Division 2 Roundup - Week 14

Published 18/12/2022 at 12:09:09 by Martin Johnson; edited 3 times, last on 23/12/2022 at 17:20:13 by Martin Johnson.

Wonderful Wooden Tops

The final scheduled week of fixtures of the year and completion of the second round (of three), saw only a slight change to the positions at the top of Division 2, but a more significant change in the lower half of the table.

At the top of the table, the leading four teams are some way clear of the rest, but are locked in a very close battle for the two promotion spots, and this week saw each of them playing a fellow top four team, so any points won or lost could have been vital in the race for the top two positions.

Leaders, Newport Pagnell Lagondas, visited fourth placed Chackmore Hasbeens, and the match lived up to expectations, with four sets going the distance and four more being close in four games, with a grand total of 801 points played on the night, including ten legs going to deuce.  In the end, it was Hasbeens who won it, 6-4, with Bub Burman claiming his usual three singles wins doing much of the damage, but also well supported by Sam Willett with two wins and Andy Whitehead with one win.  One rare set to get away from Hasbeens was the doubles, which featured Bub and Andy, who’d won eleven out of eleven, against Tony Ardis and Sue Lewis, who’d won four out of four, so something had to give.  Bub / Andy stormed through the first two legs, but Tony / Sue dug in well to pull it back, winning the next three close legs to complete a comeback doubles win.  For Lagondas, Chris Horn won twice, firstly in a tight five gamer against Sam, from 2-1 down, then a repeat performance from 2-1 down against Andy, squeaking both legs four and five at 12-10.  Sue chipped in with one singles win, to add to her share in the doubles success, whilst for Tony, last week’s Player of the Week, the doubles win was his only one of the night, twice losing out in four games, and once in the fifth!  The result leaves Lagondas still top, but now just five points ahead of second, and seven points ahead of third, who have a match in hand.  Hasbeens are a further four points back, but also with a match in hand.

The other top of the table clash saw Greenleys Princes take on Mursley Hawks.  Both teams were missing their top player in the averages, with reserve Muhammad Hamza replacing the absent Saravana Kumar for Princes, whilst Mick O’Mahony was the absentee for Hawks.  Princes got off to a good start, with Tom Davey winning his opener against Ian Spanswick, and although Martin Johnson equalled things up for Hawks with a tough four game win over Gary Viner, Princes forged back ahead as Muhammad beat David Bartlett in straight games, Tom / Muhammad took the doubles against Ian / Martin in four, and Gary came back from a game down to beat Ian in four, to put them 4-1 at the halfway point.  Hawks regrouped, and David came through in three close games against Tom, and Martin won in straight games against Muhammad, to bring the score back to 4-3.  Two nailbiters followed, both ending close in the fifth, first as Gary just saw off David from 2-1 down, taking the decider 11-8, whilst the roles were reversed as Ian won from 2-1 down against Muhammad, grabbing the decider 11-7.  In the end, the teams ended up all square at 5-5, as Martin completed his treble in three games against Tom.  With Lagondas losing 6-4, it takes Hawks to within five points of the leaders, whilst Princes remain poised in third, seven points back, but with a match in hand.  Princes are due to play this match on Monday (19th December) against Wooden Tops, so a 7-3 win, or better, would take them top.

Further down the table, sixth placed Little Horwood Wooden Tops were hosting the bottom team, Milton Keynes Blades.  Blades went 1-0 up, as Bill Tyler beat Bill Higgins in a close five gamer, but it was Wooden Tops who maintained the pressure from there on, with a first treble of the season for John Sharp, although he was pushed to five games by both Bill Tyler & Kareem Omar.  Andy Hooper completed a maximum, as he, too, won his three singles and also teamed up with Bill Higgins, to defeat Bill Tyler and Kareem in the doubles, but thereby ending a dismal run of fourteen singles losses, in dramatic fashion.  With Bill Higgins also winning his remaining two singles, the final score of 9-1 was their biggest win of the season, with neither Mark Thomas or Kareem Omar able to grab any sets for Blades.  The win for Wooden Tops pulls them ten points clear of the relegation zone, but for Blades, it leaves them 25 points away from the safety of sixth place, and they appear doomed to the drop.

The final scheduled match this week was seventh placed Leighton Buzzard Spitfires, against fifth placed Open University Shockwave, who are eight points ahead of them.  With sixth placed Wooden Tops winning comfortbaly, it becomes a significant match for both teams - a win for Spitfires would take them closer to their rivals just above the relegation zone, whilst for Shockwave, a win would give them a much more comfortable gap above the bottom two teams.  However, with no news in from this match (and it potentially postponed), it will have to wait for another update!

Next week does, as mentioned above, see the outstanding Wooden Tops versus Princes match, which could change the Division leadership as we head into the Christmas / New Year break, then there are some intriguing matches on the horizon in the New Year, interspersed with the group stages of the Challenge Cup.  Early New Year League fixtures will see Hawks play their final matches against both Hasbeens and Lagondas, whilst Shockwave could have a hand in the promotion race, as they face Princes, Hasbeens, Lagondas and Hawks, all in the top four, in their first four League matches of 2023.  It certainly has the promise of being a close contest for those two promotion spots. 

Player of the Week: Andy Hooper.