POPPS THROUGH TO NEXT ROUND!

This should have been played a couple of weeks ago, but BATS, a 1st Division side, couldn’t raise a team: one member was in custody, one had swine flu and the other was hiding in a wardrobe, waiting for his girl friend’s husband to go to sleep. We refused their offer to concede but approached the prospect of a doubles match against experienced opponents with some trepidation, especially as none of us really know how to play doubles. However, we had a generous handicap and knew we had a chance of winning if we played with care. In addition, we had steady Terry Allington from the ‘A’ team, covering for unavailable ‘B’ team people. This would improve our chances. The other members of the team: Terry Wassall and your team secretary.

There are nine games as all the permutations are used. Each game plays to 42 and the calculations are made after each game on the standings of the two teams in the light of the handicap. Nine matches up to 42 looked like a long night and any video of the match could be considered to be useful as an antidote to insomnia. However, it wasn’t like that and there were exciting moments.

I’m not going to take you through each match, blow by blow, but it is possible to make some observations. BATS were able to punish any loose shots and had a high success rate with smashes. They bamboozled us with the quality of the serves. They also positioned themselves well round the table. Each match showed a similar pattern, tentative at first, then BATS pulling a head to win by normally a margin of 20. There were some good rallies, but essentially were being set up for a well-placed smash by BATS.

POPPS tried to play a steady game, especially Terry A. Terry W had some successful smashes but also some spectacular failures. Robin showed some odd flashes of flair but if you blinked, you missed them

BATS players were quite vocal during the game, with one member constantly admonishing himself with: “Tom: you’re pathetic” and “Ugh!” One member wore a T shirt celebrating the 1993 tour of the band ‘Sky’. Perhaps he needs a new T shirt and some more up to date bands to follow. I recommend Muse and Snow Patrol. But I digress.

Actual scores were 42-18, 42-21, 42-14, 42-15, 42-20, 42 20, 42-34, 42-9, and 42-21. With our handicap of 234, the final score was POPPS ‘B’: 406, BATS: 380.

Don’t ask me how that was worked out. The best game was the 2 Terries V David Bowers and Tom Whitely, when we lost 42-34. Towards the end POPPS lost a bit of concentration as they became more weary and the last game was essentially an exhibition as we had already secured victory by that time. In that game, Terry W and Robin were able to concentrate on style and sheer flair so as to entertain the crowds, while Shaun Forbes (a bit of a dead ringer for DJ and TV entertainer Mark Curry) and David Bowers went for their shots, some of which ended up on the floor.

Overall, the match was played in a good spirit with many touches of humour, but no exciting undressing. Well, you can’t have everything.

NB This means that the B team go through to the next round of the tournament where they will play their division 3 opponents Sowerby B.  The A team went out in the first round when one of their players had to pull out through injury but will get another chance for glory when they play division 1 Panthers in the 1st round of the Plate tournament (for 1st round losers).