New year press report, tables, top 5 meritsUntitled
East Lancs. Table Tennis League: New Year Press Report 2015:
From Neil Hepworth (East Lancs. Table Tennis League Press Officer)
Email: Hepworth_neil@hotmail.com. Mob 07873834942
Premier division league
Name |
Played |
Won |
Points |
Ramsbottom A |
8 |
8 |
193 |
K. Ward Plumbing |
9 |
7 |
186 |
East Lancs 1st |
7 |
6 |
175 |
East Lancs 2nd |
8 |
4 |
157 |
B. L. C. Clarets |
6 |
5 |
155 |
Brierfield |
8 |
3 |
143 |
Ramsbottom B |
7 |
1 |
121 |
Rovers |
7 |
2 |
110 |
Hyndburn TTC A |
8 |
1 |
107 |
The Lions |
6 |
0 |
50 |
Premier Individual Merit Top 5 (players who haven’t played in at least half the matches are excluded)
Name |
Team |
Sets % |
Martin Wyatt |
Ramsbottom A |
79.17 |
Mandy Winskill |
Ramsbottom A |
74.55 |
Dave Kay |
B.L.C Clarets |
73.68 |
Keith Lee |
B.L.C Clarets |
69.70 |
Graham Hoy |
Ramsbottom A |
68.09 |
First division
Name |
Played |
Won |
Points |
Hyndburners |
9 |
6 |
197 |
Ramsbottom C |
8 |
6 |
183 |
Old Masters A |
8 |
7 |
178 |
Whalley Hawks |
8 |
6 |
176 |
Mavericks |
9 |
2 |
156 |
KSB A |
7 |
7 |
153 |
Whalley Eagles |
8 |
4 |
152 |
Tackyfire |
9 |
1 |
144 |
Whalley Kestrels |
8 |
2 |
134 |
Hyndburn TTC B |
8 |
0 |
122 |
6 |
2 |
112 |
First Division Individual Merit Top 5 (players who haven’t played in at least half the matches are excluded)
Name |
Team |
Sets % |
Howard Whewell |
Old Masters A |
96.00 |
Duncan Rigby |
Hyndburners |
79.59 |
Daven Argile |
KSB B |
79.03 |
Trevor Elkington |
KSB A |
66.67 |
Tim Fields |
Ramsbottom C |
65.33 |
Second division league
Name |
Played |
Won |
Points |
Rolling Doals |
10 |
4 |
204 |
Ramsbottom D |
6 |
6 |
158 |
Brierfield B |
8 |
4 |
158 |
Doals Marauders |
7 |
5 |
154 |
Old Masters B |
8 |
5 |
146 |
Hyndburn TTC C |
7 |
4 |
120 |
KSB D |
7 |
1 |
105 |
Best Centre Jets |
6 |
2 |
93 |
KSB C |
5 |
1 |
78 |
Second Division Individual Merit Top 5(players who haven’t played in at least half the matches are excluded)
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Third division league
Name |
Played |
Won |
Points |
Best Centre Raptors |
7 |
7 |
187 |
Ramsbottom E |
6 |
5 |
153 |
Whalley Falcons |
7 |
4 |
130 |
KSB E |
5 |
3 |
99 |
Whalley Merlins |
7 |
3 |
99 |
Doals Vikings |
6 |
1 |
83 |
Slayers |
3 |
2 |
71 |
Best Centre Phantoms |
7 |
0 |
61 |
Hyndburn TTC D |
4 |
1 |
27 |
Division Three Individual Merit Top 5
(players who haven’t played in at least half the matches are excluded)
Name |
Team |
Sets % |
Bryan Edwards |
Ramsbottom E |
82.76 |
Paul Waddington |
Slayers |
78.13 |
Harry Bell |
Ramsbottom E |
75.00 |
Liam Walsh |
Best Centre Raptors |
74.55 |
Dylan Storey |
Best Centre Raptors |
74.24 |
Overall league Summary
It’s about halfway through the season and it’s still at least a 3 way race in the Premier. The New Year table toppers are Ramsbottom A, the only unbeaten Premier team with 8/8 wins, and also boasting three top 5 merit performers in Martin Wyatt (1st), Mandy Winskill (2nd) & Graham Hoy (5th). Yet East Lancs 1st in third place are only 18 points behind with a game in hand on Ramsbottom and so also still have a good chance. East Lancs 1st have a squad of good players who are only absent from the merit table because using a larger squad, good individuals such as Colin Parkinson, Tony Kendal, Ashley Bradburn haven’t played enough qualification games. The other team still in contention are B.L.C Clarets, who though currently 5th, their games in hand when played would likely leave them close to the top two on points, and Dave Kay (3rd in merit) & Keith Lee (4th) will try to ensure that this is the case. K.Ward Plumbing are going well in 2nd place with 7/9 wins but unlikely to challenge the top two over the duration of the season and most probably when games are caught up with will fall behind the 3 main contenders mentioned above. East Lancs 2nd are 4th. At the other end of the table, The Lions find themselves a long way adrift and seem sure for the drop, but the other relegation place seems a 3 way possibility between Hyndburn TTC A, Rovers & Ramsbottom B. Rovers may have most to fear as they are 11 points behind Ramsbottom B & Hyndburn TTC A are likely to play their underused better players in Mick Moir & Graham Young to get them out of trouble.
Division One is a closely fought division at both ends, with at least five teams with a realistic chance of claiming the two promotion places. Hyndburners spurred on by Duncan Rigby (2nd in merit) are currently top but their 4 closest rivals all have games in hand that could close the gap and make it interesting! Ramsbottom C (Tim Fields 5th in merit) are second 14 points off the top but with 1 game in hand. Old Masters A (Howard Whewell 1st in merit) are only 5 points behind them in 3rd place & Whalley Hawks in 4th place only 2 points behind 3rd. Looks like I was too premature in my last report when I said I didn’t think Hawks could challenge the top two! KSB A (Trevor Elkington 4th in merit), down in 6th but with a game in hand on some and two on others, and the only remaining unbeaten team, could also still challenge for promotion, though this may need to get Matt Hirst playing more if his ‘Ministry’ commitments allow. They perhaps should have included their ‘B’ team’s best player in the ‘A’ team, Daven Argile (3rd in merit). The fight for survival is equally fierce at the other end of the table. Five teams are still close enough to be capable of finding themselves in the drop zone if they have a poor second half of the season. In descending order the ‘at risk’ teams are: Mavericks (looking better at moment due to more games played), Tackyfire, Whalley Kestrals, Hyndburn TTC B & KSB B (two games in hand). More likely to stay in trouble are Hyndburn with 8 played and 8 losses, and Tackyfire I think, but plenty of games left to change it around.
Division Two has clear and obvious title favourites at present in the unbeaten Ramsbottom D team, and, I can’t see anyone to make them sweat, with young Adam Kensit (merit: 2nd) getting better every week, alongside David Cain (merit: 4th), as well as star player Ian Loyd acting as a reserve. They sit second only because Rolling Doals have played a lot more games than anyone else and thus in first place currently. That said the Rollers are averaging above 20 points a game and would be probably 3rd in pro-rata terms anyway. Brierfield B (best player Peter Howard, merit: 3rd) since a month ago have risen from a lowly position to 3rd place and seem to be displaying improved form and gaining momentum to mount a serious promotion challenge. Doals Marauders led by Neil Hepworth (1st in merit) & Ian Smith (5th in merit) are 4th but only 4 points behind Brierfield with a game in hand, and will also have their eye on the runners up place. Four teams at the bottom in descending order and not safe yet are Hyndburn TTC C, KSB D, Best Centre Jets & KSB C. It is particularly close between the latter 3 and at this stage of the season any of them could still survive or perish at the hands of each other.
Division Three is topped by the unbeaten Best Centre Raptors who experienced a close and hard fought home win v second place Ramsbottom E just before Christmas. With two top 5 merit players each ( Best- Liam Walsh 4th, Dylan Storey 5th , Ramsbottom- Bryan Edwards 1st & Harry Bell 3rd) it will continue to be hotly contested the rest of the season. These two are steaming ahead of the rest now, perhaps with only Slayers when they catch up with games able to challenge. Slayers Paul Waddington claims the other merit place (2nd).
For info in how to start playing TT or how to join a club contact league development office Harry Rawcliffe on Tel 01254 663451
Burnley Focus
Burnley’s best team are Premier Division title hopefuls B.L.C Clarets who though currently 5th are one of 3 clubs who at this stage of the season are still championship contenders, because their games in hand would likely put them right in the mix. Clarets Dave Kay and Keith Lee are performing well being 3rd and 4th in the individual merit table. Brierfield A are 6th and doing well enough that they should hope to avoid the relegation scrap, but will have to maintain their form to do so. Their best two performers are Peter wood on 51% & Jack Keogh on 50%.
In Division two Brierfield ‘B’ have done really well in the recent period and have gone from 3rd from bottom to 3rd from top, with prospects of challenging for a promotion place. Peter Howard continues to be their best player (3rd in merits).
Best Centre Jets are second from bottom but have a game in hand on the team above, yet will have to keep improving in the second half of the season to move out of the relegation zone. Jordon Moore is doing well in only his second competitive season to be on 49% in this division.
Best centre Raptors enter the new year unbeaten and sit top of Division Three after a great top of the table clash v Ramsbottom E which they won narrowly 21:18. Liam Walsh is 4th in the merits and Dylan Storey 5th. Promotion looks very sure for them but they can’t relax as Ramsbottom won’t let up and an eye needs to be kept on Slayers who are hard to judge because of so few games played but who have the squad to possibly give them a run for their money. The remaining Burnley team are Best Centre Phantoms who are without a win but will enjoy playing even better table tennis as they improve in the second half of their debut season.
Best Centre is open to new players and beginners to join their club on a Monday night (Contact Darren Wright for more info on 07736473609)
Rossendale Focus
Rossendale has clubs in Ramsbottom, Rawtenstall & Bacup.
Ramsbottom’s teams half way through the season are still challenging for the honours in each of the divisions. In the Premier Division Ramsbottom A are unbeaten and top with 3 top 5 merit performers in Martin Wyatt (1st), Mandy Winskill (2nd) & Graham Hoy (5th). A few other teams are still close enough to press them but I fancy they are most likely to emerge triumphant at the end of the campaign. The ‘B’ team also in the Premier are 7th and could get caught up in the fight for survival, but again are more likely to just stay out of the bottom two drop zone. Ramsbottom C are well placed to get promotion being 2nd at the moment in Division One with ambitions to win the title as well as they have a game in hand which could close the 14 point gap over first place Hyndburners above them. However, its close in the top half and at least 3 other teams are still close enough to take it away from them. ‘C team’s best performer is Tim Fields (merit: 5th). Ramsbottom D in Division Two are the clearest title favourites in the league this year, and are only second because 4 more games have been played by the team above them. But unbeaten and streams ahead in points per game average no-one else is likely to even push them close. This is due to a fine and improving performance week by week from youngster Adam Kensit (merit: 2nd), consistent play from David Cain (merit 4th), not to forget to mention Paul Wood (merit: 7th). With great players to also call upon in Ian Lloyd & Derek Edwards, this is a team too good for Division two and will be back where they should be in the higher division next season. Division Three finds Ramsbottom E well placed at 2nd and still capable of winning the division despite a narrow loss recently to top placed Best Centre Raptors. They could overturn this in their return home fixture, and have improving young players (Harry Bell 3rd in merit) as well as the caged experience of its older campaigners such as Bryan Edwards (merit: 1st) to make the difference. For info of how to start playing TT in Ramsbottom contact Bryan Edwards on 01617975082,
Rawtenstall’s KSB club has 5 teams competing this year. In Division one the ‘A’ team is 6th, and has 7/7 wins with a game in hand and two in some cases on all those above them. If these games in hand are won well they will find themselves right amongst the promotion race. Trevor Elkington (4th in merits) is leading their charge, and if Matt Hirst (on an impressive 84% from 3 matches played) can play more often in the second half of the season they will do well. The KSB ‘B’ team is also in Division One but has the dubious honour of propping up the table at present but does have games in hand also which they hope will lift them out of the drop zone. They will hope their best player Daven Argile stays on form, who is 3rd in the individual merit performance. Their two division two teams ‘C’ and ‘D’ are struggling in the survival fight in division two, and have only 1 win each thus far. D are 3rd from bottom and ‘C’ bottom but with two games in hand. Both have good players and on their night can compete with the best in the division, but the table doesn’t lie and they will have to play better in the second half of the season to avoid relegation. The ‘E’ team is a good third Division team and 4th but realistically probably can’t aspire this season now to finish any higher. For info of how to start playing TT in Rawtenstall contact Trevor Elkington on 07981387755.
Bacup based (Weir), Doals Community Centre Table Tennis Club have 3 teams. Rolling Doals by virtue of more games played sit top of division two and their best player is Ryan Fallon on 59%. Their pro-rata position is nearer to 3rd or 4th. Doals Marauders with two top 5 merit players (Neil Hepworth 1st, Ian Smith 5th), are 4th but when games are levelled out have an even better chance of clinching promotion and being in a Doals team that has finished 3rd the last two seasons they desperately hope to clinch 2nd and the promotion spot this year. Doals Vikings has struggled fielding a team this year, playing 4/6 games with a player short, and is down in 6th place in Division three. Having signed up new youngster Bailey Chamberlain just before Christmas they will hope to at least play with a full team the rest of the season.
For info of how to start playing TT in Bacup contact Neil Hepworth on 07873834942.