Runaway leaders Chelmsford A have been crowned Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League first division Champions and such is their level of dominance that they still have two matches left to play. Galleywood A put up a fight before losing 8-2. Gary Brignall powered his way to a quick fire 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 win over Kim Shead and James Mullane excelled. He beat James Liddiard 9-11, 8-11,  11-9, 11-7, 13-11 – a gem of a win !. James Hicks wasn’t able to register a victory but he pushed Mens Singles Champion Dan Young all the way before succumbing 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 6-11, 9-11. OCA A jumped into second place. The brothers Mulley – Matthew and Mark were undefeated as they beat Danbury A 8-2. Mathew Mulley made it 18 wins out of 18 and he powered his way to three singles wins. He beat Eric Green (11-4, 12-10, 11-7), Bruce Kettle (11-8, 11-8, 11-7) and Dave Richardson (11-5, 11-7, 12-10).  A strong Writtle A side dented the hopes of Danbury B of finishing second by beating them 7-3. Lee McHugh and Duncan Taylor were both undefeated. Lee McHugh was pushed by Sam Lowman before he prevailed 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-7. Chelmsford B, who are fifth,  scored their sixth win of the Season, a narrow 6-4 victory over Danbury A. Harry Buckle led the way with three wins whilst Eric Green and Dave Richardson both won twice for Danbury. Richardson pipped Charlie Craig 6-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, 12-10 in the closest game of the night.

With six scorecards to account for in division two it’s hard to know where to start. The battle at the bottom of the table couldn’t be closer with a mere two points covering fifth placed Writtle B and ninth placed Danbury E.  The leaders Danbury G took a step closer to the title by beating second placed Writtle C 6-4. Sanjay Saptarshi was again their match winner and he beat Gary Ward 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7 – Gary’s second defeat of the Season. Another player to turn in a top-notch performance was Harry Chivers and his excellent hat-trick helped Chelmsford D draw 5-5 with Danbury D. Rising star Chivers gave Chelmsford the best possible start, by beating Chris Buer 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7. Fourth placed Hatfield Peverel A defeated Danbury E 8-2. Martin Archie led the way with a hat-trick but he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Tony Forster (11-4, 6-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-9) and Dick Wyman (11-5, 11-5, 3-11, 4-11, 11-9). The match between OCA B and Danbury D finished tied at 5-5. OCA‘s Kevin Worthington and Trevor Carter and Danbury’s Gus Heath and Ian Cranstone all won twice. Trevor Carter defeated Gus Heath in five ends (4-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-9, 11-6). Chelmsford D did well to beat OCA C 6-4, good going as Mick Richardson was undefeated for OCA C. Dave Porter beat Sudheep Kamma 11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 4-11, 11-9 in the closest game of the evening. OCA B ran out 7-3 winners against Danbury E. Kevin Worthington led the way with three wins. He pipped Dick Wyman 12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 12-14, 11-8.    

In division three Danbury J consolidated third place by beating Hatfield Peverel B 8-2. Dave Marsh led the way with three wins which included a hard-fought 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 3-11, 11-9 victory over Paul Mulley. OCA D ran out 7-3 winners against Danbury H. Richard Baxter led the way with three wins and Richard Upson won twice. The match between Writtle D and Chelmsford E was a 5-5 draw. Jarek Pietraszuk won his three singles for the Chelmsford side and this included a hard-fought 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8 success against Peter Layzell.

Danbury L with 105 points can’t be overtaken in division four. They could only field two players against second placed Writtle E but with Denis Crapnell (27 wins out of 27) carrying all before him they won 6-4. Crapnell looked a class apart, racing to 3-0 wins over Malcolm Storey (11-5, 11-3, 11-5), Colin Griffiths (11-5, 11-5, 12-10) and Dave Moles (11-7, 11-2, 11-6). Writtle E also lost 6-4 to Highwood A. This match saw Keith Fitz-John turn in a masterful display.   He beat Colin Griffiths (11-13, 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6) in his opening singles and followed this up with two more cracking wins – 11-6, 11-7, 14-12 against Neil Thompson and 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 against Malcolm Storey.   In yet another match decided 6-4 Galleywood C beat Maldon B. Colin Blore led the way with three wins. Galleywood also lost 7-3 to Chelmsford H. Harrison Hill gave yet another glimpse of his huge potential by staying unbeaten. He defeated Colin Blore 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.  

Buttsbury remain on target to win division five. Oscar Hutt, Frances Hutt and Alex Ware ran out 9-1 winners against Hatfield Peverel E and Jamie Elliott, Ray Horton and Oscar Hutt defeated Danbury M 7-3.   Jamie Elliott stayed unbeaten and with 20 wins out of 20 he has had an outstanding Season. He beat Ken Wilding (6-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-4), Martin Knights (11-8, 11-3, 11-7) and Paul Thirkettle (7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-2). Buttsbury also beat Maldon C 9-1. Ben Brown and Jamie Elliott were both undefeated this time. Danbury N were 8-2 winners against Chelmsford J. Steve Martin and Graham Naggs both won their three singles. John Wickins fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Ron Tam 4-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10. Ella Sach, was another player to win her three singles and she led Maldon C to a 6-4 win against Hatfield Peverel D. Ella trailed Phil West in her third singles but she came through very strongly to win 12-10, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-1. Hatfield Peverel C beat OCA F 6-4 in a match where no one player stayed undefeated and no one went home empty handed. Suzanne Shaw made her mark with a fine 11-7, 6-11, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10 victory against Richard Drozd.

Buttsbury Bees beat Writtle Rattlesnakes 3-2 in Junior League division 2A. Ben Brown defeated  Archie Pummell (11-8, 11-7, 11-7) and Mimi Pummell (11-8, 11-5, 11-4).

Buttsbury Badgers, leaders of Junior League division 2B scored their third win by beating Chelmsford Antelopes 4-1.  Harry Hutt beat both Richard Carter (11-8, 11-7, 11-8) and Samaksh Sirohi (8-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6). Chelmsford Antelopes in turn ran out 5-0 winners over Chelmsford Wildcats. Richard Carter beat Harel Choo in five games (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-4).

Both games in Junior League division 2C resulted in 4-1 wins. Chelmsford Eagles (Yishai Choo and Freya Hart) beat Chelmsford Lions. Aarav Toshniwal was on target for the losers with a 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 3-11, 12-10 win over Yishai Choo. Buttsbury Beavers (Tommy Hudd and Lucy Elliott) were also successful. They defeated Fraser Holmes and William Guilloux 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10 in a gripping doubles encounter.   

In the Handicap KO Cup Danbury M (Paul Thirkettle, Ken Wilding and Martin Knights) came out on top 5-3 against Chelmsford E even though Rev Mathews was undefeated for Chelmsford. Playing off a handicap of 60 Matthews did well to beat Ken Wilding (handicap of 25) 13-21, 22-10, 21-18, Paul Thirkettle (handicap of 40) 14-21, 21-18, 21-17 and Martin Knights (handicap pf 40) 23-21, 6-21, 21-14. Buttsbury B – Lucy Elliott (handicap of 8), Oscar Hart (handicap of 21) and Jamie Elliott (handicap of 48) ran out 7-2 winners against Danbury N. Jamie Elliott gave them a winning start with a 21-11, 13-21, 21-10 win over Roy Gandy (handicap of 49) and they never looked back after that. Maldon C are also safely through to the next round. Andrea Alleyne (handicap of 47), Ella Sach (handicap of 24) and Kym Eames (handicap of 29) ran out 5-1 winners against Danbury J. Andrea Alleyne clinched their victory with a convincing 21-14, 21-8 win over Dave Marsh (handicap of 66).

Chelmsford B (Josh Bickles, Charlie Craig and Saul Chivers) progressed in the Open KO Cup by beating Chelmsford D 5-1. The last two games produced stirring battles. Harry Chivers / Sudheep Kamma beat Josh Bickles / Charlie Craig in the  middle doubles by a mind-blowing scoreline of 13-11, 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 24-22 (yes 24-22) and Charlie Craig had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Victor Chan (14-12, 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 15-13). Writtle A (Lee McHugh, Aaron Chandler and Richard Storey) ran out 5-1 winners against Chelmsford C. Aaron Chandler showed up well with a fine five game win over Simon Jarvis (8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7).

Danbury D emerged as 5-2 winners against Writtle C in the 2 Down KO Cup. Chris Buer, Gus Heath and Ian Cranstone all played a part in this win with Chris Buer scoring a vital 12-10, 4-11, 7-11, 11-5, 12-10 win over John Webber which stopped his side falling two games behind. It wasn’t John Webber’s night as he also lost a second five setter against Ian Cranstone (11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11).  Writtle B (Paul Sturton, Phil Smith and Trevor Collin) came through 5-2 against OCA . Trevor Collin made his mark with an impressive 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 win over Dave Porter.

In the 4 Down Knock Out Cup OCA E (David Newman, David Bishop and Russell Hall) beat Highwood A 5-1. Russell Hall played his part with a last gasp 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10 win over Keith Fitz-John. Writtle E (Neil Thompson, Ian Hockley and Malcolm Storey) ran put 5-0 winners over Highwood B. Neil Thompson put them 2-0 ahead by beating David Cockrell 11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 6-11, 11-9.      

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League