Trevor Kershaw had an excellent win over Brian Chapman,using his topspin loop to break down Brian who has a strong counter hitting game. Suma are the new champions of the second division going through the summer league unbeaten, with their consistent play.

Evergreens demolished Popps 9-0 in the last encounter, and with 2 of our original team, and Robin replacing Dennis, a change in our fortunes was not anticipated. One of the problems with the Summer League is that some of the weaker Winter sides do other things in the Summer , such as going to naturism camps, working on fruit picking farms or as Butlin’ s Redcoats, which means that the ‘B’ Team is always going to up against stronger sides, which can be a bit depressing. However, we would do our best, even though we currently sit at the bottom of the table with no wins. Perhaps Terry would rediscover his previous bus-depot championship flair or maybe Tom would develop an ultra-safe, unbeatable defence? Some hope!

Evergreen’s Team was Mick Curry, Dave Lewis & Michael Higgins and in Match 1, Mick took on Terry Wassall, who started well with an early lead, but Mick’s steady play took him into a mid-game lead at 6-4. Terry’s mix of effective and less successful forehand attacks allowed Mick to prevail at 11-9. A similar pattern emerged in G2 and Mick started to connect more, moving him to 11-5. Mick has an interesting back hand with the bat looking like an upturned (non-stick) frying pan. It works quite well and he was able to increase the margin of superiority over Terry by winning the final encounter 11-3.

Tom executed some superb shots against Dave Lewis, but unfortunately, this was only during the warm-up! Once the game started, Dave tore into a significant lead at 7-0. Tom’s smash was not working (I thought you only had to add hot water to make it work: sorry is this a sports report or a cookery article?). Tom started to get back into the game with a couple of back hand flicks, but Dave had a better game all round to reach 11-4. Tom improved his performance in G2 and blows were traded to reach 6-6 at one time. Dave looks a bit like the rock singer Peter Gabriel, with a neat beard, although he did not reward us with a song. Tom squandered a back hand smash as Dave edged ahead. There were some good rallies, but Tom did not have the killer final shot as Dave made it 11-8. In G3, Dave executed some useful top spin lobs which took him to 4-2. Tom fluked one back but Dave moved towards victory from a couple of effective smashes and a bad one from Tom. Dave wrapped up the game at 11-7.

Match 3 saw Robin against Michael Higgins, who easily won 11-4, 11-4 & 11-2. Michael was wearing a woolly sweater which could have been knitted by his ancient grandmother, but it did not stop him executing a useful spin serve which confused his opponent. Robin tried to smash his way out of trouble, but to no avail. Dave Lewis then returned to the fray to take on Terry. Both started off with some looping top spin lobs. Both executed good smashes, but Dave was being more consistent and built up a conclusive lead at 7-1. Soon it was 9-1. Terry fluked a shot to reach 9-2, but Dave had no difficulty in easing to 11-2. G2 was much closer as Terry improved his % of successful smashes. It reached 7-7, but Terry missed a back hand to allow Dave to move ahead and he finished the game off at 11-7. Dave’s positioning of shots helped him move ahead early in G3 showing that it’s not just about force. At 5-1 a useful back hand got Terry back to 5-2, but it could not be sustained as Dave moved to 9-3. Terry staged a mini-recovery with some useful winners, but he also missed a couple to allow Dave to take this game to 11-7 to win the set 3-0.

Robin exchanged his pen for his bat to face Mick in Match 5 and surprised the world by winning G3 at 11-7; Mick won the first two, 11-6 & 11-7. Mick could have been having a senior moment or just wanted a breather, but for a few moments, Robin managed to make his serve work to good effect and he achieved one or two forehand winners. But it was not to last and Mick tidied up the last game at 11-5.

Michael Higgins then faced Tom and rushed into a 6-0 lead, even though Tom was playing well and sustaining some useful rallies. Tom fluked a shot to get on the score sheet and then started to get back into the game with better returns and more smashes. At 10-8, he could have turned it round, but even after this Lazarus-style recovery, he could not stop Michael from taking the game to 11-8.

At this point, it was possible to give some scrutinise to Michael’s serve which did not appear to be thrown up in the air from a flat hand. This could mean difficulty in spotting the direction of spin and perhaps he should be sentenced to 3 months at the TT Retraining Establishment where prisoners are savagely beaten if they cannot produce a legal serve. He moved to 5-1 and I realised that he was left-handed but seemed to use back hand where a forehand might have been more logical. At this time, I noticed that Tom is also left handed—Oh! the wonders of observational journalism. Anyway, none of this stopped Michael from streaking to 11-3. Game 3 produced a much better spectacle as they slugged it out to stay close with Tom leading for most of the game, finding some excellent fore hand and back hand smashes. At 8-5, could Tom pull off a win? Michael clawed it back to 10-10, it moved to 11-11, then 12-12, but in an anti-climax, Tom cocked up a serve to let Michael win at 14-12, a disappointing end to an exciting game.

We then pass swiftly through Robin’s encounter with Dave, which he won 11-5, 11-7 & 11-8. Robin won a small number of smashes and occasionally served to good effect, but Dave was too steady and was always in charge.

With he match well and truly lost, Terry met Michael Higgins, and in an excellent first game, Terry used a mix of effective smashes and sound returns to win 11-9. But Michael pulled his game together to gradually crush Terry’s resistance to reel off 11-6, 11-1 and 11-3.

Finally, Mick, wearing the designer track suit he has used since the 1980s, faced Tom. We saw Mick make a complete mess of a couple of serves; Tom responded but played well to move to 9-5. Was a win on the horizon? Well, no because Mick introduced a hitherto unrevealed fiendish serve which Tom took time to adjust to. Mick won G1 at 12-10. G2 also showed balance as Tom kept it to 6-6 at one point. But Mick produced a useful back hand smash to take the lead and finished off the game with a dynamic smash at 11-8. Tom had shot his bolt by the time we got into G3. He missed some back hands and Mick improved his percentage of winners to ease to 11-3 as Tom ran out of steam.

As usual, the game was punctuated by a large number of jokes and by short breaks as a number of players miss-hit the ball into the nearby court where our ‘A’ team was performing against Suma. Popps B all showed a degree of improvement, but finished the season without a win, reflecting the fact that the weaker teams tend not to appear in the summer league. Our opponents have tended to be more experienced and it has been easy to lose heart in the face of regular drubbings. But a degree of learning has taken place and indeed, we have to play against more experienced opposition to improve.

On a broader note, we are now getting geared up for the Winter League, when we will enter 2 teams. Terry Allington has kindly agreed to take over as Team Sec for the ‘A’ Team and will have to cope with the fact that Alan Woods has had to drop out for health reasons. We hope he gets back to full fitness as soon as possible and thank him for his support. Peter broke his leg earlier in the year and will need to get back to full fitness, as will John Taylor, so there will be pressure on the ‘A’ Team. Tom will handle the ‘B’ team and is recruiting some old contacts to return to the game. So we can look forward to an enjoyable league programme.

POPPS A Phil Parry,  Joun DAvenport, John Korner
Marsh Con Club  Adrian Normanton, Tom Normanton, John Schofield

Phil Parry v Adrian Normanton 3-11, 4-11, 3-11                          0-1

John Davenport v Tom Normanton 14-12, 11-4, 11-7                1-1

John Korner v John Schofield 1-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 5-11     1-2

John Davenport v Adrian Normanton 11-13, 4-11, 7-11           1-3

Phil Parry v John Schofield 9-11, 4-11, 8-11                                   1-4

John Korner v Tom Normanton 11-7, 11-5, 11-3                          2-4

John Davenport v John Schofield 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8            3-4

John Korner v Adrian Normanton  9-11, 8-11, 8-11                     3-5

Phil Parry v Tom Normanton  11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5                     4-5

Popps A:    Terry Allington, John Korner, Trevor Kershaw

Dolphins:    Ken Scott, Denise Scott, Alan Cowburn

The opening set between Terry Allington and Ken Scott was between two players who practice together, Terry taking the opening game to seven. The wily Ken then started to change his tactics by pushing the ball back and using his high kicking topspin ball to counter Terry’s defence. It worked well as Ken ran through the next three games to give Dolphins a 1-0 lead.

The next set between John Korner and Alan Cowburn was a battle between John’s consistent topspin and Alan’s fast attack. John won comfortably to level the score at 1-1.

The third set featured Denise Scott. She faced the awkward Trevor Kershaw with his high topspin defence. Denise was caught in two minds whether to attack or defend and made too many mistakes against the confident Trevor, to give Popps 1-2 lead.

John Korner again played well to defeat Ken Scott in 4 games, Ken’s famous backhand flick letting him down at times.

Terry Allington used his tight defence to see him though against Alan Cowburn, to make the score 1-4 to Popps.

In the sixth set Trevor Kershaw had a fine win over Ken Scott who he had never beaten before. It went to 5 games with Trevor just edging the final game.

John Korner capped a great evening with a fine win over Denise Scott to make the score 1-6 to Popps.

Trevor Kershaw proved too strong for Alan Cowburn who had struggled all night to find some form.

The ninth set between Terry Allington and Denise Scott was very close, going to 5 games. Denise found Terry’s defensive strategy much more to her liking and showed a great fighting spirit. In a tense final game Terry’s nerve and concentration saw him through.

The final score was Dolphins 1, Popps A 8.

Popps ‘B’ V Marsh Conservative Club. Tuesday 10 August 2010

Teams: Marsh: Adrian Normanton, John Schofield, and Robert Woodward (borrowed) Popps: Terry Wassall, Dennis McGuinness, Robin Thomas.

Your correspondent was not present at our first encounter with Marsh, did not write the report and was not able to make the usual stereotypical comments about the political colour of our opponents. Did they practice under a big poster of Margaret Thatcher? Did they indulge in fox hunting through the streets of Huddersfield? Were they all public school toffs, used to roasting boys over the prefects’ fire? We will never know. What we do know is that they beat us fairly easily last time and would probably do so again. In addition, they turned up one short and commandeered Robert Woodward, a not inexperienced player, to make up their numbers. In the event Adrian stormed into an early lead against Dennis, with some big smashes while Dennis tried to get used to Adrian’s style of play. 11-1, followed by 11-1 as one sensed that Dennis was beginning to feel intimidated. However, he was returning serve and contributing to long rallies, only to lose the crucial point. Points were hard to come by and Adrian benefited from a couple of flukes to wind up G3 at 11-4.

Robin then met John (not John Schofield, the great US jazz guitarist). He won 11-1, 11-5 & 11-4, wearing an arm bandage which may have contained some sophisticated electronics to allow him to receive coaching while he administered a comprehensive defeat. Terry had by then arrived and was pushed into service against Robert. He allowed Terry to make mistakes, returned most shots and goaded Terry into a number of risky attack shots which missed the table. He won G1 11-2, but in G2, Terry played better and won more smashes to lose 11-5. Terry executed a useful forehand smash in G3, followed by a wild back hand as Robert cruised ahead, to win 11-4.

Dennis then reappeared to take on John. He struggled to handle John’s serve, had a couple of good forehand attacks, but could not prevent John moving to 11-3. G2 ended up at 11-4 to John, but did not reflect the balance of the game which included some longish rallies as Dennis mastered John’s serve. However, after 5 or 6 shots, Dennis would make a mistake and lose the point. John won G2 at 11-4 and cleaned up G3 at 11-3, having executed some useful smashes.

Adrian V Terry was more balanced than the previous matches and both players won some useful attacking points. Terry’s smash (sounds like a chocolate flavoured potato powder) was beginning to connect, but Adrian was playing the steadier game and moved to 11-8. Terry was beginning to deal with Adrian’s serve, but threw in a couple of brash smashes, allowing Adrian to win G2 11-6. In G3, Adrian moved ahead with a useful back hand, then fluked a shot. Terry got a couple back with his lightning reflexes (who writes this stuff?) but the inevitable took place as Adrian smoothly moved to 11-6.

Robin then found himself against the experienced Robert, who patiently allowed him to make mistake after mistake as he reeled off 11-3, 11-5 and 11-3. However, it was a useful training exercise.

The next match was a John Terry encounter, so lock up your daughters! Terry tried to hit himself out of danger as frustration allowed John to win 11-2 in G1. Terry played more effective table tennis in G2, with his back hand working well early on. However it was not consistent and John won 11-5. Terry seemed to be losing the will to live as he tried to hit anything that moved, but John stayed calm to win 11-3.

In an other exhibition match, Dennis took on Robert. Dennis looked like an advert for Orange phones as he scampered after shots, showing excellent mobility for a man who remembers Queen Victoria’s coronation. He kept his concentration, produced some cunning serves and lost 11-7. However, Robert tightened up his game and won G2 11-3. Dennis contributed to some entertaining rallies in G3, but again, lost crucial shots to allow Robert to build up a big lead. Dennis produced a mini-fight back to bring it back to 11-5.

Robin scored the only winning game of the night for Popps, by winning G3 11-8 against Adrian, resplendent in an all-black outfit and a pair of hot pants which would have looked better on Kylie Minogue. Adrian won the first two comfortably by 11-5 & 11-4, but Robin produced some fast services which, unusually for this league, Adrian found frustrating to deal with and squandered his returns. However, normality returned in G4, which he won 11-8.

So Marsh Conservative Club took the match overall 9-0. Popps had some moments of class but if you blinked you missed them. Robert Woodward gave a master class in steady defensive play and overall, the match was played in an atmosphere of good humour and bonhomie. Will Marsh Conservative Club now be renamed as Marsh Coalition Club? Will they ask George Osborne to restore proposed cuts in funding for table tennis? Answers on a post card to Alan Dickinson.

The return match against Evergreens saw Popps A make one change, Trevor Kershaw replacing John Korner who had an ankle problem.

In the first set Terry Allington was returning after 3 defeats against Suma. He faced the awkward Mick Curry with his heavy backspin push shot, and classic backhand flick. Terry used his watchful defence to come through in 4 games.

The second featured Trevor Kershaw against Michael Higgins Michael is an old fashioned type player, with a push and block game but he soon fell away to Trevor’s high topspin returns, to loose in straight games. This gave Popps a 2 – 0 lead.

Two attacking players Philip Parry and Dave Lewis fought out the third set. The bearded Dave was always in control with his consistent topspin loop shot, which made the score 2-1 to Popps.

In the fourth set Terry A out-pushed Michael Higgins to win in straight games and made the score 3-1.

Trevor K and Dave L , similar players with their topspin attacking game. Dave always the stronger powered his way to another success to make the score 3-2.

Philip Parry had a good win over M.H. who had struggled all night to his form. Philip gave him no chance with some cracking forehand smashes to make the score 4-2.

A nervous T.K. found it hard going against Mick Curry who defended well and used his backhand flick to pick off his opponent and make the score 4-3.

A cat and mouse game between T.A. and D.L. went the distance with a determined Dave winning in 5 to make it 4-4.

In the final set Philip Parry kept up his good form against Mick Curry who fought hard but found Philip’s lightening hits too hot to handle.

Final Score Evergreens 4 Popps A 5 , a great result for us. Hopefully this will auger well for the hard matches to come.

The two Popps teams met again for this much anticipated local derby. For some reason there is no report on the first encounter earlier in the summer, probably because none of our regular scribes were playing. However, 9 – 0 to Popps A would probably be a good guess at the result. The good news for Popps B this time is that they only lost 3 – 6. The bad news is it was only because one of the A team members didn’t turn up. The B team consisted of Dennis, Terry W and Alwyn. The A team were Terry A and Phil. It is difficult to pick out the high lights as the match went as one would have predicted from the two teams relative league positions and results.  We started promptly at 7. 30 and the massacre was over by 9.00.  I will record for posterity the 2 games were the B team got to double figures. Terry W took Phil to 10 – 10 in their 2nd game before losing 10 – 12. Dennis won his 2nd game against Phil 11 – 8 before losing the set  1 game to 3. This solitary game was the zenith of the B teams fortunes.  The Summer League could be seen as a rather depressing experience for the B team and probably would be if we did not have realistic expectations of our skill levels and abilities. As it is we take great satisfaction from winning the occasional game against generally significantly better and more experience opposition.  We still have a lot to learn but one thing we have learnt for sure is not to give up our day jobs.