Division 2 Roundup - Week 5

Published 14/10/2022 at 19:28:03 by Martin Johnson.

Three Way Battle at the Top

Week 5 of the season saw the two remaining unbeaten teams in Division 2 play each other, whilst the bottom two teams also clashed.

At the top, Chackmore Hasbeens took on Greenleys Princes.  Both teams were unbeaten going into the match, and Princes held a 100% winning record, so something had to give in a match that pitted the top four in the Averages against each other.  There was never much in it, but the first 100% record to go was when Chackmore's Bub Burman inflicted a first defeat of the season on Tom Davey.  Saravana Kumar pulled Princes level, after a five game win over Andy Whitehaed, and Princes took a 2-1 lead as William Egbuna won against Chris Whitehead.  The reliable Chackmore doubles of Bub and Andy took the doubles in four, with Andy following up to inflict a second straight games defeat on Tom, and Chackmore then went 4-2 up as Bub beat William in three.  The match was soon level, however, at 4-4, as Saravana beat Chris and William beat Andy, both three straight, and Princes then edged back ahead as Tom beat Chris.  In the final set, Bub won his third singles, to salvage a 5-5 draw, in so doing handing Saravana his first loss of the season, and also replacing him at the top of the Averages.  Hasbeens remain top of the table, but Princes are just four points back, with a game in hand, although both teams still remain unbeaten.

Meanwhile, Newport Pagnell Lagondas made ground against Hasbeens and Princes, as they were 8-2 winners over Leighton Buzzard Spitfires, in a closer match than the score suggests.  The Lagondas trio of Tony Ardis, Sue Lewis and Chris Horn moved into an early 4-0 lead, the main difference being that they won six of the seven deuce games up to that point, including two consecutive 12-10 legs as Tony and Sue won the doubles, from one leg each, against Andy Fiske and Filip Simek.  Another deuce in the fourth win in the next set finally saw Spitfires break their duck, as Andy King defeated Sue, but, it was more one-way traffic to Lagondas as Chris beat Filip and both Tony and Sue beat Andy Fiske, to make it 7-1.  Andy King again stopped the rot, with a four games win over Chris, but Tony completed his maximum in the last set against Filip, to complete the scoreline.  Lagondas have thus moved level with Chackmore at the top of the table, and with Princes just behind in third, it looks like it could be a three way battle for the title, whilst Spitfires remain in equal fifth spot.

The other mid-table clash saw Mursley Hawks took on Little Horwood Wooden Tops.  David Bartlett put on a captain's performance as he won all three singles, for the loss of just one game overall, against Andy Hooper, John Sharp and Paul Reynolds, yet left himself out of the doubles, with team mates Ian Spanswick and Martin Johnson dutifully winning in four against Andy and John.  Paul and John each won twice for Wooden Tops to keep things close, but with Ian and Martin each winning once, it completed a 6-4 win for Hawks.  Hawks stay in fourth spot, whilst Wooden Tops drop to seventh, although they do have a match in hand.

The bottom of the table clash saw a big 9-1 win for visitors, Open University Shockwave, over Milton Keynes Blades.  Blades were yet again a player short, so started 3-0 down, and were only able to win one on the night, as Bill Tyler beat Marcus Fung, although Marcus recorded his first win of the season when he defeated Mark Thomas.  However, neither Bill nor Mark were able to match Charity Wong and Charles Tien, who went the night unbeaten, including pairing up to win the doubles.  The big win leap-frogged Shockwave up to equal fifth, but leaves Blades adrift at the foot of the table, after five losses in a row.

Next week sees unbeaten third placed Princes take on newly equal top Lagondas, whilst the other equal top team, Hasbeens, face bottom placed Blades.  In mid table, Hawks in fourth take on Spitfires in equal fifth, whilst Shockwave, also in equal fifth, play seventh placed Wooden Tops.

Players of the Week : David Bartlett and Bub Burman.