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ELTTL - Week 28 Report

31/3/2019

We’ve nearly reached the end of the 2018/19 Season as Week 28 has now come and gone.

With the Team 1 v 2 Derby match postponed, Team 5 v Team 6 in Division 4 took centre stage at Ladywood on Wednesday. There was a lot riding on this match with Team 5 still in with a chance of promotion (although they needed help from others). They called on the services of Team 7’s George Wilson who joined regulars Craig Johnson and Millie Bennett as they faced Rachel Petrie, Craig Linton and Adam Woodhouse. Did anyone tell Team 6, who had little to play for, that Team 5 desperately needed a win? If we did, that didn’t stop Team 6 throwing everything at their promotion chasing clubmates! George started off with a good win v Craig L before Rachel raced into a 2-0 lead v Millie. Rachel’s resolve would surely have been broken when Millie came back to 2-2 with a 17-15 win in the 4th end - but no - Rachel dug deep and proceeded to win the 5th end comfortably. Craig then defeated Adam before the scores were levelled again as Craig L defeated Millie in 4 ends – 2-2 match score and Team 5, keeping El Presidente up to date by text, were worried! George again gave the favourites a lead by winning match 5 v Adam before match 6 was to prove crucial. Craig J v Rachel – at 1-1 in ends, Craig scraped over the line 12-10 in the 3rdand had that gone the other way who knows what might have happened – as it was Craig got more confident and ran out victorious in 4 ends. In the battle of the Craig’s it was Team 6’s Craig who won in a fifth end nail biter but that was the only other win for Team 6 as Team 5 secured a hard fought 7-3 victory. With the help of a huge favour from Haddington 4 the next night as they defeated Fife, Team 5 now find themselves in 2nd spot in the division and their destiny is within their own control – 4 or 5 weeks ago they could not have asked or hoped for anything more than that – one match to go and a victory in that match will secure them promotion. Good luck.

Elsewhere, Team 3 of James Wighton, Ian Hislop and Abby Wighton faced a nerve-racking tussle at Ladywood v ESC 3 in Division 2. This match was one of those which could easily have turned on a couple of points here and there. After the first 3 singles, the Penicuik trio held a 2-1 lead. After the next round of singles, the scores were tied at 3-3. A win in the doubles gave the hosts the advantage and James secured a point with a win in Match 8, but ESC kept the contest alive with a win in Match 9. The stage was set for Ian H v Gary Woodhouse – talk about an unorthodox match-up! 2-0 up and Ian was coasting to victory – hang on 11-5, 11-7 wins for Gary and the game was level at 2-2. The deciding set had everything, including we’re told, some amazing attacking play from Ian H. Really?? We witnessed Ian playing in Round 1 of the Handicap Cup where he played 95 shot rallies over and over and over again without a positive shot! But no, attack he did, and fortune favoured the brave as he ran out an 11-8 winner securing a 6-4 victory for the Ladywood side.

Our first team to complete their 2018/19 season was Team 4 of Julian Taylor, Tony Brentnall and Sonny Taylor as their final match took them on their travels to play ESC 4. They’ll be wishing the season wasn’t over as they romped home to a 10-0 win rounding off a decent campaign for this trio. Having stepped up from Division 4, Julian and Sonny can be proud of their achievements this year – a 4th place finish is guaranteed and Julian finishes with a very respectable 75% win rate. Sonny may just about hang on to a top 10 individual finish on 65% just a little behind Tony on 68% who, after a couple of years off, showed glimpses of being back to near his best.

Team 7’s season could have been so different had Phil Daly not got himself injured just before the 2nd half of the season started – eye surgery was followed by a slow recovery and although not 100%, to avoid having to concede, he bravely took to the table for his first competitive match this year as he and Kristian Skotzen faced West Lothian 8. For the third time in March, Team 7 had to play with just two players and on this occasion, they weren’t able to overturn their 3-0 deficit. The good news, however, was that Phil won 2 of his 3 matches and that was a very positive outcome for him! Kristian was disappointed with only 1 win and the pair don’t want to talk about the fifth end of their doubles match which they lost 11-1! A 7-3 defeat for Team 7 but we don’t care about that – it was just good to see Phil back in action.

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 28. This week’s undefeated players were Ian Hislop from Team 3, all of Team 4 and George playing up for Team 5. Harsh though it is, Team 4 were playing opposition already relegated from Division 3 so they’re all out of the running. George has been in great form of late and his 3 against Team 6 was a terrific boost for Team 5 – but he won it last week and we don’t want his head getting too big!! Gary still can’t believe that this man won last week’s player of the match award with a two whilst playing up for Team 2, this week he definitely deserved it – 3 singles wins and a doubles victory in a 6-4 win – add to that the fact that he played some attacking TT (we still can’t believe it – did anyone catch it on camera?) and there can be no doubt that Ian H is our deserved winner.

And finally, our Controversy of the Week section.

Away from our matches this week, another Club raised with us a matter which has almost now become the norm rather than the exception – playing matches on two tables! The Team in question, we’re told, have played their last 3 away matches on 2 tables. Whilst it is understood that given time constraints, this may be unavoidable, in the three venues in question, they played on completely different makes of tables. Our source suggested this was crazy, as in each venue players were practicing on tables that were identical to the one being used for the match. They felt that with a little extra effort this could have been easily avoided and they feel this should perhaps be a rule for forthcoming seasons. We dislike the two-table set-up for different reasons. In the “good old days” there was no doubt that playing in the League was about being part of a “Team” – the League is of course a “team event” but, in our view, the “team spirit” which used to exist in League matches is slowly being eroded away by “having to play” on two tables (sometimes 3). This can be especially hard for youngsters (or David Melrose) who need the support of teammates to sometimes get them through the games! For some (although others would say they should be concentrating solely on their own game) they can become easily distracted as they glance over, wondering how their teammate is getting on. Of course, for some, maybe it is just more about individual performances but that’s not what it’s supposed to be. Whilst we accept that playing on two tables has almost become inevitable (we do it ourselves) because of venue difficulties, we wonder whether there is any other way of dealing with it. Get rid of the doubles and go back to 9 matches? That’s what they do in the West of Scotland League. Only play six singles as we do in the Scottish National League? If we want to keep the doubles fixture, play six singles and a doubles match? In these times when we are looking to attract youngsters to the game, finishing at 10pm (or after) is going to put many parents off letting their young ones take part. In recent years adapting the format of league matches has been looked at but never voted for - maybe we need to look at it again – wouldn’t we all benefit from a shorter match format??

And finally, as we said in our match reports, it was great to see Phil back in action. When asked how his vision had withstood the test of match play, he replied that he had been OK but bizarrely he kept thinking his shots had caught an edge when they hadn’t and so clearly his eyesight wasn’t back to normal yet. Phil, we hate to break this news to you – that’s nothing to do with your operation – everyone at the Club knows that you’ve always seen edges (but only on your shots) when no one else in the Hall has!!

April is upon us and Divisional winners, promotion issues and relegation issues have all been decided, apart from Division 4. That will be dealt with in the coming week!

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ELTTL - Week 27 Report

25/3/2019

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As the season nears its conclusion, Week 27 was one to remember for the Club.

Team 1 knew that a point v Murrayfield 5 would secure them the Division 1 title. Greig McDonell was replaced by Colin Green as he joined David Melrose and Iain Johnstone. This would be easy – Murrayfield 5 were languishing in the bottom half of the table. Or maybe not! Luke, Stella and Simon played some terrific stuff, all defeating Iain and pushing the other two close. Simon’s win v David was a classic, but the crucial turning point was a doubles win and a 5 set win for David v Stella. At 2-1 down Colin’s team talk to David went down well – “you do realise she’s playing with pimples” said Colin – we’re afraid we can’t print the response! A 6-4 win for Team 1 results in them securing top spot with two games still to play.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Team 2 travelled to Inverkeithing to face a huge match against their relegation rivals, Fife 2. Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Gary McDougal were joined by Ian Hislop standing in for Charlie Brindley. A point for the visitors would have them in a strong position, a win would ensure they avoid the drop whilst a defeat was unthinkable! When Ian and Krzysztof lost their opening exchanges, it looked bleak for Team 2’s chances. A win for Gary was then followed by a terrific 5 set victory for Ian v Lance Stockdale which brought the scores level. Another win for Gary was followed by a 5-set loss for Krzysztof and the teams entered that crucial doubles fixture locked at 3-3. 2-1 down in the doubles, Ian and Gary rallied brilliantly for an 11-9 win in the fifth! That seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Fife side who lost the last 3 singles by 3-1 scorelines. A brilliant 7-3 win for the visitors, with Gary the star of the night, and having avoided relegation last season on game difference, Team 2’s Division 1 status has been retained for another season – 5 points clear of second bottom who have only 4 points available to them. Well done Team 2.

Our 4thTeam of Julian Taylor, Tony Brentnall and Sonny Taylor seem to be finishing the season on a high. One of their worst losses of the first half of the season was a 6-4 defeat to Edinburgh International at Ladywood. The reverse fixture was a different story. 3 wins for Julian was added to by Tony and Sonny both winning 2 as Team 4 secured a 7-3 victory against the 3rdplaced team in Division 3. Only one match left for Team 4 who look destined for a 4th place finish.

In Division 4, Team 5 faced another tough match v West Lothian opposition at Ladywood. WL8 were the visitors and they fielded their strongest possible line up of Dave Stephen, Tommy Hamill and young Jamie Toner playing up from Team 9. Using a player from a lower team ranked higher than regular players – whatever will Haddington think of that!! Shocking behaviour by our opponents – oh hang on – Team 5 again called on the services of Team 6’s Louis McLeod and Team 7’s George Wilson who joined forces with Stuart Bennett. When the hosts took a 5-2 advantage after the doubles, this match looked over, but wins for Dave Stephen and an impressive 3-0 win for young Jamie over Louis meant that George had to take to the table for the final match of the night knowing that a victory was essential for the team win. When he lost the first set 8-11, panic could be seen in Team Captain Stuart’s face. He pulled level in the second end before the third end was pivotal. An 11-9 win was greeted with George’s trademark screech of delight and Tommy’s chances had gone – with confidence oozing from him, George romped home 11-1 in the 4thand a 6-4 win was secured! Team 5 are still in there fighting – but only just! If Craig Johnson could ever come back from his mystery absence over the last few weeks, who knows what might be possible!

Team 6 couldn’t muster a team from their 5 registered players last Monday night and to avoid a concession, Hannah from Team 7 was dragged away from her Monday night guides to make up a two-player team with Craig Linton! Who knows what may have happened if Team 6 had been able to field a full team? 2 good wins for Hannah, 1 for Craig and a fantastic comeback from the dead victory in the doubles and Team 6 just missed out on a point as they fell to a 6-4 defeat!

Having played in a two for Team 6, Hannah then had to play for her own team in a two as well, as she and Kristian Skotzen hosted West Lothian 9. 3-0 down before a ball was hit, the first 4 singles of the night all went the way of the Penicuik duo and another remarkable comeback victory was on the cards. The doubles, however, brought the visitors back into the match as Tommy Toner and David McRae squeezed home in 5 ends. Not to be thwarted however, Hannah rounded off a terrific week with a victory over Tommy leaving Kristian the chance to win the match v Neil Webb. Right handed Pusher v left handed attacker? There was only going to be one winner – a lefty attacker always wins these tussles. Well, maybe not at this level where pushers can be effective! Neil comfortably won in 3 as the spoils were shared. Whilst Team 7 would have gladly taken a 5-5 draw at the beginning of the night, they left the more disappointed team!

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 27. This week’s undefeated players were Colin from Team 1, Gary from Team 2, Julian from Team 4, George playing up for Team 5 and Hannah from Team 7. Julian never played in the doubles and Hannah lost her doubles fixture so they’re out the running. Colin upset his teammate, so he’s overlooked this week as well! Gary had a fantastic night for Team 2 and his 3 wins, and a doubles victory, were vital to Team 2 surviving in Division 1. By all accounts he played some terrific TT and according to his teammates his level of play over the last few weeks has just got better and better. But hang on – he didn’t even win the player of the match award – that went to Ian H! What did you do to annoy your opponents, Gary? This week’s winner showed true grit and determination and secured his undefeated night under the greatest of pressure in the last match of the night. He kept his cool whilst others in the hall were losing theirs – 3 singles wins and a doubles win in a 6-4 victory keeping Team 5 in the running for promotion at the same time – well done George!

After last week’s mammoth controversy, a shorter one this week. Three regular topics again come under the microscope – Umpiring, postponements and player behaviour.

In Team 7s match, a certain onlooker pointed out to the WL umpire that a WL serve in the doubles had clearly been a fault. It had arrived on the receiver’s right half of the table but had actually started its journey on the left half of the server’s end – not a foul serve you see very often – none of the players had noticed (or knew the rule) and the umpire didn’t see it. The point stayed in favour of the serving team, but it was suggested that the umpire needed to stand up to actually judge whether a serve in doubles was fair or not, which he duly did. Our point? What on earth did it have to do with the onlooker? If we rule that the umpire’s decision is final, then players and spectators should just let them get on with it and mistakes will inevitably continue to be part of the game. There’s nothing worse than a player or teammate trying to make the decisions – invisible lets, edges, etc. In this case although the point wasn’t overturned, WL 9 went on to lose about 5 of the next 7 or 8 points and the WL Team Captain pointed out he had been disturbed by the “outside involvement” – and he’s right – butt out and let the umpire get on with it.

The issue of postponements is probably our favourite topic. Team 6 couldn’t field two from their registered 5 players and were refused a postponement by West Lothian 7 – no hard feelings – top of the Division with only a couple of games left and in a tight fight at the top of the league we would have done the same, wouldn’t we? Jings, is that another Club for whom winning is more important than supposedly being fair?? Whatever would Haddington think? WL Team Captain Ros suggested that there should be a Rule that each club must grant a “minimum number” of postponement requests each season – now there’s an interesting proposal. Not sure it would ever work in practice though – would you have to store up a couple of your required minimums until clubs that you perhaps liked requested one!! What if you refused one early on in the season and then no one else asked? The scenarios are endless! It doesn’t really address the issue anyway – a refusal of a postponement, for whatever reason, will always have the capability of causing ill feeling – just do away with them completely! Play the fixture or tough!

And finally, player behaviour. As George was trying to win the crucial last match of the night v WL8, Team 1’s David and Murrayfield’s Luke were having a real humdinger of a match where one yelp of joy was followed by another and another and another – you get the picture no doubt. The decibel level of the shouts was going up and up it seemed with every point won or lost and not only could it be heard throughout the Hall, Ladywood received some complaints from neighbouring residents! (Ok that part is maybe made up) Our esteemed Club Secretary, supporting Team 5 at one end of the hall wasn’t happy! Despite recovering from his hip operation, we’ve never seen him move so fast as he flew out of his chair, when enough had clearly become enough, to go over to Team 1’s match and ask them politely to turn the volume down a little (well, we’re not sure those would have been his exact words but certainly words to that effect!) Fortunately, he was intercepted on his way and made his views on the matter known in no uncertain terms to another committee member who happened to have come over to see what all the noise was about! There’s a far more important match going on at the other end of the Hall claimed our Club Secretary – final match of the night to decide the overall win and the noise was affecting the players! Hmm, an argument about what was the most important match of the night wasn’t what the issue should really have been about – after a small debate on that point, David let out a scream of delight which this time signified the end of his match and peace fell upon Ladywood again. George managed to carry on and win his game and none of Team 1 were any the wiser as to the irritation which had been caused (well up until now they weren’t anyway!) Should players have to keep their emotions in check? How loud does it have to be before it could be argued to be interfering with another match? Do we really expect our "player umpires" to do anything about it? At the Inter League at the weekend we had everything from minor girls crying, junior boys fist pumping aggressively, senior men screaming to Vets Men kicking barriers in frustration. Until something is done about that kind of behaviour (if indeed it’s an issue) at Tournaments and Events like the Inter League then we’re going to be stuck with it – and some of course would say there’s nothing wrong with getting emotionally carried away in the match and showing your emotions – just ask James Wighton – his behaviour on the table is shocking at times!!

Only a couple of weeks left of the regular season – how will we cope without it…..

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ELTTL - Week 26 Report

17/3/2019

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We swithered about whether to just concentrate on our controversy of the week section this week such was the amount of time taken up by it but in the end, Week 26 of the Edinburgh League was a good one on the table for the Club with the theme being Penicuik v West Lothian.

In Division 1, Team 2 hosted West Lothian 3 and when WL showed up with only two players, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Charlie Brindley and Gary McDougal suddenly had a chance to get a huge win in their battle to avoid relegation. It was therefore disappointing when only a draw could be achieved, the difference on the night being Keith Mackay for the visitors who was unbeaten, a winless Charlie and a defeat in the doubles by a 14-12 in the fifth margin ended the hopes of a victory for the hosts. If a couple of points had gone the other way, Team 2 may well have secured safety – as it is they face a huge match this week v Fife – a win in that and their Div 1 status shall be secured…..

Meanwhile our 3rd and 4th teams have little to play for in the remaining weeks of the season, both look likely to finish 4th in Divisions 2 and 3 respectively. Team 3 faced WL 4 at Bathgate last Monday and secured a good 6-4 win, Abby Wighton starring for the visitors with an undefeated night in singles play, Ian Hislop added 2 whilst James Wighton had an off night but contributed the all-important 6th win. Team 4 faced WL 6 at Ladywood - Julian Taylor, Tony Brentnall and Sonny Taylor got off to a flyer (4-0 up) and were never pegged back as they recorded a 7-3 win. Julian won 3 whilst Tony and Sonny both won 2.

In Division 4, Team 5 faced an away match against WL9 on Thursday night amidst all the controversy referred to below! A 7-3 win for the visitors keeps them in with a chance of promotion, thanks to 3 wins each for Louis and George playing up from Teams 6 and 7 respectively in the absence of John Bald and Craig Johnson.

The two non “West Lothian matches” featured Teams 6 and 7. Team 6 were subjected to their worst defeat of the season, a 10-0 thrashing at the hands of Haddington 4 whilst Team 7 travelled to Edinburgh International where they secured a 9-1 win, young Hannah showing that she’s picking up the wrong things from old Dad as she got very annoyed at losing the last match for a whitewash victory although unlike how her old man would have reacted she was reportedly still smiling at the end of the night - we'll soon get that knocked out of her!

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 26. This week’s undefeated players were Abby from Team 3, Julian from Team 4, George and Kristian from Team 7 and George and Louis when they played up for Team 5. 6 wins in a week for George must surely make him favourite. But our Committee says no – sorry George! Louis had a nightmare on Wednesday night for his own team with a duck, the first time this season that he has failed to win at least two of his singles. In his 17 previous matches for Team 6, he’d only lost 7 singles. The losses to Haddington dented his confidence badly and so it is hugely to his credit that, after some gentle persuasion, he was prepared the next night to make the trip to Bathgate. His undefeated night (including a doubles win) showed his class. We should also mention that he was Runner-Up in the Band 4 Event at the Edinburgh Championships, a win against Murrayfield’s high-flying Charlie McGowan in the Group stage being a highlight – Well done to Louis!

Hmmm, that was a shorter than normal round up of the week’s action – what’s left to talk about?

Our friends from Haddington have complained about the fact that in Division 4 our Team 7 conceded their fixture to our Team 5 scheduled for 13th February. Rule 6 d states:

“For re-arranged matches between teams from the same club that are not played within four playing weeks the match will be void and no points awarded to either team….”

Our reasoning and explanation for the concession, a copy of which was sent to Haddington, was as follows:

We were under significant pressure from the match secretary who had emailed to remind us of Rule 6 d - it was pointed out that he had already voided one match this season as the teams had failed to play their replayed fixture within the 4 week period allowed. It was made clear to us that the game had to be played by 13th March or the same fate could befall us. In terms of the match itself, hindsight is a wonderful thing! Our Team 7 lost Phil as a result of an eye injury just after Xmas. We wanted this match to be a fair fight so when Kristian wasn’t available for the original fixture rather than playing 2 v 3 Team 7 sought a postponement. Looking back now Team 7 should probably just have played the match with two players. Given our Hall availability, we have significant difficulty in rearranging matches. With pressure on from the League, the match was provisionally rescheduled for our Thursday club night on 7th March. Unfortunately, Team 7 could not raise a team for this date (not even a two) hence the decision was disappointingly made that a concession required to be granted. Even had an extension to the 4 week limit been given to get this fixture rearranged, Team 5’s number 1, John Bald, who would have played in the original fixture, left us just after 7th March and won’t be available for the rest of the season - it would have been very unfair on Team 5 if they had to then play a weakened team as a result of a postponement request from another of the club’s teams! In the circumstances, the only fair thing to do was for the team who requested the postponement to concede the fixture, just as would have been the case for any match in the League involving different Clubs.

Haddington’s complaint? A 10-0 win may skew the game difference come the end of the season. Haddington 4 still have a chance of promotion, together with WL 7, Fife and our Team 5. Having given our explanation we thought that was an end of the matter. Oh how wrong! Whatever Haddington’s agenda is they sent a further message after their Team 4 seemingly raised the matter during their thrashing of our Team 6. The terms of that email were disappointing and disrespectful to say the least, raising issues about how our desire to win was usurping fair play and calling into question the integrity of our decision to concede the match. What a load of codswallop! The only Club which seem to be wanting to win above all else seems to be Haddington and for a Club with whom we thought we had a very good and close relationship, it is even more disappointing. In the end we took the moral high ground and didn’t reply in an equally confrontational and disrespectful manner. We simply pointed out that we were disappointed by the tone of the email given that PTTC has always had a high regard for Haddington TTC and indeed for the author of the email.

But hold on a minute, a number of issues were raised bringing our integrity into question. We think it is only fair to point out the hypocrisy of the points made. If promotion is on the line surely a club will try and put out their best team to give that team the best chance of gaining promotion. It was suggested by Haddington (although perhaps we are being unkind to the Club and the views are simply those of the author of the complaint) that it would be disappointing if Louis and George were to play up for Team 5 in the remaining fixtures. Now hang on a minute Haddington, this comes from the Club who registered a player, none other than one of the nicest guys we know, Pete Lugton, to simply play 1 match against their closest rivals in Division 1 for the second promotion place that division! Really? And you want to have a go about playing players up in important matches? Let’s take a look at Haddington 4 actually – a certain Martin Hayman from their Team 5 played up v our Team 7 and secured them a vital point by defeating George. Should that result not be allowed and a 6-4 victory for Team 7 be put in its place? What about young Liam who also played up for Team 4 in a 7-3 victory where he won 2 - should that result be a draw instead? There was no complaint about PTTC 5 playing Haddington 4 when they were understrength, and Craig Linton played up from our team 6 - maybe of course that's because Haddington won 6-4? We think we’re getting the picture now. It’s only an issue if the players who play up play for an opponent’s club and they end up winning! Yeah that makes sense!

Had the shoe been on the other foot we question whether Haddington, or indeed any other Club, faced with the situation which arose would have made any decision other than the one taken by us. If Haddington 4 granted a postponement to HTTC 5 and then couldn’t rearrange within 4 weeks and the League were telling them that if it's not played the match will be voided, would it seriously be suggested that HTTC 4, in the running for promotion, would just let 2 points go? Of course they wouldn’t! They would have done exactly the same as our Team 5 - the other team asked for the postponement and they will have to suffer the consequences of that.

So that’s the end of that issue and as that sound and reasoned Mr Roger Thomas pointed out, let’s see who gets promoted based on how the teams play over the last few weeks of the season rather than as a result of hypocritical, petty and disrespectful complaints being made – we wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment and hope that in hindsight the author of the complaint sees fit to apologise for some of his comments (we can but hope)!

Hold on – it’s not over! Having raised the complaint to the League, they’re now involved and are “strongly encouraging us to play the fixture” – they will give us an extension on the 4-week time limit! You’ve got to be joking?? So, Team 7, who could only field two players for the original fixture now have a chance to play a full side against Team 5 who have lost their best player due to his departure from these shores – yeah that seems a really good idea – let’s see how our Team 5 players react to that! And next year there is going to be a rule change suggested so that you cannot concede Intra Club fixtures! Bizarre in the extreme. It seems astonishing to us that complying with the rules seems to have now led PTTC being criticised in certain quarters - entirely unjustified criticism – but hey who cares about that – let’s just make the rules up as we go along to keep certain people happy. We should add that it was suggested that WL were also perturbed by our concession, however, in fairness to WL, it was pointed out to us by them that there had been an individual comment made to the League in passing and it appears that said individual, the foregoing explanation having been made known, accepts that we could do little else.

Well then – a somewhat short round-up of the week’s action followed by a rather mammoth controversy of the week section! And the story will no doubt rumble on to the end of the season. Is winning more important than fair play – complaining about things that other Clubs do, moaning about playing players up, but only if it's the opposition, suggesting it's unfair to put your strongest side out when chasing promotion (but again only if other Clubs are doing it) and trying to get rules changed to punish another Club who have done nothing wrong and indeed have complied with the rules to the letter - well, looking at that evidence for some it seems winning is everything!

To end on a lighter note well done to all our players who competed this weekend at the Edinburgh Champs and in the Veterans Nationals today - particular mention to Ian Hislop, runner up in the Over 70's National Champs, Colin Green, winner of the Edinburgh Vets Championship and Hannah for winning the Under 13 Event.

Good luck to all as the fight for promotion, titles and relegation carries on in Week 27.

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ELTTL - Week 25 Report

10/3/2019

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Week 25 of the Edinburgh League season saw 6 of our 7 teams in action.

In Division 1, Team 1 hosted Edinburgh International 2 in a top of the table clash at Ladywood. Having not played for a few weeks, Iain Johnstone came in for David Melrose as he joined Greig McDonell and Colin Green. There was much to play for with both teams knowing that promotion would virtually be secured by a victory. The match was evenly poised going into the doubles at 3-3 but when Greig and Colin suffered a rare loss, the pressure was really on Team 1 at 4-3 down. Colin faced Babu Valaguruvan and simultaneously Greig faced Andrew Mannion. The unthinkable became a real possibility as both Greig and Colin lost the opening ends of their matches. Colin had lost to Babu in the first half of the season, however his determination to not let the same happen again saw him fight back for a 4-end win. Meanwhile Greig was in a real dogfight! Confidence gone, it looked like he couldn’t hit a high ball if his life depended on it. His attacking abilities having disappeared Greig reverted to type as one high push followed another in an ugly comeback to win the next 3 games at deuce in each end. The ugliest of wins secured the fifth victory on the night and at least a point for the hosts. Toby Waterhouse ended the night with a straight sets victory and honours were even. A point a piece was probably a fair result and paths the way for both sides to finish in the top two.

Team 2’s survival hopes in Division 1 were given a huge boost by their terrific victory over North Merchiston 3 in Week 24. They were, however, brought back down to earth with a bump as they travelled to take on third placed Haddington 1. After arriving at the Corn Exchange to find it closed, Team Captain Krzysztof Laszkiewicz made some frantic phone calls to be directed by El Presidente to the Aubigny Centre – oops Haddington weren’t playing there either. Eventually the venue was found but his hectic start to the evening seemed to carry on in to his play as he was winless on the night as was Chris Markey, playing up from Division 2 in place of Charlie Brindley. Gary McDougal provided the solitary win on the night for Team 2 as they fell to a 9-1 defeat. In fairness, this match was never going to decide whether Team 2 avoid the drop or not – that will no doubt be decided over the next two weeks with their matches against West Lothian and Fife.

In Division 2, Team 3 welcomed back Ian Hislop after a few weeks away and he showed his class, dropping just one end in singles play against Edinburgh University 3. James and Abby Wighton both won 2 singles, somewhat annoyingly losing to different players. James and Ian combined in the doubles but never really got going as they lost in straight sets. A 7-3 win for Team 3 sees them close the gap to two points on their University opponents who sit third in the table. This Division is already decided though with the top two a mile clear – it looks certain that the Division winners will be decided in a couple of weeks when the top two, Murrayfield 6 and Ed Int 3 meet.

In Division 3, Team 4’s chance of finishing 3rdin the Division has been taken out of their control after their match v Murrayfield 8. Julian Taylor, Tony Brentnall and Sonny Taylor had a topsy turvy game in which there was never more than a game in it. 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 down, the Penicuik trio kept fighting and after a win for Tony was followed by a five-set win for Sonny, the visitors took their first lead of he night as they held a 5-4 advantage. Julian took on his opposite number and when he won the first end 11-3 two points looked a possibility. The Murrayfield player, however, stormed back to win the next 3 and a 5-5 result ensued.

In Division 4, Team 5 faced a home match against Edinburgh International 5. With the unavailability of Craig Johnson, John Bald was joined by Stuart and Millie Bennett in what, on paper, looked like it should have been a straightforward win for the hosts. Nothing seems to be that simple for Team 5 recently. Before their opponents arrived, it became clear that John wasn’t going to be able to play – an injury to his back causing him to be unable to move freely! Oh dear! Fortunately, Team 7 also had a match at Ladywood on Wednesday – given Team 5s promotion hopes, a quick meeting resulted in George Wilson being told on arrival that he would need to abandon his team and play for Team 5! And it was a good thing he did as he went through the night undefeated in singles play. Millie looked a little out of sorts but crucially won her first match of the night whilst Stuart had two good wins which secured the victory for the hosts – a doubles win for Stuart and Millie made the final score 7-3. Team 5 will be slightly worried by the fact that their last couple of matches against two of the bottom three clubs in the division have only yielded a game difference of + 8. In such a tight division where there is a distinct possibility that game difference may come into play, let’s hope those six games lost (two 7-3 wins) don’t come back to haunt Team 5.

And finally in Week 25, Team 7, on a busy night at Ladywood, hosted Murrayfield 10. With George snatched from them, Kristian Skotzen and Hannah McDonell were left as the proverbial lambs to the slaughter as they had to play a man down. A 3-0 deficit before a ball was hit and given that in the reverse fixture Kristian and Hannah had only managed 3 wins between them it looked as if this match was likely to be over quick. But hold on – this pair have improved as the season has worn on and perhaps galvanised by their underdog status, not only did they keep the match alive but after 4 successive singles victories, they took the lead! It was decided to play the doubles last and when Hannah won match 8 on the card, she secured at least a point for the hosts. Not to be outdone, Kristian then proceeded to secure the victory with his third win of the night before the pair combined for a doubles victory! Who needs a third player? Who needs George? A terrific 7-3 victory for Team 7 cements their place in the top half of the Division 4 Table.

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 25. This week’s undefeated players were Colin from Team 1, Ian from Team 3, George playing up for Team 5 and Kristian and Hannah from Team 7. Given the importance of the undefeated singles night for Colin, he’s got to be favourite this week – but wait, he lost the crucial doubles which could have secured the win – what does he mean it wasn’t his fault? It certainly wasn’t his doubles partner’s responsibility. Ian was keeping a count of the errors seemingly and says Colin made more! George didn’t play the doubles and he abandoned his teammates - who cares that he didn’t have any say in the matter! Ian H played well but he also lost the doubles and according to our nicest Team Captain, James, Ian’s play in the doubles was poor and his movement was non-existent - that’s a bit harsh James! And so it’s a straight fight between Kristian and Hannah. Although Hannah won the Player of the Night Award as she didn’t drop an end, we can’t really separate this pair so well done to both – joint winners!

And finally, our controversy of the Week section.

Team 1’s match was a tense affair. Edinburgh International’s best player was undoubtedly Babu, as he was in the first half of the season when he played up from Division 2. What was he doing in Division 2 in the first place? Well it appears what he was doing was winning 42 games out of 42 played and ensuring promotion for EI 3 whilst picking a few games to play up for Team 2 in Division 1. It appears, although it’s perhaps just a happy coincidence, that once promotion was secured, EI then got him committed to Team 2. He’s now played 27 games for his new team and remarkably has won 23 of these games. Other than a slightly bizarre loss to bottom of the table Corstorphine 2, the only Div 1 players he has lost to are Greig and Colin (although he has also beaten both of them) and ex Scotland Internationalist Pete Lugton! That’s some record for a Division 2 player! Is this an abuse of the playing up rule? If he plays the last two matches for EI he will have played 75 games this season? That must be some sort of record? Didn’t something similar happen a couple of years ago with Babu’s teammate, Toby? Not to the same extent but there were certainly complaints about where EI had initially placed him given his playing strength. Now in fairness to EI, in terms of ratings there was absolutely nothing wrong with their team composition at the start of the season and maybe this issue is just skewed a little as a result of player improvement – there can be no doubt that Babu is playing at a far higher standard than he did when our Team 1 last encountered him – and as we pointed out to him on Wednesday, he is playing some terrific TT.

Also in Team 1s match there was an issue raised by EI about “coaching” not being allowed during a game. During one of Colin’s matches, Greig said the word “backhand” to him, probably as a result of Colin having got himself out of position a bit by playing forehands from wide on his backhand corner. No coaching is allowed in this League came the comment from a seated EI player! Really, came the response! The Addendum to the rules does talk about coaching being limited to one minute at the change of ends in a match so it was probably a valid comment! What amounts to coaching in such a situation? There may be a fine line at times between encouragement and coaching! We will often hear said things like “concentrate”, “take your time”, “Come on good serves” – is that coaching?? We’ll be on the lookout next time we’re at Bathgate for Mr McCulloch’s coaching (we mean encouragement) from the sidelines!

We’re getting near to the end of the season and it’s been a while since we’ve had lots of controversies in one week, so let’s keep going….

Staying with Edinburgh International 2, they were under pressure from Haddington 1 who were coming up fast on the rails in a late push for promotion. The match between the two sides last month was going to be crucial – a win for Haddington would have given them a real chance of overtaking their Edinburgh opponent’s. Haddington’s number 1 and top of the individual averages, Carsten Giebeler was on holiday at the scheduled date so Haddington sought a postponement – for such a crucial match what would we have done? The decent thing, arguably, would be to allow full strength teams to battle it out. Realistically though we’re not sure many of our teams would have agreed to a postponement – you would take any advantage you could, wouldn’t you? Their best player is missing – excellent! No surprise then to learn that the request was refused, Haddington played without Carsten and a draw ensued – and with that, their chances of promotion diminished significantly. In the end of the day, it’s back to our old point – whilst many think it’s great to have the ability to postpone matches, it only generates ill feeling between clubs and players when postponements are refused.

Surely that’s enough? Last one! In Team 7s match, a very experienced umpire took a phone call from one of his team who seemed to be struggling to find his way to Ladywood. Nothing wrong with that – well if he hadn’t been umpiring at the time it may have been ok! Kristian had just taken the initiative to go 2-1 up, the players were ready to play and the umpire stayed on his call. El Presidente just happened to be passing at the time – not one to shy away from issues he couldn’t resist pointing out that the umpire needed to get off the phone! The opposing team umpire acknowledged the bizarreness of what was going on but kept talking and kept talking and kept talking. On about the fourth occasion it was raised as being ridiculous, another team member then took the phone to carry on the conversation! The missing player eventually turned up about an hour later than the scheduled start time – in the good old days we could be writing about claiming his games – no such rule now – players can turn up whenever they like and the only sanction is if the match can’t be finished by the venue closing time any unplayed games would be forfeited. Bring back the half hour rule is what we say – we miss it!

Tensions are rising as we approach the end of the season – we love it!

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ELTTL - Week 24 Report

3/3/2019

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Week 24 of the Edinburgh League season was a successful one for the Club with 4 of our 5 teams in action recording victories.

In Division 1, Team 1 travelled to face Murrayfield 4 who were still in contention for a promotion place, lying in third place. Team 1 played their top two for this fixture as Greig McDonell and Colin Green turned out together for only the 4th time this season. They were joined by David Melrose. For Murrayfield, it was good to see Stuart Wilson back in the fold as he joined Alex Asyunkin and Jamie Mullineaux, with Team Captain Lyn Somerville watching from the wings. Prior to the match, Ken Benjamin had made his Division 1 predictions which included a comment that he couldn’t see Murrayfield 4 winning their fixture against Team 1 – his first prediction was a good one. A 9-1 win for the visitors is a little harsh on the Murrayfield trio who competed well in most matches – that having been said only one match went to 5 ends as David defeated Jamie 11-9 in the deciding end. The hosts only victory was provided by Alex when he defeated David in 4 ends. Murrayfield’s third place is now under threat from Haddington who still hold some slim hopes of promotion themselves.

Team 2’s season in Division 1 was left in tatters after their loss to bottom of the table Corstorphine 2 in Week 23. They faced North Merchiston 3 at home and were a little deflated to see Blair Fowler boost the visitor’s chances as he made a rare appearance together with Graham Booth and Amelia Norbury. Given the form of both teams, this looked a dead cert away win but Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Gary McDougal and Charlie Brindley had other ideas! Charlie gave hope to the hosts in Match 1 with a cracking 5 end victory of Blair – although Blair has been out of the game for a bit there’s no doubting his quality. Match 2 saw Krzysztof take a 2-0 lead v Amelia before agonisingly losing the next three 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 and when Gary lost to Graham, the hosts fell behind. The key to this match, however, was both Charlie and Gary defeating Amelia – those wins kept Team 2 in it and when Gary also managed a terrific win v Blair, 4 wins were on the board. The doubles match was another nail biter as Gary and Charlie won 11-8 in the fifth to secure at least a point for the hosts. That point was converted to 2 as Krzysztof joined the party with a five-end win against the otherwise undefeated Graham. What a result for Team 2 – no one really gave them a chance especially with Blair in the team. 2 vital points for the hosts and more importantly some great TT played which will give the Team confidence for their last few matches.

In Division 3, Team 4 still have a chance of finishing 3rd in the Division after their convincing 8-2 victory against North Merchiston 5. Julian Taylor, Tony Brentnall and Sonny Taylor have had an up and down 2nd half thus far – their results against the top 2 teams have unfortuantely ended their promotion hopes. North Merchiston put up a good fight and the 8-2 win for Team 4 perhaps flattered a little. Matches 3 and 4 on the night were to prove crucial. First Tony came through in five ends and then from 2-1 down, Julian did the same and from that point on the hosts were never in danger. Tony had a good night, undefeated in singles play whilst Julian and Sonny both won two and combined for the doubles victory.

In Division 4, Team 5 were looking for a more straightforward night than in Week 23 where they had scraped past Haddington 5 as they travelled to face Murrayfield 10. John Bald, Craig Johnson and Stuart Bennett turned out for the visitors now clear in the knowledge that anything other than a perfect end to the season will not be good enough if they are to be in with a chance of promotion. When Craig lost Match 1 on the night in 5 ends and Stuart then went 2-1 down in ends in Match 2, alarm bells were ringing, however, Stuart managed to steady the ship with a five-end win before John gave the visitors the lead in Match 3. Further wins were then provided by Craig and John and after a doubles victory Team 5 held a 5-2 advantage. The win was then secured by John in Match 8 before Craig added a 7th win on the night in Match 9. Three wins for John, 2 for Craig and 1 for Stuart combined with a doubles victory resulted in the Penicuik trio emerging victorious by a 7-3 scoreline. The top 4 in the Division are only split by three points which makes the last 5 games for all very interesting!

Last week we paid credit to the remarkable run that Team 6 had been on - 13 points out of a possible 16. That run came to an end at Ladywood on Wednesday as Louis McLeod, Craig Linton and Rachel Petrie hosted 2nd placed Fife 4. At 2-0 and 3-1 up the hosts had their Fife opposition worried but from there, the Inverkeithing based trio won 3 matches in a row to take a 4-3 lead. Louis then levelled the scores with his third win of the night and at least a point was still a distinct possibility. Unfortunately, Rachel succumbed in straight sets to her opposite number before Craig made a great effort to beat top of the individual averages, Neil Hoggan. After losing the first two sets 11-9, 12-10, he gave Fife a real fright with an 11-7 win in the fourth. Alas for Team 6 he couldn’t quite convert in game 4 as he again lost by the narrowest of margins, 11-9. A 6-4 defeat for Team 6 with Louis again showing his class with an undefeated night in singles play, Craig adding the fourth win

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 24. This week’s undefeated players were Greig and Colin from Team 1, Tony from Team 4, John from Team 5 and Louis from Team 6. Well done to all of them, but none of them get this week’s award! Given the importance of the wins and the quality of opposition it’s a two horse race this week between Charlie and Gary from Team 2. Both had two cracking victories and combined for a doubles win which might yet see Team 2 survive in Division 1. Although Gary was voted player of the night by NM, probably as a result of holding his nerve for a 14-12 in the fifth win v Blair, Charlie lost an end less than him during the course of the night and was seemingly far better in the doubles (even though he says so himself)! – well done Charlie.

And finally, our controversy of the Week section.

Team 2’s match was a great victory, but our opponents had a bit of a complaint regarding the scheduling of same. Like many clubs these days, time is always an issue and given that we never seem to be able to get started until just after 7pm it’s very rare that we finish a match on one table given our 10pm closing. In this match, play moved on to two tables and then seemingly finished on three. The controversy? Young Amelia played three matches in a row (including the doubles) – that according to our opponents certainly had an effect on her – one of the main issues was the fact that she couldn’t get any coaching help in her last match v Charlie given that her teammates were also playing. That’s an issue we’ve had in the past and of course can arise when play is just on two tables given that your teammates may be involved on the other table (one playing and one umpiring). Did it really affect the result? Who knows? If the boot was on the other foot, we’d probably claim it had some affect. Until we can all get our own premises though this is always going to occur – unless of course we shorten the matches in some way – now there’s an idea for the AGM – certainly our Team 1 would have voted for a shorter format last week as David was battling away in Match 10 as the clock struck 10.45 pm in Roseburn Church Hall – when he asked for guidance at 1 end all it took all of our Team Captain’s professionalism not to say “just concede so we can get home tonight!!”

Only 4 or 5 games left for most teams as we go into Week 25.

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ELTTL - Week 28 Report

ELTTL - Week 27 Report

ELTTL - Week 26 Report

ELTTL - Week 25 Report

ELTTL - Week 24 Report

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