Table tennis: Downsizing teams to twos proves a real winner for league

Oct 30 2008 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE West Lothian Table Tennis League’s decision to pilot a new system of two players a team has been hailed as a masterstoke.

The initial feedback was good but as the halfway stage nears opinions are becoming even more favourable.

It now looks as though this season’s league competition will start for real in November with the new format in place.

In Division One the well-balanced duo of Keith MacKay and Ian Mowbray lead the way having won all three of their matches.

Individually, the ever-dependable MacKay has won four from six games and Mowbray three from his six while playing as well as he ever has.

This week, however, they are due to meet the second-placed duo of John McCulloch and John Muir, also undefeated. Both teams are evenly matched and the result of this encounter could provide the eventual league winners.

Like the partnership McCulloch is also unbeaten and Muir has been providing great backup at 50% having just returned from injury.

In third place are Frank Kane and Benny Flockhart with two wins from three games. On his day the left-handed Kane is more than capable of beating anyone but can often make too many unforced errors.

On the other hand his partner plays much more cautiously and this is reflected in his two out of three win ratio against Kane’s one from two. They, too, are due to meet the McCulloch/Muir team this week so changes at the top of the table are inevitable.

Behind them come Barry Hills and Jim Stewart with two victories from four matches. Scotland ranked number three at the over-60 age group Hills has a formidable personal record with only one loss from eight games and that loss at the hands of his fellow veteran McCulloch.

Stewart is finding the competition too hot at the moment although he has been unlucky to lose games in the deciding set.

Beneath these four teams there is a scramble for positions and the final outcomes are far from certain. Individually there are players who are more than capable of winning matches on their own.

For instance, George Flanagan remains undefeated and it would surprise no one if he finishes that way. Also, there are Andy MacDougall and Lewis Hills who have lost only one game each and if their respective partners can chip in with a win or two the league table as it stands can be turned on its head.

While much of the speculation focuses on the top division there is now great interest being shown in the new second division where there has been a great influx of new players.

Leading the way at present are Bathgate Academy pupil Duncan Ewing and the wily Peter Hagenbuch who have won four of their six matches. Right behind them are Allan Ewing (uncle of Duncan) and Ros Beck with four wins from five matches. Uncle Allan is setting the heather on fire in his first season having lost only one game in eight.

The Ewing family connection does not end there as Jack, father of Duncan and brother of Allan, also competes in this division.

His team, though, have still to make their mark as they have a few postponed fixtures to catch up on.

In third place are the unbeaten duo of Graham Chambers and Colin Neilson who, too, is in his first season and providing great support for his more experienced team-mate by winning half of his games.

Their title hopes could depend on Chambers holding his nerve when matches get tight but that said a current win ratio of five from six puts him among the top individual performers.

Next comes the youngest team comprising Whitburn Academy pupils Ryan Whyte and Jason Farquhar with only one loss in their four games so far.

Of the two Jason leads the way individually with a personal average of 75% but Ryan is not far behind at 67%. These two also represented West Lothian recently in a junior league event.

Behind the current leaders there is, again, a scramble for positions but it is far too early to call the eventual outcome.

One thing is for sure and that is that there are some very interesting games to be played not the least when Davie Dall meets Kieran Boyle.

At 71-years-of-age, Dall is the league’s oldest competitor who, incidentally, has won all his first four games and Boyle at 12-years-of-age, is the youngest.

Family connections and rivalries will also provide many a talking point. In the First Division Keith MacKay will play son Daniel and father Barry Hills his son Lewis.

The Second Division has the Ewings but also Kieran Boyle’s dad Kevin and it does not end there. Martin Greig will also compete against son Ryan and Jason Farqhar will play younger brother Darren.

Let’s hope that all these rivalries draw families together rather than the opposite. That said all the evidence is that playing table tennis is seen as a family bonding pastime and there are certainly no stories of pocket money being stopped.

With the unavailability of the Bathgate hall last week only one match was played in the Edinburgh league when the C team travelled to Post Office where they suffered an 8-2 defeat.

Representing West Lothian was Kevin Milne, Ian Mowbray and Drew McLaren with the first two winning one game each.

The word coming from the camp was that the eventual scoreline did not reflect the closeness of the individual games.

This team has now played four matches of which they have won one, drawn one and lost two. This week’s match is also away, this time against Merchiston, but current number one Kevin Milne is unavailable because of work commitments – the curse of all amateur sports.