Newly-promoted Brotherhood B recorded their first success at the top level of local table tennis when they beat the old hands of Windsor Eagles 6-4 in Division One of the Clacton League

In a match where no-one stayed unbeaten, there were two each for Brotherhood’s Simon Smith-Daye, Sam Plummer and Joe Plummer.

Gary Cattermole’s two points for the Eagles included a tight 11-9 in the decider win against Smith-Daye, whilst he shared a narrow doubles win with Phil Smith, 11-7 in the decider, against Smith-Daye and Joe Plummer.

Title favourites Nomads Panthers defeated Walton C 8-2, with Greg Green unbeaten, and Gill Locke and Denes Somodi taking two each. For Walton, Pete Burrows beat Locke and Graham Buxton beat Somodi.

Three for Gary Young, two for Andy Vincent and one for John Barton saw second-placed Windsor Hawks to a 7-3 victory against Brotherhood A, Barton beating Siu Leung 2-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-9 in the closest match of the evening. Kevin Gowlett won a couple for the losers.

Dave Binns and Derek Willis took maximum points for Walton A in their 9-1 victory against Lawford, the two super-veterans combining to take the doubles 11-9 in the fifth against Charlie Denholm and Ian Sherwood. Denholm beat Andy Foster for the Lawford point.   

In Division Two, Windsor Buzzards defeated Windsor Kestrels 7-3. No-one stayed unbeaten, with Scott Campbell, Pete Bloomfield and Dave Martin all taking two for the victors. Kestrels’ skipper Graham Bunce took two points, with wins over Martin and Campbell, the latter an 11-9, 5-11, 14-12, 7-11, 14-12 victory, while his team-mate, Debra Found, enjoyed unexpected success against Bloomfield, winning in four.  

In another all-Windsor clash, three each for Paul Woolnough and Neil Chegwidden saw the Penguins home 6-4 against the Harriers. The only match which went to a decider was the doubles, Barry Allen and Isabel Barton getting past Woolnough and Chegwidden 14-12 in the fifth.

There were three for Kevin Pryor in Brotherhood E’s 6-4 win over Nomads Jaguars, Pryor also sharing a close doubles win with Fred Gallone, 11-13, 11-1, 12-10, 6-11, 13-11 against Tom Wilkin and Callum Hogg. Wilkin’s two for the Jaguars included a nail-biting 12-10 in the decider victory against Gallone in the final game of the evening.

Brotherhood C were 7-3 winners against a Nomads Tigers’ side fielding two reserves. Paul Metcalf, Mark Beckham and John Gallagher took two each for the winners and, in a tight doubles, Metcalf and Gallagher scraped past Dave Miller and reserve Alex Baldock 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 14-12. Miller took all three of the Tigers’ points.

In Division Three, the top two Brotherhood teams engaged in battle, the outcome ending with honours even. Tom Bryden and Lucy Carvell each won twice for the ‘F’ side, but an unbeaten Savindu De Silva recorded an excellent hat-trick for the ‘H’ team. However, it was a close 11-5 in the fifth for De Silva against Ruby Gallagher, and an even closer 16-14 in the fifth against Carvell. Harindu De Silva recorded an 11-7 in the fifth win over Gallagher but went down by the same score to Carvell.

Windsor Falcons won 7-3 against a Nomads Ocelots’ side fielding a guest player. But no-one could get the better of Nomads’ Arthur Wells-Garrett whose treble included an 11-8, 11-4, 13-15, 12-14, 11-6 victory against Nigel Rolph. Nikki Hayes and Matt Thomas took a point each for the Falcons, Thomas edging out Norman Jacobs 11-9 in the decider.   

John Smith-Daye, Gerry Widnell and Pam Cousins all won two as  Holland Hurricanes notched up their first win of the season, 7-3 against Holland Lancasters. Dave Wright stayed unbeaten for the Lancasters whilst his team-mate, Frank Wimpress, will feel unfortunate to have lost two close five-setters, 11-5 in the decider to Smith-Daye and 11-8 in the decider to Cousins.

There was a first success of the season also for Holland Vulcans who beat Holland Mosquitos 6-4. Derek Foxley’s three for the winners included an 11-7 in the fifth win over Brian Abram, whilst James Horsler took a couple and shared a doubles win with Mick Coker. For the Mosquitos, Brian Abram took two, and Tracey Abram and Chris Woods one each.

It was also 6-4 for the Bobcats against the Leopards in an all-Nomads clash. Matt Sage, Jack Riddleston and Sam Watling all won two for the winners, but none of them could beat Dominic Joannou, one of the most improved players in the League in recent seasons.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton A 9 Lawford 1;

Brotherhood B 6 Windsor Eagles 4;

Walton C 2 Nomads Panthers 8;

Windsor Hawks 7 Brotherhood A 3.

Division 2

Windsor Harriers 4 Windsor Penguins 6;

Nomads Tigers 3 Brotherhood C 7;

Windsor Buzzards 7 Windsor Kestrels 3;

Brotherhood E 6 Nomads Jaguars 4.

Division 3

Brotherhood H 5 Brotherhood F 5;

Holland Mosquitos 4 Holland Vulcans 6;

Windsor Falcons 7 Nomads Ocelots 3;

Holland Lancasters 3 Holland Hurricanes 7; Nomads Leopards 4 Nomads Bobcats

Report by Tony Oswick

• 

Neil Freeman fired two hat-tricks in four days – the second of which was in the top of the table clash between Buttsbury A and Hatfield Peverel A in division two.

Division 1

Chelmsford A remain at the top of division one following an emphatic 9-1 home win over Danbury C.  Both Josh Bickles and Harry Chivers fired trebles – both have won eight of their last nine league matches. Trevor Lloyd had the best night from a Danbury perspective, he took both Bickles and Aidan Lees to five games – with a win over the latter.  After a tough first appearance of the season in week three there were first hat-tricks for Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read as Writtle A turned on the style to beat Galleywood A 10-0. Galleywood’s Alistair Hill fought back from 2-0 down against Read only to lose out in the decider, the result sees Writtle move up to second and Galleywood remain sixth.  Yet another one-sided contest to wrap up division one this week as Danbury B beat bottom of the table Chelmsford B 9-1.  Sam Lowman, Ian Wall and Arron Chandler were undefeated in singles action though Chelmsford did ensure the Danbury team remained winless in doubles contests this season (0 wins from 4 games).  The victory sees Danbury B move from fifth position to third, six points behind Writtle A and 11 points behind leaders Chelmsford A.

Standings div 1: 1:  Chelmsford A 30 points (from 4 matches), 2: Writtle A 25 points (4 matches), 3: Danbury B 19 points (4 matches).

Division 2

Buttsbury A moved to the top of division two with a hard-fought 6-4 win over the leaders going into week four, Hatfield Peverel A. Neil Freeman was the star of the show winning all three of his individual matches though David Gatheral and Rob Burton won two apiece for Buttsbury with the duo also taking the doubles match 11-9 in the decider. Chelmsford C remain third in the table thanks to trebles from Simon Jarvis and Felix Reeve in their 8-2 home win over Danbury E. The match result could have been closer – there were two five-gamers in the contest which both went in favour of the hosts. Colin Napper made his first appearance of the season and he took player of the match honours in Maldon A’s 6-4 win over Danbury D.  Peter Chastin prevented Napper’s treble with Danbury’s Eamon Hall repeating last week’s comebacks with a victory over Lloyd Bennett-Smith having trailed 2-1.  Trevor Collin’s hat-trick wasn’t enough for Writtle B as they drew 5-5 with Danbury E. Collin earned his third win with victory over Neil Want who won two matches himself – Collin had trailed 2-1 but took the fifth 11-9. There was a first treble of the season for Ian Whiteside in Danbury F’s 7-3 home win over OCA B in a contest which saw four five-gamers and four four-gamers.  Whiteside fought-back from 2-1 down to beat David Porter who himself had won from a losing position when trailing Alan Scammell 2-0.

Standings div 2: 1:  Buttsbury A 28 points (from 4 matches), 2: Hatfield Peverel A 27 points (4 matches), 3: Chelmsford C 24 points (4 matches).

Division 3

Chelmsford D and Chelmsford E were joint leaders of division three going into week four but Chelmsford D’s 5-5 home draw with Buttsbury B resulted in them dropping to third place. After two successive hat-tricks, Buttsbury’s Harry Sawford won two games but experienced defeat for the first time this season – Sawford was one of Alex Tkachuk’s two victims.  There were no slip-ups for Chelmsford E as Kelvin Edeh and James Grimston won three matches apiece in an 8-2 win over Writtle E.  Edeh did well to hold his nerve against Malcolm Storey in a match which went the distance.  A second treble of the season for Cleon Fernandes wasn’t enough for his Chelmsford F side to get past a resolute Danbury H – Fernandes won a tight opener with Scott Perry over five games, Danbury’s Perry earned a double for the third time this season with teammate Gus Heath following last week’s treble with two more victories.  Neil Freeman took the honours as Hatfield Peverel B beat OCA C despite only fielding two players. Freeman dropped just two games in his three matches while teammate Gareth Davies played two five-gamers – winning and losing one.  A third treble of the season for Matthew Brown helped Writtle D to a 6-4 away win at Danbury G.  Denis Crapnell proved a difficult opponent for Brown to see off, the Writtle man only getting over the line in the fifth game after Crapnell had fought back from two games down.  Gary Copsey took his record to 11 wins from 12 this season as he led Galleywood C to a 7-3 home win over Danbury J.  Copsey’s closest match of the night was his opener with Peter Hance which went all the way.

Standings div 3: 1:  Chelmsford E 28 points (from 4 matches), 2: Writtle D 25 points (4 matches), 3: Chelmsford D 25 points (4 matches).

Division 4

An 8-2 home win was enough to see Hutton A move clear at the top of division four with Charlie Ware and David Thammadi winning three apiece.  The opening contest was the closest of the night with Chelmsford G’s Mark Nolan recovering from 2-1 down to beat Alex Ware – this was Ware’s first defeat of the season having pocketed three previous trebles. Maldon B slipped to second position in the league table following a 5-5 away draw with Buttsbury D.  Buttsbury’s Joshua Freeman won all three matches though was well tested by Brian Reidling who only went in the fifth by a 12-10 scoreline.  Lyndon Bubb won two on debut in division four but was beaten by Chris Ravenhill in three – Ravenhill has won 10 from 12 so far this season. There were three wins from Dave Marsh and two each for Richard Allen and Dave Oxley-Goody in Danbury K’s 7-3 win over Danbury L.  The scoreline may have been very different as the first three matches of the night went the distance with Oxley-Goody, Marsh and Allen coming out on top.  Lucy Elliott and Oscar Hutt won three games each as Buttsbury C won 8-2 at OCA D, and Steve Ireland hit a treble in Galleywood D’s 5-5 home draw with Danbury M.

Standings div 4: 1:  Hutton A 31 points (from 4 matches), 2: Maldon B 30 points (4 matches), 3: Buttsbury D 23 points (4 matches).

Division 5

A second successive hat-trick for Vivaan Babbar in a 7-3 win over Highpoint E elevated Buttsbury E to the top of division five.  Freya Hart and Torsten Greenan both won twice but tasted defeat at the hands of Martin Goddard, Babbar fought back from 2-0 down to beat Goddard in an entertaining-looking 12-14, 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9. There were first trebles of the season for Chelmsford H’s Shengbing Zhu and Peter Davenport in Chelmsford H’s 8-2 win at Maldon C while debutant Fin Fell fired a hat-trick as the two-player team of ARU fell 6-4 at home to Writtle F.  Another two-player team in action in division five this week was OCA E though the deadly duo of Stuart Wintle (three wins) and Matthew Porter (two) were able to make up for the disadvantage with a 6-4 home win against Hatfield Peverel E. Wintle needed five games to see off Peverel’s Alastair Brown.

Standings div 5: 1:  Buttsbury E 31 points (from 4 matches), 2: Writtle F 26 points (4 matches), 3: Hutton B 24 points (3 matches).

Chelmsford Junior League division 1A

The Hutton Hawks soared to the top of division 1A thanks to fine performances by Billy Andrews and Martis Heyes who went undefeated in a 5-0 away win at the Chelmsford Lions.  Both players needed five games to see off Amir Chetitah with Andrews getting the better of a 8-11, 15-13, 11-8, 11-13, 17-15 scoreline. Chetitah was on ‘double-duty’ and won twice as the Chelmsford Tigers beat the Hutton Harriers 4-1. Vicente Beco pushed Chetitah to five ends before William Guilloux joined Chetitah in recovering from 2-1 down to take the doubles.

Standings div 1A: 1:  Hutton Hawks 15 points (from 5 matches), 2: Buttsbury Bees 14 points (4 matches), 3: Chelmsford Tigers 9 points (3 matches).

Chelmsford Junior League division 1B

The Chelmsford Leopards remain top of junior division 1B despite having to concede their away game at Hutton Hyenas. The Chelmsford Jaguars remain in second place after a 3-2 home loss against the Buttsbury Bears.  Sean Kwan won twice for the hosts before Zac Berry and Ethan Ferris held off a Chelmsford fightback from 2-0 down in the doubles contest to take the all-important fifth..

Standings div 1B: 1:  Chelmsford Leopards 13 points (from 4 matches), 2: Chelmsford Jaguars 11 points (4 matches), 3: Hutton Hyenas 10 points (4 matches).

___________________________

Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

___________________________

It could be the year of the comeback in the Braintree Table Tennis League.

In addition to the already mentioned Dave Punt, Roy Hooper and Ian Rubens, other once familiar names have been appearing on scorecards.

It’s many years (decades, even) since Gary Copsey was a regular fixture in the league but he made his return in Liberal B’s ranks in their opening match at Rayne C.

It was a winning return too as he and teammates Alistair Hill and James Mullane all remained unbeaten in the 10-0 win that briefly took them to the top of the division one table.

It was necessarily brief as they did not have a match in the second week of the season and their place was taken by champions Rayne A, who racked up wins of 9-1 over Sudbury Nomads and 10-0 at Netts B.

Last season’s runners-up Netts A also started with a win, 7-3 over Black Notley B, but it’s Rayne B who are in second place in the embryonic table after a draw against Liberal A and an 8-2 win over Rayne C.

Oliver Hicks won five out of six.

Notley A also started with a win and a draw.

They beat Liberal C 6-4 and then drew with Nomads.

Chris Parr won five sets, beaten only by Nomads’ Aron Jordan.

The most eye-catching result of the first fortnight was Liberal C’s 6-4 win over their own A team.

And within that the most individual eye-catcher:  a win for Garry Fryatt over former men’s singles champion Brandon Crouchman.

Crouchman had not played competitively for a couple of months and, according to Liberal secretary Robin Armstrong, it showed.  But that should not take away from an excellent win by Fryatt, who stuck to his guns after losing the fourth end 11-4.

Sudbury Wanderers head division two after a 7-3 win over Notley C.

New signing Natalie Dodd earned a quick promotion from division three and showed she belonged at the higher level by remaining undefeated.

Rayne E also made it two out of two with a 6-4 win over Notley E.

They are joined in second place by their own D team who beat Notley F 8-2.

Yeldham Whitlocks A recovered from their first-week defeat by scoring their first success at this level, a 6-4 win over Netts C. 

After knocking the dust off in his first outing, Roy Hooper showed, as expected, that he will be a handful at this level by winning his three singles.

Sudbury’s C team, the Strollers, matched the Wanderers by winning their first two matches in division three, the latest a 6-4 victory over Notley G.

Richard Kemp, in division two last season, was untroubled and new signing David Hitchen also showed up well with two wins.

They are two points adrift of Finchingfield A, who followed their first-week 7-3 win by taking all ten against Notley H. 

Peter Clark, another returnee, was one of those unbeaten.

Yeldham B remain unbeaten, following their draw of the first week with a 9-1 win over Netts E.

It was Rayne G who featured the other comeback of the week.  Ted Sims returned after being out for some while and showed he’s still got what it takes by winning his three sets against Rayne H.

Report by Ron Fosker

This week saw the Cold Norton Club embark on a winning rampage in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League.   All 3 of their Division1 teams posted emphatic victories that leave the A Team in a clear lead at the head of the table.

Cold Norton A entered play this week without their talisman but still racked up a decent 7-3 victory over the hard-working Woodham C team.  Kevin Read was unbeaten for Cold Norton whilst Chris Hancox excelled for Woodham with victories over Matt Stringer and Steve Sawyer.  Sawyer was involved in the two most dramatic ties as he ousted David Penrose 11-7 in the first of his deciding sets, and then in the final match of the night, having squared the match up at 2-2 coming from 0-2 down, Sawyer and Graham Briggs went toe-to-toe all the way to 13-13 in the fifth leg before Briggs pulled his finger out and completed the task at hand for his sole point of the evening.   Cold Norton B hosted the current title holders Woodham A and will be delighted with their 6-4 victory.  The B Team trio of Eric Green, Ian Wall, and Sam Lowman all defeated Dan Piglet and Chris Penrose but none of them were able to master the modern defensive play of Woodham starlet Lee McHugh.  McHugh notched a very notable hat-trick of singles and paired up with Penrose for the Brucie Bonus doubles point.  Wall provided the most trouble for McHugh, taking the Woodham player to a close deciding leg.  Cold Norton C were boosted by the presence of Sam Lowman in their ranks and he did not disappoint in their clash with Woodham B.  Both Lowman and Arron Chandler won all their singles with the only blip being some dogged resistance from Woodham’s Eamonn Hall in his 5-setter with Chandler.  Lowman and Tim Cramphorn won the doubles, but Cramphorn couldn’t find his singles form as he lost out to all the Woodham trio for a final score of 7-3 to Cold Norton.

But what about the high-flying Cold Norton D team I hear you ask?  Have they completed a clean sweep for the Nortonites?  Well frankly, ‘no’ – they let the side down and have been severely admonished by their patron.  Cold Norton D visited Woodham D this week buoyed by the results of the Clubmates and hoping to claim top spot in Division 2, but alas they were undone by the youth and vigour of Woodham.  Peter Harverson was the star turn for Woodham with 3 comfortable victories.  He was ably wingmanned by Scott Perry and Jeremy Griffin each with a brace of wins.  Perry fell to the blistering hitting of Dave Hancox, and Griffin was outgunned by Terry Hyland.  Hyland and Hancox combined for a surprisingly easy doubles point to bring their score up in the 7-3 loss.  This reverse sees Woodham leapfrog Cold Norton into the runner-up spot, and they seem likely to be there or thereabouts come the reckoning hour.  Elsewhere in the Division, Mapledene C posted their first win of the season with a Tony Ayliffe inspired 6-4 triumph over Blackwater A.  Ayliffe was unbeaten across all formats all evening and was barely troubled in doing so.  Mapledene’s Mike Johnston got his money’s worth as he played out 3 five-setters in his singles with just a solitary point for his sweat and troubles – an 11-5 deciding leg victory over Neil Freeman.  Denis Balic was the most effective Blackwaterite with points taken from Johnston and Lin Roff.  Blackwater B have been a bit of a surprise package so far, and this week unleashed their fury onto Stow Maries C.  Blackwater’s Simon Quelch was the dominant force as he took a singles hat-trick with his usual intelligent play, and partnered Gary Smith for the extra doubles point in their 6-4 win.  For Stow Tim Huxtable and Pete Layzell both won 2 matches.  It was no barrel of laughs for Maldon B at Stow A this week as team stalwart Colin Barrell was unable to trouble the scorecard during his singles encounters.  However his team-mates came to the rescue as both Garry Eames and Steve Aspland were on good form to oust the challenges of Ken Sheard and Peter Chastin.  But neither of these protagonists could cope with the spinny play and array of serves emanating from the paddle of Ryan Pitt.  So the overall result came down to the doubles.  The unbeaten Pitt, stood aside for this one, could only watch in horror as the trusty Maldon pairing of Aspland and Barrell combined for the umpteenth time to win the doubles and secure the overall draw.

The Division 3 matches this week were all dominated by classy players.  Blackwater F and Woodham E played out a competitive stalemate that sees both teams record their first non-defeat of the season.  Woodham’s returning Allan Steel was a class above his opponents with an unbeaten evening, dropping just the single leg in the process.  Great to see the Man of Steel back at the table tennis arenas of the Burnham League.  With one old face returning it was also great to see the new face of young Oscar Wyman record his first 2 victories for Blackwater within the Burnham League – more to come from this young talent.  The star of the Maldon E V St Lawrence fixture was the wily Mike Burton with a hat-trick of singles victories including a 5 set comeback against John Leavett.  Dave Bateman chipped in with 2 two good wins to complete the St Lawrence points tally.  Leavett won his remaining singles matches and he and Kym Eames combined for the against-the-odds straight sets doubles victory over Burton and Bateman.  Blackwater C consolidated their position as league leaders with a powerful 8-2 winning margin over Club mates Blackwater D.  Mervyn Perriman and his pimple adorned bat ran riot against the 3 accomplished D team players, and he didn’t let up in the doubles as he and partner Neil Thompson completed an unblemished night for the Blackwater C luminary.  Thompson also kept a clean sheet of his own with 3 singles victories, although he was pushed to the limit by Jason Bush in a rollercoaster 5-setter. Chris Rolison completed the scoring for the C team with his single victory in another 5-setter against David Sage.

Pic 1 – Lee McHugh of Woodham A in fine defensive form

Pic 2 – Sam Lowman in action for Cold Norton B and C this week

Pic 3 – Arron Chandler securing his hat-trick for Cold Norton C against Woodham’s Harry Sawford

Pic 4 – Woodham D’s star player Peter Harverson.

Pic 5 – Black water C’s Mervyn Perriman at full stretch

Report by Eamonn Hall

Two Brotherhood sides of talented juniors are setting the pace in
Division Three of the Clacton League.
Brotherhood F were given their sternest test to date but emerged
with flying colours, beating Walton D 7-3. Joe Sherwin won three,
Tom Bryden two and Ruby Gallagher one. Sherwin had a nail-
biting 11-2, 11-5, 10-12, 4-11, 12-10 victory over Maggie Earle,
whilst Bryden edged out Lynette Sparks 11-6 in the fifth. In two
more close matches, Earle defeated Bryden 11-8 in the fifth and
Gallagher 11-9 in the fifth.
It’s been a good start also for Brotherhood H, 9-1 winners this
week against Holland Hurricanes. Owen Woollard and Savindu De
Silva were unbeaten, with Harindu De Silva winning twice.
Woollard had two tight wins, 11-8 in the fifth against Ian Gwillim
and an even closer 12-10 in the fifth against Pam Cousins. John
Smith-Daye picked up the Hurricanes’ point with an equally tight
11-9 in the fifth win against Harindu De Silva.
All six of these Brotherhood juniors, together with the ‘H’ team’s
fourth player Lucy Carvell, recently attended the Essex trials. All
played exceptionally well, with Ruby Gallagher and Lucy Carvell
subsequently chosen to play for the Essex third Junior Team.
Back in the League, and in a match of more mature players,
Andrew Cousins took his maximum in Nomads Ocelots’ 8-2
victory against Holland Mosquitos, Arthur Wells-Garrett and Hazel
Blanche each winning twice. Brian Abram took the two points for
the Mosquitos.
There was a hat-trick also for Dominic Joannou in Nomads
Leopards’ 7-3 victory over Holland Vulcans. Anne Bonney added a
couple and Mark Taylor one, whilst there were a couple for
Holland’s Derek Foxley.

And in a third victory for a Nomads’ side against a team from the
Holland Club, the Bobcats proved too good for the Lancasters,
winning 9-1. Matt Sage and Alex Baldock stayed unbeaten, with
Sam Watling winning two. Dave Wright took the Lancasters’
consolation point.
In Division One, Windsor Hawks fielded their top trio against
Brotherhood B and ran out 9-1 winners, Gary Young and Andy
Vincent taking trebles. Felipe Rodriguez won two but suffered
defeat at the hands of Joe Plummer. The Hawks took the doubles
in the only match which went the distance, Vincent and Rodriguez
winning 11-5 in the decider against Sam Plummer and Joe
Plummer.
Three for Gavin Price, which included an 11-6 in the fifth win
against Paul Meikle, and two for Kevin James, in his first
competitive match for ten months, saw Walton A home 7-3
against Walton B. All three of the ‘B’ team’s points were five-
setters, Mark Ratcliffe defeating James 11-8 in the fifth and Derek
Willis 11-6 in the fifth, whilst Jason Gale beat Willis 11-2 in the
fifth.
Brotherhood A got their season under way with a share of the
spoils against Walton C. Kevin Gowlett and Russell Hillier won two
each but no-one could get the better of Walton’s undefeated Pete
Burrows.
Phil Smith returned to form with a hat-trick for Windsor Eagles in
their 6-4 victory over Lawford. John Pattrick contributed two for
the winners, as did Glen Laing for Lawford.
In an all-Windsor clash in Division Two, the Kestrels will feel
pleased with their 6-4 result against the Penguins, Graham Bunce
winning three, and Peter Aumord and Jackie Bunce one each. Neil
Chegwidden and Paul Woolnough took two apiece for the
Penguins.
Brotherhood E recorded their second 7-3 win of the season, this
time over Windsor Magpies. Duncan Dunne and Fred Gallone
stayed unbeaten with Dave Sweetland, John Plummer and
Malcolm Caley picking up a point each for the losers.
The Brotherhood D v Nomads Tigers tie ended all-square, a
second drawn match for both teams. No-one stayed unbeaten,
Paul Alden and Mark Salter winning two each for Brotherhood, as
did Bob Jillins and new signing Brian Adams for the Tigers. But
the Tigers had to fight hard for the draw, winning the final three

matches of the evening, all five-setters, Zein Shafat beating Tricia
Salter 11-6 in the decider, Jillins beating Mark Salter 11-8 in the
decider, and Adams beating Alden, also 11-8 in the decider.
Finally, Nomads Jaguars were 6-4 winners against Brotherhood G,
every player picking up at least one point. But Jaguars’ skipper
Tom Wilkin took the limelight with a treble, with Callum Hogg and
Chris Petrou winning one each. Gary Simpson’s two for
Brotherhood included an 11-7 in the fifth win over Petrou, whilst
reserve Tom Bryden edged out Petrou 11-8 in the fifth and Dan
Grindrod beat Hogg 11-2 in the fifth.

• The Windsor Club’s Quiz Evening is on Saturday 16th November
  at the Brotherhood Hall. For more details or to enter a team,
  contact Jenny Higgins on 07790 240566.
  RESULTS
  Division 1
  Brotherhood A 5 Walton C 5;
  Windsor Eagles 6 Lawford 4;
  Brotherhood B 1 Windsor Hawks 9;
  Walton B 3 Walton A 7.
  Division 2
  Windsor Penguins 4 Windsor Kestrels 6;
  Brotherhood D 5 Nomads Tigers 5;
  Windsor Magpies 3 Brotherhood E 7;
  Nomads Jaguars 6 Brotherhood G 4.
  Division 3
  Holland Vulcans 3 Nomads Leopards 7;
  Walton D 3 Brotherhood F 7;
  Holland Hurricanes 1 Brotherhood H 9;
  Nomads Ocelots 8 Holland Mosquitos 2;
  Nomads Bobcats 9 Holland Lancasters 1.

There were three wins for Liam Squirrell and two for Reece Seddon on their return to Chelmsford & District League action after a five year absence. 

Division 1

Chelmsford A lead the way in division one with three wins from three fixtures and while Danbury A are just four points back it is Chelmsford’s week four opponents Danbury C, last year’s runners-up, who will no doubt provide their biggest test to date. Harry Chivers fired his second hat-trick of the season in Chelmsford A’s 6-4 away win at Danbury B.  Liam Squirrell and Reece Seddon were in action for Danbury C as they won a tight encounter with Writtle A 6-4. Squirrell won all three, dropping just one game, while Seddon’s only loss was at the hands of Kevin Read who claimed the nail-biting decider 16-14.  There was a treble for Eric Green in his first appearance of the season as his Danbury A side won 8-2 at Galleywood A.  Green’s toughest match was with Alistair Hill who had held a 2-1 lead before Green stormed through.

Division 2

Hatfield Peverel A lead the way in division two following an 8-2 home win against Galleywood B.  Martin Archie fired his second treble of the season with two wins apiece for Julie Johnson and Alastair Piper – both players undone by Galleywood’s Mark Glenister.  Peverel’s toughest challenge may yet come from Buttsbury A who they face in Week 4 off the back of an 8-2 victory over Danbury F in week three.  Maldon A were without last week’s hat-trick hero Lloyd Bennett-Smith but Derek Balding made his first appearance of the season and took the player-of-the-match honours with three victories in Maldon’s 7-3 win at OCA B.  Hamish Innes and Dawn Baldry supported Balding with two wins apiece but both fell at the hands of Mick Richardson – Innes having led 2-1.

There was no Gary Ward for Writtle C but the three John’s – Webber, Gagg and Parodi claimed a 5-5 draw with Chelmsford C in his absence.  Webber fired his first treble of the season while teammate Gagg pulled off an eye-catching win over Felix Reeve.  The great Sanjay Saptarshi won all three of his matches as Danbury D beat Writtle B 7-3. In his first league match of the new season, Eamonn Hall backed Saptarshi up with two wins – losing out to Writtle’s Phil Smith who won two of his own.  Hall showed his never-say-die attitude by successfully overcoming a 0-2 deficit against both Trevor Collin and Trevor Carter.

Division 3

The only two unbeaten sides in division three – Writtle D and Buttsbury B – sit in third and fourth positions respectively as Chelmsford D lead the way followed by clubmates Chelmsford E. Andy Swales and Kelvin Edeh hit three wins apiece as the leaders Chelmsford E beat Hatfield Peverel B 9-1.  Having played in division five over the past few seasons, Edeh’s improvement is apparent and showed his recovery powers when trailing Paul Mulley 2-0. Matthew Brown hit his second treble of the season in Writtle D’s 8-2 demolition job of leaders Chelmsford D, Malcolm Henstock and Bob Garson both won twice for the hosts as Chelmsford’s Adi Kamma stood firm with wins against both opponents. Three wins for Grace Liu and two each for Caroline Cole and Frances Hutt saw Buttsbury B win 7-3 at Danbury J.  An inspired Gus Heath hat-trick helped Danbury H to a 6-4 away win at Galleywood C, Heath consigned Galleywood’s Gary Copsey to his first defeat of the season over five games. Denis Ballic was undefeated as Danbury G won 6-4 on the road at Writtle E. Ballic beat Dave Moles over five games after Moles had beaten Danbury’s Louis Gunn by the same 3-2 scoreline.

Division 4

Maldon B and Hutton A look to be the two outstanding teams in division four at the moment with both sides displaying a perfect three wins from three fixtures going into week four. Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill won three apiece as Maldon B beat Hatfield Peverel C 7-3 while Alex Ware fired his third hat-trick of the season in Hutton A’s 7-3 away win at Danbury K.  Mark Nolan was in action for the second time this season and promptly served up his second treble as Chelmsford G beat OCA D 6-4.  Peter Harverson won three with teammates John Manning and Roy Gandy winning two each in Danbury L’s 8-2 win over Danbury M.  M team’s Oliver Martin prevented Manning and Gandy winning three – Martin fought back from 2-0 down in both matches. Roger Patient and David Cockrell hit trebles in Highwood A’s 8-2 win over Galleywood D.  Highwood’s Keith Fitz-John’s two wins were both five-gamers but Galleywood’s Lewis Armstrong prevented his hat-trick.  Jenne Seibolt won all three as Buttsbury D beat clubmates Buttsbury C 7-3, Seibolt gave Oscar Hutt his only defeat of the night in a competitive 11-13, 13-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9 triumph.

Division 5

Hutton B sit proudly top of division five with three wins from three, Writtle F and Maldon C sit four points back while Buttsbury E could be serious challengers having won both of their fixtures. Hutton B’s are showing a strength in depth having used eight different players for their three victories – Peter Moxham won all three matches on his first appearance with two victories for Charlie Gould.  Galleywood E’s Steve Peacock fired his second treble of the season in Galleywood E’s 5-5 draw with Writtle F. Ron Tam won twice for Writtle though missed out in five at the hands of Peacock, Tam had earlier recovered from 2-0 down against Doug Blaber, Blaber staged a 0-2 recovery of his own against Michael Anthony in a close encounter which ended 12-14, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9. 

The Maldon C trio of James Raymond, Kym Eames and Arthur Shadforth won seven of their nine singles matches for the second time this season in their 8-2 away win at Anglia Ruskin University,  Shadforth scored the hat-trick this time for Maldon while teammate Raymond missed out on a treble of his own when falling 3-2 to Connor Casey. There were first trebles of the season for Bruce Wickham, Andy Whiley and Andy Simmons in Hatfield Peverel D’s 10-0 win against Hatfield Peverel F.

Chelmsford Junior League division 1A

The Buttsbury Bees are top of junior division 1A with three wins from four fixtures as Vivaan Babbar and Joshua Freeman won all of their singles matches against Hutton Hawks and Hutton Harriers.  Adhuna Das won twice for the Chelmsford Lions in their 3-2 home win over the Chelmsford Tigers, while Charlie Gould and Billy Andrews were unbeaten as the Hawks beat the Buttsbury Bats 5-0.

Chelmsford Junior League division 1B

The Chelmsford Leopards look like the dominant force at this early stage of junior league division 1B though they were unable to keep their run of 5-0 wins going as they beat the Hutton Hammers 3-2.  Sai Suresh of the Leopards took his record to six individual wins out of six so far this season though he had to recover from 2-1 down against Michael Bradshaw.  Another undefeated player this season is Zac Berry who took his tally of individual wins to four from four as the Buttsbury Bears beat the Hutton Hyenas 4-1.  Theo Rugg of the Hyenas earned a last gasp win against Shay Coughlan with a 12-10 scoreline in the decider.  The Chelmsford Jaguars dropped just two games in their 5-0 away win at the Buttsbury Bulldogs – Bernard and Damon Chow doing the damage this week. The Jaguars move into second position with two wins from two.

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Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Cold Norton A and Fambridge cling on the joint leadership of the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League despite both teams being held to feisty draws this week.  Cold Norton A were held by their own C team courtesy of an exceptional hat-trick of singles wins by Sam Lowman including taking the 100% unbeaten record off the league’s best player in Duncan Taylor.  Lowman took straight set victories over the A team’s Charles Sweeny and Rob Harris but needed all 5 sets to overcome the defensive prowess of Taylor.  Taylor and Sweeny won the remainder of their singles and combined for the doubles point to at least put a small pea-sized dent in Lowman’s skip home.  Fambridge made the short trip to Champions Manor Hall to face the current title holders Woodham A – and again we witnessed a pair of trios that would grace any Essex league match.   A feisty lengthy rollercoaster with plenty of bumps and twists this one as Woodham stormed to a 3-0 start, but then found them selves behind 5-4 going into the final loop.  Woodham’s Harry Chivers opened up against the wily John Poysden and after a tough 40 mins of play they found themselves at 9-9 deadlock in the fifth.  The youth of Chivers prevailed this time but the loss only spurred Poysden on to a better place as he was unbeaten from then on.  Lee McHugh beat Keith Adams in 4 sets and Chris Penrose saw off the returning Chris Ballard in straight sets.  Poysden used all his knowhow to hold on and eventually beat Penrose 11-9 in the fifth set and Adams atoned for his earlier loss with a 4 set triumph over Chivers.  The doubles was another lengthy and noisy affair with commentary aplenty from both pairs.  It was close all the way through and we again reached 9-9 in the deciding leg before Adams and Poysden saw off the challenge of Chivers and McHugh (-9,9,9,-6,9).  Buoyed by their doubles victory Adams and Poysden won the next 2 singles matches in straight sets to leave Chivers and Ballard to fight it out in the final match of the night.  Chivers set off at some pace and was quickly 2-0 up, but Ballard fought back bravely and played his way to a 2-2 stalemate.  The final leg was tight at the start but Chivers found his groove and dominated the finish of the match to secure his second win of the night and the draw for his team. A proper humdinger this one!  Across the arena in Woodham, Cold Norton B were racking up the points against Woodham B.  The points came consistently but the matches were tough going at times, so the scoreline of 8-2 to Cold Norton probably doesn’t sum up the closeness of some of the matches – as the match finished just before the A team’s marathon across the divide.  Eric Green knocked out a hat-trick on the night but was taken all the way to a fifth end by Woodham’s best player Daniel Patynski.  Patynski went on the take scalps off both Dan Anderson and Ian Wall for Woodham’s sole points of the encounter.  Wall edged past Eamonn Hall in 4 sets, and then showed great bouncebackability as he squeezed past Sanjay Saptarshi in 5 sets having been 0-2 down to the Woodham hotshot.  Anderson was frustrated by his opening loss to Patynski and channelled his aggression into his defensive work as he got past Hall and Saptarshi just dropping a single leg along the way.  

Maldon A are running rampant in Division 2.  This week they posted a 10-0 whitewash victory over the hapless Blackwater B crew.  With only 3 individual legs dropped all match by the Maldon trio, other than an early bath there was very little in the way for consolation for the Blackwater team.  Wins all round for Dawn Baldry, Hamish Innes, and Colin Napper.  Maldon B picked up their first win of the season as Steve Aspland found his form and recorded his first hat-trick of this campaign.  Having said this Aspland was a tad fortunate to come through against Stow’s Peter Chastin.  Aspland found himself 9-10 down in the deciding leg and word on the street was that he pulled out a lucky clipped edge to take the match to deuce before seeing out the match.  Chastin won his other two matches as did the lovable Dave Goody with two excellent victories over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames.  Stow A will be hoping to challenge Maldon A for the title this year and this week’s 8-2 win over Mapledene C will be seen as a good marker of their intent.  Fielding both Richard Storey and Gary Brignall would guarantee any team a significant number of points and neither disappointed as they went undefeated in both singles and doubles.  The ‘extra’ point came from Malcolm Storey with a hard earned triumph over Dave Woolmer.  In the final match of the week Woodham D travelled to Stow B and came way with  respectable 7-3 winning margin.  Two wins a piece for the Woodham trio of Scott Perry, Gus Heath, and Mal Henstock.  Perry’s 4 set victory over Peter Hance being the most note-worthy of the evening, with Hance winning his other singles on the night.

Division 3 has a distinct hint of sea salt as the Maldon D and C teams dominate the upper echelons.  Maldon C followed up their demolition of St Lawrence last week with a comprehensive victory over their own E team.  Marty Englander remains the star turn with his second hat-trick on the bounce, with team-mates Shirley Carroll and Ella Sach chipping in with 2 wins and a win respectively. For the E team John Leavett proved the toughest player with two wins to keep the rampant C team in check.  The Maldon D side had James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth to thank for their 6-4 win over St Lawrence A, as both players won all their singles albeit with a tough couple of 5 setters thrown in to keep it real.  Strangely the Raymond and Shadforth doubles act may need some work as they succumbed in straight sets to the wise and stoic pairing of Mikes Pratley and Burton.  Blackwater C were relentless and fastidious as they blew away their Club opponents from the F team.  Final score was 10-0, although the F team’s Andy Simmons almost pulled a victory out of the bag when he went 2-1 up against Keith Thompson but alas he ran out of steam and Thompson pulled through in 5 sets for his hat-trick to match those of team-mates Jacqui Treacy and Andrea Alleyne.  The other Blackwater derby saw the D and E teams play out a well contested draw.  Player of the night went to the D team’s Jason Bush who won all his singles but was not selected for the doubles which they lost and this cost them the overall victory – Club manager Erik Ten Hag was not available to explain that decision.  Deb Ginn won 2 of her singles as well as the doubles and the E team’s Thompson Twins, Keith and Vanessa, had ‘love on their side’ as they each added a point to their team’s total.  Poor Ron Tam of the D side played 19 out of a maximum 20 legs only to go home empty handed but pleased for the cardio workout he was given.

Pic 1 – Sam Lowman of Cold Norton C – star player of the week

Pic 2 – Harry Chivers versus John Poysden in the opening game of the match of the week

Pic 3 – Eric Green in hat-trick action for Cold Norton B this week

Pic 4 – The lovable Dave Goody this week with his eye-catching victory over Colin Barrell.

Pic 4 – Woodham D trio of Scott Perry, Gus Heath and Mal Henstock   

The Braintree Table Tennis League does not keep sophisticated computerised records but it’s hard to imagine there has ever been a team to match that put out by division three Rayne H in the first week of the league season. 

Between them Ian Rubens, Ernst Midl and Chris High have notched up 243 years. 

It was particularly pleasing to see Ian Rubens back in action after a four-year gap and at 88, he has surely set an individual record.

Nor has he forgotten how to play the game.  He was beaten by Netts E’s new signing David Montgomery but came out top in his other two singles.

 Midl and High followed suit with two wins to give Rayne H a 6-4 victory.

 Sudbury Strollers were the big winners in division three with a 9-1 win over a far from negligible Rayne G side. 

Natalie Dodd and George Berry were unbeaten while Rayne’s new signing Conrad Gomes avoided a nil return by beating Geoff Bradford. 

There were 7-3 wins for Netts F over Black Notley H and Finchingfield A over their own B team. 

In contrast with Rayne H, Netts F’s team were all under 17 and equipped themselves well against experienced opposition.  JJ Calisin was the pick of the bunch, the only one to beat Nigel Parmenter. 

At Finchingfield, it was the B team’s Stewart Grant who was unbeaten, including a victory over the returning Dave Punt. 

Yeldham Whitlocks’ new B team started with a draw against Notley I with three wins from Steve Willis. 

Division two produced some more clearcut results, 10-0 wins for Sudbury Wanderers over Rayne F and Notley F over Netts D, while Notley D had a 9-1 win over Yeldham A. 

The other two matches finished 6-4, Netts C against Notley E while Rayne E got the better of their own D team. 

Jamie Brooks was unbeaten for Notley E and Matthew Brown for Rayne E.