Mad dogs and English men go out in the mid day sun ... and crazy table tennis folk play the indoor game in the equatorial climate of Leigh Miners Club.  Last year’s Summer League winners Saints had home advantage in the opening game ... against last year’s wooden spooners Titans.

Saint Peter led the line ... Saint Christopher was at his side every step of the way ... Adam munched on an apple waiting patiently to play ... whilst the prodigal son Callum looked at his iPhone for divine intervention.  General Patterson led the line for Titans and he had Kenneth Wolstenholme at his side.  Scamperer and the Chadster made up the quartet. 

Titans took the first after a close game between Scamperer and Adam which was followed by another Titan victory when the man with the wing span of a golden eagle outfoxed the prodigal son. Last year’s wooden spooners were two nil up!

Saint Peter v Kenneth Wolstenholme ... win and Saints we’re back in the hunt ... lose and Titans were clearly in the driving seat.  Peter started as favourite but Kenny had other plans ... he counter punched Peters attack and won the first.  Each point was hard won ... but when Kenny got his nose in front again he took it ... and upset the form book.

There was a rumbustious exchange between Chris and Scamperer ... it was a random affair of missed shots and wild smashes ... so a pretty normal game for these two.  It scored ten on the commitment scale and zero on the technique scale ... but Titans had another point on the board.

General Patterson very nearly nicked it from St Peter but the deceptive spin on the last shot nudged Pater over the line 11-9 in the third.  Excellent entertainment from players that know each other’s game inside out.

Chaddy and Chris played a competitive game for the first time in a long while ... with Chris winning in three. Chadster & Scamperer played like the chuckle brothers when losing to the Davies/Garfin combo ... a lesson in how not to play doubles ... but enjoyable all the same. Luckily the Patterson/Wolstenholme combo had won their doubles earlier so both teams had won one and lost one in the doubles exchanges.

On the back nine things went mostly to form ... so it turned out that the St Peter v Kenneth Wolstenholme game had been the pivotal match of the night ... giving Titans an 8-6 victory.

Kenneth Wolstenholme had kept it tight in every game ... varying his strategy against each opponent ... which worked for him as he won three out of three and was mon of the match.  The seedings of players was looking pretty accurate... and this was confirmed when news came in that Crusaders and Dragons had drawn ... Titans had gone top of the table.

In the post match interview Kenneth Wolstenholme had this to say “some people think it’s all over ... but it’s not, this is only the first game”.  He was asked about his choice of attire for the game and replied “these are my lucky tracky bots ... my sinewy white legs haven’t seen the sun since 1987 and they are staying under wraps no matter how hot it gets”.