Ping! Out go Rene and PC Andy: thanks, boys. Pong! In come Steve and Kennedy: welcome, men. Unlike Arsene, we've been busy in the transfer market. It's long been recognised that the BT Defiants team is a sleeping giant. And with less than a year to those Olympics, we need to get serious and get ourselves Back Up Where We Belong. Anyone got Gere's number?

We so mean it this season that we've already postponed one game where we'd have had only two players, thus giving away three points to the opposition. That was the old Defiants. You want promotion? Well, promotion costs. And right here is where we start playing. Cue the music.

Down to that Felixstowe in the SteveMobile. Conditions: mild. There's tonights opponents, the redoubtable John, Frank and Cyril. If Les had been there too, that would have been All The King's Men. Wild beasts, the lot of 'em. In brief:

• Ed got all three -- naturally, ahem -- though sweated in beating Cyril, losing the first end
• Kennedy also got all three -- nice! -- improving as the night wore on to the point of being on fire against defenceless Frank
• Steve said hi to division 3 with a tough game against canny Frank, going down in straight ends, but he did well to bounce back and win his other two

Graciously, Steve offered the doubles to Ed and Kennedy, who then made short work of grabbing that final point. Opening match -- 9-1 -- gotta be happy with that.