Report For 15/1/08

Division One
First of all before I start the abuse, ooops sorry the Division 1 report, I would like to take this opportunity of wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. May all your problems be little ones and all your Table Tennis losses to me! :-))

Anyway onto business. We have now completed the first half of the season with only two postponed matches still to be played. For information, those games are CTTC A against Chelsea and Newlands against Cheltenham B, both of which I know are in hand!

Guy Greening
Division One Secretary

Cavalier Performance Settles Winchcombe Derby
Cirencester played Cheltenham A this week in a fairly one sided match that saw both Dave Adamson and Mike Kiff looking after their averages by dropping out. To be fair, it is hard to blame Mike as he is finding the going a bit tough in the higher echelons of the game. The match score was 9-1 in favour of Cheltenham A, the only point for Cirencester being won surprisingly by Gordon Shaw (because he hasn't won many this year) with a win over the young Robert Harvey.

A weakened Chelsea Building Society due to absence of Guy Greening because of illness and Bill Dawe played Newlands, who surprisingly fielded the old boys in a very one sided match that saw Newlands inflict an emphatic 10-0 victory over Dave Metcalfe, Dominic Wynn-Sands and Simon Moysey. Doug Payne did very well in overcoming both Dave Metcalfe and Simon Moysey in a very close and tough deciding set.  

A strong Cheltenham B comprising Graham Slack, Milan Dragojlovic and Russell Hayward played Saracens A in what turned out to be fairly one sided affair with Cheltenham B winning by the scoreline of 9-1. Both Graham and Milan were untroubled in achieving their maximum and were well supported by Russell who chipped in with two wins and appears to have had a tough game with Pete Wood who won narrowly in the decider for the Saracen's only point of the evening.   

Newlands A played Winchcombe Warriors in a fairly one sided match that saw another emphatic 10-0 win for Newlands. Surprisingly to me at least, it was the youngster of the Newlands side (Matt Hartwell) who seemed to have the most trouble being pushed hard by Jan De Wet and Richard Bishop before emerging the winner. The old chaps (Nick Mytton and Doug Payne) were largely untroubled in achieving their maximums.  

Winchcombe Wizards and Winchcombe Cavaliers played one another this week with the Cavaliers emerging victors by the narrow margin of 4-6. Grahame Brown of the Cavaliers was the star of the evening being the only player to achieve a maximum which included a very tense five set match over Nick Davidson. Grahame was supported by his team mates Darrell Wiltshire who contributed two wins and Craig Norledge who contributed one. The Wizardry almost worked for Keith Ferguson who enjoyed some very close games and appears to have been a little unlucky in only winning one. Keith was well supported by his team mate Nick Davidson who won two, Nick and Keith then combined to win the doubles for the Wizards to win the final point of the evening. 

Cirencester played Winchcombe Wizards and enjoyed a fine 8-2 victory. Howard Williams for Cirencester was the star of the evening being the only player to achieve a maximum which included a good win over Choi Sze To. Howard was supported by his team mates Dave Adamson (fresh back from his cruise) and Mike Kiff. Choi Sze To took the only two points for the Wizards with wins over Dave Adamson and Mike Kiff.     

Division Two
Harvey Hits The Heights
Cheltenham C overcame club rivals Cheltenham D by a score line of 9-1, although the games were much closer than this suggests. John Gaskill and Simon Pratten claimed maximums for the C team whilst Dave Green won twice. Matt Mulcahy picked up Cheltenham D’s solitary point with a fine five-set win over Green. Young Karl Foster performed well playing up from Division 3, pushing Pratten all the way to 11-8 in the fifth, while the undefeated Gaskill had to come back from two sets down to overcome a very unfortunate Richard Gummow. This certainly would have been the shock and the performance of the season rolled into one if Gummow had won. Gaskill and Pratten had to come back from 2-1 down in the doubles to overcome Foster and Mulcahy in five close sets.

Cheltenham D continued their rich vein of form with an impressive 5-5 draw with Newlands Park B. The performance of the season so far came in this match in the form of Alan Harvey who claimed an improbable yet outstanding maximum, condemning Andy East, Andy Richards and Ken Smith all to defeat. Matt Mulcahy also picked up an excellent win against Richards, whilst he teamed up with Harvey to win the doubles in four games.

Cheltenham C picked up their second straight win against highly placed Newlands Park D, thanks to maximums from Anand Kershav and Simon Pratten. Chris Ball and Mike Gleeson both picked up good wins against Dave Green. Ball then teamed up with Julie Taylor to defeat Kershav and Pratten in five sets in the doubles to pick up a further useful point against the division’s leading team.

Newlands Park D also fought out a 5-5 draw with Tewkesbury A. Rob Amphlett returned to top form, winning all three of his matches for Tewkesbury, whilst John Goodchild claimed an impressive straight sets win over Mike Gleeson. Chris Ball and Julie Taylor both won twice for Newlands Park, so it was down to Amphlett and Goodchild to win the doubles to force a draw for Tewkesbury, which they duly did in straight sets.

Tewkesbury A picked up a good 8-2 away win over Saracens D. Rob Amphlett and Mike Tyrrell claimed maximums, whilst Simon Lockley won once. One of several close games in this match saw Lockley and Martin Cosnette fighting out a titanic battle, with Cosnette eventually triumphing 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 12-14, 15-13. Amphlett and Lockley held on to win the doubles in five sets.

Saracens D were not able to make the same inroads into a strong Newlands Park C side, losing out 10-0. Maximums for Barrie Pope, Paul Singh and Chris White set Newlands Park towards an impressive away whitewash. Dave Cosnette was the only player close to winning for Saracens, and Paul Singh had to come back from 2-1 down to win his match with Cosnette in five sets. The doubles was a tight affair as Pope and Singh struggled to overcome the Cosnettes, eventually winning 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9.

Newlands Park B ran out easy 10-0 winners against Tirley Tigers. Maximums for Andy Richards, Ken Smith and Chris White completed the victory. Pete Humble had a couple of close encounters for Tirley, but ultimately Newlands Park were far too strong for the division’s basement team.

Saracens B also condemned Tirley to a heavy defeat, winning 9-1 away from home. Maximums for Mike Dodwell and Ross Greening ensured the victory. Terry Sims won twice for Saracens and Tirley’s only point came as Pete Humble beat him in straight sets. Humble was unlucky to lose to Greening, however, 11-9 in the fifth set.

CCS A surged to a surprising 7-3 win over Saracens B. Dave Hart’s maximum was impressive, and it included a good four set win over the in form Mike Dodwell. Steve Murton won twice for CCS A, whilst Jon Nixon picked up a good straight sets win over Ross Greening. Dodwell won twice for Saracens, but he was unable to prevent his side slipping to defeat. Hart and Murton combined well in the doubles, as always, to seal a highly impressive victory.

Division Three
E Men Get Good New Year Start
Sheila Matthews led the way in a 7-3 success for Saracens E over Tewkesbury C, winning all of her sets. The highlight for Tewkesbury was a remarkable doubles score line where Wayne Lippett and Neil Cameron won through by 11-8,11-6,23-21.

Winchcombe Eagles won their mid-table clash with Civil Service B 7-3, as Tiffany Hopton recording a useful win over John Downey.

Cheltenham E got the New Year off to a good start with a comprehensive10-0 win over Cheltenham G.