There was little to separate Danbury C and Writtle A this week in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. No one player stayed undefeated and Trevor Lloyd and Keith Adams both won twice for Danbury whilst Duncan Taylor and Lee McHugh both picked up two wins for Writtle. Lee McHugh was involved in two hard fought five enders. He missed out 4-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-7, 6-11 to Trevor Lloyd but he came up trumps 9-11, 11-7, 2-11, 13-11, 12-10 against Keith Adams. Danbury C eventually emerged as 6-4 winners. Writtle A paraded another top notch signing against Danbury B – Kevin Read. No stranger to the Chelmsford League – Read was on top form, powering his way to wins against Ian Whiteside (11-4, 11-3, 11-7), Dan Anderson (11-4. 11-3, 11-8) and Sam Lowman (11-6, 11-7, 11-7).  The match finished tied at 5-5. If Writtle field the trio of Duncan Taylor, Lee McHugh and Kevin Read in the same side they will be very difficult to beat. Danbury A did well to beat Chelmsford B 7-3. Eric Green and Babul McLeod were both undefeated. McLeod impressed greatly beating Simon Jarvis (5-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6), Kevin Gray (8-11, 11-7, 12-14, 11-8, 11-6) and Kim Shead (11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9).

There were no fewer than six sets of results in division two this week. Two games produced 9-1 scorelines. Galleywood A (Gary Brignall, James Mullane and James Hicks) beat Writtle B 9-1, whilst Danbury E (Tony Forster, Neil Want and Tim Cramphorn) were similarly dominant against Chelmsford D.  Tony Forster missed out against Victor Chan (1-3) and he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of newcomer Alex Gorshkov 7-11, 12-10, 15-13, 7-11, 11-9. Maldon A served by an unbeaten Colin Napper beat OCA B 8-2. OCA’s Trevor Carter did well to beat Hamish Innes 2-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8.  Maldon A also defeated Writtle C 6-4. Colin Napper made his mark with a fine 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5 win over Gary Ward whilst Ward had to dig deep to beat Hamish Innes 4-11, 9-11, 11-5, 15-13, 11-9. Dawn Baldry impressed by beating John Webber 11-7, 11-5, 11-5. Team work was the order of the day as Hatfield Peverel A defeated OC-C 6-4. League Chairman David Porter fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Alastair Piper 4-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-3 whilst Martin Archie, Neil Freeman and Alastair Piper all won twice for the Hatfield Peverel side. Last but not least Danbury D beat Chelmsford D 7-3. Sanjay Saptarshi and Sam Phillips were both undefeated with Phillips pipping Nikita Tkachuk 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 in the closest game of the night. 

Danbury F (Chris Buer, Steve Buer and Gus Heath) were the week’s big winners in division three. Their 10-0 win over Chelmsford F hides the fact that five games were decided in the fifth end. Steve Buer clinched his hat-trick with a 11-4, 11-5, 5-11, 9-11, 11-4 win over Alex Tkachuk. Danbury F top the table with 16 points from two games.  OCA D were 9-1 winners over Writtle E. Richard Baxter and Richard Upson both bagged hat-tricks. Richard Baxter was pushed hard by Neil Thompson before he won 11-13, 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9.  Danbury H (David Meah, David Marsh and Peter Hance) ran out 7-3 winners against Chelmsford E.  David Marsh saw off Joachin Mapes, just, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10. Danbury H added a further six points to their total by beating Danbury G 6-4. David Marsh clinched the victory for Danbury H by beating Peter Lucraft in five ends, 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 5-11, 11-7.

A refreshingly young-looking Chelmsford G side scored a fine 8-2 win over OCA E in division four. Match comments advised that Alesha Ellis-Austin’s powerful forehand and Richard Upson’s serves played a significant part in proceedings. Harrison Hill and Alesha Ellis-Austin were both unbeaten. The last two games were fiercely fought. Alesha Ellis-Austin beat Suzanne Shaw 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9 and Harrison Hill defeated Richard Upson 12-10, 11-8, 4-11, 3-11, 11-8. Buttsbury A shaded a close match against Danbury G 6-4. Jamie Elliott, Kevin Willis and Caroline Cole all won twice with Kevin Willis getting the better of Dave Goody 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 3-11, 14-12.   OCA F were another side to impress, and Stuart Wintle and David Bishop were both undefeated in their 8-2 victory against Hatfield Peverel C. Stuart Wintle bested Andy Simmonds over five ends – 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.

Highwood A with 22 points from three matches are the early leaders in division five. Melanie Bonnett led the way as they beat Buttsbury B 8-2. They are followed by Highwood B on 19 points. Highwood B beat Buttbsury B 6-4 courtesy of a hat-trick of wins from Roger Patient. Highwood B also beat Hatfield Peverel E 7-3, and again it was Roger Patient calling the shots with an undefeated performance. League stalwart Francis Whitbread secured two last gasp wins; seeing off Kath Little (7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10) and Davina Brazier (11-7, 9-11, 4-11, 11-5, 12-10).   A closely fought match between Maldon C and Danbury N finished all square. Five games were decided in the fifth end and Tom Elder, a hugely experienced campaigner (at this or indeed any level) was involved in three of them. He beat David Smith (13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-4), Steve Martin (11-9, 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3) and Graham Naggs (11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8). In another closely fought match (and again five games were decided in the fifth end) Chelmsford G beat Hatfield Peverel C 6-4. The last four games were five setters and Alesha Ellis-Austin sealed the win for her team by beating Pete Mortensen 6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 in the last game of the night. Writtle F made no mistake against Hatfield Peverel F, winning 9-1.  Jackie Treacy beat Jo Hart 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 in the opening game, but thereafter Writtle dominated with Paul Aarons and Ron Tam carrying all before them.   Last but not least Chelmsford J and Maldon C drew 5-5. Peter Davenport was unbeaten for Chelmsford whilst Ella Sach and Kym Eames won twice for Maldon. Peter Davenport earned his side a share of the points by beating Ella Sach 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 in the last game of the night.  

The Chelmsford Junior Leagues are under way. In division one Chelmsford Tigers and Buttsbury Bears both made winning starts. Chelmsford Tigers aided by two wins from Pavanaj Srinavasmurthy  beat Chelmsford Lions 4-1.  Pavanaj Srinavasmurthy beat Luka Ha (4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6);  a case of one of the longest surnames in the League history beating what must surely be one of the shortest. Buttsbury Bears beat Danbury Dragons 4-1. Oscar Hutt was undefeated for Buttsbury.

Could all players please ensure that the boxes on the top of the scorecards for the number of games a player has won are completed. With a large number of matches this week seeing no one player from either side winning all three singles there is a much larger chance of the Press Officer failing to capture the results correctly in his report if these boxes aren’t completed.  Your co-operation will be greatly appreciated.    

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League