Now we know why this team is called ‘G’. Two of their members are from the Gee dynasty, although on this occasion, the legendary Barbara Gee was missing.
From the Popps point of view, we knew we would put in an improved performance with the knowledge that Terry Allington would be playing for us, as we had run out of subs for the ‘B’ team.
In match one against John Wasilewski, Terry A started in his usual patient and steady way, moving smoothly to 11-4. John tried to play Terry at his own game, but lost ground with a couple of failed serves, to lose again 11-4. There were some long rallies in G3, but John had a tendency to over hit and Terry won 11-2.
Terry Wassall then took on Robert Gee. After an excellent first smash, he missed few more against the steadier Robert, who moved smoothly to 11-5. Terry tried to slow things down in G2, but was not connecting and lost 11-2. Robert’s spin serve started to trouble Terry in G3, his percentage of effective attacks reduced and Robert cruised to 11-6.
Probably the youngest member of the Gee tribe appeared in the 3rd match, where his relative inexperience allowed Robin Thomas to surge to a rare win, 11-4, 11-3 and 11-8. Josh Gee improved in the last game and executed some effective forehand shots. He played with high concentration and good spirit, but Robin was able to vary his serve to good effect to ensure control the encounter.
Terry Wassall then appeared against John Wasilewski, to create the best balanced match of the night. John won G1 12-10, with some good forehands from Terry and some equally good returns from John. Terry pulled level by 11-8 with a couple of effective smashes. He moved ahead in G3 at 11-9, seeming to connect more with his shots, but in G4, John introduced a tricky spin serve which confused Terry as John raced ahead to win 11-1. Finally, John played a steady game to win the decider 11-5.
Terry Allington then met the young Josh Gee, who concentrated hard against the more experienced player. There were some good rallies and Josh delivered a couple of forehand winners, but Terry’s legendary consistency wore him down, to win 11-2, 11-3 and 11-3.
Robin could not handle Robert Gee’s spin, managed to produce one or two winning shots, but gradually lost the motivation to survive against a much better player and went out 11-3, 11-1 and 11-2. Terry W then took on Josh Gee, who scored well, but lost 11-7, 11-5 and 11-4. Terry over-hit some of his shots and Josh demonstrated good mobility. However, all those years of playing table tennis as a bus driver (no—not at the same time as driving a bus) won in the end over the inexperienced, but promising Josh. Robin’s performance against John Wasilewski showed some flair in the second game, where he achieved some winners, but John’s experience, steadiness and use of spin helped him to wins of 11-0, 11-9 and 11-3.
The final match was to be the decider, with the fixture balanced on 4 each. Terry Allington against Robert Gee turned out to be a fascinating match as both players tried to keep things under control. Terry played his famous safe game which is hard to deal with at this level. Robert tried to match him, shot for shot, then picking his moment for an attack, In the end, the strategy failed because whichever tactics Robert used, Terry was there, inching ahead remorselessly, to win 11—5,11-8 and 11-4. Towards the end, Robert’s patience deserted him and a couple of missed smashes allowed Terry to creep ahead.
Overall, then an enjoyable match, played with good humour. Terry Allington’s presence in the side gave us a firm foundation which led to our win, whilst the youth of Josh gave us additional opportunities. What other sport would show such a range of ages, from teens to mid 60s? This is one of the virtues of this great game of Table Tennis. You can play as soon as you are old enough to hold a bat and only have to give up when you keep on dropping it.