Week 25 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League kicked off on Monday 18th March with the visit of Team 4 to North Merchiston in Division 3. Following their win in Week 24, Kristian Skotzen, Craig Linton and Aidan Craig knew they had already secured 2nd place in the Division and so no pressure as they travelled to Edinburgh. For the Merchiston outfit, Fares Cabrera stood out – 3 singles wins including a terrific turnaround against Craig to win in five and a doubles victory gave the hosts 4 matches on the night. The Penicuik trio, however, didn’t drop any other matches as they recorded a tight, but relaxed, 6-4 victory.
 
Fast forward to Thursday evening 21st March at Ladywood and Teams 1, 3 and 5 were all in action. Peter Aird, Colin Green and Greig McDonell hosted the Premier League Champions, Murrayfield 1 and an 8-2 victory for the visitors was maybe a little harsh. Peter can think himself particularly unlucky as he lost in five ends to both Charlie McGowan (11-9 in the fifth) and to Gordon Muir (11-8 in the decider). The only wins on the night were a singles victory for Colin and a doubles win.
 
Team 3 meanwhile hosted Corstorphine 2 in Division 2. The reverse fixture had ended in a draw. Corstorphine’s James Grant had been the difference back in November winning his three singles. On this occasion he only won 1 but for Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Bob Porteous and Gary McDougal the result was exactly the same – a terrific night for Gary, undefeated in singles play and two wins for Krys secured the draw. It perhaps should have been a win after Gary and Krys went 2-0 up in the doubles only to lose in five.
 
Finally on Thursday night, Team 5 of Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks, and Jim Jack hosted the Division 4 runaway leaders and Champions, West Lothian 5. The Penicuik trio went one better than their 10-0 defeat in the first half of the season as Patrick got the team on the board in a 9-1 defeat. This result brought the season to an end for Team 4 who will be disappointed to have only picked up 4 wins out of 17 matches played. Thankfully, however, they managed to finish above the relegation zone and will be hoping for improvement next season.
 
Week 25 came to an end on Friday night as Team 6 travelled to the Gyle to take on Corstorphine 6 in Division 5. Roscoe Cairney and Ian Millar were joined by John Bald making a rare appearance for the Penicuik side. The reverse fixture at Ladywood had resulted in a 9-1 victory for the Edinburgh side and history repeated itself, John picking up the only win for the visitors. This has been the first season for Team 6 and although the results have not necessarily shown it, there has definitely been improvement shown throughout the season. Next year the results will come!

And so, to our player of the week award. It’s straightforward this week we think – only one player was undefeated in singles play – well done to Gary – his three wins were crucial in Team 3 securing a 5-5 draw.
 
And finally, our controversy of the week section. An update on our complaint from Week 23 – Murrayfield responded with a mammoth PHD length thesis as to why our complaint should be thrown out and why their counter complaint should be upheld! That will be discussed at next week’s Committee meeting.
 
Also to be discussed next week is an appeal against a result from Week 25 in the Division 3 match between Haddington and Corstorphine. It appears that everyone in attendance proceeded on the basis that the old “turn up late rule” was still valid. A number of years ago the rule stated that if a player turned up more than 30 minutes late, they were effectively out of time and would forfeit their matches. Haddington have lodged an appeal after their third player turned up more than 30 minutes late and that’s exactly what happened. The result was a 6-4 win for Corstorphine. The problem of course, and the basis of the appeal, is that this rule was changed a number of seasons ago. Now a player can turn up as late as they want and the only “punishment” that is faced is if the match cannot be completed before time constraints at the venue kick in – any games which cannot be played when time runs out are awarded against the team who had a player turn up late. Neither Haddington nor Corstorphine appear to have known about this rule – Haddington are seeking a replay – over to the committee to decide.  
 
This rule has been the subject of discussion before. We think it does need to be changed. In venues where there is no time limit, the current rule effectively means that a player can turn up at any point before the match is finished and insist on being allowed to play. That cannot be what was intended.
 
For most of our teams, next week sees them play their final match as the 2023-24 season comes to an end. How did that happen?

Week 24 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League again saw all six of our teams in action.
 
Monday 11th March saw Team 1 travel to the Gyle to face Murrayfield 2 in the Premier Division. Peter Aird, Colin Green and Greig McDonell have had a bit of a wobble in the second half of the season, their performances seeing them slip out of the top three in the division. Greig was still feeling under the weather but managed to win the first match of the night against young Nichole Lee, playing up from division 1. Five of the next six games however went the way of the hosts and the match was effectively over as a contest. Young Nichole nearly took out Colin in the last match of the night, taking him to five ends and she deservedly won player of the night for her performances. A 7-3 victory for the Murrayfield outfit was probably enough for them to secure a top four finish.
 
Team 3 went into Week 24 after two consecutive wins but their trip to Heriot-Watt on Tuesday 12th March proved to be a very difficult one. Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Bob Porteous and Gary McDougal struggled to cope with the attacking play of the students. The best it got was a win each for Gary and Krzysztof as Team 3 fell to an 8-2 defeat.
 
The following night saw Team 5 make the trip to Gullane in Division 4. Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks, and Chamika Diyunugalge started the night above their opponents although the East Lothian outfit had recorded a 6-4 victory in the reverse fixture. This match could genuinely have seen virtually any result. Of the 10 matches played, SIX of them went to deciding ends with three of those deciders going to deuce. The difference on the night was that the East Lothian outfit won five of those six deciders as the hosts recorded a 7-3 victory. Patrick did brilliantly to win all his singles matches including a comeback from 2-0 down to win 16-14 in the fifth. A terrific match which could easily have ended 7-3 the other way!
 
Thursday was another busy night at Ladywood with our remaining three teams in action. Ian Hislop, David Melrose and James Wighton hosted Murrayfield 6 in Division 1 with only pride to play for. David again showed his experience as he won all three of his singles including a tight five end victory against Ian Moran. Unfortunately, neither Ian nor James could get on the board as Team 2 fell to a 7-3 defeat.

Team 6 called on Phil Daly to help out after illness struck their team. He joined Roscoe Cairney and Ian Millar as they hosted Heriot-Watt 3 in their last home match of the season. The hosts were given a huge boost when the students turned up with just two players. 3-0 up at the outset and when Phil won match 2 the team were close to at least a point. But the students battled away and after all the singles were played the hosts trailed 4-5 with only the doubles left to play. At 2-0 up Roscoe and Phil looked in control but losses in ends three and four forced a decider. The hosts held their nerve for an 11-8 win and that was enough to secure a 5-5 draw.
 
Finally on Thursday night, Team 4 hosted Corstorphine 4 in Division 3 knowing that a point would be enough to secure a second place finish in the division. Kristian Skotzen and Craig Linton called on the services of Patrick Shanks from Division 4. Kristian won match 1 on the night before Craig was involved in a five end tussle in match 2. Craig has played brilliantly this season and again showed his fighting spirit as he won the deciding end 11-8. A loss for Patrick kept the visitors in the match but then Team 4 showed great acceleration as they won the next 6 matches to extend their lead to 8-1. Whereas Craig had defeated Corstorphine’s number 1 in five ends, Kristian fell in five, but an 8-2 victory secured a second place finish for Team 4 and promotion awaits. A terrific season for the team.

And so, to our player of the week award. David, Patrick and Craig were undefeated in singles play (for their own teams) this week. Patrick deserves extra credit for his two wins whilst playing up for Team 4 (surely five out of six puts him in the driving seat for the award)? A special mention to Roscoe as well, who according to doubles teammate, Phil, played a blinder to secure the draw for Team 6 – Phil kept it on the table, but Roscoe hit the winning shots. But this week’s award goes to a man who only won 1 in the league – why on earth would we do that we hear you say. In fairness he also took Murrayfield’s top player to five ends in the league match and this season he has provided a huge boost to the fortunes of Team 1. Away from the League, he has played some excellent TT in the British Veterans League and last weekend he took away a medal from the Over 60s in the North-West Masters Veterans Event held in Preston. Well done to Peter.
 
And finally, our controversy of the week section. Let’s look at the top of the Premier Division. Murrayfield 1 were tested this year but have once again taken the title, North Merchiston 1 being their closest rivals. A top of the table clash took place in Week 24. North Merchiston had sought a postponement, their top gun Gavin Yuan (35 out of 36 wins) being unavailable. After some back and forth Murrayfield were not in a position to find an alternative date when their venue would be available, and they refused the postponement request. They went on to win the match 8-2. Would the result have been different had Gavin played? Who knows? It would, however, have been good to see the top player in the league playing in this fixture against three players who are all in the top 5 of the individual averages. The problem of course with refusing postponements is that teams / clubs will remember it in the future. We doubt that North Merchiston will be accommodating if they are asked for a postponement next season.
 
With two matches left to play, Murrayfield 1 have dropped only one point all season – and that was to their own second team. A 5-5 draw was secured by Murrayfield 2 – a terrific result, particularly when you look at that fact that the second team turned out with just two players! Wow imagine what might have happened had they had a full team?
 
Postponements are a constant source of problems, and we had our own issue with a request for a postponement this week. Earlier in the season, Team 2 had requested a postponement from Haddington in Division 1. Haddington had agreed to the request so when they sought a postponement of their Week 26 fixture, surely Team Captain, James would return the favour? Hold on a minute – our nicest team captain couldn’t possibly refuse to rearrange could he? Oh yes he could! Now in fairness, Team 2s match is scheduled for the 28th of March. Ladywood closes for Easter on the 29th for 10 days and when they reopen, we no longer have a league night booking at the centre. Given our restricted availability we couldn’t bring the match forward either, three matches being played already on each of the preceding three Thursdays. Sorry Haddington – genuinely nothing we could do about this one, according to James!
 
Two weeks of the regular season left – where have the last 24 weeks gone! 

Week 23 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League was a busy one for the Club with all six of our teams in action.
 
On Monday 4th March Team 2 welcomed back from his winter getaway, Ian Hislop. He joined David Melrose and James Wighton as they faced the youngsters of Murrayfield 5 in Division 1. The less said about this match the better – a 10-0 drubbing with only four ends won all night by the visitors! James probably played the best on the night taking ends of two Murrayfield opponents and that seems to have won him the POTM award – that’s about as much good news as there was!

On the same night, Team 6 made the trip to North Merchiston in Division 5. Roscoe Cairney, Sian McDonald, and Ian Millar took to the table for the visitors. The first three matches were all tight and could have gone either way. An 11-9 in the fifth win for Roscoe was cancelled out by a fifth end loss for Ian before the lead was restored by Sian as she won in five ends. When Roscoe and Sian won their matches in the second round of singles the visitors held a 4-2 lead going into the doubles. Roscoe and Sian combined to win in four ends and a point was secured. The home side nearly rallied for the draw but a win for Sian put paid to the hosts chances as Team 6 recorded an excellent 6-4 victory.
 
Team 4 visited Edinburgh International on Wednesday evening in the knowledge that a victory would, avoiding an absolute nightmare end to the season, all but guarantee 2nd position in Division 3. Their hosts started three points behind and could pile the pressure on the Penicuik side with a win. Kristian Skotzen, Craig Linton, and Aidan Craig needed to get off to a good start. Like Team 6’s match the first 3 games of the night couldn’t have been more hotly contested. Aidan won 11-9 in the fifth before Kristain lost out 11-9 in the fifth. In match 3, Craig was under real pressure at 2-1 down, but he turned it around to win in 5 ends to give the visitors the advantage. Matches 4 to 6 went 2-1 to the hosts so going into the doubles fixture the scores were tied at 3-3. An Aidan / Craig combination was a slight surprise – what wasn’t a surprise was that this match also went the distance, 11-9 in the fifth to the hosts – advantage to the Edinburgh side. A win for Craig was followed by a loss for Aidan and Kristian was therefore left with the challenge of winning Match 10 for a draw. His composure held as he won in straight sets and a 5-5 result was probably a fair reflection of the night. Although not mathematically secure in second place, a point gives the chasing EI side a lot to do in the last three games of the season.
 
Thursday night was another busy one at Ladywood. Team 3 got back on track in Week 22 with a 7-3 win and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Bob Porteous and Gary McDougal were looking to build on that as they hosted Corstorphine in Division 2. We often say that 10-0 wins can be deceiving and are on occasion much closer than the score suggests. This wasn’t one of those nights – although the visitors got various ends throughout the night, the first 5 matches all went the way of the Midlothian side. The second half of the match didn’t get any better for the Corstorphine team – another five losses (more heavily this time) and a 10-0 win for Team 3.

Also at home on Thursday night was Team 1 as they hosted Murrayfield 3 in the Premier Division. Greig McDonell nearly never made it because of illness and he’s now wishing he had taken the night off! He didn’t trouble the scorers other than by affecting their focus given his constant coughing! It was left to Peter Aird and Colin Green to try and get something out of the match for the hosts. Both lost to Jacob Munro, but both picked up wins against the other two Murrayfield players. The doubles would therefore determine the outcome of the match. Colin & Peter found themselves 8-2 down in the second end but somehow turned that around with a mammoth 18-16 win. A crucial win in the doubles resulted in a 5-5 draw.
 
Finally in Week 23, Team 5 hosted West Lothian 6 in Division 4. Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks, and Chamika Diyunugalge started the night a place behind their West Lothian opponents. The reverse fixture at Bathgate saw the team whitewashed so they were under no illusions as to how difficult this match was going to be. Whilst a win was not achieved, the good news is that the Penicuik trio played much better than they did in the reverse fixture. Chamika won the player of the night award and was in every match he played – unlucky only to pick up 1 win. Patrick also picked up a win and whilst Rachel didn’t get on the scoreboard she picked up ends in every match she played – an 8-2 loss but some positive signs.
 
And so, to our player of the week award. Well done to all of Team 3 who were undefeated this week. For Team 4, Craig continued his excellent form and his undefeated night contributed to an invaluable point in a 5-5 draw. Sian was in top form as well for Team 6 – her 3 singles wins were enough to give Team 6 a 6-4 win. Terrific play from her. So, five players in the running this week – how do we split them? Craig lost the doubles (harsh but that’s him out of the running)! Krys didn’t play in the doubles (even harsher – he’s gone as well)! Gary, Bob and Sian also had doubles victories – according to their teammates, the strong doubles players were Sian and Bob – sorry Gary! So, a straight fight between Sian and Bob – in singles they played 12 ends, winning 9 and losing 3 – here we go again on points! Bob 120 for 84 against, Sian 128 for, 95 against! Close but with a point difference of +36 compared to +33 well done to Bob!!  

And finally, our controversy of the week section. We could write a novel this week! We’ll start with a couple of minor ones – One of our Team 6 players playing away from home had to speak to another team playing a match at the same time as Team 6 about the noise they were making – lots of whooping, hollering, and squealing apparently. It was, according to our player, rather off-putting. This is always a problem in a multi-table environment. It seems to be part of the game now unfortunately. Cho cho cho.
 
In Team 2s match at Murrayfield on Monday night, it was oldies v youngsters. An issue in the past about youngsters has been a lack of interest (unless the youngster is actually playing). That was shown in full HD detail in a video taken by Ian of one of James’ matches. The young Murrayfield umpire sat with his head in his hands (or hand actually) – he had no view whatsoever of one end of the table. He was spoken to, but it made no difference. The same player also had a “set-to” with his own teammate who was umpiring his match with David. The youngster wasn’t happy with some of David’s serves and was effectively telling the umpire exactly what he thought of her “non-action”. Pot and kettle comes to mind – at least she was watching the game!!
 
But these issues pale into insignificance compared to the goings on at Ladywood on Thursday night. In game 1 of Team 1s fixture with Murrayfield, Colin was playing Jacob Munro. In the fifth and deciding end at 5-8 a rally took place during which Jacob ran into a barrier while returning a ball. Colin then hit the ball back into play and Jacob then missed his return. The Murrayfield umpire for some reason did not turn the scoreboard in favour of Colin. He’d obviously just forgotten to do so. Colin pointed out that the score was wrong. The umpire then said he was going to give a let because Jacob had hit the barrier, and it was that which had prevented him from getting back into position to play the next return. What?? Colin explained to the umpire, or at least tried to, that the fact that Jacob had crashed into a barrier was neither here nor there in terms of him being entitled to a let. He asked the umpire to change the score and award him the point. The umpire refused to do so. There was a short break in play (Colin incredulous at what was happening). Greig who had been watching the game indicated to the umpire that the point was Colin's - he was told that it was up to the umpire to make the decision. It was pointed out that whilst the umpire did indeed have the job of officiating the game, he needed to have a basis on which he was making his decision. If umpires can just do what they want when they want then we would never have any fair play in our sport. In fairness to Colin's opponent, he then accepted that the point should be given to Colin. Grant Williams, Murrayfield's third player also indicated that the point should be given to Colin. Effectively every player in the match agreed that the point was won by Colin, other than the Murrayfield umpire, who simply maintained silence, refused to change the score, and gave no reason as to why he considered that the point was not a valid one and why a let should be played. Had the umpire attempted to justify matters at least Colin may have been able to discuss the position with him. His silence however and complete failure to listen to anyone else was utterly appalling. Obviously he kept quiet because he knew he was wrong. At one point Colin thought about not playing on - the basis of that consideration being that in the face of silence from the umpire and in the face of every other player saying he was wrong, this was "cheating" wasn’t it? He played on and lo and behold to make matters worse he lost the decider 11-9. 
 
At no point did the umpire try and give any explanation for his conduct. At no point did he apologise for his behaviour. At no point did he take on board anything which was being said, not only by the opposing team but by his own teammates. At no point did he state what rule he was attempting to rely on in reaching his decision. At no point was he prepared to listen to anyone explain to him what the rules were in such a scenario. His conduct materially affected the outcome of the night. Add to that his behaviour obviously had an impact on the atmosphere of the night and this was by far one of the worst controversies this season. Maybe we’re being unkind, and it was the umpire’s pride that was preventing him from listening to five other players? Is that worse? We can see why some may reach the view that this was pure and simple cheating. The Murrayfield player knew what he had done and even after the match refused to discuss it. At the end of the night, he indicated we could take it up with the match secretary! What will come of that? Who knows, but it is clear that this conduct had a clear impact on the outcome of Colin’s game and ultimately the match!
 
Ah what fun!

Week 22 saw four of our six teams in action.
 
Team 3 had the first outing of the week as Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Bob Porteous and Gary McDougal travelled to East Lothian on Tuesday 27th February to take on Haddington 3 in Division 2. After a horrendous run of matches, Team 3 were in need of a win but when the first two matches were shared and captain Krys then found himself 2-0 down in match 3, it looked ominous for the Midlothian outfit. Krys, however, turned his match around to give the visitors the lead. Only Gary won in the second round of singles and suddenly it was 3-3. Bob and Gary continued their good run of form in the doubles to give the advantage back to the Penicuik side and an excellent last round of singles play saw all three matches won to give the visitors a much needed 7-3 win.
 
Team 4 have had an excellent season so far in Division 3 and they hosted West Lothian 4 at Ladywood on Thursday 29th February. The hosts started the night only a point ahead of their rivals but with a couple of games in hand. They knew that a win would virtually end West Lothian’s hopes of promotion.  Kristian Skotzen and Craig Linton welcomed back to the team Richard Millar, fresh from some warm weather training (or so he tells us)! The first five matches of the night flew by and the hosts lost only two out of 17 ends played. Match 6 went the distance but when Craig secured that, a win was guaranteed. With the victory in the bag a new combination of Richard and Kristian took to the table – it wasn’t easy but they secured a five end win in the doubles and a whitewash was on the cards. It took the West Lothian outfit until the last match of the night to get their solitary win as Team 4 romped to a comfortable 9-1 victory.

Also at home on Thursday night was Team 2. A five man team but they weren’t able to field three players and it was left to David Melrose and James Wighton to try and secure a miracle victory from a 3-0 starting deficit against Corstorphine in Division 1. Oh what might have been with a full side - David was again on song winning all three of his singles but James was unable to add to the score, particularly unlucky in his match against Dave Grant losing out in five ends. A draw had maybe been possible but with the doubles also lost, the hosts suffered a 7-3 defeat. We indicated last week that miracles can happen, but not anymore – even a miracle can’t save Team 2 – with bottom placed Murrayfield picking up a point, the Penicuik side now find themselves at the foot of the table and mathematically unable to get any higher than second bottom! It’s been a tough season for Team 2 – maybe the miracle will come with league re-organisation in the off-season – that’s the only way Team 2 will survive in Division 1!
 
In the Premier Division, Greig McDonell was welcomed back from his “unauthorised” mid-season holiday, as he joined Peter Aird and Colin Green in Team 1s visit to Haddington. After a poor loss in Week 21, the visitors were looking to get back on track. The East Lothian side had other ideas and a win in match 1 for Peter Lugton v Colin was a great start for the hosts. Wins for Peter Aird, Greig and then Colin, however, gave the visitors a 3-1 advantage. With matches 5 and 6 shared the lead was 4-2 going into the doubles. Greig and Colin had their chances but lost 3-1 and when Greig then lost a mammoth encounter with Carsten Giebeler in five ends the scores were tied. Colin secured a point for the team but in the battle of the two Peters it was the Haddington number 1 who came out on top – a 5-5 draw felt more like a point dropped for the visitors than a point gained.

And so, to our player of the week award. David, Kristian and Craig were undefeated in singles play this week. Well done to all three of them. David lost in the doubles (played badly according to James!), so he’s out of the running. How do we split Craig and Kristian – they each won 9 ends and lost 2 in singles play. Point difference? How sad are we! Kristian scored 115 points and lost 83 (+32) whilst Craig scored 127 points and lost 102 (+25). It’s got to be Kristian then doesn’t it? A bit like the player of the match awards given out by the teams, our decision this week is for neither of them!! According to his captain he played some terrific stuff and given that he’s only played a handful of matches, has hardly had time to train, and apparently pulled Kristian through in the doubles, this week’s winner is Richard - well done to him on two important singles wins and a doubles victory to ease the pressure on the team.
  
And finally, our controversy of the week section. There is not a nicer man in table tennis than Haddington’s Peter Lugton (well apart from our James of course) – but like James, winner of our “most liked player” award, season after season, recently controversy just seems to follow him about. In the first half of the season Mr L refused Team 1 a postponement (but obviously blamed his team captain Russell Firth). He was centre of the controversy again in Week 22 – charming, personable, difficult to dislike but underneath, like all true “champions” he has a killer instinct. That came to the fore towards the end of the night. With more than 40 minutes left until the 10pm deadline, Greig was in a fifth end decider with Carsten. Colin’s match with Russell had just ended. Peter L needed to get match 10 going so across comes Russell to take over umpiring duties from Peter Aird. Greig wasn’t happy – can’t we just carry on with the final end and then you’ll still have plenty time to get the final match completed? Oh no says Peter (and Russell) – time is marching on! Disruption follows and eventually its Colin who takes over umpiring (can anyone remember what happened the last time Colin umpired Carsten – we don’t talk about that anymore)! Imagine Greig’s annoyance as his match is virtually over in the fifth end and he looks across to see the two Peter’s still warming up and Umpire Russell chatting with other Haddington members who were involved in another match, getting something signed by the look of it, club business perhaps! Greig didn’t hold back! Of course had he not lost the fifth end badly, this probably wouldn’t be a controversy at all! We had a go at our now Teammate Peter A last season for something very similar when we played against him at Fife – whilst we have no issue with playing on two tables, switching umpires to get other matches on can be disruptive and it’s that which causes problems! In the end the final match was finished in four ends by Peter L and Team 1 couldn’t resist yet another comment about how there was still plenty of time on the clock before time would have been called! Peter L actually begged us to include him in our controversy section – he’s fed up of having a reputation of the least controversial player in the League - he apparently wants to try and convince people that underneath that cuddly exterior he's got a really evil streak - no one will believe it Pete!
 
There was plenty of foul serving on show at Haddington as well – but none of it pulled up – we asked Mr Firth at the end of the night how it could be that a Club who has Roger “Foul” Thomas as an “official umpire” could ignore so many blatant service infringements – his answer was that if he was applying the rules strictly, everyone would be called for dodgy serves – that’s the point though isn’t it? Raise the standards by actually applying the rules!

Speaking of the similarities between Mr Lugton and James, it will come as no surprise that Mr Wighton was involved in more controversial moments in Week 22. It was unfortunate that Steve had to pull out at the last minute due to illness (he’s gone from hero to zero in a week – hope you’re feeling better Steve)! It was indicated to James that whatever he did he shouldn’t play with two players. We had no one playing for Teams 3, 5 or 6 last Thursday so there was a pool of players available, some of whom live in Penicuik and could no doubt make the trip at the last minute to Ladywood if needed. We’re sure James would try and get someone wouldn’t he? Apparently he felt it was a bit late in the day to ask for help and it was unlikely anyone would have been available. We might have bought that had it not been for our Reporter receiving some photographs of the Thursday night matches – hang on a minute – who had taken the photos? None other than Chamika from Team 5 who had been IN THE VENUE and helped out by umpiring a couple of matches for the understrength Team 2! Oh my goodness! Whilst in all likelihood the match score would have been the same, all we can say is.......... REALLY!!!!!! It’s a good job James is as likeable as Peter Lugton – it’s impossible to be annoyed at him for any longer than about five minutes!

The end of the season is getting close – some of our Teams only have two matches left. On to week 23 we go.