Two passions combine in in today’s cryptic crossword in The Independent newspaper, set by former Table Tennis England director Simon Griew.

Simon (pictured above, photo by Mike Rhodes) has been setting crosswords for The Independent and The Times for several years – but today’s puzzle in the ‘Indy’ has a twist.

Solvers will spot a theme around the 100th anniversary of the International Table Tennis Federation and the World Championships, which were last month hosted by London, the city which hosted the first Worlds in 1926.

“I have compiled one to mark this year’s centenary, and it contains various references to the sport amongst the solutions, including shoutouts for 4 players (3 of them current),” says Simon, who plays in the Coventry Table Tennis League and served on the Table Tennis England Board between 2014 and 2022.

“I quite often do themed puzzles in The Independent. It’s been a good year for 100ths. I did puzzles for David Attenborough’s birthday, and also for Marilyn Monroe’s centenary on 1 June.”

Simon, a Cambridge graduate whose career included strategic and commercial roles for National Grid and the Department of Trade & Industry, sets his Independent crosswords under the pseudonym Coot and describes the puzzle as “fairly typical difficulty-wise”.

Click here to tackle the crossword, which will be available for the next month.