With the New Milton J team winning the Annual Times and Directory Handicap Cup Final the previous week, the New Milton Table Tennis Club were hoping for a Times and Directory double as their M team made it through to the Plate final.

The M team represented by Stuart Burton (Captain), Taki Hall and Maggie Brown took on the all female Bournemouth Sports M team of Maggie White (Captain), Marina Scott and Karen Kelly. Both teams coming from Division 5 in the league, the form book was with the Bourne as they had won their first two encounters 7-3 and drew their final clash 5-5 in early April.  The Milton team are pictured below l-r Maggie Brown, Stuart Burton (Captain), Taki Hall:-

Milton got off to a promising start however as Captain Burton, benefiting from a +7 start beat fellow captain White in two straight sets. Next up, Ms Hall took on White’s daughter Marina Scott and really struggled with Scott’s +6 start and lost in two straight sets 13-21, 14-21. The third match saw Brown overcome a 7 deficit to win her first set against Kelly, but lost the next two 12-21, 19-21 for the Bourne to take the lead.

Bournemouth were clearly on a roll and won the next two matches, with Milton’s Hall needing to beat Kelly to stay in the Plate. Once again, Hall was on the wrong side of the handcapping, this time giving away a +6 start to Kelly. Kelly used her start intelligently and positively and blew Hall away in the first set 21-9. Hall did incredibly well to gradually eat away at the handicap in the second set, only to narrowly lose it 18-21. That was it, 5-1 to the Bourne to get their hands on the Plate.