What an evening of sport we witnessed this week as the Burnham Table Tennis Championships came to a dramatic conclusion at Champions Manor Hall in South Woodham.  With 11 of the Championship events already decided over the preceding weekend it was down to the final 5 prestigious events.  7 extremely close encounters with such a variety of styles on show, with no straight sets victories and 4 of the matches going all the way to a deciding 5^th set.  The seeding committee had done an excellent job so far as barring the Veterans Final all the top seeds had made it through to the final stages – but would they successfully predict the winners, and if so would there be a need for future tournaments to establish who really are the best of the best?

The Mens singles semi-finals opened the show and in the first shock of the night top seed Duncan Taylor was eliminated by the excellent and patient Reece Seddon.  Taylor took the first cagey leg but then was unable to dominate the match from behind the table as Seddon controlled everything thrown at him and whipped in plenty of winners to upset the seedings apple cart.  Up next was second seed Keith Adams and he got off to an horrendous start as opponent Kevin Read quickly established a 2-0 lead with a series of rolling loops that Adams struggled to control.  Adams had a polite word with himself and came out seemingly much more focussed in leg 3.  This added steel cut out some of his lazier errors from the opening legs and he began to wear down the Read offence.  This pattern continued for the final 3 legs as Adams took control of the match and finished out 6,7,6 to secure his place in the Final.

And so to the first final of the evening – the Mixed Doubles featuring the two top seeded pairings of the holders Duncan Taylor & Andrea Alleyne, and the new kids on the block Lee McHugh & Lin Roff.  In a cagey opening both pairs took a leg each and then the fireworks happened as the 4 players started to open up with forehand and backhand smashes that created a much faster game.  In the third game it was nip and tuck all the way and despite McHugh & Roff having game point as McHugh hit several forehand winners, it was Taylor & Alleyne that eventually won out 13-11.  McHugh & Roff took control of the 4^th leg and had a mid-match 3 point cushion that should have seen them take the match to a concluding set.  Unfortunately for them a few errors crept in and the top seeds squared up and then had match point at 10-9, before McHugh & Roff had game point at 11-10.  3 points later and Taylor & Alleyne had retained their crown.  Worthy Champions.

Next up was the Veterans Singles Final (players over 40) and was featuring top seed Duncan Taylor and his doubles partner Kevin Read who was seeded 3 and had knocked out 2^nd seed Keith Adams in the semi-final.  This was a really strange match where the power switched from player to player several times.  Of course they know each other’s game inside out so we had lots of long technical rallies where each of the apex predators were just waiting to pounce on the slightest error.  The Ist leg saw Read leading all the way until crunch time when Taylor dragged his way back into contention and surprisingly took the first leg 11-9.  The rollercoaster 2^nd leg saw Read take an early 5-1 lead only to see Taylor switch back on and take it to game point at 10-9.  Taylor couldn’t kill the game and Read fought back to win out 13-11.  The dramatic 3^rd set saw Read collapse and Taylor storm into an 8-0 lead that anyone watching thought would be the start of the finish.  But oh no, Read fought back and it was time for the Taylor game to fall apart to such a state that Read got to match point at 10-9 and then finished off at 12-10 – a remarkable end of table tennis.  That loss seemed to empty the Taylor tank and spur on Read and the 4^th set was over pretty quickly with Read taking it 11-5 to secure the Keith Pitt Cup.

After a short interval we were back on court for the Ladies Singles Final (pictured above).  The two top seeds had emerged from the pack and were ready to do battle.  Top seed Dawn Baldry was looking a bit nervy but got off to a good start and was ahead throughout the first leg until at 9-8 down second seed Lin Roff won a string of points and took the Ist leg at the death.  The next two legs went one a-piece for Roff to take a 2-1 lead into the 4^th leg.  Roff stormed to an early lead giving herself a 5pt advantage that should have been enough to secure the title but Baldry kept going and was forcing some errors but still faced her first match point against at 9-10 down.  What should have been the crowning moment was delayed as Roff hit 3 errors on the bounce to take the game into a deciding set.  The 5^th set was a cagey affair as no-one opened up a lead and the players traded shots.  We got to 2-2 and 9-9 in the match with Roff serving to take back her title. The next point saw an exchange of smashes before Baldry hit a forehand cross court winner….  Well normally a ‘winner’ but Roff had taken up a perfect position and hit back using the pace created by Baldry’s smash to counterblock passed her flailing opponent.  Appreciative applause all round.  Roff took the final point to secure the Ladies Title.  What a battle it was.

Our penultimate final this year was the eagerly anticipated Mens Doubles Final featuring top seeds Kevin Read & Duncan Taylor taking on the challenge of second seeds Keith Adams & Lee McHugh.  All have featured so far so were warmed up nicely for this hotly contested war of attrition.  The first four sets came out at 2-2 and went in sequence per the face off positions.  Adams & McHugh were ahead both times but struggled to get anywhere near their opponents in the intervening matches which went 2 & 3.  So the final set and the score at the changing point were all important.  Adams & McHugh turned at 5-3, perhaps not as big a gap as they wanted but an excellent restart quickly pushed that up to 7-3 with McHugh blasting the last one passed Read.  After that it was a cagey pushy affair as Adams & McHugh maintained a lead 8-5, then 10-6, until at 10-8 Read pushed into the net for an Adams & McHugh inaugural victory.

And so to the main event – the Mens Singles Final 2023 betwixt Reece Seddon (pictured below) and Keith Adams – a match up that would grace any Essex Singles tournament final.  Boy this one did not disappoint with Adams edging a cagey opening set and then Seddon fighting back in an extraordinary second leg where he raced into a 6-0 lead with some aggressive and accurate loops and punchy backhands but was pegged back again and again by a defiant under the cosh Adams who saved 5 game points before succumbing at the 6^th attempt for a Seddon 14-12 leg.  Time for Seddon to push on you would think but that proved difficult as he found himself down 0-8 in very quick time and eventually lost out 1-11 to a very determined and more aggressive Adams – and even the 1 Seddon point came from an Adams foul serve! Time to regroup.  The 4^th leg had Seddon ahead all the way as he played much deeper and forced the tiring Adams, who was playing close to the table, into some uncharacteristic errors.  Seddon had 2 game points at 10-8 but it took until 12-10 to tie up the match at 2-2.  So into a final set of what had been an enthralling rollercoaster of a Final so far.  Adams started off the better establishing a 2 point lead early doors only for Seddon and his oh-so-accurate backhand to fight back and actually turn ends at 5-4 up.  After that Seddon was never behind although we did get to 7-7 but then he had 3 Championship points at 10-7 and secured the title at the second attempt for a 3-2 victory (-8,12,-1,10,8).  A truly excellent final, and a very worthy winner.

League Chairman and Tournament Organiser Alan Dadswell deserves great credit for all his efforts in putting together both the weekend tournament and the Finals Night.

• 

OCA C produced a strong performance in division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League to beat Galleywood B 8-2, a result that sees Galleywood B enter the relegation zone. OCA B’s top player Mick Richardson was joined by League Chairman David Porter in staying undefeated. It was a good night for David Porter who beat Mark Glenister (11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-9), Colin Blore (9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 13-11) and Will Goodchild (11-8, 11-7, 11-7). Leaders Galleywood A stay top and they beat Writtle C 8-2 after a hard-fought match where five games were decided deep in the fifth end. Peter Barrett and Gary Brignall were both undefeated. Whereas Peter Barrett scored three 3-0 wins Brignall had to dig deep. Very deep. He beat John Webber (10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9) and Gary Ward (9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10). Hatfield Peverel A also won 8-2. They overcame OCA B with Martin Archie leading the way a hat-trick. Archie had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Robbie Burton (7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 14-12).  Maldon A won twice. Hamish Innes was undefeated as they beat Danbury E 6-4 and he gave his team a winning start with a last gasp (9-11, 3-11, 14-12, 11-9, 12-10) victory over Dick Wyman. Maldon A did even better against Writtle B and won 8-2. Steve Whiteley and Lloyd Bennett-Smith both scored hat-tricks. Maldon again made a winning start and this time Steve Whiteley beat Matthew Brown (15-17, 12-14, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8) in a very well contested opening singles.

Team-work was the order of the day in division one where Danbury A produced a fine performance to beat Writtle A 7-3. Bruce Kettle, Chris Penrose and Babul McLeod all won twice although they all missed out against ace defender Duncan Taylor. The masterful Taylor completed his hat-trick by beating Chris Penrose (11-9, 11-6, 11-13, 12-10) in his third singles. It wasn’t Lee McHugh’s night and he lost his third singles of the evening after a real tussle against Bruce Kettle (5-11, 13-15, 11-9, 12-10, 8-11).

Further news involving Chelmsford’s leading players came from the Braintree Closed tournament where Danbury’s Paul Davison secured a Mens Singles / Veterans Singles double. OCA’s Paul Lucas was the beaten finalist on both occasions. Lee McHugh and Alistair Hill (another formed Chelmsford League regular) were the losing semi-finalists in the Mens Singles.  Consolation for Paul Lucas and Lee McHugh was found in the Mens Doubles where they were crowned Champions. Keith Martin and Victor Chan (again, both are very well known to Chelmsford League players) were runners-up.  

Danbury G stay second in division three with 106 points but Danbury K (100 points) have a game in hand. Both teams won this week. Danbury G (Ken Sheard, Robert Kneale and Alan Scammell) relied on team-work (two wins all round) as they beat Hatfield Peverel B 6-4. Robert Kneale did well to get the better of Neil Freeman (11-6, 11-4, 11-9). Danbury K went “one better” and they beat Danbury H 7-3. Denis Crapnell was undefeated whilst Danbury H’s Dave Meah notched up a roller-coaster (4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) success against Denis Balic. OCA D ran out 6-4 winners against Writtle D. Richard Baxter and Tom Barker were both undefeated. Richard Baxter’s win over Malcolm Henstock (6-11, 17-19, 11-7, 11-9, 13-11) looks to have been a real struggle.  It was “honours even” between Chelmsford E and Chelmsford F. Waseem Qureshi was undefeated for the F team and this included a surprisingly comfortable (11-5, 11-2, 11-8) victory over Aidan Lees. With a record of 88 % 2023 Chelmsford Under 15s Singles Champion Aidan Lees has enjoyed an otherwise superb season.    

Danbury L scored two emphatic wins in division four to restore their lead at the top of the table. Dave Goody, Rob Kneale and Dave Powell beat Danbury N 10-0 whilst Richard Allen replaced Rob Kneale as they repeated the feat against OCA F. They lead the way with 109 points although Buttsbury A (106 points) have a game in hand. Chelmsford G stay third and Harrison Hill (97 %  and counting) defeated Galleywood C 8-2. Harrison Hill beat Colin Blore, the best of the Galleywood players (11-7, 11-4, 11-9) as he was again undefeated. Galleywood’s Nathan Blore was unlucky to draw a blank. He lost (9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11) to Pavanaj Srinavasmurthy and (13-11, 11-6, 4-11, 3-11, 8-11) to Alesha Ellis-Austin. Chelmsford H beat Hatfield Peverel D 8-2. Cleon Fernandes and Felix Reeve were both undefeated. Five games were decided deep in the fifth end. Felix Reeve had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Deb Ginn (12-14, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8).

It wasn’t a good week for the top two teams in division five. Leaders Highwood B were held to a draw by third placed Danbury N. Roger Patient (94 %) held the Highwood team together although he had to work hard to get the better of Graham Naggs (8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6). Second placed Highwood A missed out 6-4 against Chelmsford J. With James Grimston beating Melanie Bonnett (7-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-4) in the opening singles Highwood B were always “chasing the game” and Grimston went on to complete his hat-trick. Jason Clark secured a vital (6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 14-12) victory over Keith Pallett.  Maldon C (Ross Wheeler, Marty Englander and Kym Eames) ran out 8-2 winners against Writtle F. Marty Englander was undefeated whilst Ron Tam won twice for the Writtle side.

Leaders Chelmsford Tigers made it six wins out of six (27 points out of 30) in junior division  2A by beating Chelmsford Lions 5-0. Pavanaj Srinavsamurthy and Harel Choo were both undefeated and they also beat Buttsbury Bees 5-0. Brothers Sami Osman and Omar Mohammad carried all before them on this occasion. Danbury Dragons beat the higher placed Buttsbury Bears 4-1. Oliver Martin won his two singles for the Dragons whilst Charlie Ware was on target for Buttsbury. He beat Oliver Ware (9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 15-13, 11-6).     

Buttsbury Bats scored their first win of the Season in junior division 2B. They beat Chelmsford Cougars 4-1 with Will Fullerton and Lewis Woods both playing their part.

Highwood B (Roger Patient, Dace Cockrell and Russell Downton) are through to the division five Knock Out Cup Final. They beat Buttsbury B 5-3 after a very hard-fought game. The deciding game was a real battle, and Roger Patient defeated Ben Brown (11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 9-11, 13-11). What a deciding game. A battle worthy of deciding any Knock Out Cup Semi-Final.

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Essex Vets 1^st team have gained promotion from Division 1 of the County Championships and will be going toe to toe with the Country’s best players in the Premier Division next season. The key game, last Saturday came as they defeated second placed Berkshire 6-4 and having won all of their previous games it clinched promotion meaning that the second game that day v Suffolk was a dead rubber. However just to ensure the season finished with a nice round 0 in the defeats column, Essex also took that match 6-4 for a 100% record for the season.

At the heart of the success this season have been 4 Southend based players and none more so than former international Wanda Lityńska-Sydorenko who went the whole campaign without losing any singles or mixed doubles. With this a strong base for the team to work from there were also strong performances from the rest of the team which were for the majority of the matches were Matt Spero, team captain Duncan Taylor and Zayd Mauthoor (all pictured below). For two of the season’s games the squad was added to by Andy Cunningham who plays for Hockley and Clive Carthy from the Fusion club in London.

The full results from the season were:

Essex 9 v Norfolk 1

Essex 7 v Middlesex 3

Essex 7 v Kent 3

Essex 8 v Surrey 2

Buckinghamshire 2 v Essex 8

Essex 6 v Berkshire 4

Suffolk 4 v Essex 6

The team look forward to life in the Premier Division next season.

It has been a very busy week for Writtle’s prolific Duncan Taylor who played a major part in Writtle’s 5-4 win over Chelmsford A in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Open Knock Out Cup Semi-Final; as well as taking part in the Burnham League Finals Night, and best of all, being an integral part of the Essex Veterans first team who have won promotion to the Table Tennis England Premier division of the County Championships.

Writtle’s 5-4 win over Chelmsford A was very much “Taylor-inspired” and he surged to victories over Harry Chivers (3-1) and Saul Chivers (3-0); revenge for the superb win that Saul recorded over him in the Chelmsford Closed Championships. Taylor paired with Lee McHugh had kept Writtle in the hunt with a last gasp (5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10) victory over Saul Chivers and Harry Chivers in the middle doubles. Lee McHugh played his part by defeating the free-flowing James Donald (8-11, 15-13, 11-4, 10-12, 11-8) although he had missed out to Saul Chivers (11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 8-11, 10-12). It all rested on the final doubles and Taylor / Ryan Pitt came through in four ends to beat Harry Chivers / James Donald (11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5) to secure a memorable victory.

Harrison Hill, the winner of three titles at the Burnham Championships – the Junior Boys Singles, Cadet Singles and the Dan Richardson Trophy led Chelmsford G to a 5-0 win over OCA E in the Division four Knock Out Cup Semi-Final. Hill powered his way to a (11-6, 11-6, 11-6) win over David Bishop whilst Alesha Ellis-Austin beat David Newman (10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 14-12) and Todd Martin played his part by beating Russell Hall (4-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 12-10).

Galleywood (represented on this occasion by James Hicks and Ben Page of Galleywood A and Mark Glenister from Galleywood B) are through to the Division two Knock Out Cup Final. They beat Writtle C 5-1. Galleywood won both doubles in five ends. James Hicks / Mark Glenister beat John Webber / John Parodi (10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6) to give them a hard-fought winning start and James Hicks / Ben Page defeated Gary Ward / John Webber (11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-2) to give them a 4-1 lead. Ben Page sealed the victory with a (11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9) win over John Parodi.

Danbury K (Mervyn Perriman, Denis Balic and Denis Crapnell) will face Danbury F in the Division three Knock Out Cup Final. Danbury K beat Danbury G 5-2. They won all five singles but slightly surprisingly lost both doubles. Ken Sheard / Dave Hancox had given Danbury G a winning start by beating Denis Balic / Denis Crapnell (11-7, 11-6, 11-3) in the first game.

The Handicap Knock Out Cup Final will feature Chelmsford G and Chelmsford F. Chelmsford G –  represented by Alesha Ellis-Austin (handicap of 41), Emile Guilloux (40) and Todd Martin (41) beat Chelmsford E 6-3. Alesha Ellis-Austin was undefeated. Her win over Vishnu Surendran (35) (25-23, 16-21, 21-19) was an example of where the handicapping worked “perfectly” whereas her (21-4, 21-5) victory over Dave Parker (55) was an example of where the handicapping system was awry. Chelmsford F – Alex Tkachuk (51), Cleon Fernandes (40) and Dion Fernandes (37) ran out 5-2 winners against Danbury B. Neil Want (67) gave Danbury B a winning start by beating Dion Fernandes (13-21,21-17, 21-19) but Cleon Fernandes and Alex Tkachuk stayed undefeated as Chelmsford F remained in charge.

Maldon have fought their way to the Ladies Knock Out Cup Final where they will face Chelmsford. Maldon beat Buttsbury 3-2, and it was 2023 Chelmsford Ladies Singles Champion Dawn Baldry who ensured they progressed. She beat Francis Hutt (11-6, 11-7, 11-4) and Caroline Cole (11-5, 11-6, 11-9) and she teamed up with Andrea Alleyne to win the deciding doubles (11-6, 11-9, 11-5).

In division two Danbury D closed the gap to the leaders Galleywood A to three points by beating OCA B 7-3. David Gatheral scored a superb hat-trick of wins but the usually impregnable Sanjay Saptarshi tasted defeat. He missed out to Kevin Worthington (2-11, 8-11, 7-11). Sanjay Saptarshi also had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Charles Yeung (9-11, 11-6, 12-14, 11-9, 12-10).  The respective playing records of Sanjay Saptarshi (94 %) and Charles Yeung (17%) illustrate just how well Charles played here.  

Division three leaders Danbury F were able to afford the luxury of leaving out their top player – Chris Buer against Danbury H and still winning 8-2. With a massive 33 point lead over Danbury G and a game in hand they are the 2023 Champions. Congratulations. Gus Heath (90 %) won his three singles beating Peter Hance (11-4, 11-4, 11-3), David Meah (5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7) and Dave Marsh (11-4, 11-7, 11-4). At the other end of the table Writtle E and Maldon B could not be separated. Malcolm Storey was unbeaten for Writtle and he had to work very hard for his hat-trick of wins. He beat Brian Riedling (11-8, 14-12, 14-16, 11-8), Dawn Baldry (6-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10) and Andrea Alleyne (9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7). Three good wins.  

Buttsbury Bears are tied in first place in Junior division 2A although they have played a game more than the leaders Chelmsford Tigers. Lucy Elliott won her two singles as they defeated Danbury Dragons 4-1. Lucy Elliott beat Oliver Ware (11-3, 11-9, 11-3) and Oliver Martin (8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6).  Chelmsford Lions also won 3-2. They beat Buttsbury Bears after Lucy Elliott had again won her two singles for the Buttsbury side. She beat Luka Ha (11-5, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9) and Paras Jinturkar (11-5, 11-7, 11-3).

Leaders Chelmsford Antelopes scored their fourth win of the Season in Junior division 2B by beating Buttsbury Bulldogs 3-2. Jayden Bandari was undefeated, beating Freya Hart (11-9, 11-8, 11-6) and Francesca Hart (11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6).

Chelmsford Leopards were 4-1 winners over Chelmsford Pumas in Junior division 2C. Ryan Peiris won his two singles, beating Bernard Chow (11-6, 11-6, 11-4) and Damon Chow (11-4, 11-5, 11-3). Damon Chow got the better of Sean Kwan (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 5-11, 12-10). Buttsbury Beavers in turn beat Chelmsford Leopards 5-0. Vivaan Babbar and Francesca Hart carried all before them although Ryan Peiris only just succumbed to Francesca, missing out (11-7, 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 9-11).

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Prem Div  After a break for the Annual Southend Championships, it was back to league action. With the top two teams only having two games left to play we can ‘stop the count’ and declare “Thorpe Bay A as the winners of this year’s Premier Division”. We will do an end of season report which will talk about this in more detail, but it only feels right to offer our congratulations now that it is mathematically impossible for Rawreth A to catch them.The reason that Thorpe Bay are in this position was the form of all of their players but in particular Paul Sayer who again his week recorded three wins against Brand Identity A, and John Poysden who before this week had not lost a single game in the division. That amazing record went this week as Poysden lost to the also in-form Simon Jacob. That Jacob win along with a win for Steve Muth over Mark Stones led to the 7-2 scoreline which took Thorpe Bay over the line for the title. Thorpe Bay B have now finished all of their fixtures and look like they will finish third, a big part of their success comes down to how well Kieran Skeggs is playing and he backed that up by winning all 6 games over the last two weeks against Rawreth C and Hadleigh Forum A in his side’s 7-2 and 9-0 wins. There was a rare win for Rayleigh Mill in week 25 as they beat Rawreth B 6-3. Peter Radford in good form with three wins over Arron Chandler, Peter Barrett and Norbert Fullerton, two wins for Colin Chatfield and a good win for Steve Maltby over Barrett. In the final match of week 25 there was a good win for Hockley A over Rawreth A including three wins for their talisman Andy Cunningham over Kevin Read, George Reeves and Zayd Mauthoor. Ian Wall chipped in with two wins and a single victory for Matt Stringer led  to the 6-3 win for the Plumberow School based side. Div 1. This week’s match between Hockley B and Brand Identity B may be pivotal for the final destination of the Division 1 title. Brand Identity only managed one success on the night with Jenny Harrison overcoming Tarun Goel. Maximums from Hockley’s POM Dan Patynski and Dave Colwill, together with two wins from Tarun, gave Hockley a surprisingly comfortable 8–1 victory. Having played one fixture less than the other teams at the top, the title looks to be in the bag for Hockley. Elsewhere, Lentern’s 8–1 away win at Rawreth E gave them the momentum to move up to second place and push Brand Identity B into third. However, the second, third and fourth-placed teams have all now played the same number of fixtures and are only separated by five points, so things can still change. Martin Archie was Lentern’s star and POM, although his colleague Ian Cranstone was also unbeaten. Gary Hartgrove got Rawreth’s consolation, overcoming Paul Sims. Fourth-placed Invicta A overcame visitors Mapledene 6 – 3 thanks to another Lee Marson hat trick. There were also two wins for Tony Ayliffe and one for Steve Marr. Steve Woodley felt unwell during his contest with Lee, so had to retire hurt, nonetheless, he was Mapledene’s best player taking two wins. Mike Johnston got their other one. A Harry Sawford maximum earned him the POM award in his Hockley C side’s 7–2 away win at Rawreth D. Ollie George and Brian Bissenden got two successes each for Hockley. The improving Jake Nelson and Noah Unstead each got one win for Rawreth. The fixture between Hadleigh Forum B and Canvey A unfortunately had to be postponed due to a fixture list clash. It will be rearranged for later in the month. Div 2  Not counting a walkover for Hadleigh Forum C against Rawreth F, two of the three games played this week also turned out to be 9-0 scorelines, Wakering and RESSC coming out on top against Stanford B and Selbourne respectively. The one match that didn’t finish 9-0 was Canvey B’s 6-3 triumph against Runnymede. A good all – round performance by the Islanders team of Terry Giddens, Des Duffield and Tony Westwell who all won two games, but couldn’t get the better of Tony Millward who completed a POTM performance getting all three points for Runnymede. No joy then for Tony’s teammates Barrie Edgar and Tina Hutchinson and it must have been an early night on Canvey as only two games went beyond three sets all night, and those two only went to four. This win pushes Canvey up to fourth in the table level on points with Runnymede but having played one game less. Wakering’s 9-0 win against Stanford could be said to be a little flattering as three matches went to five sets, Mark Downey missing out twice against Paul England and Andrew Deadman, and John Handscombe surrendering a two set lead also against Andrew. Zac England was the star performer on the night not dropping a set and Wakering’s win keeps them in third place in the league one point above Canvey. Remarkably, despite their lofty position, they have lost (8) more games than they have won (6) this season. Chris Crooks completed the Stanford team. RESSC against Selbourne pitted top against bottom but, unfortunately for Selbourne, the result was exactly as would have been predicted. Jenne Seibolt came closest to getting a point for Selbourne taking a two set lead against Ron Coutts 11-9 15-13, but a remarkable turn round saw Ron take the next three sets easily 11-5 11-6 11-4. Andy Roff managed an odd set against John Holland and Mike Worship but that was the closest they got against the champions elect. RESSC have just two games left to play to complete an impressive unbeaten season. Div 3  To start with, the result of a match that had to be abandoned a few weeks ago after one of the players was taken ill.  Canvey C hosted Invicta B and it was the away team who were 7-2 winners on the night.  Steve Lennox and Sarah Ball were both unbeaten for Invicta with Steve taking POM.  Mike Keeble picked up their other point.  Che Martin and Steve Parker with a win each for Canvey. In their scheduled match this week, Canvey C came up against the long-time league leaders Hockley D, who showed no mercy and romped to a 9-0 win.  Another POM performance here from the impressive Jeremy Giffin, backed up by his teammates Tony Molisso and John George who were also unbeaten, although John was pushed to a final set decider by both Stephen Parker and Ray Baker. Vaughan Chambers led the way for Stanford C as they recorded a 7-2 win over Hullbridge B and he was well supported by Randy Santiago and Mark Farley who both recorded 2 wins.  Max Mayo was the points winner for Hullbridge but it was a blank night for Oliver Milchard and Jeff Gritzman. Invicta B kept up their pursuit of Hockley D at the top of the table and, following a 9-0 win over the Rawreth Junior side, retain a mathematical chance of joining them on equal points come the seasons end.  Despite the one-sided scoreline, the standout performance of the night came from Leo Goodey who pushed the very experienced David Barnes all the way before finally losing 13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-13, 8-11. Hockley E were 7-2 winners over Hadleigh Forum D.  Ben Cook was in good form for Hockley, following up last week’s maximum with another unbeaten performance here.  There was also a brace each for Graham Gregory and Ellis Marley.  Forum’s points came courtesy of fifth set wins for Todd Barker and Jean Catley over Graham and Ellis respectively.

First faced second in division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League with both teams still evenly poised in the battle for the top honours. On the night Danbury D and Galleywood A could not be separated and a hotly contested match finished tied at 5-5. Galleywood raced into a 3-1 win with James Mullane doing well to beat David Gatheral (11-5, 11-9, 11-8). Danbury then won the next four games. Dan Piggott made his mark by beating James Mullane (11-7, 11-2, 12-10). Danbury looked to be in the driving seat but Galleywood excelled to win the last two games “at the death” in the fifth end. James Hicks fought back to beat David Gatheral, and to complete a memorable hat trick of wins (5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9). The last game was equally close and Gary Brignall gave it everything and he eventually defeated Chris Buer (9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 12-10, 12-10). Galleywood lead the way with 133 points with Danbury D on 123 points but with a game in hand. Two other games finished tied at 5-5. Nikita Tkachuk was undefeated as Chelmsford D drew with Danbury E. Tkachuk completed his trio of wins by beating Tony Forster (11-8, 11-2, 4-11, 11-9). Robbie Burton was unbeaten when OCA B and Chelmsford C drew. Burton beat Mark Allaway (16-18, 11-6, 11-4, 14-12) in a well contested last game of the evening. Gary Ward has been on good form these last few weeks. This was extended as he led Writtle C to a 7-3 win over Hatfield Peverel A. His trio of wins included five game successes against Julie Johnson (8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6) and Martin Archie (11-1, 14-16, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7). Maldon A (Colin Napper, Lloyd Bennet-Smith and Hamish Innes) all won two singles as they beat Galleywood B 7-3. John Holland was undefeated for Galleywood B. However, Galleywood B did not fare so well against Writtle B and they lost 7-3. Matthew Brown was unbeaten for Writtle B and he defeated John Holland (8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4).  

In contrast to division two, division one has been dominated by OCA A pretty much from the outset. This week a two player OCA A beat Danbury C 6-4. Paul Lucas won his three singles and this included a (11-4, 5-11, 11-6, 13-15, 15-13) win over Keith Adams. In another five setter Adams beat Mark Mulley (13-11, 10-12, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5). OCA A lead the way with 108 points from Chelmsford A (90 points) and they have two games in hand. Danbury A missed out 7-3 to Danbury B with Ian Wall and Sam Lowman both staying undefeated for Danbury B. Ian Wall beat Dave Richardson (8-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-5, 17-15) in the closest game of the night. A refreshingly young Chelmsford A powered to a 9-1 win over Writtle A. Saul Chivers and James Donald were both unbeaten whilst Kevin Read was the sole Writtle winner. He beat Harry Chivers (11-7, 14-16, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9). Chelmsford A offer real promise for the future.    

Danbury K are making a late run for second place in division three. They beat Chelmsford E 9-1 after Denis Balic and Denis Crapnell had carried all before them. They trail Danbury G by seven points but have a game in hand. Danbury G missed out 6-4 against Chelmsford F. Waseem Qureshi was unbeaten for Chelmsford F and he was well supported by Andy Swales, who won twice. Hatfield Peverel B came out on top against Writtle E, 6-4, winning four games in the fifth end. Neil Freeman won his three singles and this included a hard-fought (11-13, 12-10, 11-9, 3-11, 11-6) victory against Neil Thompson. Writtle D ran out 8-2 winners against a two player Maldon B. Malcolm Henstock won his two singles for Writtle whilst Brian Riedling was on target for the losers. He beat Peter Layzell (6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 14-12).

It was a very good week for division four leaders Buttsbury A who powered to a 10-0 win over Danbury M and an 8-2 victory against Hatfield Peverel C. Jamie Elliott was undefeated in both games although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Hatfield Peverel’s Connor Payne (11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 12-10). New signing Gary Carr (nine wins out of nine) was undefeated against Hatfield Peverel C. Hatfield Peverel D did well to draw against Galleywood C, who are well above them in the table. Colin Blore was undefeated for Galleywood whereas Neil Wood and Bob Hillis both won twice for Hatfield Peverel D. Bob Hillis completed an excellent evening’s work by beating Nathan Blore (12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6) in his third singles. OCA E were 7-3 winners against Chelmsford H. David Newman was undefeated and he gave his side a winning start by beating Vishnu Surendran (9-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9) in the first game.

In division five Highwood A were 8-2 winners against Anglia Ruskin University and they trail the leaders Highwood B by one point although Highwood B have played one more game. Melanie Bonnett and Keith Fitz-John both won their three singles. Douglas Bawuah pushed Melanie to five ends before falling away in the fifth end to lose (3-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11).  Highwood B were pushed harder to beat Chelmsford J 6-4. Roger Patient and David Cockrell both annexed hat-tricks. Dave Cockrell had to pull out all the stops to defeat James Grimston (8-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-7, 12-10). Fourth placed Buttsbury B scored an eye-catching 9-1 win over third placed Danbury N. Ben Brown (three wins), Oscar Hutt (three wins) and Lucy Elliott (two wins) all played their part in a resounding victory. Oscar Hutt pipped Steve Martin (7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 18-16). Quite a battle.  Danbury N won 6-4 and Graham Naggs was unbeaten in their victory against Hatfield Peverel E. Writtle F ran out 8-2 winners against Galleywood D. Paul Aarons and Ron Tam led the way with unbeaten returns.   Maldon C raced into a 4-0 lead against Hatfield Peverel F but Hatfield Peverel hit back and a well contested match finished tied at 5-5. Kym Eames and James Raymond both won twice for Maldon C whilst Jacqui Treacy and James Brooks both picked up two victories for the Hatfield Peverel side.             

Buttsbury Bees beat Chelmsford Lions 3-2 in Junior division 2A, good going as Luka Ha was undefeated for the Lions beating Charlie Ware (11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-1) and Torsten Greenan (12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7).

In Junior division 2B the leading two teams both won. Leaders Chelmsford Cougars were 4-1 winners against Danbury Griffins after Amir Chetitah had won his two singles 3-0. Second placed Chelmsford Antelopes beat Buttsbury Bats 5-0, with Ollie Jones and Noah Middleton carrying all before them.

Chelmsford Panthers were in charge against Chelmsford Pumas in Junior division 2C, winning 4-1 with Harry Tarpletts leading the way with two wins. Max Locke-Wheaton won once, a hard fought (8-11, 2-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9) success against Bernard Chow.

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Southend and District Premier League  Thorpe Bay A continued their relentless push to the Premier Title with a 7-2 win over their B side. Paul Sayer again winning all his and Paul Whatton & Mark Stones claiming a brace each. Kieran Skeggs & Keith Willett getting 1 each for the B’s. Rawreth Club sides B & C played each other in a close encounter with the C Team edging it 5-4. Eric Green & Babul McLeod getting 2 each and Bruce Kettle 1. For the B’s Keith Adams had another fine unbeaten night plus one for Norbert Fullerton. Hockley A had a sound 6-3 win over Rayleigh Mill, Ian Wall, Andy Cunningham and Sanjay Saptarshi getting a brace each, with your DRS having a good night! The final match this week saw Irons just lose out 5-4 to Hadleigh Forum A. Dave Bowles & Richard Brown taking 2 each for the losers, with  David Bassett and Neil Barker a pair each and 1 for Babul McLeod. It was good to see our President, Stuart Gibbs, playing in this match after a long spell of ill health. Whist Stuart didn’t win any, we all hope he is on the way to full fitness: his International career being admired by all. Div 1.  Brand Identity B got back into league action at home to Rawreth D. The stand-out match was the usually dependable Barrie Delf against young George Davis. Barrie clearly had problems with the youngster’s game and eventually succumbed 11 – 6 in the fifth set. However, the home side had another ace up their sleeve with Michael Grout. His hat trick won him the POM award. Barrie took two other wins and Jenny Harrison chipped in with another one in a 6 – 3 home victory. Jake Nelson did particularly well to overcome Jenny in five sets.In a match between two contenders for the top two places, Invicta A just edged it against visitors Hockley B. Daniel Patynski was yet again Hockley’s star with another unbeaten performance, but two wins each for the home side’s Steven Marr and Tony Ayliffe, and one win for Lee Marson, gave Invicta a 5 – 4 victory. Keith Abbott got Hockley’s other victory.Joerg Poeschus was Hockley C’s star at home to Hadleigh Forum B. His POM hat trick, with two wins each from David Chenery and Oliver George gave Hockley a 7 – 2 win. Paul Fawell and Anthon Ranjit-Singh each got one for Forum.A hat trick from Stanford Le Hope A’s Ian Sangster, was the foundation for his side’s 5 – 4 win away at Canvey A. Team mates Dave Hancox and Pat White got one win each. Ray Wilson and Peter Cray got Canvey’s points with two successes each.Mapledene beat Rawreth E 5 – 4, despite another maximum from the visitor’s Garry Hartgrove. Two wins each from Lin Roff and Dawn Baldry, and one from skipper Andy Seaman sealed it for Mapledene. Gary McCarthy got the visitor’s other win. Div 2  Only two games to report on this week, a convincing 6-3 win for promotion hopefuls Stanford B against Canvey B, and an even bigger 7-2 win for a regenerated Rawreth F side against Wakering. Stanford’s win against a two-man Canvey side keeps them in fifth place in the table albeit they are now just three points behind Canvey in fourth. Robert Salvage won both his games against Kevin Walsingham and Tony Westwell with John Handscombe adding a further point but there was no joy for Steve King this time. Tony and Kevin finished with a point each. Wakering slumped to their fourth defeat on the trot against Rawreth F and, whilst still third in the table, they are 10 points behind Hadleigh Forum C and a massive 25 points behind leaders RESSC. There’s no doubt that when Rawreth put a team out it’s always a strong one and so it proved this time as Simon Neale chalked up a hat trick with strong support from Jan Thorpe and Caroline Cole who both got two wins. Paul England did well to record his two victories against Jan and Caroline and was almost joined on the scoresheet by Andrew Deadman who went down in five sets to Caroline. With four games in hand on most of the teams above them, Rawreth could be looking at a comfortable mid table finish by the end of the season. Div 3 To begin with, three results from matches played in earlier weeks. Rawreth G were in action in a match rearranged from last December, but their young side were no match for the experienced campaigners from Stanford C.  Stanford’s trio of Peter Moxham, Mark Farley and Vaughan Chambers took care of business with minimum fuss to record a 9-0 victory. In a match played earlier this month, Invicta C came up against the Rawreth G juniors and were 7-2 winners.  Trisha Winter and Keith Baxter were unbeaten on the night, with Trisha taking POM for her straight set’s maximum.  Jon Gould added another point with a win over Francesca Wilson but lost out to Aaron Price and Ellis Hartopp. Finally, another match involving Rawreth G and, unfortunately, another heavy defeat for them, this time at the hands of Canvey C.   Ellis Hartopp, with a win over Ruben Teixeira, was the only point scorer for Rawreth.   Both Che Martin and, POM, Trevor Hayes were unbeaten for Canvey who ran out 8-1 winners. As far as last week’s matches are concerned, Stanford C took on Canvey C, who were only able to field two players, and were convincing 8-1 winners.  Jack Diver’s maximum earned him a first POM award of the season.  He was well supported by skipper Mark Farley, who was also unbeaten, and Randy Santiago who notched up two wins.  Canvey’s sole point came from Ray Baker who beat Randy in a close 5-setter.The match between Hockley E and Invicta C was a much closer affair.  A first maximum of the season for Ben Cook plus two wins from Graham Gregory saw Hockley record a 5-4 victory, but it was a blank night for Alwine Jarvis.  Keith Baxter was the best player on the night for Invicta.  His two wins were backed up by a win each for Jonathan Gould and David Youngman.The League leaders, Hockley D go marching on.  Their latest win, 7-2 over MegaZone, puts them 20 points clear of their rivals and they will surely be crowned as Champions come the end of the season.  Once again, there were unbeaten performances from Jeremy Giffin and Tony Molisso, with Neil Klyman adding the extra point with a good win over Richard Kidd.  Jonathan Allen and Steve McQuillan were the points winners for MegaZone.

Southend and District Premier League  Brand Identity A started the week off, with a top class win against Hockley A, winning 9-0: Steve Muth, Simon Jacob and Richard Jackson doing the damage against Hockley’s Matt Stringer, Sanjay Saptarshi, and Tim Pang. Rawreth C came up against an inform Kevin Caldon for Irons, who ran out 6-3 victors. Kevin won his 3, with Richard Brown 2 and Dave Bowles 1, Bruce Kettle took 2 for Rawreth and Babul McLeod 1.Thorpe Bay B received a 9-0 walkover when Rawreth B were unable able to field a team. The final match saw Rawreth A win 6-3 against Rayleigh Mill with Kevin Read unbeaten, George Reeves and Zayd Mauthoor 1; the Millers had your DRS ! 2 and Peter Radford 1, gaining their points. Div 1  Brand Identity B overcame Stanford Le Hope A 8 -1 when they visited them this week. POM Barrie Delf was again unbeaten, as was his teammate, Adam Jackman. Closest contest of the night was the very first one, with Peter Weatherall unlucky to lose out to Adam 9 – 11 in the fifth set. Peter got the home side’s consolation by overcoming Mike Grout in the best of four sets.Hockley B kept up their challenge for the top with a 6 – 3 win over visitors Mapledene. Not for the first time this season, Dan Patynski was again POM with a hat trick. Dave Colwill won two and Stuart Adshead one. Mapledene’s side of Andy Seaman, Mike Johnson and Dawn Baldry each won one.Garry Hartgrove is having a good season and was again unbeaten in his Rawreth E’s 7 – 2 home win over Canvey A. Team mates Chris Aukett and Trevor Ward chipped in with two wins each. Peter Cray performed well for Canvey, taking both his side’s victories.The youngsters of Rawreth D were bolstered this week by the addition of the experienced Colin Barham to their side. However, the visiting Lentern team were too strong for them, taking the tie 6 – 3, with John Tendler winning all his games. Teammate Susan Body won two and Wayne Farmer one. George Davis was again the home team’s star, winning two. Colin got the better of Wayne for his side’s other success. Due to a fixture clash, the match between Hadleigh Forum B and Invicta A has had to be postponed for a later date. Div 2   The three teams at the bottom of the Division were all in action this week Selbourne, Rawreth F and Hullbridge A, but only Rawreth finished with a win to further ease their relegation fears. They now sit 13 points clear of bottom of the table Selbourne but just 3 points behind Hullbridge and with a massive 5 games in hand!Now seeming to have resolved their early season selection problems Rawreth F chalked up their fourth win on the trot by beating Runnymede 7-2. Hat tricks by Adi Kamma, Colin Barham and a single win from Jan Thorpe swept their opponents aside although Barrie Edgar and Tina Hutchinson shared a point each for Runnymede. Tina had to fight particularly hard against Jan even bizarrely suffering an 11/0 defeat in the fourth leg of their match before winning the decider 11/9! The only problem for Rawreth may be how they play their backlog of games before the season ends.Selbourne seem cut off at the bottom of the table and went down to another defeat 7-2 at Wakering. It wasn’t a straightforward win as four games went to five sets with honours split between the two sides. Zac England led the way for Wakering with a hat trick and he got good support from Paul England and Andy Deadman who both won two games. Jenne Seibolt won both points for Selbourne, both in five sets and coming back from 2-1 down also in both. Wakering move up to third in the table.Another 7-2 result as highfliers Hadleigh Forum C beat the young Hullbridge A side. Dave Thomas returned from injury to turn in a POTM performance, Graham Farmer also picked up a hat trick and there was a single win for Satwant Gill. Alexander Deacon, on his debut, and Jack Riley won a point each for Hullbridge. Hadleigh stay in second place behind RESSC whilst Hullbridge stay above Rawreth and Selbourne and are 6 points behind Stanford B. Div 3   A good team performance saw Invicta C record a 6-3 victory over MegaZone.  The trio of Keith Baxter, Brendan Raja and Trisha Winter won 2 games each with Keith taking the POM award.  For MegaZone, there were 2 wins for Amar Al-Soufi and a single win for Ro Brett who was making her first appearance of the season.A hat-trick from Canvey Cs Che Martin was the mainstay of his sides 6-3 win over Hockley E.  He was well supported by Ray Baker who added 2 wins and Reuben Teixeira who chipped in with another.  Barry Crawley was the best player on the night for Hockley with a brace to add to the single win from Keith Denyer.Invicta B recorded an emphatic 9-0 win over a struggling Hadleigh Forum D side.  David Barnes, Mike Keeble, and Steve Lennox were just too good on the night.  There was no lack of effort from the Forum players and Dean Johnson was unfortunate, losing in close 5-setters to both Steve and Mike.The match between Hullbridge B and Rawreth G did not go ahead due to a misunderstanding over the venue for the match.

It’s that time – final push for honours.

It’s that time in the Season when teams in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League take stock of how their Season is going. Is a final push for promotion required or is a slight but achievable improvement needed to avoid relegation ?.

Danbury C stay second in division one. They beat Danbury A 6-4, good going as the inform Chris Penrose was undefeated for Danbury A. Penrose downed the challenges of Paul Davison (11-6, 11-9, 11-6) and 2023 Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion Keith Adams (2-11, 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6). Danbury A fared better against Chelmsford B and they won 8-2. Bruce Kettle and Dave Richardson both bagged hat-tricks. Richardson fought back from 2-0 down to beat Simon Jarvis (9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-2).  Chelmsford A are third, and they beat Danbury B 8-2. Brothers Saul Chivers and Harry Chivers were both undefeated and they both defeated Sam Lowman.

Danbury D are second in division two and they beat Galleywood B 6-4. Sam Phillips won his three singles which gave them the edge. John Holland beat David Gatheral (11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4) for the losers. Danbury E were the week’s big winners, defeating a two-man OCA B 9-1. Dick Wyman and Tony Forster were both undefeated. Dick Wyman had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Bertie Makoli (5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10). Writtle C emerged as 6-4 winners of a close match against Chelmsford C. Gary Ward was undefeated and he fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Victor Chan (11-13, 13-15, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8). Writtle B defeated Maldon A 8-2. Richard Storey and Phil Smith carried all before them in what was a very impressive performance from Writtle B. Chelmsford D also won 8-2, beating OCA C, with Nikita Tkachuk winning his three singles. He saw off Mick Richardson,  who won twice for the Old Chelmsfordians team (6-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-6, 11-3).

Division three “Champions elect” Danbury F produced a superb performance to beat second placed Danbury G 10-0 (yes 10-0 !). Gus Heath, Steve Buer and Chris Buer were all unbeaten. They lead the table by 29 points and have a game in hand. Danbury F also beat Chelmsford E 9-1. Gus Heath and Chris Buer again carried all before them. Joachin Mapes was on target, beating Steve Buer (9-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4) in the last game of the evening. In a week where this division included some “big wins” Chelmsford F beat Writtle E 9-1. Waseem Qureshi and Alex Tkachuk were both undefeated. Neil Thompson was on target for Writtle E, beating Dusan Doszkoty (8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-5).  Danbury K also won 9-1, and they also overcame Writtle E. Denis Balic and Mervyn Perriman were both undefeated. Perriman managed to beat Malcolm Storey 3-0, but the scores speak for themselves (12-10, 11-9, 15-13). Writtle D emerged as 8-2 winners against Danbury H. Peter Layzell was undefeated for Writtle; just; he saw off John Robinson (11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 19-17, 11-5).  In a closer match OCA D beat Maldon B 7-3. Richard Baxter led the way with three wins. Brian Riedling responded with two wins for Maldon and he missed out narrowly against Richard Baxter (8-11, 11-13, 15-17). Second-placed Danbury G missed out 6-4 to their club-mates Danbury K. Denis Crapnell was on top form for Danbury K and he remained unbeaten. This included a (11-6, 3-11, 11-7, 11-6) win over Ken Sheard – the best of the Danbury G players.

Buttsbury A look to be the favourites in division four. They trail Chelmsford G by three points but they have three games in hand. Buttsbury A beat OCA F 8-2. Jamie Eliott won his three singles and he was well supported by Kevin Willis and Frances Hutt who both won twice. Frances Hutt beat Stuart Wintle (8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 13-11) in the closest game of the evening. Chelmsford G fell back losing 6-4 to third-placed Danbury L. Harrison Hill was unbeaten for the Chelmsford team and he avenged his first half defeat against Dave Powell (his only loss) in no uncertain terms. He powered home (11-4, 11-6, 11-5). Dave Goody did well to beat Alesha Ellis-Austin (8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 3-11,11-6). OCA E ran out 9-1 winners against Hatfield Peverel D. David Newman and Farooq Ahmed both won their three singles. Chris Rollinson replied for Hatfield Peverel D beating Russell Hall (8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9). Chelmsford H also won 9-1, an impressive result against the higher placed Hatfield Peverel C. Cleon Fernandes and Felix Reeve were both undefeated.

Maldon C were in action twice in division five. They came very close to securing a draw against leaders Highwood A, eventually losing 6-4. Roger Patient was undefeated for Highwood whilst Marty Englander and Kym Eames won twice for Maldon. Kym Eames beat Nicola Pippen (4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8). Maldon C also beat Galleywood D 7-3. Kym Eames won her three singles and she gave her side that all important winning start by beating Steve Peacock (12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8) in the opening game. James Grinston won his three singles as Chelmsford J beat Hatfield Peverel 6-4. Davina Brazier provided the sternest test, succumbing narrowly (2-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11).

Chelmsford Tigers made it four wins out of four in Junior division 2A. However, their  3-2 win over second placed Buttsbury Bears was a close one. Pav Srinvasmurthy beat both Lucy Elliott (9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-9) and Joseph Hutt (10-12, 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-5) to give the Tigers the ascendancy. Buttsbury Bears were in turn decisive 5-0 winners against Buttsbury Bees. Callum Walker and Lucy Elliott carried all before them.  Chelmsford Lions beat Danbury Dragons 3-2. No single player won twice and the Chelmsford duo of Luka Ha and Grace Liu and Danbury’s Alex Wilson all picked up wins.

Junior division 2B produced two 4-1 results. Buttsbury Bulldogs were in action on both occasions. Freya Hart won twice as they beat Buttsbury Bats. She had to dig deep to beat Noah Middleton (11-2, 15-13, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9). They also lost to the leaders Chelmsford Cougars for whom Atharv Srivastava and Joshua Freeman won all four singles.  Atharv Srivastava beat Francesca Hart (3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 13-11) in a very well contested opening encounter.    

Chelmsford Jaguars are the team to beat in Junior division 2C. Gil Martins and Paras Jinturkar ran out 5-0 winners against Chelmsford Leopards. Chelmsford Leopards did better against Chelmsford Panthers and lost narrowly 3-2. It all rested on the doubles and Harry Trefletts and Mark Locke-Wheaton beat Sean Kwan and Ryan Peiris (15-13, 11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 11-6). Buttsbury Beavers were 4-1 winners against Chelmsford Panthers. Thomas Hall was the stand-out performer and remained undefeated.        

Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

Southend and District Table Tennis League Annual Championships

Finals Night Thursday 2nd March at Plumberow Primary Academy, Hockley

the home of Hockley Table Tennis Club

Due to Covid the last championships were held in 2019 but they returned this year being played initially over the weekend of the 24^th – 26^th February at Rayleigh Leisure Centre. No less than 14 competitions were decided then but the major finals were held in a new venue this year at Hockley TTC.

The evening turned out to be a real family affair as life partners Matt Spero and Wanda Syderenko (both Rawreth TTC) appeared in every final of the night that they could do and won 5 out of the 6 titles on offer. Add to that Wanda had already won the Ladies Singles and Ladies Doubles at the weekend so the Mixed Doubles title gave her a personal hat trick. The only final that she lost, somewhat ironically, was the Vets Over 40’s final which she lost to Matt!

The only disappointment on the night for Matt was his loss in the Men’s Singles, the last match of the evening, to Duncan Taylor (Rayleigh Mill) who won in five sets. Bearing in mind that Matt had competed in every match previously over a period of some 2 ½ hours and played 28 sets, it may have explained how Duncan managed to come back from two sets down to win in five sets 2/11, 9/11, 11/6, 15/13,11/5. This was a classic match of attack versus defence with renowned defender Duncan eventually outlasting Matt in many exciting rallies.

Earlier in the evening Matt and Wanda started in style winning the Mixed Doubles against the young pairing of Liam Squirrell (Rawreth) and Evie Knaapen (Hullbridge) albeit in five sets with the youngsters coming back from two sets down before succumbing 11/8 in the decider. Prior to this final Evie had already enjoyed personal success winning the Division Two Restricted and Under 21 Div 2 and Div 3 titles at the weekend, and had lost to Wanda in the final of the Ladies Singles.

The Men’s Singles semi – finals had pitched Matt and Liam against each other in one while the second would have seen Duncan up against Steve Tilson (Rawreth) but unfortunately Steve had to withdraw due to injury. This turned out to be pretty one sided as Matt won 11/8 11/5 11/5.

The Men’s Doubles final saw Matt team up with club mate Zayd Mauthoor and they took on the established pairing of Duncan and Kevin Read (Rawreth). At one set all this match hinged on the third set and both sides had chances before Matt and Zayd nicked it 12/10 closing out the match in the fourth 11/6.

In one of the most intriguing and longest matches of the evening (34 minutes) the Over 40’s Vets final between Matt and Wanda saw Wanda ease into a two set lead before Matt edged the third 15/13 to keep himself in the game. This seemed to give Matt the extra boost that he needed taking the next two games 11/7 11/9 but there was a hug at the end of the game so no hard feelings!

Matt and Wanda came together again in the Vets Doubles final which saw them up against Duncan and Kevin. The first two sets were closely contested 12/10 11/13 but Matt and Wanda’s attacking play proved decisive in the next two sets which they won 11/7 11/5.

All in all it was a long but entertaining evening with some top class table tennis on display. Southend League Chairman Ken Field was on hand to address the formalities extending thanks to players and organisers, umpires and audience alike.

Results

Mixed Doubles

Matt Spero & Wanda Syderenko bt Liam Squirrell & Evie Knaapen

11/5 11/2 12/14 8/11 11/8

Men’s Doubles

Matt Spero & Zayd Mauthoor bt Duncan Taylor & Kevin Read

11/6 8/11 12/10 11/6

Vets Over 40’s Singles

Matt Spero bt Wanda Syderenko

9/11 8/11 15/13 11/7 11/9

Vets Doubles

Matt Spero & Wanda Syderenko bt Duncan Taylor & Kevin Read

12/10 11/13 11/7 11/5

Men’s Singles

Duncan Taylor bt Matt Spero

2/11 9/11 11/6 15/13 11/5