On Sunday, at the Halton Regional Table Tennis Centre, Barrow I will be going on an adventure to the quicksand mired world of the ‘Relegation Zone’. The ‘Relegation Zone’ is a place big enough for two, but currently occupied by three tribes; Sycamore, Westfield and BATTS. However, on this journey, there will only be enough time for Barrow to go to battle with two of the inhabitants, Sycamore and BATTS.

Barrow will be looking to make the visit to this hostile world brief and swift. But before calling to Denis Neale, “Beam us up Denis”, there is a couple of side missions Barrow will be wanting to complete. Barrow’s Paul Drinkhall will be relishing the opportunity to make a point against Sycamore’s Sam Perry and the team as a whole will be looking to lay to rest the ghost that haunted them so much last time, BATTS’ Thomas Bennborn.

Barrow I from: Paul Drinkhall, Gavin Rumgay, Darius Knight, Sebastian Laux, Bradley Evans, Jonathan Crawford, Scott Crawford

British League Premier Division First Weekend Table

British League Premier Division Results

British League Premier Division Barrow Player Averages

Last weekend, a full strength Barrow I confidently strutted into the DHS Greenhouse Progress Tournament Centre to make their British League Premier Division debut. Heads visibly turned as players and spectators counted in the Barrow stars; Paul Drinkhall – check, Gavin Rumgay – check, Darius Knight – check.

Drumchapel Glasgow I vs Barrow I

Played in front of a large and expectant crowd, the majority of which were Barrow supporters, Barrow I’s first game saw them face Drumchapel Glasgow I. The game had been billed by the ETTA as “the most eagerly anticipated British League match for many years”.

Playing for Barrow I were: Paul Drinkhall, Gavin Rumgay, Darius Knight and Sebastian Laux.

Playing for Drumchapel Glasgow I, British League champions for the last two seasons were: Ryan Jenkins (Welsh Number 2), Gareth Herbert (former England Number 1), Terry Young (Commonwealth Gold medallist) and Craig Howieson (Scotland Number 2).

In the first game, Gavin Rumgay faced Ryan Jenkins in a repeat of their Liverpool Grandprix final a month ago. On that occasion, Ryan got the better of Gavin. This time around, despite Gavin stealing the first set 13 – 11, Ryan went on to win 11 – 4, 11 – 4, 11 – 3. Gavin wasn’t playing his usual confident self, possibly victim to jetlag from his flight from China, and Ryan fresh from the European Championships simply didn’t let him get going.

Paul Drinkhall then stepped up and demonstrated his class comfortably beating Gareth Herbert (1 1 – 7, 11 – 6, 11 – 7). It was then over to Barrow I’s German signing Sebastian Laux who made a sensational British League debut going 2 sets to 0 up against England Number 14 Terry Young (11 – 8, 11 – 8). However, Sebastian didn’t take his chances when they presented themselves and eventually went down to the ever-fighting Terry (6 – 11, 9 – 11, 9 – 11). Darius Knight put in a workmanlike performance beating Craig Howieson (11 – 8, 5 – 11, 11 – 7, 13 – 11). At the halfway point, the match was tied two apiece leaving all to play for.

Barrow I went into the second half confident and struck Drumchapel Glasgow I with a hard hitting 1-2-3 combo. Paul Drinkhall, utilised his skill and power to beat Ryan Jenkins (11 – 9, 11 – 2, 11 – 9). Barrow I team captain Gavin Rumgay mustered his Scottish spirit beating Terry Young (5 – 11, 11 – 5, 11 – 8, 11 – 8 ) whilst Darius Knight dished out killer forehands and the killer blow as he beat England Number 11 Gareth Herbert 11 – 7, 12 – 10, 4 – 11, 13 – 11.

With victory secured, Sebastian Laux once again entered a marathon of a game against Craig Howieson. This time, he went 2 sets to 0 down (9 – 11, 6 – 11) before fighting back to bring the game level (14 – 12, 11 – 9). In the final set, Sebastian got off to a flier, however, he couldn’t maintain the momentum and Craig came back to take the game and set (11 – 13). This left the final match score 5 – 3 to Barrow I – an excellent and memorable victory.

Final Score: Drumchapel Glasgow I 3 – 5 Barrow I
Barrow I: Paul Drinkhall (2), Gavin Rumgay (1), Darius Knight (2), Sebastian Laux (0)
Drumchapel Glasgow I: Ryan Jenkins (1), Gareth Herbert (0), Terry Young (1), Craig Howieson (1)

Barrow I vs BATTS I

After a very early climax to the season, Barrow I needed to keep the impetus going as they faced BATTS I.

For Barrow I, Bradley Evans replaced Sebastian Laux.

Playing for BATTS I were: Wang Zheng (China), Craig Bryant (England Number 18), Thomas Bennborn (Sweden), Jimmy Walsh (England Number 69).

With Paul Drinkhall beating Craig Bryant (11 – 8, 9 – 11, 11 – 4, 11 – 9), Gavin Rumgay beating Wang Zheng (11 – 9, 11 – 7, 8 – 11, 11 – 3) and Darius Knight beating Jimmy Walsh (11 – 5, 11 – 3, 12 – 10), it wasn’t until Bradley Evans faced Thomas Bennborn that a challenge was met. Thomas played the most deceiving of defensive games and got the better of Bradley winning 4 – 11, 11 – 7, 11 – 5, 11 – 5. At the half-way point, the match score was 3 – 1 to Barrow I.

Paul and Darius continued where they left off. Paul beat Wang Zheng (11 – 9, 11 – 9, 11 – 8 ) and Darius beat Craig Bryant (11 – 6, 11 – 9, 11 – 6). Once again, Thomas Bennborn proved to be the thorn in Barrow I’s side as he hacked the ball in half with authority scoring an excellent win over Barrow’s Gavin Rumgay (12 -14, 11 – 8, 1 – 11, 11 – 9, 15 – 13). Bradley concluded the day with a comfortable win over Jimmy Walsh (11 – 8, 11 – 8, 11 – 9) to earn Barrow I a satisfactory 6 – 2 victory.

Final Score: Barrow I 6 – 2 BATTS I
Barrow I: Paul Drinkhall (2), Gavin Rumgay (1), Darius Knight (2), Bradley Evans (1)
BATTS I: Wang Zheng (0), Craig Bryant (0), Thomas Bennborn (2), Jimmy Walsh (0)

Barrow I vs Sycamore

This was the first game to be played on the Sunday and given the previous night’s “celebrations”, it was with little surprise that the team got off to a slow start.

For Barrow I, Jonathan Crawford replaced Bradley Evans.

Playing for Sycamore were: Omkar Torgalkar (India), Sam Perry (England Number 32), Daniel Lowe (England Number 34), Jason Ramage (England Number 71).

The first game saw Paul Drinkhall face Sycamore’s Sam Perry. Powerful and often vocal Sam was clearly up for the game, whilst Paul was a little more subdued and took a little bit longer to get going. Well, two sets to be precise as Sam went 2 – 0 up (8 – 11, 11 – 13). The third set was tight and Paul had to produce a bit of magic and draw on his experience to clinch the third set 13 – 11. In his head, Sam must have realised that he had missed an opportunity that most likely will never be repeated. In sets four and five, Paul took control of the game as he won 11 – 6, 11 – 4.

Gavin then faced one of this seasons British League surprise packages, newcomer Omkar Torgalkar who had claimed some significant scalps during the previous day of play. Gavin’s scalp is one that Omkar will not be able to boast however, as Gavin beat him 11 – 6, 11 – 5, 5 – 11, 9 – 11, 13 – 11 in what was a tight match. Darius Knight then produced yet another professional performance comfortably beating Jason Ramage (11 – 6, 12 – 10, 11 – 6).

In the fourth game, Jonathan became the first Barrovian to ever play in the British League Premier Division as he faced higher ranked Daniel Lowe. With a number of expectant Barrow eyes watching in the crowd added to the pressure he had put on himself, Jonathan struggled to find the form that saw him unbeaten in the British League play-offs as he lost 11 – 7, 6 – 11, 8 – 11, 6 – 11. At the halfway point, Barrow I had a comfortable 3 – 1 lead.

Once again, Barrow I produced a killer 1-2-3 blow on the backend as Paul Drinkhall comfortably beat Omkar Torgalkar (11 – 8, 11 – 4, 11 – 4), Darius Knight beat Sam Perry (11 – 8, 11 – 3, 11 – 8 ) and Gavin Rumgay beat Danny Lowe (15 – 13, 11 – 8, 11 – 9). Jonathan Crawford simply found Jason Ramage too much to handle as he went down 5 – 11, 9 – 11, 6 – 11 to leave the final score 6 – 2 to Barrow I.

Final Score: Barrow I 6 – 2 Sycamore
Barrow I: Paul Drinkhall (2), Gavin Rumgay (2), Darius Knight (2), Jonathan Crawford (0)
Sycamore: Omkar Torgalkar (0), Sam Perry (0), Daniel Lowe (1), Jason Ramage (1)

Westfield I vs Barrow I

Going into the weekend, this fixture was predicted to be Barrow I’s easiest. With Westfield I propping up the table, it looked as if this prediction was going to be true.

For Barrow I, Scott Crawford replaced older brother Jonathan Crawford.

Playing for Westfield I were: Richard Andrews (England Number 20), Shaun Marples (England Number 23), Alim Hirji (England Number 25), Lewis Gray (England Number 108).

Gavin Rumgay started off in style playing to the audience as he put on an exhibition beating Richard Andrews (15 – 13, 13 – 11, 11 – 7). Paul Drinkhall carried on where Gavin left off beating Shaun Marples 11 – 2, 11 – 8, 11 – 5. It was then the turn of Barrow’s Scott Crawford to make his British League debut against top England Junior Lewis Gray. The match was a pleasure to watch with exchanges a plenty. However, despite Scott’s creditable fighting performance, it was Lewis Gray that got the better winning in five sets (12 – 10, 8 – 11, 11 – 8, 10 – 12, 11 – 5). Darius Knight was all set to face Alim Hirji. However, Alim had to withdraw due to injury handing Darius the win and giving Barrow a 3 – 1 lead at the halfway point.

Once again, Paul made table tennis look hideously easy as he toyed with Richard Andrews beating him 11 – 6, 12 – 10, 12 – 10. The baton was passed over to Gavin Rumgay who once again put on a show beating Lewis Gray 11 – 7, 11 – 6, 11 – 4. Darius looked composed and professional as he brushed aside Shaun Marples 11 – 9, 11 – 3, 11 – 7. Scott Crawford was handed victory by the injured Alim Hirji earning Barrow I their most comfortable win over the two days.

Final Score: Westfield I 1 – 7 Barrow I
Barrow I: Paul Drinkhall (2), Gavin Rumgay (2), Darius Knight (2), Scott Crawford (1)
Westfield I: Richard Andrews (0), Shaun Marples (0), Alim Hirji (0), Lewis Gray (1)

Tristran Swan, Barrow TTC team manager, discusses Barrow’s British League Premier division debut and the Teams memorable victory over Drumchapel Glasgow with BBC Radio Cumbria’s Paul Newton.

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Planes, trains and automobiles. What you may ask. Well, these are all the different forms of transport to be used by Barrow players to get to Barrow I’s British League Premier Division debut this weekend at Southall.

Gavin Rumgay will be flying in from Scotland’s Commonwealth Games training camp in China, Paul Drinkhall and Darius Knight will be flying in from the European Championships in the Czech Republic, Sebastian Laux will be arriving by train from Germany, whilst Bradley Evans and Jonathan Crawford will be making their way by car along with travelling fans.

Over the weekend, Barrow I will be facing Drumchapel Glasgow I, BATTS I, Sycamore and Westfield.

Without a doubt, the division’s standout clash is that between Barrow I and Drumchapel Glasgow I. This will be a contest that sees Barrow I’s British Number 1 Paul Drinkhall, Scottish Number 1 Gavin Rumgay, England Number 3 Darius Knight and one other going head to head with Drumchapel Glasgow I’s Welsh Number 2 Ryan Jenkins, Chinese player Qian Hai Song, former England Number 1 and Commonwealth Gold Medallist Gareth Herbert and Commonwealth Gold Medallist Terry Young. It is going to be a fierce contest of dramatic games with intense points and outcome that will have a big impact on Barrow I’s European table tennis aspirations.

Barrow I from: Paul Drinkhall, Gavin Rumgay, Darius Knight, Sebastian Laux, Bradley Evans, Jonathan Crawford

British League Premier Division Table Tennis returns to one of it’s spiritual homes next weekend and anyone with some spare time on their hands would be well advised to visit the DHS Greenhouse Progress Tournament Centre, Southall College, Beaconsfield Road, Southall, Middlesex, UB1 1DP on Saturday / Sunday 18/19 September 2010. Action kicks off at 11.00 am on the Saturday and at 10.00 am on the Sunday morning and admission is free. The venue is a three minute walk from Southall main line station.

Champions for the last two years Drumchapel Glasgow (Ryan Jenkins, Qian Hai Song, new signing Gareth Herbert, Terry Young, Craig Howieson and Stephen Jenkins) couldn’t possibly face a tougher challenge in their first match. They will be up against promoted Barrow whose star-studded squad of Paul Drinkhall, Gavin Rumgay, Darius Knight, newcomer Sebastian Laux, Bradley Evans and Jonathan Crawford will take some beating. This promises to be a match of the highest order between two of the best squads ever to have played in the British League. Both sides are understandably reluctant to commit exactly who will be playing for them but Barrow have high hopes that their English international stars – Paul and Darius will be available – not withstanding their commitments in this week’s European Championships.

Other matches that should be competitive are the Saturday afternoon clash between promoted Fusion and Westfield who finished a magnificent third last year. Fusion have added Adelele Kaseem Adisa to an already strong squad of Sule Olaleye, Loresas Trumpauskas, Mark Smith, Tommy Cutler and Emran Hussain whilst Westfield look to have a nicely balanced side – Niall Cameron, Richard Andrews, Shuan Marples, Alim Hirji and Mark Simpson.

BATTS have ventured into the transfer market and the acquisition of former Ellenborough players Thomas Bennborn and John Nilsson allied to the tried and tested skills of Wang Zheng, Craig Bryant, Martin Kubrt and Jimmy Walsh gives them a strong look as well. They will be looking forward to their Saturday morning clash with Fusion and their Sunday morning match against Westfield.

Champions for ten successive years – DHS Greenhouse Progress finished a fine second last time and although that might be a bit beyond them this year they still have a very strong team. Pick any four from Chen Po “Barry” Huang, Colum Slevin, Jason Sugrue, Da Qing Tong, Fei Ming Tong and Ashley Willetts and you can see what I mean. With players of the calibre of Daniel Basterfield and Igor Morais “knocking on the door” they have strength in depth as well. Sycamore finished fifth last year and they have secured the services of a new number one – Omkar Torgalkar. He will be joined by Stewart Crawford, Kevin Dolder, Sean Cullen, Sam Perry, Daniel Lowe and Jason Ramage. Expect Sycamore’s Sunday afternoon match against Ormesby to be a cracker.

The Middlesbrough giants haven’t added to their squad but their hard-hitting side of Michael Marsden, David Meads, Nigel Eckersley, Patrick “Paddy” Thomas and Andy Wilson will be hopeful of consolidating their excellent fourth place of last Season.

Steve Kerns (British League Press Officer)

Barrow I will be facing the following teams and players in the Premier Division of the British League 2010/2011 Season.

The article below was written by Barrow TTC Team Manager Tristran Swan for the ETTA (and featured on the ETTA website). The ETTA contacted Tristran requesting an article describing how Barrow TTC “managed to entice some top names into the British League”.

Barrow TTC has been asked by a lot of people, including the ETTA, as to how the ‘Barrow Dream Team’ developed. Well, basically it was an unplanned marriage of friendship that went something like this:

Last season, the team of Jakov Krivić, Bradley Evans, Jonathan Crawford and Scott Crawford punched above their weight to win the British League Play-Offs and a place in the British League Premier Division. Other squad members that helped the team to the play-offs included Tristran Swan and Steve Dixon.

Soon after the play-off success, the Barrow team looked ahead to the new season. With Jakov returning to professional table tennis in Croatia (signing for Croatian Club TTC Zadar) and Tristran and Steve ruling themselves out as first team regulars, the available squad had shrunk to three regular players (Bradley Evans, Jonathan Crawford and Scott Crawford) and two reserves (Tristran Swan and Steve Dixon). Given the amount of time, work and effort that had gone into gaining promotion, the team naturally wanted to hold their own and cement their place in Britain’s Premier team competition. To achieve this, it was felt that two top signings were required.

The first target was Gavin Rumgay. Gavin and Jonathan had lived and studied together for a number of years in Bristol, where they also trained together at the Filton College table tennis academy. Over the years, their friendship grew. Gavin introduced Jonathan to one of his former clubs, TV 1863 Leiselheim (where Jonathan played for one season), and likewise Gavin was introduced to Barrow TTC.

As a result, Gavin played for Barrow during the 2008/2009 season where the team narrowly missed out on promotion to the British League Premier Division. Gavin’s absence from the team at the play-offs – he was playing at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Glasgow – was the difference between success and failure. Had he played, it is with little doubt that the team would have won promotion, but in hindsight, this may have been a season too early. With Premier Division Table Tennis on offer, Gavin signed for Sycamore, but left Barrow promising to return should the team one day win promotion to the Premier Division; a promise he held true to.

Despite the first signing falling into place, it wasn’t clear where the second signing was going to come from. There seemed to be a serious lack of quality English players eligible to play in the British League (due to rules imposed by certain European national table tennis governing bodies preventing players from playing in multiple national leagues). It is therefore with little surprise that the second signing came out of the blue.

A German player who was coming to work in the UK for a year, Sebastian Laux (previous club TTC Elz), contacted Bradley asking whether he knew of a Premier Division British League team looking for players. Sebastian and Bradley had played in the same German division when Bradley played for TTC Seligenstadt. Naturally Bradley suggested Sebastian to the Barrow Team and, given his credentials (Top 5 German Cadet and National squad member and top 20 German Junior), he was accepted.

At this point, the Club directed its efforts to promoting the team ahead of the new season. Work went into the new website, YouTube Channel and Facebook Page. A lot of effort was also focused on improving the team’s image, making it more “professional”. This included securing a kit sponsorship with Stiga in co-ordination with long time Barrow table tennis supporter, Thornton’s Sport and Leisure. It seems that all of this work wasn’t going unnoticed.

Last season, Paul Drinkhall was playing for SV Plüderhausen in the German Bundesliga making him ineligible to play in the British League. In the close season, he moved to TTC Nodo in Belgium and, as a result, is now able to play in the British League.

Bradley is very good friends with Paul. Bradley told Paul about Barrow’s promotion and the positive direction the Club was heading. Paul is also very good friends with Barrow’s new signing Gavin Rumgay, who he trains with at the English Institute for Sport in Sheffield. Gavin too shared his positive experiences with Barrow. So, the prospect of playing in Britain, with good close friends, for a team that was going places and would look after him, enticed Paul to approach Barrow. Yes, Paul contacted Barrow and asked whether he could play for them. Needless to say, it only took a couple of phone calls and text messages before the deal was done.

Finally, the unexpected and final fourth signing.

Darius Knight was also part of the Filton College table tennis academy when Jonathan and Gavin were there. Whilst there, Darius and Jonathan became very good friends and Darius even invited Jonathan to go training with him at his former French club, Montpellier. The relationship with Darius and Barrow goes deeper however, as Darius and the Crawfords (Scott, Jonathan, Duncan and the late Christine) consider each other family.

During the 2009/2010 season, Darius signed on to play for Barrow in Division 1 North of the British League (taking the place of Gavin Rumgay). However, his commitments to his Spanish club (UCAM-Floymape Cartagena) prevented him from playing and Darius felt that he had let the team down. To prevent these pressures from arising again, Barrow didn’t approach Darius to play for them this upcoming season. However, unbeknownst to the Club, Darius signed on to the Belgium club PW Diest (making him eligible to play in the British League) and despite prospectively being ranked only number 3 in the team, his commitment to Barrow is so strong that he came knocking at the door (literally) asking the question Barrow were looking for, “where is my contract?” – crazy, but true!

So, as it was stated at the start of this article, the team came together through circumstance and friendship – and what a great basis that is for a sports club.

Ahead of Barrow I’s inaugural British League Premier Division season, it is with great pleasure and excitement that Barrow TTC announces the return of Scotland Number 1 Gavin Rumgay to the team.

Gavin Rumgay, the 3 times Scottish National Champion, helped Barrow get to the British League Play-Offs during the 2008/2009 season. Had Gavin been present for the Play-Offs, he was representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Table Championships in Glasgow, it is likely Barrow I would have been promoted that season.

In the 2009/2010 season, with the promise of British League Premiership table tennis, the entertaining Scot signed for Sycamore. Playing in the number 1 position, Gavin only lost one match during the whole season which goes to show what an important acquisition he is for Barrow.

On the signing of four times Men’s Open Grand Prix Champion Gavin Rumgay, Barrow Team Manager Tristran Swan said, “Gavin always said he’d come back to us if we won promotion and for him to do so shows his commitment to the Club”. Talking about Gavin, Tristran went on to say, “Gavin exemplifies everything Barrow stands for. He always gives a 110% and must be the hardest working player in Britain. What is more, he is an exciting and entertaining player. I very much see Gavin as been a Captain figure, someone who will lead by example”.

Looking forward to the season ahead Gavin said, “We (Barrow I) have a great chance to be winners or runners-up in the British League Premier Division. We (Barrow I) have the strongest team, the most entertaining and one of the fastest improving sides in World table tennis, which all bode well for big success in 2010/2011 season”. Gavin went on to pledge, “I will give my absolute best on the table and on the bench for this great team… Possibly some funny moments and entertainment”.

You can find out more about Gavin Rumgay on his player profile – Gavin Rumgay’s Player Profile.