In Division Ome of the Kendal & District Table Tennis League, the clash between the top two, Natland A and Dalton A, ended in stalemate, despite Dalton only fielding two players.

Ben McDonald won all three of his singles matches, including a dramatic 9-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 13-11 win over Natland’s star player, Roger Pimblett.

Paul Ackred chipped in with two wins, losing only to Pimblett. Dalton were unable to seal the win when McDonald and Ackred were beaten 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 by Pimblett and John Fearon and the match was drawn 5-5.

This leaves Dalton seven points behind Natland but with a game in hand. IBIS moved up into 3rd place courtesy of an 8-2 win against Dallam A. Steve Dixon and James McGrath were both unbeaten in singles and doubles but Peter Rushton only managed one singles victory, losing 11-9 in the fifth to both Thomas Parkinson and James Neal.

In Division 2, Burton B lead Natland D by four points. Burton B gained a creditable 7-3 win against Crook B. Mike Taylor suffered a rare defeat at the hands of Dennis Hooley. Taylor did secure two singles wins for Crook, however, and teamed up with John Wood to take the doubles. Natland D defeated Burton D by a similar score, despite James Burton winning all three of his singles matches for Burton.

In Division Three, leaders Crook C suffered a narrow 18-19 defeat at the hands of their nearest challenger, Grayrigg A. In a very tightly contested encounter, four players, Hugh Simmons and Andy Gilchrist for Crook and Ben Smith and Steve Hawley for Grayrigg, each won two singles. Each team won five matches but Grayrigg scraped home by a single game.

The annual Kendal & District Table Tennis League Junior Tournament will take place at the Kendal Leisure Centre on Friday, December 29, 10am-4pm. Anyone under the age of 15, who is a member of a club which is a part of the league, can enter.