Division 2 Roundup - Week 14 - Extra!

Published 22/12/2022 at 22:54:03 by Martin Johnson.

A Princely Rise despite a Triple Bill

Having done my Weekly Roundup before one of the results came in, plus the fact that one of the two postponed matches also took place, I thought I should do a quick 'extra' report, to fully cover to the end of 2022 !

The one scheduled result (for which I didn't wait long enough!) saw seventh placed Leighton Buzzard Spitfires hosting Open University Shockwave in sixth place, so could prove crucial to the second relegation spot (with MK Blades seemingly doomed, already?), and it proved to be a close encounter (of the second kind, but they'll play each other for the third time at the end of the season)!  The opening set just went the way of Charity Wong against Graham Silversides over four games, with an opening 11-9 leg, then three consecutive 12-10 legs.  Set two between Andy King and Charles Tien then started with three more 12-10 legs, making it six in a row, three to each team, but once again, it was Shockwave who grabbed the win, this time over five tight games, as Charles came back from 2-1 down to snatch it in the decider.  That 12-10 scoreline kept featuring, with a total of twelve deuce games on the night, of which eleven finished 12-10.  Filip Simek then put Spitfires on the scoreboard with a straight games win over Yifan Liu, but Shockwave forged back ahead as Charles and Charity won in three in the doubles against Graham and Filip - an area that has let Spitfires down over the season, with just two doubles wins so far.  Set five was the closest of the lot, with two more deuces, and it was Charity who squeaked through in five, once again from 2-1 down, this time against the luckless Andy, with the final leg inevitably being 12-10, to put Shockwave 4-1 up !!  Both Graham and Andy managed to win their remaining singles against Yifan, to narrow the gap, and although Filip lost out in a close four games versus Charles, in his final singles he kept his nose in front over five close games against Charity, to claim his second win of the night, and move the match score to 5-4.  The final set was another 'humdinger', which again went to five games, but yet again, the vital fifth leg went the way of Shockwave, as Charles took it 11-9 against Graham, to give Shockwave a 6-4 win.  This takes Shockwave up to fifth spot, just one ahead of Wooden Tops, and now ten points clear of Spitfires, who will hope for a bit more luck as they need a good final third of the season if they are to avoid a relegation spot.  Meanwhile, another maximum for Charles has moved him up to third spot in the Averages (of players who've played three matches or more).

The other match, played on Monday, was one postponed from earlier in the season, as third placed Greenleys Princes visited sixth placed Little Horwood Wooden Tops, and if Princes could repeat or better their 7-3 win when the teams played previously, that would be enough to take them at least equal top of the table, at the two thirds point of the season.  Wooden Tops player, Bill Higgins, proved to be the chief obstacle in their way, as he first beat Tom Davey in the opening set in straight games, and went on to beat Gary Viner in similar fashion in set six.  However, Princes were winning the others, with Gary and Tom winning their other two sets, against John Sharp and Paul Reynolds, whilst Saravana Kumar also won his two opening games against John and Paul, as well as teaming up with Tom to take a close doubles against Bill and John in five games, to give Princes a 7-2 lead, and enough to join Newport Pagnell Lagondas equal at the top of the table.  Could Saravana, top of the Averages, put them clear at the top, or could Bill win a third singles .. and in a battle royal over four games, with one leg 11-9 and the other three all deuces, it was Bill who just triumphed, to give Princes a 7-3 win - just enough to take them top of the table - level on points with Lagnondas, but with more match wins.  The three points for Wooden Tops leaves them in sixth spot, just one behind Shockwave, but perhaps more vitally, nine points clear of the relegation zone, with seven matches to go.  For Saravana, although he picked up two wins, his one loss (just his fourth of the season) means he drops down to second in the individual Averages, marginally behind Bub Burman.

Player of the "Week" : Bill Higgins.