Two more divisional winners crowned as the 2023/2024 season reaches its climax

Old Chelmsfordians A successfully defended the division 1 league title they won last season while Danbury M improved upon last year’s third place finish (as Danbury N) by winning division five – registering just one defeat from their 18 matches.  The destination of the division two and division three titles is still undecided with two rounds of matches remaining.

Division 1

OCA A clinched the division one title with a 9-1 home win over Danbury B – Paul Lucas and Mark Mulley earned trebles while Scott Dowsett won twice.  The closest singles match of the night was Mark Mulley’s 3-2 win over Dan Anderson whereby Anderson had taken a 2-1 lead.   Later, Anderson and partner Sam Lowman took a 2-1 lead over Lucas and Mulley in the doubles only for the OCA pairing to come through for the win.  Two wins apiece for Aidan Lees and Omar Wasi boosted sixth-placed Chelmsford B to a 6-4 home win over Galleywood A.  Lees recovered from 2-1 down to beat Peter Barrett but later was on the wrong end of another 3-2 scoreline – James Hicks clinching the decider 13-11 in their clash.  Wasi had earlier beaten Hicks in four but fell to Barrett in their contest.  Hicks also saw another five-game match whereby he fought back from 2-1 down against Wiktor Delimat. 

Standings div 1: C: Old Chelmsfordians A 153 points (from 20 matches), 2: Chelmsford A 126 points (19 matches), 3: Danbury A 123 points (21 matches).

Division 2

Hatfield Peverel A moved to the top of division two with a 6-4 away victory at third-placed Maldon A – Julie Johnson fired a hat-trick on her return.  Johnson beat both Chris Hancox and Dawn Baldry in four and just about edged out Colin Napper over five close games.  Baldry won her other two games – an epic 3-2 win over Alastair Piper was followed by a four game win over Martin Archie who won his other two matches.  Another player who returned to action this week was Gary Ward who won all three of his matches in Writtle C’s 5-5 draw with OCA B.   Ward won each of his matches in four games while teammate John Parodi lost out to Michael Hayes over five games before edging David Porter in the decider.  Sanjay Saptarshi clinched three wins as his Danbury D beat Danbury G 6-4. Peter Chastin was unfortunate not to get a win on the board having played in three five-gamers.  Three wins by Adi Kamma backed up by two from Sami Osman helped Chelmsford D earn a 6-4 home victory over Danbury E.  Chelmsford’s Kamma dropped just two games during the evening while Danbury’’s Tony Forster’s two successes were both earned the hard way – over five games. 

Standings div 2: 1:  Hatfield Peverel A 121 points (from 19 matches), 2: Chelmsford C 119 points (from 18 matches), 3: Maldon A 105 points (19 matches)

Division 3

Ian Whiteside won all three of his singles matches as fourth placed Danbury H beat tenth placed Danbury J 6-4 in division three.  Whiteside dropped just one game while J’s Peter Hance and H’s Alan Scammell both recovered from 2-1 down in their respective matches against Ken Sheard and John Robinson.  Felix Reeve and Pav Srinivasamurthy were both unbeaten as Chelmsford F beat Writtle E 7-3.  Reeve dropped just one game in his three wins while two of Srinivasamurthy’s wins were not secured until a fifth game decider – his match against Malcolm Storey was a close 6-11, 13-11, 13-11, 9-11, 13-11.  Jarek Pietraszuk won three, James Grimston two and Andy Swales two as Chelmsford E won 8-2 against Danbury K.  Grimston was denied a treble by Alan Dadswell who battled back from 2-1 down to take the win while Dave Oxley-Goody got the better of Swales in three.

Standings div 3: 1: Galleywood B 135 points (from 18 matches), 2: Buttsbury A 125 points (18 matches), 3: Danbury H 101 points (from 18 matches).

Division 4

Fourth placed OCA D finished their season in style with a 10-0 away victory against winless Hatfield Peverel E as David Bishop, Russell Hall and Farooq Ahmed did the business for the visitors.  Davina Brazier was the best performer for the hosts – taking both Russell Hall and David Bishop to five games.  A Peter Mortenson treble wasn’t enough to prevent his Hatfield Peverel C side from going down 6-4 at Danbury L.  Mortenson beat Paul Thirkettle in three, John Manning in four and Greg Cooper in five, while teammate Richard Drozd had two matches which went to a decider – winning one.  Roger Patient didn’t drop a game as Highwood A won 6-4 at Hatfield Peverel D.  Highwood’s Keith Fitz-John went winless but saw two of his losses go to deciders while Melanie Bonnett edged Deb Ginn over five games.

Standings div 4: C: Galleywood C 139 points (from 17 matches), 2: Chelmsford G 120 matches (from 17 matches), 3: Maldon B 117 points (from 17 matches)

Division 5

Graham Naggs, Steve Martin and David Smith earned two wins apiece as Danbury M became division five champions with a 7-3 away win at Maldon C.  Shirley Carroll bagged two wins for Maldon – both in fifth game deciders while her teammate Ross Kirby beat Martin before missing out in five against Smith.  Buttsbury C moved up into second place with a 9-1 win over Galleywood D on Friday thanks to three wins each for Oscar Hutt and Francesca Hart as well as two wins by Freya Hart.  Galleywood D had played earlier in the weeks whereby Nick Rounce won all three of his singles matches in the 6-4 home victory over Chelmsford H.  Rounce had to fight back from 2-1 down for his victory against Peter Davenport who won two matches himself.  Anglia Ruskin University cruised to a 9-1 victory over winless Hatfield Peverel F – trebles by Kelvin Edeh and Douglas Bawuah were backed up by a double by Connor Case.  Chelmsford J and Highwood B shared a 5-5 draw – Chelmsford’s Shweta Lees and Mark Nolan as well as Highwood’s Keith Pallett and Nicola Pippen all won two games each.    

Standings div 5: C: Danbury M 131 points (from 18 matches), 2: Buttsbury C 107 points (19 matches), 3: Chelmsford J 106 points (18 matches).

Chelmsford Junior League division 2A

All to play for still in CJL division 2A as the Hutton Hawks stay top despite slipping to a 3-2 home defeat by the Chelmsford Eagles.  Joshua Freeman won twice for the visitors – his victory over Charlie Gould in the opener was after going 2-0 down.  The Danbury Dragons leapfrogged the Buttsbury Bears into second place with a 4-1 home victory – Oliver Martin won both of his matches by a 3-1 scoreline while Peter Harverson beat Thomas Lewis before Vivaan Babbar earned the only win of the night for the visitors. 

Standings CJL 2A: 1: , Hutton Hawks 20 points (7 matches), 2: Danbury Dragons 16 points (from 7 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2B

Martis Heyes and Hugo Perry went undefeated as the Hutton Harriers extended their lead at the top of CJL 2B with a 5-0 home win over Chelmsford Leopards.  Heyes withstood a George Gregory comeback from 2-0 to clinch the decider in the closest contest.  Lewis Woods won both of his matches as the Buttsbury Bulldogs won 4-1 at Hutton Hyenas on Wednesday night.  The tightest match was Hugo Perry edging past Vivaan Babbar in a fifth game decider.

Standings CJL 2B: 1: Hutton Harriers 26 points (7 matches), 2: Buttsbury Bulldogs 21 points (from 6 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2C

Ethan Collins won twice and Amelie Lucas once as the Chelmsford Panthers retained top spot in CJL 2C with a 4-1 away win at the Hutton Hornets, while the Hutton Hammerheads beat the Chelmsford Rhinos by the same scoreline thanks to an Archie Giles double backed up by a victory for Spencer Giles.

Standings CJL 2C: 1: Chelmsford Panthers 28 points (from 7 matches), 2: Chelmsford Jaguars 23 points (6 matches)

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Chelmsford A remain one of just two teams who remain unbeaten through 18 league matches this season (the other being Galleywood C of division four) however with an 18 point gap (and just one game in hand) their hopes of overtaking the league leaders before time runs out look to be slim.

Division 1

A Harry Chivers treble kept second-placed Chelmsford A’s title hopes alive in their 6-4 home win over division one leaders OCA A.  Chivers beat Mark Mulley in four games before recovering from 2-1 down to beat Keiran Lally (13-11 in the decider) and later seeing off Paul Lucas in four (two games saw the incredibly close 19-17, 16-14 scorelines).  Lally fought back from 2-0 down to beat Josh Bickles while Mulley was able to weather a Bickles comeback from 2-0 down to clinch the decider.  A fourth successive hat-trick by Chris Penrose fired Danbury A to an 8-2 away win at Galleywood A.  Penrose beat both James Mullane and James Hicks in three straight games and took just one game more to get the better of Peter Barrett.  Barrett won his two other matches – the first of which was a five-gamer with Eric Green who himself saw deciding game action in his win over Hicks.  Danbury C won a close contest with Chelmsford B by a 6-4 scoreline.  Danbury’s David Gatheral played in two five-gamers – missing out against Kim Shead having held a 2-1 lead and later taking the decider against Adi Kamma 13-11.  Danbury’s Peter Harverson had earlier earned a maiden division one win over Kamma.

Standings div 1: 1: Old Chelmsfordians A 144 points (from 19 matches), 2: Chelmsford A 126 points (18 matches), 3: Danbury A 113 points (20 matches).

Division 2

Chelmsford C extended their lead at the top of division two thanks to an 8-2 home win over Writtle C while title rivals Hatfield Peverel A could only draw 5-5 with Danbuy E – the gap between the two is a mere four points with two matches remaining.  Victor Chan won both of his games against the two-man team of Writtle C while Writtle’s John Webber beat Waseem Qureshi and Mark Allaway.  Martin Archie saw victory in all three of his singles matches as Hatfield Peverel A drew 5-5 at home with Danbury E.  Neil Want and Tony Forster won two apiece for the visitors but were both undone by Archie in three straight games – Archie has an 87% win rate from 45 individual matches in the league this season.  Writtle B made it two wins in a row by edging Maldon B 6-4 at home.  Trevor Collin, Richard Storey and Phil Smith all won two matches apiece for the hosts while Maldon’s Lloyd Bennett-Smith did likewise for the visitors – Storey getting the better of Bennett-Smith over four games.  The spoils were shared between Danbury G and Chelmsford D with two wins apiece for Danbury’s Denis Balic and Peter Harverson –  Chelmsford’s Adi Kamma also won twice – his second victory over Balic going the distance. 

Standings div 2: 1: Chelmsford C 119 points (from 18 matches), 2: Hatfield Peverel A 115 points (from 18 matches), 3: Maldon A 101 points (18 matches)

Division 3

John Holland and Mark Glenister won three apiece as division three leaders Galleywood B extended their lead to ten points with an 8-2 away win at Danbury H.  Holland and Danbury’s Ken Sheard saw five-game action in both their singles and doubles encounters – both matches going in the favour of the Galleywood player.  Buttsbury A lost pace with the leaders despite more trebles from Jamie Elliott and Evie Knaapen in their 7-3 win over Chelmsford E.  Elliott has a 100% win rate from his 41 individual league matches this season while Knaapen has 84% from her 38.  The top two sides still have to meet once more this season. Felix Reeve hit a hat-trick as Chelmsford F got the better of OCA C by a tight 6-4 scoreline.  Reeve dropped just one game during the evening and he was backed up by Pav Srivasamurthy who won twice – the second of which was a 3-2 win over Richard Baxter.  Neil Freeman won three as Hatfield Peverel B earned a 5-5 draw at Danbury K despite only fielding two players.  Freeman’s biggest test was from Dave Oxley-Goody who took their match to a decider – Oxley-Goody had earlier beaten Paul Mulley over five games also. 

Standings div 3: 1: Galleywood B 135 points (from 18 matches), 2: Buttsbury A 125 points (18 matches), 3: Chelmsford E 99 points (from 19 matches).

Division 4

Division four champions Galleywood C lost their perfect record this season as Buttsbury B held them to a 5-5 draw.  In what looked like an epic encounter, Garry Carr won three matches for the visitors while Galleywood’s Will Goodchild won twice for the hosts.  Galleywood’s Colin Blore and Phil Shippen saw five-game action on two occasions – once when facing each other which Blore won having trailed 2-0.  Nathan Blore lost in five against Shippen but had earlier beaten Caroline Cole by the same scoreline. Second placed Chelmsford G cruised to a 10-0 win over Hatfield Peverel E with Cleon Fernandes, Salih Salim and Vishnu Surendran dropping just one game between them during their individual matches.  Fernandes holds a 92% win rate from 48 division four matches this season.  Maldon B ensured they cannot finish below third place following their 9-1 win at Hatfield Peverel C.   Chris Ravenhill and Marty Englander won three individual matches apiece and teamed for victory in the doubles contest.  Farooq Ahmed and Russell Hall earned hat-tricks as OCA D beat Danbury L 8-2 at home.  OCA’s John Manning extended both Ahmed and David Bishop to five games but couldn’t quite get over the line – Bishop rallied from 2-0 down for his win. 

Standings div 4: C: Galleywood C 139 points (from 17 matches), 2: Chelmsford G 120 matches (from 17 matches), 3: Maldon B 108 points (from 16 matches)

Division 5

Danbury M’s wait to clinch the division 5 title goes on as their fixture with second placed Chelmsford J was postponed – they should get over the line finally in week 28.  Kelvin Edeh and Douglas Bawuah won three games apiece as ARU beat Highwood B 6-4.  Highwood’s Nicola Pippen beat Connor Case over fives then teamed with David Cockrell to win the doubles in five before falling to Kelvin Edeh 11-9 in the decider of their match. Suzanne Shaw and Matthew Porter both scored hat-tricks as OCA E won 9-1 on the road at Hatfield Peverel F.  Shaw won her first two matches 3-0 but had to recover from 2-1 down to beat Jackie Treacy – Treacy had earlier beaten Stuart Wintle in five from the same position but later missed out over five games against Porter.  Wintle and Porter took the doubles over Treacy and Peter Hughes – also in five games.  Oscar Hutt was victorious in all three of his matches as Buttsbury C won 7-3 at Maldon C.  Hutt beat Garry Eames in four and Kym Eames in three but had to recover from 2-0 down against Shirley Carroll – Carroll had earlier lost 3-2 against Richard Pond but beat Torsten Greenan by the same scoreline.  Galleywood D’s New Year acquisition of Nick Rounce must go down as the best bit of business made over the 2024 transfer window – Rounce fired another hat-trick and moved to 13 wins from 16 matches as his side were held 5-5 at Writtle F.   Michael Anthony won two games for the hosts but was edged in a fifth game decider by Rounce.

Standings div 5: 1: Danbury M 124 points (from 17 matches), 2: Chelmsford J 101 points (17 matches), 3: Chelmsford H 101 points (from 18 matches).

Chelmsford Junior League division 2A

Charlie Ware won twice as CJL 2A leaders Hutton Hawks gained some breathing space over second-placed Buttsbury Bears with a 4-1 victory in the top of the table clash.   Ware beat Callum Walker in four games and Joseph Hutt in three while Jago Ware earned a five-game win over Walker.  Luka Ha’s two wins weren’t enough to prevent his Chelmsford Cougars team falling to a 3-2 defeat at Danbury Dragons.  Ha won both of his singles matches 3-0 but he and teammate Ishar Srivastava were beaten by the duo of Oliver Ware and Oliver Wyman in the crucial doubles.

Standings CJL 2A: 1: , Hutton Hawks 18 points (6 matches), 2: Buttsbury Bears 14 points (from 5 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2B

Billy Andrews won twice as CJL division 2B leaders Hutton Harriers earned a 3-2 win at second placed Buttsbury Bulldogs.  Martis Heyes was involved in three five-gamers seeing both Thomas Lewis and Lewis Woods fight back from 2-1 for their wins but gaining a win alongside Andrews in the decisive doubles contest.  Two 3-0 wins for Ben Robinson helped the Chelmsford Tigers to a 4-1 win over the Hutton Hyenas.  Oliver Davies scored the only point for the Hyenas – beating George Gregory 3-2 in the opener.  

Standings CJL 2B: 1: Hutton Harriers 21 points (6 matches), 2: Buttsbury Bulldogs 17 points (from 5 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2C

Nathanael Slade won both of his matches as the Chelmsford Panthers were able to hold on to top spot in division 2C despite a 3-2 loss by Hutton Hammerheads.  Hutton’s Spencer Giles and Chelmsford’s Archie Spurrier were involved in the closest singles match of the afternoon which Giles won 11-9 in the decider.  Archie and Spencer Giles fought back from 2-1 down to win the crucial doubles match. Atharv Srivastava and Ethan Li went undefeated as the Chelmsford Jaguars closed in on the leaders with a 5-0 home win against the Hutton Hornets. 

Standings CJL 2C: 1: Chelmsford Panthers 24 points (from 6 matches), 2: Chelmsford Jaguars 23 points (6 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2D

It’s as you were in CJL division 2D as leaders Chelmsford Pumas and second-placed Buttsbury Bats both won 5-0 in their respective matches.  Ishar Srivastave and Archie Spurrier won two apiece for the Pumas in their victory at Buttsbury Bees – the closest contest of the fixture was Spurrier’s 3-2 win over George Murphy.  Zac Berry and Shay Coughlan dropped just one game between them in their win over the Hutton Hares.

Standings CJL 2D: 1: Chelmsford Pumas 24 points (6 matches)  2: Buttsbury Bats 21 points (from 5 matches)

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Paul Davison proved once again his ability to rise to the occasion when he was crowned Braintree Table Tennis League singles champion for the eighth time at the league’s finals night.

Davison has lost four times in league matches this season and currently stands only sixth in the individual averages but he had his championship head on on Friday as he came through two tough encounters to lift the trophy.

Paul Lucas tested him to the full in the semi-final where he refused to succumb easily.

After losing the first game 11-3, Lucas came back strongly to take the match to five ends after saving two match points in the fourth.

He stretched it all the way to deuce in the fifth but Davison stayed in attacking mode and took the final two points.

In the final against Lee McHugh, it was Davison who had to come from behind. With a mixture of aggressive attack, classical defence and disguised chop, McHugh took the first game 12-10.

But Davison gradually found a way past his opponent’s defences, won the second game 11-6 and again showed his coolness in the vital points when he took the third and fourth games 11-9 and 13-11.

McHugh had earlier nullified the challenge of Brandon Crouchman, who could not find the form that had eliminated second seed Harry Chivers the previous weekend and this time it was McHugh who won the vital points, winning all three games at deuce.

Curiously, after winning his semi-final against Lucas, Davison went on to lose to the same player in the final of the veterans’ singles, an illustration perhaps of where his focus for the evening lay.

Lucas got his attack going far more effectively than in their earlier encounter and registered a relatively comfortable 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3 win.

It ended a run of five successive wins in the event for Davison, who has won it every year since he has been eligible. His defeat meant he missed out on equalling Ian Whiteside’s record of six successive wins from 1995 to 2000.

Many years before his singles successes, Davison had gained his first senior title when he shepherded a nine-year-old Vicki Stredder to a win in the mixed doubles in 1997. This year Lucas was attempting the same feat with his 14-year-old daughter Amelie.

It was not to be, however, as Louise Hartshorn and Ian Shrubsole proved far too steady at the other end.

Mixing some containing play with occasional heavy smashes, they refused to allow Paul Lucas to dominate and ran out comfortable winners 11-5, 11-5, 11-5.

Hartshorn had a harder time of it in the ladies’ singles where she was initially discomfited by Lorraine Burgess’s cultured all-round game.

Burgess took the first and third games before Hartshorn found any sort of rhythm.  At last in the fourth, she was able to bring her trademark smashes into play and held on for a five-game victory.

It was one of the near-upsets of the evening but did not come close to matching Omar Wasi’s near success in the junior boys’ singles.

As the No.2 open singles seed and reigning Brentwood men’s singles champion, Harry Chivers was assumed to be a shoo-in to take the title.

But Wasi didn’t see it that way.

He matched his more illustrious opponent shot for shot and stormed into a most unlikely two-game lead.

He started well in the third game as well but Chivers appeared to regain confidence paradoxically for a naturally attacking player from a cracking rally at 1-3 down where he won the point with a dogged defensive display.

He moved into gear after that to win 11-6 and when he took the fourth game 11-2, normal service appeared to have been resumed.

But no. Wasi hit back in the fifth and held a match point at 10-9 when, with Chivers marooned at the back of the court, he missed what looked like a straightforward smash.

Reprieved, Chivers held his nerve to win at 13-11.

It was a more confident Chivers who turned out in the men’s doubles final a quarter of an hour later.

He and Kaung Paing settled more quickly and stayed in charge against the No.1 seeds Crouchman and Scott Dowsett.  Their speed about the table and snappy returns proved too much for the Liberal A pair and it was all over in three games, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7.

The evening’s opener saw Adi Kamma progress from last season’s runners-up berth to champion in the restricted singles final.

His calm approach overcame Sean Clift’s normally solid defence where the essential difference was his ability to finish off a point with a heavy smash, a weapon Clift lacks in his armoury.

The trophies were presented by president John Mills, umpires were James Hicks, David Gatheral, Paul Lombardi and Oliver Hicks and the event was organised by league competition secretary Keith Martin.

Results:

Open singles final: Paul Davison beat Lee McHugh 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 13-11. Semi-finals: Davison beat Paul Lucas 11-3, 10-12, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10; McHugh beat Brandon Crouchman 14-12, 12-10, 12-10.

Ladies’ singles: Louise Hartshorn beat Lorraine Burgess 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-3, 11-7

Men’s doubles: Harry Chivers and Kaung Paing beat Crouchman and Scott Dowsett 11-8, 11-5, 11-7

Mixed doubles: Hartshorn and Ian Shrubsole beat Amelie Lucas and Paul Lucas 11-5, 11-5, 11-5

Veterans’ singles: Paul Lucas beat Davison 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3

Junior boys’ singles: Chivers beat Omar Wasi 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2, 13-11

Restricted singles: Adi Kamma beat Sean Clift 11-7, 11-9, 11-9

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Lawford once again showed they’re the most consistent and reliable team in Division Two of the Clacton TTL over recent seasons, this week beating Nomads Tigers 6-4 to confirm they will finish as runners-up to Brotherhood D.

John Colvin starred for Lawford, his hat-trick including an 11-9 in the fifth win over Tigers’ captain Dave Miller. But his clash with the Tigers’ number one Denes Somodi was even more impressive, the two left-handers engaging in a battle of attrition, with Colvin’s long-pimpled backhands eventually disrupting Somodi’s attacking flare to narrowly come out on top 11-9, 13-11, 9-11, 14-12. It was only a second defeat of the season for Somodi.

Charlie Denholm picked up two for Lawford and their ever- dependable skipper Ian Sherwood completed their side’s scoring with one. For the Tigers, there were two for Somodi and one for Miller, the pair sharing an 11-5 in the decider doubles victory against Denholm and Sherwood.

Over the last eleven years, Lawford have twice been promoted to Division One and twice promptly been relegated but, in the nine seasons they’ve played in Division Two, they’ve finished as champions once, runners-up twice, third on three occasions and fourth, also on three occasions. A notable record of consistency.

Elsewhere, Brotherhood B’s improved second-half season form continued with a 7-3 victory over Walton D. Every player picked up at least one point but Brotherhood’s Mark Salter stayed unbeaten, his three including a 12-10 in the fifth win over Clive Allenby. Paul Alden’s couple included an 11-7 in the fifth win over Andy Foster.

Windsor Penguins and Nomads Jaguars enjoyed a hard-fought scrap, with the teams eventually sharing the spoils. Scott Campbell stayed unbeaten for the Penguins while there were two each for Chris Petrou and Kevin Hogg of the Jaguars.

Brotherhood C beat Windsor Kestrels 7-3, with three from Mark Boyland, two from Paul Metcalf and one from Mark Beckham. Kestrels’ captain Graham Bunce won two and Allen Denyer one. So Brotherhood C finish in a respectable mid-table fifth place but, alas for the Kestrels, they finish well adrift at the bottom.

In Division Three, Tricia Salter, Tony Edmonds and Rodney Betts of top team Brotherhood E predictably defeated Nomads Lynx 10-0. Betts’ 11-6 in the fifth win over Gerry Widnell was the closest match of the encounter.

Nearest rivals Windsor Harriers defeated Brotherhood G 7-3 and Nomads Leopards 6-4, Ferdy Rodriguez unbeaten in the latter match, with Jenny Higgins recording a crucial victory over Dominic Joannou.

These results mean Brotherhood E are just one point ahead of the Harriers and, with the two teams due to meet in the final week of the season, Brotherhood only need a draw to take the title, while the Harriers must win to ensure top spot.

A buoyant Brotherhood F drew for the first time this season, this against Nomads Leopards. JJ Barry and Ruby Gallagher each took two, Barry beating Bob Jillins 11-8 in the decider and Gallagher defeating Dominic Joannou by the same score. Jillins and Joannou won two apiece for the Leopards.

It was all-square between Walton E and Nomads Bobcats for a second time this season. Five of the matches went the distance, with every player getting on the score-sheet. In a closely-fought encounter, Lynette Sparks took her maximum for Walton, beating Matt Sage 11-7 in the decider. Adrian Sexton beat Alex Baldock in three, while Deborah Pallett narrowly defeated Jack Riddleston 11-8 in the fifth. For the Bobcats, Sage won two, Baldock edged out Pallett 12-10 in the decider, Riddleston defeated Sexton 11-7 in the decider, with Sage and Baldock taking the doubles 11-8 in the decider against Sparks and Sexton.

Trebles for John Plummer and Alan Rutledge saw Windsor Magpies home 7-3 against Nomads Ocelots. There was one each for Arthur Wells-Garrett and Lily Miaomei Liu, while the pair recorded the Ocelots’ third doubles win of the season, a fine 13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11 victory over Plummer and Rutledge.

In Division One, Greg Green, Gill Locke and John Hatley of champions Nomads Panthers were 10-0 winners over the luckless and already-relegated Windsor Buzzards, the only team in the League without a win to their name this season.

Brotherhood A confirmed they will be runners-up after beating Walton B 6-4. The ever-dependable Kevin Gowlett won his three, although it was a tight fight against Peter Burrows, 11-9 in the decider. Burrows and Gavin Price each won two for Walton, Burrows getting past Russell Hillier 11-8 in the fifth.

Windsor Hawks warmed up for their Cup Final meeting with Walton C with a 7-3 League win, Daniel Young unbeaten and Andy Vincent winning two. Felipe Rodriguez took one but came close to a hat-trick, losing 12-10 in the fifth to Mark Ratcliffe and 13-11 in the fifth to Mark Gale. Gale took two for Walton.  

* The Handicap Knock-Out Cup final this year between Walton C and Windsor Hawks will be held on Tuesday 2nd April at the Brotherhood Hall, with play starting at 7.30 pm. All spectators are welcome and admission is free.

* The League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, courtesy of Gary Cattermole, take place at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall on Saturday 6th April and Sunday 7th April.

Sixty-five players will be competing for fourteen titles. Further details, including information about check-in times, will be sent to all entrants by 2nd April.

* The League was saddened to learn of the death this week of Mike Baldwin, who collapsed and died during a Colchester League match. Mike was Chairman of Tollgate Table Tennis Club and had become a stalwart of the Colchester League. However, many longer-serving players in the area will remember Mike as a member of the Clacton League in the 1970s and 1980s when he played for Brotherhood in the First Division alongside Dave Johns, Gordon Smith and Mike Stickland. We send our sincerest condolences to Mike’s family.

RESULTS

Division 1

Windsor Buzzards 0 Nomads Panthers 10;

Walton C 3 Windsor Hawks 7;

Brotherhood A 6 Walton B 4;

Nomads Lions 0 Windsor Eagles 10 (w/o).

Division 2

Walton D 3 Brotherhood B 7;

Windsor Penguins 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;

Lawford 6 Nomads Tigers 4;

Brotherhood C 7 Windsor Kestrels 3.

Division 3

Nomads Ocelots 3 Windsor Magpies 7;

Nomads Lynx 10 Brotherhood E 0;

Nomads Leopards 4 Windsor Harriers 6;

Brotherhood F 5 Nomads Leopards 5;

Windsor Harriers 7 Brotherhood G 3;

Walton E 5 Nomads Bobcats 5.

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After 60 years of hurt Woodham A are finally crowned league champions of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 1.  The Woodham A team are both fearless and unstoppable, with an amazing 100% win rate all season with just their nearest rivals to play in what many might think as a dead rubber – but actually could really matter to both sides as they set their stalls out for the next campaign.

As we approach the annual Burnham Closed tournament there was limited league action this week but there was one crucial match as league leaders Woodham A hosted their B side needing just a single point to secure their inaugural league championship.  That task was given to captain Dan Piglet who survived the huffing and puffing of rival captain Eamonn Hall to keep his house intact and open the champagne before his team-mates had even arrived.  So with the job done in the very first encounter both teams settled down for a relaxed evening of sport.  A repeat whitewash of 10-0 to the A team was a bit harsh on the hard-working B team who took 4 games to 5 sets and most of the others went to 4 legs.  The B team’s Sanjay Saptarshi went the distance with both Piglet and Lee McHugh, and Hall repeated the 5 set drama with McHugh, and the B team duo paired up for doubles that also went to 5 sets.  But alas it was a night for celebration for the A team with Kaung Htet Paing in great form for a player of the match hat-trick, and of course hat-tricks for Piglet and McHugh.  With the addition of the other core squad members of Harry Chivers and Chris Penrose it has been an amazing journey for the A-Team this season – Captain Piglet mused ‘I love it when a plan comes together’.

In Division 2 this week there were very strong performances from Maldon’s Steve Aspland and Stow Maries’ Peter Chastin.  Aspland led his Maldon C team to a 6-4 victory over higher placed Blackwater A with an impeccable display in both singles and doubles.  Aspland’s 4 points overall formed the bedrock of the victory with the extra 2 points coming from trusty wingman Colin Barrell.  For Blackwater plucky captain Alan Scammell had 2 wins on the night.  Later in the week Chastin also scored a hat-trick against the busy Blackwater A side but unfortunately his wingpeople weren’t able to chip in to help the cause as Blackwater ran out 7-3 winners with a brace apiece for Scammell, Neil Thompson and Neil Freeman.  In Division 3 Maldon F signed off with a 6-4 win against Blackwater C.  A hat-trick for star player John Leavett did the most damage on the night with Blackwater’s Norman Hayes and Phil West able to pick up two wins each.

Pic 1 – Woodham A Trio – Lee McHugh, Kaung Htet Paing & Daniel Piglet

Pic 2 – Woodham A’s captain Daniel Piglet hits the championship winning shot this week

Pic 3 – Action from the Woodham derby 5 setter – Lee McHugh (A team) versus Sanjay Saptarshi (B team)

Pic 4 – Woodham A player of the match – Kaung Htet Paing

Pic 5 – Stow Maries hat-trick man – Peter Chastin

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Former champion Brandon Crouchman brought off the win of the weekend at the Braintree Table Tennis League’s individual tournament when he knocked out many people’s favourite for the open singles title Harry Chivers.

Crouchman, who won the title in 2017, has played very little this season and was expected to find life hard against the speed of his 17-year-old opponent.

But he mixed up his shots, crashing the ball through Chivers’ defence on occasion but taking the pace off the ball at other times as he edged home 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11 in a tense quarter final.

Crouchman will be joined in the semi-finals – to be played on finals night at the Earls Colne Recreation Centre on Friday – by two other champions, Lee McHugh, winner in 2019, and current holder Paul Davison, plus last year’s runner-up Paul Lucas.

While experience triumphed in Crouchman’s case, youth had its day when 16-year-old Omar Wasi became the only unseeded player to reach the last eight by knocking out equal No.5 seed Kuang Htet Paing in three straight games – only to run into an unrelenting Davison in the quarter final.

Crouchman and Chivers will face each other again in the final of the men’s doubles.

Top seeds Crouchman and Liberal A teammate Scott Dowsett came past McHugh and Adam Buxton in the semi-final to face Chivers and Kuang Htet Paing in the final after the latter’s victory over Davison and Ashley Skeggs.

Chivers and Wasi – like Paing making their finals night debut – will be at opposite ends of the table in the final of the junior boys’ singles while at the other end of the age scale, Davison and Lucas will stage a repeat of last year’s final in the veterans’ singles.

Also making their first appearance on finals night will be the ladies’ singles finalists Louise Hartshorn and Lorraine Burgess, who both made their way comfortably past the opposition.

Hartshorn and Sudbury Wanderers teammate Ian Shrubsole will pit their wits against Lucas and his 14-year-old daughter Amelie in the final of the mixed doubles.

Sean Clift will be making his fourth appearance in the restricted singles final, an event he won in 2012.

He faces last year’s finalist Adi Kamma.

Hartshorn could make it a treble as she and Canning have already secured the ladies’ doubles title, which was played to a finish at the weekend.

In other events decided at the weekend, Paul Davison maintained his hold on the veterans’ doubles trophy that he has won in each of the four years since it was introduced, and with three different partners.

This time he and James Hicks overcame Paul Lucas and Paul Lombardi 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8.

Wasi took the division one singles title with an 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 win in the final over Oliver Hicks.

Rev Matthews took the division two title after a tight11-9-in-the-fifth-game win over Hartshorn and Charles Calisin was crowned division three champion

Calisin and Wasi upset the odds by beating Chivers and Jack Dearsley in straight games in the junior doubles final and Wasi was on the winning side in both the handicap events.

He beat Ben Southgate in the final of the handicap singles and joined Davina Brazier to win the handicap doubles with a win in the final over Jill Canning and Stewart Ireland

Amelie Lucas took the girls’ singles title with three comfortable wins in a round robin event while Ethan Collins took both the cadets and under 11 titles.

The hard bat singles was won by Harry Chivers with a victory over Lee McHugh in the final.

This year’s Clacton League Knock-Out Cup final will be an all-Division One encounter between Walton C and Windsor Hawks, both teams recording 5-1 victories in their semi-final matches this week.

Walton C extinguished the Cup hopes of Second Division Windsor Penguins, Mark Gale, Mark Ratcliffe and Paul Meikle the successful trio. The closest game was the middle doubles, where Windsor’s Scott Campbell and Sharon Gowlett (+1) won 15-13, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10 against Gale and Meikle (-3). Ratcliffe remained unbeaten for Walton.

And the Cup adventures of Division Three newcomers, Nomads Bobcats, came to an end at the hands of Windsor Hawks, Daniel Young, Felipe Rodriguez and Ian Fielder proving too strong and experienced. Jack Riddleston’s singles win over Rodriguez was the only Bobcats’ victory.

The final takes place at the Brotherhood Hall on Tuesday 2nd April with play starting at 7.30 pm. All spectators are welcome.

* In Division One of the League, Nomads Panthers whitewashed a below-strength Nomads Lions for a second time this season, James Denyer, Greg Green and Gill Locke only extended to a fourth set in three of the matches. Now only a miracle of Biblical proportions can prevent the Panthers finishing as champions, needing just two points from their final match against bottom team Windsor Buzzards to guarantee them another title.

But a stronger Lions’ side was able to edge past Cup finalists Windsor Hawks 6-4. Ethan Lloyd, Adam Cuthbert and Charlie Fulcher all won two, but none of them could get the better of Daniel Young. Despite this defeat, with only one match left to play, the Hawks, with a seven-point advantage over the Lions, look favourites to take third place.

In Division Two, champions Brotherhood D completed their season unbeaten, defeating Brotherhood C 6-4, Simon Smith-Daye winning three and Kevin Pryor two. But it was a close-run thing, with three matches going the distance, including a 13-11 in the fifth win for Pryor over John Gallagher. It was also 11-7 in the fifth for Smith-Daye against Boyland, coming back from 6-0 down in the fourth to take the match to a decider. And it was even tighter in the doubles, Smith-Daye and Pryor coming back from two sets and 9-2 down to eventually win 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-6.

In their second all-Brotherhood match, the ‘C’ team edged past the ‘B’ side 6-4, Mark Boyland winning three, Mark Beckham two and John Gallagher one. For the ‘B’ team, Mark Salter took two and Paul Alden one, and although Barry Allen failed to get on the score-sheet, it was oh-so-close against Brotherhood C number one, Boyland, Allen narrowly losing 13-11 in the decider.

Windsor Magpies were comfortable 9-1 winners in Division Three against Nomads Lynx. John Plummer and Dave Sweetland took predictable hat-tricks, with Dave Wright beating Malcolm Caley for the Lynx point.

And trebles for Dominic Joannou and Bob Jillins saw Nomad Leopards safely to an 8-2 success against Nomads Ocelots. For the Ocelots, there were wins for Arthur Wells-Garrett and also for Lily Miaomei Liu, her first in the League, 11-7 in the fifth against Stu Wilkinson. 

* Entries have now closed for the League’s Closed Championships, generously sponsored again this year by The Survey Initiative, courtesy of Gary Cattermole. An encouraging number of sixty-six players have entered. Entrants will be sent further details, including information about check-in times, by 2nd April at the latest. The Championships take place at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall on Saturday 6th April and Sunday 7th April.

RESULTS

Knock-Out Cup

Semi-finals

Windsor Penguins 1 Walton C 5;

Nomads Bobcats 1 Windsor Hawks 5.

League 

Division One

Nomads Panthers 10 Nomads Lions 0;

Windsor Hawks 4 Nomads Lions 6.

Division Two

Brotherhood D 6 Brotherhood C 4;

Brotherhood B 4 Brotherhood C 6.

Division Three

Nomads Leopards 8 Nomads Ocelots 2;

Windsor Magpies 9 Nomads Lynx 1.

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