CRACKINGTON A picked up their first victory of the season in Division  
One of the North Cornwall Table Tennis League last Thursday night as  
they beat Helland B 8-2 at the Crackington Institute.
Both sides went into the game without a win but it was the home duo of  
Ross Wilmshurst and Frank Barnes who enjoyed perfect evenings in  
tasting victory in all three of their encounters, as they moved four  
points clear of the Bodmin Moor-based club.
Judith Cook grabbed a victory over David Hughes as well as pairing up  
with Wilmshurst to win the doubles although David Maclennan and Jim  
Rickwood did get the better of her to record Helland’s points.
At the top of the table, Helland A have a 14-point gap over Torridge  
in the title race after a 6-4 victory over their nearest challengers.
Despite the visitors turning up with just two players, which meant  
they automatically conceded three of the matches, David Streak kept up  
his 100% winning record as well as winning the doubles with David  
Stone to keep the match interesting, although Stone did lose to both  
Mike Fisher and Ritchie Bartlett.
It looked as if an unlikely draw could be on the cards when Stone went  
two games up in the final match of the night against Ingus Abolnieks,  
however the Latvian recovered to clinch a thrilling comeback by  
winning 12-10 in the decider and take the match 6-4.
There was an action-packed week of action in Division Two with four  
matches played, including last Wednesday’s rearranged clash between  
Launceston and Altarnun, which ended in a 5-5 draw.
Alex Whitfield was the star of the show for the visitors as he won all  
three of his encounters including coming back from 2-0 down to beat  
Stephen Parsons.
Parsons and Karen Horrell both beat Simon Holmes and Geoff Hale, who  
both beat Lois Atkin.
It was a much easier night for Altarnun on Thursday as they thrashed  
Bridgerule A 9-1.
Alan Quilter ruined Whitfield’s chance of six wins in 24 hours but  
Paul Burden and Holmes had no such trouble in recording three  
victories apiece, although Quilter will be left bemused as to how he  
lost three straight games against Holmes.
Launceston had a much tougher evening as they lost 6-4 at Budehaven C  
who moved up to second.
Anthony Ward continued his excellent season with a clean sweep on the  
night, while his brother Andrew did well to win two.
Chris Mill edged out Lois Atkin in four sets but lost to Stephen  
Parsons, who won twice, and Karen Horrell in the last match of the  
night.
Budehaven B are now 29 points clear at the top after a 7-3 victory  
over Crackington B.
The home side’s lack of match practice was evident in the early  
stages as Crackington battled away to make it 3-3.
However Budehaven edged their way to the last four matches of the  
night, including a brilliant performance from Nathan Jukes, who showed  
plenty of charachter to fight his way past stern challenges from Ross  
Paynter, Robin Evans and Keiron Chatterjea.
All of the visiting players won one outing apiece while the rest of  
the leaders’ points came from David Sillifant (2), Ashley Taylor and  
in the doubles.
The fixture between Whitstone Wanderers and North Hill B was postponed  
due to a double booking at Whitstone Village Hall.
There were two further matches played at Budehaven Sports Hall as  
Budehaven A battled past Division Three strugglers North Hill C in the  
last 16 of the Handicap Cup while Division Three leaders Budehaven E  
had no trouble in seeing off the challenge of Budehaven F, 5-0.
North Hill’s trio of John Parker, Helen Aplin and Jill Diggory were  
given leads of at least 14 in all but one game, but it didn’t prove  
enough as Dave Salisbury, Owen Salisbury and Helen Murgatroyd showed  
excellent concentration to wait for mistakes and win 5-4 although the  
visitors claimed a consolation at the end.
The E team dropped just one game all night as Tim Orchard and Robin  
Worden require just 12 points from their final four league fixtures to  
claim the title.
On Friday night, Crackington C cemented second place by winning 4-1 at  
Bridgerule B.
There’s a much smaller programme across the divisions this week.
In Division One, Budehaven A looked to move back into second when they  
travelled to North Tamerton Village Hall to take on Torridge on  
Wednesday night, while Helland B will get an immediate chance to climb  
back above Crackington A as they square off in the return fixture.
In Division Two, Whitstone Wanderers  hoped that their week off won’t  
hamper them as they travelled to Launceston last night while  
Crackington B will look to close the eight-point gap to Budehaven C in  
second as they square off at Crackington?Institute.
Budehaven Sports Hall will be the only venue used in Division Three as  
Budehaven D welcome Bridgerule B, while struggling Budehaven F will  
hope to climb off the bottom when they entertain mid-table Helland C.