Match Report : Division 1 / Week 4 - Mursley Hawks  vs  Milton Keynes Sasaki  (Courtesy of Martin Johnson)

It was bottom versus top, as Mursley Hawks entertained Milton Keynes Sasaki, with the two teams having been two Divisions apart, last season.  Although many of the games/sets were well contested, Sasaki were generally able to move into a higher gear when it mattered, and in the end ran out comfortable winners.

Michael Wilkins started with a straight games win over Martin Johnson, and whilst points were level at 6-6 in legs one and two, Michael comfortably closed them out, despite a minor drama as Martin's bat started to disintegrate during leg 2 !  Mick O'Mahony took advantage of a slow start by William Kit Liang in set 2, and pushed on for a straight games win for the home team, to make it 1-1.  Minesh Pitamber then came through a close first leg against Ian Spanswick, but powered through once that was under his belt.

The doubles saw the home pairing of Mick and Martin grab a four games win over Michael and Minesh, for the Sasaki pairing's first loss in Division 1, whilst extending Mick/Martin's good doubles record.

At 2-2, Hawks held hopes of a close result, but Sasaki were in no mood to concede further sets.  Michael won against Mick in four games, and Minesh did likewise against Martin, to make it 4-2 to Sasaki.  Martin's bat did finally give up the ghost in this set, part way through leg 2, and although he actually levelled at 1-1 with his backup bat, Minesh took a close third leg and finished strongly.  William's earlier serving problems turned around, as his serve was the telling factor in a straight games win over Ian, to put Sasaki 5-2 ahead, with the final three singles to go.

Mick got close to taking the second leg in set eight, but again Minesh stormed through to win in three games to complete his treble in singles for the night.  Michael started and finished well against Ian, with two deuce games shared in between, to duplicate Minesh's achievement.  William again caused problems with his serve in set ten, and despite a late fightback by Martin, held on to win in three games, and completed an 8-2 win for Sasaki.

The win guarantees Sasaki staying top (or joint top should Hasbeens and/or Pumas score an unlikely 10-0 win) for at least another week, whilst Hawks remain rooted to the bottom of the table, now two points behind fellow Division Two promotees, Leighton Buzzard Spitfires.

Player of the Match : Minesh Pitamber.