courtesy of Nick Howard

New look Kings blunt Spinners attack.

The trio of Cherry, Jones and Massa took on a slightly different looking Kings team of Howard, Deakin and Sparrow.

Deakin keen to rediscover some of that form which saw him dominate the early 2000’s, after an extended period away from the sport.

New parent Howard has been learning all about patience, perseverance and dealing with sticky situations….. All traits that are needed when playing Cherry.

Howard has only beaten Cherry once in numerous meetings across the various league formats, although a number have gone the distance.

The first fixture saw Cherry romp to a 3-0 win at Greenelys, but with new rubbers glued up, Howard had a point to prove.

After losing a tight opening 13-11, he took the next 3 with surprising ease, aided by a very fortunate net and edge at times.

Deakin and Massa followed, and Deakin flew into a 2-0 lead (coming back from 7-3 down in the second to claim the set).

The next 2 and a half sets were one way traffic, as Massa played his best Table Tennis of the year to get within touching distance of a fine win.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t convert a 5-1 lead in the 5th, as the evergreen Deakin stormed back to take the victory.

Sparrow and Jones were next, and it was a little reprise from the first 2 intense matches.

Sparrow doing enough to take the match in 4.

The doubles was a poor affair from the usually solid duo of Howard and Sparrow. Against a rampant Massa, and wily Cherry, the Spinners pair took a comfortable 3-0 win.

Howard and Massa stayed on for game 4.

Unfortunately for Massa, it was one of those matches where your opponent just simply couldn’t miss. 3-0 for the Kings captain, although Massa had a chance to take the 3rd end.

Sparrow and Cherry played arguably the match of the day.

Cherry having felt like he’d won the match multiple times, found himself in a tight spot as Sparrow came from 10-6 down in the 5th to level 10-10.

Luckily for Cherry, karma came back around and gifted him a net ball to win the match.

On balance, probably a deserved winner.

Deakin and Jones played out a horror show on the table next to Alan and Guy (their words, not mine).

Deakin doing enough to win 3-0, leaving Jones wishing he’d stayed home to watch Tottenham play.

Jones and Howard rounded out their singles of the night, and it was absolutely Jones’s best match.

Going down early to a 2-0 deficit, he fought back strongly to take the 3rd, and could have (should have), taken Howard to 5.

Sadly, just like his beloved Spurs, the winning line just seems one step too far this season, as he succumbed to his 19th loss out of 23 games played. However, there is a glimmer of hope, as he’s enjoying this season more than ever, despite the results not going in his favour.

If there is ever someone who can smile in the face of adversity, it’s a Tottenham fan.

Sparrow took no time in dismantling Massa 3-0, which left Deakin and Cherry to close out the night.

A match which was heavily in Cherry’s favour on paper, but saw him drop the first to a consistent Deakin.

But consistency is something that you can’t magically find, and 7 years away from the sport highlighted Deakin’s weaknesses, as he succumbed 3-1 (although a Cherry edge took the 4th set when it was finely poised at 10-9).