In a week in which the New Milton Table Tennis Club won 5 out of their ten matches in the Bournemouth and District league, their F team’s win ensured promotion to Division 3 and their A team hammered home their credentials for runners-up of the Premier thanks to their 9-1 win.

With only two more weeks left to go, the F team are top of Div 4 on 50 points with second-placed Bmth Sports K on 44 points. The F team may well take the title next week if they do the double over Shamrock B as this will put Milton on 54 points. Even if Bourne beat Merton K with maximum points this will put them on 48 points to have to settle for the runners-up spot. It could all be over bar the shouting before the final match between the title contenders which ended up a 5-5 draw first time round.

The Premier’s A team are currently lying third from top of the league on 41 points with second-placed Merton A just above them on 42 points. Milton look to have the easier run-up as they face Merton in the penultimate week whom they beat 7-3 first time around, then Bmth Sports B whom they whitewashed 10-0. Merton on the other hand face runaway leaders Bmth Sports A in the final week, so Milton could well finish runners-up which would be a terrific achievement.

The Premier league also saw the B team vastly improve on a first-round 0-10 drubbing at the hands of Merton A with a 7-3 victory, albeit against a weakened Merton side home at Mudeford Wood. Gerard Redman played up from Div 1 and bagged a magnificent brace, John Hook won a hat-trick and Shaun Newman chipped in with the one win. Redman also helped his own C team to get the better of Bmth Sports D at the second time of asking in Div 1 thanks to his third hat-trick of the campaign.

The club’s other win came in Div 4 as the G team did the double over Shamrock B at home at Mudeford Wood aided and abetted by a fourth hat-trick from Graham Underwood. Also in Div 4, the H team did well to hold second-placed Bmth Sports K to a 5-5 draw largely thanks to Paul Iliffe’s (pictured below) seventh hat-trick of the campaign.

PREMIER
Merton C 1 New Milton A 9
(Russell Wilson 2, Brian Vibert 3, Doug Gerrish 3)

New Milton B 7 Merton A 3
(Shaun Newcomb 1, John Hook 3, Gerard Redman 2)

DIVISION 1
New Milton C 6 Bmth Sports D 4
(Frank Handy 1, Simon Daish 1, Gerard Redman 3)

Broadstone B 9 New Milton D 1
(Terry Jenvey 1, Malcolm Floyd 0, Bob Fagan 0)

DIVISION 2
New Milton E 2 Lynwood B 8
(Simon Golding 2, Paul Nelson 0, Bev Scott-Johns 0)

DIVISION 4
Merton K 2 New Milton F 8
(Malcolm Nash 2, Mike Roberts 3, Steve Cheesman 2)

New Milton G 8 Shamrock B 2
(Graham Underwood 3, Eddie Tompkins 2, Les Smith 2)

New Milton H 5 Bmth Sports K 5
(Lynn Willrich 0, Paul Iliffe 3, John Childs 1)

DIVISION 5
Shamrock C 6 New Milton J 4
(Mike Gent 1, Richard Brockbank 1, Geoff Biggs 1)

Merton M 9 New Milton K 1
(John Parkhouse 0, James Harper 1, Don Dow 0)