New Milton Table Tennis Club

In the final week of the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis League, the New Milton A team secured runners-up spot in the Premier thanks to an 8-2 maximum points win over Bournemouth Sports B. Teenager Matt Daish (pictured below) scored his fifth Premier hat-trick and Doug Gerrish and Brian Vibert bagged a brace apiece. The last time Milton took second place was back in 2010/2011; this season the squad benefited from excellent new signing Gerrish and the homecoming of Russell Wilson.

Milton’s B team rubbed it in to their A team’s closest rivals, a depleted Merton A team, by beating them 8-2, although by then the A team had already landed second spot by their own devices.

Going into the final week, the F team had already clinched the Division 4 title, but hammered home their credentials by beating second-placed Bournemouth Sports K 7-3, having only drawn against them in the first round. Steve Cheesman and Mike Roberts rounded off an excellent season with a treble apiece.

Also in Division 4, the H team did likewise to Nimrod B, their own 7-3 victory pipping their victims at the post to take third place. Paul Iliffe did his bit by scoring his ninth hat-trick out of eleven matches in his maiden season.

Division 5 saw the J team gifted a point and three games as close rivals Nimrod C turned up a player short at their own venue. Captain Malcolm Douglas and Mike Gent added to the advantage by beating Chris Courage and Mike Melaniphy, both ex-Milton players, and Richard Brockbank also took Courage. Full results details appear below:- Read the rest of this entry →

Fresh on the heels of winning the Division 4 title in the Bournemouth & District league, the New Milton F team (Ian Linney, Steve Cheesman & Mike Roberts) had a right royal battle on their hands in a nail-biting semi-final of the Annual Times & Directory Handicap Cup against the runaway winners of Division 5, Winton YMCA D (Rob Ryan, Matt Ryan & Keith Law).  The full squad of 5 players are pictured below: l-r Malcolm Nash (Captain), Ian Linney, Sylvia Smith, Mike Roberts & Steve Cheesman.

All Milton’s players gave starts to the Winton players reflecting the difference in the divisions. Milton went 2-0 ahead as Linney beat Rob Ryan (+4), and Cheesman got the better of Rob’s son Matt (+5). Winton’s Lamb benefited from a +7 start and disposed of Roberts in two sets as did Rob Ryan to Cheesman to level off the tie at 2-2. Linney then lost to Lamb (+5) in two sets but Roberts levelled things off at 3-3 by beating Matt Ryan (+5). Lamb (+7) got his hat-trick by getting the better of Cheesman in two sets, leaving Roberts needing to beat Rob Ryan to keep Milton in the cup. Roberts kept his nerve to beat Ryan senior (+7) 21-18, 16-21, 21-18 to restore parity at 4-4 to hand the poisoned chalice back to team mate Linney for the decider. Linney made short work of Matt Ryan (+2) in the first set , beating him 21-11, but young Ryan fought back well to take the second 21-15 to set up a nerve-jangling finale for both sides. It was nip and tuck throughout the set, but Ryan was 11-9 up at the changeover to give Winton hope. However, Linney played intelligently, largely reserving his forehand hit for “bankers”, and he didn’t look back after 12-12 to beat the plucky youngster 21-16. Milton will play runaway Div 2 leaders Bournemouth Sports F in the Cup Final.

Milton’s two teams left in the “Plate” did well to book their places in the semi-finals. The G team (Les Smith, Eddie Tompkins & Graham Underwood) who normally ply their trade in Div 4, saw off Div 1 high-flyers Ringwood A 5-0 down at Mudeford Wood on the same night as their F team’s cup victory.

The Premier’s B team (Shaun Newcomb, John Hook & John Millward) travelled away to Chapel Gate to face Div 4’s second-placed Bournemouth Sports K and came way with a 5-1 win. The B and G teams have been drawn against each other in the semi-finals so Milton are guaranteed a place in the “Plate” Final as well as the “Cup” Final.

In the penultimate week of the Bournemouth & District Table Tennis league programme, the New Milton F team won the Div 4 title in style by beating Shamrock B 9-1 for the second time this season. Sylvia Smith came up with her third hat-trick of the campaign, Steve Cheesman logged his tenth treble, only having lost two games so far in his first season, and captain Malcolm Nash bagged a brace.  The full squad of 5 players are pictured below: l-r Malcolm Nash (Captain), Ian Linney, Sylvia Smith, Mike Roberts & Steve Cheesman.

The bottom-placed D team (pictured below) were celebrating their first win in Div 1 this season as they reversed a 4-6 first-round defeat by fellow strugglers Ringwood B by beating them 6-4 in their own backyard at Greyfriars. Malcolm Floyd is returning to form after injury and bagged a brace as did Bob Fagan and captain Terry Jenvey.

Div 2 saw the E team do the double over Bmth Sports E with an improved 8-2 win down at Mudeford Wood thanks to hat-tricks from Peter Daish and Simon Golding and a brace from Clive Pitts.

Div 4 proved a happy hunting ground once more for Milton as in addition to the title-clincher by the F team, the G team reprised their 10-0 whitewash of Winton YMCA C, and the H team did the double over bottom-placed Bmth Sports L with a 6-4 win at Chapel Gate. Not only did Paul Iliffe win yet another hat-trick for his H team, but he won Milton’s only two matches when he played all the way up in Div 1 for the C team who lost 2-8 to the high-flying Lynwood A.

In Div 5, the J team were gifted four points and ten games as Bmth Sports M failed to show at the Grange. The K team were gifted a point and three games as second-placed Merton L turned up at the Grange a player short. John Parkhouse was the only Milton player able to add to the advantage to make it a 4-6 defeat.  Full results are detailed below:- Read the rest of this entry →

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.

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The New Milton Table Tennis Club could only muster three wins out of their eight matches in the Bournemouth and District league last week, two of those victories coming at the expense of their own teams in local derbies.

Div 1 saw the second encounter between the bottom-placed D team and the third from bottom C team, not what you’d call a clash of the titans. The Dees lost 2-8 first time round, but at least they managed to take a point this time in a 4-6 defeat against a weakened C team. Gerard Redman (pictured below) scored a second hat-trick for his C team, Matt Winter bagged a brace and they combined clinically to beat Terry Jenvey and Malcolm Floyd in the doubles. Floyd returned from injury and beat Paul Iliffe playing up from Div 4, although it went all the way to five ends. Floyd took a good lead against Winter in the first end of their match but surrendered that lead and went on to lose it 0-3. Captain Jenvey also got the better of Iliffe and demonstrated just how to handle Winter’s tricky rubbers to bag his brace.

In Div 4, the table topping F team also did the double over their H team, this time by the lower margin of 6-4. Mike Roberts came up with a sixth hat-trick for his F team, the previously unbeaten Steve Cheesman bagged a brace, and they both just got the better of Paul Iliffe and John Childs in the doubles. Up until this match Cheesman was unbeaten in all competitions, but it took a club mate in the form of Paul Iliffe to deprive him of his 100% record by sneaking it 13-11 in their fifth and final set. Iliffe also beat Sylvia Smith as did John Childs and David Strike.

The club’s only non-derby win came in Div 5 as the K team avenged a first round 3-7 away defeat at the hands of Nimrod C by beating them 6-4 at home at the Grange. Milton were gifted a point as Nimrod turned up a player short leaving a team of ex-Miltonians of Chris Courage & Mike Melaniphy. Captain Stuart Burton led from the front as he won the evening’s first singles against Courage, then James Harper and John Parkhouse did likewise to add to the three game advantage.

The club’s only draw came in the headier heights of the Premier as a strengthened A team (Doug Gerrish, Brian Vibert & Russell Wilson) greatly improved on a first round 2-8 hammering by close rivals Winton YMCA A. Gerrish and Vibert bagged a brace apiece and Russell Wilson, who was called in at the last minute, added one more to the tally. Milton could actually have ended up winning it in the doubles, but it was not to be as Gerrish and Vibert lost out to the YMCA pairing of Adam Thomson and Adam Elcock over five enthralling sets.

Two other Milton players came up with hat-tricks; John Hook (B team) and Simon Golding (E team), but both ended up on losing sides.  Full results details appear below:- Read the rest of this entry →

The Bournemouth and District Table Tennis league programme was given over to the Annual Times & Directory Handicap Cup competition last week.

Four of the New Milton Club’s teams were involved in the third round of the Cup, but only their F team go through to the Semi-Finals, albeit at the expense of their E team whom they beat 5-1. The F’s Steve Cheesman (pictured below) remained unbeaten in all competitions to win both his games, and Ian Linney also won both his. Peter Daish replied for his E team by beating F’s captain Malcolm Nash who got the better of Paul Nelson in the opening match of the evening.

The F team are currently top of Div 4 and have been drawn against Winton YMCA D who knocked out New Milton C and are winning Div 5 by a country mile, so should be an interesting encounter.

Both the Club’s teams still in the Plate booked their place in the quarter-finals, the B team having the easier passage as Shamrock A were ineligible to play. The G team from Div 4 go through by feat of arms as they beat Div 1’s Ringwood B 5-2. Lewis Reading won both his matches, Graham Underwood won two out of three and captain Les Smith won one out of his two. Oliver Crossley got two back for Ringwood by winning both his games.

The Premier’s B team have been drawn away against Div 4 high-flyers Bmth Sports K and the G team have been drawn at home against Div 1’s Ringwood A.

All matches are to be played week commencing 14th March.

TIMES & DIRECTORY CUP (ROUND 3)

Winton YMCA D (Div 5) 7 New Milton C (Div 1) 2
(Frank Handy 1, Gerard Redman 1, Simon Daish 0)

New Milton E (Div 2) 1 New Milton F (Div 4) 5
(E Team: Paul Nelson 0, Peter Daish 1, Simon Golding 0)
(F Team: Malcolm Nash 1, Ian Linney 2, Steve Cheesman 2)

Winton YMCA A (Prem) 7 New Milton K (Div 5) 2
(Stuart Burton 1, James Harper 1, John Parkhouse 0)

TIMES & DIRECTORY PLATE (ROUND 2)

New Milton G (Div 4) 5 Ringwood B (Div 1) 2
(Lewis Reading 2, Graham Underwood 2, Les Smith 1)

New Milton B (Prem) 6 Shamrock A (Div 3) 0
(Match not played as Shamrock A ineligible to play)

Division 4 in the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis League proved a happy hunting ground for the New Milton Club last week as their G and H teams both recorded wins.

The G team dusted themselves down after two successive heavy defeats and did the double over basement boys Bmth Sports L with a 8-2 win down at the Mudeford Wood Community Centre. Man of the match Lewis Reading (pictured below) returned to the club after a few years’ break and is really doing the business for his team and came up with his fourth hat-trick of the campaign. New signing Graham Underwood was unlucky not to join Reading in a treble as he lost 8-11 in the fifth end to Bourne’s much improved Maggie White. Captain Les Smith also lost over five ends to Ms White to settle for a brace. The doubles were needed for maximum points and Reading and Underwood duly obliged.

The H team are really mounting a bid for promotion to Div 3 and did their cause no harm as they beat Merton K for the second time, this time by 7-3 home at the Grange. New signing Paul Iliffe is now scoring hat-tricks for fun and came up with his sixth treble out of his seven matches. Dave Strike who returned to the club after working away for a few years accrued his fifth hat-trick, then joined Iliffe to take the doubles in three straight sets.

Milton’s only other win came in the heady heights of the Premier as the A team walloped the struggling Merton B 8-2 in their own back yard. Russell Wilson, another player returning to the fold came up with his second hat-trick of the campaign, and captain Steve Hemmings and Brian Vibert bagged a brace apiece. The doubles were required to secure maximum points and Wilson and Vibert were not found wanting. Full results details are below:- Read the rest of this entry →

The New Milton Table Tennis Club repeated its last week’s haul of four wins out of ten in the Bournemouth and District league, two of them coming from full houses and the other two with 9-1 scorelines.

The two 10-0 victories came in Div 4 as the table-topping F team reprised their first round whitewash of struggling Winton YMCA C with the same players doing the damage; Mike Roberts, Ian Linney and Steve Cheesman. The H team improved on their first-round 7-3 home win over Shamrock B by walloping them 10-0 at their place, thanks to hat-tricks from Paul Iliffe, John Childs and 14 year old Elliott Storr-Smith.

The J team came ascloseasthis to achieving their own full house in Div 5 over Nimrod B having lost 4-6 down at their place but it was the doubles that cost them. Leading 9-0 thanks to a captain’s hat-trick from Malcolm Douglas (pictured below) and their season’s first hat-tricks from Mike Gent and Geoff Biggs, Douglas & Gent lost over five ends to the undaunted Nimrod pairing of Jim Vials and Lyn Noakes.

Both of Milton’s teams in Div 1 are struggling, but the C team reversed a first-round 4-6 defeat at the hands of second-from-bottom Ringwood B by beating them 9-1 chez Ringwood. Captain Frank Handy led from the front with a hat-trick, Gerard Redman joined him in a treble, and Andrew Daish bagged a brace. Although still third from bottom this enabled Milton to widen the gap to 8 points on their victims.

Although languishing at the bottom of Div 1, the D team managed to avoid defeat for the first time this season as they held Bmth Sports C to a 5-5 draw having lost 4-6 to them first time round. Clive Pitts played up from Div 2 and played brilliantly to win two matches and was joined in his brace by captain Jenvey. Roy Hobbs is now back playing after surgery and did really well to add one more to the tally after a gruelling five-ender against Bourne’s Dave Law who had already beaten Jenvey. Full results details are below:- Read the rest of this entry →

The New Milton Table Tennis Club came up with four wins in the Bournemouth and District league last week, albeit three of them came at the expense of their own teams in their three local derbies.

The derbies all went the way of the form book and indeed it was a case of deja vu all over again for the Premier’s A & B teams and Div 4’s F & G teams as the results were the same as the first time round.

In the Premier, the A team beat the B team 8-2 for the second time, both teams fielding the same players. Wunderkind Matt Daish (pictured below) repeated his first round hat-trick, Brian Vibert scored a treble and Russell Wilson added one more to the tally, having lost to the B’s John Millward and John Hook. The doubles could have salvaged a point for the Bees but it wasn’t to be as Shaun Newcomb & John Hook lost to the formidable combination of Daish & Vibert.

Div 4 saw the table-topping F team repeat their 9-1 hammering of their G team courtesy of hat-tricks from Mike Roberts and the unbeaten Steve Cheesman and a brace from Ian Linney who lost to Eddie Tompkins. Lewis Reading came very close to getting the F’s off to a good start as he took the first two ends off Roberts, but he lost the next three 9-11, 5-11, 9-11 to eventually go home empty-handed.

The other derby came in Div 5 where the J team improved on a first-round draw by beating their K team 7-3, with Mike Gent, Geoff Biggs and captain Malcolm Douglas all bagging braces. John Parkhouse did likewise for his K team, only losing to Biggs whom captain Stuart Burton managed to beat for his sole victory.

Milton’s only non-derby win came in Div 2 as the E team beat basement boys Merton G 7-3 down at the Mudeford Wood Community Centre, courtesy of hat-tricks from Simon Golding and Peter Daish.  Full results details are below: Read the rest of this entry →