England defeat Aussies at UCLan

England's Table Tennis stars secured a 7-3 win over Australia in their final international before the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

In front of a big crowd at UCLan's Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre, Paul Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford and Andrew Baggaley won their Men's singles matches, with Drinkhall & Baggaley teaming up to win a thrilling doubles encounter. Danny Reed & Sam Walker put the icing on the cake in the final doubles match to seal an impressive 5-0 victory.

The Women's team found their Australian counterparts a tougher nut to crack, but a singles win for Joanna Parker and doubles success for Kelly Sibley & Tin-Tin Ho added another two points to the overall total.

UCLan's Academic Director of Sport Dr Adrian Ibbetson said he was delighted to welcome the teams to Preston: "It was another fantastic event that builds on the very strong partnerships we have locally with Preston Table Tennis Club and nationally with Table Tennis England.

"Table Tennis is a focal sport at UCLan and is important to the sporting 'fabric' within the City. It was a pleasure to welcome the Australian team back to Preston and UCLan again for another Ashes showdown with England. It was both teams last competitive 'hit' before they compete at the Commonwealth Games; we wish them all well."