After the first three weeks of the season the Southend & District Table Tennis League Premier Division is starting to take shape.

A familiar look at the top as two of the favourites in Rawreth A and Thorpe Bay A have started with three wins each, with Rawreth currently sneaking into a 1 point lead. Joining these two on 3 wins are Rawreth’s club mates Rawreth B who have recorded good wins against Hadleigh Forum, Rayleigh Mill and Thorpe Bay B.

There have also been strong starts from Irons and Brand Identity and I’ll wager Irons will be in the title race right up to the end this year with their new signing Lian Squirrell to play alongside Reece Seddon and the long standing Irons of Bowles, Monk, Brown and McCloud.

At the bottom of the table it looks like it might be a long season for Hockley B and Invicta with just the 1 point to show from their first three games but it is early days and I feel there will be lots of unexpected points won and lost in what will be the tightest title race for years.

Some of the stand out performances in the first three weeks have probably been, Martin Archie’s three wins against Irons A, Duncan Taylor’s hattrick against a very strong Thorpe Bay A side, a welcome return to action for Essex player Matt Spero for his new side Thorpe Bay B and the first game of the season for the league’s top player and current Mens’ Singles champion Mitchell Jones. Jones comfortably won his three games against the league leaders and Stanford’s fortunes this year will very much depend on how many times they are able to field their strongest side.

So we’ve seen some great table tennis in the first three weeks and we wish good luck to all teams for the rest of the season.

In Division 2 the big winners of the week were Hockley C who thumped Runnymede 9-0 and moved themselves into second place in the division. Runnymede were without their big hitters Tony Millward and Dmitry Kisil and the Hockley boys, Paul Strutt, Brian Bissenden and Paul Ogden, took full advantage conceding just two sets all night.

It’s Matchpoint B who sit at the top of the table however, they chalked up their third win of the season beating Rawreth Megazone D 7-2. This side must be one of the pre-season favourites to get promotion with two promising youngsters Max Mayo and Alex Bowden in their side plus two seasoned veterans in Dennis Squirrell and John Lott. Lott, Mayo and Squirrell turned out against Rawreth who fielded their own seasoned veteran in Gus Heath. It was Heath who brought home their two points beating Mayo and Squirrell but Lott defeated him in three close sets 12/10 13/11 12/10 to record his first ever win against him. Amar Al-Soufi took a set off Mayo and Squirrell but otherwise it was plain sailing for Matchpoint.

At the other end of the table Stanford C fell to their third defeat losing 6-3 to Invicta B. David Barnes, Sarah Ball and Steve Lennox all recorded two wins for Invicta whilst Vaughan Chambers denied Ball and Barnes their hat tricks and Peter Moxham got the better of Lennox. Invicta now sit fifth in the table.

Canvey B got the better of Hockley D running out 6-3 winners. Kevin Walsingham was Canvey’s POTM winning all his games for the loss of just one set. Trevor Hayes won two and Ray Baker added the sixth point. For Hockley John George picked up a single win beating Baker but there were two wins for teenager William Evesham who beat Baker and then took the important scalp of Trevor Hayes coming back from 2-1 down and winning the decider 11/8. Earlier Hayes had got the better of another youngster, Elliot Brackenbury, this time winning 11/8 in the fifth.

Team of the Week – Hockley C

Player of the Week – John Lott

After two rounds of matches in Division 3, three of the teams that have played twice remain unbeaten.

Leading the way are Basildon ‘B’ who have only surrendered one point in their two victories.  Skipper Andy Roff has led from the front with back-to-back maximums, and it was good to see newcomer Michael Elemide get off the mark with a double in his first match.

The junior Evolve TTA side found the going tough at times last season and managed only 5 wins.  A different story so far this season, with two wins already, 14 points, and all 6 of the players used having made good contributions.  Ben Berwick, Thomas Chan and Nova Sriman Narayanan have recorded maximums and their teammates Oliver Willson, Teddy Kent and Reuben Stracey have added valuable extra points.

Another largely junior team, Matchpoint ‘D’, have also won both their matches and occupy 3^rd place in the table with 12 points, courtesy of 7/2 and 5/4 wins over Canvey ‘C’ and Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ respectively.

Invicta ‘C’ started the season well with a 7/2 win over Rawreth Meggazone ‘E’ with Brendan Raja turning in an unbeaten performance.  Their next outing was a home match against Hockley ‘E’ and, although all their players got on the scoreboard, they slipped to a 6/3 defeat.  Thus 10 points to date and 4^th place in the fledgling league table.

Hockley ‘E’ have had just the one visit to the table so far, the 6/3 win over Invicta ‘C’ described above, with Gary Beck and Ron Rogerson unbeaten on the night.

Both Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ and Rawreth Meggazone ‘E’ have played twice but are yet to record a win.  Forum started their season in the worst possible way, suffering a thumping 9/0 defeat at the hands of Basildon ‘B’.  Their fortunes were much improved the following week when a Douglas Brown hat-trick and a point from Sineh Ball saw them pick up their first points of the season.  Meggazone are also winless, the 3 points they have accrued so far coming from Mike Webb (2) and Ro Brett (1).

Stanford ‘D’, Canvey ‘C’ and Hockley ‘F’ have only played one match each but all have picked up at least 1 point.  Andrew Jessop (2) and James Parker (1) were the Stanford point winners.  Ray Baker was responsible for both of Canvey’s points and Kris Chankov secured Hockley’s solitary point in the clash of the juniors match against Evolve TTA.

There were three wins for Liam Squirrell and two for Reece Seddon on their return to Chelmsford & District League action after a five year absence. 

Division 1

Chelmsford A lead the way in division one with three wins from three fixtures and while Danbury A are just four points back it is Chelmsford’s week four opponents Danbury C, last year’s runners-up, who will no doubt provide their biggest test to date. Harry Chivers fired his second hat-trick of the season in Chelmsford A’s 6-4 away win at Danbury B.  Liam Squirrell and Reece Seddon were in action for Danbury C as they won a tight encounter with Writtle A 6-4. Squirrell won all three, dropping just one game, while Seddon’s only loss was at the hands of Kevin Read who claimed the nail-biting decider 16-14.  There was a treble for Eric Green in his first appearance of the season as his Danbury A side won 8-2 at Galleywood A.  Green’s toughest match was with Alistair Hill who had held a 2-1 lead before Green stormed through.

Division 2

Hatfield Peverel A lead the way in division two following an 8-2 home win against Galleywood B.  Martin Archie fired his second treble of the season with two wins apiece for Julie Johnson and Alastair Piper – both players undone by Galleywood’s Mark Glenister.  Peverel’s toughest challenge may yet come from Buttsbury A who they face in Week 4 off the back of an 8-2 victory over Danbury F in week three.  Maldon A were without last week’s hat-trick hero Lloyd Bennett-Smith but Derek Balding made his first appearance of the season and took the player-of-the-match honours with three victories in Maldon’s 7-3 win at OCA B.  Hamish Innes and Dawn Baldry supported Balding with two wins apiece but both fell at the hands of Mick Richardson – Innes having led 2-1.

There was no Gary Ward for Writtle C but the three John’s – Webber, Gagg and Parodi claimed a 5-5 draw with Chelmsford C in his absence.  Webber fired his first treble of the season while teammate Gagg pulled off an eye-catching win over Felix Reeve.  The great Sanjay Saptarshi won all three of his matches as Danbury D beat Writtle B 7-3. In his first league match of the new season, Eamonn Hall backed Saptarshi up with two wins – losing out to Writtle’s Phil Smith who won two of his own.  Hall showed his never-say-die attitude by successfully overcoming a 0-2 deficit against both Trevor Collin and Trevor Carter.

Division 3

The only two unbeaten sides in division three – Writtle D and Buttsbury B – sit in third and fourth positions respectively as Chelmsford D lead the way followed by clubmates Chelmsford E. Andy Swales and Kelvin Edeh hit three wins apiece as the leaders Chelmsford E beat Hatfield Peverel B 9-1.  Having played in division five over the past few seasons, Edeh’s improvement is apparent and showed his recovery powers when trailing Paul Mulley 2-0. Matthew Brown hit his second treble of the season in Writtle D’s 8-2 demolition job of leaders Chelmsford D, Malcolm Henstock and Bob Garson both won twice for the hosts as Chelmsford’s Adi Kamma stood firm with wins against both opponents. Three wins for Grace Liu and two each for Caroline Cole and Frances Hutt saw Buttsbury B win 7-3 at Danbury J.  An inspired Gus Heath hat-trick helped Danbury H to a 6-4 away win at Galleywood C, Heath consigned Galleywood’s Gary Copsey to his first defeat of the season over five games. Denis Ballic was undefeated as Danbury G won 6-4 on the road at Writtle E. Ballic beat Dave Moles over five games after Moles had beaten Danbury’s Louis Gunn by the same 3-2 scoreline.

Division 4

Maldon B and Hutton A look to be the two outstanding teams in division four at the moment with both sides displaying a perfect three wins from three fixtures going into week four. Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill won three apiece as Maldon B beat Hatfield Peverel C 7-3 while Alex Ware fired his third hat-trick of the season in Hutton A’s 7-3 away win at Danbury K.  Mark Nolan was in action for the second time this season and promptly served up his second treble as Chelmsford G beat OCA D 6-4.  Peter Harverson won three with teammates John Manning and Roy Gandy winning two each in Danbury L’s 8-2 win over Danbury M.  M team’s Oliver Martin prevented Manning and Gandy winning three – Martin fought back from 2-0 down in both matches. Roger Patient and David Cockrell hit trebles in Highwood A’s 8-2 win over Galleywood D.  Highwood’s Keith Fitz-John’s two wins were both five-gamers but Galleywood’s Lewis Armstrong prevented his hat-trick.  Jenne Seibolt won all three as Buttsbury D beat clubmates Buttsbury C 7-3, Seibolt gave Oscar Hutt his only defeat of the night in a competitive 11-13, 13-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9 triumph.

Division 5

Hutton B sit proudly top of division five with three wins from three, Writtle F and Maldon C sit four points back while Buttsbury E could be serious challengers having won both of their fixtures. Hutton B’s are showing a strength in depth having used eight different players for their three victories – Peter Moxham won all three matches on his first appearance with two victories for Charlie Gould.  Galleywood E’s Steve Peacock fired his second treble of the season in Galleywood E’s 5-5 draw with Writtle F. Ron Tam won twice for Writtle though missed out in five at the hands of Peacock, Tam had earlier recovered from 2-0 down against Doug Blaber, Blaber staged a 0-2 recovery of his own against Michael Anthony in a close encounter which ended 12-14, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9. 

The Maldon C trio of James Raymond, Kym Eames and Arthur Shadforth won seven of their nine singles matches for the second time this season in their 8-2 away win at Anglia Ruskin University,  Shadforth scored the hat-trick this time for Maldon while teammate Raymond missed out on a treble of his own when falling 3-2 to Connor Casey. There were first trebles of the season for Bruce Wickham, Andy Whiley and Andy Simmons in Hatfield Peverel D’s 10-0 win against Hatfield Peverel F.

Chelmsford Junior League division 1A

The Buttsbury Bees are top of junior division 1A with three wins from four fixtures as Vivaan Babbar and Joshua Freeman won all of their singles matches against Hutton Hawks and Hutton Harriers.  Adhuna Das won twice for the Chelmsford Lions in their 3-2 home win over the Chelmsford Tigers, while Charlie Gould and Billy Andrews were unbeaten as the Hawks beat the Buttsbury Bats 5-0.

Chelmsford Junior League division 1B

The Chelmsford Leopards look like the dominant force at this early stage of junior league division 1B though they were unable to keep their run of 5-0 wins going as they beat the Hutton Hammers 3-2.  Sai Suresh of the Leopards took his record to six individual wins out of six so far this season though he had to recover from 2-1 down against Michael Bradshaw.  Another undefeated player this season is Zac Berry who took his tally of individual wins to four from four as the Buttsbury Bears beat the Hutton Hyenas 4-1.  Theo Rugg of the Hyenas earned a last gasp win against Shay Coughlan with a 12-10 scoreline in the decider.  The Chelmsford Jaguars dropped just two games in their 5-0 away win at the Buttsbury Bulldogs – Bernard and Damon Chow doing the damage this week. The Jaguars move into second position with two wins from two.

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Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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• 

Cold Norton A and Fambridge cling on the joint leadership of the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League despite both teams being held to feisty draws this week.  Cold Norton A were held by their own C team courtesy of an exceptional hat-trick of singles wins by Sam Lowman including taking the 100% unbeaten record off the league’s best player in Duncan Taylor.  Lowman took straight set victories over the A team’s Charles Sweeny and Rob Harris but needed all 5 sets to overcome the defensive prowess of Taylor.  Taylor and Sweeny won the remainder of their singles and combined for the doubles point to at least put a small pea-sized dent in Lowman’s skip home.  Fambridge made the short trip to Champions Manor Hall to face the current title holders Woodham A – and again we witnessed a pair of trios that would grace any Essex league match.   A feisty lengthy rollercoaster with plenty of bumps and twists this one as Woodham stormed to a 3-0 start, but then found them selves behind 5-4 going into the final loop.  Woodham’s Harry Chivers opened up against the wily John Poysden and after a tough 40 mins of play they found themselves at 9-9 deadlock in the fifth.  The youth of Chivers prevailed this time but the loss only spurred Poysden on to a better place as he was unbeaten from then on.  Lee McHugh beat Keith Adams in 4 sets and Chris Penrose saw off the returning Chris Ballard in straight sets.  Poysden used all his knowhow to hold on and eventually beat Penrose 11-9 in the fifth set and Adams atoned for his earlier loss with a 4 set triumph over Chivers.  The doubles was another lengthy and noisy affair with commentary aplenty from both pairs.  It was close all the way through and we again reached 9-9 in the deciding leg before Adams and Poysden saw off the challenge of Chivers and McHugh (-9,9,9,-6,9).  Buoyed by their doubles victory Adams and Poysden won the next 2 singles matches in straight sets to leave Chivers and Ballard to fight it out in the final match of the night.  Chivers set off at some pace and was quickly 2-0 up, but Ballard fought back bravely and played his way to a 2-2 stalemate.  The final leg was tight at the start but Chivers found his groove and dominated the finish of the match to secure his second win of the night and the draw for his team. A proper humdinger this one!  Across the arena in Woodham, Cold Norton B were racking up the points against Woodham B.  The points came consistently but the matches were tough going at times, so the scoreline of 8-2 to Cold Norton probably doesn’t sum up the closeness of some of the matches – as the match finished just before the A team’s marathon across the divide.  Eric Green knocked out a hat-trick on the night but was taken all the way to a fifth end by Woodham’s best player Daniel Patynski.  Patynski went on the take scalps off both Dan Anderson and Ian Wall for Woodham’s sole points of the encounter.  Wall edged past Eamonn Hall in 4 sets, and then showed great bouncebackability as he squeezed past Sanjay Saptarshi in 5 sets having been 0-2 down to the Woodham hotshot.  Anderson was frustrated by his opening loss to Patynski and channelled his aggression into his defensive work as he got past Hall and Saptarshi just dropping a single leg along the way.  

Maldon A are running rampant in Division 2.  This week they posted a 10-0 whitewash victory over the hapless Blackwater B crew.  With only 3 individual legs dropped all match by the Maldon trio, other than an early bath there was very little in the way for consolation for the Blackwater team.  Wins all round for Dawn Baldry, Hamish Innes, and Colin Napper.  Maldon B picked up their first win of the season as Steve Aspland found his form and recorded his first hat-trick of this campaign.  Having said this Aspland was a tad fortunate to come through against Stow’s Peter Chastin.  Aspland found himself 9-10 down in the deciding leg and word on the street was that he pulled out a lucky clipped edge to take the match to deuce before seeing out the match.  Chastin won his other two matches as did the lovable Dave Goody with two excellent victories over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames.  Stow A will be hoping to challenge Maldon A for the title this year and this week’s 8-2 win over Mapledene C will be seen as a good marker of their intent.  Fielding both Richard Storey and Gary Brignall would guarantee any team a significant number of points and neither disappointed as they went undefeated in both singles and doubles.  The ‘extra’ point came from Malcolm Storey with a hard earned triumph over Dave Woolmer.  In the final match of the week Woodham D travelled to Stow B and came way with  respectable 7-3 winning margin.  Two wins a piece for the Woodham trio of Scott Perry, Gus Heath, and Mal Henstock.  Perry’s 4 set victory over Peter Hance being the most note-worthy of the evening, with Hance winning his other singles on the night.

Division 3 has a distinct hint of sea salt as the Maldon D and C teams dominate the upper echelons.  Maldon C followed up their demolition of St Lawrence last week with a comprehensive victory over their own E team.  Marty Englander remains the star turn with his second hat-trick on the bounce, with team-mates Shirley Carroll and Ella Sach chipping in with 2 wins and a win respectively. For the E team John Leavett proved the toughest player with two wins to keep the rampant C team in check.  The Maldon D side had James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth to thank for their 6-4 win over St Lawrence A, as both players won all their singles albeit with a tough couple of 5 setters thrown in to keep it real.  Strangely the Raymond and Shadforth doubles act may need some work as they succumbed in straight sets to the wise and stoic pairing of Mikes Pratley and Burton.  Blackwater C were relentless and fastidious as they blew away their Club opponents from the F team.  Final score was 10-0, although the F team’s Andy Simmons almost pulled a victory out of the bag when he went 2-1 up against Keith Thompson but alas he ran out of steam and Thompson pulled through in 5 sets for his hat-trick to match those of team-mates Jacqui Treacy and Andrea Alleyne.  The other Blackwater derby saw the D and E teams play out a well contested draw.  Player of the night went to the D team’s Jason Bush who won all his singles but was not selected for the doubles which they lost and this cost them the overall victory – Club manager Erik Ten Hag was not available to explain that decision.  Deb Ginn won 2 of her singles as well as the doubles and the E team’s Thompson Twins, Keith and Vanessa, had ‘love on their side’ as they each added a point to their team’s total.  Poor Ron Tam of the D side played 19 out of a maximum 20 legs only to go home empty handed but pleased for the cardio workout he was given.

Pic 1 – Sam Lowman of Cold Norton C – star player of the week

Pic 2 – Harry Chivers versus John Poysden in the opening game of the match of the week

Pic 3 – Eric Green in hat-trick action for Cold Norton B this week

Pic 4 – The lovable Dave Goody this week with his eye-catching victory over Colin Barrell.

Pic 4 – Woodham D trio of Scott Perry, Gus Heath and Mal Henstock   

The Braintree Table Tennis League does not keep sophisticated computerised records but it’s hard to imagine there has ever been a team to match that put out by division three Rayne H in the first week of the league season. 

Between them Ian Rubens, Ernst Midl and Chris High have notched up 243 years. 

It was particularly pleasing to see Ian Rubens back in action after a four-year gap and at 88, he has surely set an individual record.

Nor has he forgotten how to play the game.  He was beaten by Netts E’s new signing David Montgomery but came out top in his other two singles.

 Midl and High followed suit with two wins to give Rayne H a 6-4 victory.

 Sudbury Strollers were the big winners in division three with a 9-1 win over a far from negligible Rayne G side. 

Natalie Dodd and George Berry were unbeaten while Rayne’s new signing Conrad Gomes avoided a nil return by beating Geoff Bradford. 

There were 7-3 wins for Netts F over Black Notley H and Finchingfield A over their own B team. 

In contrast with Rayne H, Netts F’s team were all under 17 and equipped themselves well against experienced opposition.  JJ Calisin was the pick of the bunch, the only one to beat Nigel Parmenter. 

At Finchingfield, it was the B team’s Stewart Grant who was unbeaten, including a victory over the returning Dave Punt. 

Yeldham Whitlocks’ new B team started with a draw against Notley I with three wins from Steve Willis. 

Division two produced some more clearcut results, 10-0 wins for Sudbury Wanderers over Rayne F and Notley F over Netts D, while Notley D had a 9-1 win over Yeldham A. 

The other two matches finished 6-4, Netts C against Notley E while Rayne E got the better of their own D team. 

Jamie Brooks was unbeaten for Notley E and Matthew Brown for Rayne E.

BOB’S OFF TO A FLYER!

Bob Jillins has started life in Division Two of the Clacton League in fine style, this week recording his second hat-trick in as many matches.

Newly recruited into the re-formed Nomads Tigers’ side, Jillins starred with an excellent maximum in his team’s drawn match with club-mates Nomads Jaguars, all three wins achieved in three-straight. He also shared an 11-9 in the fifth doubles win with Zein Shafat against Tom Wilkin and Callum Hogg. Shafat picked up the fifth Tigers’ point while, for the Jaguars, Wilkin and Chris Petrou each won two, and Hogg one.

Five of the matches between Windsor Buzzards and Brotherhood D went the distance, but it was the Buzzards who edged it 6-4. Scott Campbell took a treble and Pete Bloomfield a couple, Campbell defeating Paul Alden 11-5 in the decider and Mark Salter 11-9 in the decider. Salter won two for Brotherhood, in the process denying Bloomfield his treble, winning 11-9 in the decider. And in yet another 11-9 in the decider result, Brotherhood’s Tricia Salter excelled to beat Ray Chillingworth.

The battle of last season’s top two Division Three sides ended with Brotherhood E defeating Windsor Harriers 7-3. Kevin Pryor was unbeaten, Rodney Betts took two and Tony Edmunds one. In two tight matches, Edmunds beat Jenny Higgins 12-10 in the fifth and Betts beat Windsor reserve Ferdy Rodriguez by the same score.

Brotherhood C have started the season in good form, three from Mark Boyland, and two each from Paul Metcalf and John Gallagher, seeing them to an 8-2 success over Windsor Kestrels. Graham Bunce took the Kestrels’ points.   

In Division Three, Kelvin Olano picked up a hat-trick for Windsor Falcons against Walton D, but two each for Lynette Sparks, Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton gave Walton a 7-3 victory. Walton also took the doubles in the closest finish of the League season so far, Sparks and Earle edging past Olano and Nikki Hayes 4-11, 11-4, 12-10, 4-11, 15-13.

In their second match, Walton D fielded a guest against Holland Hurricanes, Sparks winning three and Sexton two to earn a draw. Ian Gwillim picked up a point for the Hurricanes while Gerry Widnell twice went close, losing 11-7 in the fifth to Sparks and 13-11 in the fifth to Sexton. But Gwillim and Widnell had the satisfaction of taking the doubles 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 11-7 against the more experienced Sparks and Sexton.

However, the Hurricanes then lost 10-0 to Lucy Carvell, Joe Sherwin and Tom Bryden of Brotherhood F who, even at this early stage of the season, look the team to beat.

The Brotherhood H v Nomads Bobcats encounter proved a hard-fought match, Brotherhood emerging narrow 6-4 victors. Savindu De Silva recorded a maximum whilst Owen Woollard played well to defeat both Jack Riddleston and Alex Baldock in five-setters. Harindu De Silva won one but lost in five to both Baldock and Matt Sage. Sage took two for the Bobcats.

Holland Lancasters were 8-2 winners over club-mates Holland Vulcans who fielded a guest player. Frank Wimpress and Dave Wright were unbeaten. For the Vulcans, there was a debut League win for Derek Foxley and, after a barren spell, a welcome success for Mick Coker.

Dominic Joannou took his maximum as Nomads Leopards drew with Nomads Ocelots. Joannou was involved in both matches which went the distance, beating Andrew Cousins 11-9 in the fifth and, with Anne Bonny, taking the doubles 13-11 in the fifth against Cousins and Arthur Wells-Garrett. Cousins and Wells-Garrett each took two for the Ocelots.

In Division One, Nomads Panthers recorded a second 9-1 win of the season, this week beating Nomads Lions. Greg Green and Gracie Edwards remained undefeated. Ethan Lloyd beat John Hatley to take the Lions’ point, while Adam Wilkin took Green close before going down 11-8 in the fifth.

In an all-Windsor clash, the Hawks came out on top 7-3 against the Eagles. Gary Young won three, Andy Vincent two and John Barton one, with Gary Cattermole picking up a couple for the Eagles. 

It was also 7-3 for Walton B against Lawford, Mark Gale winning three, Mark Ratcliffe two and Paul Meikle one. The doubles was the closest match, Gale and Ratcliffe getting past James Tindle and Glen Laing 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7. Laing won two for Lawford.

Finally, Walton C and Brotherhood B enjoyed an excellent evening’s table tennis, the match finishing with honours even. Simon Smith-Daye stayed undefeated for Brotherhood, with Sam Plummer’s two victories including the only match which went to a decider, beating Graham Buxton 11-9 in the fifth. Pete Burrows won two for Walton, with Buxton and Paul Newbould winning one apiece.

* The Windsor Club is holding a Quiz Evening on Saturday 16th November at the Brotherhood Hall, 7.00 pm for a 7.30 pm start. It’s for teams of up to six, £5.00 per person, bring your own drinks and nibbles. For more details or to enter a team, contact Jenny Higgins on 07790 240566.

* There are two vacancies on the League’s Management Committee. Anyone who may be interested in joining the Committee should contact League Secretary Isabel Barton (Tel : 07706 450488) for more information.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton C 5 Brotherhood B 5;

Windsor Eagles 3 Windsor Hawks 7;

Nomads Lions 1 Nomads Panthers 9;

Lawford 3 Walton B 7.

Division 2

Windsor Kestrels 2 Brotherhood C 8;

Windsor Buzzards 6 Brotherhood D 4;

Nomads Tigers 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;

Brotherhood E 7 Windsor Harriers 3.

Division 3

Nomads Leopards 5 Nomads Ocelots 5;

Brotherhood H 6 Nomads Bobcats 4;

Brotherhood F 10 Holland Hurricanes 0;

Walton D 7 Windsor Falcons 3;

Holland Hurricanes 5 Walton D 5; Holland Lancasters 8 Holland Vulcans 2

• 

Mapledene A take an early lead in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League largely thanks to an impeccable hat-trick of wins from their ‘ace in the pack’ Liam Squirrell.  That’s two on the bounce for Squirrell as he looks to recapture the Peter Ballard trophy he last won in 2020.  Squirrells are certainly not endangered in Burnham as another Squirrell, this time of the Dennis subspecies, was the star player in Division 2 this week.

Squirrell was the stand out player in the Mapledene derby this week as with a 9-dart hat-trick followed by the bonus double point secured with partner Steve Muth.  Mapledene B fielded a very strong side with Simon Jacob taking 2 wins over George Reeves and Muth, with everyone else spreading out the remaining victories so no-one went home empty-handed.  Cold Norton A and their talisman Duncan Taylor continued their winning start to the season with a close fought 6-4 victory over their own B team.  Taylor yet again was the difference with a hat-trick of singles and this week he added the doubles point with Matt Stringer keeping him company for the duration. Stringer added victories over Dave Richardson and Dan Anderson to complete the scoring for the A Team.  Sam Lowman was the best of the B team with 2 victories over Stringer and Steve Maltby to kick off his season.  Fambridge showed great bouncebackability following last week’s unexpected reverse with a commanding whitewash victory over Woodham B.  Fambridge fielded the same trio that had lost out to Cold Norton in the opening week encounter so they were all delighted to register their first clean sheet of the season.  Captain John Poysden secured the player of the match accolade with an unblemished 9-0 scorecard, with his ‘toughest’ shootout being a 10,9,7 victory over Eamonn Hall.   Keith Adams went to the customary deciding leg with Sanjay Saptarshi but pulled through comfortably in the end – a great battle this one as Adams was constantly surprised with the blocks coming back from his powerful and loaded loops.  Hall took a leg off Adams but that was the only other blemish for his first hat-trick of the season.  Gary Young completed the rout just dropping 2 sets all night – one apiece to Trevor Collin and Saptarshi – although the Saptarshi encounter was an extremely close affair and probably deserved a deciding fifth leg – final score was 11,11,-10,9.

Division 2 hot favourites Maldon A continue to wreak havoc with a superb 9-1 victory that sees them sit atop the leaderboard and it would be a foolish gambler that would bet against them this season.  It was all going swimmingly for the Maldon team as they largely cruised their way through the first 9 matches – whitewash headlines and ‘low blow for Stow’ puns at the ready – but up stood Stow C’s Peter Chastin – the whitewash spoiler with a fine last ditch 5 set face-saving victory over Maldon’s Lloyd Bennett-Smith.  Chastin skipped home without a care in the world whereas Maldon were left with that bitter taste of doubt.  Well perhaps, but if finished 9-1 to Maldon with hat-tricks for both Colin Napper and Hamish Innes.   Cold Norton D followed up last week’s victory with another fine team performance that saw then triumph 6-4 over Blackwater B.  Cold Norton’s Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft chipped with a brace of wins each, whilst Blackwater’s Noah Sage emulated the Norton boys with 2 wins of his own.  Sage came very close to the perfect night but was pipped at the death in the deciding leg of the opening match versus the tricky Terry Hyland.  The Maldon B crew must have been hounded into some practice this week as their results bear no relation to their very poor opening match last week.  Hat-trick merchant Steve Aspland finally registered a couple of wins, as did his partner in crime Colin Barrell as Maldon B forced a 5-5 draw with Mapledene C.  Aspland and Barrell couldn’t quite muster the guile to defeat Mapledene’s star player Dennis Squirrell who registered his first hat-trick of the season.  The final game of the Divisional week saw League Chairman and Woodham D stalwart Alan Dadswell completely hog the table in his team’s tight 6-4 win over the tricky Blackwater A side.  Dadswell played the maximum 20 legs possible taking 2 singles victories over Roger Slade and Neil Freeman, and just losing out to the awkward Alan Scammell and his bamboozling rubbers.  Dadswell them combined with Adi Kamma to take the extra doubles point with a fifth set 16-14 victory.  Gus Heath took 2 points for Woodham, with Freeman and Scammell sharing the points for Blackwater.

There was no messing around in Division 3 this week with 3 very one-sided matches.  The newly monikered Blackwater E side kicked off their campaign with a comprehensive 9-1 turnover of the Blackwater F team.  The familiar Blackwater trio from the C team days of Phil West, Kath Little and Deb Ginn will yet again be in and around the podium no doubt.  West and Ginn both went unbeaten with Little dropping the opening match to the delighted David McHattie in a thrilling 5 setter.  Little continued thrilling the large crowd with another 5 setter against Peter Hughes but just about came out on top in this one 12-10 in the decider.   Title favourites Maldon C humbled current holders St Lawrence with a thumping 10-0 scoreline, dropping just one leg all evening.  What a performance from the Maldon trio of Marty Englander, Chris Ravenhill and the old warhorse Brian Riedling.  In the final match Maldon D produced a whitewash performance as they demolished 2 player Woodham E 10-0.  100% performances from James Raymond, Arthur Shadforth and Matthew Copsey.

Pic 1 – John Poysden playing the perfect match versus Woodham B this week

Pic 2 – Action from the deciding leg in the Sanjay Saptarshi versus Keith Adams encounter this week

Pic 3 – Steve Muth serving in his win over David Jacob in the Mapledene Derby

Pic 4 – Alan Scammell from Blackwater A with 2 wins against Woodham D this week.   

Pic 5 – The ever young, Gary Young getting ready to launch another loaded topspin against Trevor Collin

The famous Times headline of yesteryear, Small earthquake in Peru: not many dead, has its
Braintree Table Tennis League equivalent in the first round of the team and restricted
knockout cups.
In addition to a number of byes and two concessions, splitting the three divisions into two for
the cups produces a number of predictable mismatches when two teams of a different
standard face up to each other.
Hence Netts A’s 8-0 win over Black Notley D and Notley A’s 8-1 against their own E team in
the team knockout – although Paul Nicol deserves credit for stretching James Hicks to 11-9,
9-11, 13-15, 11-9, 11-6 in the first and likewise Lawrence Grantham for overcoming Adam
Clift in the second.
Rayne A 5 Notley C 4 looks interesting until one consults the scoresheet to find that Rayne
had only two players and so had to concede four sets.
Paul Lucas and Adi Kamma won the five in straight games.
Notley B’s 7-2 win over Sudbury Wanderers was closer even though Wanderers’ successes
were both in doubles.
Sudbury’s A team, Nomads, featured in the closest match of the round, just getting the better
of Liberal C 5-4.
The singles were shared 3-3, Aron Jordan unbeaten for Nomads and David Razzell for
Liberal, but it was two doubles wins that took Nomads through.
The 6-3 win for Rayne E over their own C team appears something of a surprise, but one
explained by the fact that Matthew Brown was playing for the E team and that the C team
only had two players.
In the restricted cup, division three champions Netts D took all nine against Yeldham
Whitlocks B, as did Rayne F against Notley H and Notley I declared at 6-0 against Netts E.
Netts F took a 2-0 lead against Notley G but got no further.
There was still time for James Howard, 2023 cadet singles champion, to score a good win
over the experienced Ken Wilding in only his second competitive outing.
The one close match was Notley F’s 5-4 win over Sudbury Strollers, decided with a win by
Graham Chinnery and Mel Cooch in the final doubles.
Earlier Strollers’ Natalie Dodd showed what an important signing she will be by scoring a
three-straight win over Chinnery, beaten only twice in the league last season.

Gary Cattermole has very much been an occasional player for
Windsor Eagles in recent years in Division One of the Clacton
League, having played only ten matches in the past three
seasons. However he started off in the Eagles’ line-up in their opening
match against Walton B and rewarded his side with a hat-trick.
Alas for Cattermole, it was Walton B who took the honours, Jason
Gale, Mark Ratcliffe and Paul Meikle all winning twice in the 6-4
victory.
Three for Felipe Rodriguez, and two each for John Barton and
reserve Scott Campbell, saw Windsor Hawks off to an 8-2 winning
start against Walton C. Rodriguez and Barton combined to take
an 11-9 in the fifth doubles win against Graham Buxton and John
Marshall. Buxton picked up the Walton points.
Meanwhile, reigning champions Nomads Panthers began their
campaign in fine style, beating Walton A 9-1, John Hatley and
Denes Somodi unbeaten. Price took Walton’s consolation point
with a win against Gill Locke.
In Division Two, Nomads Jaguars were unfortunate to have
found themselves in opposition to favourites Windsor Buzzards in
their opening fixture, and the Windsor trio of Scott Campbell, Ray
Chillingworth and Andy Cawley showed no mercy, winning 10-0.
Only Campbell’s 11-7 in the fifth win against Chris Petrou went to
a decider.
Nomads Tigers got off to a flying start with a 9-1 victory over
Windsor Magpies, Bob Jillins and reserve Matt Sage each taking
excellent trebles. Windsor’s Dave Sweetland enjoyed a surprise
win against Dave Miller and took Jillins the distance before going
down 11-5 in the fifth.
Brotherhood C chalked up an 8-2 victory over Windsor Penguins,
Mark Boyland unbeaten, with Mark Beckham and John Gallagher

each taking two. Paul Woolnough was the Penguins’ points-scorer.
Barry Allen began his new life as a Windsor Harrier with a treble
in his side’s 7-3 win against fellow-promotees Brotherhood G. Dan
Grindrod, Gary Simpson and Danny Still each picked up a point
for the losers, although it was a tight 11-6, 11-7, 11-13, 6-11,
11-9 for Still against Jenny Higgins.
Windsor Kestrels will feel pleased to have shared the spoils with
Brotherhood D, Debra Found and reserve Kelvin Olano each
winning a couple. Mark Salter remained undefeated for
Brotherhood and shared a doubles win with Paul Alden, 11-7 in
the decider against Found and Olano. Alden took the fifth
Brotherhood point but went down 11-7 in the decider to Olano
and 11-8 in the decider to Found.
In Division Three, Brotherhood F made an impressive start to
their title challenge by white-washing one of their predicted rivals,
Nomads Bobcats. Tom Bryden, Ruby Gallagher and Joe Sherwin
all took trebles. Only two matches went the distance, Sherwin
defeating Alex Baldock 11-8 in the decider, and Bryden and
Gallagher taking the doubles 11-7 in the decider against Baldock
and Sam Watling.
Six players were making their League debut in the Windsor
Falcons v Holland Mosquitos clash. Matt Thomas, Nigel Rolph and
Nikki Hayes each won two for the Falcons to give them a narrow
6-4 victory. However, no-one could get the better of Brian Abram
who began his League career with an excellent hat-trick for the
Mosquitos, plus a shared doubles win with Chris Woods.
Nomads Ocelots enjoyed a 7-3 victory over Holland Lancasters,
Norman Jacobs, Hazel Blanche and Andrew Cousins all winning
two. Jacobs had a tight 11-9 in the fifth win over Frank Wimpress
whilst, in another close contest, Cousins went down 11-7 in the
fifth to Dave Wright. Wright took all three of the Lancasters’
points.
Three for Savindu De Silva, and two each for Tony Woollard and
Owen Woollard, gave Brotherhood H an 8-2 victory against
Holland Vulcans. Their closest success was an 11-8 in the fifth
Tony Woollard win over Derek Foxley. But this wasn’t the closest
match of the whole contest, James Horsler’s two for the Vulcans
including a 12-10 in the decider success against Owen Woollard.
RESULTS

Division 1
Walton B 6 Windsor Eagles 4;
Nomads Panthers 9 Walton A 1;
Windsor Hawks 8 Walton C 2.
Division 2
Windsor Harriers 7 Brotherhood G 3;
Windsor Magpies 1 Nomads Tigers 9;
Brotherhood C 8 Windsor Penguins 2;
Brotherhood D 5 Windsor Kestrels 5;
Nomads Jaguars 0 Windsor Buzzards 10.
Division 3
Holland Vulcans 2 Brotherhood H 8;
Windsor Falcons 6 Hollands Mosquitos 4;
Nomads Ocelots 7 Holland Lancasters 3;
Nomads Bobcats 0 Brotherhood F 10.

• 

In the last twenty-five Clacton and District League seasons, only
four teams have taken the Division One title.
Brotherhood B have won it twice and Windsor Condors once but
otherwise the title has been dominated by two teams – the
legendary Brotherhood A team of Binns, Burgess, Andrews and
Stubbings, and the current Nomads Panthers’ side, both of whom
have won it eleven times.
And it would be a brave pundit who’d bet against the Panthers
making it a record twelfth consecutive title, with the Nomads’ star
strengthened even further by the addition of Denes Somodi.
Gary Young moves from Brotherhood A to Windsor Hawks to
replace his son Daniel which will mean the Brotherhood team will do
well to repeat last year’s runners-up position.
Paul Hume is included in an otherwise unchanged Nomads Lions’
squad and they, together with the new-look Walton A team of Price,
James, Foster, Willis and Binns, will all hope to be top-four
challengers.
John Hobson’s Windsor Eagles had an indifferent season in 2023/24
by their own high standards and they may well be pleased with
mid-table respectability.
Walton C struggled at the foot of the table last season but their
Knock-Out Cup win will surely inspire them to better things,
although they may well still feature in a relegation battle with Paul
Newbould’s Walton B, weakened by the absence of Gavin Price, and
promoted Lawford, this year including Glen Laing.
However, all eyes will also be on promoted Brotherhood B who
swept aside all before them in Division Two last year. With the two
Plummers and two Smith-Dayes supplemented by Daryl Lott, it will
be interesting to see how this quintet fare at the highest level.

In Division Two relegated Windsor Buzzards have added Scott
Campbell to their squad and they start as strong pre-season
favourites. Mark Salter’s Brotherhood D look the best of the rest.
Paul Woolnough replaces Scott Campbell in last season’s third-
placed team Windsor Penguins who also welcome Paul Stanton back
into the League ranks, while John Gallagher’s Brotherhood C, which
has developed into an all-round competitive side, is unchanged.
It’s good to see Tom Wilkin back in the table tennis fold leading the
Nomads Jaguars, whilst the new-look Nomads Tigers comprising
Jillins, Shafat, Wellum, Wilkinson and Miller will be relying heavily
on skipper Miller to steer them to safety.
Kevin Pryor’s addition to promoted Brotherhood E’s squad should be
the key to their survival whilst the other promoted side, Windsor
Harriers, make a first change to their squad in eleven seasons,
Barry Allen replacing Ferdy Rodriguez.
But the Harriers, like the unchanged Windsor Kestrels who finished
bottom last term, will both need to play well to keep clear of the
relegation zone where two promoted teams, Brotherhood G with
new signing Adhuna Das, and an unchanged Windsor Magpies, will
do well to survive.
With a number of new teams and new faces in Division Three, the
battle at the top may well develop into a two-horse race between
the talented juniors of Brotherhood F and ever-improving Nomads
Bobcats.
Lynette Sparks’ Walton D is unchanged and they will, as always, be
agreeable and competitive opponents whilst Kelvin Olano is a
welcome League, playing for Windsor Falcons who, with Ferdy
Rodrigues as first reserve, should be a competitive outfit.
Dominic Joannou is the only survivor in the Nomads Leopards side,
their much-changed side this year led by Ann Bonny, whilst
Nomads Ocelots contain five familiar faces in Hazel Blanche, Sue
Lee, Norman Jacobs, Andrew Cousins and Arthur Wells-Garrett who
will be hoping to avoid finishing bottom for a second year running.
And if you’re looking for a team to spring a surprise or two, watch
out for the new Brotherhood H team which includes the promising
De Silva brothers.
Finally, the League bids a warm welcome to four teams from the
new Holland Club.

All four teams are led by established players, with Club Secretary
leading Holland Lancasters, although it could be the Hurricanes,
headed by Ian Gwillim and Gerry Widnell, who prove to be the best
of the four Holland teams.
James Horsler and Mick Coker are the familiar names for the
Vulcans whilst Pam Blakeley’s Mosquitos complete the Holland
quartet.
So good luck to all competitors, both the long-established players
as well those taking their first steps in competitive table tennis but,
above all else, enjoy your table tennis.

Tony Oswick