There was a break in the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis league last week as the week was given over to the Preliminary Round of the annual Times and Directory Handicap Cup competition. The New Milton Club has entered nine teams into the competition this year, but only four of them were in action as the others had byes straight into the First Round proper.

The E team (Paul Nelson, Steve Cheesman & Bev Scott-Johns) who normally play in Div 2 breezed into the next round as they comprehensively beat Div 3’s Merton J 5-1 down at Mudeford Wood. Ex Merton player Nelson beat his two former club mates and his brace was matched by team captain Scott-Johns. Impressive new signing Cheesman played up two divisions and did well to beat Merton’s very tricky Ray Davis to add one more to the tally.

The Premier’s A team (Brian Vibert, Doug Gerrish & Frank Handy) didn’t fare so well on the same night at Mudeford Wood as they lost 2-7 to Broadstone C from Div 2. It was all over at 1-5, Gerrish having beaten Broadstone’s Mike Greenhall, but it was decided to play the remaining three matches and Vibert did likewise as scant consolation.

The club’s only other win came from the Div 4 F team (Mike Roberts, Ian Linney & Sylvia Smith) as they carried their unbeaten league form into the Cup and scraped a 5-4 win over Merton M from Div 5 away at Southbourne. Milton went 4-2 up, but Roberts and Smith lost their final matches leaving the previously unbeaten Linney to face Merton’s Lewis Pickup in the decider. Despite a -4 handicap Linney (pictured below) won the first set but the Merton youngster regained his composure to take the second to set up a nail-biting finale. Linney caught up at 12-12 with good solid play then the youngster seemed to freeze and Linney won it 21-12 to take his side through to the next round of the Cup.

Unfortunately the club’s other Div 4 team, the G team (Eddie Tompkins, Lewis Reading & Les Smith) will not join their club mates in the next round as they lost 1-5 away against the Premier’s Winton YMCA A. At 0-4 captain Smith kept his team’s hopes alive as he beat Winton’s Julian Hewlett to make it 1-4, but that proved to be their only victory.

However, the losing A and G teams live to fight another day as they go into the consolation “Plate” competition which will be played Week Commencing 18^th January 2016. Full result details are below:-

New Milton A (Prem) 2 Broadstone C (Div 2) 7

(Frank Handy 0, Brian Vibert 1, Doug Gerrish 1)

New Milton E (Div 2) 5 Merton J (Div 3) 1

(Paul Nelson 2, Steve Cheesman 1, Bev Scott-Johns 2)

Merton M (Div 5) 4 New Milton F (Div 4) 5

(Mike Roberts 2, Ian Linney 3, Sylvia Smith 0)

Winton YMCA A (Prem) 5 New Milton G (Div 4) 1

(Eddie Tompkins 0, Lewis Reading 0, Les Smith 1)