Doubles play resumed in week 12 of the Fun88-sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis Association league last week.

Travellers A are now nine points ahead of Ramsey A in Division One, while in Division Two Peel A share the lead with Travellers C.

In Division Three, Travellers D are 20 ahead of Travellers E.

Division One

Travellers B (1), Travellers A (8)

A fairly routine tie for leaders Travellers A. One of the closer matches involved John and Will Shooter for the B team who pushed Liam Chan and Malcolm Cummings, narrowly losing out 14/16, 11/6, 10/12.

The only match that went to the B team was John and Malc Lewis who overcame Chan and Cummings in three ends, 7/11, 11/4, 11/9.

Arbory A (4), Ramsey A (5)

This was a closely-fought tussle between second-placed Ramsey A and third-placed Arbory A, probably resulting in more smiling faces on the home side than the away.

The first match set the tone with an 11/3, 11/9 scoreline in favour of top pairing Jason Quirk and Mike Tamarov against Ramsey’s top pairing of Adam Teare and Duncan Alexander.

Quirk and Sonja Shaw overcame Alexander and Rebecca Taylor in three ends, while Tamarov and Quirk played supreme table tennis all evening to win their three matches.

All said and done though, Ramsey held it together enough to take the win overall.

Strathallan (5), Arbory B (4)

This was an epic tie, with seven out of nine matches going to a third end.

Strathallan were resplendent in their new match shirts courtesy of sponsor BB Consulting Engineers.

Andy Horne was drafted in and, armed with a new set of tricky long pips, made a difference for the hosts. He and Neil Quane edged a win 12/10 in the third against John Magnall and Amit Lanin.

Magnall and Lanin squeezed through 13/11 in the third against Julian Briercliffe and Horne, while the latter pair managed to pip Magnall and Dan Levine 11/9 in a very tight three-setter.

Overall, Strathy will probably take the five points gladly after such a close tie and Arbory will be pleased with four points which pulls them away from the relegation zone.

Tower A (9), Tower B (0)

Tower A knew they had to extract as many points from this tie as possible in order to remain within touching distance of sixth-placed Arbory B.

This they did, albeit two matches were extremely tight. Ken Mitchell and Mike Bayley had a right old battle with Steve Curtis and Mark Webster-Smith, as they did against Simon Radcliffe and Webster-Smith, but on both occasions they managed to pull through 11/9 in the third.

During that match, Radcliffe played a rarely seen ‘around the net chop’ at a late stage to keep them in it, to the disbelief of his opponents!

Overall, the B team will feel hard done by not to earn a point, but the A side will probably feel rather content.

Division Two

Desmond’s Douglas A (6), Ramsey B (3)

Wael Kassim was the thorn in the side for Desmond’s in this tie.

All three points the hosts failed to win involved Kassim alongside Lisa Lord and Adrian Slater, with both matches settled in the third end.

Only one match was won by Desmond's that went to three, involving Russ Kent and Brandon Montgomery who beat Lord and Slater in a somewhat topsy-turvy encounter.

Overall, Desmond's will take the six points and move on. They remain third, but now only one ahead of Ramsey B.

Peel A (4), Travellers C (5)

This was a much-anticipated clash, with Peel eager to surpass Travellers at the top of the table.

It wasn’t quite to be, but this result does mean that both teams are now locked together on 79 points.

Keeran Chan and Paul Mathieson-Nelson got the away team off to a solid start with a good three-end win over Jon Taylor Burt and Maggie Mulhern.

Chan also combined well with Dave Buck to add points against Stu Perry and Mulhern, then later against Taylor Burt and Mulhern.

Six matches out of nine went to a third end which further illustrates how close this tie was.

Arbory C (3), JRTE Marketing A (6)

JRTE sprung a surprise with the welcome return of Brian Crellin who was playing after several years away from the sport.

He didn't take long to get back into his stride though, winning all but one of his matches. His pairing with former fellow Division One player Darren Smethurst was particularly impressive, but he and Paul Mitchinson hit problems against Mike Levine and Kevin Drewry.

Despite being well ahead in the second game, several serving errors let Levine and Drewry back in and they went on to take the third end and the match.

The closest match was between Levine and Dave Bufton v Mitchinson and Crellin, with the JRTE duo just edging it 12/10 in the third.

Ramsey C (1), Arbory D (8)

Martyn Howard and Geoff Burchill pushed Malcolm Lambert and Bob Borland all the way in their match, but it was the gritty Arbory pairing who edged it 12/10 in the third end.

Liav Lanin won all his matches and looked to be in impressive form. Burchill and Keith Herrington produced Ramsey’s single point by defeating Lambert and Borland 4/11, 12/10, 11/7.

Division Three

Travellers F (0), Travellers D (5)

The young pairing of Rhys Bufton and Sydnie Weaver was not quite able to match the experience and determination of Maurice Campbell and Margaret Forsyth who claimed all five points.

The doubles went all the way to a fifth end, with Campbell and Forsyth coming back from 1-2 down. Bufton also pushed Forsyth to a fifth-end decider, but was worn down by her tricky hard bat style, losing the next three ends and the match.

Impressive stuff yet again for the D team maestros, which stretches their lead at the top.

Ramsey D (0), Ramsey E (5)

The away side’s Teddy Clayton and Saul Tumblety were too hot to handle for the D team pairing of Tony Sewell and Pat Halliwell.

All matches were settled in three ends, albeit most games were competitive.

Travellers G (0), JRTE Marketing B (5)

Tom Taylor-Burt and Max Doyle played well but were unable to match the experience of Steven Carridge and Gary Skillicorn in this tie.

Taylor Burt pushed Skillicorn hard in their match but fell away to lose the fifth end 6/11. Doyle did well to take a game off Skillicorn too, but was also unable to live with him thereafter, losing 7/11 in the fourth.

Despite not winning any points, there are signs that Taylor Burt and Doyle continue to improve and certainly didn't make it easy for their seasoned opponents.

KEN MITCHELL