Week 17 saw four of our six teams in action with both Teams 1 and 2 having free weeks.
ESC 3 v Penicuik 4 (Division 3)
First up in Week 17 were Team 4 who made the trip to ESC on Tuesday night (27th January). With the duo of Ian Hislop and Aidan Craig both unavailable, this was an easy selection for Captain Patrick Shanks as he was joined by Jay Jayalath and Chamika Diyunugalge in the trip to the centre of Edinburgh. The reverse fixture had seen a straightforward 9-1 win for the Penicuik side. There was nothing straightforward about this fixture – the hosts fielded two different players compared to that defeat, but when Chamika and Jay won the first two matches there was positivity amongst the visitors. Defeats for Patrick and then Camika, however, brought the scores level but two further wins for the visitors gave them what looked like a comfortable 4-2 lead. So often the doubles is crucial and it was again as Chamika and Jay fell just short, losing out 11-9 in the deciding fifth end. When Patrick lost match 8 the scores were level again. Match 9 saw Chamika take a 2-1 lead against Richard Lo, but the home player rallied to win in five ends and for the first time, the visitors were behind. Jay rounded off a terrific night for him with his 3rd win to secure a point, but the visitors made the journey back to Penicuik disappointed that this was a point lost rather than one gained.
Penicuik 3 v Edinburgh Uni 3 (Division 2)
Up to Wednesday night, 2026 had been terrific for Team 3. Craig Linton, Charlie Brindley and Kristian Skotzen were looking to keep that going as they faced a home match against the students. An 8-2 loss in the first half of the season, however, meant that the Penicuik trio knew they were in for a tough night. 6 matches during the evening went all the way to a deciding fifth end. Only one of them went the way of the hosts and that made all the difference on the night. A 14-12 loss in the fifth for Craig, an 11-9 in the fifth loss for Charlie and three other fifth end heartaches resulted in a 9-1 victory for the students. This was never a 9-1 game but that’s how it’s going into the record books. Team 3’s excellent start to 2026 has hopefully just stuttered rather than come to a shuddering halt!
Penicuik 5 v West Lothian 6 (Division 4)
Wednesday night also saw Roscoe Cairney, Rachel Petrie and Mat Dyluk take to the table as they hosted third placed West Lothian 6. Team 5 are running low on confidence after a bit of a shocker of a season and this looked like another difficult fixture for them. The first three matches were over in a flash, Roscoe the only home player to pick up an end. The match was over after the next three singles, Roscoe this time unlucky to lose out 11-9 in the fifth in match 6. 0-6 down and only pride to play for. Roscoe was by far the home team’s player of the match and he deservedly picked up a win in his last singles but overall this was another heavy defeat for the hosts as they fell 9-1. Mathematically, Team 5 are still in with a chance of avoiding relegation but they need to start winning quickly!
Penicuik 6 v Edinburgh University 7 (Division 5)
Finally in Week 17, Team 6 travelled to Bathgate where they took on West Lothian 9 in Division 5. John Grant, Michael Daly and Arran Fitchett made the trip west. John was the only winner in the first three matches of the night and Arran then won his first match in only his second outing for the Club in the second set of three games. Entering the doubles, the visitors were 4-2 down but they couldn’t pull off a recovery as they lost out 8-2, Michael unlucky to lose his final match of the night in five ends.
Player of the Week
For the second week in a row a shout out to Arran as he picked up his first win since joining the league. Well done to him. But this week, there really isn’t much room for debate – only one player was undefeated in singles play and his three wins led to a 5-5 draw for his side – well done to Jay.
Controversy of the Week
In Team 5’s match v WL, team captain Roscoe was spoken to by his opponents about one of our favourite topics – service. There are many aspects of the serve which can lead to debate but surely one of the most difficult to deal with is the angle of the throw up. The rule says that the ball should be thrown “near vertically upwards”. Do any of us actually know what that means? We can all spot really obvious ones where the ball is thrown almost horizontally backwards, but what about the ones which are a “bit” backwards? How big a deviation from vertical is too much? Apparently, Roscoe’s projection of the ball was not straight up – but it doesn’t have to be. Such a tricky rule to enforce – VAR and protractors required.
Week 18 is just round the corner.
ESC 3 v Penicuik 4 (Division 3)
First up in Week 17 were Team 4 who made the trip to ESC on Tuesday night (27th January). With the duo of Ian Hislop and Aidan Craig both unavailable, this was an easy selection for Captain Patrick Shanks as he was joined by Jay Jayalath and Chamika Diyunugalge in the trip to the centre of Edinburgh. The reverse fixture had seen a straightforward 9-1 win for the Penicuik side. There was nothing straightforward about this fixture – the hosts fielded two different players compared to that defeat, but when Chamika and Jay won the first two matches there was positivity amongst the visitors. Defeats for Patrick and then Camika, however, brought the scores level but two further wins for the visitors gave them what looked like a comfortable 4-2 lead. So often the doubles is crucial and it was again as Chamika and Jay fell just short, losing out 11-9 in the deciding fifth end. When Patrick lost match 8 the scores were level again. Match 9 saw Chamika take a 2-1 lead against Richard Lo, but the home player rallied to win in five ends and for the first time, the visitors were behind. Jay rounded off a terrific night for him with his 3rd win to secure a point, but the visitors made the journey back to Penicuik disappointed that this was a point lost rather than one gained.
Penicuik 3 v Edinburgh Uni 3 (Division 2)
Up to Wednesday night, 2026 had been terrific for Team 3. Craig Linton, Charlie Brindley and Kristian Skotzen were looking to keep that going as they faced a home match against the students. An 8-2 loss in the first half of the season, however, meant that the Penicuik trio knew they were in for a tough night. 6 matches during the evening went all the way to a deciding fifth end. Only one of them went the way of the hosts and that made all the difference on the night. A 14-12 loss in the fifth for Craig, an 11-9 in the fifth loss for Charlie and three other fifth end heartaches resulted in a 9-1 victory for the students. This was never a 9-1 game but that’s how it’s going into the record books. Team 3’s excellent start to 2026 has hopefully just stuttered rather than come to a shuddering halt!
Penicuik 5 v West Lothian 6 (Division 4)
Wednesday night also saw Roscoe Cairney, Rachel Petrie and Mat Dyluk take to the table as they hosted third placed West Lothian 6. Team 5 are running low on confidence after a bit of a shocker of a season and this looked like another difficult fixture for them. The first three matches were over in a flash, Roscoe the only home player to pick up an end. The match was over after the next three singles, Roscoe this time unlucky to lose out 11-9 in the fifth in match 6. 0-6 down and only pride to play for. Roscoe was by far the home team’s player of the match and he deservedly picked up a win in his last singles but overall this was another heavy defeat for the hosts as they fell 9-1. Mathematically, Team 5 are still in with a chance of avoiding relegation but they need to start winning quickly!
Penicuik 6 v Edinburgh University 7 (Division 5)
Finally in Week 17, Team 6 travelled to Bathgate where they took on West Lothian 9 in Division 5. John Grant, Michael Daly and Arran Fitchett made the trip west. John was the only winner in the first three matches of the night and Arran then won his first match in only his second outing for the Club in the second set of three games. Entering the doubles, the visitors were 4-2 down but they couldn’t pull off a recovery as they lost out 8-2, Michael unlucky to lose his final match of the night in five ends.
Player of the Week
For the second week in a row a shout out to Arran as he picked up his first win since joining the league. Well done to him. But this week, there really isn’t much room for debate – only one player was undefeated in singles play and his three wins led to a 5-5 draw for his side – well done to Jay.
Controversy of the Week
In Team 5’s match v WL, team captain Roscoe was spoken to by his opponents about one of our favourite topics – service. There are many aspects of the serve which can lead to debate but surely one of the most difficult to deal with is the angle of the throw up. The rule says that the ball should be thrown “near vertically upwards”. Do any of us actually know what that means? We can all spot really obvious ones where the ball is thrown almost horizontally backwards, but what about the ones which are a “bit” backwards? How big a deviation from vertical is too much? Apparently, Roscoe’s projection of the ball was not straight up – but it doesn’t have to be. Such a tricky rule to enforce – VAR and protractors required.
Week 18 is just round the corner.
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