Bournemouth Sports moved a step closer to promotion to Division 1 after their matches at Okehampton in Division 2 South-Midlands-West on Sunday 15th January 2012. The team consisting of Hannah Hicks, Tony Clayton, George Downing and Nathan Bingham defeated Fusion III and Woodfield II by the same score of 6-2.
Some superb defensive play by Hannah resulted in her defeating all her opponents 3-0 and she deservedly won both player of the match awards. Hannah’s game strategy and defensive technique have improved significantly in the last year and she must have a good chance of being selected for the Olympic Games in London in the summer.

Tony managed to defeat both number three players but lost to both of the number ones. As usual, his grit and determination were a good inspiration for his younger team members. Incidentally, the combined age of Hannah, George and Nathan falls well short of Tony’s!
George lost his 100% record when he was defeated by S Bertie of Woodfield. Winning his first nineteen matches was a good achievement but poor shot selection at critical times in the match against Bertie was his downfall. He should not lose from 2-0 up in games and 10-6 up in the fifth game. Hopefully he will learn from this defeat and continue his quest for junior international honours., a selection that I am sure will come in the future.
Nathan played better as the matches progressed and he managed to win three of his four sets. Lack of practice due to exam commitments most probably contributed to a substandard performance in his loss to J Dennison of Fusion. However, Nathan is an excellent match player and his 11-1 win record in this division reflects his consistency.
With four matches to play Bournemouth Sports are four points clear of nearest rivals Woodfield II, but the sets difference is only plus 8, so two defeats are likely to result in second place in the division. Woodfield’s cause was greatly helped by Horsham playing ineligible players against them, and so a 6-2 win ended up as 8-0. This type of incident should not happen at this level of competition and could have repercussions on the final outcome for promotion.

Bournemouth Sports 6 Fusion III 2

Match Card
HOME PLAYER AWAY PLAYER SCORE RESULT

H.Hicks R.Farquharson 11-4 12-10 11-7 1-0

T.Clayton F.Rasul 11-7 11-9 10-12 10-12 9-11 1-1

G.Downing J.Dennison 11-9 11-5 11-6 2-1

N.Bingham N.Hall (S) 11-0 11-0 11-0 3-1

H.Hicks F.Rasul 14-12 11-4 11-4 4-1

G.Downing R.Farquharson 11-5 11-9 11-8 5-1

T.Clayton N.Hall 11-5 13-11 11-8 6-1

N.Bingham J.Dennison 11-7 4-11 9-11 11-8 6-11 6-2

Bournemouth Sports 6 Woodfield II 2

Match Card
HOME PLAYER AWAY PLAYER SCORE RESULT

B.Pegg T.Clayton 11-9 16-14 11-3 1-0

S.Bertie H.Hicks 6-11 11-13 7-11 1-1

A.Dixon N.Bingham 6-11 7-11 12-14 1-2

L.Bertie G.Downing 12-14 5-11 6-11 1-3

B.Pegg H.Hicks 7-11 12-14 5-11 1-4

A.Dixon T.Clayton 11-5 11-13 7-11 11-13 1-5

S.Bertie G.Downing 10-12 5-11 11-7 11-8 12-10 2-5

L.Bertie N.Bingham 12-14 5-11 2-11 2-6

Division 2 South-Midlands-West POS TEAM PLAYED W D L F A POINTS

1 Bournemouth Sports 10 9 1 0 66 14 19
2 Woodfield II 10 7 1 2 58 22 15
3 York Gardens II 10 6 1 3 47 33 13
4 Fusion III 10 4 2 4 37 43 10
5 Woolwell II 10 3 3 4 38 42 9
6 Horsham I 10 4 0 6 33 47 8
7 Mossford II 10 1 2 7 24 56 4
8 Hollingbury 10 0 2 8 17 63 2