Lizards denied doubles despite win

The Lizards trio of Chris Erskine, Ken Trower and Sunny Chan were impressive in locking up the Village Green 7-4 in Nelson Orthodontics premier-grade table tennis at Saxton Stadium on Thursday night.

Top Lizards Erskine and Trower went through unbeaten but could not put together a doubles win for love or money. The experience of Mark Nalder and Phil Osborne proved too strong in the doubles, and both beat Chan even though he was playing well above his usual ability.

On the next table, City Fitness were having a right royal battle with TAJ Mahal but Donny Harris, Junfu Jiang and Jared van de Geest managed to sneak home 6-5.

Harris won all his singles and Jiang two, and they paired up to win the crucial doubles over John Armstrong and Andrew Marriott. Tom Watson grabbed two singles in a top effort by the youngster.

In the final premier clash, the Goldfish downed the Strugglers 11-0 after a great team effort from Mike Holmes, Alan Crowther and Gavin Wells.

In the City Fitness A grade, BNW carried on their winning way, beating AGPRO 7-4. Nigel Deighton was unbeaten while Brad Storer got a couple and Willie van de Geest one, and the doubles were shared. Phil Higgins got a couple and Gary Basher one for the Pro.

On the next table, Hot 2 Go were able to do up the Wing Nuts 7-4 after a determined effort from Bryan Keane, Jordan Milligan and Olly Dean. Keane won his singles while Milligan got two and Dean one, and the doubles were one apiece.

In the final A-grade clash, the Young Guns shot down the Falcons 10-1 after a top effort from Henry Neas and Tom Hu, who were unbeaten. Gab Callaghan got a couple but fell to Geoff Dowsett in a five-set thriller.

In A Reserve grade, Double Trouble are doing just that, causing mayhem with everyone they face. This week it was the All Stars, who were beaten 5-0 by Karen Holmes and Daniel Mayes in straight sets. Ethan's Cool Team also managed a 5-0 win, over Double Dux with Hayden Petch and Ethan McCrae unbeaten.

Points: Premier: Lizards 29, City Fitness 28, Village Green 22, Goldfish 19, TAJ Mahal 12, Strugglers 7.

A grade: BNW 33, Young Guns 26, Wingnuts 23, Hot 2 Go 20, AGPRO 11, Falcons 4.

A Reserve grade: Double Trouble 20, Ethan's Cool Team 15, All Stars 7, Double Dux 0.