At the conclusion of two days of competitive table tennis action in the West Midlands last weekend, Essex pipped Middlesex to win the premier divison of the table tennis county championship. The team of Adam Alibhai (Woodford Wells TTC), Melisha Anthony (Tollgate TTC), Charles Donald (BATTS Harlow TTC), Harrison Hill (Chelmsford TTC), Evie Knaapen (Matchpoint TTC – formerly Hullbridge TTC) and Aarav Parihar (Woodford Wells TTC) posted an identical record of 6 wins and a draw from seven team fixtures played as the defending champions and favourites Middlesex – but earned the title by virtue of holding a superior record when individual matches won were reviewed.
Essex started the weekend well with a 7-3 win over a strong Surrey side on Saturday before beating Lancashire 9-1 and Derbyshire 8-2 later on the same day. Sunday would decide the destination of the title and 7-3 wins over both Sussex and Warwickshire boosted Essex’s chances of reaching the top spot. The penultimate match of the weekend against Middlesex was key to the overall outcome and thanks to Melisha Anthony and Adam Alibhai’s two wins apiece and a win from Evie Knaapen, Essex earned a crucial 5-5 draw. Essex knew they had to post a better scoreline than Middlesex in the final round of fixtures to secure glory and this was achieved with a 9-1 win over Cheshire.
The six players greatly assisted by coach Kieran Skeggs and manager Martyn Green became the first team from Essex to win the cadets (under 15) version of the county championships since its inception in the 2001-2002 season, and just the third time an Essex team has won a county championships at junior level (under 19) – the last time being the 1974-1975 season. England number five rated cadet Adam Alibhai had a perfect weekend with 14 wins from his 14 individual matches – this included a 3-1 victory over Middlesex’s England number one rated cadet Max Radivan.
