christma tables (press report 20th dec)
East Lancs. Table Tennis League Press Report , 20th Dec, 2012
Premier Division
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Burnley Boys Club 9 9 0 0 253
2. Ward & Stobbart 9 7 0 2 195
3. East Lancs 8 6 0 2 189
4. Ramsbottom A 7 4 0 3 149
5. Ramsbottom B 7 3 0 4 145
6. Hyndburn TTC A 8 4 0 4 134
7. KSB A 8 2 0 6 119
8. Rovers 7 3 0 4 117
9. Brierfield 8 1 0 7 73
10. Hyndburners 7 0 0 7 63
Premier Merit Top 5 excluded players with less than 50 sets played
1. Martin Wyatt Burnley Boys Club 86%
2. Dave Kay Burnley Boys Club 82%
3. Graham Hoy Ramsbottom ‘A’ 76%
4. Andrea Harrison Burnley Boys Club 75%
5. Liam Bedford East lancs 72%
It’s a happy Christmas in the Premier division for Burnley Boys Club having completed their first half of the season fixtures looking unstoppable with 9/9 wins and it is likely to be a happy New Year for them as well with the expectation of being crowned league champions in 2013! Ward & Stobbart with 7/9 are currently second but only 6 points above East Lancs in 3rd place but who have a game in hand. Ramsbottom’s two premier teams are also doing well and remain in contention for finishing high up the table. At the relegation end of the table Brierfield & Hyndburners are falling behind the rest and will need a radical change of form to avoid the drop this year. Burnley Boys success is reflected in the individual merit performances with Martin Wyatt in 1st position, Dave Kay at no 2 & Andrea Harrison in 4th. Graham Hoy from Ramsbottom ‘A’ is in 3rd place and in 5th position is Liam Bedford of East Lancs.
Division One
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Old Masters 8 6 1 1 178
2. Whalley Hawks 9 3 0 6 174
3. Mavericks 8 6 0 2 166
4. Whalley Eagles 8 4 0 4 166
5. The Lions 7 4 2 1 154
6. Hyndburn TTC B 7 4 1 2 140
7. Clitheroe LM B 7 4 0 3 139
8. Ramsbottom C 6 2 2 2 117
9. KSB B 6 2 0 4 110
10. HSC 5 1 0 4 94
11. KSB C 7 0 0 7 87
Division One, Merit Top 5 excluded players with less than 50 sets played
1. Alan Prudden Mavericks 74%
2. Barry Hall Old Masters 70%
3. Martin Ormsby The Lions 66%
4. Trevor Elkington KSB B 65%
5. Phil Mileham Whalley Eagles 64%
Division One is still wide open, though Old Masters are making a push for it with just one loss out of 8, aided by the good form of Barry Hall holding second place in the individual merit performance. Mavericks spurred on by present leading individual performer Alan Prudden are also going well with 6/8 wins, but really allowing for games behind anything could happen between 7 or 8 teams yet in this Division. The team to watch are currently 5th placed ‘The Lions’ who with a good win from their game behind those above them could easily jump to a top 2 place and try for a ‘boomerang’ back to the premier after their relegation this year (The Lions Martin Ormsby is 3rd in merits). Fixed at the bottom are KSB ‘C’ last years div 2 champions who look set to drop back to div 2 unless there is a massive change in their current form. Other good individual play is being achieved by KSB ‘B’ supremo Trevor Elkington who is 4th in the merits and Whalley Eagles Phil Mileham in 5th.
Division Two
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. Rolling Doals 9 6 1 2 207
2. Tackyfire 8 7 0 1 196
3. Hyndburn TTC C 8 6 0 2 176
4. Ramsbottom D 8 4 0 4 163
5. KSB D 7 4 0 3 155
6. Adpak Aces 7 3 1 3 146
7. Whalley Kestrels 7 4 0 3 142
8. Slayers 6 0 0 6 77
9. Whalley Falcons 6 1 0 5 75
10. Hyndburn TTC E 8 1 0 7 70
Division Two, Merit Top 5 excluded players with less than 50 sets played
1. Stephen Siddall Ramsbottom ‘D’ 79%
2. Neil Hepworth Rolling Doals 76%
3. Richard Staines Hyndburn TTC ‘C’ 74%
4.a Elton Atkins Tackyfire 70%
4.b Chris Booth Tackyfire 70%
4.c Catherine Lawson Tackyfire 70%
Rolling Doals led by second placed individual merit player Neil Hepworth sit top of the pile in Division two, but having played at least a game more than others. The real leaders of the Division are Tackyfire who are clear favourites to win the title with an all-round strong squad featuring 3 players in the top 5 merits: Elton Atkins, Chris Booth & Catherine Lawson. Hyndburn TTC ‘C’ are a rapidly improving young team and are doing well in 3rd place, and could come on even stronger in the second half of the season if Richard Staines continues to impress (3rd in merit table currently). There are 6 or 7 teams all capable of taking points off each other and changing positions in division 2. One team to watch currently under the radar are KSB ‘D’ who if allowing for games in hand could easily find themselves in the promotion race. Stephen Siddall, the best individual performer, from Ramsbottom ‘D’ could help them be a bigger threat if he is able to play more often. Slayers, Whalley Falcons & Hyndburn TTC ‘E’ are involved in a closely fought dog fight to avoid relegation from the division.
Division Three
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Pts
1. KSB E 9 8 1 0 223
2. Misfits 9 8 1 0 216
3. Doals Marauders 9 6 1 2 207
4. Hyndburn TTC D 9 5 1 3 188
5. Doals Vikings 9 4 0 5 138
6. Whalley Phoenix 8 4 0 4 134
7. Whalley Merlins 9 1 0 8 123
8. KSB F 7 3 0 4 118
9. Hyndburn TTC F 7 1 0 6 104
10. Doals Jetstream 8 0 0 8 87
Division Three, Merit Top 5 excluded players with less than 50 sets played
1.a Keith Ainscoe Misfits 87%
1.b Ross Erwin KSB ‘E’ 87%
3. Carlton Cooper KSB ‘E’ 83%
4. Reece Monk Hyndburn TTC ‘E’ 72%
5. Burhan Khan Hyndburn TTC ‘F’ 71%
Division Three with most teams having reached halfway in games played is a clearer picture. KSB ‘E’ are 7 points clear of their main challengers ‘Misfits’, and both teams boast some of the divisions best players (KSB ‘E’ have Ross Irwin joint no 1 & Carlton Cooper 3rd in merits, Misfits have joint no 1 with Keith Ainscoe). Doals Marauders are still within touching distance in 3rd place & Hyndburn TTC ‘D’ led by Reece Monk (4th in merits) are 4th in the division. I think those 4 will stay that way at the top, and probably in that order, but I could be proved wrong! The other teenager showing his growing skills in the game is Hyndburn TTC ‘F’ player Burhan Khan. It is great to see so many younger players taking up the game and doing so well. If there are any others young or old, able or disabled, male or female who want to know how they could start playing table tennis please contact Harry Rawcliffe, ELTTL Development officer for more info on 01254 663451.
From Neil Hepworth (East Lancs. Table Tennis League Press Officer)
Email: Hepworth_neil@hotmail.com. Mob 07873834942