Hamstreet A lose their unbeaten record

The headline act saw Postling B beat visitors Hamstreet A in a battle of two previously unbeaten sides in Division

2 of the Ashford & District Table Tennis League.

Postling B got off to a fast start, with Chris Hooper beating Anthony Bodle in straight sets. Brian Cook only managed to grab the final end off Ben Brown, although Denise Glenister couldn’t put a score on the board against Martin Yeandle.

With all three players at the top of the averages in action, there was also potential for tight games.

Bodle fared no better against Cook, losing 3-0, and Yeandle’s unique style had no impact on the control from Hooper who breezed through 3-0 to make it 10-5 as Postling B pulled away. Both Bodle and Brown were able to restrict Glenister to a single leg in their matches, but there was an excellent 2-1 win for Cook over Yeandle, while Brown lost out to Hooper 2-1.

The match was over before the doubles got under way, and a 2-1 win for Cook and Glenister over Bodle and Brown was enough to seal a 18-12 victory.

The result means Postling extend their lead over Hamstreet to eight points. Leaders Ruckinge B won against the ever-improving Ruckinge C team. After the opening four games, it was shaping up to be a close match with the teams tied at 6-6. Clive Develin came through two deuces against Mike Galvan to take a 2-0 lead, but Galvan held firm and took a deserved win in the final end. Mike Holiday and Richard Wright shared the opening ends with a mixture of attack and defence, but the final end became a tight affair with Holiday coming through 12-10 in the decider.

Terry Yeomans took the first leg over Chris Cloake

11-9, before Cloake took the initiative 11-7 in the second, and edged through 11-9 in the third.

In the fourth match up, Wright got off to a quick start taking the first 11-3, and the second 11-7 before Galvan showed his determination to take the last 12-10 and tie the match on the night.

Ruckinge B took control of the tie, with Cloake beating Develin 3-0. Then, Holiday and Yeomans had a tight first end 14-12 before Holiday took the next 11-2, 11-3.

Cloake and Holiday won their final encounters 2-1 over Wright and Develin, Yeomans provided some hope after losing a quick first level to Mike Galvan as he rallied to take the next two.

But at 17-11 going into the doubles, Ruckinge B had won the night - it was all about the points tally now.

Holiday and Cloake made hard work of it in the first end against Wright and Yeomans, before finishing the night with a 3-0 win.

It meant they held the lead of the division but both Hamstreet A and Postling B will be in action next week, and likely to overtake them at the halfway point.

Ruckinge D and Ruckinge E were both fighting to avoid relegation, so the winner of the match would take a big step towards safety at the expense of the other. Ruckinge D started quickly, winning the first three matches and while Ruckinge E trailed 7-2 at one stage, it was a close contest as the D side only led by a point going into the doubles.

The 17-13 win means Ruckinge D go past their E team, and now hold a threepoint advantage on them.