykes just getting the better of Nick Langley but this was quickly cancelled out by Rob Smith, who beat Neil Snaith in three. Phil Brooks put the Park in front with a tight five set win over Roger Hooton but Sykes made it all square beating Smith in five. It was the Park who broke the stalemate winning the next three, Langley getting his name on the board beating Hooton, Brooks picked up his second with a good win over Snaith, while Smith made sure of at least a draw with a straight set win over Hooton, who had his worst night for some time. Sykes stepped in to stem the flow, narrowly beating Brooks 11-7, 7-11, 5-11 11-9, 13-11 in what was the best game of the night. It was Langley who secured the win for Park beating Snaith, while Smith and Brooks paired up for the doubles winning in five to steer the Park to a 7-3 victory.

Penmaen B, meanwhile, kept themselves clear of any relegation worries they might have had, beating Wrangle A 7-3, who are gradually being dragged down in the relegation dog fight. It was Wrangle who drew first blood, Dave Coulson beating Scott Sykles in three but Neil Snaith quickly levelled, comfortably beating Dennis Pattrick. With Andy Birks beating Sam Cooper (good win this) and Snaith making short work of Coulson, Penmaen were on the march and despite Cooper pulling one back with a five set win over Sykes, (Sykes second defeat of the night), it was to no avail. Penmaen rampaged on winning the next two, Birks making short work of Pattrick, while Snaith who was having an excellent evening beat Cooper 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 in what can only be described as the best game of the night. Coulson pulled another one back for Penmaen but it was only a token gesture, as Sykes made sure of victory getting his name on the board in the last game of the night with a straight set win over Pattrick. The doubles saw the pairing of Snaith and Birks put the icing on the cake with a straight set win beating Coulson and Cooper in straight sets for a 7-3 victory.

In Division Two, Wrangle B and Lodgers H who have both been a revelation this season met, two evenly matched teams fighting out a 5-5 draw. It looked from the outset that Lodgers were going to run riot taking the first four games, Boyd Smith being in great form beating both Tim Sampson and Cliff Davey without too much trouble. Simon Raistrick chipped in with a four set victory over Davey while Steve Marshall fought out a five set thriller with Tony Hall before romping away 11-4 in the fifth. Wrangle suddenly realised the game was slipping from them, Tim Sampson getting them on the board with a tight five setter over No.3 ranked Marshall. Hall made it 2-4 with a no nonsense win over Raistrick but the revival was short lived as Marshall beat Davey 11-6, 11-9, 14-12, 11-8 to put them on line. Back came Wrangle, Hall keeping their hopes alive with a good win over No.7 ranked Smith, Sampson making sure that the game would go to the death beating Raistrick in yet another five setter. The doubles were tense and exciting and with both teams needing it, Hall and Sampson, after a second set blip, winning the next two in fine style making sure the points were equally shared.

The following night Wrangle moved to third place in the table their highest spot for some seasons with a 9-1 win over Belchford who after a fairly good start seem to have gone off the boil. The game was pretty one sided, Ben Kirby being the pick of the Belchford team taking Tony Sharp to and four coming from two sets down to beat Tim Sampson 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.

Lodgers B cemented their place in the no.1 slot with two solid wins beating SibseyA 10-0 and Belchford 9-1. The Sibsey lads never knew enough to bother experienced Lodgers team, Tim Day blasting past them in straight sets. Vic Clements followed in same vein although Peter James took him to four, Vic just winning the vital set 12-10. Pete Truepenny although winning all three had a much tougher task, Daniel Meyer and Phil Coote taking him to four and in the game of the evening Pete after losing two of the first three, just scraped home 11-9 in the decider.

Lodgers F despite beating Sibsey B 7-3 are becoming detached from the top four, being some 12 points behind the team above them and also being on the same number of games. Sibsey opened the scoring, Steve Hill beating Ian Gorrie but Lodgers soon wrested control, winning games with regular monotony. Steve Harker was in great form winning his three, narrowly beating Steve Hill in five and Wayne Grroby in four. David Kime won his first two but slipped up against Sibsey star player, Steve Hill 5-11 in the fifth, Steve winning the last two sets to clinch the game. Richard Hill chipped in with one beating Gorrie but getting no change out of Harker or Kime, while the doubles seemed pretty straightforward, Kime and Harker steering Lodgers home to a 7-3 victory.

Graves Park F consolidated themselves in 6th place in the league beating Sibsey A who have the same number of points as the Park but are one place below them in the league table. It was Sibsey who struck off the strongest winning the first two, Daniel Meyer beating Alan Davy, while Peter James just got the better of Fred Calvert. The Park roared back, Barry Frankish making short work of Michael Hobbs, Davy narrowly beating James, Frankish picking up his second of the night beating Meyer, while Calvert had no trouble with Hobbs. James, Sibsey’s best player on the night pulled one back beating Frankish, but it was too little to late as Calvert took the Park past the winning post beating Meyer rather easily. The doubles was perhaps the closest game of the night Frankish and Calvert winning the first fading in the next two but coming good in the last two to win 11-6, 11-7 for a 7-3 victory.

Division One: Penmaen A 6, Lodgers G 4; Graves Park D 0, Penmaen A 10; Graves Park B 9, Graves Park D 1; Graves Park A 7, Penmaen B 3; Graves Park Nomads 4, Graves Park A 6; Penmaen B 7, Wrangle A 3; Stickney 10, Graves Park Nomads 0.

Division Two: Wrangle B 5, Lodgers H 5; Wrangle A 9, Belchford 1; Lodgers B 10, Sibsey A 0; Belchford 1, Lodgers B 9; Sibsey B 3, Lodgers F 7; Sibsey A 3, Graves Park F 7.

Report for week ending December 4

Division One of the Boston Table Tennis League has virtually split in three mini-divisions, the top three pulling away from the next three, leaving the bottom five scrapping among themselves.

The was a bit of an upset this week though with Graves Park A beating their more illustrious counterparts, third placed Graves Park C 6-4. With Phil Brooks being unavailable the Park pulled in Leo Bobdanov who didn’t disappoint, Leo winning his three, beating No.6 ranked Mick East in straight sets and No.7 ranked Martin Walters who took him to five. Rob Smith gave him good support picking up two, beating James Quinton and the highly ranked Walters in a five set encounter that could so easily have swung either way, Rob just holding out to win 11-8, 9-11, 10-12, 14-12, 16-14. Nick Langley despite taking Quinton to five and East and Walters to four had nothing to show for his efforts but gained some consolation in the doubles, combining with Smith to win a close fought game making the final score 6-4 to the A. Poor result for the C, the big two in the shape of Lodgers G (who didn’t have a game this week) and Penmaen A who won 10-0 leaving the Park C being further adrift, being some 12 points behind Lodgers and 15 points behind Penmaen.

Graves Park Nomads and Graves Park B, neither of who has won a match this season met, the B being notoriously slow starters. The B decided it was time they picked up some points, got away well David Graham putting them on the board with a narrow win over Tris Clow the game swinging both ways, Dave inching home 11-6, 10-12, 11-8, 9-11, 17-15. Harry Paul lost in straight sets to Mike Freeston, while Walt Bridges put up a defiant showing against Mick Maltby but lost out 7-11 in the final end. The game settled into a routine Paul being well beaten by Dave Graham, while Freeston made short work of Bridges, beating him in straight legs. Maltby although winning, was not having the same success as his team mates, needing four to see of both Paul and Clow. Freeston tidied up the singles beating Clow, who once again was the pick of the Nomads team and then sat out while Graham and Maltby made it a whitewash beating Clow and Paul in straight sets. Good result for the B which lifts them up the table four places to keep themselves away from the relegation zone.

Stickney, who are having an excellent season, retained fifth place in the table with an excellent 8-2 victory over Pemmaen B, who have suffered some heavy defeats, especially against the top notch teams. Andrew Benjamin was the Stickney player on form winning his singles but it wasn’t that easy and although beating Scott Sykes in three, he needed four ends to see off Andy Birks. He might count himself lucky to have beaten Neil Snaith, having to come from 1-2 sets down to win the final two ends 11-9 to clinch victory. Vince Lozynsky and Paul Hartnett chipped in with two apiece Vince beating Snaith and Birks in close games while Paul made short work of Sykes but although going to five with Snaith he lost out 6-11 in the fifth.

In Division Two the top three are moving steadily away from the chasing pack, Lodgers B piling on the pressure with a 9-1 win over Penmaen D, who just lately have started to shine. This game was a closer than the score suggests, Penmaen having chances to kill the game off but basically they blew it. Tim Day was again in tremendous form, non of the Penmaen lads knowing how to handle his deep chop, but even so Adam Elston took him to four. Vic Clements also took his three, Matt Lilly and Elson extending him to four but in both cases the vital end was never in doubt. It was Pete Truepenny who dropped the game beating Gavin Herbert and Elston but losing in five ends to Lilly.

Wrangle B held on to fourth place in the table with a useful 6-4 win over Sibsey A, Daniel Meyer opening the scoring beating Tim Sampson, but Tony Sharpe quickly levelled with a four set win over Peter James. Sibsey pressed ahead taking the next two, but Sharpe kept Wrangle in the hunt with a three set win over Phil Coote. James gave Sibsey a slight edge, beating Hall in five (good result this), but Sampson rode to the rescue with a four setter over Coote. Four all and all to play for, Sharpe who was having a fantastic evening turning in a sparkling performance to beat Meyer to complete his hat-trick. Just to prove how well he was playing he and Hall then combined turning in close doubles victory beating James amd Coote 11-7, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8 steering Wrangle too a 6-4 victory.

Penmaen C continue on the winning trail but most weeks they score one or two points less than Lodgers, who are beginning to leave them trailing.

Although beating Lodgers E 7-3 which on paper is not a bad result, it should have been better, as Colin Bell lost his 100 percent record, being beaten by the unranked (but not for long ) Dave Smith, who just beat him 11-9 in the fifth all ends very close encounters. Smith won his other two fairly easily while No. 2 ranked Chris Cooke picked up two losing quite easily to Colin Bell. John Shortland had to be content with one beating Pete Bell but in the surprise of the night he dropped a game to young Thomas Bell, Thomas winning a close fifth end 11-8. The doubles was the icing on the cake, Smith and Cooke cruising past Colin and Pete Bell 11-7, 11-6, 11-5.

Lodgers H, the sensation of the season, closed Penmaen’s lead in the table to three points with an 8-2 win over Sibsey B. Lodgers main striker Boyd Smith turned in a good performance winning his three, Richard Hill being the only one to extend him. Steve Marshall and Simon Raistrick settled for two each both of them losing to Steve Hill who as the season progresses will upset some of the top boys.

Lodgers D recorded their first win of the season against fellow strugglers Belchford who have found this season a sharp learning curve and although they are without a victory, are enjoying the experience. Lodgers’ last victory was February 10, 2009, almost 10 months ago, so this one was most welcome but the scale of the win is truly amazing. Nev Leggate set the ball rolling with a scrappy victory over Richard Kirby, while Tony Kime and Graham Bonsor added to the score with straight sets wins over Peter Hughes and Derek Baker respectively. Hughes pulled one back for Belchford beating Leggate but Lodgers ground on, Kime and Bonsor picking up their remaining singles. Leggate added to the score with a narrow win over Baker, and then combined with Kime to win the doubles in three for a 9-1 win which will probably be their best victory of the season.

After their 1-9 hammering by Lodgers B, Penmaen D returned to the winning trail narrowly beating Graves Park F 6-4. With both teams in mid table the result was always going to be close the Park taking the first game, Alan Davy beating Darron Kent over five close sets. Penmaen hit back taking the next two Matt Lilly beating Fred Calvert while Gavin Herberts rather surprisingly overcame the challenge of Barry Frankish both games being tight five setters. Calvert put the Park on level terms beating Kent in yet another five setter but undeterred Penmaen pressed on. Herberts rather easily beating Davy while Frankish lost his second of the night going down to Lilly 9-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-13. Penmaen moved in for the kill Herberts completing his hat-trick beating Calvert but the Park kept in the hunt, Frankish getting his name on the board with a five set win over Kent. With the result still in the balance Lilly made sure of a team victory, beating Davy but the Park salvaged something from the doubles winning over five hard fought sets giving the score an air of credibility.

Division One: Graves Park C 4, Graves Park A 6; Graves Park Nomads 0, Graves Park B 10; Lodgers A 8, Wrangle A 2; Penmaen C 2, Stickney 8.

Division Two: Penmaen D 1, Lodgers B 9; Penmaen C 7, Lodgers E 3; Lodgers H 8, Sibsey B 2; Lodgers E 4, Lodgers H 6; Sibsey A 4, Wrangle B 6; Belchford 1, Lodgers D 9; Graves Park F 4, Penmaen D 6.

Report for week ending November 27

A full programme in Division Two of the Boston Table Tennis League saw league leaders Lodgers B take a firm grip of proceedings, with two 8-2 victories over Lodgers H and Lodgers F.

With Lodgers H in third place and Lodgers F in fourth position, closer scores than this were forecast. The B were quickly off the mark against the H, the powerful Vic Clements and Tim Day giving Lodgers a 2-0 lead and although Boyd Smith pulled one back with a straight set win over Pete Truepenny, the B ground on. Clements and Day won their second of the night, with victories over Boyd Smith and Simon Raistrick but Steve Marshall reduced the arrears beating Truepenny in four. However Day and Clements were unstoppable, winning the next two. beating Smith and Marshall respectively and the B were home and dry. Truepenny got his name on the board beating Raistrick in the only five setter of the evening while Day and Clements combined to comfortably win the doubles in straight sets for an 8-2 victory.

A few night later, they (Lodgers B) met their F team, who this week had Steve Harker back after a two week absence. Harker, after a two-week lay off, looked a little rusty and although taking No.4 ranked Tim Day to five, he couldn’t hold him just going down 12-14 in the fifth. Pete Truepenny and Vic Clements picked up two each, both of them beating Gorrie and Harker but losing to Kime whose brave efforts prevented an F whitewash. Penmaen C kept in touch with the leaders with a 9-1 win over Sibsey B, all the singles going the Wyberton based team’s way, in a pretty straightforward manner. No.2 ranked Chris Cooke shrugged off his injury woes, showing no ill effects, easily winning his singles and although Steve Hill took a set off him, the result was never in doubt. Dave Smith won his three showing flashes of last seasons form and it is only a matter of time before he breaks into the top ten. He was pushed all the way though by Richard Hill, Dave scraping home 11-9 in the fifth. John Shortland had his best night of the season winning his three but along with Smith, blotted the team’s copybook, inexplicably losing the doubles 4-11, 8-11, 8-11, to the two Hills giving Sibsey a consolation game.

Wrangle B who are accustomed to being in the divisions lower reaches, are by their standards having storming season and despite a win against Lodgers F and defeat to Penmaen D, still sees them move up the table to 4th place.

Again Lodgers couldn’t field a full team, (no Steve Harker) but David Kime stamped his authority on the match winning his three fairly comfortably. Ian Gorrie though had a very unlucky night and despite going with four to Cliff Davey and five to Tony Hall and Tim Sampson he had nothing to show for his efforts. With the three walkovers, Wrangle were home and dry but Lodgers made the scoreline look respectable, Gorrie gaining some consolation for his singles defeats combining with Kime to win the doubles in straight sets, giving Wrangle a 6-4 victory. Never mind David you’ll have Steve back next week.

Penmaen D, who are fast finding form, picked up their second victory of the season, beating a battling Wrangle B team 6-4 but how they will get on when they meet the big boys remains to be seen. Nevertheless, they (Penmaen), got away to a good start and apart from the odd hic-cup here and there never looked in real danger. Adam Elston just scraped the first game over Tim Sampson, while Matt Lilly added to the score, requiring four sets to see off Cliff Davey. Tony Hall pulled one back beating Darren Kent but it was all to no avail, as Penmaen hit back, Elston beating Davey. Sampson reduced the deficit with a tight four set win over Kent and Hall gave Wrangle some hope putting them on level terms with his second of the night, beating Lilly 7-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-7, 12-10. However the jubilation was short lived as Penmaen surged home winning the next three, Hall and Sampson both being unfortunate not to pick something up from these games. With only the doubles remaining, Wrangle gained some revenge for some of their singles defeats, Hall and Davey after three tight getting it together in the fourth, beating Lilly and Kent to give the scoreline a bit of gloss.

After their 2-8 defeat at the hands of their B team, Lodgers H got back on the winning trail with a non to convincing win over Graves Park F. Lodgers opened up a strong lead taking the first five games, Steve Marshall striving for hard fought victories over Alan Davy, 11-9 in the fifth and Fred Calvert 13-11 in the fourth. Simon Raistrick just got the better of Calvert, while Boyd Smith made it 5-0 with victories over Barry Frankish (another five setter) and Davy. The Park who looked as though they were facing a heavy defeat suddenly hit a purple patch, Frankish getting them on the board beating Raistrick, while Calvert turned in a stunning performance against No7 ranked Smith beating him 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9. Frankish kept the revival rolling with a victory over No.3 ranked Marshall, who previous to this week had only lost one game but the run was brought to a halt by Raistrick, who picked up his second of the night beating Davy In four. Victory was in the bag but the Park pair of Calvert and Frankish gave the score an air of respectability beating Smith and Raistrick giving Lodgers a 6-4 win.

Sibsey A, despite an emphatic 8-2 win over Belchford, still dropped a place or so in the table, Daniel Meyer and Peter James doing all the damage, both of them picking up their singles. Phil Coote had to be content with one beating junior Scott Baker (its only a matter of time Scott) and although taking Frank Cannon and Matt Spence to five he lost out in the last set both times by the narrowest of margins. Disappointing result for Belchford, I thought they might do better.

The two draw specialist teams of this Division Lodgers D and Lodgers E met. And surprise, surprise the result ended all square. Colin Bell was on his usual form picking up his thee but he didn’t have it all his own way being taken to four by Tony Kime. Pete Bell had his best night of the season, beating both Graham Bonsor and Nev Leggate but losing to Kime in straight legs. With both teams needing the doubles Bonsor and Kime put their singles defeats behind them, winning a close fought doubles 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 to ensure both teams received an equal share of the spoils.

Player of the week: This week it is Andrew Benjamin who comes under the spotlight. Andrew in only his third year in the top flight has had a fantastic season, beating some of the leagues top players. Despite losing two games the first week of the season he has since gone unchecked taking his singles against teams like Lodgers A and Graves Park C both in the top four. Sadly this might be his last season as come the seasons end he will be trying pastures new.

Division One: Penmaen B 1, Graves Park C 9; Lodgers A 5, Stickney A 5; Lodgers G 10, Graves Park D 0; Penmaen A 10, Graves Park Nomads 0; Graves Park A 6, Lodgers A 4; Stickney A 5, Graves Park C 5.

Division Two: Lodgers F 4, Wrangle A 6; Lodgers H 2, Lodgers B 8; Lodgers D 5, Lodgers E 5; Wrangle B 4, Penmaen D 6; Belchford 2, Sibsey A 8; Sibsey B 1, Penmaen C 9; Graves Park F 4, Lodgers H 6; Lodgers B 8, Lodgers F 2.

Report for week ending November 20

The top four teams from last season head Division One yet again this time round but Lodgers G and Penmaen A both registering 10-0 wins, are gradually pulling away from third placed Graves Park C and fourth place Lodgers A.

Lodgers visited Park Nomads, the game being pretty much one-way traffic, every game but one being over in straight legs. None of the Nomads lads had any answer to the powerful Lodgers team and although Tris Clow took a set out of Mark Hulme, he (Tris), was shut down in the next two, Mark comfortably easing home 11-6, 11-6.

The two Penmaens met, resulting in a very easy victory for the A, every game but one being over in straight legs. Roger Hooton gave Alan Ash berry a scare, winning the second end but Alan shut him out in the next two, coasting home an easy winner. Scott Sykes was never really in it, easily losing to both Ashberry and Hill and after losing the first two ends to Jake he suddenly woke up pushing him all the way only top go down 15-17.

In an effort to keep with the top two, Graves Park C turned in a strong performance with a 9-1 win over slow starters their B team. Not as decisive as the score might suggest, James Quinton was taken to four by both Dave Graham and Mick Maltby. Mick East picked up his three never being bothered by Maltby or Graham but coming from two sets down to beat Peter Munch. Martin Walters had little trouble with Maltby or Munch but he was more than a trifle upset to find himself 1-2 down against Graham. However he picked himself up turning the table on Graham winning the last two ends 11-5,11-2 helping the team to a 9-1 victory.

New boys Wrangle A turned in possibly their best performances of the season so far, holding Graves Park A to a 5-5 draw. Wrangle got away to a steady start, Sam Cooper after a long hard battle seeing off Nick Langley 11-6 in the fifth. However Phil Brooks turned the form book upside down beating the dangerous Dave Coulson in five, while Rob Smith gave the Park the lead with an easy win over Dennis Pattrick. Wrangle then took control, Coulson making short work of Langley, while Cooper who was having a brilliant night comfortably beat Smith in straight sets. Brooks kept the Park in the match beating Pattrick while Smith in the best game of the night narrowly defeated Coulson 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 13-11. The Park edged into an unassailable 5-3 lead, Langley beating Pattrick but star of the show Cooper, kept Wrangle’s hopes alive, beating Brooks, the Park’s top man. 4-6 and all to play for, Cooper and Coulson getting Wrangle off to a good start in the doubles winning the first leg. This was quickly pegged by by Brooks and Smith who won the next two, only to see the Wrangle pair change up a gear snatching the last two ends to guide their team to a well earned 5-5 draw.

Penmaen C moved to joint top of Division Two but as they have played a game or so more than the top four, this position may only be temporary. They did themselves no favours this week though when they entertained Graves Park F, turning out with only two players, (No.2 ranked Chris Cooke out through injury). However John Shortland and Dave Smith battled bravely on picking up two apiece, Shortland finding some form to see off Alan Davy and Fred Calvert, while Smith although beating Davy and Frankish in three straight being stretched by Frankish, only getting the boss of him in the third end. Calvert and Frankish replies for the Park beating Smith and Shortland respectively and with three walkovers the result was finely balanced. With Penmaen 4-5 down, they were in danger of losing their unbeaten record but Smith and Shortland knuckled down to the task in hand dismissing the Park pair in straight ends, earning both teams an equal share of the points.

New team to the league Belchford, played two matches on consecutive nights with mixed results, losing to fellow new team Penmaen D 0-10 but the following night with three completely different players drawing 5-5 with Lodgers F.

However 0-10 doesn’t tell the full story, all the Belchford lads taking Adam Elston to four, while Jon Newby was unlucky not to go the full distance with him. Matthew Lilly narrowly beat Newby and Richard Kirby but he was hard pressed by Peter Hughes who just went down 12-10, 7-11, 11-7 7-11,11-4. Gavin Herberts was perhaps the pick of the night, having little trouble with Kirby, and although being taken to four by Hughes and Newby, the result was never in doubt.

The following night Belchford scored their first success of the season, securing a 5-5 draw with Lodgers F who for the second time in a fortnight couldn’t field three players. Ben Kirby and Frank Cannon picked up the Belchford games, both of them beating Ian Gorrie in tight five enders, Kirby edged home 11-9 in the fifth, while Cannon picked up the fifth 11-8. Gorrie picked up one for Lodgers beating Matt Spence, while David Kime kept Lodgers in the hunt winning his three. However Lodgers had to wait until the doubles to secure the draw, Gorrie and Kime just easing home 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Division One: G P Nomads 0, Lodgers G 10; Penmaen B 0, Penmaen A 10; Graves Park C 9, Graves Park B 1; Wrangle A 5, Graves Park A 5.

Division Two: Penmaen C 5, Graves Park F 5; Penmaen B 10, Belchford 0; Belchford 5, Lodgers F 5.

Report for week ending November 13

There was a full programme in Division One of the Boston Table Tennis League this week. Penmaen A, who although narrowly beating Graves Park C 6-4, relinquished the lead, with Lodgers G taking over top spot. Penmaen’s Alan Ashberry was in top form winning his singles, but being surprised by Mick East who took him to four. Brett Heppenstall gave him excellent support chipping in with two, beating James Quinton and scraping home 11-4, 6-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10 against Martin Walters but losing out to East in another exciting five ender. Jake the Pegg had a poor night, losing all three in straight ends and I wonder how long ago it was that he lost three in one night. With the result balanced on a knife-edge. Jake found some form and along with Ashberry brushed aside the Park pair of East and Walters 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 guiding Penmaen to a 6-4 victory.

However it wasn’t all doom and gloom, the Park rolling their D team over 10-0 and this two results sees them move five places to fourth in the table.

Lodgers G moved in to top place with a workmanlike 9-1 win over Penmaen ‘s second string, both Kelvin Clements and Gary Hill winning their singles. However it wasn’t that easy, Clements losing the first end to Neil Snaith but picked off the next three ends with some ease. Hill also had his work cut out by both Snaith and Roger Hooton, Gary managing to lose the second leg on both occasions and then having to work hard in the next two to secure victory. It was Mark Hulme who blotted the teams copybook losing to Hooton, Mark after losing the first taking a 2-1 lead only to see that disappear as Hooton sneaked home 11-8, 11-9 in the last two for Penmaen’s solitary point.

Graves Park B, who are notoriously slow starters have yet to secure a win, their record so far mirroring last years dismal start. This continued when they met a strong Lodgers A losing 3-7. Lodgers got away to a cracking start winning the first five games, Graham Lacey and Pete Evans picking two apiece, Evans beating No.7 ranked Peter Munch 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (good win this), while Trev Blackbourn put Lodgers in control, beating Dave Graham in four. Munch put the Park on the board despite dropping a set against Blackbourn but Evans who was having a brilliant night, put the result beyond the Park’s reach with a straight leg win over a lack lustre Graham. With defeat assured the Park decided it was comeback time, Munch turning in a sterling performance to beat No.2 ranked Lacey in three straight. Mike Freeston who had fought hard all night for scant reward, gained some consolation with a tight five setter over Blackbourn but he (Blackbourn) gained revenge, teaming up with Lacey to win a hard fought doubles 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4.

Two other teams who have yet to win a match met, Park D taking on Park Nomads and from two evenly matched teams a draw seemed a draw seemed a fair result. As expected the games were close no less than five games going to five ends, Tris Clow being the main culprit, all of his games going the full distance, Tris playing well to win all three. Paul Matschull and Mick Dodes replied for the D, winning two apiece, both of them beating Walt Bridges and Harry Paul, Harry being a little unlucky not to pick something up from these. He gained some consolation though against Dave Walters winning the first, losing the next two and finally scraping home 11-9 in both the fourth and fifth legs. With the result in the balance Paul and Clow combined for the doubles needing a win to save Nomads from defeat, while Dodes and Walters required a win to give their team their first victory of the season. Nomads seemed to be heading for defeat losing the first two but they fought back and after two pulsating sets took the final end 11-8, giving both teams an equal share of the points.

Stickney who are having a moderate season held onto fifth place in the table, beating a disappointing Wrangle A team 8-2. Stickney’s Andrew Benjamin again took all three but he had to work hard in all of them, Dave Coulson taking him all the way, only to lose the all-important end 8-11. Vince Lozynsky and Paul Hartnett gave him excellent support winning two each, Vince beating Coulson (good win this), and Dennis Patttrick, while Hartnett made short work of Cooper and Pattrick but couldn’t quite get to grips with Coulson, losing the final end 7-11.

Sibsey A rose to the heady heights of fourth place in Division Two but before anybody gets too excited about this they have played a game or so more than their rivals and some if not all of these points will soon be clawed back.

However two wins in the space of seven days can’t be bad, beating Penmaen D and Lodgers D both by 6-4 scorelines. Against Penmaen D Daniel Meyer was in superb form winning his three, beating Matthew Lilly in three but needing four to see off Adam Elston, while Darron Kent pushed him to five. Peter James and Phil Coote had perhaps disappointing nights, chipping in with one each, both of them beating Kent who I know can play better than this. Lilly and Elson picked up two each for Penmaen and in an effort to salvage something from the game, paired up for the doubles,. However the Sibsey pair of Meyer and James combined well, just holding the edge in four tight games, running out 11-9, 14-12, 9-11, 12-10 winners guiding their team to a victory.

A few night later against Lodgers D Daniel Meyer was again in great form winning his three and if you can beat Tony Kime (albeit in five close sets) you have got to be playing fairly well. Peter James chipped in with two while Phil Coote, who isn’t playing as well as he did last season, had to be content with one beating Nev Leggate. For Lodgers Kime picked up two beating James and Coote, while Bonsor had top be content with one, a five set win over Coote. The doubles although not altering the score was played at a great pace, Coote and Meyer pinching the first but falling away in the next three.

Lodgers B and Pemmaen C, currently first and second in the Division Two table, met, this being Lodgers sternest test so far. The match for the first four games were equally shared, Chris Cooke picking up two beating Pete Truepenny and Vic Clements (good win this), while Clements and Day kept Lodgers on level terms, beating John Shortland and Dave Smith respectively. Penmaen suddenly took charge winning the next three, Smith showing signs of his old form, beating Truepenny and Clements, while Shortland upset the form book beating the impressive Day in five. Lodgers surged back, Day denting Cooke’s 100% record, beating him 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4 while Truepenny kept Lodgers in the game with a hard fought tussle with Shortland. Down to the doubles then with both teams needing it for differing reasons. Clements and Day were quick off the blocks winning the first two but the Penmaen pairing of Cooke and Smith levelled the score with an 11-7 11-6 win. The fifth end was all Lodgers Clements and Day digging in winning 11-6 to make sure of an equal share of the points.

It was a good week for Sibsey, their A team winning two but the B (not to be outdone), scored a useful 5-5 draw with Lodgers E who for the second time this season could only field two players. Colin Bell had no trouble at all winning his singles but Pete Bell could only manage one, getting the better of Wayne Grooby in five. Pete might have picked up a couple more, pushing both Steve and Richard Hill to five and had the vital points swung his way, he could so easily have won all three. With three walkovers Sibsey were leading 5-4 but the two Bells combined to narrowly beat Grooby and Steve Hill to scramble Lodgers to their third draw of the season.

Player of the week accolade goes to Daniel Meyer of Sibsey A. Daniel, despite a steady start to the season, has suddenly hit form and his victories this week beating the likes of Tony Kime (a regular top tenner) have shown how good he really is. Watch this space, he could be one of the star players of this division.

Division One: Penmaen A 6, Graves Park C 4; Graves Park D 0, Graves Park C 10; Lodgers G 9, Penmaen B 1; Graves Park B 3, Lodgers A 7; Stickney 8, Wrangle A 2; Graves Park D 5, Graves Park Nomads 5.

Division Two: Sibsey A 6, Penmaen D 4; Sibsey A 6, Lodgers D 4; Lodgers B 5, Penmaen C 5; Lodgers E 5, Sibsey B 5.

Report for week ending November 6

Division Two of the Boston and District Table Tennis League is proving to be quite an interesting division, there being little to choose between the top five teams.

Lodgers B who were relegated last season head the table with 34 points but this week stablemates Lodgers H narrowed the gap to four points, beating newcomers Belchford 10-0. As the score suggests it was pretty one way traffic but Belchford should not be too downhearted. This is a revitalised Lodgers team and the way they are going at the moment, they will finish pretty high in the table. Comfortable win for Lodgers 9 of the 10 games being in straight sets, Jon Newby taking the first leg out of Simon Raistrick, only to see Simon win the next three quite easily.

Lodgers F nearly blew it when they entertained Sibsey A, the home team only turning up with two players. However Steve Harker and David Kime (both top ten players) manned the barricades quite well and although Kime dropped the second game to Peter James, Harker was in great form winning his three without too much trouble. With both teams needing the doubles, Belchford drew first blood winning the first end 12-10 but the experienced Lodgers pair of Harker and Kime, got their act together to win the next three 11-7, 11-4, 11-5, guiding their team to a 6-4 victory.

Penmaen D and Lodgers D two teams evenly matched equally shared the points in a very close contest. Matt Lilly put Penmaen ahead, comfortably beating Nev Leggate and Graham Bonsor but having a battle with Tony Kime before running out a 11-9, 6-11, 15-12, 11-6 winner. Adam Elston and Gavin Herberts picked up one apiece, both of them beating Nev Leggate but losing to Kime and Bonsor, Herberts being very unlucky to lose to Kime going down 5-11 in the fifth. Elston was in an even tighter battle with Bonsor, losing the first 18-20, winning the second and third, narrowly losing the fourth 10-12 but fading 6-11 in the fifth. With both teams needing the doubles for different reasons, Kime and Bonsor turned the screw, winning in three straight to make sure of the draw.

The drawn games, after a slow start, are coming in thick and fast, Lodgers D sharing the spoils with Sibsey B and Graves Park F equally sharing the points with Lodgers E (good result this for the Park).

Penmaen C are clearly going to be a force to be reckoned with and this was shown by beating the in form Wrangle B 8-2, inflicting upon them their first defeat of the season. Penmaen got away to a flyer winning the first four, not that all of it was one way traffic, Tim Sampson pushing the unbeaten Chris Cooke to five, while Tony Sharpe also gave Cooke a run for his money. Wrangle at last got on the board, Tony Hall comfortably easing past John Shortland but Penmaen ground on winning the next three, David Smith beating Sharpe in yet another five setter, while Cooke completed his hat-trick with a narrow victory over Tony Hall. Smith who has yet to hit top form completed his hat-trick, showing that he his on his way, narrowly beating Sampson 11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9, while Sharpe was rewarded for all his hard work beating Shortland , grabbing another consolation for Wrangle. The doubles although close never looked in doubt, Cooke and Smith blasting home against Sampson and Hall in straight sets to guide their team to an emphatic 8-2 victory.

Graves Park F, who suffered two heavy losses at the start of the season, seem to have picked up a bit winning their second game on the trot beating Sibsey B 9-1 who on paper look a useful side. The match was fairly one-sided although John Hobbs took both Alan Davy and Barry Frankish to four while Wayne Grooby was perhaps unlucky not to get something from his game with Davy, winning the first two but fading in the last three. Steve Hill fought hard just losing to Calvert and Frankish but he put Sibsey on the board, saving their blushes beating Davy 11-5, 12-10, 11-7. The doubles was perhaps the closest game of the night but the pairing of Calvert and Frankish proved too strong for the Sibsey outfit, narrowly winning a hard fought fifth set 11-9.

Most of the activity in Division One was down in the lower reaches, Wrangle A taking on fellow strugglers Graves Park B, Park being one of the traditional slow starters and this season is no exception.

Wrangle got away to a flyer, Sam Cooper and Dave Coulson beating Mike Freeston and Mick Maltby respectively, giving them a 2-0 lead. Peter Munch playing his first game of the season, pulled one back, Peter making short work of Dennis Pattrick. Coulson extended Wrangle’s lead with a straight set win over Freeston, only to see Munch reduce the deficit, losing the first set against Cooper but winning the next three fairly well .The Park drew level, Maltby beating Pattrick but the shock of the night saw Munch being well beaten in straight ends by Coulson, just keeping Wrangle’s nose in front. This was immediately cancelled out by Freeston, who after winning the first two against Pattrick, inexplicably lost the next two 9-11, 5-11 to take the game to the wire. As expected this game was tight, swinging first one way then the other, Freeston getting the break at deuce to pinch the end 14- 12. Cooper edged Wrangle in front yet again brushing aside Maltby in three and it was down to the doubles to decide. This was the big one for both teams, Freeston combining with Munch to win 11-9, 17-15, 11-6 earning the Park an equal share of the spoils.

Penmaen B, playing only their second match of the season, met a depleted Graves Park D team, the Park being without Mick Dodes. Having said that it was the Park who shot out of the blocks winning the first two, Dave Walters comfortably easing past Scott Sykes, while Paul Matschull needed five sets to see off the challenge of Andy Birks. Things got even better for the Park, Walters beating Snaith in four and with Matschull coming back from 1-2 down against Sykes to win the last two rather convincingly 11-2, 11-6 things were looking good. Penmaen at last got their act together, Birks beating Walters and with Snaith turning in a sterling performance to beat Matschull the result was back in the melting pot. With three walkovers, Penmaen sensed that victory was there for the taking, Birks and Snaith combining to nick the doubles 11-6, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Bet the Park was pretty sick though seeing a 4-0 lead turn into a 4-6 defeat, albeit they lost three due to being a man short.

Graves Park A picked up their second win of the season with a narrow victory over Stickney. The first two were evenly shared, Paul Hartnett shutting out Nick Langley, while Rob Smith replied with a straight set win over Vince Loznysky. Andrew Benjamin gave Stickney a good lead playing his three games straight off, sweeping aside all the Park lads in straight sets. The Park faced an uphill task, Phil Brooks getting them back on track beating Lozynsky in four, while Rob Smith reduced the deficit to 3-4 hammering Hartnett 11-3, 11-5, 11-8. Langley levelled the score with a five set thriller over Lozynsky, while Brooks who has settled into the season quickly, beat Hartnett 11-9, 12-10 11-4. The decisive doubles saw Smith and Brooks overwhelm their opponents beating Hartnett and Lozynsky in straight sets guiding the Park to a 6-4 victory.

Graves Park C, whose first two matches were called off, got their show on the road with mixed results, losing their first encounter of the season 3-7 to Lodgers G. However the following night was it was a different story, the C swamping Park Nomads 9-1. Lodgers took the game to the Park opening up a strong 3-0 lead, Kelvin Clements beating James Quinton, while Mark Hulme was in tremendous form beating Mick East 12-10, 8-11, 12-10, 11-3. Gary Hill increased the lead with a five set win over Martin Walters that could have swung either way but East hit back putting the Park on the board with an 11-5,10-12, 11-5, 11-9 win over last seasons No.3 ranked Clements. The Lodgers machine rolled on Hill getting the edge over Quinton only for Walters to reduce the arrears with a 14-12, 11-5, 13-11 victory over Hulme. Hill who was having a storming night, completed his hat-trick beating East in straight sets to put Lodgers within touching distance of victory. The Park though still had the chance of the draw, Walters making that more of a reality beating Clements in four but their hopes were dashed in the last singles of the evening, Hulme completing a good night with an 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 win over Quinton. No respite in the doubles either Hill and Hulme taking control from the start winning in three sets to make the final score 7-3.

The following night saw Park C struck off in fine style, Martin Walters and James Quinton beating Walt Bridges and Harry Paul respectively. Mick East kept the winning run going but being taken to four by Tris Clow, while Quinton had no trouble with Bridges. Walters was a bit lucky to win his game against Clow, scraping home 12-10 in the fifth and it looked as though a grand slam would be on the board, East making short work of Paul. Clow upset the form book for something of a consolation with a 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 win over Quinton. With East and Walters comfortably winning their two remaining singles, all eyes were focused on the doubles. This was a game that could have gone either way the C winning the first and third while Nomads won the second and fourth. The final leg though was a bit of an anti climax, the C pair of Quinton and Walters easing home 11-6 for a 9-1 victory.

Team of the week: Couldn’t really decide as it was between two teams but Graves Park F clinches it for their 5-5 draw with Lodgers E. Admitted Lodgers didn’t have Mark Vere playing but nevertheless this is really a good result. I thought originally that the Park would finish near the foot of the table and starting off with two 1-9 defeats seemed that I might be right. Since then they have picked up two wins and this draw is probably the icing on the cake.

Division One: Wrangle A 5, Graves Park B 5; Penmaen B 6, Graves Park D 4; Graves Park A 6, Stickney 4; Graves Park C 3, Lodgers G 7; Park Nomads 1, Graves Park C 9.

Division Two: Lodgers H 10, Belchford 0; Lodgers F 6, Sibsey A 4; Penmaen D 5, Lodgers D 5; Lodgers D 5, Sibsey B 5; Graves Park F 5, Lodgers E 5; Penmaen C 8, Wrangle B 2; Sibsey B 1, Graves Park F 9.

Report for week ending October 30

Now that most teams (one exception), have played a couple or so matches an early league table can be formulated.

Graves Park A after two heavy defeats, (admittedly against the two best teams in the league), got on the winning trail in Division One with an excellent win against their B team. The B never really got going, Dave Graham losing the first game of the night in five tight legs to Nick Langley, although on another night this may have swung the B’s way. Rob Smith continued the A’s good start beating Mick Maltby, while Phil Brooks extended the lead even further, winning a five set thriller against Mike Freeston (another one that could so easily have gone the B’s way). The B sensing the A were on form began to rally, Maltby getting them on the board in a five set tussle against Langley but Brooks picking up his second of the night, kept the A in charge, beating Graham in three. Smith had little trouble with Freeston and despite Maltby picking up the B’s second beating Brooks, it was too late. Langley made sure the A were past the winning post with a tight four ender against Freeston, while Smith tidied up the singles beating Graham. No luck for the B in the doubles either, Maltby and Graham being no match tor the A’s pairing of Smith and Brooks who ran out comfortable 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 winners. The 8-2 scoreline somewhat flatters the A, at least three close games all going the A’s way.

Graves Park Nomads are finding out that life will be tough in the top tier, especially without Dean Clow, sliding to a 3-7 defeat to Penmaen B. Penmaen got away well winning the first three, the only real surprise being Andy Birks beating Tris Clow in four. Nomads hit back, Clow who this season will be the Nomads standard bearer got them on the board with a good win over Scott Sykes but all around him chaos reigned, as Roger Hooton disposed of Walt Bridges and Andy Birks made short work of Harry Paul. Clow gave Nomads a ray of faint hope beating Hooton 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4 but this was a false dawn, as Sykes comfortably beat Paul, while Birks made short work of Bridges. Clow showed what value he will be this season by combining with Bridges to win the closest doubles to date the Nomads pair inching home14-16, 11-9, 13-11, 12-10.

Division Two looks as though it is going to be a close run thing with Lodgers B who were relegated at the end of last season, well ahead of the chasing pack. However they have played a game more than most of the other teams, who will be eager to close the gap. This week Lodgers B took on their E team, who were without Mark Vere so they took to the field with only two players. The remarkable thing is that out of four matches Lodgers B have played the opposition has only turned up with a full team once, the other three matches Lodgers gaining walkovers. Despite only having two players, Colin Bell set about the opposition but it was non too convincing being well held by Vic Clements, Colin scraping home 11-6, 12-10, 13-11. The game against Tim Day was also a close one, Tim taking the third end 11-5 but Colin immediately bounced winning the next 11-8 enabling him to retain his 100% record. Thomas Bell failed to get his name on the sheet but nevertheless turned in some good performances, taking an end out of Clements and despite losing in straight ends, giving Truepenny a run for his money. The B said thank you very much for the walkovers, Day and Clements putting the icing on the cake and gaining some revenge for their singles defeats, beating the two Bell’s 11-9, 9-11,11-5, 11-3.

Sibsey A almost pulled off a shock result this week just going down 4-6 to high flying Lodgers H. Lodgers opened the scoring, Simon Raistrick just getting the better of Daniel Meyer in four but Sibsey hit back, Peter James gaining a good win over the experienced Boyd Smith. Steve Marshall restored Lodgers lead with a surprisingly easy win over Phil Coote, who last season was Sibsey’s star man. James put Sibsey on level terms in a titanic struggle with Raistrick but it was to no avail, as Lodgers hit back taking the next four games, Marshall beating both Meyer and James ( close one this, could have gone either way), Smith getting his name on the board beating Coote while Coote who was having a poor night also suffered defeat at the hands of Raistrick. Smith reduced the arrears to keep the game alive, coming from 1-2 down against Meyer to win the last two 11-8-11-9. With both teams needing the doubles for differing reasons the Sibsey duo of James and Meyer took the first end 8-11 but Smith and Marshall had by now found out how to play them, winning the next three 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 to guide the team to a narrow 6-4 victory.

Team of the week: Again, this accolade must go to Sibsey A who almost pulled of a surprise result just going down 4-6 to high flying Lodgers H. Good result this for Sibsey, with Peter James being the star man, picking up two. Pity Phil Coote didn’t hit it as this could have turned into a real shock. Sibsey are still waiting for their first win, If this kind of form cam be maintained it won’t be that long coming.

Division One: Graves Park B 2, Graves Park A 8; Graves Park Nomads 3, Penmaen B 7.

Division Two: Lodgers E 3, Lodgers B 7; Sibsey A 4, Lodgers H 6.

Report for week ending October 23

Stickney, after their resounding thrashing by Penmaen A, got their Boston and District Table Tennis League season on track by dishing out an 8-2 Division One hammering to a somewhat lifeless Graves Park B. Stickney got way to a flier, Paul Hartnett beating an unlucky Dave Graham 11-6 in the fifth. Andrew Benjamin after a hic-cup in the third against Mick Maltby, won the fourth 11-8 and Vince Lozynsky turned in a great performance beating Mike Freeston, while Benjamin dished out Graham’s second defeat of the night, beating him in straight ends. The Park suddenly realised the season had started, Freeston getting them on the board with a narrow five set win over Hartnett, while Maltby reduced the arrears, having to work hard for a 7-11, 14-12, 9-11, 12-10, 12-10 over Lozynsky. The fight back though was short lived, Benjamin completing his hat-trick with a straight set win over Freeston, while Lozynsky made sure of victory beating Graham in another game that could have swung either way. Hartnett completed the singles with a narrow win over Maltby and then sat out and watched Lozynsky and Benjaminm comfortably win the doubles for an 8-2 win.

New boys Wrangle A found out what life against the top teams would be like, meeting up with last seasons runners-up and losing 1-9. None of the Wrangle lads had any answer to Kelvin Clements and although Sam Cooper nicked the second 11-8, the result was never in doubt. Gary Hill gave him excellent support weighing in with his singles and although Dave Coulson gave him a run for his money by winning the first end, Gary sorted it out comfortably winning the next three. Mark Hulme looked on his was to a hat-trick winning his first two, but in the last game of the night he met a determined Sam Cooper, who matched him shot for shot and game for game, until Sam broke away to win the fifth 11-3 for Wrangle’s solitary point.

The match of the week in this division was between the two Lodgers team the G and the A, currently second and third in the table. The A took an early lead, Graham Lacey making short work of Mark Hulme, but Kelvin Clements after a first end scare from Ian Stones quickly equalised, easing home 11-8, 11-4,11-1 in the next three. Gary Hill gave the G the lead beating Pete Evans, Gary losing the second leg but scraping home in the third and fourth. In the game of the night the A made it all square, Lacey holding onto his unbeaten record, just beating Clements 18-16 in the fifth, easiest the longest game so far this season. However the G drove on sweeping all before them, Hulme getting his name on the board beating Evans, while Hill required four to see off Stones. Clements made short work of Evans to ensure at least a draw, while Lacey kept the A in the hunt, throwing away a two set lead against Hill but fighting back to win the fifth win 11-7. Alas, it wasn’t enough and Hulme eased past the winning post beating Stones over four close ends. With only the doubles remaining the A gave the score an air of credibility, “man of the match” Lacey and Stones getting the better of Hulme and Clements, giving the G a 6-4 victory.

A host of activity in Division Two saw last seasons relegated team Lodgers B move to the top of the table, racking up their third win of the season, beating Sibsey B 10-0. The game was pretty much one-way traffic although Stephen Hill did reasonably well, taking both Pete Truepenny and Vic Clements to four. Richard Hill turned in a decent performance against Truepenny and Tim Day, taking a set out of each of them but unfortunately faded in the fourth losing 1-11, 2-11 respectively.

Wrangle B, who have made an excellent start to the season, saw their winning run come to a halt, being held to a draw by Lodgers E, who when they get their full team out could also be a threat. Tony Sharpe, who is having a good season, and Tony Hall picked up two apiece, both of them beating Pete and Tom Bell, while Tim Sampson had to settle for one, beating young Tom Bell but just losing out to Pete Bell, 9-11 in the fifth. None of the Wrangle lads had any answer to Colin Bell who picked up his singles despite being given a scare by Sharpe who took the second set 11-7. Undeterred, Colin went on to comfortably win the next two ends and combined with brother Pete narrowly nicking the doubles to force a draw.

Penmaen C held on to their 100 percent record with a 7-3 victory over new boys Belchford. The latter were disappointed with their performance but shouldn’t be to despondent, as come the end of the season Penmaen will be up near the top. Chris Cooke was again in devastating form winning his singles without too much trouble while Dave Smith had a better night picking up two. John Shortland had to be content with one beating Peter Hughes but losing Matt Spence and Ben Kirby, who will surprise a few player in this division, (watch this space).

Graves Park F, who look as though they may be in for a hard season, scored their first victory of the season over fellow strugglers Lodgers D. It was Lodgers, however, who came out fighting, Tony Kime beating Alan Davy but the Park hit back through Fred Calvert and Barry Frankish beating Graham Bonsor and Nev Leggate respectively. Bonsor put Lodgers on level terms with a confident victory over Davy but the Park strode on, winning the next four to put them in control. Despite Lodgers picking up the last singles game, Kime beating Calvert, it was all over bar the shouting and Frankish and Calvert put the icing on the cake, beating the Lodgers pair of Bonsor and Kime 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 for a 7-3 victory.

Penmaen D have yet to get it together, losing their second and third match of the season and they are too good to stay for too long near the foot of the table. However they have played some of the stronger teams in the division namely Lodgers H and Lodgers F and some games might be easier. Despite losing 2-8 to Lodgers H, the game was much closer than the score suggests, Steve Marshall being the only Lodgers player who showed any confidence winning his three. Boyd Smith after a shaky start against Gavin Herberts, started to gain in confidence and from two legs down and 8-10 in the third to Adam Elston, things were not looking good. However Boyd picked up his game winning the next four points to take the end 12-10 and then went on to win the fourth and fifth 11-9 both times. Steve Raistrick was a bit unlucky only to win one losing to both Elston and Lilly but had something to show for his efforts beating Herberts in his last game of the evening. It was all over bar the shouting Smith and Marshall pairing up winning the doubles in straight legs for a decisive 8-2 victory.

Against Lodgers F, Penmaen did marginally better, and although losing 3-7 the result could easily have swung the other way. Steve Harker opened the scoring for Lodgers beating Darron Kent in three but Matt Lilly quickly levelled the score beating Ian Gorrie in straight sets. Penmaen took a shock lead Adam Elston beating David Kime but Lodgers clawed their way back into the game Harker struggling to overcome a strong challenge from Lilly. Lodgers then went through a purple patch winning the next four which to put the result beyond doubt, Kime picking up two beating both Kent and Lilly while Gorrie extended the Lodgers lead even further, with a narrow five set win over Elston. Harker put the result beyond doubt with a four set win over Elston and although Kent beat Gorrie in three it was of little consolation. The doubles unlike some of the singles was a straightforward affair Harker and Kime comfortably beating Lilly and Elston 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 for somewhat fortunate 7-3 victory.

Division One: Stickney A 8, Graves Park B 2; Wrangle A 1, Lodgers G 9; Lodgers G 6, Lodgers A 4; Penmaen A 10, Wrangle A 0.　

Division Two: Lodgers B 10, Sibsey B 0; Wrangle B 5, Lodgers E 5; Belchford 3, Penmaen C 7; Lodgers D 3, Graves Park F 7; Lodgers H 8, Penmaen D 2; Penmaen D 3, Lodgers F 7.

Report for week ending October 16

Most of the activity this week in the Boston and District Table Tennis League took place in Division Two although to be fair most matches in Division One were scheduled to be played later in the week, so consequently the score sheets have not yet arrived with me.

Lodgers B fresh from their relegation from Division One made a great start to their Division Two campaign with two wins inside four days. Their first match was against their colleagues from their D team, the D with only two players opening the scoring, Tony Kime just getting the better of Pete Truepenny in three. Vic Clements immediately levelled, requiring four to see off Graham Bonsor, while Tim Day put the B in the driving seat with a good win over Kime. Truepenny got his name on the board with a straight leg win over Bonsor and although Kime pulled another one back for the D after a long battle with Clements, it was too little too late. Day picked up his second of the evening with an easy win over Bonsor and then combined with Clements in the doubles winning a non to convincing 16-14, 11-9, 12-10.

A few nights later the Lodgers B took on Graves Park F, the Park being another team who were unable to field a full side, only Fred Calvert and Barry Frankish being available. Lodgers took an early lead, Vic Clements making short work of Calvert but Frankish levelled the score with a hard fought four set win over Pete Truepenny. Day who looks to be in good form so early in the season, dispatched Calvert in three, while Clements after a first set hic-cup against Frankish, came good in the next three to run out an 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 winner. Truepenny got his name on the board defeating Calvert, while Day completed the singles with a 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 victory over Frankish. With three walkovers for the second match in succession, Clements and Day put the icing on the cake with a straight set doubles win guiding Lodgers to a 9-1 victory.

Despite the two Lodgers wins, they are not top of the league. That plaudit goes to Wrangle B who followed up last week solid 9-1 victory with yet another beating Sibsey B 10-0. True, Sibsey didn’t have Steve Hill playing, John Hobbs taking his place, and not surprisingly John failing to register a victory but against three players of this calibre, he didn‘t disgrace himself. Wayne Grooby and Richard Hill didn’t bother the scorers unduly, although both of them took Tony Hall and Tim Sampson to four . Hill in fact was a bit unlucky not to take both Sampson and Hall to the final set losing the fourth end by the narrowest of margins both times. Tony Sharpe was the pick of the Wrangle team winning his singles in three straight and if the team keep this kind of form up will Cliff Davey will have to remain on the subs bench.

Penmaen C picked up their second victory of the season just defeating a Sibsey A team who put up a brave showing.

Penmaen struck off on a bright note taking the first three, John Shortland beating Daniel Meyer while No.5 ranked Dave Smith looked a bit rusty before finally getting the better of Peter James both these games being close five setters. Chris Cooke consolidated Penmaen’s lead with a straight sets win over Phil Coote and Penmaen were cooking on gas. Sibsey though hit back, Meyer playing well beating Smith in five, while in yet another five setter Coote reduced the arrears to one game with a 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11 win over Shortland. Cooke though was on great form, picking up his second of the night with a straight set victory over James to keep Penmaen two in the lead. Sibsey immediately hit back the in form Coote beating Smith, who seems to be playing well below his best form. Cooke completed his hat-trick beating Meyer but Sibsey refused to roll over, James keeping them in the hunt, narrowly beating Shortland 11-3, 12-10, 7-11, 14-12. With the decisive doubles remaining “man of the match” Cooke combined with Smith and despite a blip in the second end convincingly winning to guide Penmaen to victory and third place in the table.

The all-Lodgers clash saw the D take on their F team, the D this week fielding a full team. The F started off strongly winning the first four, Steve Harker beating Graham Bonsor in straight sets, David Kime beating dad Tony Kime, in what was probably the game of the evening, and Ian Gorrie making short work of Nev Leggate. Harker extended the lead beating Tony Kime in straight legs, (11-9 in all three), although on another night these may have swung the other way. It was left to Bonsor put the D on the board, a comfortable win over Gorrie but the F pressed on, David Kime having no trouble with Leggate and despite Tony Kime reducing the arrears it was too late, the F winning the next two quite easily giving them an impregnable lead. With only the doubles remaining David Kime and Harker turned round a first set defeat by Bonsor and Tony Kime to narrowly win the next three 16-14, 11-9, 11-9 to give the F an 8-2 victory.

Team of the week: Again this week the accolade goes to Sibsey A who despite losing 4-6 to the strong Penmaem team, score certainly gave them a scare. If it hadn’t been for the form of Chris Cooke, this score could easily have been reversed. So far Sibsey have played two of the strongest team in the league and victories will surely come soon.

Division One: Graves Park A 1, Penmaen A 9; Lodgers A 6, Graves Park D 4.

Division Two: Lodgers B 8, Lodgers D 2; Graves Park F 1, Lodgers B 9; Sibsey B 0, Wrangle B 10; Penmaen C 6, Sibsey A 4; Lodgers D 2, Lodgers F 8.

Report for week ending October 9

The 2009-2010 Boston and District Table Tennis League got under way this week throwing up number of surprise results, with reprieved Graves Park D who started the season with only two players, taking on last season’s Division Two Champions Wrangle A. Wrangle drew first blood in the Division One encounter, Dave Coulson narrowly beating Paul Matschull in four but the Park hit back, Mick Dodes defeating Sam Cooper, while Matschull after a tight first set against Den Pattrick plastered him 11-6, 11-4 in the next two. Coulson kept Wrangle in the game narrowly beating Dodes but the Park weren’t going to be denied, Matschulll picking up his second of the night comfortably beating Cooper, (good win this), while Dodes gave the Park a 4-2 lead beating Pattrick 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9. With three walkovers the result was finely balanced but the Wrangle star man Coulson and Cooper combined to beat the Park pair in straight sets to give Wrangle a rather fortunate 6-4 victory.

Elsewhere in the top division results went according to form, Lodgers A cleaning up with a 10-0 win over newly promoted Park Nomads, but it wasn’t as clear cut as the score might suggest. Tris Clow shook No.2 ranked Graham Lacey taking the first two ends 11-7, but Graham knuckled down to win the next three to avoid what would have been for him an embarrassing result. Tris also had much the same sort of game with Ian Stones, Tris winning the first two 12-10, 11-6 but Ian called on his vast experience to win the next three. Walt Bridges surprised us all by taking Stones to five, the last two sets evading Walt, while Harry Paul almost caused an upset against Trev Blackbourn but here again the last two sets went against him. The score says 0-10 but this is not a true reflection of the game and on another night the Park might have picked up three or four.

Lodgers G, last seasons runners-up, got their campaign on the road with a thumping win over two player Graves Park A. Here again though there was still one or two surprises in store, Rob Smith taking No.3 ranked Kelvin Clements to four, while Nick Langley was a bit unlucky on two counts, losing the vital fifth 8-11 to Mark Hulme and going down by the narrowest of margins against Gary Hill. The doubles were a fairly straightforward affair, Clements and Hill easing past Smith and Langley for 10-0 victory.

Wrangle B set the ball rolling in Division Two by thrashing Graves Park F 9-1. It was the Park who broke the ice and Tony Sharpe, after coming from two sets down to Alan Davy, lost the vital fifth 5-11. Wrangle barely flinched and Tim Sampson immediately levelled the score, beating Fred Calvert, while Tony Hall gave the home team the lead, with a comprehensive win over Barry Frankish. Wrangle were on a roll, Sampson just getting the better of Davy, while Sharpe got his name on the board narrowly beating Frankish 11-8 in the fifth, which could have swung either way. Hall chipped in with what in the end was a comprehensive five set win over Calvert, and Sampson made sure that they would at least record a victory beating Frankish who was having a nightmare evening. Hall had his work cut out to beat Davy 11-6 in the fifth, while Sharpe picked up his second of the evening to put the icing on the cake, beating Calvert 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-2. The doubles was yet another five setter, which went the Wrangle way and it is remarkable how a game with seven five setters can end up 9-1.

The star show of the week surely belongs to Sibsey A. This is half the Sibsey team from last season which this season has seen them form two teams. Sibsey could not have had a harder task, taking on Lodgers E who if they could play their strongest team would win the league hands down. However their strongest team was unavailable and Sibsey spent little time opening up a 2-0 lead, Phil Coote beating Pete Bell, while Peter James after a second set hic-cup, beating Tom Bell. Tom Andrews playing his first ever competitive match had the misfortune to meet No.1 ranked Colin Bell, and as expected losing in straight legs. (Never mind Tom get the easy one’s out of the way first). Colin Bell made no mistakes picking up his remaining two games, beating James and Coote while the two Sibsey lads both beat Pete and Tom Bell. With only the doubles remaining the game was evenly balanced but the experience of Colin Bell along with son Tom knew just enough to steer Lodgers home for a 6-4 victory. Nevertheless a great showing by Sibsey which stands them in good stead for the season ahead.

Elsewhere in Division Two another shock unfolded when Lodgers H visited their F team. The H opened the scoring Boyd Smith just getting the better of Ian Gorrie but David Kime quickly levelled the score, beating Steve Marshall in straight legs. However the H were buzzing, Simon Raistrick beating the influential Steve Harker, while Smith did well to snuff out the fire of Kime. Raistrick struggled a little before beating Gorrie, while Marshall in the game of the night overcame the attentions of Harker. 5-1 up and things were looking good for the H but the F suddenly found themselves staring defeat in the face. Kime set about reducing this deficit beating Raistrick, while Harker who had lost his first two, in the game of the night reduced the arrears, beating the previously unbeaten Smith 11-6. 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 13-11. Any hopes the F had of snatching a draw was dashed with Marshall beating Gorrie but they, the F side, gave the score a respectable appearance winning the doubles in four sets.

Belchford, a new team in the league this season, played their first match entertaining a virtually new team Sibsey B which is made up of the remnants of last seasons Sibsey and ex Division One player of some 20 years ago Stephen Hill. Steve soon showed his true class winning his singles and although the Belchford lads took him to four the final outcome never looked in doubt. His son Richard Hill gave him excellent support, picking up two, beating Jon Newby and Richard Kirby but he hd no answer to Frank Cannon who beat him 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7. Wayne Grooby failed to deliver but he might consider himself to be a little unlucky, pushing both Newby and Kirby to five, although being well beaten by Cannon. With both teams requiring the doubles for different reasons it was a tight affair, the Belchford pair of Cannon and Newby losing the first but winning the next two. However the strength of the two Hills began to show and although the fourth could have swung either way, (Sibsey winning it 13-11) the vital end swung Sibsey’s way, the two Hills winning 11-8 to guide the team to a 6-4 victory.

I will try to do a team of the week spot for each review. And for the first week it has to be shared accolade between three teams, all of them in Division Two. First up is Wrangle B who are notorious slow starters but this season they put that role to bed thrashing Graves Park F 9-1. Sibsey A despite losing their first match put up a great display against Lodgers E and against Lodgers, who should finish the season in the first three, this is a great achievement. Lastly Lodgers H who at one point last season looked as though they might finish bottom but picked their form up at Christmas to finish half way. This season the vagaries of the fixture list pitted them against the mighty Lodgers F from who they broke from last season. In a tense match the F team found themselves 1-5 down and despite a brief revival the H ran out 6-4 winners which must be seen as a shock result and are the H team on course for a promotion push this season.

Division One: Graves Park D 4, Wrangle A 6; Graves Park Nomads 0, Lodgers A 10; Penmaen A 9, Stickney 1; Lodgers G 10, Graves Park A 0.

Division Two: Wrangle B 9, Graves Park F 1; Sibsey A 4, Lodgers E 6; Lodgers F 4, Lodgers H 6; Belchford 4, Sibsey B 6; Penmaen D 2, Penmaen C 8.

Report for week ending September 20

Season preview (Division Two)

With Division One out of the way, it is now time to review the Boston and District Table Tennis League Division Two. This perhaps is a harder division to predict and with two new teams, of which I know very little about, it is going to be far from easy.

Lodgers B: Taking into account that they were in the Top Division last season I think even they will admit they had a torrid time. This Division will be more to their liking and the competition will be on the whole not so strong. Same team as last season and there is no reason why they should not be competing for promotion come the end of this season.

Penmaen C: Last Season the D team, this season the C (don’t ask). Surprised me a bit as I thought they would have clinched promotion last term but fell away at the end of the season. Change of team member here as Maurice Buck has decided to hang up his bat and taking his place is Colin West who has been out of the game for a few seasons. A lot depends on who plays in which matches and they will probably use a system where one team member drops out each week. Almost did enough last year to clinch promotion this could be their season.

Lodgers F: Disappointed a bit last season but when you turn up for seven matches without a full team, your playing off the back foot from the start. Having said that though David Kime and Steve Harker pulled them through although I thought Steve should have won a few more. If a full team be maintained each week and Ian Gorrie picks up a few more then come the end of then season they to could be in the promotion mix.

Lodgers E: If they had played their strongest team every week last season they would have had the title sewn up before Christmas. Sadly this didn’t happen and Mark Vere (who would still grace many 1st Division teams) only turned out 9 times. Mark has signed on again and apart from the first two weeks of the season he will be available every week. If he and Colin Bell turn out every week and steer clear of injury thenm they should have the title sewn up before Christmas. If this doesn’t happen half way mark is the best bet.

Lodgers H: Took them a long time last season to find their feet and at the halfway stage they just had one win to their name. The second half they were a revelation losing only two of their last 9 matches. If they can find the same form as they finished the season they could well move up the league a place or so finishing in the top four.

Graves Park F Had quite as good season improving their league position on the previous term when they finished joint second from bottom. Same team as last season and with two new teams there is scope for them to rise higher in the table.

Wrangle B: Never ceases to amaze me that this team always finishes near the foot of the table. Capable of much more and only six seasons ago when we had four divisions they graced Division Two. Might rise up the table a place or so and if all four can pick up a few more, half way is not out of the question.

Lodgers D: Finished near the bottom of the table again and yet this team has more to offer and it was not that long ago that they were thought of as a middle of the table side. If they want to pull away from the brink and I am sure they do, Graham Bonsor and Nev Leggate who are both capable of turning in better results will have to pick up more victories than their disappointing performance of recent seasons. With new teams in the league might rise a couple of places or so.

Sibsey School A: First season last time round an as expected finished bottom of the pile. This season they have split into two teams Phil Coote and Peter James taking two juniors, Tom Andrews and Michael Hobbs under their wing. How they will do is debatable but with Phil Coote they have a player who this season could easily finish in the rankings. How experienced the two Juniors, Tom Andrew and Michael Hobbs are will depend on where they finish in the table. Think they may rise from the place they occupied last season.

Sibsey School B: The remaining players of last seasons team and with a years experience under their belts should do better. Led by Richard Hill who had a reasonable season last time round is joined by Wayne Grooby (who has played previously) and junior John Hobbs. Recent signing comes in the form of Steve Hill who played in the league some 20 years ago. If he’s as good now as he was then he will take a bit of stopping, Cannot see them taking the division by storm and their main aim must be consolidation.

Belchford: New team in the League from the Horncastle area and with eight players signed on ( 6 Seniors and 2 Juniors)it will be very much a mix and match situation. Most if not all of the senior players have played table tennis before but they will need to get up to speed. Like both the Sibsey teams this season will be all about consolidation and league position might no be that important. Wold like to see them do well and who knows may surprise one or two teams.

The league will commence on Monday October 5 and handbooks should be available before that date.

Report for week ending September 13

Season preview (Division One)

The divisions for the forthcoming 2009-2010 Boston and District Table Tennis League season have now been finalised and the time seems right to predict how the various teams will perform. The drift away from table tennis in recent season appears to have bottomed out and the league has seen three new teams join and for obvious reasons, will play in Division Two. There’s not much change in Division One, most of the teams being the same as last season.

Penmaen A: Champions by the proverbial country mile and with exactly the same team as last plus Jimmy Brewster as and when needed. I can see no other team being strong enough to mount a challenge.

That leaves two teams who look as though they will be contesting the runners up spot, Lodgers G and Graves Park C.

Lodgers G: Retained second place for the second successive season and have basically with the same team. However not strong enough to compete with Penmaen A and their main battle will be with Graves Park C.

Graves Park C: Pushed Lodgers G all the way last season but with a tough run in, fell at the final hurdle. Same team as last season and to claim second place, James Quinton and Martin Walters will both have to pick up that few more.

Lodgers A: This is a team that is capable of gate crashing the party. The only criteria is that Graham Lacey must play every game. When Graham plays the team are buzzing but when he is absent, (playing in another league), they are like a ship without a rudder. Easily claimed fourth place but lost some silly games that they were capable of winning. Lost two of their first three games and turning up for five matches throughout the season with only two players, cost them valuable points.

The race for fifth place was tight throughout the season and in fact only five points separated the next four teams.

Penmaen B: Dabbled with relegation for the first half of the season but got their act together in the second half and a steady run-in ensured their survival. Don’t think they can rise any higher as the gap between them and the fourth placed team will be again be huge. In fact could drop a place or so.

Stickney: Usual middle of the table performance last season and I can’t see a massive improvement this. With the rise and rise of Andrew Benjamin who just nudged his way into the top ten, might climb a place or so.

Graves Park A: Despite scoring more points last season than the previous season, the Park actually dropped a place or so in the table. Had some good results against the teams around and below them but had unmitigated disasters against the big guns. Same team as last season but in all fairness I cannot see them moving much. A rise of a place isn’t out of the question.

Graves Park B: It was only a few years ago that the Park were a top of Division Two one year and bottom of Division One the next. Last season with the departure of David Graham for four months, many were tipping a return to Division Two. However, riding to their rescue came Peter Munch and despite playing in another league and unable to play all their matches, he still finished seventh in the ranking with an average of 74.36 percent leaving names like Gary Hill and Martin Walters trailing in his wake. Early rumours that Peter was departing for pastures new were unfounded, and he is back in the ranks, while Dave Graham has also returned. It will be a tough season but with Peter in the squad they are capable of staying in this division, probably rising up the table.

Graves Park D: Should have been relegated but due to the extra teams entering were asked if they would like to stay in Division One. This season they are without Paul Gilbert but as he only played three games last year it shouldn’t make much difference. Can see them once again struggling as at least one of the teams coming up is quite tasty. If they do not want to be in the same position next time round all three will have to pick up a few more.

Wrangle A: Something of an enigma. Had the ability to win Division Two hands down, (best all round team in Div Two) but often made heavy weather of it. This is the season they will have to prove their mettle. At least two of them have been here before and one of them has been in a team that has won the old Premier Division. Should do enough to escape relegation and expect to see them scrapping with the mid table teams.

Graves Park Nomads: This is going to be a difficult season for them as shortly after gaining promotion last season their best player No.2 ranked Dean Clow gave notice that he would be leaving before the new season starts. This is indeed a blow but the other three have decided to soldier on and enjoy their Table Tennis. Walt knows his team will finish in the relegation zone and their best hope of avoiding relegation is a miracle and a prayer.

Coming up shortly: A preview of Division Two.