For the first time in over three decades, an Inter-League table tennis match has been held involving members of the North Norfolk League as nine players (plus supporters) travelled to Swanton Morley Village Hall as the North Norfolk League took on the Dereham & District League in the inaugural Hansells Inter-League Challenge Trophy. The Challenge was in effect three matches in one as three players from each of the two League’s respective first and second divisions and their junior ranks battled against each other – Dereham prevailed on all three tables, but the junior contest was not settled until the final set of the decisive match.
The three juniors representing North Norfolk were Joe Kirkup and brothers Charlie and Toby Usher and they were up against Dereham’s line-up of Liam Dougal and Phil and Matt Denton. For Dereham, Liam Dougal was unlucky not to pick up a win, losing out in five sets to Toby Usher. Charlie Usher took two wins for North Norfolk with a brace of straight sets wins over Dougal and Matt Denton, but lost out to Phil Denton in four, who also beat Kirkup in three. With Matt Denton earlier beating Toby Usher in four,North Norfolk led the junior table 4-3 and came within two points of winning their part of the challenge, but Matt Denton came back from two sets down and then won the last six points from 5-9 down in the fifth to Kirkup. And it was Phil Denton who won the decisive match on the junior table, as he just pipped Toby Usher (who had clawed his way back from a two sets deficit) 11-9 inthe fifth to be awarded the Challenge’s player of the match award.
There were some more cracking battles on the first division table as North Norfolk’s John Hancock (Jnr), Steve Patterson and Ray Howe took on Dereham’s Nigel Houseago, Stephen Barrett and Wayne Lubbock. Hancock took a brace of four set wins, but was beaten 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 by Houseago who won all of his three singles in five sets. Barrett picked up a brace for Dereham in four against Howe and five against Patterson. Howe defeated Lubbock in the fifth encounter on the table to go the distance, but with Lubbock defeating Patterson in straight, Dereham prevailed on the first division table 6-3. And it was the same result on the second division table as Dereham’s David Appleby, Mark Bishop and Steve Brown won 6-3 against North Norfolk’s Peter Ward, Chris Gould and late substitute Phil Mole. Each of the North Norfol ktrio picked up a single as they all won in four sets against Brown – but maximum’s from Appleby (who only dropped one set all night to Gould) and Bishop saw Dereham to a clean sweep across all three tables. So Dereham won the overall Challenge 17-10 but with around a third of the games settled in five sets and another third in four, it was a very hard fought win. The match was exciting throughout and a rip-roaring success for a new competition that the organisers hope to invite other Norfolk League’s into over the coming seasons in a long overdue return to the ‘good old days’ of competitive Inter-League competition in Norfolk!
- Thanks are due to everyone who supported the Challenge, scored matches etc and an especially big thank you to Barry Evans for organising the event.
HANSELLS INTER-LEAGUE CHALLENGE FULL RESULTS
Table 1 - Juniors
Charlie Usher (NN) lost to Phil Denton 10-12, 5-11, 11-8, 9-11
beat Matt Denton 11-9, 11-8, 13-11
beat Liam Dougal 11-4, 11-3,11-4
Toby Usher (NN) lost to Phil Denton 9-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9
lost to Matt Denton 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 7-11
beat Liam Dougal 11-2, 11-3, 7-11, 10-12, 11-5
Joe Kirkup (NN) lost to Phil Denton 5-11, 3-11, 8-11
lost to Matt Denton 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 9-11
beat Liam Dougal 12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
Table 2 – Second Division
Peter Ward (NN) lost to David Appleby 9-11, 5-11, 7-11
lost to Mark Bishop 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 10-12
beat Steve Brown 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3
Chris Gould (NN) lost to David Appleby 6-11, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11
lost to Mark Bishop 4-11, 11-13, 7-11
beat Steve Brown 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
Phil Mole (NN) lost to David Appleby 8-11, 5-11, 2-11
lost to Mark Bishop 11-13, 8-11, 11-8, 3-11
beat Steve Brown 11-9, 11-7, 2-11, 11-4
Table 3 – First Division
John Hancock (NN) lost to Nigel Houseago 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11
beat Stephen Barrett 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-7
beat Wayne Lubbock 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8
Steve Patterson (NN) lost to Nigel Houseago 9-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-7, 8-11
lost to Stephen Barrett 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 5-11
lost to Wayne Lubbock 9-11, 7-11, 4-11
Ray Howe (NN) lost to Nigel Houseago 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-13, 9-11
lost to Stephen Barrett 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 9-11
beat Wayne Lubbock 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9.
