16th September-07
RICHARD ANDREWS STEALS THE SHOW

Kingfisher Reading's Richard Andrews, a first year Junior stole the show in the first weekend of non Premier Division British League matches as his eight singles wins helped his team Kingfisher Reading into pole position in Division Two South & Midlands. Excellent victories these were as well, as Richard bagged the scalps of such notable players as John Robinson, Jason Tendler, Peter Bartram and best of all - Nick Mason.

Another player to impress was DHS London Progress III's Emran Hussain, who scored an excellent pair of wins against Urban Progress II's Marc Armstrong and Zoltan Hosszu in Division One South & Midlands. You can be sure that Generation 2's Wesley Bush-Harris won't mind people mentioning his magnificent victory over DHS London II's Marco Essomba as the Hampshire team held the Southall Giants to a draw in Division One South. Further down the League there were some equally stirring battles with Hartlepool's Darren McVitie's win over Dennis Neale taking top honours in Division Three North.

Looking at the overall team performances Brighton I appear to have "punched above their weight" in Division One South and they rather uniquely won all four of their matches 5-3. Evan Sharp had to play the vital last game on all four occasions and he was successful all four times.

On a different note it is disappointing that many teams still don't complete the Brief Comments Box on the Scoresheets. This is a great help when trying to write Reports and it also helps the League's Administrator when trying to decide on the Player of the Season Awards.

Division One North - Draw your own conclusions, but with three teams tied on seven points - Derwent I, ELGRE I and Drumchapel Glasgow II you might say that no one side looks to be an outstanding favourite to win this Division. However, Derwent look to have the edge having won their matches more convincingly than their rivals.

ELGRE and Derwent met in round two and ELGRE looked to be on the way to a comfortable victory as they moved into a 3-1 lead. However, a vary hard-fought 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 14-12 victory for Simon Noutch over Sam Perry redressed the balance and the match eventually finished all square. Mark Green was ELGRE's top performer and he beat both Simon Noutch (3-1) and Richard Smith (3-0) whilst Stewart Mudie also made his mark with an excellent 6-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 victory over Richard Smith. Derwent's Mark Simpson who had already beaten David Arrowsmith 5-11, 11-7, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8 eventually earned his side a share of the spoils by beating Stewart Mudie 11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7 in the last game of the match.

Drumchapel Glasgow II dropped their point against Grantham in the fourth round. Grantham's no. one Paul Cicchelli did the damage beating both Myles Evans and his old Norwich team-mate Ian McLean and Aaron Beech and Andy Wignall both won once. Grantham also came close to taking a point off of ELGRE I, eventually losing 5-3. The difference here was that Paul Cicchelli lost both of his games - succumbing 11-9 in the fifth end to Mark Green and 3-1 to Lee Neil. With Andy Wignall also missing out 11-9 in the decider to Lee Neil, Grantham may well consider themselves unlucky to have come away from this match pointless. Stewart Mudie again showed a lot of composure and he earned ELGRE what could prove to be an important victory as he beat Aaron Beech 11-7, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10 in the vital last game.

Derwent showed their full credentials as they hammered Rotherham Scorpions 8-0. Matt Squires came closest to getting Rotherham off the mark but despite taking a 2-0 lead against Simon Noutch he eventually missed out 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 2-11, 8-11. Noutch, Stephen Horsfield, Richard Smith and Mark Simpson ran out 8-0 winners. Derwent also did well to beat Grantham 8-0, a result that contrasts sharply with the 4-4 draw that Drumchapel Glasgow II achieved against the Lincolnshire team. From the opening game when Simon Noutch beat Andy Wignall 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9 it was Derwent who were calling the shots. Mark Simpson impressed as he beat Andy Leighton decisively 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 and Aaron Beech equally convincingly 11-9, 11-5, 11-4. In their third round match Derwent were unable to repeat the 8-0 scoreline but they nevertheless ran out comfortable 6-2 winners against Halton I. Halton Veteran Mark Ramsbottom scored an outstanding 3-0 victory over Richard Smith and Mick Moir an equally fine 3-2 win over Simon Noutch. However, neither of these fine wins were sufficient to earn the "Player of the Match Award". That went to Mark Simpson for beating Phil Biggs and Tom Bray. A "safe" choice by any standards !.

Halton I gave a good account of themselves against ELGRE I. Mike Moir (note the change from Mick !) scored a superb 3-0 victory over Lee Neil in the opening game and Phil Biggs gave his side a 2-1 lead by beating David Arrowsmith, but it wasn't enough and wins for Sam Perry (his second success) against Mike Moir and for Lee Neil against Phil Biggs meant ELGRE stayed ahead. They eventually won 5-3. Halton completed what was a very tough weekend by losing 6-2 to Drumchapel Glasgow II. Any promoted side who has to play the top three teams has the right to feel hard done by !. Again, they competed well with four games being decided in the fifth end and they won two of them. Mike Moir scored an excellent win over Myles Evans and Jonathan Taylor came good against Terry McLernon. However, Ian McLean and Craig Hardie stayed unbeaten to ensure that Drumchapel remained in control.

Division One South - You can criticise statistics all you like, but with 13 of the 16 games being decided by 5-3 or 4-4 scorelines it is clear that this is a very evenly matched Division. Brighton I are the early leaders and the fact that they won all four of their games 5-3 suggests there is everything still to play for. However, Brighton's retort might well be that their four victories included an excellent win over second placed DML Woolwell I in round four. And interestingly in all four matches Brighton's no four Evan Sharp came good in the last singles to give his side the edge.

Brighton newcomer Jevgen Paramonov, playing at no. two excelled in the match against the Plymouth stars as he beat both Darren Reed and Mike Short but it didn't earn him the Player of the Match Award. That went to an inform Evan Sharp, a very impressive 3-0 winner over Mike Short and Kevin Buddell. Brighton no. one Dov Katz played his part as he beat Marketa Myskova 3-1 but Marketa hit back in her second singles, downing Jerome Jonah 3-1. Brighton also did well to beat Byng Hall I winning three of the four games that went to a fifth end. Jevgen Paramonov again made a difference as he beat both Phil Cox and Will Power and this time Jerome Jonah came in with two important wins. Jerome had too much fire-power for Alec Bartlett but he really earned his colours in his second singles, as he scored an excellent 5-11, 11-13, 13-11, 11-9 11-5 victory over Diccon Gray, an outstanding win and one that gave his side a vital 4-3 lead. Evan Sharp made no mistake in the last game and he downed Alec Bartlett 3-0. Sharp suffered his one defeat in this match, when he lost 11-9 in the fifth end to Will Power, an excellent win for the Kent player.

It is unusual not to see a London Progress side challenging for honours in this Division but after losing to Brighton and drawing twice the Southall Giant's second team may well have too much to do. Dov Katz gave Brighton a great start by beating Christian Hundhausen 11-9 in the fifth end and Evan Sharp's 3-1 win over Glenn Wilkes enabled Brighton to take a 3-1 lead at the half-way stage. London Progress hit back as Marco Essomba won his second singles, downing Dov Katz 3-0 whilst Christian Hundhausen squared the match as he beat Jerome Jonah 3-1. It wasn't enough and Jevgen Paramonov redressed the balance as he beat Glenn Wilkes 3-1 and and Evan Sharp did his bit by beating Jon Maxwell 3-1.

Promoted Generation 2 I fared well, only losing once, narrowly 5-3 to DML Woolwell I. Woolwell's Darren Reed was undefeated and Marketa Myskova followed suit. Marketa bagged the Player of the Match Award by beating Adam Proszko and Valmiki Sinanin and Kevin Buddell earned his side both points by beating Graham Toole 3-2 in the last set. Generation 2's match with Byng Hall I ended all square with Mark Brown dominating proceedings. Wins over Adam Proszko (3-1) and Wesley Bush-Harris (3-0) suggest that Mark is starting to find his best form again following injury.

The biggest upset in this Divsion ? - Possibly Wesley Bush-Harris's superb win over London Progress's Marco Essomba as Generation 2 held London Progress to a draw. Wesley had been well beaten 11-7, 11-7, 11--7 in his first singles by Christian Hundhausen but it all came good in his second match as he scored a terrific 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10 victory over the Cameroon International. Generation 2 led 4-3, but victory was to elude them with Jon Maxwell earning Progress a hard earned point as he beat Graham Toole 11-9, 11-13, 11-4, 11-3.

Division One South & Midlands - Urban Progress II dominated matters by taking all eight points but with OLOP Impact I and Westfield I both taking seven points it is obvious that Urban Progress's clashes with their two rivals will have a large say as to the outcome of this Division.

Urban Progress's trickiest test came from DHS London Progress IIl who fielded an all Junior line-up which came very close to capturing a point. The "Urbans" eventually won 5-3. It was London Progress's Emran Hussain, currently nationally ranked no. 49 at Junior level and no. 263 at Senior level who stole the show and he scored two superb wins. He beat Marc Armstrong 3-0 and for good measure he also beat Zoltan Hosszu 3-2. A young man on the way up. However, with Chris Lewis and Ashley Stokes both winning twice Urban Progress stayed in charge. Bedford Modern were despatched 8-0, a result that will have hurt as they lost all four games that were decided in a fifth end. The first game appears to have influenced the outcome of the match, and a very competitive one it was too. Chris Lewis just shaded it 11-5, 15-17, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10 against Martin Gray. Martin's brother - Kevin was unable to get his name in the "win's column" but a 15-13, 10-12, 8-11, 11-5, 8-11 defeat against Ashley Stokes likewise represented a performance of the highest order. Polska I, last year's runaway winners of Division 2 South & Midlands were brought rudely down to earth and they were hammered 7-1. Daniel Kolesnik was Polska's only winner as he beat Zoltan Hosszu 3-1. Darek Zurowski, unbeaten last Season found the going much harder in Division One losing to both Chris Lewis (3-1) and Marc Armstrong (3-2).

Second and third placed OLOP I and Westfield clashed in round four, and the match fittingly ended tied at 4-4. OLOP's David Barr scored vital wins over Chris Doran and Ben Barlow in a match you could definitely describe as a "game of two halves". Westfield were 3-1 winners of the first half whilst it was OLOP who came out on top 3-1 in the second half. OLOP's Chris Bush put a 3-1 first half defeat to Steve Cowley firmly behind him by beating Chris Doran in the second half. Steve Cowley eventually earned Westfield a draw by beating Neil Wright 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 in the last game of the match.

Westfield I were pushed to get the better of Bedford Modern I 5-3. Bedford's defensive Kevin Gray scored the stand-out win here, and what a good one it was. Kevin brought down England no. 81 David McBeath 11-4, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 whilst team-mate Steve Silk also made his mark and he scored an excellent five set victory over Steve Cowley. The hard-hitting Ben Barlow proved to be Westfield's "rock" and he beat both Kevin and Martin Gray.

The young DHS London Progress III side ran out convincing 7-1 winners over Bedford Modern as Garth Kinlocke, Ryan Collins and Jake Collins all stayed undefeated. Bedford had to wait until the last game to pick up their sole win, and Hamish Yeung came up trumps as he beat Emran Hussain 8-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9, 12-10.

Polska I will have been pleased to have recorded a victory, having played the top three sides and they made no mistake as they beat Cippenham II 6-2. The smooth-flowing Tomasz Gretschell, everyone's idea of a top Premier Division player at his best, produced something closer to his best form as he beat David Hayes 3-1 and Steve Munson 3-0 and Daniel Kolesnik also won twice coming through two tough five-enders against Phil Clarkson (11-9 in the fifth end) and Mark Jackson (11-8 in the decider). Expect Polska to do a lot better in December .

Divison Two North - With a single point covering five teams it is impossible to cast anyone as favourites in this Division.Clearly there is a long way to go. Perhaps even more surprisingly in such a tighly knit Division six games were decided by a 7-1 or an 8-0 margin. Make what you like of that statistic !.

Fastbats and Derwent II lead the way with six points followed by Barrow, Sheffield and ELGRE II all on five points. On the basis that they are tied on five points Barrows's 7-1 victory over Sheffield really catches the eye. Bill Grant scored an opening 11-9 in the fifth set win over Jonathan Crawford but Barrow hit back in style with Steve Dixon getting the better of Simon Pugh. Thereafter it was never one-way traffic but it was Barrow who kept coming out on top. Steve Dixon, Steve Lyons and Tristan Swan were all undefeated. It had all been so different when Sheffield had faced Derwent II as this time they came out on top 7-1. In a complete role-reversal Sheffield produced a near perfect performance to steam-roller their opponents.Simon Pugh beat Mick Wilcockson 3-0 and Richard Moss 3-1 whilst Bill Grant beat Richard Moss 3-1 and Brian Quinn 3-0. Liam Carson got in on the act by beating Brian Quinn 3-1 and Joel Wright 3-1. A superb performance by the Sheffield side.

Ormesby III fielded an all female side (and a very young side as well) in three of their four games (not the first time this has been done) but it was in the match where Edward Fambely played at number four that they picked up their first point. Fambely played his part and his win over Ian Robinson (11-4, 11-6, 12-10) secured their first point of the weekend. Ormesby's number two Rachel Greener played her part and she scored a fine 12-10, 8-11, 15-13, 14-12 victory in her opening singles over Northfield's Tim Surrey whilst Surrey hit back in his second singles by beating Ormesby's top player Stephanie Donnelly 6-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6.

ELGRE II (five points) were held to a draw by Market Rasen (three points) in a match where ELGRE's Mark Naylor won both of his singles. Naylor sealed a point for his team in the last game, having to come back from 2-1 behind to beat John Hancock 13-15, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8. His first game was even harder and he just prevailed 11-7, 2-11, 11-6, 3-11, 12-10 against Bryn Tyler. Quite a fluctuating match by any standards. Craig Feargrieve had missed out 12-14., 10-12, 10-12 to Market Rasen number four John Hancock yet in his second singles he beat their number two Lesley Keast 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 in what was clearly a match where the Ranking order bore little resemblance to what was taking place on the Table.

Market Rasen were in turn emphatic 8-0 winners over Northfield but in what can only be described as an extreme clerical error this scorecard shows Northfield down as having won 8-0 !. Mike Thornley, Lesley Keast, Bryn Tyler and John Hancock were in control of matters on this occasion with only one of the games going to a fifth end.

Division Two South - BATTS Team Peniel II and London Progress IV both made perfect starts to their Season. Neither team could be separated as they both picked up 24 games. Progress really stamped their mark on proceedings in the opening round as they spanked Club Cornwall 7-1. Yasir Mauthoor, Raphael Marom and newcomer Koji Hirota were all undefeated as they raced into a 7-0 lead. Matthew Trevorrow saved his team's blushes by beating Ray Lam to prevent the whitewash. Progress also impressed by beating last year's Runners-Up Mossford 5-3. The really crucial game here was Koji Hirota's 11-5, 15-13, 11-1 win over Matthew Spero which gave Progress a 4-3 lead. Tony Alvarez sealed his side's victory by beating Daniel Bronziet 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5. Raphael Marom showed his mastery against defensive players as he scored a fine 3-1 victory over Euan Liddle but he met his match against Keith Lesser who beat him in five games. Progress produced another powerful display to beat pointless Horsham II 7-1. Four games went to a fifth game and the luckless Horsham side lost all four of them. It was a match that Horsham's Chris Pickard will wish to forget. Pickard missed out 13-11 in the fifth end to Koji Hirota and in his second singles he came equally close, just succumbing 12-10 in the decider against Raphael Marom. It wasn't until the sixth game that Horsham were able to stop the rot, which Barrie Gilbert achieved as he beat Ray Lam 11-8, 11-8, 11-9. Lam had been succesful in his other singles with a very similar looking 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 win over Tai Adedayo.

BATTS Team Peniel II had Sean Gibson undefeated all weekend and if they are able to field Gibson in the same team as Martin Kubrt (last year's Division Two South Player of the Season with a 100 % record) then they must have a great chance of taking the title. An unchanged BATTS side of Gibson, Fred Dove, Abigail Embling and Oscar Selfridge won both of their Saturday matches 5-3, beating Club Cornwall and Ashford I but on the Sunday they look to have found another gear. They produced an excellent all-round team performance to beat Brighton 8-0 and followed this up with a fine 6-2 win over a strong Fusion II side. Important wins here were Fred Dove's 3-1 victory over Martin Smith as well as Abigail Embling's double against Opeyemi Fakorede and Farhat Rasul. Oscar Selfridge completed proceedings by beating "Yemi" Fakorede 3-0. Thomas Hughes was the best of the Fusion players as he won twice. He was a 3-0 winner over Oscar Selfridge and he came back from 2-1 down to beat Fred Dove 11-9 in the fifth end.

Fusion II scored an excellent 5-3 win over Mossford having trailed 3-2. David Williams scored a vital 11-9, 11-9, 13-11 victory over Matt Spero to leave the scores tied at 3-3 and Farhat Rasul gave Fusion the edge as he beat Keith Lesser 11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6. At this point Lawrence Orekoya made no mistake and he beat Daniel Bronziet 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 to seal victory for the South London team. Fusion also did well to beat Ashford II 7-1. Three games were decided at 11-9 in the fifth end or closer and Fusion took all three of them. Stirring battles they were as well. Martin Smith ran out a 11-6, 11-8, 11-13, 4-11,11-9 winner over Nicolas Ravalec, Martin Smith also got the better of Adam Brewer 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12 and Opeyemi Fakoredi completed proceedings with a 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10 victory against James Kirk.

Division Two South & Midlands - Undefeated Kingfisher Reading (Richard Andrews, Tom Maynard, Mark Banks, Jon Bradbury and Bela Hegedus) lead the way with a maximum eight points and in Richard Andrews they produced the "Player of the Weekend". England no. 28 Junior Boy Andrews had a magnificent weekend winning his eight singles as well as taking the scalps of such established players as Peter Bartram (Horsham), John Robinson and Jason Tendler (Ashford I) and wait for it ......Nick Mason (Eastbourne). Currently ranked no. 308 on the England Senior Mens List Andrews is sure to be substantially higher on the next edition. His efforts rubbed off on his team-mates and Tom Maynard produced an equally inspired performance against Horsham I. Maynard was an excellent 3-1 winner over Peter Bartram and he dug deep to beat the hard-hitting Stephane Bonnafous 10-12, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10 to seal his side's 6-2 victory. Eastbourne were well beaten 7-1 and all they had to show for their efforts was Mason's 3-0 win over Tom Maynard. In one of the shocks of the weekend Andrews beat Nick Mason, the former six times English Mens Doubles Champion 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10. A great win for a player with three years left in the Junior ranks.

Kingfisher have also opened up a three point gap on De Vere NETTS and Guernsey who are tied on five points.These two sides met in round two and NETTS did well to shade the match 5-3. NETTS's new recruit Alex "Junior" Facey proved an inspired signing and he picked up his two singles beating both Phil Ogier and Oliver Langlois whilst Hanish Innes proved to be an excellent number four as he beat both Oliver and Adam Langlois. Peter Bretel fared best of the Guernsey players as he beat Paul Davison 11-9 in the fifth end and Kelly Skeggs 3-0. NETTS were hard pushed to get the better of Ashford I 5-3 and it all came down to the last match between Shaun Robertson and Hamish Innes. It could hardly have been closer as Hamish nicked it 14-12 in the fifth end to give NETTS their fifth point of the season, the same number of points as they achieved over the duration of last season !. Innes had also won his other singles as he notched up an excellent 3-1 victory over Ramesh Bhalla whilst Mark Wicker picked up a double getting the better of both Jason Tendler and Ramesh Bhalla. NETTS might feel a little disappointed at having lost their first match 5-3 to Eastbourne. Not only did they come up against Nick Mason, firing on all cylinders as he hammered Alex Facey and Paul Davison but they also had to contend with the clever play of Koray Ozcan. It was Koray Ozcan, a 3-1 winner against both Paul Davison and Kelly Skeggs who took the "Player of the Match Award" with the comments "Mixed it up very well". This match also featured what may well be the longest end in British League History since matches have changed to 11-Up. Jon Goater might feel that he was a fairly comfortable winner over Kelly Skeggs as he won 3-1 although the 11-6, 12-14, 27-25, 11-5 margin clearly suggests that this victory was one of considerable drama.

Guernsey and Horsham couldn't be separated and it was Phil Ogier, the only undefeated player who deservedly took the Player of the Match Award. Ogier's second win, a hard-fought 11-13, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-3 success against Devesh Shete looked to have given Guernsey the edge particularly as Peter Bretel just came out on top 11-8, 13-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9 against Graham Carter but it wasn't quite enough. Horsham's greater experience paid dividends and Stephane Bonnafous forced his way past Oliver Langlois 3-1 and Steve Barby got the better of Adam Langlois 3-1 to leave the match tied at 4-4. Horsham also managed to tie 4-4 with old rivals De Vere NETTS in a match where Devesh Shete hit the heights. The Horsham no. one excelled as he beat both Mark Wicker (3-0) and David Cole (3-1) - two excellent wins. Graham Carter gave an impressive display to beat Hamish Innes 3-0 and he also gave a really good account of himself against Mark Wicker. This match was one of the closest of the weekend with Mark just shading it 11-7, 5-11, 16-14, 7-11, 16-14.

Division Three North - Halton II lead the way with a maximum eight points followed by Murrayfield on six points.Unfortunately, Hartlepool did themselves no favours and by playing Michael Young and Karl Shaw out of ranking order their excellent 4-4 draw against Murrayfield has become a 6-2 defeat. An excellent match this was as well, with Darren McVitie (only one defeat over the weekend) getting the better of Dennis Neale 12-10, 9-11, 14-12, 11-9. Stirring stuff.

Halton II led by Chris Ford at no. one must rank as favourites and they had two close matches to contend which they won 5-3. Murrayfield proved a difficult nut to crack with Dennis Neale firing on all cylinders. The former English Champion beat both Malcolm McEvoy (11-9, 11-2, 9-11, 11-5) and Chris Ford (11-9, 13-11, 12-10) to give Murrayfield a 3-2 lead. But it was Halton who finished the stronger and Ray Jackson made no mistake in the last game as he beat Brian Hunter 11-2, 11-3, 11-4 to earn Halton their 5-3 victory. Halton's success against Drumchapel Glasgow III was also by a 5-3 margin, and the big shock here was Chris Main's excellent 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory over Chris Ford. Malcolm McEvoy was also involved in two contrasting results. His 3-2 victory over Chris Main gave his side a 2-0 lead but in the seventh game he was a shock loser, beaten over four sets by Sean Docherty. It was left to Ray Jackson (already a winner against Docherty) to seal the Halton victory and he was up to the task. Jackson won the last game beating Karina Whittaker 15-13, 11-9, 11-8..

The match between Drumchapel Glasgow III and Hartlepool ended all square, and Darren McVitie lost his 100 % record, beaten over five ends by an inspired Richard Main. In his second singles McVitie made amends by beating Chris Main 3-1. With four games decided in the fifth end and honours shared at 2-2 this looks a fair result. It proved to be an excellent match for Richard Main as he followed his win over McVitie with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Michael Young. A case of being "the Main Man" perhaps ?.

Further down the table Formby TTC did well to hold Uxbridge to a draw, their only point of the weekend. Uxbridge looked to have the match in control as they moved into a 4-2 lead but Cherith Graham was having none of it. Digging deep it was the Lancashire lass who came out on top 14-12, 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 against Paul Malkin to make the score 4-3.. Team-mate Jamie Hewitt had the chance of earning his side a draw and he took it in both hands, beating Helen Turner 11-3, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5. Uxbridge's top player Russell Boone had domnated the match at the top end of the scorecard by beating Gavin Lloyd (3-1) as well as Rob Wylie (3-0). Helen Turner had also impressed and she had in turn won her first singles beating Cherith Graham 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9.

The match between Woodfield I and Formby TTC saw six games decided in the fifth set and with honours shared 3-3 this match was clearly anyone's for the taking. The difference here was the games that were decided three straight and Woodfield number one Radek Mlynarczyk made no mistake in these two encounters. Radek (I think people will appreciate that it is easier to use his Christian name ! ) beat Gavin Lloyd 11-5, 11-2, 11--4 and Rob Wylie 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 to give Woodfield a 5-3 victory.

Division Three South - With four seemingly fairly comfortable victories to their name SEH Britannia Ipswich I are the early leaders of this Division, although they won't get too excited just yet. Their opponents included the four bottom sides so it is probably too early to label them as favourites.

Nevertheless, Ipswich produced some excellent form, rolling over in succession - Horsham III (6-2), Hastings (7-1), Cippenham III (6-2) and Ellenborough II (6-2). All of the Ipswich players produced some inspired play. Ken Lewis excelled to beat Paul Baker (Cippenham III) 3-0 and in the same match Andy Warner made his mark as he beat Paul Baker (3-1) and Phil Clarkson (3-1). Against Horsham it took a player of Rory Scott's calibre to take games off the Ipswich side as Ken Lewis and Andy Holmes were both undefeated, whilst all Hastings had to show for their efforts was a win for Rosemary Rainton over Gary Young. Ian Brown showed Gary the error of his ways as he chopped his way past Rosemary 3-0. Roger Pingram's tricky style regularly causes players problems but Ken Lewis seemed to work him out, eventually running out a 11-13, 11-6, 12-10, 10-12, 11-1 winner. In their last game Ipswich produced arguably their best performance of all as they beat Ellenborough 6-2. Ellenborough will perhaps be relieved that their names were not written too heavilly onto the Scoresheet (but all jokes aside this was a terrific performance by the Ipswich side). Ian Brown scored a fine 3-0 win over Chris Marlow, Andy Warner an excellent 3-1 victory over Ryan Nelson and Andy Holmes an even better 11-9 in the fifth set victory over Paul Martindill. Ipswich were on a roll and an ever determined Ken Lewis kept this going as he beat Adam Black 11-9, 2-11, 11-5, 19-17. It wasn't until the fifth game that Ellenborough finally notched up a win, and a good one as well, with Chris Marlow getting the better of Andy Warner 13-11, 15-13, 9-11, 14-12.

Last year's Division Four South Champions York Gardens look strong again and tellingly the match they failed to win (versus OLOP Impact II) came about when they were without their top player Chris Martin. Marcia Ma (the Gardens no. 2) also lost her only game of the weekend in this match as she was gunned down 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 by Kuldeep Gehlot. It was left to Trevor Campbell to hold the York Gardens side together and this he did beating Kuldeep Gehlot (3-1) and Susan Johnson (3-1). York Gardens produced a far more assured performance against Ellenborough II as the 7-1 scoreline evidences. Marcia Ma won two tight battles against Chris Marlow (3-2) and against Suchira Gallage (11-8, 13-11, 11-8) and the presence of Chris Martin made all the difference. He beat Ryan Nelson (11-6, 11-8, 11-4) and Wayne Matthews
(6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9). York Gardens will also be pleased with their 6-2 victory against Horsham III. Chris Martin's 11-5, 12-14, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 victory over Rory Scott was "the icing on the cake" although Marcia Ma had in fact beaten Scott rather easier : 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4 to be precise. A battling Stephen Eckford pulled one back for Horsham with a real hum-dinger of a win, a 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 5-11, 19-17 success against Wayne Matthews.

OLOP II are also undefeated, but having drawn three times it is hard to be sure of their Championship credentials. In Karasimir Ivanov they have a strong number one and Karasimir was undefeated in his side's 4-4 draw against Cippenham III. He certainly looked to be in control as he beat both Paul Baker and Phil Clarkson 3-0. However, in his side's 4-4 draw against Hastings he came unstuck in his first singles when he missed out against the unorthodox Roger Pingram 11-8 in the fifth end. He made up for this in his second singles by beating Nick Standen 3-1. The much improved Lisa Standen also produced an outstanding performance in this match as she beat Abhay Gehlot 3-1 after Abhay had beaten Lisa's Dad - Nick by a similar scoreline.

Division Three South & West - DML Woolwell II lead the way with seven points but with three teams - Oxford Fire Place Centre III, Generation 2 II and Westfield III tied on five points this looks like being a closely fought Division. Interestingly, there were no 8-0 results in this Division and even more unusually only 7-1 result. Further proof that this Divsion is very evenly matched.

DML Woolwell will be particularly pleased, as they have already played two of their closest rivals. DML really excelled against Westfield II in the last round of matches, winning 6-2. Chris Smith produced a superb performance as he beat both Greg Yarnall and Aaron Fennell and his team-mates provided some excellent support. Simon James also won twice, downing David Przybysz after a really tough struggle 11-8, 15-17, 12-14, 11-9, 13-11 and for good measure James also beat Yarnall 11-8, 11-8, 11-7. Harry Cutler missed out narrowly 11-5, 9-11, 10-12, 12-14 to Aaron Fennell but he made no mistake in his second singles beating Daniel Smalley 11-7, 11-6, 11-8. Sally Smith wasn't able to match the performance of her brother but she won once beating Daniel Smalley over five ends.

Roger Hookey, an inetgral part of last year's Generation 2 title winnning first team proved to be Woolwell's major sticking point in their 4-4 draw with Generation 2 II ( not the easiest team to refer to without getting into a muddle !). The ultra consistent Hookey beat both Chris Smith and Harry Cutler as Generation surged into a 3-2 lead. Crucial games here from Woolwell's perspective included a 11-9, 11-9, 17-15 success for Harry Cutler against Keith Childs and a 11-7, 11-13, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8 win for Simon James over Michael Turner. Daniel Lucking earned the Generation team a share of the points when he beat Sally Smith 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-3 in the last game of the match. DML Woolwell also did well to dispose of a strong Fusion III side 5-3. Not a single game was decided three straight but by comparison only two games went all the way to a fifth end. Simon James held the Devon side together as he beat Neil Stewart (3-1) and Jogenes Senorin (3-2). and in a tense finale Sally Smith came back from 2-0 down to beat Neil Stewart 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 1--9. Quite a battle. Chris Smith played his part by beating Andy Frain 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7.

The match between Oxford Fire Place Centre III and Westfield II finished all square. Westfield surged into 3-1 lead but Oxford hit back well to earn a draw. Oxford's top player Paul Savins had an excellent match, beating both Greg Yarnall and Aaron Fennell. Earl Sweeney beat Amrish Rana 12-10, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9 to make the score 4-3 and in a five set finale Ian Packford came from behind to beat David Prztbysz 11-8, 5-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9. An excellent match.

It was a similar story when Fusion III faced Generation 2 II. This time Fusion surged into a 3-1 lead and this time Generation II had the better of the second half as the match finished all square. Results went against the form book as well. Jogenes Senorin just prevailed beating Roger Hookey 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 but in his second singles Senorin missed out 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11 to an inspired Keith Childs. With the score 4-3 to Fusion Neil Stewart had the chance to seal victory for his side but despite a great effort he missed out 4-11, 13-11, 14-16, 16-14, 7-11 to Daniel Lucking. Yet another titanic finish and "one in the eye" for anyone who says it easier playing at number four !.

Oxford Fire Place Centre III notched up the most convincing win, their 7-1 victory over Brighton III. Even in this instance there were only two games which were decided three straight, as Brighton went down fighting. Mike Robinson's opening 3-1 victory over Earl Sweeney must have given Brighton confidence but it counted for nothing and Paul Savins, Mike Bishop and Ian Packford were all undefeated as Oxford came out in top.

Division Four North - Sunderland with a games record of 26-6 lead the way from Pudsey (24-8) after both sides won all four of their matches. The 8-0 victory eluded Sunderland but they nevertheless clocked up four fairly convincing victories as they beat Chesterfield II (7-1), Rotherham Scorpions (7-1), Drumchapel Glasgow IV (6-2) and Barnt Green (6-2). Their clash against Barnt Green was definitely their toughest and they found themselves 2-0 behind after Sunderland's top player Kevin Wilson had lost his first game of the weekend to an inspired Michelle Cohen 6-11, 3-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7. Entering "new territory" they were not found wanting, and Anthony Barella and Philip Dixon both won their games to level the match. Kevin Wilson made no mistake in his second singles as he beat Barnt Green no. one Sasha Grobhokov 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 to give his side a 3-2 lead which Keith Weatherby extended by beating Wayne Chopping 11-9, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9. Barnt Green looked to have a great chance of making the score 4-3, because Michelle Cohen had earlier beaten Sunderland's top player. It wasn't to be and Philip Dixon scored an excellent 12-10, 11-9, 4-11, 13-11 victory over Michelle to seal the points for the North East side. Dixon deservedly took the Player of the Player of the Match Award for his efforts.

Pudsey will be pleased that their eight points includes a 5-3 victory over third placed St. Marys Hull, a match which could have easily have finished as 4-4. Pudsey's Chris Parker had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Julien Gittens 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 14-12 in the first game of the match, a result which eventually proved decisive. Gittens showed his defensive prowess in his second singles as he beat Pudsey no. one David Smith 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-4. Parker.added a second win as he came through a second tough encounter by beating Adam Smith 15-13, 11-8, 13-11. Pudsey were also hard pushed to get the better of Rotherham Scorpions 5-3 and they had to rely on their top half players - David Smith and Chris Parker remaining undefeated. Parker had a lot of difficulty in beating Stephen Arliss and eventually ran out a relieved 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 winner. Pudsey were more comfortable winners against Isle of Man, winning 8-0 with David Smith, Chris Parker, Chris Newsome and Lee Orange all playing their part.

You might have expected Chesterfield II to have done better, as any fourth Division team with Brian Allison playing at number four surely suggests that it should compete on pretty even terms. However, this side are yet to get off the mark and in Chesterfield's clash with Pudsey it was Brian Allison who picked up Chesterfield's two successes, good wins against Ray Rider and Chris Newsome. Again, it was a similar story in Chesterfield''s 5-3 defeat against St. Mary's Hull with Allison beating both Gary Usher and Kevin Hodgson. Kerry Mansell scored an excellent win over Gary Usher but with Hull no. one Luke Carrington firing on all cylinders St. Mary's emerged as 5-3 winners.

Division Four South - Report not available. Scoresheets not received by the League's Press Officer at the time of writing this Report.

Division Four South & Midlands - Crusaders won't enjoy reading this report but with Patrick Hui playing at number two instead of at number four on the Sunday their 7-1 win over Uxbridge and 6-2 success against TTK/Greenhouse III have become 5-3 defeats. Instead of leading the table they are languishing in fifth place. The leaders DHS London Progress IV with seven points are the main beneficiaries of this error whilst TTK/Greenhouse III, a side who could also be in contention for honours gained significantly as they were one of the teams who lost to an "out-of-order" Crusaders.On the table Hui, had proved to be an excellent acquisition as he took both of his singles against TTK/Greenhouse. Close competitive wins as well, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 against Vidal Graham and 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 against Michael Spitteri.

DHS London Progress IV were hard pushed to see off TTK/Greenhouse III, and they eventually won 5-3. TTK's number one, Vidal Graham (ironically a former London Progress player), gave them the most problems as he beat both Alex Feeredo and Joseph Mensah whilst Tony Wilkinson was an early winner against Mensah as TTK moved into a 2-0 lead. Progress hit back hard and Bhuwan Sing Limbu sealed the points for his team as he won his second singles beating Ethan Davies 13-11, 13-11, 11-9. It was a more assured London Progress performance against Woodfield II with the London side winning 7-1. Alex Feeredo, Andrew Haggar and Bhuwan Sing Limbu were all undefeated on this occasion. Barry Barrett was Woodfield's sole winner and he scored a fine 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 success against Joseph Mensah. London Progress can also feel relieved that they managed to hold Ashford III to a draw. It was honours-even after a hard fought match where four games went to a fifth end and these were shared 2-2. Bhavin Saujani and Anusha Seneviratne were responsible for the four Progress wins whilst Keith Falconer held the Ashford team together by beating Alex Feeredo and Joseph Mensah. A determined Anusha eventually sealed a point for the Progress side by beating Richie Bolton 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5 in the last game of the match.

Fellows Cranleigh, in seventh place are clearly looking to "blood" some young players as they would surely have done better had Zayd Mauthoor played on both days. Zayd who played on the Sunday was undefeated against both Woodfield and Ashford as they picked up three out of a possible four points. Fellows Cranleigh had their chance to beat Ashford but John Tendler was found wanting against Winston Wong as Winston came through to win 11-8, 11-5, 11-8. And with Richie Bolton beating William Do 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 in the last game the match finished tied at 4-4.Without Mauthoor Fellows Cranlegh had found the going tough against TTK/Greenhouse and they missed out 7-1. Joe Stannard was Cranleigh's only winner when he beat Ethan Davies 3-2. Vidal Graham, Tony Wilkinson and Michael Spiteri were all unbeaten for TTK. York Gardens III, bolstered by the inclusion of Fusion's David Fraser also beat Fellows Cranleigh 7-1 and in the closest game of the match Fraser just prevailed 11-2, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10 against John Tendler, a widely fluctuating set of scores by anyone's standards.

Steve Kerns Press Officer
British League