The eight teams from the County Championships Over-60s Premier Division played the first three rounds of matches at the Milton Keynes Table Tennis Center on the last weekend of November. The teams involved were Cheshire, Essex, Kent, Leicestershire, Surrey, Sussex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.
Yorkshire once again had a strong team and showed their determination to retain the title they won last year (pictured above), while newly promoted Sussex and Worcestershire looked to show they could hold their own in the top division.
Sussex were a regular in the Premier Division, winning the league in 2019/20 but were relegated two years ago, while Worcestershire are new to the Premier Division.
Here’s how the three rounds of competition unfolded.
Round 1- Yorks 9 Worcs 1; Cheshire 3 Sussex 7; Leics 5 Surrey 5; Kent3Essex7
A baptism of fire for newly promoted Worcestershire, losing to reigning champions Yorkshire, who secured all four points. Buoyed by the presence of Ritchie Venner as their number 1, Sussex secured a 7-3 victory over Cheshire. Newcomer Tony Bates achieved a nice victory over Peter Bartram.
Leicestershire v Surrey was exciting throughout. Down 4-5, Surrey won the final mixed doubles match to earn a draw. Two singles wins from Rik James, along with a mixed doubles victory with Elaine Sayer, helped set up a win for Essex over Kent.
Round 2 – Sussex 3 Yorks 7; Surrey 7 Cheshire 3; Essex 4Leic 6; Worcs 9 Kent 1
Despite two singles wins for Ritchie Venner and a fine victory for Peter Bartram over York’s number 1 Peter Bartram, Yorkshire’s strength in depth was decisive in their 7-3 win.
An all-round team effort with all players contributing saw Surrey beat Cheshire 7-3, while Chris Rogers’ dominant performance with two singles wins and two doubles wins earned Leicestershire’s 6-4 victory over Essex.
Worcestershire pulled out all the stops to secure their first win in the Premier Division – and a 9-1 win at that. Only a win in the women’s singles for Munho King prevented a whitewash in Worcestershire.
Round 3 – Yorks 8 Surrey 2; Cheshire 4 Essex 6; Leics 7 Kent3; Worcs 3 Sussex 7
Another four-point win for Yorkshire, with Surrey’s only singles win coming in Phil Snelson’s defeat to Ivan Lewis.
Essex’s victory over Cheshire was another match whose outcome was not decided until the final mixed doubles match – which went Essex’s way. Newcomers Tony Bates and Rik James both won their two singles matches.
Once again Chris Rogers’ contribution was decisive for Leicestershire, winning both his singles and two doubles matches. Munho King and John Burleton won the final mixed doubles match and took a point.
Ritchie Venner maintained his unbeaten record in singles and won the final mixed doubles match with Christine Wicks. Three wins in the men’s singles earned Worcestershire a point.
So at the end of the first weekend session, the division table shows defending champions Yorkshire in the lead, three points ahead of second-placed Leicestershire.
Cheshire and Kent occupy the bottom two places with three points and two points respectively. But with four games left to play in the second session in February and a potential of 16 points for all teams to win, there is still everything to play for, both at the top and bottom of the division.
Click here to see the table. From there you can navigate to results, player averages and much more.
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