The Isle of Man’s number one ranked table tennis player Scott Lewis is swapping his normal bat this season for a ‘hard bat’.

This is a key part of his preparation for participation in the World Cup Hard Bat Championship, being held in Brazil next January.

As such he played in a key qualifying event, the English Open Hard Bat competition, which was held at Wisbech Table Tennis Centre in Cambridgeshire on Sunday.

Strict rules apply in that hard bats must be 100% wood, sponge-free and have short (not long) pimple rubber sheets on both sides of the bat.

The English Open Hard Bat event was held in the morning, while the English Open ‘Wood’ competition was held in the afternoon - the bat in the latter must be completely devoid of any covering.

Hard bats go back to the 1950s, before sponge was allowed between the bat and the rubber top sheet.

Entrants included David Tiplady who was senior hard bat world champion in Mexico 2024. Also entered this year were top players such as Nick Branch, Harry Chivers, Dale Parnell and Luke Stoke-Davies.

Another unique element of the tournament was that matches were played as the best of three ends to 15 points, with sudden death at 14 all.

In addition, players could opt to play a double point ball once during each match which would give them two points rather than one, provided they won the point.

Hard bat

This event consisted of two groups of five players and, despite losing his first match 15-13 in the third end, Lewis’s next matches were more straightforward.

He then faced Tiplady in a must-win match if he was to progress out of the group. In dramatic style, Scott fought back to 14 all to win the first game 15-14 and then took the second end in swashbuckling style 15-12.

His progress in the quarter and semi-finals was more decisive, winning both of his matches comfortably in straight sets.

The final was a repeat of his group match, with his opponent being none other than Tiplady. In a close first end, Lewis fought back from 1-6 down to take it 15-8.

In another notable twist, both players used their double point ball, but both failed to win the point!

The second end proved to be crucial, with Lewis powering unreturnable forehands past his opponent for a 15-12 win and the title - a truly remarkable achievement and a first (as far as we know) for an Isle of Man-based player.

Wooden bat

Lewis had very little time to practice for this event - surely the purest form of table tennis. It was therefore a case of watching and learning during the qualifying stages. Incredibly, he managed to win all of his matches in straight sets and as a result received a bye through to the semi-final.

This was a repeat of the hard bat final, with his opponent yet again being Tiplady.

This time the latter, being vastly more experienced than Lewis with the wooden bat, gained his revenge by winning in straight sets before losing in the final.

As a result of his earlier win, Lewis was crowned as the English Open Hard Bat Champion. This valuable and important win will give him a huge confidence boost for when he travels to Brazil in January - a further report will follow.

KEN MITCHELL