Senior British League Round 4 Preview
Post date: Feb 16, 2019 11:38:48 AM
Ravenscroft Senior British National League Weekend 4 Preview 2018/19 Season
The Island’s leading table tennis players will be back in action for the Senior British National League this weekend where they will once more compete under the Ravenscroft banner. There has been a large break from action since the previous fixtures being contested way back in October 2018, however the first team is bolstered by the inclusion of CI number 1 Garry Dodd who returns to the team following his recent relocation to the UK. Dodd is in good form following his Open CI Top 12 triumph in January and he is joined by twins Joshua and Lawrence Stacey, who have also been in good form and contested the final of the recent Capelles Open Singles tournament, which Lawrence claimed. There is even better news for Guernsey as Ben Foss is making his long awaited return to action following surgery.
The Championship Division where the team has been competing in has been a very tough challenge for the Sarnian side, who currently reside at the foot of the 10 strong Division.
This penultimate weekend of the season is the shorter one of the season and fixtures are only contested on the Saturday. It could not get any harder for the Guernsey side as they are competing against the strongest teams in the Division. First up is a clash against league leaders Whitworth Academy I. The team is high quality and earned an 8-0 whitewash during the previous encounter. Of particular note is their number 1 player Kim Daybell, who is ranked 18 in England and has only lost 2 of his 20 matches contested so far this season. The other match is against 2nd placed side Wymondham and the outcome last time around was a 7-1 defeat. Sing Wong is the only player in the Division yet to lose a match and should he play then it will make the challenge a lot harder. The second string side is missing team captain Paul Hainsworth for the final 2 weekends of British League action due to unavailability. Dan Collenette, Ryan Bichard and Matthew Casey will return to action, whilst Ryan Gilson will also return to play for the side for the 2nd consecutive round of fixtures, having played in October. The side is in a strong position in National C-6 as they are joint 2nd with Horsham Spinners II prior to the weekend.
The first contest is against the side at the bottom of the league, Brighton City III. A commanding 8-1 win was obtained against the pointless side last time, however the unorthodox junior number 1 Jamar McGlaushin is a tricky player who could cause issues for the side.
The other contest is against 4th placed side Waterside II. The last meeting resulted in a comfortable 7-2 victory, however the Southampton based side excelled in the last weekend winning 3 of their 4 matches. In Jared Schaller they also have a reasonably strong number 1.
Fourth Weekend Sides
Ravenscroft I Ravenscroft II
Garry Dodd (Team Captain) Daniel Collenette
Joshua Stacey Ryan Bichard
Lawrence Stacey Matthew Casey
Ben Foss Ryan Gilson
Ravenscroft Fixtures (4th Weekend)
Ravenscroft I – Championship
Corby Smash Table Tennis Centre, Northamptonshire
16 February 10:30 Whitworth Academy I v Ravenscroft I
16 February 14:30 Ravenscroft I v Wymondham
Ravenscroft II – National C-4
Generation 2 Table Tennis Centre, Fareham Academy, Fareham
16 February 10:00 Brighton City III v Ravenscroft II
16 February 14:00 Ravenscroft II v Waterside II