There was a break in the Bournemouth & District league programme as the week was given over to the annual Times & Directory Handicap Cup competition. Two teams from the New Milton Table Tennis Club were involved in the Cup itself with the F team booking their place in the semi-finals. Five of the club’s teams took part in Round 2 of the “Plate” with all of them going through to the quarter-finals.

The F team (Ian Linney, Steve Cheesman & Mike Roberts) are currently top of Div 3 in the league and are looking to add the Times & Directory Cup to their putative laurels. At 4-2 up against Div 2’s Merton F, Cheesman completed his hat-trick by beating Merton’s Geoff Cherrill to take Milton through to the semi-finals.

The H team (Eddie Tompkins, Dave Sutton & Lewis Reading) won the Plate competition last year and were hoping for success in the Cup proper this season. It was not to be however as they lost 3-5 to Merton G who play one division higher in Div 3. Their nemesis just happened to be hat-trick heroine Norma Millward, wife of New Milton B’s team captain John Millward.

The club’s 100% success rate in the Plate included three matches with the opposition unable to reply. The B team (John Millward, Brian Bickell & Shaun Newcomb) disposed of Premier fellows Merton B 8-0 including hat-tricks from the homecoming Bickell and wheelchair player Newcomb. The G team (Graham Underwood, Mike Toole & Bev Scott-Johns) disposed of fellow Div 3 side Bmth Sports L 6-0, and the L team (James Harper, Stuart Burton & Bill Collinge) from Div 5 did likewise to Bmth Sports F from Div 1.

The closest Plate match was the E team’s encounter with fellow Div 2 side North Bmth A as Milton just edged it 5-4 against the high-flyers thanks to a hat-trick from Simon Daish. Also from Div 2, the D team (Terry Jenvey, Malcolm Floyd & Chris Pusey), actual winners of the Plate in 2014/15, disposed of Div 5 basement boys Bmth Sports L by the more emphatic 7-2. This came courtesy of a hat-trick from Club Press Officer & Treasurer Floyd, and a brace apiece from captain Jenvey and Pusey.  The D team are pictured below (l-r Terry Jenvey, Malcolm Floyd & Chris Pusey).

Full results details are below:-

TIMES & DIRECTORY CUP – ROUND 3 (QUARTER_FINALS)

New Milton F (Div 3) 5 Merton F (Div 2) 2

(Ian Linney 1, Steve Cheesman 3, Mike Roberts 1)

Merton G (Div 3) 5 New Milton H (Div 4) 3

(Eddie Tompkins 0, Dave Sutton 2, Lewis Reading 1)

TIMES & DIRECTORY PLATE – ROUND 2

New Milton B (Prem) 8 Merton B (Prem) 0

(John Millward 2, Brian Bickell 3, Shaun Newcomb 3)

Bmth Sports P (Div 5) 2 New Milton D (Div 2) 7

(Chris Pusey 2, Malcolm Floyd 3, Terry Jenvey 2)

North Bmth A (Div 2) 4 New Milton E (Div 2) 5

(Simon Golding 2, Simon Daish 3, Andrew Daish 0)

New Milton G (Div 3) 6 Bmth Sports L (Div 3) 0

(Graham Underwood 2, Mike Toole 2, Bev Scott-Johns 2)

New Milton L (Div 5) 6 Bmth Sports F (Div 1) 0

(James Harper 2, Stuart Burton 2, Bill Collinge 2)

The Cup semi-finals and Plate quarter-finals are to take place week commencing 27^th February. With five New Milton teams in the final eight of the Plate, the draw is eagerly awaited to see the make-up of the inevitable club derbies.