With just over three weeks of the season to go things are really hotting up in the Southend Premier Division title race as the top two collided in a star studded Wednesday evening in Daws Heath. It was current champions Thorpe Bay A that edged the night with a 5-4 victory against Rawreth B with some of the individual games as tight as the overall score suggests. Two matches went the distance and finished 12-10 in the final game and both went to Thorpe Bay A, Mark Stones over Keith Adams and Ian Wall over Dan Zeffie and so it is easy to see how the overall score could have easily gone the other way. Ian Wall receives the player of the match award as he picked up wins against Gary Young and Adams to go with his win over Zeffie, a great night’s work for the Great Wall of Daws Heath.

Elsewhere Rayleigh Mill consolidated their solid season by beating Hadleigh Forum  6-3, three wins each for Ben Warner and Colin Chatfield with the Hadleigh Forum trio of Berti Makolli, Martin Turner and Neal Barker picking up a win each against Steve Maltby while Rawreth A eased to a comfortable 8-1 win over Hockley A who were only able to field two players, a decent consolation win mind for Dan Patynski over Charles Sweeney.

One late result from last week worth noting and that was a good 5-4 win for Basildon A over Hockley A, good wins for Les Hoey and Lee Marson over Tarun Goel in that one.

Report by Duncan Taylor

It was a case of “what might have been” for Rawreth C when they visited league leaders Hockley B. Despite only having two players (Michael Rigg and Gary McCarthy) the visitors narrowly lost 5 – 4. Had they had a third player things could have been so different. No player was unbeaten on the night, with Michael and Gary claiming two victories apiece. Closest match of the evening was Hockley’s Keith Abbott overcoming Gary 13 – 11 in the fifth set. 

Second-placed Hockley C outclassed their opponents Hadleigh Forum B with a most emphatic 9 – 0 victory. James Evesham, Elliott Brackenbury and POM Tim Pang were all too strong for Forum. Anthon Ranjit-Singh pushed James to five sets, but the visitors offered little other resistance. 

Veteran Hadleigh Forum C captain Graham Farmer did his best to help his side overcome guests Canvey A with a win over Peter Cray and a particularly well fought victory over Ray Wilson 11 – 9 in the fifth set. However, a hat trick from Bob Skews, a pair from Ray and one for Peter gave Canvey a comfortable 6 – 3 win. Mark Everard got the home side’s other point.

Lin Roff was the star for Mapledene in their 5 – 4 away win at Stanford Le Hope B. Lin managed three wins without dropping a single set all night. Both Bill Smith and Andy Seaman played supporting roles, winning one contest each. Apart from Lin’s matches, there were some close encounters, with three matches going to five sets. Tina Hutchinson won two for the home side and John Handscombe and Mark Downey winning one each.

Report by David Barnes

The top four clubs were all in action this week and whilst it was business as usual for three of them Hockley D were undone by the revitalised Runnymede side who won 6-3.

Leaders Wakering B went to Matchpoint C and came away with a 6-3 win. Regular starters Callum Turner and Michael Grout both chalked up hat tricks (Grout didn’t lose a set) but Andrew Deadman, who hadn’t played since October, found the going a bit too hard losing his three games. Matchpoint sit two places above bottom place five points ahead of Hockley E who have a game in hand.

Canvey B stay in second place after beating Stanford C 6-3. Trevor Hayes recorded a perfect hat trick and he was supported by two wins for Kevin Walsingham and one for Tony Westwell. Vaughan Chambers got two wins for Stanford, one a hard fought five set match against Westwell coming back from two sets down, with Chris Crooks providing the other point. Canvey are three points clear of Matchpoint B who have a game in hand.

Matchpoint’s 7-2 win at Invicta was enough to reduce the deficit to Canvey by one point and it was their star player Hannah Harbour returning yet another hat trick who led the way. Colin Barham weighed in with a brace as did Samuel Morgan. Invicta had to fight hard for their two points John Blackman beating Barham in five sets having been 2-1 down and Trisha Winter repeating that format beating Morgan in another lengthy five setter 11/13 15/13 6/11 16/14 11/8.

Runnymede chalked up their seventh win in eight matches in beating Hockley D 6-3 and put a great big dent in Hockley’s promotion hopes. They now sit nine points behind third placed Matchpoint B.

Tony Millward has been the man behind Runnymede’s upturn in form and he chalked up another perfect hat trick and was backed up by Steve Wisbey with a brace and Steve McQuillan with a point. There was a point each for the Hockley trio of Paul Strutt, Paul Ogden and Howard Collins whose match against Wisbey was the best of the night. After exchanging the first two sets Wisbey went 2-1 up with an 11/9 win before Collins fought back winning the next two sets 11/9 13/11. Runnymede now sit comfortably in mid table.

Team of the Week – Runnymede

Player of the Week – Tony Millward

Report by Paul Strutt

Firstly, congratulations must go to Invicta ‘C’ who have clinched the Division 3 title following a 5/4 victory over Canvey ‘C’.  With two games still to play, their points total of 121 puts them out of reach of their closest challengers.  Well done to Mike Keeble and his team.

Steve Lennox led the way for Invicta in this match with an unbeaten performance, and he was well supported by Mike,  who grabbed a double.  For Canvey, Che Martin got a couple of wins, with Scott Giddens and Alex Carruthers chipping in with a win apiece.  This was a first taste of league action for young Alex, and it couldn’t have started better for him, as he won his first game in straight sets.  Things got more difficult for him after that but, overall, he acquitted himself well, and he is certainly a bright prospect for the future.

With the title winners decided, attention turns to the battle for the runners-up spot.  Hockley ‘F’ have held this position for much of the season, but they are now coming under severe pressure from the young Evolve ‘A’ side.

With Hockley not involved in this round of matches, Evolve took full advantage to close the gap between the two teams to just 4 points.  This week their opponents were Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ and, with Miles Bygrave and Edward Feeley unbeaten on the night, and Sasha Syderenko adding a double, an 8/1 victory was the outcome.  Forum skipper Jean Catley was the sole point winner for her team.

The match between two junior teams, Hockley ‘G’ and Evolve ‘B’ proved to be a rather one-sided affair.  The Hockley trio of Kris Chankov, George Higgins and Perry Lazell all went home with hat-tricks under their belts, with Kris taking the POTM honours for his flawless maximum.

Stanford ‘D’ entertained Matchpoint ‘D’ and, once again, the outcome was a convincing win for the home side.  Martin Winter was again in fine form, and his hat-trick and that of Andrew Jessop were the basis of his team’s 8/1 win.  Cooper Hill was the only winner on the night for Matchpoint with a win over Karen Kempster.

Report by David Woolmer

Shockwaves at the very top of the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League this week as leaders Cold Norton B fell to a very strong Woodham A side leaving the door open for Fambridge to sneak in and steal the spoils.  

Until this week Cold Norton B had gone unbeaten in Division 1 and their pursuit of retaining their championship crown looked firmly on course.  But then up pop Woodham A with a trio of Dans, and Cold Norton became undanned as Woodham took home a 6-4 away victory.  The ‘Danage’ was all done by Dans Young and Zeffie who both took a hat-trick of singles victories.  Dan Zeffie had the trickiest evening with two 5 setters against Ian wall and Sam Lowman, and a hard fought 4 set battle with Dave Richardson.  Despite this singles domination the Dans were unable to add the doubles point losing out in another 5 setter against the prickly pairing of Lowman and Wall.  Woodham’s third Dan (Piglet) was unable to add to the scoring but was delighted to witness his team’s dominance.  Fambridge Supremo John Poysden was heard to say that this was their best week yet – and they didn’t even play.  Just 4 points now separates the top dogs – with all to play for ahead of their sold-out season defining clash scheduled for early March.  It was a good week for the Mapledene Club as both their Division 1 sides were victorious.  Mapledene A were back to winning ways against Cold Norton C with Steve Muth leading the way with a commendable treble in the 6-4 win.  Glenn Johnson, playing up for the A team, picked up a brace of wins and the rarely used Dan Patynski picked up a point against Tim Cramphorn.  For Cold Norton C Arron Chandler picked up 2 wins and just lost out to Muth in a 5 set thriller.  The busiest player of the night was Cold Norton’s Martin Archie who played a full bag of 15 legs for just the single win 11-9 in the fifth over Patynski.  Mapledene B had a good 7-3 win over Stow Maries A.  Their points haul came courtesy of the Jacob brothers who cleaned up in both singles and doubles.  Simon Jacob didn’t drop a leg all evening, whereas David Jacob came back from the brink of defeat against Stow’s Gary Brignall to take the last 3 legs in a testing 5 setter.

Blackwater A now lead the chasing pack in Division 2 but leaders Maldon A still have a 10 point gap on the peloton.  Blackwater A faced a tough Woodham C side this week but still came away with a hefty 8-2 victory.  Denis Balic and Neil Freeman both notched trebles with the only real resistance coming from the effervescent Scott Perry who took Freeman to 12-12 in the 5^th set before caving in.  Having lost to Tim Pulham in 5 sets Blackwater captain Alan Scammell reversed his fortune with a 5 set triumph over Alan Dadswell.  Scammell and Freeman then took the doubles to complete the scoring.  Leaders Maldon A just continue to saunter along seeming unbothered about the chasing pack.  This week, despite some resistance, they plundered through Blackwater B in what could have been a whitewash victory but unfortunately Denis Crapnell was injured in an off-the-table incident at the venue and couldn’t compete in the final match – so a 9-1 victory for the divisional leaders with hat-tricks for Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Colin Napper, with 2 wins for Crapnell plus the void match.  Mapledene C combined for a 6-4 win over Cold Norton E but their trio were thoroughly undone by the Cold Norton superstar Dick Wyman who won all 3 singles and combined with grandson Oscar Wyman for the doubles.  The closest match was an enthralling 5 setter with David Woolmer where Wyman senior had to come from behind the keep his treble intact.  In the final match of the week Cold Norton D couldn’t maintain their winning form as they succumbed to Maldon B in a 7-3 loss.  Maldon’s Steve Aspland was back to his best form with a superb unbeaten evening that included a doubles victory with regular partner Colin Barrell.  Barrell picked up 2 singles points, as did Cold Norton’s Neil Want.

The wheels have definitely come off for Division 3’s top player Gary Smith – not content with giving up his unbeaten status last week, this week he loses twice – surely he cant lose all 3 next week?  Despite Smith’s hiccup his team of divisional Galacticos still came through with a 7-3 victory that keeps them out of touch at the top of the table.  Smith didn’t go down easy as he lost out in two almighty 5 set battles against both Simon Thomas and Chris Crooks plying their trade for Woodham D.  Lots of long matches in this encounter with Andrea Alleyne just nipping ahead at the death against Thomas in the deciding set to help her along her way to a hat-trick of wins, and the Woodham pairing of Jean Chasmer and Crooks held on for a morale boosting 14-12 final set doubles victory.  The star of the show though was the vastly improved Tina Hutchinson who was able to wrap up all her matches without the need for any deciding sets – a fine performance indeed.  Blackwater D have seemingly locked in the runner-up slot and pressed home their advantage with an 8-2 comfortable victory over St Lawrence.  St Lawrence’s Mike Burton was on great form winning his first 2 matches, as had Blackwater’s Dave Benstead, so when they met it was a ‘best on best’ showdown.  Benstead took an early 2-0 lead but Burton fought back with all his northern grit on show.  At 10-10 in the fifth leg the game was precariously balanced and by 12-12 the crowds were on tenterhooks.  Benstead held his nerve and was able to finally douse the Burton fire as he came through 14-12 – what sport that was!  That close fought victory gave Benstead his hat-trick and the player of the match bragging rights.   Blackwater’s other players, Jacqui Treacey and David Sage, wrapped up the scoring with a brace of wins each.  In the only Blackwater derby of the week The E team outplayed the F team to maintain the alphabetical hierarchy in their 8-2 triumph.  Wildman Phil West was on song with an unbeaten and largely untroubled evening of dominance, and was ably supported by his wingwomen Deb Ginn and Kath Little with 2 wins a piece.  For the F team Dave Gardner had a notable victory over Deb Ginn, and Anne Brewer took a point off Kath Little.

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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer

Burnham & District Table Tennis League

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Pic 1 – Division 1 Table – February 2026.

Pic 2 – Simon Jacob – unbeaten this week for Mapledene B.

Pic 3 –Denis Balic of Blackwater A with another Division 2 hat-trick.

Pic 4 – Neil Freeman with another treble for his beloved Blackwater A side

Pic 5 – Chris Crooks of Woodham D and Savile Row infamy

Report by Eamonn Hall

Southend League Division 1

Due to an electrical fault at the Rawreth venue, the scheduled match between Rawreth C and Hockley C had to be postponed. Hopefully, it will be played before too long.

There was a close fought meeting (and, no doubt, the tea and biscuits were readily available!) as Hadleigh Forum hosted Wakering A. The result could have gone either way, but it was Forum who edged it 5 – 4. No less than four out of the nine contests went to five sets. The first one was between the home side’s captain Dave Woolmer and the visitors’ Barbara Chabior. It was taken by Dave 14 – 12 in the fifth. The next was between Anthon Ranjit-Singh and Wakering’s Martin Shaughnessy. This again resulted in a home win 12 – 10 in the fifth. After these first two battling encounters, things settled down somewhat. Firstly Forum raced to a 4 – 0 lead, then Wakering pulled it back to 4 – 2. POM Anthon then stopped the recovery and won the match for the home side with victory over Xi Wei. However, there was still time for Wakering to take the last two rubbers. It was hard work though, both going to five.

In a bottom of the table clash, home side Basildon B gained some distance between themselves and bottom side Hadleigh Forum C with a 6 – 3 win. Chudi Ukpaka was again Basildon’s star, winning all his matches and taking the POM prize. Team mate Kieran Wood chipped in with a pair of wins and Dale Gutteridge added another. Graham Farmer got two for Forum, including a very close victory over Kieran 11 – 9 in the fifth. Mark Everard got Forum’s other victory.

Although the overall result was a close 5 – 4 win for home team Mapledene over Canvey A, unlike fixtures elsewhere, only one contest went to five sets – the very first one – with Canvey’s Ray Wilson overcoming Andy Seaman in the final round. Canvey’s Bob Skews took the POM award with two victories, but it would have been poor consolation for his side’s defeat. Andy and colleague Lin Roff got two wins each and Mike Johnston one. Ray Wilson got the visitors other two successes.

Report by David Barnes

All eyes were on Hockley this week in Division 2 as their D and E teams met both in search of points but for entirely different reasons. The D team have been on the brink of the promotion places all season but needed a big win to keep the pressure on the teams above them. The E team on the other hand are currently in a fight to avoid relegation and with injuries hitting the squad points were vital.

If ever the E team needed a hero then now was the time, and they found it in the return of David Chenery playing his first league match in probably over a year. He turned in a POTM performance with the perfect hat trick to lead his team to a surprise 5-4 victory. Richard Kidd backed him up with two wins whilst Brian Bissenden matched him for the D team with a point each for Paul Ogden and Paul Strutt. Hockley E are now eight points clear of bottom club Basildon C and just two points behind Matchpoint C.

Injuries have played a part in Matchpoint B’s recent form losing John Lott and still without Dennis Squirrell. Squirrell returned, however, for their match against Basildon C and he, and Hannah Harbour, both collected hat tricks as they ran out 8-1 winners. Olly Milchard stepped up from the C team to win two. With Squirrell back and Harbour still unbeaten this season it looks like being a close battle between them and Canvey B for the second promotion place. Ross Letham earned Basildon’s point the hard way beating Milchard in five sets. Matchpoint are just four points behind Canvey with a game in hand.

Matchpoint C remain in trouble at the wrong end of the table and were looking for points when they visited Stanford C. An opening hard fought five set win for Roger Sherman over Vaughan Chambers boded well for the visitors and they led 3-2 after Richard Sloman picked up two wins but it was all downhill after that as Stanford reeled off the last four games to win 6-3. Mike Trendell led the way for them with a hat trick, Chris Crooks weighed in with two and Chambers added the final point. Sloman was unlucky not to win his three for Matchpoint losing to Trendell in five sets.

Only three games completed this week as Runnymede had to concede their match to leaders Wakering B who have too many points already!!

Report by Paul Strutt

Another week and another big win for Invicta ‘C’.  On this occasion, Wakering ‘C’ were the opposition but, apart from a Stew Mills win over Mike Keeble, it was a blank night for the visitors.  Steve Lennox and Harry Venables were unbeaten for the league leaders, with Harry the POTM.  8/1 the final score here.

Second placed Hockley ‘F’ kept up their dogged pursuit of Invicta but fell further behind, despite a 6/3 win away at Canvey ‘C’.  Skipper Gary Beck led the way with a maximum, but he was pushed all the way by Canvey’s Steve Kemp, who went into a 2-set lead before Gary recovered to take the game to a 5^th set, which he finally won 12/10.  Ross Collins with a double and Ivan Arabadzhiev with a single win provided him with good support.

A young Hockley ‘G’ side took on a considerably older Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ team, and it was no real surprise that age and experience prevailed over youthful enthusiasm.  Kris Chankov did well to earn a couple of points for his team with wins over Sineh Bali and Douglas Brown, but they were the only successes on the night for Hockley.  Jan Thorpe turned in another unbeaten performance for Forum as they ran out 7/2 winners.

Miles Bygrave was the stand-out player for Evolve ‘A’ in their match against Stanford ‘C’.  His hat-trick included a hard fought 5-set win over the consistent Martin Winter.  Nova Narayanan with a double and Sasha Syderenko with a single win provided the extra points in a 6/3 win.  Martin won his other two games and Andrew Jessop added a third point for Stanford.

Evolve have been making steady progress up the table in recent weeks and have climbed to 4^th place, with games in hand on the teams above them.  A late push for promotion is not out of the question.

Report by David Woolmer

The match between Netts A and Rayne A is not the season-defining fixture in the Braintree Table Tennis League that it has sometimes been in the past, but their latest clash was not without significance.

It brought to an end the league champions’ run of victories since the start of the season as Rayne managed to hold them to a draw.

It was Andy Holmes who Netts had to thank for sustaining their unbeaten record.  He won his three sets and took the doubles with Joe Meleschko.

Netts are still well clear at the top but Sudbury Nomads crept two points closer with a 7-3 win over Netts B, with Aron Jordan unbeaten.

Rayne A share third place with Liberal A, who were beaten by the same score by Black Notley B, the latter’s first win of the season.

Steve Kerns was unbeaten for Notley, a win over Adam Cuthbert suggesting that something of his former self is re-emerging.

The win enabled Notley B to step away from the bottom rung for the first time this season at the expense of Liberal B, who lost 6-4 to Rayne B.

Adi Kamma won his three singles for Rayne B.

In division two, leaders Rayne C ended Finchingfield A’s four-match unbeaten run with a convincing 8-2 win.

Paul Wellington had his best night of the season, joining Matthew Brown in the unbeaten category.

Netts C and Notley C, two contenders for the runners-up spot, shared the points.

Yeldham Whitlocks A had a surprisingly comfortable 9-1 win over the higher-placed Notley D, with both Roy Hooper and Doug Sanders unbeaten, while Rayne E climbed off the bottom after beating their own D team 6-4.

Conrad Gomes, once more called up from division three, played his part with two singles and the doubles with Richard Whiteside, who was unbeaten

In division three, leaders Notley E took all ten points from a two-person Yeldham B, while main rivals Finchingfield B took eight from Sudbury Drifters.

The latter match meant a contest between the division’s two unbeaten players, Lucien Nolan-Bradford and Graham Turner, which went Nolan-Bradford’s way 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7.

Rayne F lost ground when they were only able to field two players and went down 6-4 to Notley F.  Conrad Gomes did all he could by taking his three singles and the doubles with Alastair Brown.

Netts F’s James Howard and Tom Verrier took all seven in their team’s 7-3 win over Notley H.

Netts E played twice in three days but are still searching for that elusive first win.  They lost 7-3 to Notley G and 8-2 to Rayne G.

Report by Ron Fosker

This week in the Southend Premier Division saw the Thorpe Bay Derby and as you might predict it was the A side that came out on top. That said, Thorpe Bay B came with a strong side determined to test their club mates. Paul Sayer was in great form winning his three games against Matt Spero, Kieran Skeggs and Justin Jeffery, Ian Wall chipped in with two wins and Mark Stones picked up his win against Jeffery, resulting in a 6-3 win for our current league leaders.

Rawreth B kept up the pressure on Thorpe Bay by themselves recording an 8-1 away won at Basildon A. Gary Young with the player of the match honours, a maximum for Arron Chandler and two wins for Kim Shead who missed out on his three courtesy of a good win for Robbie Burton.

Two straight forward wins for Rayleigh Mill and Rawreth A this week as they overcame Stanford A and Hadleigh Forum A 8-1 and 9-0 respectively. George Reeves picked up the player of the match award for Rawreth while Liam Squirrell did the same for the Millers. There was a great win for young Vivaan Babbar over Colin Chatfield and along with his team mate Joshua Freeman, Babbar showed why the future is very bright for Stanford and Essex table tennis. Some outstanding shot making and temperament shown from the Stanford youngsters.

Report by Duncan Taylor

In Division 1 Stanford Le Hope B had a fine 6 – 3 win over visiting Hadleigh Forum B to give themselves a good chance of staying in the division. Rob Salvage was again their hero, winning all his matches, and taking the POM prize. Team mate John Handscombe took two more wins, and Adrian Armstrong one. Anthon Ranjit-Singh was Forum’s stand-out player winning two encounters, including a five-set marathon against Adrian. Mick Tappenden got Forum’s other victory.
Joe Odegbami and Dave Colwill were again in top form for Hockley B as they entertained Basildon B. Both recorded maximums in a 7 – 2 mauling of their visitors. Basildon’s Peter Hilton and Tony Molisso each managed one win.
Rawreth C were too strong for hosts Wakering A. In particular, Trevor Collin was in fine form, easily succeeding in all his games. The home side’s Martin Shaughnessy recorded a fine victory over Paul Brown in an epic struggle that was eventually decided 11 – 9 in the fifth set. His colleague Barbara Chabior had a similar five-set struggle to overcome Rawreth’s Colin Clements, and Paul England also had one win. However, these were the home sides only successes as Rawreth cruised to a 6 – 3 victory.  
Lowly Hadleigh Forum C hosted Mapledene and, once again, were a little too generous with their hospitality, conceding 8 – 1. There were hat tricks for both Andy Seaman and POM Lin Roff. Mark Everard got the home team’s only win, beating Dawn Baldry in four sets.

Report by David Barnes

The big guns were firing on all cylinders in Division 2 this week with Wakering B and Canvey B both recording 9-0 victories which leave them first and second in the table. There seems to be little that can stop Wakering lifting the title but the race is still on for second place. Canvey sit there at the moment but Matchpoint C and Hockley D are still very much in contention.

Hockley D would have been hoping that their team mates in their E team might have taken a few points off Wakering but it wasn’t to be as the leaders cruised to their fifth 9-0 win of the season. Callum Turner, Mike Grout and Paul England returned their usual maximums Turner without losing a set. Richard Kidd did best for Hockley taking Grout to five sets in the last game of the evening but succumbing after leading 2-1.

Canvey B were in even more devastating form as they only lost two sets all night as they demolished Matchpoint C 9-0. Trevor Hayes, Kevin Walsingham and Des Duffield made up the winning team with Hayes securing a perfect hat trick. Roger Sherman took a set off Duffield and Walsingham for Matchpoint. Despite only having won one match this season they do sit two places off the bottom four points clear of Hockley E.

Runnymede continued their remarkable run of form collecting their sixth successive win against Stanford C beating them 6-3 which maintains their sixth position in the league and cuts the gap between them and Stanford, in fifth place, to six points. Needless to say Tony Millward picked up another perfect hat trick with Steve McQuillan recording a brace and Steve Wisbey the other.  Stanford’s points came courtesy of a brace for Vaughan Chambers and one for Mike Trendell. Peter Moxham almost added another but after leading McQuillan 2-0 he succumbed to a five set defeat.

Invicta B against Hockley D turned out to be the closest match of the week with Hockley clinching the match 5-4 in the final game of the evening. Paul Strutt and Brian Bissenden both got two wins for Hockley with Paul Ogden getting the fifth but the star of the night was Invicta’s Andrew St. John who recorded his first hat trick of the season. His toughest match came against Bissenden where he was two sets down before fighting back to win in five. John Blackman got Invicta’s other point.

Team of the Week – Runnymede

Player of the Week – Andrew St. John

Report by PaulStrutt

As we approach the business end of the season, Invicta ‘C’ head the table by 30 points and seem destined to be crowned champions once the final ball is struck.

This week, their opponents were a young Evolve ‘B’ side who, as hard as they tried, had no answer to the greater experience and know how of the league leaders, as they fell to a 9/0 defeat.  Harry Venables was the POTM here for his perfect maximum, with teammates Mike Keeble and David Barlow also unbeaten.

Hockley ‘F’ remain in second place, a position they have occupied for most of the season. Matchpoint ‘B’ were their visitors this week and, with Ross Collins and Gary Beck recording maximums for Hockley, and Graham Gregory adding a double, it was an 8/1 win for the home team.  Matchpoint’s only point on the night came from Cooper Hill, who battled his way to a 5-set victory over Graham.

The match between two mid-table sides, Wakering ‘C’ and Canvey ‘C’ was a much closer affair, ending in a 5/4 victory for the Islanders.  Alternate games were won by each team, until, with the scores level at 4/4, Canvey’s Chong Shing Lam completed his hat-trick with a win over Alwine Jarvis to get his side over the line.  Scott Giddens and Ray Baker both added a point for Canvey, while for Wakering, there were two wins each for Alwine and Nigel Strike.

Stanford ‘D’ have climbed to third place in the table after a 7/2 win over the Hockley ‘G’ juniors.  The ever consistent Martin Winter led the way for them with a 9-set maximum, and he was well-supported by Karen Kempster and Andrew Jessop who both added a double, each losing only to Hockley’s best player on the night, Kris Chankov.  

Report by Dave Woolmer

Lots of ups and downs in the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League this week, as Division 1 and 3 leaders extend their points margin, whilst in Division 2 leaders Maldon A suffer a rare and humiliating defeat.  But the story of the week must be Cold Norton D in Division 2 – up until now the only winless team across the whole league – who, out of nowhere, lay down an amazing 9-1 victory over a very tough opponent – sport at its finest. 

Cold Norton B have maintained their drive to retain the League crown over the Xmas period, and this week came through a tricky tie with the in form Mapledene B.  The final score was 7-3, but Mapledene were a player down and the scores could have been a lot closer had they been fully loaded.  On the night Cold Norton’s hitman Ian Wall was in fine fettle and didn’t drop a match all evening.  Mapledene’s Kieran Skeggs picked up 2 wins including a very notable victory over Sam Lowman.  Fambridge continue to stay in touch with the league leaders and are now the only credible threat.  This week they triumphed over a young and zestful Woodham A side with a stand-out win for the stoic Mark Stones over the recently crowned Chelmsford Singles champion Dan Young.  That epic win was enough to give Stones a hat-trick and a very deserved player of the match accolade.  Stones was ably supported by Paul Sayer with 2 wins and Bruce Kettle with a single point – a classic ‘Dusty Bin’ 3-2-1 combo.  For Woodham, Young won his other matches and Dan Zeffie came through a tough 5 setter with Kettle, clinching it 12-10 at the death.  To complete the scoring Woodham took the doubles for an overall 6-4 win for Fambridge.  Mapledene A outblasted Cold Norton A with a 7-3 victorious scoreline.  Liam Squirrell remains the ‘man to beat’, but none of the Nortonians came close as Squirrell added to his impressive win rate tally to remain at the top of the singles chart with just one loss all season.  Steve Muth added 2 points to the Mapledene tally and George Reeves chipped in with a very tight win over the tricky Kim Shead – going all the way to 14-12 in the decider.  Norton’s Matt Stringer showed some metal coming from behind in both his 5 set victories over Muth and Reeves.

Division 2 leaders Maldon A were dealt a low blow this week when they were roundly embarrassed by their own C team in a Maldon derby that could yet sway the destination of this years title.  For the C team both Dawn Baldry and Marty Englander hit spectacular hat-tricks, with Chris Ravenhill chipping in with a 5 set point over Ross Kirby, and the doubles with Englander.  Despite the final score the matches were all close with none being settled in straight sets and half of the matches going to 5 sets – of which the C team won 4!  Luckily for Maldon A their nearest rivals were doing battle this week and Mapledene C came away with a very tight 6-4 win over Blackwater A where a 5 set doubles victory was enough to separate the peloton pushers.  Another game with a plethora of 5 setters – including Tony Ayliffe hanging on for dear life against the defending talents of Denis Balic that saw Ayliffe take a hat-trick and secure the victory in the final match of the evening.  Lin Roff had a good evening with wins over Noah Sage and Neil Freeman, and she partnered up with Ayliffe for that all important doubles point.  The shock of the week was winless Cold Norton D discovering a bucketload of gumption and from nowhere destroying the regular Stow Maries B team – before the opening ping of the night Paddy Power had Cold Norton as 6/1 outsiders in a two horse race!  What a performance.  Hat-tricks for the crafty Peter Lucraft, and Dick Wyman playing up from the E team, and 2 wins for regular Terry Hyland gave the previously hapless D team a 9-1 victory.  Cold Norton D were the only winless team up until this moment across the whole league – new team supremo Michael Carrick is how hoping they will finish in the promotion places.  In the final match of the week Woodham C condemned Maldon B to bottom place with a steady 8-2 win.  For Woodham there were hat-tricks for Tim Pulham and Scott Perry – with Pulham throwing a nine dart finish, and only dropping one leg in the doubles which he blamed on partner Alan Dadswell anyways.

It remains all about Blackwater C in Division 3 as they steam towards the title – another 10 points this week as they whitewashed their own E team.  Relatively straightforward hat-tricks all round for the impressive trio of Gary Smith, Peter Davenport and Tina Hutchinson.  This win gives them a 43 point gap to the nearest rivals – I reckon they’ll be ok.  Maldon D had a good week as they came out of the traps strong in their encounter with Blackwater F this week.  At 9-0 it looked like a whitewash was a certainty.  In the final match Shirley Carroll went 2-0 up against David McHattie, but as her colleagues started to gather their possessions ready to leave McHattie came alive and rattled off the next 3 legs for an unexpected whitewash avoiding victory – great effort.  Hat-tricks for both James Raymond and Luca Riedling.

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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer

Burnham & District Table Tennis League

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Pic 1 – Bruce Kettle clinching a point for Fambridge this week.

Pic 2 – Peter Davenport with a hat-trick for runaway Div 3 leaders Blackwater C.

Pic 3 – Ian Wall starring for leaders Cold Norton B

Pic 4 – Tim Pulham completing his hat-trick for Woodham C against Garry Eames

Pic 5 – Scott Perry skipping his way to a hat-trick for Woodham C

Report by Eamonn Hall

As a result of the final Group stage matches of the Handicap Cup Competition organised by the Clacton and District League, the last sixteen teams will comprise seven from Division One, six from Division Two and three – Holland Hurricanes, Nomads Leopards and Windsor Falcons – from Division Three.

After two convincing wins in Group C, the Hurricanes ended their programme with a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Holland Lancasters. They still finish top but, eventually, by just a single point. For the Lancasters’ trio of Peter Evans, Dave Wright and Tony Aresti, it was a case of ‘what-might-have been’ had they not had to concede their opening match against Nomads Ocelots and therefore forfeit the nine points. In the end, they finished bottom of the table but a mere three points behind the Hurricanes.

And so the Ocelots of Division Three and Second Division Brotherhood G were left  to fight it out for the second qualifying spot, with Brotherhood requiring seven points or more to get through. And they did it by the skin of their teeth, winning 7-2, but having to win the three matches which went the distance to do so. Paul Metcalf (-5) beat Andrews Cousins (+1) 11-7, 2-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-7, John Gallagher (-1) beat Mike Wellum (+1) 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9, and, in the very last match of the evening, Gallagher and Mark Boyland (-6) scraped past Wellum and Cousins (+1) 1-11, 12-10, 12-14, 11-6, 11-7.

Group C certainly proved to be the closest of all the eight Groups, with just three points separating the four teams – the Hurricanes (on 15 points), Brotherhood G (14 points), the Ocelots (13 points) and the Lancasters (12 points).

The Leopards did well to win all three of their matches and finish top of Group E, looking particularly impressive in defeating top-flight Brotherhood B 5-4 in their third match, Doug Green, Dominic Joannou and Anne Bonny winning all three doubles. Brotherhood, whose points came from two singles wins apiece from Simon-Smith Daye and Russell Hillier, qualify in second place. 

The second Group result was therefore academic but it ended 9-0 for Holland Vulcans against Windsor Magpies, Bob Keefe, Derek Foxley and James Horsler unbeaten. 

The Falcons were the third team from Division Three to qualify, finishing as runners-up in Group A, a Group which had hitherto been one of the tightest of the Groups but which ended with two whitewash score-lines.

In a winner-takes-all encounter, the Falcons produced a stellar performance against top-flight Walton B, Matt Thomas, Gary Barnes and Nigel Rolph taking full advantage of their handicap advantage to run out 9-0 winners.

The result left Nomads Panthers needing at least seven points from their final match to qualify alongside the Falcons, but they failed to secure a single against Brotherhood F who made it three Cup wins in a row with a convincing 9-0 victory. Mark Salter, Paul Alden and Tricia Salter were once again the victorious trio.

There were rather more dramatic happenings in Group F where another Third Division side, Brotherhood E, came close to qualifying, all coming about when Cup favourites Brotherhood A, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, failed to arrive for their match with Walton A. Walton, reluctantly, claimed the match 9-0, points which were sufficient to leave them as Group leaders.

Although it still left Brotherhood A in pole position to qualify after two previous 7-2 wins, Brotherhood E could still make it through ahead of their ‘A’ team if they beat Lawford by an unlikely 8-1. Despite a tremendous effort, they could only manage a 7-2 victory, Jack Hillier and Rodney Betts outstanding to remain unbeaten. It meant they finished level on fourteen points with Brotherhood A but the ‘A’ team qualified having won the individual match between the two teams.

Elsewhere, Brotherhood D had already qualified from Group B so it was down to the final match between Nomads Tigers and Windsor Buzzards to determine who would join them. After a tightly-contested encounter, it was the Tigers who edged it 5-4, Sam Watling their most successful player, winning one singles and his two doubles, both of which went the distance.

In Group D, Windsor Hawks edged past Windsor Eagles 5-4, the points for each side sufficient to ensure both teams qualified for the next Round. John Barton was the Hawks’ best player, winning both singles and one doubles, while the Eagles’ Gavin Price took one singles and was successful in both doubles. The closest matches were the first and last doubles of the evening, the Eagles winning them both, Price and Phil Smith (-3) beating Barton and Scott Campbell (+1) 11-8 in the decider, while Price and John Pattrick defeated Campbell and Andy Vincent 11-6 in the decider in a scratch-match.

The result meant that Windsor Penguins needed a whitewash victory over Windsor Kestrels if they were to qualify but their eventual 6-3 victory against a two-player Kestrels’ side was not enough and so both these Second Division sides bowed out of the competition.

In the first of the three-team Groups, Nomads Jaguars of Division Two beat First Division Brotherhood C 5-4 in Group G, Bob Jillins taking one singles and both his doubles. But it was insufficient to see them to a top two place, Brotherhood C qualifying alongside Windsor Harriers.

Both Brotherhood J and Nomads Lions had already qualified before their final Group H match against each other. For the record, it ended in a 7-2 victory for Brotherhood, Joe Sherwin and Joe Bryden unbeaten in both singles and doubles.

* Round One of the Knock-Out stage takes place during week commencing 9th February. Details about the draw and players’ grades will be sent to those teams remaining in the competition by Saturday 31st January at the latest.

* There are just a handful of places left for the League’s Handicapped Singles Tournament which takes place on Saturday 7th February at St James’ Hall. Any interested players should contact League Secretary Isabel Barton.

* The League is holding a Quiz Evening on Saturday 7th March at the Brotherhood Hall. It starts at 7.30 pm, for teams of up to six people. The cost is £5.00 per person, bring your own drinks and nibbles. For more information, or to enter a team, telephone Ferdy Rodriguez on 07565 767266 or 01255 830951, or e-mail Ferdy on fernando.rodriguez@sky.com

RESULTS : HANDICAP CUP

Group A

Nomads Panthers 0 Brotherhood F 9;

Windsor Falcons 9 Walton B 0.

Group B

Brotherhood H 0 Brotherhood D 9 (w/o);

Nomads Tigers 5 Windsor Buzzards 4.

Group C

Holland Hurricanes 2 Holland Lancasters 7;

Brotherhood G 7 Nomads Ocelots 2.

Group D

Windsor Kestrels 3 Windsor Penguins 6;

Windsor Hawks 5 Windsor Eagles 4.

Group E

Holland Vulcans 9 Windsor Magpies 0;

Nomads Leopards 5 Brotherhood B 4.

Group F

Walton A 9 Brotherhood A 0 (w/o);

Brotherhood E 7 Lawford 2.

Group G

Nomads Jaguars 5 Brotherhood C 4.

Group H

Brotherhood J 7 Nomads Lions 2.

Report by Tony Oswick

There was an up and down flavour to the first round of matches in the Braintree Table Tennis League handicap cup with most clubs winning and losing in almost equal measure.

The Black Notley club won three ties and lost four, Rayne had one win and four defeats, Netts had two up and two down while Yeldham won one and lost one.

The exceptions were Finchingfield and Sudbury who both had two wins out of two.

Finchingfield A were the only team not to drop a set.  They declared at 7-0 against Rayne G, taking all but the first two sets in straight games.

It was a much tighter affair for their B team, who had a close battle with Notley E, their rivals for the league division three title, before a win in the final set gave them a 5-4 victory.

Ray Bradford was for once not overshadowed by his son Lucien, winning his three sets compared with two for Lucien.

Ray made use of his three points start against Ken Wilding for an apparently comfortable 16-21, 21-8, 21-11 win while Lucien was unable to make up the six points he had to concede.

Sudbury Drifters eased through with an 8-1 win over Notley C.  Terry Hunneybel and Geoff Barrett were unbeaten but Matt Brooks (+3) became the first person this season to beat Graham Turner.

David Fiddeman on the other hand carried his league form into the cup and remained unbeaten in Sudbury Strollers’ 6-3 win over Notley D.

The fourth Notley side to depart were the A team but they had the consolation of losing to their own H team.

It was a good night for Ann Peart, one of the league’s unsung players, who won twice for the H team and only bowed out at 24-22 in the third game in her other set.

BNCA H will be joined in the next round by the club’s G and F teams, who beat Rayne F 5-4 and Rayne G 5-0 respectively.

Barbara Turner, another player who rarely makes headlines, was unbeaten for the G team.

The Yeldham club had two matches against Rayne teams. The A team went down 5-4 to Rayne E but the B team made sure the club were represented in the next round with a 5-2 win over Rayne C.

Ethan Collins was unbeaten for Rayne E while Richard Taylor won two out of two for Yeldham B.

The four Netts teams came up against each other, C beating D 8-1 and F beating E 6-3.

Chris Krelle and David Montgomery were unbeaten for the C team and James Howard likewise for the T team.

Report by Ron Fosker