The destination of the Chelmsford and District Division two title was finally decided in week 30 as Chelmsford C did enough to get over the winning line having sparred over the top spot with Hatfield Peverel A for much of the season. The Division three title goes to the final match of the season as second-placed Buttsbury A host leaders Galleywood B needing a 9-1 victory to snatch the title – this match is scheduled for Monday 22nd April.
Division 2
Chelmsford C became division two champions with a 9-1 home win over Danbury G’s two-manned team of Mervyn Perriman and Denis Balic. Balic fought back from 2-0 down (and a second game scoreline of 0-11) to beat Victor Chan while Perriman went close against Harrison Hill – succumbing 11-9 in the fifth. Trevor Carter won all three of his singles matches as Writtle B got the better of clubmates Writtle C by a 7-3 scoreline. Two of Carter’s victories came via fifth-game deciders – both Gary Ward and John Gagg lost out to Carter 11-8 in the crucial game. Carter joined forces with Phil Smith to recover from 2-0 down to take the ‘W’ against Ward and John Parodi. Writtle B’s victory moved them up to third place as Maldon A fell to a 6-4 loss at Danbury E with Danbury’s Tony Forster scoring a hat-trick of wins. Forster beat Hamish Innes and Ross Kirby in three straight games but had a ding-dong battle with Lloyd Bennett-Smith which was only settled in the fifth. Bennett-Smith and Innes came back from 2-1 down to win the doubles match 3-2 against Neil Want and Tim Cramphorn.
Standings div 2: C: Chelmsford C 138 points (from 20 matches), 2: Hatfield Peverel A 121 points (from 20 matches), 3: Writtle B 113 points (20 matches)
Division 3
In division three, second-placed Buttsbury A closed the gap on leaders Galleywood B with a 9-1 away win at Danbury K – Jamie Elliott and Paul Sturton both won three matches apiece. Galleywood B were held to a 5-5 draw with Danbury J – Will Goodchild’s two wins for the hosts were both five-gamers before he lost out to Danbury’s Peter Hance. Hance beat John Holland but missed out in five against Gary Copsey. Third-placed Danbury H cruised to a 9-1 win over Chelmsford F thanks to trebles from Ian Whiteside and Alan Scammell as well as a double from Peter Lucraft. Chelmsford’s Sami Osman beat Lucraft 3-2 in their encounter but lost out to Scammell by the same scoreline. Trevor Collin was in fine form as his hat-trick fired Writtle D to an 8-2 win over Writtle E. Neil Thompson recovered from 2-1 down to beat Malcolm Henstock while Malcolm Storey edged past Pete Layzell 11-9 in game five. Gareth Davies won all three of his matches as Hatfield Peverel B won 8-2 on the road at Old Chelmsfordians C. Davies beat Richard Upson in three, Tom Barker in four and withstood a Richard Baxter fightback from 2-0 down to finally complete the job in game five. Baxter was the sole point scorer for the hosts with 3-1 wins over Neil Freeman and Paul Mulley.
Standings div 3: 1: Galleywood B 140 points (from 19 matches), 2: Buttsbury A 134 points (19 matches), 3: Danbury H 110 points (from 19 matches).
Division 4
Division four champions Galleywood C tasted defeat for the first time this season with a 6-4 away loss to Highwood A. Keith Fitz-John, Roger Patient and Melanie Bonnett all won two matches apiece for the hosts while Galleywood’s Will Goodchild won two for Galleywood. Melanie Bonnett recovered from 2-1 down to beat Nathan Blore in their contest before the duo of Blore and Goodchild won 3-2 over Bonnett and Fitz-John in the doubles. Second-placed Chelmsford G finished their season with a 7-3 home win over Hatfield Peverel D thanks to a hat-trick each for Cleon Fernandes and Vishnu Surendran. Fernandes and Surendran fought back from 2-1 down to take the doubles against Bob Hillis and Gary Simmons, later Surendran clinched the final game decider against Samuel White. Hatfield Peverel E got the better of clubmates Hatfield Peverel C with a 6-4 scoreline thanks to a treble from James Brooks and two wins for Davina Brazier. Brazier’s wins over Richard Drozd and Andy Simmonds were both over five games while Peter Mortenson’s wins over Brazier and Kath Little were both three gamers.
Standings div 4: C: Galleywood C 143 points (from 18 matches), 2: Chelmsford G 127 matches (from 18 matches), 3: Maldon B 117 points (from 17 matches)
Division 5
Division 5 champions Danbury M earned their eighteenth league win from nineteen matches this season with a 6-4 victory over the then second-placed Buttsbury C – this was despite a fine treble by Buttsbury’s Richard Pond. Pond had to comeback from 2-0 down in his first match of the night with Graham Naggs before beating both David Smith and Steve Martin over four. Martin had earlier secured an important point for the hosts with a recovery from 2-1 down against Francesca Hart. Chelmsford J leapfrogged Buttsbury C into second place with a 9-1 away win at bottom placed Hatfield Peverel F. Ian Russell gained the only point of the night for the hosts with a 3-1 win over Mark Nolan while Jackie Treacy couldn’t hold onto her 2-1 lead against David Parker. Chelmsford H now stand third in the table following a 7-3 home win over OCA E – Shengbing Zhu led the way with three wins for the hosts while Jacqui Smith won twice. Anglia Ruskin University kept their hopes of a second place finish alive with a comprehensive 10-0 win over the two-person team of Writtle F. ARU – who were tenth in the table after four weeks of league action and eighth after nine weeks – have shown great improvement as the season has progressed. Kelvin Edeh, Douglas Bawuah and Connor Case did the business against Writtle despite Ron Tam taking Bawuah and Case the distance. David Cockrell won all three as Highwood B earned a 7-3 home victory against Maldon C. The closest contest of the night was James Raymond’s 3-2 win over Highwood’s Keith Pallett – Raymond had trailed 2-0.
Standings div 5: C: Danbury M 137 points (from 19 matches), 2: Chelmsford J 115 points (19 matches). 3: Chelmsford H 112 points (from 20 matches).
Chelmsford Junior League division 2A
Chelmsford Eagles kept their hopes of catching division 2A leaders Huttons Hawks alive with a 4-1 home win over second-placed Danbury Dragons. Joshua Freeman dropped just one game in winning both of his matches while Danbury’s Oscar Ware picked up a 3-1 win over Chelmsford’s Arnav Lanka.
Standings CJL 2A: 1: Hutton Hawks 20 points (7 matches), 2: Danbury Dragons 17 points (from 8 matches), 3: Chelmsford Eagles 16 points (6 matches).
Chelmsford Junior League division 2B
Two wins by George Gregory weren’t enough to prevent his Chelmsford Leopards side slipping to a 3-2 loss at the hands of Hutton Hyenas in division 2B. Both of Gregory’s wins were over four games with his match with Hugo Perry a close 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9.
Standings CJL 2B: 1: Hutton Harriers 26 points (7 matches), 2: Buttsbury Bulldogs 21 points (from 6 matches)
Chelmsford Junior League division 2C
The Chelmsford Jaguars set up an exciting finale to the division 2C season with a 5-0 home win over the Chelmsford Rhinos. Sean Kwan and Ethan Li won two matches apiece dropping just one game between them – they next face the Chelmsford Panthers in a title decider. The Hutton Hammerheads beat the Hutton Hornets 5-0 with James Williamson and Archie Giles dropping just one game.
Standings CJL 2C: 1: Chelmsford Panthers 28 points (from 7 matches), 2: Chelmsford Jaguars 28 points (7 matches)