Kendal and District Table Tennis League Report- 10th October 2011
BURTON ON A ROLL
After holding last season’s Division 1 runners up Ibis to a 5-5 draw in their opening match, Burton A maintained a solid start to this year’s campaign with a crushing 7-3 defeat of Crook A.
Burtonlooked far from convincing in the first half of this encounter, as they limped into a 3-2 lead courtesy of Chris Knowles and Martin Wakelin’s knife edged five set victories against John Howarth and Mike Taylor respectively. John Howarth kept Crook in contention with 13-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9 and 11-2, 11-7, 11-4 triumphs against Julie Stitch and Wakelin respectively, leaving the score at a creditable 5-3 in Burton’s favour, with two games to play. Stitch’s four set defeat of Taylor, combined with Knowles’s mirror image four set victory over Phil Swift and success in the doubles, confirmed a 7-3 win for Burton.
Dallam A raced out of the starting blocks in their opening game of the season against Natland B. Adam Fox, who returned to the Dallam side after three years at University, made an immediate impact, as his four set wins against Luke Biggins and Roger Pimblett helped Dallam forge an unbreakable 6-1 advantage. Biggins and Pimblett coordinated a mini Natland revival in the second period, with both players scoring victories against Craig James. Pimblett offered Natland a further glimmer of hope when he bagged an 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 victory against Jonathan Hyman late on, however Fox’s 11-7 win in the fifth set against Biggins, combined with Hyman’s four set successes against Biggins and Bernard Pickthall, secured Dallam’s 7-3 win.
Natland A have a recorded a near faultless opening to the season with 9-1 and 10-0 victories against Crook A and Natland C respectively, while Burton B sank to a disappointing 8-2 defeat at the hands of Natland B.
Newly promoted Crook C have made a dream start to life in Division 2, as they recorded a sensational 7-3 success against Burton E. Colin Pratt fired Crook out of the starting blocks with a narrow 12-10 victory in the deciding set against Peter Hunt, while Tony Cousins doubled Crook’s lead when he swept aside James Burton 11-7, 11-9, 11-9. Burton responded gallantly, as John Pritchard and Hunt fought hard to secure wins against Paul Metsers, to set up a narrow 3-2 lead for Crook. Crook stepped up a gear in the second half of the match, with Pratt and Cousins each securing three victories. A late 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 13-11 for Burton could not prevent Cousins and Pratt from taking glory in the doubles and an overall 7-3 match win for Crook.
In their second match of the week, Crook C kept up their good form with a crushing 8-2 defeat of Grayrigg. Grayrigg’s Kevin Hunter was unfortunate not to topple Paul Metsers in the night’s opening match, going down 11-8 in the fifth and deciding set. Things got better for Grayrigg when Jon Cooper defeated Cousins and Metsers in straight sets, though another hat-trick of victories for Colin Pratt, in addition to Metsers’s and Cousins’s brace, ensured an 8-2 win for Crook.
Dallam C made it two wins from as many games with 8-2 and 7-3 successes against Burton B and Grayrigg respectively. Phil Hyman demonstrated his excellent form, bagging a hat-trick of wins in both matches, while Tom Carling supported ably in both.
Kirkby Stephen A won 8-2 in the derby match of the week against their B team, with Peter George and Dave White remaining unbeaten. Kirkby Stephen B’s points came courtesy of Gerry Baines and Eric Robinson’s gut wrenching 14-12 and 11-9 wins, both in the fifth set, against an extremely unfortunate Tom Walton.
In Division 3, Burton G squeezed past Natland E 6-4. George Pickering and Glen Allen opened the night in style, when Pickering, representing Burton, edged out his gallant opponent 11-7 in a fifth and final set of drama. In an equally as frenetic match, George Pickthall sneaked past Danny Jackson in only the night’s second match to level the tie at 1-1. Things settled down somewhat moving into the latter stages, though after a tireless display from both sides it was Burton who snatched the 6-4 win, as Dave Salmon and Pickering remained unbeaten.
In other games, Crook D sneaked beyond Burton F 6-4, Dallam E crushed Natland D 9-1 and Dent B recorded a resounding 10-0 victory against a shell-shocked Burton F.
