English League Cup Competition (ELCC)Report byMitchell Jones
On Saturday, 10th May, two teams proudly represented the Southend Table Tennis League in the English League Cup Competition (ELCC).
Southend 1 – Zone E (St Neots Table Tennis Club, Cambridge)
Mitch Jones and Liam Squirrell travelled to St Neots Table Tennis Club in Cambridge to represent Southend 1 in Zone E. Their first match was against the Bedford League, resulting in a narrow 3-2 defeat. However, they bounced back in the second match with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the highly regarded Wembley and Harrow League—widely considered one of the strongest leagues in the country.
A standout moment came when Liam defeated Sammy Kaye in straight sets, an impressive feat given Kaye’s ranking is 343 places above Liam. Wembley and Harrow went on to beat Bedford 4-1, leading to a countback scenario. Unfortunately, Wembley and Harrow edged ahead by just one game, meaning Southend 1 finished second in the group and narrowly missed qualification for the national finals.
Southend 2 – Zone B (Wensum Table Tennis Club, Norwich)
Ian Wall, Kieran Skeggs, and Arron Chandler represented Southend 2 in Zone B at the Wensum Table Tennis Club in Norwich. The opening match saw Norwich defeat Peterborough 5-0. Southend 2 then faced Peterborough, securing a 3-2 victory. In their final match against Norwich—last year’s ELCC champions—Southend 2 put up a strong fight but ultimately lost 5-0. As a result, Southend 2 also finished second in their group and did not qualify for the national finals.
Both teams displayed great skill and determination, and the Southend League can be proud of their strong performances against top-level competition.
While the well-established Netts A team won the division one title, it was two new teams that took the honours in the second and third divisions of the Braintree Table Tennis League.
Sudbury Wanderers, winners of division two, were in their third season in the league and division three winners Finchingfield A in only their second.
Both dominated their divisions. Wanderers were 40 points clear, while Finchingfield, the only team in the three divisions to win all their matches, were 29 points ahead.
Wanderers improved from third last year to first, having been promoted from division three in their first season.
The nucleus of their team has remained the same, the duo of Ian Shrubsole and Louise Hartshorn remaining with them throughout the three years.
Both improved their averages impressively this year, Shrubsole from 71 per cent to 81 and Hartshorn from 67 to 78.
They were backed up by new signings David Hitchen, 74 per cent, and Colin Moss, 72.
The race for second place was the closest in the league, only three points separating three teams.
In the end, Rayne E just sneaked home, one point ahead of Black Notley D.
Rarely can a team have relied so much on one player. Of Rayne E’s 123 points, Matthew Brown was responsible or half responsible for 77. He played in every match, won 59 singles and shared in 18 doubles wins.
In division three, Finchingfield split their resources after using ten players last season.
This time they added a B team and, more importantly to their title success, they signed on two highly experienced players for the new A team, Dave Punt, whose league experience goes back to the 1960s, and Peter Clark, who had been in the Netts C team that won division three in a canter three years ago.
:Punt and Clark were joined in the A team by John Barrett, who had won 24 of his 27 sets last season.
This time Barrett lost only twice, both to Sudbury Strollers mid-season signing Richard Fifield. Clark won 89 per cent, Punt 80 and Ray Bradford 61.
Strollers were heading comfortably for second place before Fifield joined their ranks but his 30 wins out of 30 cemented their position.
He was ably backed by George Berry, Peter Abbott, Geoff Barrett and Tim Matthews, giving the team a 19-point cushion over third-placed Notley G.
In the end they didn’t break any records but from very early on it was clear that Netts A were the strong favourites to regain their Braintree Table Tennis League title.
In their first 16 matches, they conceded only 12 sets, three of them when they were forced to field a reserve.
Had they kept that up they would have been the first team since Bocking in 1994 to concede fewer than one set per match.
They faded in the final run-in and doubled their tally over their last four matches but the title was heading their way long before that.
They relied largely on the same three players as last season, when they finished 19 points behind Rayne A, but with the important addition of Gary Young, undefeated in his 24 sets before going on to take the open singles title in the individual championships.
The core three also stepped up, each of them improving their averages. Paul Davison lost only one out of 49, compared with four last season, James Hicks went up from 75 per cent to 82 and Andy Holmes from 79 to 81.
They also didn’t need to call on reserves as often. Last season they used a reserve ten times, this season just four.
Rayne A, by comparison, failed to match the consistency that brought them the title last season and, crucially, did not have the back-up services of 2019 men’s singles champion Lee McHugh to call on.
The crunch came in the first meeting with Netts A, whose 9-1 win set the tone for the season.
The other success story was that of Sudbury Nomads, who jumped up four places to third in only their second season in the top division.
They were able to field their main line-up of Karl Baldwin, Aron Jordan and Ken Lewis more regularly than last season, with Jordan’s 75 per cent return from his 32 sets a major factor.
Baldwin can also reflect on a satisfactory season, jumping from 51 per cent to 62, while Lewis, now 76, showed that age has not yet wearied him, posting an average of 59.6, almost identical to last season.
Liberal C propped up the rest for the second season but they won four times compared with two last season and had the satisfaction of knowing that had the league been calculated on two or three points for a win, they would have avoided the bottom rung.
Mapledene A completed their final two league matches to secure third place in Division 1 of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Those games complete the schedule that sees Cold Norton B as champions and Fambridge as Runners-Up.
Mapledene A hosted stable mates Mapledene B in their first match and came away with an 8-2 victory courtesy of a Liam Squirrell 9-dart impeccable hat-trick and two wins a piece for Peter Barrett and Steve Muth. Squirrell maintained his impeccableness in the final match of the season when he treated Cold Norton C to another whitewash treble on the way to his team’s 9-1 victory, where Cold Norton’s only point cane from Kim Shead as he got the better of Evie Knappen. Knappen did well to fight off a cracking comeback from Tim Cramphorn to win in 5 sets to secure her two points on the night. Mapledene’s third player was George Reeves who was back to his best with a final fling hat-trick to see off the season in style.
The Peter Ballard Cup is awarded to the player with the best win average in Division 1 from the pool of regular players who have competed in more than 50% of their team’s league matches. This year’s race for the coveted award was largely a Mapledene A affair with Reece Seddon leading the way but watching his back to see how many matches the unbeaten Men’s Singles Champion Liam Squirrell could knock out before the end of the season. In the end Liam fell short by just one match and that left Reece as this year’s most valuable player and winner of the Peter Ballard Cup on an 87% win rate. Eric Green capped his amazing Burnham Season coming in second on 83% win rate to add to his Championship and Cup double with his Cold Norton B team.
Report by Eamonn Hall
Reece Seddon – Ballard D’Or championThe final Division 1 tableWin averages chart Top 10
Hadleigh B were 7/2 winners over Basildon D on the opening day of competition. Two singles wins each here for Colin Barham and Dave Woolmer with Ivan Arabadzhiev adding another win with a close fought 11-9 final set win over Alwine Jarvis. Michael Elemide was Basildon’s only singles winner with a victory over Ivan. Alwine and Michael picked up Basildon’s other point with a win in their doubles together.
Stanford C recorded a big 8/1 win over Hockley C whose only success on the night came from Perry Lazell with a 4-set win over Karen Kempster. Otherwise, it was all one-way traffic for Stanford with Randy Santiago and new recruit Mike Trendell putting in unbeaten performances.
Canvey B hosted Stanford B and it was the away side who left with a 6/3 win. The 6 singles games were shared but it was the doubles that made the difference with Stanford successful in all 3 games. Trevor Hayes’ 2 singles wins for Canvey was matched by Vaughan Chambers for Stanford.
Invicta B did not let the lack of a third player prevent them from getting the better of a youthful Matchpoint B side. Andrew St John and Mike Keeble won both their singles and then combined to win the doubles to give them a 5/4 win.
The experience of Runnymede’s Tony Millward proved to be the difference when his side took on Basildon C. Tony came out on top in both of his singles games and both his doubles with partners Steve Wisbey and Andrew Humphris, but 5 sets were needed for both games. Dave Walton won both his singles games for Basildon.
Week 2
Canvey C crossed the water for their match against Invicta B but were dispatched in double quick time. The home trio of Mike Keeble, Trish Winter and Brendan Raja were 9/0 winners, dropping just 2 sets on the way.
In contrast, it was a much closer affair as Hockley C entertained Runnymede. The away side left with a narrow 5/4 win but there were some tight games. None more so than the meeting of James Evesham and Andrew Humphris. This game swung in favour of one player and then the other before James got over the line at 11-9 in the fifth set. Both Ross Collins for Hockley and Steve Wisbey for Runnymede ended the night with 2 singles and a doubles win each.
Basildon C found themselves with only 2 players for their home match against Hadleigh B but managed to pick up 3 points. A singles win each for Basildon’s Steve Walters and Kieran Wood and a doubles win together saw them restrict their visitors to a 6/3 win, for whom Dave Woolmer won both his singles.
Basildon D proved to be good for Matchpoint B, with an 8/1 victory the outcome. Sam Morgan picked up the only point for Matchpoint with a win over Michael Elemide. Despite the convincing scoreline, it was not all plain sailing for Michael and teammates Ross Letham and Errol Anderson, with several games only decided in the fifth set.
The Stanford ‘derby’ was postponed as their venue was not available.
Week 3
Hadleigh B recorded their 3rd win and top the table, but their match with Hockley C was closely fought. It seemed at the start of the evening as if Hockley would only have two players, but Gary Beck was summoned from in front of the TV to come and play and he made big impact with 2 singles and a doubles win. Dave Woolmer was unbeaten in singles and doubles for Hadleigh, and a win for Ivan Arabadzhiev over George Clark ensured a 5/4 win for the hosts. Ben Brown won Hockley’s other point with a fifth set win over Sineh Ball.
A solid team performance saw Canvey B get the better of Invicta B, 6/3 being the end result. The Canvey trio of Tony Westwell, Kevin Walsingham and Des Duffield all contributed in both singles and doubles. For Invicta there was singes win each for Trish Winter and Andrew St John and the pair combined to win their doubles.
Basildon C also visited Canvey this week to play the hosts C team. For Basildon there was singles win each for Alwine Jarvis, Ross Letham and Anton Kudynuik and the 3 of them made a clean sweep of the doubles. Steve Kemp was the best on the night for Canvey, winning both his singles.
An experienced Basildon C side got the better of the Matchpoint B juniors but there were good wins for Zachary Samuels and Sam Morgan over Dave Walton and Steve Walters respectively. Kieran Wood was the leading light for Basildon, winning both his singles and doubles games. 7/2 the score here in Basildon’s favour.
Runnymede were grateful that Tony Millward was in their side when they took on Stanford C, as he won both his singles, and doubles alongside his teammates Steve Wisbey and Steve McQuillan. However, it was Stanford who were 5/4 winners with Mike Trendell leading the way with two singles wins and a doubles win with Randy Santiago. Randy also won a singles as did son Jake.
There were some huge wins in the summer league this week with Basildon A, Invicta A, Stanford A and Rawreth all crushing their opponents with ruthless efficiency.
Basildon A got the ball rolling with a 9-0 win against Matchpoint A conceding just one set all night. Les Hoey, Lee Marson and Garry Hartgrove were in impeccable form the only blip during the evening being Dan Stewart edging Hoey 14/12 in his four set defeat. Debbie O’Neil and Hannah Harbour made up the Matchpoint team. First game of the season for Basildon and the perfect start!
Invicta A had lost their opening match last week but bounced back against Canvey A with an impressive 8-1 win. Malcolm Henstock lost to Bob Skews for Canvey’s consolation point but otherwise he, Tony Ayliffe and Paul Sims were always in control against the Islanders. Closest game of the night turned out to be the last one as Sims and Henstock just edged out Skews and Jo Hills in five sets.
Hockley B fell foul of a Stanford A side led again by Mitchell Jones and suffered their second 9-0 defeat of the season. Jones didn’t concede a single set all night although Richard Kidd managed to get to 11/9 in the third set of their match. Rob Salvage won both his singles in four sets against Paul Strutt and Amar Al-Soufi and Adrian Armstrong won both his, but not before he found himself 2-0 down against Al-Soufi before convincingly winning the last three 11/1 11/5 11/4. Al-Soufi did pick up a slight injury in this match which may just have made the difference.
Rawreth A started their season with a convincing 8-1 victory against Hadleigh A. James Elliot was the player of the match winning all his games, closely followed by an unbeaten Russell Mills. The only blot on the copybook was Kim Shead’s defeat to Neal Barker in straight sets. There were some close games in this match but, overall, no game went beyond four sets.
The only match which didn’t turn out one sided was the clash between Basildon B and Hockley A. Despite losing the opening doubles Hockley just kept their noses in front leading 2-1, 4-2 and 5-3 before losing the final doubles of the evening. Despite the closeness of the match score the individual games were far from that all but two games going beyond three sets. Longest game was Stuart Adshead’s five set victory against Dawn Baldry and Adshead and Sanjay Saptarshi both won all their singles whilst Baldry and Peter Hilton both got the better of young William Evesham. The win keeps Hockley top having played three games.
Team of the Week – Basildon A
Player of the Week – Garry Hartgrove
Report by Paul Strutt
Mitchell Jones – Stanford A – last year’s Southend League Singles Champion
The Rayne club have captured two of the knockout cups in the Braintree Table Tennis League while a Netts team took home the handicap cup for the fourth year running.
With Adam Buxton out injured, Rayne A called on Mark Mulley for the first time this season and he, Paul Lucas and Maria Boulton made short work of Sudbury Nomads, dropping only one game in winning the final 5-0.
The hard work had been done in the semi-final, when they knocked out new league champions Netts A.
Buxton was able to play in this one and his wins over Andy Holmes and James Hicks were crucial.
Boulton beat Holmes and Lucas beat Hicks.
The doubles set involving those four players also went Rayne’s way.
Paul Davison was unbeaten for Netts but his two singles and doubles with Holmes were not enough.
In the other semi-final Nomads beat Rayne B 5-1. Aron Jordan won both his singles.
Rayne’s F team took the restricted cup, making it the fourth win in seven years for a Rayne team in that competition.
Scott Whiteside, who was in the E team that won the cup in 2023, joined his father Richard and Steve Buer in overcoming Netts C 5-2 in the final. Buer was unbeaten.
In the semi-final Rayne F had beaten Black Notley F by the same score with Buer again unbeaten while Netts C had eliminated their own D team, with Charles Calisin unbeaten.
Calisin was in the Netts C team that won the handicap cup last season. This time it was his brother JJ, playing for Netts F, who got his hands on the trophy.
Notley B found the double-figure handicaps (up to 21) too much to deal with and succumbed 5-1.
Calisin and James Howard were unbeaten while Alesha Ellis-Austin was responsible for Notley’s one win.
It was Netts’ third win in a row with a predominantly junior team, following Jack Dearsley and James Rissen last season and Dearsley and Charles Calisin the previous year.
In the semi-final Netts F denied division three champions Finchingfield A the chance of a league and cup double with another 5-1 win, with Calisin and Howard again unbeaten, while Notley B knocked out their own H team – but only after a tussle.
The win was secured by Luke Burridge’s win over Nigel Parmenter at 23-21 in the final game of the final set with the score standing at 4-4.
Experience overcame enthusiasm in the final of the Clacton League’s 2025 Handicap Knock-Out Cup, with top-flight Nomads Lions defeating Third Division Nomads Bobcats 5-1.
It capped an excellent season for the Lions, whose talented squad also finished the season as runners-up in Division One. But it was a second disappointment for the Bobcats, who’d been pipped at the post for the runners-up spot in Division Three by a single point.
On the night, Paul Hume, Ethan Lloyd and Adam Wilkin proved too proficient and too skilful for the less well-travelled Bobcats’ trio, Matt Sage and Alex Baldock only in their second season of League table tennis and Sam Watling in his first.
The Lions, facing a significant handicap difference in every match, showed all the necessary guile to negate the Bobcats’ points advantage, the match being played throughout as best-of-three sets using the new rule for matches where one player starts at -10.
However, the eventual 5-1 score-line belied a Cup Final of quality and competitiveness, the Bobcats playing their part in providing the goodly number of spectators with an entertaining evening’s table tennis and surprising many with their high standard of play, well above their Third Division status.
The opening doubles, as is often the case, started cautiously, with both teams probing for openings. And the Bobcats took heart, Baldock and Watling (+2), matching their opponents Lloyd and Wilkin (-13) point-for-point from 5-all to 9-all in the first set before the Lions took it 11-9.
But the Bobcats bounced back, with three unplayable Baldock smashes late in the second set seeing his side take it 11-8. And they cemented the victory by never being headed in the third set, leading 8-0 before the Lions’ pair retrieved their handicap, and staying in front to take match one 9-11, 11-8, 11-7.
The second match saw the last two winners of the League’s Handicap Singles in opposition, with current champion Paul Hume facing 2024 champion Matt Sage. Hume (-13) proved his success this year was no fluke, displaying a mesmeric consistency of return and leaving pen-holder Sage (+3) with little chance to show his true attacking form. Hume got back to parity at 7-all and 4-all in each set, winning 11-7, 11-6.
Two vastly-improved players in their respective Divisions, Alex Baldock with Adam Wilkin, were involved in a quality match three.
The aggressive Baldock (+2) was determined to use his handicap advantage to the full, finishing the first set with a superb backhand winner to take it 11-3. Wilkin (-13) got off to a flyer in the second set, taking the first seven points without reply and levelling at 4-all, before taking the set 11-8. And, despite a nervous start from both players in the third, Wilkin’s astute play and know-how allowed him to achieve parity at 7-all, and take set and match 3-11, 11-8, 11-7.
Most League players go through their whole table tennis career without ever appearing in a Cup Final but Sam Watling is one of the very few players to accomplish this in his first-ever League season.
It was natural he should start nervously in match four against the in-form Ethan Lloyd, winner of the 2025 Restricted Singles title at the recent Closed Championships. Lloyd (-13) took the first set with ease 11-4 but Watling (+2) grew into the game and gradually showed more of his true form. But he couldn’t stop Lloyd levelling at 7-all and, helped by an outrageous edge at 8-all, Lloyd took the match for the Lions 11-4, 11-9 to give his side a 3-1 interval lead.
The doubles after the break was a contest of excellent rallies, Hume and Wilkin (-13) coming back from 8-0 down against Sage and Watling (+3) to take the first set 11-9. But the Bobcats’ pair fought back resolutely and matched the Lions point-for-point in the second set, winning 11-0, their opponents failing to get their handicap back.
However, the third set proved different again, Hume and Wilkin taking nine consecutive points on their way to retrieving their handicap at 5-0, before edging their way to a hard-earned 11-9, 0-11, 11-7 victory.
So it was left to Bobcats’ captain Baldock (+3) to try to tame the irrepressible Hume (-17) in match six. Despite the handicap difference of twenty points being the largest of the evening, the two players put on a show which, as it transpired, was a fitting finale for the final, seeing some classic rallies with Baldock’s attacking forehands being returned from deep by Hume, almost as though it were an exhibition match.
But the imperious Hume was not to be denied and, despite an impressive performance from Baldock, Hume crucially got his handicap back at 4-0 in the final set, to take the match 11-9, 5-11, 11-5 and with it the Cup for the Lions.
Well done Nomads Lions, commiserations Nomads Bobcats, but credit to all six players for a marvellous evening’s table tennis.
Final results : (Nomads Bobcats players named first):
Match 1 : A Baldock/S Watling (+2) beat E Lloyd/A Wilkin (-13) 9-11, 11-8, 11-7;
Match 2 : M Sage (+3) lost to P Hume (-13) 7-11, 6-11;
Match 3 : A Baldock (+2) lost to A Wilkin (-11) 11-3, 8-11, 7-11;
Match 4 : S Watling (+2) lost to E Lloyd (-13) 4-11, 9-11;
Match 5 : M Sage/S Watling (+3) lost to P Hume/A Wilkin (-13) 9-11, 11-0, 7-11;
Match 6 : A Baldock (+3) lost to P Hume (-17) 9-11, 11-5, 5-11.
Trophies were also presented to the non-playing members of the respective squads who had contributed to the teams’ successful runs up to the final – Jason Lloyd, Adam Cuthbert and Martyn Green for the Lions, and Jack Riddleston for the Bobcats.
The final was well-supported by a loyal band of spectators, and competently umpired by Chris Petrou and Ferdy Rodriguez.
* And one final footnote. For the first time since 2008, when two Junior teams competed, there were no Veteran players appearing in the final. And whilst there are no records to support it, this is probably the first time ever (or first time for a very long time), when none of the players was either a Junior or Veteran. The oldest player on show was aged 32 and the youngest 23, and the average age of the six players 28 years. With players such as these, the future of table tennis in Clacton looks to be in safe hands.
Netts A surrendered their 100 per cent win record in the Braintree Table Tennis League but have regained the first division title, their third in four years.
In division three Finchingfield A became the first team in any division for 16 years to win all their matches.
While eyes turned to the individual championships for a couple of weeks, the final two weeks of league fixtures settled the destination of the trophies.
Netts A were held to a draw by last season’s champions Rayne A but wins over Black Notley A and Sudbury Nomads took them beyond reach.
New open singles champion Gary Young was to the fore in the clash between the top two. He won his three singles and partnered James Hicks to a doubles win.
Rayne’s wins came from Paul Lucas (2), Marian Boulton (2) and Oliver Hicks.
Netts’ win over Notley A may have looked routine at 9-1 but it was the one that got away that raised eyebrows, the first defeat of the season for Paul Davison, at the hands of Sean Clift, a player in his first season in the top division.
In division two, Rayne D became only the second team to prevent a Sudbury Wanderers win.
Three singles from Adi Kamma helped Rayne to a draw.
His win over Colin Moss is worthy of note, decided by two points in all five games: 9-11, 13-15, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9.
Notley D’s late surge up the table ended in disappointment when they could not raise a team to face Yeldham Whitlocks A and had to concede the match.
But in the end it was their own E team who denied them the runners-up medals. By restricting them to a 6-4 win, it meant they finished one point behind Rayne E, who ended with wins of 6-4 over Netts D and 9-1 over Notley F.
Finchingfield A’s title credentials have been obvious from the start in division three and they clinched the trophy with two matches to spare with a 6-4 win over their closest rivals Sudbury Strollers.
Richard Fyfield was unbeaten for Strollers, as he has been in all his 30 sets, but it was the team effort by John Barrett, Peter Clark and Dave Punt that preserved their 100 per cent record.
Easter week got off to a cracking start in the Southend Division 1 when Hockley A met Invicta A. Four games went the distance and one went to four sets but the match was decided on the results of the singles with Hockley winning four of the six on offer and, as a bonus, two out of the three doubles.
The first singles of the night set the tone as Hockley’s William Evesham took on Invicta’s Steve Marr with Evesham extending Marr to five sets before finally conceding 11/5 in the fifth and final set. An egg-cellent performance by young Evesham this, against seasoned campaigner Marr. Another five set match followed with Hockley’s Dave Colwill fighting back from 2-1 down to get the better of Paul Sims. Sanjay Saptarshi then stepped up to add another point to Hockley’s tally against Tony Ayliffe, and later adding a second singles win, also in straight sets, against Sims. Evesham picked up a singles win against Ayliffe but Colwill couldn’t repeat his win as he went down in another five set match against Marr. This left Hockley as 6-3 winners with their second successive win. No Easter eggs as a prize unfortunately just points!
Basildon B picked up their second win of the season beating Matchpoint A away 6-3. Andy Seaman was their star performer winning all his games and he was backed up by a singles win each from Peter Hilton and Tony Molisso. Hannah Harbour was the bright spot for Matchpoint beating Hilton and Molisso and combining with Sarah Ball to win their doubles against Hilton and Molisso coming back from 2-1 down.
Canvey A just lost their opening game of the season 5-4 but were able to bounce back when they played Hockley B running out 7-2 winners. No doubt about the player of the match, Andrew Murray brushed aside all before him baffling everyone with his variety of serves and he won all his games in straight sets except in one of the doubles which went to four. Canvey raced into a 5-0 lead before Hockley grabbed their first point when Paul Strutt got the better of Jo Hills in four close sets but they won another two before Strutt and Paul Ogden beat Hills and Lee Mcgonagle in five sets 11/6 6/11 10/12 11/8 8/11. Mcgonagle won both his singles against Strutt and Amar Al-Soufi and Hills also got the better of Ogden in straight sets.
