Dalton start the defence of their title
Dalton Cricket Club A started their defence of the Division 1 title with a comfortable 8-2 victory over Natland B. Dalton looked to be cruising to a 10-0 whitewash when Louise Thompson put a spanner in the works with a 5 set victory in a gruelling encounter with Ben McDonald. She then teamed up with Craig James to take the doubles.
Burton B, with a hard fought 5-5 draw against Dallam A, leapfrogged compatriots Burton D, to take over at the top of Division 2. A hat-trick of wins by Martin Wakelin did much to cancel out 2 wins apiece from Thomas Parkinson and Peter Duxbury. Newly promoted Naltand E moved out of the bottom two with a 6-4 victory over Burton C. Star of the show was Devun Whitehead who won all 3 of his singles matches. He then teamed up with Archie Catnach to take the doubles. The battle of the number 1s was a titanic encounter between Catnach and James Burton, with Catnach coming through 12-10 in the fifth and final set.
Dent and Grayrigg are tied at the top of Division 3, with 43 points each, closely followed by Dallam C on 38.
Friday also saw the first of a series of ‘Friendlies Evenings’. The first one was held at Natland Table Tennis Club and was a big success, with 12 players playing a series of friendly singles and doubles matches. These evenings are for players who want to play table tennis but are not yet ready for the cut and thrust of serious competitive play. Supper was provided and a great time was had by all. The next one is at Kirkby Stephen on November 10th. For details contact your club secretary.
Tony March – 17.10.16
