British League

Results

Guernsey 1 (National B-1)

Guernsey 2 (National C-1)

Garry Dodd (Drumchapel)

Garry Dodd continued his strong form whilst representing his Drumchapel Glasgow Senior British League team in the inaugural SBL Premier Cup and the side upset the seedings and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal finish.

This debut staging of this competition included the 7 teams that comprised the elite Premier Division of the Senior British Leagues this season as well as the Scottish based Drumchapel side that Dodd represents by virtue of them having won the Championship Division this season – with promotion to the Premier Division having been secured a few months back. The event was thus staged as the top eight clubs in British Table Tennis battling to be the first to lift the trophy.

Dodd’s Drumchapel side had been drawn against a fellow Scottish based side in the form of North Ayrshire 1 in the initial Quarter-Final stages, a side that finished 3rd in the Premier Division and were thus seeded third for the event.

Despite the underdog status, Dodd helped his team to an impressive 4-2 victory, which led the way for an unprecedented set of results that saw the lower ranked teams all win and the top 4 seeds all ousted. Indeed, it was Dodd that set the tone for the encounter as he started off his competition in razor sharp form. He was up against the quality experienced Swedish British league player Viktor Gorman who is ranked around the top 30 in England. Dodd strongly won the opening 2 ends 11-8 before Gorman fought back to force the deciding end. Gorman pushed the left-hander all the way in this set, however despite being within touching distance of a victory, never held a match point and Dodd eventually saw off the spirited challenge 14-12. The North Ayrshire side won the next two matches which led to Dodd and Baoman Wan stepping in to make sure of the win. Wan kicked off with an impressive 4 sets victory over top 50 player Chris Main in 4 sets before Dodd completed his unbeaten start with a 4-set win of his own over Martin Johnson, who is ranked around 20 in England. Wan concluded the affair when he too edged past Gorman over the full 5 set distance.

The semi-final was against a strong Brighton team with contrasting styles. It included the super tricky Ukrainian defender Ihor Zavadskyi who is ranked in the top 10 in Ukraine. Dodd was first up against the Ukrainian and played some excellent table tennis despite some superb defence from his opponent. The rallies were lengthy and saw Dodd needing to execute multiple strong forehand topspins and smashes to win points. It was a match of a very high level and went the way of Zavadskyi over the full 5 set distance. Dodd’s side won the doubles over Zavadskyi and the familiar Jersey born player Jordan Wykes in 5 sets which kept them in contention leaving the CI battle between Dodd and Wykes to follow. Dodd started strongly and won the opening set 11-8 but was unable to press on from here as Wykes strong play and effective punched strokes used on the backhand with his pimpled rubbers enabled him to come through as a 4-set winner and at the same time see his side conclude a 4-1 win and reach the final.

Dodd’s involvement was not over however as his side the following morning had a chance to secure a 3rd placed finish when they came up against a strong Fusion side. Dodd played excellent table tennis in this fixture and was unbeaten. He beat Joshua Bruce who is ranked 21 in England in 4 sets in his first match before leaving his best performance for last. He was embroiled in a tight tussle with Shaquille Webb-Dixon, who is highly ranked at 14 in England. Dodd battled back from losing the opening set to lead 2-1 and held 2 match points whilst leading 10-8. Webb-Dixon however dug deep and saved both before winning the following 2 points to edge it 12-10 and force a decider. The final set saw the turn of Webb-Dixon to hold a match point of his own when leading 10-9, however Dodd saved this with an excellent forehand topspin return from Webb-Dixons serve. An unreturnable serve gave Dodd his third match point and this was converted with a backhand block that landed on the white line. Unfortunately for the Drumchapel side they were unable to close it out from the 3-2 lead this had left them in and Wan lost to Bruce 3-1 before Danny Bajwa was beaten also in 4 sets by Larry Trumpauskas. The final outcome was thus a harsh 4-3 defeat.

It was however a successful competition for the Drumpchapel side who finished 4th and provided further encouraging sides for Dodd and his strong form heading into the Natwest Island Games, which kick off in a month’s time.

British League Weekend 4 -1st/2nd April

The final fixtures of the 2022/23 British National League season went very well for the leading Island table tennis players.

Following the superb success of Garry Dodd in the Championship winning Drumchapel Glasgow side, the top Sarnian players also excelled and finished their campaign with flying colours, resulting in a promotion to National A next season.

Guernsey I were in pole position in National B1 heading into the final weekend of matches with a 2 point advantage from closest rivals Huddersfield, however the strong Guernsey outfit practically sealed the title on the first day of action at the Halton Regional Table Tennis Centre in Widnes. The team of Lawrence Stacey, Ben Foss, Joshua Stacey and Ryan Bichard faced the crunch test in the very first fixture of the weekend on Saturday morning, as they were up against title rivals Huddersfield.

The prior season meeting had resulted in a narrow 5-4 defeat and in another tough tussle, the result was reversed with an excellent 5-4 win being gained. Foss and Bichard each started off the weekend impressively with unbeaten starts. Foss defeated Cameron Sandhu in 4 sets before defeating Timothy Dyson in straight sets. Bichard on the other hand started with a straight sets win over Dyson before holding his nerve in the pivotal deciding game of the match against Kee Young Sim to win again in straight sets. The final victory was picked up by Joshua, as he also beat Sim in straight sets.

This result was followed up with an emphatic 8-1 win over a 7th placed Shiyi Ling TTC side. The sole match won by the opposition was in the very first game when their number 1 player Mikey Arnold played some excellent table tennis to overcome Foss in 4 sets. The virtue of the victory and Huddersfield’s tight 5-4 win of their own in the afternoon left a 4-point lead for the Guernsey side, meaning that a single victory was required on the final day of play to make absolutely sure of the title and promotion.

Maths never needed to come into it as another day kicked off with another comfortable victory, this time 7-2 over 6th placed side Derwent. The only singles match lost during this match was Bichard’s straight sets defeat to Josh Bramley, whilst Foss and Bichard also fell in 4 sets in the doubles rubber to Bramley and Yonatan Caspi.

The season was then concluded in style as another comfortable 7-2 win was obtained against a strong Halifax side that finished in 3rd position. Foss, Lawrence and Josh all ended the match with 2 singles wins apiece, whilst Bichard added a further win over Alex Shaw in straight sets. Ben Fillingham prevented the whitewash when he edged past Bichard in 5 sets, whilst Fillingham and Shaun Ellis also edged past Foss and Bichard in 5 sets in the doubles clash. Foss and Joshua ended the season with impressive records of 25 singles wins out 28 and topped the averages for most wins.

Guernsey 2 experienced a tougher time in National C1, but did end the season relatively well, picking up 2 successive wins on the first day of action and ending in 6th spot.  The side of Matthew Casey, Ryan Gilson, Dan Collenette and Joseph Bourgaize started well with a strong 6-3 win against an Isle of Man side that finished bottom of the table. All players picked up singles wins in the fixture except Casey, with Collenette and Bourgaize unbeaten.

This was followed up with a more impressive 5-4 win over a Halifax 2 side that finished 2 spots higher in 4th position. Collenette once more remained unbeaten, whilst Casey got off the mark and Bourgaize added a crucial win of his own in the final game of the match over Keith Skarz in straight sets. It proved to be the doubles rubber which was also pivotal in the outcome of the fixture and Collenette and Gilson combined well to dispatch Liam Chipman and Joanne Keighley in 5 sets in a fixture where the Sarnians trailed 2-1.

The final day of action proved a lot tougher and saw 2 heavy defeats. Despite this fact Casey, Collenette and Gilson each picked up a singles win apiece across the matches.

British League Weekend 1

Guernsey’s long-awaited return to British National League table tennis action did not disappoint with several good results obtained and tight tussles, whilst one of the leading players in the Channel Islands, Garry Dodd, excelled for his side in the lofty Championship Division.

Dodd’s competitive action in the second tier of British National League table tennis, behind only the Premier Division, was nothing short of impressive as he went the entire weekend unbeaten, with a maximum 8 singles wins from 8. This feat was achieved for the Scottish based side Drumchapel Glasgow TTC 1, results that helped his side to 3 victories and a draw, leaving them 2nd in the table.

Dodd’s rating heading into the weekend placed him around the top 40 in England, however this is sure to rise following several victories over higher ranked opposition.

The best win came against England Male number 14 Gabriel Achampong, a ruthless straight sets demolition for the loss of just 21 points to the London Academy player. All of his wins came against players that are top 50 standard in England, but he had a strong double during the Sunday morning fixture against a strong BATTS 2 side, which ended as a 4-4 draw. He needed to be near his best to earn a pair of gutsy 5 set wins over Joe Cope and Jack Bennett, ranked 16 and 27 in England respectively.

For the Guernsey sides, it was the Guernsey 1 side of Lawrence Stacey, Ben Foss, Joshua Stacey and Ryan Bichard that fared the better. Conclusion of the first 4 fixtures sees them sitting in joint 3rd position of Nation B-1, however they will rue the 2 narrow 5-4 defeats to the 2 sides above them in the table on the Sunday.

The Saturday had started in positive fashion as a strong 7-2 win was obtained over Draycott 2. All of the Guernsey players got early wins on the board in this fixture, with Foss and Josh each winning their 2 singles rubbers.

The final match on the opening day was another clash that ended 5-4, but on this occasion the Sarnians were on the right side of the result. Josh continued his impressive form as once more he was unbeaten in singles action. With Foss and Lawrence each winning 1, the doubles proved to be a crucial encounter. The Stacey twins had a battle on their hands, however they came through the 5th set of their encounter with Abraham Earl Sellado and Shaun Ellis comfortably 11-5.

Sunday started with the first of the narrow 5-4 defeats and this came at the hands of Northfield TTC, who are the overall leaders of the Division following the first weekend. The fixture saw Josh lose his 100% singles record as he was beaten by England number 132 Andrew Wilson in 4 sets. He did however win his other match against Jevon Chan in 5 sets. Foss was the star of this match as he earned solid 4 set wins over Anthony Phoenix and Jamie Lupton. Lawrence matched Josh by beating Wilson in 4 sets, but unfortunately the elusive 5th rubber did not come and it was a story of a pair of tight 5 set clashes which settled the affair. The first was the doubles game in which Foss and Lawrence led Phoenix and Lupton 2-1. They lost the 4th set comfortably before agonisingly going down 18-16 in the 5th set. A 2-1 lead was also the order of the day in the 9th and final match as Bichard lost out to Chan 11-8 in the deciding set.

The final match of the weekend against Huddersfield had a number of similarities, not just the final score. It again saw a few narrow 5 set encounters go the way of the opposition. Josh returned to his strong form and ended the weekend with 7 wins out of 8, whilst Foss and Lawrence again managed to pick up a win apiece. Once more however the pivotal 5th win could not quite be reached. The doubles was an almost mirror result of the morning encounter as it saw the Guernsey duo leading 2-1 – this time the Stacey twins against Tim Dyson and Cameron Sandhu. But the fightback was competed by the Huddersfield pair by the narrowest margin of 12-10 in the decider. Lawrence was the player to come close to sealing the win in the very next rubber against Dyson after he fought back strongly from 2-0 to level affairs. Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry through to a peculiar final set which was won 11-1 by Dyson.

Despite having a slightly weaker weekend of action, Guernsey 2 also find themselves in joint 3rd spot National C1, following 2 victories and 2 defeats.

Saturday morning was a tough start, but it did see some positives due to UK based Daniel Collenette winning his 2 singles matches over Adam Gittings in 5 sets and Peter Cowburn in 4. Matt Casey picked up the other win over Bailey Pye in 4 sets, but the final outcome was a 6-3 defeat to Blitz TTC.

The side reacted positively to the disappointing start with a comfortable 7-2 win against Halton TTC 3. Ryan Gilson and Jamie Ferbrache were the best performers here as each was unbeaten. It was only Halton’s number 2 Matthew George that provided any resistance as he beat Casey in 4 sets and Collenette in straight sets.

Sunday started with a heavy 8-1 defeat to a strong Knighton Park side that are joint top of the table and that won all 4 matches over the opening weekend. Casey was the sole Guernsey winner as he battled back from 2-1 down to beat James Berry. Some consolation can be taken from the close nature of some other matches with both Collenette and Ferbrache only losing out to Virgil Birch-Abban in 5 sets, with the players having led 2-0 and 2-1 in those encounters respectively.

The final match of the weekend was a real humdinger against familiar rivals Isle of Man and it ended in a favourable 5-4 success. The Manx side led 3-2 during the middle part of the fixture, but it was the Guernsey side that sealed the win in a winner takes all final match. Casey and Collenette finished the weekend strongly with each recording 2 singles wins each. It was however Ferbrache that proved to be the hero as he saved his best for last, emerging victorious in the concluding 9th match over Sonja Shaw in 4 sets, despite dropping the opening end.

The next British League action will take place on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th December where a further 4 fixtures will be contested.

British League Weekend 1 - Preview

The improving standard of local table tennis in Guernsey over the past decade or so can be attributed to several factors, but there is no doubt that the entry into the Senior British National Leagues has played a key part in this.  The regular off-Island competition has enabled the Island’s leading and fringe players to gain valuable match experience against varying opposition which has put the players in a good position for other events including Inter-Insular action against the old rivals Jersey and also the Island Games, in which the Sarnians have an exceptional record where the gold medal has been achieved in the team event on every occasion since Isle of Wight in 2011.

There has been a period of 2 x seasons where participation in these leagues has not been viable for obvious reasons, meaning the last action in the senior British Leagues was during the early stages of 2020.  The good news is that Guernsey has taken the decision to re-enter the leagues and are due to kick-off their 2022-23 campaigns this weekend.  

There are a number of similarities in this return to action and none more so than the fact that the venue is the Halton Regional Table Tennis Centre in Widnes, the same venue that the sides competed at in 2020 and one in which the Island’s players have visited many times in the past for British League action.

The other similarity is the players who will be wearing the Guernsey shirts during the opening round of fixtures in the coming days as 7 of the 8 players competed in the opening weekend of the season last time out.

The Guernsey 1 team comprises the successful 2022 Green Trophy winning trio of Lawrence Stacey, Ben Foss and Josh Stacey and they are joined by Ryan Bichard, who steps up from the second team.

The Guernsey 2 team contains fellow top-flight players and prior British League regulars Matthew Casey, Ryan Gilson, Dan Collenette and Jamie Ferbrache, with Collenette based in the UK already due to being at university.

Little is known at this stage about which players the Islanders will be up against, however the Divisions have been assembled and fixtures are known.

Guernsey 1 are in National B-1 which is the 4th Tier of competition in the British National League pyramid. They are competing against Draycott 2, Halifax, Northfield TTC and Huddersfield over the opening 2 days of action, whilst Guernsey 2 are in National C1 and will compete against Blitz TTC, Halton TTC 3, Knighton Park and some potentially familiar faces in the form of Isle of Man in the final match of the weekend.

Each Division contains 8 teams and both Guernsey sides will be attempting to obtain promotion to higher leagues come the end of the season.  The remaining fixtures are to be contested in December, followed by January and April next year.

Opening Weekend Sides

Guernsey 1

1.       Lawrence Stacey

2.       Ben Foss

3.       Joshua Stacey

4.       Ryan Bichard

Guernsey 2

1.       Matthew Casey

2.       Ryan Gilson

3.       Daniel Collenette

4.       Jamie Ferbrache