Ifield showed again why they are the best club in Sussex by reaching the finals of the Wilmott Cup.

Ritchie Venner, the reigning Sussex champion, Mayur Majithia and ace veteran Terry Haley defeated Didcot 5-0 and home side Bournemouth in the group quarter-finals.

The Wilmott Cup is a national team competititon. The finals will be played on the weekend of May 25-26 at Kirby, Lancashire.

The only player to lose was Majithia, beaten by well known south western player Lee Dredge.

Venner said: "It is a long way to go but at least we have two events to play in and we should be seeded away from the holders, London Progress, who will also face a long journey."

All the top women players in Sussex, including Rose Rainton, Sally Weston and Teresa Bennett, have accepted invitations to play in the Nicholls Cup for the top eight Sussex women at Horsham on Sunday, April 28.

A proposal to make the server throw the ball at least 12 inches high did not succeed at the annual meeting in the International Table Tennis Federation in Zargreb.

But from September, the ball must be in sight of the receiver from when it leaves the hand of the server. There can be no shielding with the body or the arm.