WEST LOTHIAN TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE

SEASON 2007/8

At the start of the season West Calder found themselves in the unhappy position of having just one player left from last year’s line up, having lost the services of the long serving John Paterson and Davie Gavin. This left Benny Flockhart, team captain, looking for new players in order to fulfil the heavy fixture list. As chance would have it, fate smiled kindly on him when the father and son duo of Barry and Lewis Hills turned up looking for a game. This trio very quickly showed that they would be a force to reckon with as they set about putting all comers to the sword but they did it in such a pleasant manner that they soon became nicknamed as the “Benny Hills”.

With a real dogfight taking place beneath them, West Calder won the league title with games to spare only to lose the only three points lost all season in the final few games. Their only defeat was at the hands of Whitburn, who also pipped them in the cup final, and their solitary draw was against Deer Park. As one would suspect when the team wins the league, its players feature highly in the individual averages. In this instance, Barry Hills headed the individual statistics with a highly creditable 84%while son Lewis scored 76% in fourth place. Flockhart finished in mid table on 56%. There is speculation that this team could lose one of the Hills for next season, which might give others a chance.

In second place was Bathgate, which was represented by long-term servants Drew McLaren, Jeff Yates and George Anderson. It’s a few years now since Bathgate dominated the league but they are always there or there about but second place was probably as good as they could have hoped for last season. Top performer was the ever improving Anderson on 63% with the other two having identical records at 57%. McLaren, in particular, is capable of better and a return to his best form could see them again challenging next year.

In third place, with one point fewer, was Whitburn, who used a number of players during the season. Leading them was club champion, John McCulloch, but he was unavailable for long tracts of the season when his mantle fell on Steve McKay and they were assisted by Peter Hagenbuch, Ryan Whyte and Kieran Boyle. When both McCulloch and McKay were fielded, Whitburn were unbeaten but they struggled a bit when they had to rely on the less experienced Hagenbuch and the youthful Whyte and Boyle. McCulloch finished equal second top of the individual statistics on 83% and McKay on 63%. Young Boyle showed immense potential and enthusiasm allied to no little ability throughout to finish on 55%. Whyte showed flashes of good form, which require to be honed with more practice but can be proud of his 36%. Hagenbuch often willingly gave way to his younger colleagues and did not play as often as he would have liked.

On the same number of points, but having lost to Whitburn, came former champions Deer Park. To long term servants Andy MacDougall and Jim Stewart were added newcomers Kevin Milne and Kevin Boyle (father of Kieran) but they soon gelled to display all the old Deer Park camaraderie. As usual MacDougall led the way but, in the individual stakes, he was again the “eternal bridesmaid”. In the club championships he lost in the final of the singles, lost in the final of the doubles and in the league again finished runner up in the individual averages, equalling McCulloch’s 83%. Milne showed great promise in his first season by registering a highly creditable 60%. Stewart chipped in with his usual tally and finished on 44% while Boyle registered 28%, as he gained valuable match play experience.

Four points further back came Dedridge with yet another father and son duo in Keith and Daniel MacKay, who were teamed with yet another newcomer in Ros Beck. As expected MacKay senior led by example and his consistent attacking style took him to 68% and his usual top six finish. The younger MacKay did not have one of his better seasons and must be disappointed in his 25% average, given his potential and the fact that he is West Lothian junior champion. Ros Beck, on the other hand, almost became the league’s surprise packet as she took most opponents by surprise in the first half of the season only to be pegged back to 41% as her results fell away in the second half.

Such was the competition within the league that the next team was, again, only one point behind. Over the years Murieston have often finished mid table and last season was no different. More often than not Asif Raja would win all three of his games but, occasionally, would suffer an off night but on his game is match for any one in the league. These “blips”, however, saw him finish in fifth place in the individual stakes on 71%. Giving most support was St Margaret’s student Luke Marris but studies limited the number of games he could play and the amount of practice he could put in. That said he still managed 48%. These two were backed up by the grandfather grandson partnership of Davie Dall and Gavin Hunter. At 70 years of age, Dall is the league’s oldest participant and did well in finishing with a 36% average. Grandson Gavin played only a few games because of long term illness but still provided able support with 33% but one suspects that he might have preferred to have finished ahead of his grandad.

Finishing in seventh place was probably not a prospect which was seriously envisaged by Torphichen but the league had not long started when they lost two key players in George Flanagan and Ian Mowbray because of work commitments. Prior to giving up for the remainder of the season Flanagan had lost only one of twenty one games, giving him a 95% average but league rules demand that a player contests at least 50% of the fixture list to appear in the final statistics. Mowbray did manage to return for the end of the season and finished on 61%. The loss of these two meant that the Ewings of Torphichen (as opposed to Dallas) stepped into the breach. Leading the way was young Duncan who enlisted the support of dad Jack and uncle Allan and older brother Alistair may also have been called up for duty if he had not taken a gap year in Australia. After a shaky start Duncan gradually met the added pressure head on and can be delighted with his record of 42% while uncle Allan chipped in with 39% and dad Jack with 15%.

Until the last two fixtures Mid Calder languished in bottom place but they finished with a flourish to finish in eighth position. Team captain Brian Rooney struggled for form for most of the campaign but came good in his last match when he won all three of his games so the end of the season came far too soon for him. If this form can be maintained he will surely surpass his current score of 22%. Their top performer was Graham Chambers who completed his season on 44% but how much better this could have been if only he had not recorded a “duck” in five of his first six matches is any one’s guess. Making up the team was Martin Rumsey, who scored 29% but took some impressive scalps on the way. Mid Calder have always operated in the lower reaches of the league but they can now look to the future with much more optimism.

The biggest surprise must surely be the finishing position of reigning champions Winchburgh. Last year Brian Barton, Charlotte Wighton and Keith Brogan took the title in some style but the loss of Brogan so early in the season seems to have taken some confidence from the team although his replacement, Scott Barton (son of Brian), had a creditable first season average of 37%. The problem was that Barton senior and Wighton were not firing on all cylinders and probably dropped more games than before. Their respective averages of 66% and 29% reflect this.

If finding the reigning champions in second bottom position is a shock, the fact that the Deans team finishes in wooden spoon position is an even greater surprise, given the quality of the three players in their team. Frank Kane, John Muir and Brian Toal all have external experience in the Edinburgh League but all failed to make their recognised ability and experience make the difference, as they did a couple of seasons ago when they won the league title. Of the three, Toal showed the most consistency with 51% with the highly regarded, powerful hitting Kane on 37%. Some of his point winning shots were a delight to watch but unforced errors plagued his game. Muir played through the pain barrier with a niggling injury throughout to finish on 29%. Expect the enigma that is the current Deans team to improve in the coming campaign.

So ends season 2007/8. It was just as competitive and just as enjoyable as previous years but what marked it out was the number of new players, the quality and growing confidence of the young players but, most of all, its sheer unpredictability.