Old Town Hares 5 Popps A 4

Popps A Pipped by Artful Hares

Having been told their “No.1″ , Neil Coneron had to go home early to feed the cat (or was it the wife?) we agreed to let him play his sets early.

With PeterMc beating Neil, Alan Wood doing extremely well in beating No 2 Phil Ward in a hard fought 5 setter, and Terry Allington beating both of them, Popps raced into a 4-2 lead. However we then found that we had been lulled into a false sense of security.

They brought on their resident professional, Clive Edens, who quickly disposed of Peter and Alan. Even then he nearly stumbled against our resident brick wall, Terry, who returned smash after smash from Clive, just loosing out in the 4th after some brilliant rallies.
With their Nos 1 & 2 each winning a set this gave them their 5-4 victory.

Still, this was more improvement from the Popps, having lost the first half fixture at home 7-2.

PM.

Wed 2.12.09 . Old Town Hounds 4 — Popps A 5

2 wins each from Derek and Peter and 1 from John helped us to a narrow victory, despite the fact that they had a “ringer” playing for them from their first team. A return to winning ways was very welcome and caused some singing in the choirs whilst Terry absented himself but performed with the chorus . ( Fact, Terry really is a songbird !! )
Good to see Derek getting back towards his old self after injury.

Mon 7.12.09. Doubles Handicap Plate . Popps A 462 — Panthers 378

To win by 84 points was a great achievement against a first division team, notwithstanding the “few” points start we had. Terry A and John T made an excellent doubles combination and amassed over 30 points in 2 of their games, John matching Terry with a super defensive performance. Peter managed to upset their equilibriums with some naughty (cheating ?? !! ) claims over his misplaced serves. Isn’t all fair in love, war and ping pong ?
Anyway , it worked and with the “few” points start we won every game.

Boast while we can because next week we meet the mighty Lions and after that match we might come home feeling a little “Cowed” !!

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).

Lions finished mid-table last year, above Popps, so we knew this was a fixture which would be a challenge. Then we heard that Joan had gone down with pneumonia! We wish her a speedy recovery. Your team secretary roped himself in, only to find that John Mitchell had to pull out at short notice to deal with domestic illness.

Rather than engage a passer- by to play, knowing it was probably a lost cause, we just played 6 matches and defaulted on three. In the event, we lost the match 6-0 against a young and sprightly Lions team.

Alan commenced against Ben Speak a young man with more hair than the combined Popps membership. He won 11-8, 11-5 and 11-9. Alan’s sensible approach was to try and hang in with steady returns, but Ben’s all round game was more effective, with good attacking shots to finish off points.

Robin against Chie Hick was fairly one-sided. She exhibited an effective penholder grip and executed some complex spin serves. However, your elderly team secretary completely lost his composure when his young opponent removed her track suit top and trousers after G1 was lost 11-5. He gained a few points by directing a fast low serve to her forehand, but his mind had gone, coupled with a galloping pulse rate and a red, sweating face. She won the next 2 games to 6 and 4.

Swiftly back on the table, Alan took on Hannah Kendal, losing eventually 11-9, 11-7 and 11-7. Alan fought well with steady returns, but Hannah’s useful backhand flick gave her the edge when attacking opportunities arose. At one point in G3, Hannah made an excellent smash which Alan unexpectedly returned, only to be defeated by her subsequent shot. Robin then met Ben who had a much better all round game. His side spin serve proved difficult to deal with and he was able to win some useful points with his smash. The match ended 11-5, 11-5 and 11-5 which at least had the merit of consistency.

Alan had a varied match with Chie. Her pen grip produced some useful attacking shots in G1 and she moved to an 11-5 win. Alan was vulnerable to her forehand smash in G2 and sank to 11-3. However, he fought back well in G3 by consistent returns, staying level up to 9-9. However, Chie produced a couple of good shots to finish off at 11-9.

In the final set of the evening, Hannah’s steady play despatched Robin 11-3, 11-3 and 11-3 with a good array of shots and serves. As usual, the match was played in a good spirit. We apologised for not fielding a full side, but in the event, it would not have affected the result. The unexpected bonus of an early finished meant that the remnants of the Popps team could drown their sorrows in the Big Six.

Tuesday November 24, 2009.
This team finished above Popps last year and currently are one place above us.  A win could take us above them, but would we be able to demonstrate some consistency against these experienced campaigners?  We arrived ready to play at 7.15 and waited for our opponents to turn up. They eventfully arrived at 7.30, having claimed to have fought through storms and floods to get here. In fact they arrived with one player stuffing herself with chocolate bars while the remainder sucked lollypops for most of the evening, hence the sticky ball, something to be avoided in all situations.

Terry Wassall kicked off well with a win against Derek Williamson.  It took 4 games, Terry winning the first with some good smashes and G2 with better play. However, in G3, Derek took one back with consistent play and the odd fluke. Terry had to focus well to win G4, but he did so, with some well-aimed smashes and a generally safe approach. Terry won 11-5, 11-7, 9-11 and 11-4.

Alan then appeared against Sue Allen. He took time to settle and tried to play safe, but Sue bamboozled him with her service and her successful attacking shots. Alan played better in G3, taking her to 13-15, purely by playing steady returns, but she prevailed to win 3-0.

Your team secretary then took on Rose Tipton. Players from Old Town Hounds like to make themselves out to be shepherds eking out a living in the high pastures of the Pennines, but in reality they are solidly middle class financial advisers and systems analysts.  Robin could not deal with her serve which in fact turned out to be illegal and has been banned by the international court of justice in The Hague.  She also executed some good (legal) forehand smashes and Robin lost 11-8, 11-6 and 11-3, by which time he was hitting anything that moved. At one point, she removed her track suit top to reveal a Persil-white aertex shirt. This is of course illegal and our John Taylor would have called in the TT police. However, it was the sensuous removal of the track suit top which finally killed off RT’s concentration as she waltzed to a 3-0 victory.

It was then Alan’s turn to meet Derek Williamson. He played well in the first game while Derek was executing some wild, angry smashes and at 11-7, things looked good for us, but Derek got his game together and with the help of a good back hand flick moved to 11-6.  Alan could not sustain his form and Derek used his flick to good effect to win the remaining two games to 4.

Then came the set of the match between Terry and Rose Tipton.  Initially, he did not cope with that serve, did not settle down and lost 6-11.  Despite one shot which hit the roof, Terry pulled away to win G2 11-8 and achieved the same score in G3 after a balanced game and one lucky fluke.  In G4, Terry needed to keep cool, but Rose was creeping ahead to 11-7 and a final game beckoned.  Using his short serve worked well, followed up by a smash to Rose’s back hand and Terry eventually succeeded at 11-5.

Robin had some good rallies with Sue and executed one or two attacks, but overall her game was too steady and she ran out 11-5, 11-6 & 11-4 as Robin’s enthusiasm for prolonging the agony finally petered away.

Alan then took on the shimmering white top of Rose. He stumbled as he blinked in the glare, like a startled rabbit in front of a BMW on a dark Pennine night and Rose motored ahead to 11-5. She executed a powerful back hand flick and a well-placed oblique shot to the right of Alan’s forehand and won G2 11-4.  A similar pattern was observed in G3, with Alan not dealing with the serve. He pushed back in mid-game, but Rose eased to 11-5 to take the encounter.

Robin failed to deal with Derek’s tricky serve, got some smashes in, but went out as Derek won 11-5, 11-4 & 11-5.

Terry had hopes of keeping his 100% record in the final set against Sue. He tried to balance his attacks with some steady defence, but Sue smashed her way to 11-8 in G1.  His tactics were more effective in G2 and the game was level at 9-9.  However, Sue kept her nerve with a couple of winners, the final one accompanied by a major foot-stamp. This woke us all up, but stamping, whilst illegal in Rugby Union, is ok in TT it seems. In G3, Terry tried hard to keep on terms, producing some good attacking shots to level at 5-5.  But Sue steadied her game, this time without stamping on anyone and cruised to 11-6.

As usual, the match, won 7-2 by Hounds, was played with good humour and enthusiasm and our opponents climbed on to their tractor and rumbled back through the flooded valley to the barren slopes of the Pennines with another win under their belts. Tomorrow, Rose’s shirt will tipped into the Hotpoint twin-tub be soaked in Persil again, ready for another dazzling success.

The match got off to a late start as the POPPs team, playing away, had taken the venue details from the Handbook which was incorrect. After a number of phone calls and, in Terry Wassall’s case, a stop at the Hare and Hounds pub and Old Town Cricket Club for directions, we all found our way to the chapel where the match duly took place. It was all rather hurried and our reporter was not able to make any notes for this record but  the facts are roughly as follows:  we were hammered. Terry W played at number 1 (as he was first to arrive and at least got a bit of a warm up). He took a game off each of the Hare’s numbers 2 and 3 but lost to their number 3 (who turned out to be a well known table tennis coach in the Yorkshire area!)  0-3. David Mitchell  also won a couple of games over the evening but hasn’t  really get into his stride yet after a long layoff and injury. However, he is gradually getting there and will undoubtedly be more of a force in the second half of the season.

In many ways the POPPs star of the evening was new member Joan in her first ever competitive match. She lost all 3 of her set, like the rest of the team, but improved noticeably as the evening went on. Her basic blocking game was greatly aided by a level of mobility that was quite alien to the normal POPPs B style of play and, as her confidence grew and she put a little more pace and aggression into her more attacking shots, she began to win some points very convincingly. She will undoubtedly become a valuable addition to the B team over the rest of the season. She had benefited of course by watching the other B team players and working out that she had to do something else! So we lost 0 - 9 but against a very good team that will undoubtedly finish very high in the division this year.

There is no doubt the B team are struggling this year and it is easy to become somewhat demoralised. However, given that the better POPPs players are in an A team this year, and last year most of our matches had at least 2 of what are now A team players in the team, the B team is doing pretty much as well as last year. If we keep trying to  learn and keep a positive and constructive attitude, there is no reason why we shouldn’t improve over the season and have a really good run at it next season. In many ways the B team is starting from scratch this year with 2 new players and the 2 players from last year who had played the least number of matches.

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 3^rd 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.

First our official complaints (not excuses I hasten to add) :–
 
1. They tried to dint our enthusiasm by telling us that they won  last winter Third Division  by a  margin of 30 points. Totally out of order.
2. Their No 2, David, topped Div 3 averages last year and he regularly runs marathons  (fit bugger !).  Surely this cannot be allowed ?
3. Captain Mick, small in physique but big in bed, brought  back fresh from his honeymoon in Cyprus and ready to go.  Foreplay like this should be banned (or he should be quarantined for at least a week on his return.
4. John, our star player complained he had to play against 2 people at the same time (although the scorer was ‘ours’).  A definite legitimate claim.
 
Now the match highlights.
 
1. Peter won his first 2 games against their No.1, Michael in magnificent style (but then managed to turn victory into defeat).
2. John took 1 off the newly wed (game, not woman) even more gloriously.
3. Alan showed great improving style and playing some excellent rallies against their David.
 
They could not match our highlights, but in the end thanks to 9 lucky results ended up just in front.
 
A prize is up for grabs to the first person to guess the actual result. It is the actual match ball, old and flawed just like POPPS.  (Anyone or their friends or relations with any knowledge of TT is banned from entering.

Spartans won 7-2.  POPPs team David, Peter and Terry.  David was the only set winner for POPPs with a win of 3-0 against Spartan’s Steve Hanson and a hard fought 3-2 win over Michael Mullins.

Peter took a game from all 3 players, Michael, Karthik Shetty and Steve. Terry failed to win a single game thus confiming his position as the POPPs no. 3.