Report by Graham Frankel

OUR team in the Premier Division of the Senior British League are engaged in a very tight struggle. After a great victory in their first match at Cardiff, it soon became clear that the rest of the season would not be plain sailing.

We predicted our first home match against Fusion would be exciting and it certainly lived up to our expectations. The home spectators were rewarded by seeing a superb fight back in the final two singles by Jack Bennett and Ethan Walsh to secure what could in the end be a valuable point for BATTS.

As well as the excitement of the match our supporters enjoyed the entertainments that turned it into a fun afternoon.

The BATTS Bull made his debut appearance taking on challenges from anyone who dared. The Lightning Shoot Out was another popular event. Sharon was doing a roaring trade in the cafeteria and we even had some BATTS cakes (see photo right) specially designed for us by Renate Weller. The afternoon was professionally compered by Chris D’Aguiar.

We knew that the next match after Fusion was going to be tough. Our team of Michael Tauber, Adam Nutland, Jack Bennett and Peter Cleminson put in a great effort but the Drumchapel Glagow side, with two world ranked Chinese players, were too strong. Drumchapel have now won all their first four matches 8-0.

That leaves BATTS in a mid-table position but we are taking nothing for granted. Various issues of squad availability and injury have given team manager Neil a few headaches to contend with on team selection. Ethan Walsh, having played brilliantly to beat Emran Hussein in the crucial final singles, then discovered he needs to have his forehand re- configured and is resting from competitive play. This, coupled with Adam’s unavailability for the Halton match, will give others in the squad an opportunity to shine.

The next two matches are away fixtures but we are looking ahead to our next home encounter which is on Saturday 11th February. We have another great afternoon planned. The match, of course, will be the centrepiece, and this time we will be up against the mighty Ormesby from Middlesbrough who, after three matches, had only dropped two singles.

http://batts.org.uk/sites/batts.org.uk/files/BATTS%20News%20Dec%2016sm.pdf