With 5 teams left in the last 8 of the Times & Directory Handicap Plate competition, the New Milton Table Tennis Club eagerly awaited the draw to see which of their teams would be playing against their own club-mates. Well, the draw has taken place and strangely enough there is just the one local club derby in the quarter-finals, with the D team facing the G team.

Terry Jenvey’s D team won the Plate in 2014/15 and are looking for success away from the league where they are languishing second from bottom in Div 2. Graham Underwood’s G team are currently second from top in Div 3 and wouldn’t they just love to win the Plate and promotion in their first season in the league. The Gees are the “home” side so the match will be played at the Grange School, Somerford.  Just a reminder below of the D team who won the Plate final in 2014/2015: Kai Major, Terry Jenvey (Captain) and Chris Pusey.  Kai is not playing competitively at the moment having only recently recovered from a major illness, but Terry and Chris are still treading the boards for the D’s.

John Millward’s B team are second from bottom of the Premier and have to travel to Chapel Gate to take on Div 4 basement boys Bmth Sports M, so both teams are looking for a bit of light relief from a disappointing season so far. The good news for the Bees is that wily England Veteran Brian Bickell is back from long term injury and can replace John Hook who suffered an Achilles tendon injury in a league match.

Stuart Burton takes his L team away to Cole Hill to face Shamrock A who play a division higher in Div 4, while the E team from Div 2 entertain Bmth Sports D (Div 1) home at Mudeford Wood.

In the Cup proper, Malcolm Nash’s Div 3 F team take on the Premier’s Ringwood A in their semi-final at a neutral venue to be decided. If Milton succeed, they will face either Merton G or Merton K in the Cup Final.

You have to go as far back as the 1997/1998 season for when one of the club’s teams last won the actual Cup (the A team), but the Plate was won by Les Smith’s G team last season (2015/2016).

All matches are to be played week commencing Monday 27^th February 2017.

The full draw is below:-

TIMES & DIRECTORY HANDICAP CUP

New Milton F (Div 3) v Ringwood A (Premier)

Merton K (Div 4) v Merton G (Div 3)

TIMES & DIRECTORY HANDICAP PLATE

Bmth Sports M (Div 4) v New Milton B (Premier)

Shamrock A (Div 4) v New Milton L (Div 5)

New Milton E (Div 2) v Bmth Sports D (Div 1)

New Milton G (Div 3) v New Milton D (Div 2)

The New Milton Table Tennis Club came up with five wins out of eleven in the Bournemouth & District league last week. Three of those wins were maximum-pointers including one 10-0 full house.

Div 5 saw the L team (Reuben Donvito, Adam Titcombe & Bill Collinge) come up with their best result this season from matches actually played. Their 9-1 win over second from bottom Nimrod C was a significant improvement over their first-round 6-4 victory and came courtesy of hat-tricks from the two 13 year olds Donvito and Titcombe. Donvito was making his league debut (and how!) and Titcombe really enjoyed his fourth treble of the season. The teenagers crowned their evening by demolishing the Nimrod pairing in the doubles in three straight sets and are pictured below after the match (l-r Adam Titcombe, Reuben Donvito).

The club’s other 9-1 win came in Div 3 as the high-flying G team (Mike Toole, Graham Underwood & Elliott Storr-Smith) repeated their first round scoreline against Merton G. Captain Underwood and Toole both scored hat-tricks and 15 year old Storr-Smith bagged a brace. Storr-Smith displayed a maturity beyond his years to recover from losing his first set 2-11 against Merton veteran Dave Chapman to take the second 11-9. The teenager was really going for his hat-trick but unfortunately lost the next two sets 7-11, 6-11.

The full house came in Div 4 as the table-topping H team (Lewis Reading, Dave Sutton & Eddie Tompkins) vastly improved on their first-round 6-4 win over Shamrock A. Now on 40 points, they are six points ahead of second placed Winton YMCA C but Winton have a game in hand.

The other teenager from the club to win a hat-trick was 18 year old Andy Tipsana whose fifth treble of the season helped his C team to a 7-3 win over Div 1 basement boys Broadstone C.  Full results details are below:-
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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.

The New Milton Table Tennis Club came up with six wins out of eleven matches in the Bournemouth and District league last week, one of them a 10-0 full house in the Premier.

The A team (Umit Kaya, Brian Vibert & Russell Wilson) did a Premier double over Merton B who didn’t help their cause by turning up a player short. Merton had a chance to avoid the whitewash in the doubles, but Kaya & Wilson just knicked it 15-13 in the fifth set against veteran Danny Allen and Kevin Smith in a close scoring match.

The Premier also saw a welcome return for England Veteran Brian Bickell (pictured below) who had a two year lay-off with a shoulder injury. His two wins for the B team helped them to a precious point in their 3-7 defeat against Ringwood A, which can only help in their bid for survival in the Premier as they are currently second from bottom. They are missing star player John Hook who was injured in his last match and may be out of action for some time.

The D team (Chris Pusey, Terry Jenvey & Mike Toole) were celebrating only their third win of the campaign as they overturned their first round defeat against Ringwood B with a 6-4 win at Mudeford Wood in Div 2. This came courtesy of a magnificent hat-trick from homecoming player Toole along with a brace from captain Jenvey and one win from Pusey.

Div 4 saw the table topping H team (Eddie Tompkins, Dave Sutton & Lewis Reading) avenge their first round defeat against Merton K who were the only team to get the better of them so far this season. In Milton’s 8-2 maximum pointer, Sutton came up with his ninth hat-trick having only dropped one game all season and Tompkins and Reading bagged a brace apiece.  Full results appear below:-
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The New Milton Table Tennis Club came up with four wins out of eight matches in the Bournemouth and District league last week, one of them coming at the expense of one of their own teams in a local derby.

In their Div 2 derby first time around, the struggling D team managed to take a point off their clubmates in the E team when they lost 4-6. However, the E’s fielded a stronger team this time (Simon Golding, Simon Daish & Peter Daish) and demolished their D team (Chris Pusey, Terry Jenvey & Roy Hobbs) 10-0. The Dees needed the doubles to avoid the whitewash and indeed Pusey & Jenvey took the first set 12-10 only narrowly to lose the next two 11-13, 11-13. They scraped the fourth set 12-10 but just ran out of steam in the decider to go down 6-11.

The other scheduled derby between the A and B teams in the Premier league had to be abandoned because Bees John Hook injured himself in the knock-up necessitating an ambulance. The match will have to be rearranged.

The club’s other three wins were all 8-2 maximum pointers. In Div 1, the C team (Paul Iliffe, Frank Handy & Rob Blackmore) repeated their first round scoreline against second from bottom Bmth Sports F. Captain Handy (pictured below) led from the front with his second hat-trick of the campaign and Iliffe and Blackmore bagged a brace apiece.

Div 3 saw the other two 8-2 scorelines. The F team (Sylvia Smith, Mike Roberts & Steve Cheesman) improved on their first round draw against second from bottom Nimrod A in their own back yard this time. Cheesman came up with yet another hat-trick and Smith and Roberts won a couple each.

The G team (Mike Toole, Graham Underwood & Dave Sutton) overturned their first round 4-6 defeat against Bmth Sports K thanks to hat-tricks from new signing Toole and Sutton who was playing up a division. Captain Underwood chipped in with the one win and joined with Toole to take the doubles to make it 8-2.

Sutton deserves a special mention as the previous evening his hat-trick for his own H team in Div 4 helped them hold second from bottom Nimrod B to a 5-5 draw at Mudeford Wood. Sutton has only dropped one game for his own team so far this season.  Full results appear below:-
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Four teams from the New Milton Table Tennis Club were involved in Round 2 of the Annual Times & Directory Handicap Cup last week, with two of them progressing into the quarter-finals.

The F team (Steve Cheesman, Malcolm Nash & Ian Linney) disposed of their clubmates in the L team in Round 1 and did likewise to their A team (Umit Kaya, Brian Vibert & Steve Hemmings) to book their place in the quarter-finals. Things looked promising for the Premier’s A team as they went 2-1 up, but they then went 2-4 down against their club mates from Div 3, needing Vibert to beat Linney to stay in the match. Linney playing off a +14 start up to 21 beat Vibert 21-15 in the first set but Vibert did tremendously well to scrape the second 21-20 to set up a tantalising finale. Bit by bit, Vibert heroicly ate into the handicap but Linney held out to take it 21-19 to secure victory for the F’s.  Pictured below is the F team’s Steve Cheesman who won both his matches:-

The C team (Div 1) gave themselves a mountain to climb by turning up a player short against Div 2’s Merton F and it was all over very quickly as they lost 1-5. Paul Iliffe won the first singles, but Captain Frank Handy had to give an 8 start to Merton’s very experienced Graham Blake and lost 11-21, 8-21. Iliffe needed to beat the very useful Geoff Cherrill to keep his side in the match and took the first set 21-10, but lost the next two 15-21, 19-21, so that was that.

The H team (Lewis Reading, Dave Sutton & Les Smith) had a 3 game start as Merton C from Div 1 turned up a player short. Milton who usually ply their trade in Div 4 won the “Plate” competition last season and are looking for great things in the Cup proper this season. Reading saw off both Merton players and Sutton beat Darren Bellis to romp home 6-3.

New Milton still also have five teams in the consolation “Plate” competition and all have received “byes” into the second round to be played Week Commencing 30^th January.

The G team (Graham Underwood, Mike Toole & Dave Sutton) played their rearranged Div 3 league match against a struggling Nimrod A and put them to the sword 8-2 in their own back yard. Toole returned to the club after many year’s absence to pick up an impressive hat-trick without dropping a single set, Sutton joined him in a treble and captain Underwood bagged a brace to take the maximum four points. Full results details are below:-

TIMES & DIRECTORY HANDICAP CUP (ROUND 2)

New Milton A (Prem) 2 New Milton F (Div 3) 5

(A Team: Umit Kaya 0, Brian Vibert 1, Steve Hemmings 1)

(F Team: Steve Cheesman 2, Malcolm Nash 1, Ian Linney 2)

New Milton C (Div 1) 1 Merton F (Div 2) 5

(Paul Iliffe 1, Frank Handy 0)

Merton C (Div 1) 3 New Milton H (Div 4) 6

(Lewis Reading 2, Dave Sutton 1, Les Smith 0)

LEAGUE – DIVISION 3

Nimrod A 2 New Milton G 8

(Graham Underwood 2, Mike Toole 3, Dave Sutton 3)

The New Milton Table Tennis Club entered 11 teams in the Bournemouth and District league this season and the Christmas break gives the opportunty to reflect on their progress over the first 11 weeks.

The A team captained by Steve Hemmings came runners-up in the Premier league last season and are currently lying in fourth place on 30 points having only dropped two matches, only 2 points behind Merton A. The A team welcome back Umit Kaya after a long absence especially as he came up with hat-tricks in his last two matches. The B team team led by John Millward have only won one match this season and at 11 points are only 1 point above second from bottom Lynwood A.

In Div 1, the C team captained by Frank Handy are flying high in third place on 31 points and have won their last two matches with 10-0 full-houses. The team has benefited from excellent new signings Andy Tipsana and Rob Blackmore together with Paul Iliffe who was voted the club’s most improved player last season.

The D team captained by Terry Jenvey were relegated from Div 1 last season and are also struggling in Div 2 this season having only won two matches. On 13 points, the same as Breamore, Milton are second from bottom due to adverse games difference. The E team, however, are on 27 points and are sitting comfortably mid table buoyed up by the consistently good form of 18 year old Peter Daish.

Malcolm Nash’s F team won Div 4 last season and are giving a good account of themselves in Div 3 and are lying in mid table on 20 points.. They continue to be buoyed up by brilliant performances from last season’s new signing Steve Cheesman who has only lost 3 games so far this season.

Also in Div 3, the G team have only 1 point less than the F team but are only kept off second from bottom by a better games difference than Nimrod A, showing how tight that division is. Interestingly, the Gees, ably captained by Graham Underwood, have a game in hand which is against Nimrod A whom they beat 7-3 first time around. Watch this space!

The club’s major success story comes in Div 4 as the H team led by Les Smith are top of the table on 30 points, 5 points higher than Winton YMCA C. Dave Sutton made a welcome return to the club after a break and has only lost one game so far this season.

Also in Div 4, Lynn Willrich’s J team have struggled since excellent new signing Ben Greene departed for three months holidaying in Japan. They are third from bottom on 15 points but are well clear from Nimrod B who have only accrued 4 points. The Jays should receive a lift once Greene returns from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Malcolm Douglas’ K team occupy the second from top place in Div 5 on 26 points albeit leaders Winton YMCA E are 18 points clear on 44 points. The Kays only lost 2 matches first time around, but have already lost their first 2 matches in the second round, so they need to step up a gear to keep themselves away from the chasing pack.

The L team came bottom of Div 5 last season but have done very well to occupy 6^th place so far this season on 22 points. Ably captained by Stuart Burton, the team has benefited from new signings Maggie Brown and Boy Wonder Adam Titcombe.  The full set of  BDTTA league tables appear below:-
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In the last week of league matches before the Christmas break, the New Milton Table Tennis Club came up with five wins, one of them at the expense of one of their own teams in a local derby.

The Div 5 derby saw the L team (Adam Titcombe, Stuart Burton & Maggie Brown) reverse their first round 4-6 defeat at the hands of the K team (Dave Burns, Malcolm Douglas & Geoff Biggs) courtesy of a third hat-trick from 13 year old Adam Titcombe (pictured below). Brown bagged a brace and captain Burton added one more to the tally, needing the doubles to win it 7-3 and go one better. However, Kays Captain Douglas and Biggs weren’t having any and took the doubles 3-1 to make it honours even over the two legs.

The doubles, which are always played after the final singles of the match, proved decisive in five of the club’s matches. In the Premier league, the A team (Steve Hemmings, Russell Wilson & Gerard Redman) improved on their first round draw against basement boys Bmth Sports C with an 8-2 win at Mudeford Wood. Once more the doubles were required for maximum points and once again “Hat-Trick Hemmings” and Wilson did the business.

In Div 2, the D team (Terry Jenvey, Malcolm Floyd & Chris Pusey) need every point to keep them out of the relegation zone and things looked bleak as they were losing 2-7 against Bmth Sports G with ex-Premier player Colin Bryson and Arthur Bartram readying for the doubles. Captain Jenvey and Floyd surprised themselves to scrape the first two sets 12-10, 12-10, but then lost the third 6-11. However, the Milton pairing regained their composure to take the fourth very comfortably 11-3 to salvage the precious point.

Likewise the F team (Sylvia Smith, Malcolm Nash & Ian Linney) in Div 3 as they were losing 2-7 against Merton H, Milton’s reply coming from Linney returning from illness. Captain Nash and Linney also won their doubles 3-1 to secure their hard fought point.

Also in Div 2, the E team’s Simon Golding and Peter Daish scraped their doubles 12-10 in the fifth set to hold Merton F to a 5-5 draw in their own back yard. It also took Liam Iliffe and Dave Sutton five sets to force a home draw for their G team against basement boys Bmth Sports L in Div 3.  Full results details appear below:-
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The second round of matches in the Bournemouth & District Table Tennis league got underway last week and the New Milton Club won half of their 10 matches. The wins included three 10-0 victories, one of them coming at the expense of one of their own teams in a local derby.

Their A team (Steve Hemmings, Russell Wilson & Peter Daish) reprised their first round 8-2 home win over the struggling Lynwood A in the Premier as they repeated the dosage in Lynwood’s own back yard. Captain Hemmings (pictured below) led from the front with his third hat-trick of the campaign and Russell and Daish bagged a brace apiece. Once again the doubles were required for maximum points and Hemmings & Wilson duly obliged.

18 year old Peter Daish deserves a special mention in despatches as he played up two divisions from his usual E team in Div 2 to win two matches on his Premier league debut. Daish (pictured below) followed that up later in the week to score a hat-trick for his E team in their 6-4 victory over the struggling Breamore. This included a straight sets victory over the very awkward ex Miltonian Geoff Ware.

Div 1 saw the C team (Frank Handy, Paul Iliffe & Gerard Redman) improve on their first round 8-2 away win over Broadstone B as they beat them 10-0 at home at the Grange. Broadstone didn’t help their cause by turning up a player short.

In Div 4, the H team (Dave Sutton, Lewis Reading & Eddie Tompkins) did the double over a much weakened J team (John Parkhouse, Geoff Biggs & Peter Hyde) with a resounding 10-0 win at Mudeford Wood, their second 10-0 in a row. The J team were clearly missing star player Ben Greene who picked up their only two wins first time around.

Once again in Div 5, Parkstone were unable to put out a team so the match was awarded as a 10-0 victory to the L team. Struggling Parkstone, who are nailed to the bottom of the division, have just withdrawn from the league and it remains to be seen how this will impact on the league table.  Full results details are below:-
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