Winter League Update and Table Tennis England cancels County Championships.

We had a good response to the winter league with 45 teams registered to play. Mark Kimberley spent a lot of time getting everything set up in Table Tennis 365 and we’re ready to go in January with a limited season of five divisions and teams playing each other once. However, with the November lockdown and the region being placed in Tier 3 without prospect of this being lifted in the new year makes that prospect unlikely.

We are keeping the situation under regular review and will let everyone know when conditions enable competitive table tennis to restart. Under the current guidelines we would require the region to be placed within Tier 1 and Table Tennis England to allow league competition to restart. Unfortunately we don’t yet have any dates for either of these requirements.

Additionally the County Championships for this season have been cancelled on the back of Table Tennis England cancelling a number of national “mass”events which includes the British league.

We will attempt to keep everyone up-to-date with any developments as they occur.

Additional reading

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-3-very-high-alert#sport-and-physical-activity
• https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/news/archived/coronavirus-update/
• https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/compete/competitions/county-championships

Northumbria league statement – 17 March 2020

We have taken the decision to temporarily suspend all fixtures in the Northumbria league.

We are hoping that the league will be resumed later in the summer and the remaining fixtures including cup games can be played when the advice is that it is safe to do so.

This means we are unlikely to be able to fit in a summer league but we will keep this under review. 

In the Premier Division NECA A consolidated their position at the top of the league with a 9-1 win over Mount C. The Mount team could only field two players which was not going to be enough against a strong NECA team. Andrew Wilkinson and Adam Webster were unbeaten for NECA with Mount’s consolation point coming from a Bailey Pye win over Lee Tinkler in a close five end game. Cramlington Casuals had an 8-2 win over Matfen Senators with three wins apiece for Duncan Wraight and James Bradbury; and Gareth Pearson winning two games. The points for Matfen came from a singles win for Alex Holliday and he paired up with Neil Forsyth to win the doubles.

In Division 1 Tyneside A took the opportunity to consolidate their second place in the league with an 8-2 win over Mitford. Tyneside’s Mark Kimberley and Rob Lawson both won three games with Mark Patterson winning one game to secure the win. Mount D lost the opportunity to keep place with Tyneside after they went down to a 7-3 defeat to Ouston A. Neil Wilkinson was player of the match winning three games for Ouston with Bernie Morris winning two games and Kevin Richardson one game. NECA B had a 6-4 win over Newton A who could only field two players. Newton had gone into a 4-2 lead with singles wins from Graeme Bell and John Henderson and winning the doubles but they couldn’t overcome the absence of a third player and two singles wins from Ken Lee and one from Kit Robinson secured NECA the victory. Brandon Anacondas had a straightforward 8-2 win over Cramlington Tigers. Stephen Pattinson and Ian Richardson were in good form for Brandon winning their three games.

In Division 2 top of the table Mount E had a straightforward 10-0 win over Cramlington Trojans. The Mount team of Charlie Mouzon, Alan Livingstone and Mick Hope proved too strong for their opponents. The result of the week came as third placed Cramlington Falcons defeated second placed Old England Crocks 10-0 which moved the Cramlington team into second place. The Cramlington players Oliver Ho, Alfie Stokes and Archie Stokes proved too strong for the Old England players. Tyneside B had a 7-3 win over Cramlington Reivers. Dean Eadington was player of the match for Tyneside winning three games including a win over the in-form Bernie McArdle; Jim Robertson and James Moore won two games each to secure the overall win. There was a close game between Matfen Tribunes and Ouston C which ended in a 5-5 draw. Player of the match was Ouston’s Harry Veitch who won three games. The all Cramlington game between Cramlington Spartans and Cramlington Swifts also ended in a 5-5 draw, player of the match was Swifts’ Anthony Doyle who won his three games.

In Division 3 the game between Ouston D and Tyneside C ended in a 7-3 win for Tyneside. Tyneside’s Paul Conn and Leo Conn both won three games and paired up to win the doubles. In the second game despite only fielding two players Matfen Whitley Chapel defeated Matfen Cohorts 6-4. Stefan Sobel was player of the match for Whitely Chapel winning three games with teammate William Martin winning two games and the pair combining to win the doubles.

In Division 4 there were just two games this week. Cramlington Dragons had a 10-0 win over Cramlington Colts. The Dragons team of Stephen Baxter, Adrian Barnes and Pauline Long proved too strong for their opponents. Cramlington Knights beat Cramlington Magpies 6-4 with Jessica Yang and Daniel Harrison both winning two games for the Knights with Shay Whitfield winning one game. However, player of the match was the Magpies’ Sara Haddi who won three games.    

During the week round 4 of the cup competition was played. Ouston A beat Mount B 5-3. The Mount team had raced to a 3-1 lead in the first to 5 format thanks to two wins from Rod Roberts and one from Dave Cutler but they were pegged back by Ouston with two wins from Kevin Richardson, one win from Tom Fowle and one from Bernie Morris to win the match 5-3. The match between Ouston C and Brandon Bravehearts was close in the first few games with Ouston taking a 3-2 lead but then Brandon won the next 4 singles games to secure the win 6-3. The Brandon players Steve Pattinson, Paul Dale and Alan Perry all won two games each. The match between Mount A and Tyneside was over in the first five games as Mount won all five thanks to two wins each for Ant Ainley and Will McCallum, and one win for Ethan Brown. Both teams played on and the match ended with a 7-2 win to Mount. The final game was conceded by Ouston B who could not field a team so Cramlington Falcons went into the semi-final draw.

The semi-final draw sees Ouston A play Mount A; and Cramlington Falcons play Brandon Bravehearts.

The Northumbria league Junior team played the final three matches of this seasons National Junior League and despite suffering three surprising defeats the team secured enough points to win the league having won their previous nine matches. The Northumbria team was represented by Oliver Ho, Jack Cairns, Harry Veitch and Alan Roskilly. The team finished first with 76 points ahead of Bishop Auckland A in second place with 74 points and Ormesby A in third place with 73 points.

There was one re-arranged game in Division 1 as Newton A entertained Mitford. Barry Hill was player of the match winning three games for Mitford as they beat Newton 7-3. Michael Bull and Bob Atwell secured the other points for Mitford with two wins apiece. The points for Newton came from Dave Lucas who beat Bull and Atwell.

In Division 2 there was a clash between the division’s bottom two teams, Ouston C and Cramlington Trojans. Despite a number of close games Ouston came out on top with a 7-3 win thanks to Harry Veitch who won three games and was player of the match for Ouston; Duncan Hindmarsh won two games and Jamie Milroy one game. The game between Cramlington Reivers and Cramlington ended in a 5-5 draw. Reivers raced into a 4-2 lead but then individual wins for the Spartan’s Rob Lee, Sam Nair and Jamie Hall put the Spartans into a 5-4 lead. In the last game Bernie McArdle beat Sam Nair to level up the match.

In Division 4 there was just one game which saw the Cramlington Lions beat the Cramlington Colts 7-3. John McKenna was player of the match for the Lions winning three games with Freddie Mckenna winning two games and Daniel Harrison one game.

In the Premier Division top of the table NECA A proved too strong for Cramlington Stingers as they secured a 9-1 win. Adam Webster and Lee Tinkler both recorded three wins with the consolation point for Cramlington coming from a Steve Pearce win over Martin Schapira. Cramlington Casuals recorded a 6-4 win over Mount C with Duncan Wraight and Steve Pearce both winning two games and Gareth Pearson one game for Cramlington. Mount’s Bailey Pye was player of the match after winning three games despite being on the losing team. There was a close game between second and third placed Mount A and St Chads which ended in a 5-5 draw. Returning to the St Chads team after an injury lay-off Paul Baines produced two good wins over Jamie Dent and Phil Prady to gain player of the match.

In Division 1 top of the table Newcastle University consolidated their position with two wins. First they saw off second placed Tyneside A in a 9-1 win with Jeremy Hamshaw and Jack Formby both winning three games and Robin Francis two games. The second game was a 10-0 win over Matfen Centurions, the University team of Jeremy Hamshaw, Matthew Hopkins and Igor Smeljanski proving too strong for their opponents. Third placed Mount D lost the opportunity to capitalise on Tyneside’s heavy defeat as they lost 7-3 against Mitford. Barry Hill was player of the match winning three games with Karen Henry winning two games and Robert Atwell one game. Ouston A had a 7-3 win over Newton A thanks to Kevin Richardson with three wins, Bernie Morris and Thomas Fowle with two wins each; the Newton points came from Graeme Bell who defeated Morris and Fowle. Cramlington Tigers had a 7-3 win over NECA B with two wins each for the Cramlington team of Jimmy Scope, Lynsey Storey and Blair Carmichael. Player of the match was NECA’s David Byers who won his three games including an impressive win against the experienced Scope. There was a very close game between Brandon Anacondas and Prudhoe B which went to the last game and ended in a 5-5 draw. Stephen Pattinson from Brandon was player of the match winning three games.

In Division 2 the game between the top two teams ended in an 8-2 win for Mount E against Old England Crocks which moved Mount back to the top of the table. Alan Livingstone was the player of the match for Mount winning three games with Will McCallum and John Rowell winning two games each. This allowed third placed Cramlington Falcons to make up some ground on the Old England which they did with an 8-2 win over Ouston C. Oliver Ho was player of the match winning three games with Alfie Stokes and Archie Stokes winning two games each; the points for Ouston came from Harry Veitch. There was an 8-2 win for Cramlington Swifts against Matfen Tribunes. Richard Williamson was the player of the match for Cramlington winning three games with Anthony Doyle and Phil Teah-Swift winning two games each; the points for Matfen came from Pete Seago. The game between Tyneside B and Ouston B was a close game which went down to the last game which Ouston won to secure a 6-4 win. Michael Lyons was player of the match winning three games with Jamie Milroy and Jeff McKenna winning one game each. The points for Tyneside came from Jim Robertson and John Carr who both won two games each.

In Division 3 second placed Brandon Bravehearts maintained their push for promotion with a 6-4 win over Cramlington Cobras. Paul Dale was player of the match winning three games for Brandon. Matfen Cohorts had a 7-3 win over an under-strength Cramlington Jaguars who could only field two players. The game between Newton B and Ouston D ended in an 8-2 win for Newton. Thomas Manuel and Toby Lowe both won three games with Ian Armstrong winning one game.

In Division 4 Cramlington Dynamos extended their lead at the top of the table after a 10-0 win over Cramlington Colts. The Dynamos team of Alan Roskilly, Rohan Rawat and Tony Roskilly proving too strong for their opponents on this occasion. Second placed Cramlington Dragons had a 7-3 win over Cramlington Magpies with the Dragons Pauline Long and Adrian Barnes both winning three games and Barnes picking up the player of the match.  Cramlington Lions had a 9-1 win over Cramlington Knights. The Lions Freddie McKenna and John McKenna both won their three games; the consolation point for the Knights’ came from a Jessica Yang win over Daniel Harrison

In the Premier Division the top three sides were all in action and all won by exactly the same score so there was no change in position at the top of the table. NECA A beat Old England Jacks 9-1 with Adam Webster and Lee Tinkler winning their three games; the consolation point for Old England came from a Steve Penman win over David Byers. St Chads proved too strong for Matfen Senators with Chris Blake and Keith Weatherby winning three games and George Gibson two games; Alex Holliday won the only game for Matfen against Gibson. The all Mount clash between the A team and the C team saw the A team came out on top with a 9-1 win. Anthony Ainley and Dan Dodds both won their three games with the C team’s John Williamson securing a win over Phil Prady.

In Division 1 top of the table Newcastle University had a straightforward 10-0 win over Brandon Anacondas. The University team of Matthew Hopkins, Robin Francis and Daviest Ong proved too strong for the Brandon players. Tyneside A keep up their hopes of a promotion with a 7-3 win over Matfen Centurions. Mark Kimberley was player of the match winning three games for Tyneside with Mark Patterson adding two wins and Rob Lawson one win. There was a close game between Prudhoe B and NECA B which ended in a 6-4 win for NECA B. David Byers was player of the match winning three games for NECA with Ken Lee winning two games. The game between Cramlington Tigers and Ouston A ended in a 5-5 draw with Jimmy Scope player of the match for Cramlington winning three games.

In Division 2 top of the table Old England Crocks slipped up with a 6-4 defeat against bottom of the table Ouston C. Andy Harris was player of the match for Ouston winning three games with Duncan Hindmarsh wining two and Jamie Milroy one game. That gave an opportunity for Cramlington Falcons in third place to make up a little ground on the top two teams which they did with a 7-3 win over Ouston B. The Cramlington win was secured by Oliver Ho winning three games, Archie Stokes two games and Alfie Stokes one game. There were a number of close matches in the all Cramlington game between Cramlington Trojans and Cramlington Swifts which the Swifts ended up wining 7-3. The Swifts team of Anthony Doyle, Richard Williamson and Joe Hastings all won two games each. There was a 5-5 draw between Matfen Tribunes and Cramlington Reivers with Bernie McArdle player of the match winning three games for Cramlington. The game between Cramlington Spartans and Tyneside B ended in a 6-4 win for the Spartans with Rob Lee in good form for the Spartans winning three games.

In Division 3 to placed Mount F had a straightforward 10-0 win against an under strength Cramlington Cobras. The Mount team of John Rowell, Michael Bradley and William Edwards proved too strong for Cobras’ Alan Hedley and Steve Ralph. Second placed Brandon Bravehearts had an 8-2 win over Newton B with three wins apiece for Paul Dale and Brian Childs. Saints had a 9-1 win against Ouston D with Ray Joynson and Steve Dawson both wining three games for Saints and Vince Killen adding two wins; the consolation point for Ouston came from Shirley Robson who beat Killen. The game between Tyneside C and Matfen Cohorts was a lot closer than the 9-1 win to Tyneside would suggest. Tyneside’s Paul Conn and Liam Hogan both won three games and Leo Conn added two wins; the consolation point for Matfen came from Richard Rayfield who edged out Leo Conn in a 5 end game.

In Division 4 there were just two games this week which featured the top two teams. Cramlington Dynamos slightly extended their lead at the top of the table after a 10-0 win over Cramlington Magpies. The Dynamos’ Rohan Rawat, Alan Roskilly and Ojas Aggrawal proving too strong for their opponents. Cramlington Dragons had a 9-1 win over Cramlington Knights with Stephen Baxter and Pauline Long both winning three games for the Dragons; the consolation point for the Knights came from Jessica Yang who beat Paul Athey.

In the Premier Division Mount A beat Matfen Senators 8-2. Anthony Ainley and Phil Prady both won three games for the Mount team and combined to win the doubles. The points for Matfen came from good wins by Alex Holliday and Neil Forsyth over Bailey Pye. Cramlington Casuals had a 6-4 win away to Old England Jacks. Cramlington’s James Bradbury, Gareth Pearson and Steve Pearce all won two games. The Old England points came from Steve Penman who won three games and paired up with Jake Helm to win the doubles.

In Division 1 NECA B had a straightforward 10-0 win over Brandon Anacondas. The NECA team of David Byers, Ken Lee and Jamie Collins proved too strong for their opponents. In the game between Mitford and Cramlington Tigers, Mitford raced into a 5-1 lead thanks to wins by Barry Hill, Karen Henry and Michael Bull but then the Tigers fought back to secure a 5-5 draw with wins from Oliver Ho, Bernie McArdle and Pete Wilkinson. Prudhoe B had a 6-4 win away to Ouston A. The points for Prudhoe came from Ryan Campbell who won two games, Duncan Fraser two games and Maurice Cheek one game.

In Division 2 with Mount E not playing Old England Crocks took the opportunity to go back to the top of the league with a 5-5 draw against Cramlington Swifts. Barry Matthews was player of the match winning three games for Old England. Tyneside B had a 7-3 win over Matfen Tribunes, Tyneside’s John Carr was player of the match winning three games with Jim Robertson winning two games and Don Catley one game. In the all Cramlington affair between Cramlington Reivers and Cramlington Trojans the Trojans could not field a full team and ended up losing 7-3. Jack Cairns offered some resistance for the Trojans winning games against Michael Dunn and Joe Swinburn. Cramlington Spartans had a good 6-4 win against higher placed Ouston B. Rob Lee was player of the match winning three games for the Spartans.

In Division 3 with Brandon Bravehearts pushing hard for promotion they had a straightforward 10-0 won against bottom of the table Ouston D. The Brandon team of Paul Dale, Jamie Westwater and John Spencer proved too strong for their opponents. Top placed Mount F had an 8-2 win over Newton B with John Rowell winning three games, Michael Bradley two games and William Edwards two games. Newton’s resistance came from Thomas Manuel who won two games. Matfen Cohorts had a 6-4 win over Saints with Mark Perrin, David Crompton and Richard Rayfield all winning two games. Cramlington Cobras lost 7-3 to Matfen Whitely Chapel with Stefan Sobell player of the match for Matfen winning three games.

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Over this week end The Sporting Club hosted the Northumberland Junior tournament and the Northumberland Closed Tournament. Seventy-three players took part over the two tournaments which took place on Friday 14 February and Saturday 15 February.

In the Junior tournament Adam Webster secured his fifth consecutive win in the Junior singles beating the quickly improving Oliver Ho from Cramlington in the final. Adam who is ranked number 18 in the current England Junior rankings; and is sure to go higher after recent wins against higher ranked players in recent County representative matches, collected The Norman Moore Memorial Cup.

In the Cadet singles Oliver secured a win against Tyneside’s Leo Conn. The pair both play in the Northumbria League team in the National Cadet league and the first end between them was very close with some great attacking table tennis being played by both players. Oliver was awarded The Harry Dignan Cup for winning the Cadet Singles.

The Under 13 Singles was the closest game of the night with Cramlington’s Jessica Yang coming out on top in three ends against Brian Granada from St Mary’s Catholic school. The score was 9-11, 13-11 and 11-9 to Jessica showing how close the game was.

The Under 12 singles was played in a group format with Jake Hill from John Spence school coming out in first place with Josiah McQueen from St Oswalds school in second place.

In the Northumberland Closed tournament was the final of the Open Singles. This was contested between Andrew Wilkinson and Graeme Barella who are ranked 29 and 39 respectively in the England national rankings.  This time Graeme Barella came out on top and received The Alan Morpeth Memorial Cup for the third consecutive year.

The winner of the Women’s Singles and recipient of the Philomena Clark trophy was Lynne Herrington who beat Kit Robinson in the final. This is the 14^th year that Lynne has won the Women’s Singles in the Northumberland tournament.

In the Veterans competition Andrew Wilkinson who is ranked number 4 in the current England Veteran rankings defeated his long time teammate Steve Penman in the final. This year there was an inaugural Over 60s singles competition which was won by Alex Holliday from the Matfen club who beat Dave Cutler from the Dunston based Mount club.

For this first time this year the Northumberland Closed featured a consolation singles competition for those players who were knocked out in the group phase of the Open Singles. The inaugural winner was Ken Lee from the North East Chinese Association club who beat Newcastle University’s Matthew Hopkins in a five end thriller that could have gone either way.

After his success in the Junior tournament Oliver Ho continued that form into the Northumberland Closed wining the Handicap singles and the Band 4 Singles. The Handicap singles is based on relative ranking of players and they either start with a points lead or a points deficit. In the final Oliver was pushed by his more experienced Cramlington club mate Nigel Rodgers but ended up winning a close game. In the Band 4 singles Oliver faced another Cramlington club mate, Anthony Doyle, and this game went to five ends with Anthony pulling back from being 2 nil down to level at 2 all before Oliver won the fifth and deciding end.

The other banded singles winners were players play against players of a similar grading were; Steve Penman won the Band 1 singles for the 14^th time defeating Jeremy Hamshaw from Newcastle University; in the Band 2 singles David Cutler beat club mate Rod Roberts; in the Band 3 singles Tyneside’s Dean Eadington defeated Mount’s Ethan Brown; and in the Band 5 singles there was an all Cramlington affair between Joe Hastings and Alan Roskilly which Joe ended up winning in a close 5 end game.

The final competition was a doubles in which players are paired up randomly. The winners this year were Chris Blake from St Chads in Sunderland and Cramlington Anthony Doyle who beat the pairing of Dave Cutler from Mount and John Henderson from Newton.

In the Premier Division both Cramlington teams were in action in the week. Cramlington Casuals had a 6-4 win over Prudhoe A which moved the Casuals above Prudhoe in the table. It was a very close game between the two teams which saw James Bradbury getting player of the match for Cramlington winning three games. Cramlington Stingers had a tougher game against St Chads which ended in a 7-3 win for St Chads. Chris Blake and George Gibson both won three games and paired up to win the doubles for St Chads.

In Division 1 top placed Newcastle University were unable to field a full team and were beaten 7-3 by bottom placed NECA B. David Byers was in good form for NECA winning all of his games. The game between Newton A and Matfen Centurions ended in a 5-5 draw. Graeme Bell won three games for Newton and was supported by David Lucas who won two games; the Matfen points came from Phil Rainford who won two games with Chris Kilsby and Keith Hodges winning one game each. The game between Ouston A and Brandon Anacondas ended up as a 6-4 win for Ouston. Jon Mawson was in good form for Ouston winning three games with support from Michael Lyons who won two games. Prudhoe B beat Mitford 6-4 with Ryan Campbell and Jordan Dove both winning two games for Prudhoe.

In Division 2 top of the table Mount E suffered their first defeat of the season. They went down to an 8-2 loss against Ouston B. Michael Lyons and Mark Rodgers were in good form for Ouston as they both won their three games and combined to win the doubles. That loss for enabled second placed Old England Crocks to make up some ground which they did with a 6-4 win over Cramlington Reivers.  Joe Perrin, Nigel Coe and Barry Matthews all won two games each to secure the win but player of the match was Cramlington’s Bernie McArdle who won three games. Matfen Tribunes had a straightforward 8-2 win over Cramlington Spartans with Matfen’s Nigel Tree and Pete Seago both winning three games. Tyneside B had a 7-3 win over Cramlington Trojans with Tyneside’s Dean Eadington winning three games and Jim Robertson two games.

In Division 3 there was a top of the table clash between Mount F and Brandon Bravehearts which ended in a 5-5 draw. Paul Dale was the player of the match winning three games for Brandon. There was another 5-5 draw in the all Cramlington game between the Jaguars and Cobras. The game was close and all players won one or two games. Matfen Cohorts had a 7-3 win over Ouston D. David Crompton won his three games for Matfen and was supported by Mark Perrin who won two games and Linda Pinkham one game.

In Division 4 the top placed team Cramlington Dynamos proved too strong for Cramlington Knights as they had a straightforward 10-0 win with Alan Roskilly, Ojas Aggarwal and Tony Roskilly all winning their three games. Second placed Cramlington Dragons lost ground to the Dynamos after they went down to an 8-2 defeat to Cramlington Lions. Freddie McKenna and John MacKenna were both in good form the Lions both winning their three games. In a bottom of the table clash Cramlington Magpies secured a 7-3 win over Cramlington Colts with Sara Haddi getting player of the match after winning her three games for the Magpies. This moved Cramlington Magpies off bottom place and above the Colts.

This week was round 3 of the knockout cup and 8 games were played in the week.

There was an all Cramlington game between Cramlington Cobras and Cramlington Falcons. The young Falcons team of Oliver Ho, Archie Stokes and Alfie Stokes had a convincing 7-0 win despite giving a points advantage under the handicap rules to the more experienced Cobras’ players.

The Tyneside B team of John Carr, Dean Eadington and James Moore had a straightforward 6-3 win against the Cramlington Dragons.  The Dragons flying high in Division 4 couldn’t convert the points advantage they had against each of the Tyenside players into an overall win with only one game going to a third end.

The game between Mount A and Newton B ended up in a straightforward 5-0 win for the Mount A team of Ethan Brown, Dan Dodds and Will McCallum. Despite conceding a points advantage to the Newton players the Mount A secured a comprehensive win with none of the games going to a third end.

The game between Premier division rivals Matfen Senators and Mont B ended in a 5-1 win the Mount team. There were some close games but the Mount team of Rod Roberts, Bailey Pye and Alan Livingstone proved too strong for their opponents.

The game between NECA and Brandon Bravehearts was even after the first four games but Brandon won the last 5 games to secure the overall game with a 7-2 win.

There was a close game between Ouston B and Cramlington Swifts which ended in a 5-4 win for the Ouston team. Cramlington had taken a 4-3 lead before Mike Lyons and Jeff McKenna won the last two singles games to secure the win for Ouston.

The game between Ouston C and St Chads ended in a 5-3 win for Ouston. The Ouston players Duncan Hindmarsh, Dave Nichols and Harry Veitch had some significant points advantages against the Premier Division St Chads players of Keith Weatherby, Chris Blake and Dave Bissett which they used to their advantage in securing the win.

In the game between Mount C and Ouston A the Mount team of Mike Bradley, William Edwards and Mick Hope went into a 4-2 lead but couldn’t close the game out as the Ouston players Jon Mawson, Tom Fowle and Kevin Richardson fought back to win the last three singles and secure a 5-4 win.

There was only one league game in the week, in Division 1 Mount D had a straightforward 8-2 win over Cramlington Tigers. Alec Smith was player of the match winning three games for Mount with Lee Eadington and Mohinder Rawat both winning two games. The points for Cramlington came from Bernie McArdle who beat Eadington and Rawat.

NORTHUMBRIA TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE

KO HANDICAP CUP 2019 – 2020:  Draw for Round 4

To be played in (or before) week commencing 2nd March 2020

A specific week set aside for these matches.

	Home team		Away team	Normal Home Night
1	Mount B	V	Ouston A	Wednesday
2	Ouston C	V	Brandon Bravehearts	Friday
3	Cramlington Falcons	V	Ouston B	Thursday
4	Mount A	V	Tyneside B	Wednesday

In the Premier Division Mount A played Cramlington Stingers and came out on top with a 6-4 win. Anth Barella was player of the match winning three games for Mount with Anthony Ainley and Phil Prady winning one game each. Both Nigel Rodgers and Lewis Cadden won two games for the Stingers. There was a close game between Old England Jacks and St Chads which ended in a 6-4 win for St Chads. Josh Weatherby was player of the match winning three games for St Chads with Keith Weatherby winning two games and the pair combining to win the doubles. Mount C beat Matfen Senators 8-2 with Dave Cutler and Rod Roberts both winning three games; Justin Tetlow won two games to complete the win.

In Division 1 Newcastle University extended their lead at the top despite only fielding two players after a 6-4 win against Mount D.  Jack Formby was player of the match winning three games for the University with Matthew Hopkins winning two games and the pair combining to win the doubles. Tyneside A took the opportunity to capitalise on Mount D’s defeat to move clear in second place after a 7-3 win against Newton A. Mitford moved off the bottom after a 9-1 win against Brandon Anacondas who could only field two players. Karen Henry, Bob Atwell and Barry Hill proved too strong for their opponents. In a close game between Matfen Centurions and Cramlington Tigers the Cramlington team came out on top with a 6-4 win. Jimmy Scope was player of the match winning three games for Cramlington with Peter Wilkinson winning two and Lynsey Storey one.

In Division 2 Mount E maintained their top position with an 8-2 win over Ouston C. Alan Livingstone was player of the match winning three games for Mount with Charlie Mouzon and Michael Hope wining two games each. Old England Crocks maintain second place after a 6-4 win over Tyneside B. Barry Matthews was player of the match winning three games for Old England, Joe Perrin won two and Nigel Coe one. Third placed Cramlington Falcons closed the gap a little after an 8-2 win over Cramlington Swifts. Oliver Ho was player of the match wining three games for the Falcons with Alfie and Archie Stokes winning two games each. In a second all Cramlington game the Spartans beat the Trojans 7-3. Rob Lee was player of the match winning three games for the Spartans. Ouston B had a 7-3 win over Matfen Tribunes. Ouston’s win came from Mike Lyons with three wins, Jeff McKenna with two wins and Duncan Hindmarsh with one win.

In Division 3 top placed Mount F played bottom placed Ouston D. Mount came out on top with a 7-3 win. John Rowell and William Edwards both winning three games. Second placed Brandon Bravehearts played third placed Matfen Whitley Chapel. The Brandon extended the gap between the two teams with a 7-3 win. Paul Dale was player of the match with three wins for Brandon with Jamie Westwater and Alan Perry winning two games each. Cramlington Cobras had a 6-4 win over Tyneside C. James Ainsley and Alan Hedley won two games each with Steve Ralph winning one game. Paul Conn and Leo Conn had two wins each for Tyneside. There was 5-5 draw between Newton B and Cramlington Jaguars. The Cramlington had taken a 5-3 lead but Newton won the last two singles games to secure the draw. John Henderson was player of the match for Newton winning three games.

In Division 4 there was top of the table clash between Cramlington Dragons and Cramlington Dynamos. Cramlington Dynamos came out on top with an 8-2 win thanks to Alan Roskilly and Rohan Rawat who both won three games. The win moved Cramlington Dynamos back to the top of the table. Cramlington Lions had a comfortable 7-3 win over Cramlington Magpies with John McKenna and Freddie McKenna both winning three games. Cramlington Colts overcame Cramlington Knights by the same score. Andrew Rutherford and Noah Rutherford both won three games for the Colts.

NORTHUMBRIA TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE

KO HANDICAP CUP 2019 – 2020:  Draw for Round 4

To be played in (or before) week commencing 2nd March 2020

A specific week set aside for these matches.

	Home team		Away team	Normal Home Night
1	Mount B	V	Ouston A	Wednesday
2	Ouston C	V	Brandon Bravehearts	Friday
3	Cramlington Falcons	V	Ouston B	Thursday
4	Mount A	V	Tyneside B	Wednesday