The young Chelmsford B side – 6-4 losers to Galleywood A the week before, redeemed themselves in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League by beating Danbury A 6-4. Saul Chivers, Harry Buckle and Charlie Craig all won twice although they all missed out against an inform Bruce Kettle. In a high class match the Chelmsford side acquitted themselves superbly. Charlie Craig defeated Dave Richardson 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8 and Saul Chivers sealed the win for his team with a 11-9, 3-11, 11-7, 5-11, 13-11 victory over Richardson. Chelmsford B enter the Christmas break in second place. Danbury A fared better against Danbury B and won 7-3. Dave Richardson led the way and his trio of wins included a fine 8-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 12-10 victory over Sam Lowman and a 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9 success against Dan Anderson.
The points were shared in division two, where Danbury D drew 5-5 with Danbury E. Chris Buer was unbeaten and he sealed the draw for his side with a 7-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8 victory against Neil Want. Steve Buer won an even closer encounter. He beat Dick Wyman 11-8, 18-20, 13-11, 4-11, 11-8. Quite a battle.
The division three match between Danbury K and Writtle D also finished tied at 5-5. Writtle D led 5-3 but Danbury K finished the stronger. Alan Dadswell beat Colin Barham 11-4, 11-1, 12-10 and Nick Reece-Ford completed his hat-trick by beating Dave Carter 13-11, 11-3, 11-6 to earn Danbury K a share of the points.
Maldon B did well to beat the higher placed Writtle E 6-4 in division four. Shirley Carrol excelled. She beat Neil Thompson (7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8), Ian Hockley (11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10) and Malcolm Storey (6-11, 17-15, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9).
Division five leaders Buttsbury missed out 7-3 against OCA F. Frances Hutt was undefeated but Harry Hutt and Oscar Hutt were unable to add to the title. David Bishop, Stuart Wintle and Suzanne Shaw all won twice for the old Chelmsfordians team.
The Chelmsford Junior Leagues aren’t quite finished yet and the teams have up to 14 January 2022 to complete their fixtures. Division 1A is finalised and Buttsbury Bees, the Champions beat Chelmsford Pumas 5-0. Jacob Lawrence (86 %) and Jamie Elliott (92 %) were both undefeated. Chelmsford Tigers emerged as 3-2 winners against Buttsbury Bats. Singles were shared and Aarav Mehta and Soumil Jain (Tigers) and George Hagland and George Standish (Bats) all won once.
Buttsbury Badgers lead the way in division 1B but this week they lost 3-2 to second placed Writtle Rattlesnakes. Harry Hutt (79 %) was undefeated for the Badgers despatching Archie Pummell (11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8) and Mimi Pummell (13-11, 11-7, 11-6). Buttsbury Badgers did better against Buttsbury Beavers and won 5-0. Harry Hutt and Joseph Hutt carried all before them. Chelmsford Jaguars did well to beat Chelmsford Beavers 3-2. Lotte Mills won twice, beating Joseph Hutt (11-5, 11-7, 11-5) and Oscar Hutt (13-11, 11-2, 11-7).
In division 1C – the Champions Chelmsford Antelopes scored their ninth win of the Season beating Buttsbury Bulldogs 5-0. Samaksh Sirohi (100 %) and Arnav Kumar (93 %) were both undefeated. Writtle Racoons won twice. Luv Goel picked up two wins in their 4-1 victory over Chelmsford Eagles. Atharv Gupta was on target for Chelmsford Eagles, beating Kush Goel (11-9, 11-7, 12-14, 11-4). Writtle Racoons also beat Chelmsford Falcons 4-1. Luv Goel again won twice, beating Kehsaw Barrie (11-3, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7) and Kologn Barrie (11-4, 11-3, 11-7).
The 2021/ 2 Chelmsford League Championships will be held over the weekend of Friday 28 to Sunday 30 January 2022 at St. John Payne’s Catholic School, Chelmsford, CM1 4BS. The closing date for entries is 02 January 2022 and the entry form can be found on the League’s Website.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all players
Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
There were two outstanding performances in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League this week. They came from players with contrasting levels of experience. Keith Adams, a regular in the Essex Veterans teams won his three singles as Danbury C lost 4-6 to runaway leaders Chelmsford A. Adams powered his way past Gary Young (11-6, 11-6, 11-8), Daniel Young (11-7, 11-5, 12-10) and Kim Shead (11-2, 11-3, 10-12, 11-4). Sam Phillips added a notable win as well. He defeated Gary Young (11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9). Bottom team Galleywood A secured their first win of the Season, 6-4, against Chelmsford B. Six games were decided in the fifth end and these were shared 3-3. 17 year-old Saul Chivers took centre stage on his first division debut. He beat Gary Brignall (11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-8), Steve Kerns (9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8) and James Hicks (8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6). Well played !. James Hicks had given the Galleywood side an excellent start by beating Josh Bickles (11-8, 12-14, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10). Galleywood A also drew 5-5 with Danbury C. This time Sam Phillips scored a superb 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 win over Peter Radford in his first singles but he was well beaten 3-0 by both Gary Brignall and James Hicks. Peter Radford redeemed himself with a fine 11-9, 14-12, 11-8 victory against Trevor Lloyd. Chelmsford C did well to beat the higher placed Writtle A 6-4. Duncan Taylor (93 % / 14 wins out of 15) was unbeaten for Writtle whilst Robert Shrimpton and Simon Jarvis both won twice for Chelmsford C.
Danbury G are the new leaders in division two. They take over from Chelmsford D who they beat 7-3. Sanjay Saptarshi (88 %) gave his side a superb start with a 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 win over Saul Chivers, who had played so well in the first division earlier in the week. Chelmsford D were on the back-foot and David Gatheral and Sanjay Saptarshi both recorded “maximums”. Gatheral defeated Vineeth Kamma (11-9, 11-8, 11-5), Saul Chivers (11-8, 11-5, 11-9) and Sudheep Kamma after a very hard fought encounter (11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 14-16, 11-8). An undefeated Eamon Hall took centre stage as Danbury G beat Danbury F 7-3 after no fewer than seven games had gone to a decider. Gordon Gatheral won twice for the losers and this included a very tight and against the form book win over his son – David (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8). OCA C jumped above OCA B after beating them 7-3. David Porter (with his first maximum of the Season) and Mick Richardson were both undefeated. Porter completed an excellent trio of wins with a 13-11, 6-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9 victory over Trevor Carter having also defeated Gareth Joice (12-10, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9) and Charles Yeung (11-5, 11-8 13-11). Writtle C powered to a 9-1 win over Danbury F. Gary Ward (95 %) who has been outstanding this Season again won his three singles whilst John Webber banked three wins and John Parodi won twice. Ken Sheard was the sole Danbury F winner on this occasion.
Galleywood B have reclaimed pole position in division three. Maldon A were without their three leading players against Chelmsford E and well beaten 9-1. Rev Matthews (three wins), Adi Kamma (three wins) and Dave Parker (two wins) ran amok. When Adi Kamma beat Brian Riedling 11-7, 10-12, 14-12, 8-11, 14-12 in the third game Maldon might well have had some inkling that it wasn’t going to be their night. Galleywood B meanwhile beat Danbury H 9-1. Mark Glenister and John Holland were both unbeaten whilst Colin Blore chipped in with two wins. Maldon A returned to winning ways by beating Danbury H 8-2. Hamish Innes won his three singles and this included a 11-6, 11-9, 11-1 win over Dave Powell, the best of the Danbury players. Dawn Baldry rounded off a strong Maldon performance by beating Dave Hancox 5-11, 11-7, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8. Hatfield Peverel B scored their second win of the Season – a 6-4 success against OCA D. Paul Mulley and Roger Slade both picked up three singles wins. Paul Mulley beat Connor Payne (11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 12-14, 11-8) in the closest game of the evening. Danbury J also won 6-4. Dave Marsh led them to a victory against Chelmsford F. Marsh was on top form, powering his way past Andy Swales (11-9, 11-1, 11-5), Alex Tkachuk (11-3, 11-7, 11-5) and Luke Richards (11-5, 11-7, 11-8).
Leaders Chelmsford H made it eight wins out of eight in division four. The records of Harry Chivers (100 %) and Joachin Mapes (92 %) speak for themselves and they were both undefeated in their 7-3 win over Galleywood C. Annabel Sweeney was desperately unlucky not to register a win, losing 10-12, 7-11, 13-11, 11-9, 10-12 to Ron Salton and 5-11, 8-11, 13-11, 9-11, 10-12 to Will Goodchild. Danbury L are Chelmsford H’s only credible challengers and they overpowered Highwood B 10-0. Mervyn Perriman, Denis Balic and Denis Crapnel gave nothing away. Danbury L were equally dominant against Highwood A and they again won 10-0. Mervyn Perriman had to work hard against Melanie Bonnett but he came through in five ends (11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6). OCA E scored their fourth win of the Season, beating Highwood B 8-2. Farooq Ahmed won his three singles for Old Chelmsfordians and he completed his hat-trick with a 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7 win over Roger Patient who had won twice for Highwood.
Danbury N scored their first win of the season in division five with an excellent 8-2 victory against Maldon C. Ron Tam and Steve Martin were both undefeated. Further up the table Hatfield Peverel E also won 8-2. Bob Hillis and Deb Ginn both stayed unbeaten. Deb Ginn beat John Wickins 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 to secure her “full-house”. Hatfield Peverel C jumped above Hatfield Peverel D into second place, by beating them 7-3. Richard Drozd and Andy Simmonds both bagged hat-tricks. In a closely fought division Buttsbury and Hatfield Peverel C both have 50 points, followed by Hatfield Peverel D on 49 points and Hatfield Peverel E on 47 points. Everything to play for.
There was a first win for Chelmsford Tigers and a first defeat for the Champions Buttsbury Bees in division 1A of the Junior League. Cleon Fernandes was the “catalyst” on this occasion. He marked his debut for this team with two wins. He toppled Jacob Lawrence (9-11, 16-14, 12-10, 11-6) and Ben Brown (9-11, 11-13, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6). Two very hard fought wins. Buttsbury Bees returned to winning ways against Buttsbury Bats. Their leading player – Jacob Lawrence won twice as they ran out 3-2 winners. Lawrence beat George Standish (11-9, 11-8, 11-3) and George Hagland (11-4, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7). Chelmsford Panthers ran out 4-1 winners against Buttsbury Bats. Richard Carter won twice, although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of George Hagland (11-9,7-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9). Second placed Chelmsford Leopards concluded their programme by beating Chelmsford Panthers 4-1. Cleon and Dion Fernandes took all four singles but they missed out in the doubles against Felix Reeve and Arnav Kumar (11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 6-11).
Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
Father and son Gordon and David Gatherall in league action, Danbury G v Danbury F. (left)
Sanjay Saptarshi (Danbury G) against Saul Chivers (Chelmsford D)
OCA A took a giant stride away from the relegation zone in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League by beating Chelmsford C 8-2, their first win of the Season. New signing Matthew Mulley and his equally hard-hitting brother Mark won their six singles and Robert Burton contributed a useful 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 win over Mark Allaway. Matthew Mulley was clearly on good form beating Simon Jarvis, Cristian Bernardo and Mark Allaway all 3-0. They now have a healthy 32 points. Writtle A moved into second place by beating Danbury A 6-4. Duncan Taylor was undefeated and Lee McHugh won twice, although he missed out 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 16-18 to Bruce Kettle. Chelmsford A with 55 points out of a possible 70 are heavy favourites to capture the title. James Liddiard (15 wins out of 15) and Gary Young (16 wins out of 18) led the way as they defeated Danbury B 9-1. Sam Lowman was on target for Danbury with a fine 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9 win over Daniel Young.
Chelmsford D are the new leaders in division two. Saul Chivers (three wins), Sudheep Kamma (two wins) and Vineeth Kamma (three wins) powered to a 9-1 victory over Writtle B. Peter Layzel beat Sudheep Kamma 2-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 whilst Saul Chivers had to dig deep to get the better of Trevor Collin 8-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-8. Hatfield Peverel A ran out 7-3 winners against a two- man Danbury D. Danbury’s Chris Buer impressed again, beating Martin Archie (11-9, 11-6, 11-8), Gareth Davies (11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8) and Neil Freeman (10-12, 11-4, 14-16, 11-4, 11-5). The match between Danbury E and Writtle C was a hard-fought affair which finished tied at 5-5. The inform Gary Ward (17 wins out of 18) was again undefeated and he fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Neil Want 5-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7.
Second placed Galleywood B were convincing 10-0 winners over Chelmsford F in division three. The very strong team of James Hicks, Gary Copsey and John Holland carried all before them. However, they will lose the services of James Hicks who is now tied to the Galleywood A team in division one. Writtle D scored their first win of the Season – an impressive 8-2 victory over Hatfield Peverel B. Dave Carter led the way with three victories which included a fine 14-12, 11-8, 11-4 win over Paul Mulley. It was “honours even” between Danbury J and Danbury K. Dave Marsh and David Meah both won twice for Danbury J whilst Nicky Reece Ford and Peter Hance both bagged two wins for Danbury K. Dave Marsh prevailed against Nicky Reece Ford, just, 5-11, 13-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9. OCA D did well to beat Chelmsford E 7-3. Richard Upson excelled. He defeated Adi Kamma (11-4, 8-11,11-7, 6-11, 11-3), Chris Young (11-7, 11-4, 12-10) and Joachin Mapes (11-6, 11-4, 11-9).
Division four produced three sets of clear-cut winners. Leaders Chelmsford H (Joachin Mapes, Nyree Marsh and Harry Chivers) powered their way past Maldon B 10-0. Nyree Marsh fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Shirley Carroll 6-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9. Writtle E were equally dominant. Ian Hockley, Dave Moles and Neil Thompson defeated OCA E 10-0. There were two close finishes and David Newman was on the wrong end of both of them. Neil Thompson beat Newman 11-8, 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 12-10 whilst Ian Hockley defeated the unfortunate David Newman 11-3, 11-6, 9-11, 11-13, 13-11. Chelmsford G (Adam Hill, Dusan Doszkoty and Vasile Barbulet) were 9-1 winners against Highwood A. Melanie Bonnett came through in five hard-fought ends against Adam Hill (12-10, 13-15, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8).
In contrast to division four division five produced four hard-fought matches. Buttsbury are top but they could only draw with Chelmsford J. Frances Hutt remained unbeaten and this included an odd looking 11-8, 1-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6 victory over Jacqui Smith. Hatfield Peverel E did well to beat Danbury M 7-3. Bob Hillis was unbeaten whilst Deb Ginn and Gary Simmons both won twice. Ken Wilding traded games with Deb Ginn before he claimed victory 11-8, 8-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-9. Hatfield Peverel C led by a Mick Carter “full-house” beat Maldon C 6-4. Kym Eames won twice for Maldon but Mick Carter proved a step too far. Carter won this one 11-3, 11-9, 11-7. Danbury N without a win to date did well to push OCA F before succumbing 6-4. Stuart Wintle was undefeated for the Old Boys whilst Bob Francis won twice. This included a quite bizarre looking 12-10, 16-14, 3-11, 2-11, 12-10 victory against Graham Naggs.
Buttsbury Bees made it seven wins out of seven in division 1A of the Junior League. Ben Brown and Jamie Elliott over powered Chelmsford Tigers 5-0. Chelmsford Pumas (Oliver Cheung and Todd Martin) ran out 4-1 winners against Chelmsford Panthers, and although they won all four singles they lost the doubles 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11 to Harrison Hill and Richard Carter. Chelmsford Leopards are second and they beat Chelmsford Pumas 4-1. Cleon Fernandes was unbeaten.
Chelmsford Antelopes demonstrated just how far ahead of the opposition they are indivision 1C. They beat second-placed Chelmsford Cougars 5-0. Richard Carter and Arnav Kumar gave nothing away although Carter was pushed by Joshua Lewis before he won 11-7, 11-13, 11-8, 12-10. Buttsbury Bulldogs moved into third place with their 5-0 win over Chelmsford Eagles. Callum Walker and Adhuna Das carried all before them.
League Cup Secretary – Matthew Brown has reported from the first round of Handicap Knock Out Cup matches. “The Cup competitions are underway. With 22 teams entered, representing seven Clubs, there were six first round matches. As always, determining handicaps is a tricky business, not least because juniors in particular improve very quickly, and mixed in with closely fought matches were some very one-sided games”.
“The tightest match of the round was Chelmsford H versus Writtle E, where the juniors of Chelmsford H – Harry and Saul Chivers plus Joachin Mapes, just got the better of Writtle E’s established trio of Dave Moles, Ian Hockley and Malcolm Storey. Five of the nine games went to a deciding set but it was Harry’s rather more straightforward 21-15, 21-14 win over Malcolm that decided the tie in Chelmsford’s favour”.
“Writtle were also on the wrong end of the results card when their B team of Ryan Pitt, Rod Maclennan and Phil Smith lost 6-3 to Danbury G’s trio of Sanjay Saptarshi, Luca Bailey and Eamonn Hall. Unfortunately for Writtle their captain, Rod, had to retire at match point in his first game (all the other five players insisted!). Despite this set back Writtle did their best to give the Danbury team a run for their money, with Phil winning his three matches but Ryan was unable to support him, most notably losing 15-21, 21-17, 16-21 to Luca”.
“Chelmsford E, led by Dave Parker and with Adi Kamma and Chris Young alongside him, ran out 5-3 winners over Danbury H’s Richard Allen, Jean Chasmer and Dave Goody. There were two deciding set wins for Jean over Adi (17-21, 21-14, 18-21) and Chris (21-19, 25-27, 14-21) but two wins from each of Adi and Chris plus Dave Parker’s 21-19, 24-22 win over Dave Goody was enough to see the Chelmsford team through”.
“The youngsters of Buttsbury B were run away 8-1 winners over the division one team of Chelmsford C. A last gasp 18-21, 21-18, 18-21 win for Vasile Barbulet over Jamie Elliott was Chelmsford’s sole return for a night trying to play “catch up”. Oscar Hutt, Jacob Lawrence and Jamie Elliott used their handicaps to their best advantage to easily hold off Vasile, Mark Allaway and Simon Jarvis”.
“Another top division team playing in the handicap cup were the all-star Chelmsford A team of James Liddiard, Daniel Young and Gary Young. They found themselves playing the division five side of Danbury N (Graham Naggs, David Smith and Steve Martin). The results speak for themselves, the handicappers misjudged Danbury’s David Smith, who is more often seen at Melbourne’s Bat & Chat sessions and who won his three matches with ease (only once allowing the opposition to get back to zero). The two matches that Chelmsford did win were, as you would expect, by the tightest of margins, with Gary Young defeating Steve Martin 6-21, 21-19, 21-19 and James Liddiard getting the better of Graham Naggs 11-21, 22-20, 22-20”.
“The last of the first-round matches involved a third division one team – Danbury B’s Dan Anderson, Eric Green and Sam Lowman who got the better of Buttsbury A’s Joseph Hutt, Gary Carr and Frances Hutt. The sole junior for Buttsbury – Joseph Hutt, did his job with two straight sets wins over Eric and Dan but with mum Frances unable to win any of her three games and Gary Carr losing 17-21 in the deciding game to Eric Green, it was the Danbury team who prevailed 5-3”.
Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
Chelmsford A scored two emphatic wins in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League, beating Danbury A (8-2) and Chelmsford B (10-0) and they look to be the favourites to take the title. Newcomer James Liddiard and Dan Young were undefeated in both matches whilst Gary Young (who only played against Chelmsford B) was undefeated in that match. For Chelmsford B who had won 10-0 themselves last week it might have appeared to have been a sobering experience but the Chelmsford B side actually acquitted themselves pretty well in defeat. Harry Buckle pushed Gary Young all the way before succumbing 9-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11 and he came similarly close against Daniel Young before missing out 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 3-11, 8-11. Josh Bickles took Daniel Young to five fluctuating ends before he lost 8-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-2, 4-11. Danbury A did well to beat Chelmsford C 7-3 in their second match. Dave Richardson scored an impressive hat-trick which included a 11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5 win over Simon Jarvis. Wiktor Delimat impressed for the Chelmsford team with his 11-6, 6-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7 victory over Babul McLeod.
One point separates the top four teams in division two and it is Danbury E (13 points) who lead the way after two games. Tony Forster, Dick Wyman and Tim Cramphorn all won twice in their 6-4 win over Writtle B. Dick Wyman set them on their way by beating Trevor Collin 12-10, 16-18, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9 in a well contested opening encounter. Gary Ward’s hat-trick gave Writtle C the edge as they beat Danbury D 6-4. Ward had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Chris Buer 11-9, 9-11, 5-11, 14-12, 16-14. Quite a battle. Danbury D were in turn 8-2 winners over OCs C. Steve Buer and Chris Buer were both undefeated on this occasion. Writtle C missed out 6-4 against Chelmsford D for whom Harry Chivers, Sudheeep Kamma and Saul Chivers all won twice. They all missed out against Gary Ward who secured his hat-trick with a 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10 win over Harry Chivers. It was team-work which enabled Hatfield Peverel A to beat Danbury G 6-4. Martin Archie, Neil Freeman and Gareth Davies all won twice to counter Sanjay Saptarshi’s three wins. Saptarshi fought back from a heavy first game defeat to beat Martin Archie 2-11, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 to seal his third win of the night.
Galleywood B lead the way in division three with 16 points. Mark Glenister, Gary Copsey and John Holland powered their way to a 10-0 win over Hatfield Peverel B. Maldon A led by an unbeaten Hamish Innes ran out 8-2 winners against Hatfield Peverel B. Gareth Davies won twice for the losers and this included a 11-4, 11-13, 11-9, 16-14 win over Brian Riedling. Danbury J were 6-4 winners against Writtle D. Dave Marsh’s hat-trick gave them the ascendancy. Malcolm Henstock pipped Dave Meah 5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 12-10 in the best game of the night. Writtle D were also on the wrong end of a 6-4 defeat against Chelmsford F. Andy Swales won his three singles for the Chelmsford side and Alex Tkachuk won twice. Danbury J impressed by beating OCs D 9-1. Dave Marsh, John Robinson and David Meah won all nine singles but drew a blank in the doubles on this occasion. Tom Barker and Ian Butler were surprisingly comfortable 11-9, 11-2, 11-4 winners against Dave Marsh and John Robinson. Danbury H ran out 6-4 winners against Chelmsford E. Dave Hancox’s three singles was the difference between the two teams. Hancox secured his third win by beating Dave Parker 12-10, 11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 11-5 in the last game of the night.
Second placed Maldon B (15 points) scored their second win of the Season in division four. Dawn Baldry was undefeated as they beat Highwood B 8-2 and she received good support from Brian Speller and Shirley Carroll who both won twice. Newcomer Roger Patient picked up two wins for the Highwood side. Danbury L ran out 7-3 winners against OCs E and they top the table with 16 points. Denis Crapnell led the way with three wins whilst Dave Goody and Kevin Willis both picked up two wins apiece. Farooq Ahmed won twice for the losers.
Hatfield Peverel C were the week’s big winners in division five. Richard Drozd and Mick Carter were both undefeated in their 9-1 win against Danbury H. Hatfield Peverel E did well to beat Maldon C 6-4, good going as Andrea Alleyne won her three singles for Maldon C. Andrea had to fight back from 2-0 down to get the better of the tenacious Alistair Brown 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8. Danbury M were 6-4 winners against OCs F who paid the price for being a player short. Stuart Wintle was unbeaten for the Old Chelmsfordians team and this included a hard fought 9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6 win against Martin Knights.
Junior League action is underway and Buttsbury Bees made a winning start in division 1A . Jamie Elliott was undefeated as they defeated Chelmsford Panthers 3-2. The game between Pratham Raut and Jamie Elliott went “to the wire” before Elliott sealed victory 7-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6, 12-10. Chelmsford Leopards beat Buttsbury Bats 4-1. Cleon Fernandes led the way with a 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 win against George Standish and a 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 victory over George Hagland.
Chelmsford Antelopes were 5-0 winners over Chelmsford Eagles in division 1C. Richard Carter and Arnav Kumar dominated this match.
Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
Table Tennis has returned to the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League after the 2020-21 Season had to be abandoned following the Covid induced break. The League has retained it’s five senior divisions and refreshingly it also has three junior divisions which commence shortly. Doubles play has been retained in League play, something that is no longer the case in the neighbouring Braintree League.
It has been quite a while since we have had an all teenage line-up in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. The Chelmsford B side of Josh Bickles (aged 15), Harry Buckle (17) and Charlie Craig (17) powered to a 10-0 win over Danbury C. They will be joined by Shirish Basant Rai and should do well this year in a division one which is missing the 2019-20 winners – Maldon A. Danbury B were impressive 8-2 winners over Chelmsford C. Newcomer Matt Stringer was undefeated and he set them on their way with a last gasp 11-8, 9-11, 11-2, 8-11, 12-10 victory over Simon Jarvis in the first game. Simon Jarvis fought back with wins over Dan Anderson (3-2) and Sam Lowman (3-1). The match between OCs A and Galleywood A finished tied at 5-5. OCs powered into a 3-0 lead and then found themselves pegged back to 3-3, so perhaps a draw was a fair result. OCs’ Rob Burton produced a display which can’t be bettered. All three of his games were decided at deuce in the fifth end. Burton fought back from 2-0 down to beat James Hicks 12-10 in the fifth end, but lost to Gary Brignall at 14-12 in the decider. He rounded off an excellent evening’s work with a 14-12 in the fifth end win over Steve Kerns. Gary Brignall and James Hicks both excelled by beating Terry Dowsett.
Division two is often very closely matched. From the look of this week’s results that could be the case this year as well. OCs B drew 5-5 with Danbury G. No player stayed undefeated. Kevin Worthington and Trevor Carter both won twice for Old Chelmsfordians whilst Eamon Hall and Sanjay Saptarshi both bagged two wins for Danbury. Kevin Worthington sealed the draw for OCs by beating Eamon Hall 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6 in the last game of the night. Chelmsford D edged out Danbury F 6-4 after a hard-fought game. Alan Scammell won his three games for the Danbury side but Adi Kamma and Sudheep Kamma “balanced the books” with two wins apiece. Saul Chivers beat Denis Balic 11-5, 12-14, 5-11, 11-9, 19-17. Quite a tussle !. Danbury E ran out 7-3 winners against OCs C. Neil Want was unbeaten for Danbury and this included a 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 9-11, 11-9 victory over Mick Richardson, another nail-biter. Hatfield Peverel A were 6-4 winners against Writtle B. Martin Archie led the way with three impressive wins and he concluded an excellent evening’s work by beating Phil Smith 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 in the last game of the evening.
Division three saw all three games decided by 6-4 scorelines. Galleywood B led by the redoubtable John Holland beat Chelmsford E. Adi Kamma won twice for Chelmsford and this included fighting back from 2-0 down to get the better of Colin Blore 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8. Chelmsford F beat Danbury H, good going as all three of their players lost to Gordon Gatheral. In the game of the night Gatheral hung on to beat Nikita Tkachuk 14-12 in the decider, after Tkachuk pulled back from 10-6 down. It was a similar story when Danbury K beat OCs D. Danbury K came out on top even though Richard Baxter remained undefeated for the Old Chelmsfordians side. Baxter completed his hat-trick with a 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10 win over Peter Hance in the final game of the match. Mo Hardy had to pull out all the stops to beat Farooq Ahmed 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 4-11, 12-10.
Danbury L are the early leaders in division four. Mervyn Perriman, James Gatheral and Denis Crapnell were 9-1 winners against Chelmsford G. Newcomer Vasile Barbulet was the sole winner for Chelmsford with a 11-6, 11-5, 11-13, 6-11, 11-8 win over James Gatheral. Writtle E beat Galleywood C 8-2. Ian Hockley led the way with a hat-trick and this included a 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 success against Colin Blore, Galleywood’s best player. Highwood A are also off to a winning start. Melanie Bonnett led the way as they beat OCs E 6-4. Melanie got the better of David Newman 3-11, 12-10, 11-6, 14-12 to secure the win for her side.
Hatfield Peverel D have made a flying start in division five. Deb Ginn, Kath Little and Davinia Brazier powered to a 9-1 win over Danbury N. Deb Ginn and Davinia Brazier both bagged hat-tricks whilst Kath Little only missed out to Dan Wise. OCs F led by David Bishop’s hat-trick were 6-4 winners against Hatfield Peverel E. Bishop had to work hard to secure his third win, before he pinched the victory by beating Gary Simmons 11-4, 9-11,11-4, 10-12, 11-8 in the last game of the evening. Chelmsford J’s Peter Davenport, Jacqui Smith and Paul Bullock all won twice as they beat Danbury M 6-4. Paul Thirkettle picked up two wins for Danbury M. Maldon C ran out 7-3 winners over Buttsbury after Andrea Alleyne had led the way with an undefeated performance.
Jan Fuller, the 2018-19 runner-up in the Ladies Singles at the Chelmsford Closed Championships (and who has recently moved to Norwich) was a triple medallist in the 2021 ITTF Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championships played in Berlin in September. Gold was achieved in the Ladies Singles with wins over Silke Kind (Germany) 11-7, 12-14,11-9, 11-9 in the Semi-Final and against Margie Alley (USA) 16-14, 11-8, 11-7 in the Final. Jan also won a Silver medal with team-mate George Chan in the Mixed Doubles and a Bronze medal in the Ladies Doubles with Chile’s Digna Lopez-Abarca.
Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
Brand Identity made it six wins out of six by beating Cold Norton 13-7 to capture the Central Essex Summer Table Tennis League first division title with 86 points. Simon Jacob, who has been the League’s outstanding player was again undefeated beating Dan Anderson 5-0 and Sam Lowman over five fluctuating ends 3-2; (11-6, 10-12, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6). Simon Jacob finished his campaign with 11 wins out of 12. His one defeat was against Chelmsford A’s Gary Young who was undefeated in his four games. Rayne and Chelmsford A fought out a tantalising 10-10 draw. Chelmsford A edged the first two games 3-2 and Rayne fought back to take the last two games by the same score. Ian Whiteside beat Wiktor Delimat 9-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 to earn Rayne their draw. Danbury A have a match outstanding and they beat Chelmsford B 12-8. Eric Green gave them the ascendancy with 4-1 wins over wins over Harry Buckle and Shirish Basant Rai.
Ramsden Rockets ran out 12-8 winners against Danbury B in division two. Arron Chandler gave Ramsden the edge with two 3-2 wins. He beat Chris Buer (12-10, 11-7, 4-11,11-8, 7-11) and Steve Buer (12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5). Similar sets of scores although the two games didn’t follow the same pattern.
Danbury F are the division three Champions with 84 points. They captured the title with a 14-6 win over OCs B. Sanjay Saptarshi (10 wins out of 10) led the way with two commanding 5-0 wins over Richard Baxter and Richard Upson. Danbury E finished second on 70 points. They defeated Danbury G 14-6 as well. Ken Sheard and Tim Pulham won all four games against Denis Crapnell and Dave Marsh. Tim Pulham set them on their way with a 7-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 victory against Dave Marsh. Chelmsford D did well to beat the higher placed OCs C 13-7. Sudheep Kamma scored two 4-1 wins with his 11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7 victory against Mick Hayes looking to be the pick of the night’s action.
Sudheep Kamma was also in action for Chelmsford G in division four. He scored 4-1 wins over Peter Wright and Dave Hancox as Chelmsford G defeated Cold Norton C 13-7. For those who look out for the unusual, Sudheep’s win over Peter Wright offered a slightly unusual score line – 11-7, 11-7, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7 – the first time a player has won four games by the same score.
OCs E ended their season in division five with a handsome 17-3 win over Danbury H to finish second. Dave Newman and Russ Hall were both on good form with Dave Newman concluding proceedings with a 5-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4, 11-3) victory against Ken Wilding. Hockley B are the Champions of this division and they made it five wins out of five by beating Danbury H 16-4. Jorg Poeschus (six wins out of six) and Brian Bissenden (four wins out of four) carried all before them. Jorg Poecshus ramped up the pressure by beating Paul Thirkettle (5-0) 11-4,11-8, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5.
Division six isn’t decided yet. Buttsbury C have 49 points from four games but Chelmsford Leopards with 42 points from three games have them firmly in their sights. Buttsbury C were clear cut 16-4 winners over Buttsbury B. Jamie Elliott and Jacob Lawrence were both undefeated. Ironically the one game which was decided 5-0 produced the closest set of scores with Jacob Lawrence beating George Standish 12-10, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.
Congratulations to Kent’s Will Bayley for taking the runners-up medal in the class seven Men’s category in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo where he lost in the Final 3-1 to World no. one Yan Shuo. Bayley who soared to national attention after appearing on TV’s Strictly come Dancing where he suffered a very bad injury would surely have missed the Tokyo Games had they not been rescheduled. He had been Champion in Rio in 2016 as well as runner up in London in 2012.
Steve Kerns / Press Officer / Central Essex Summer Table Tennis League
Brand Identity have been the outstanding team in the first division of the Central Essex Summer League and their record of 73 points out of 100 is testimony to that. This week they beat Chelmsford B 13-7 after Simon Jacob won both of his games. With 9 wins out of 10 Simon has proved to be the player to beat. Josh Bickles impressed for the losers with a 11-9, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9 win over David Jacob whilst David atoned for this loss with a fine 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 victory against Shirish Basant Rai. Cold Norton B (Dan Anderson and Sam Lowman) impressed this week with a 16-4 win over Chelmsford A. All matches were won 4-1, the first time this has happened. The smooth flowing Sam Lowman excelled by stopping Victor Chan 11-4, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7. Hockley A have climbed into second place. Matt Stringer dominated proceedings as they beat Danbury A 14-6. Stringer scored 4-1 wins over both Babul McLeod and Bruce Kettle. Ian Wall made his mark with a fine 11-13, 11-8, 13-11, 11-5, 11-3 win over Bruce Kettle. Hockley A also beat Rayne 13-7, although Rayne were a player short. Ian Whiteside made his mark with a 4-1 victory over Dan Patynski and a 3-2 success against Tim Pang.
There is everything still to play for in division two. Chelmsford C lead the way with 61 points from five matches whilst Cold Norton A have 60 points from five matches and Danbury C have 52 points from four matches. Danbury C fared best this week. They beat Writtle A 16-4. Gus Heath and Sanjay Saptarsh were both undefeated. Sanjay gave Danbury a winning start with a fluctuating 11-9, 10-12, 11-1, 11-5, 9-11 victory against Ryan Pitt. Cold Norton also did well, beating Danbury B 12-8. Tim Cramphorn who had beaten Steve Buer 4-1 came through a real hum-dinger of a fourth game against Chris Buer (9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10). Danbury B in turn ran out 14-6 winners against OCs A. Charles Yeung was on target for the losers with an 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 win over Steve Buer. Further down the table Ramsden A beat Writtle A 13-7. Arron Chandler and Trevor Collin won all four games, three of them by 3-2 margins.
In division three the leaders Danbury F were 15-5 winners against Chelmsford D. Sanjay Saptarsh was undefeated whilst Sudheep Kamma was on target for the losers with a 4-1 win over Eamon Hall. Danbury E also won, with Ken Sheard scoring 4-1 wins over David Meah and Mervyn Perriman as they saw off the higher placed Danbury D 13-7.
Drawn matches have been pretty rare, although that was the result of the division four clash between the leaders OCs D and Ramsden A. Mick Richardson retained his 100 % record for the Old Chelmsfordians side whilst Dave Carter earned his side a share of the spoils by beating Luke Richardson 5-0 in the last game. The scores here 11-9, 18-16, 11-8, 12-10, 13-11 denote just how well contested that game was. Cold Norton C scored their second win beating Buttsbury A 13-7. Dave Hancox scored 4-1 wins over both Kevin Willis and Tomasz Krolikowski. Cold Norton C were also on the wrong end of a 17-3 setback against Chelmsford F. Saul Chivers and Harry Chivers called the shots here.
In division five Danbury H beat Maldon A 12-8, good going as Marty Englander was undefeated for Maldon A . He beat Ken Wilding 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 10-12 and David Smith 7-11, 3-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7. Marty Englander was also in action for Maldon B against OCs E, but it was the OCs team who powered home 18-2. Russell Hall and Farooq Ahmed dominated.
In division seven there was a first win for Writtle Racoons. They beat Chelmsford Panthers 12-8, with Luv Goel dominating proceedings. Goel defeated Lotte Mills 14-12, 9-11, 11-9, 16-14, 11-9 in a hotly contested opening encounter.
Thanks to Steve Kerns, Press Officer, Central Essex Summer League
on behalf of Kieran Skeggs, Junior Match Secretary.
21 June 2021
Dear Junior League Match Secretary/League Secretary/Coaching Officer.
ESSEX JUNIOR ASSESSMENT TRIALS 2021/22
Table Tennis England have issued dates for matches to be played for County Junior and Cadet fixtures for the 2021/2022 season. The Essex Junior Premier Team are scheduled to play their first matches on the weekend of 11/12 December 2021 while the Essex second team are due to play on 3 October and 20 November 2021. The Essex Cadet Team is due to play on 23 January 2022 and 26 February 2022. Dates could be changed as the June 21 lifting of lockdown restrictions has been delayed.
Essex County will host the Junior Assessment Trials on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September at BATTS, Harlow. The address of the BATTS Club is the Norman Booth Centre, Elderfield, Mulberry Green, Old Harlow, CM17 0EY. Trials will commence on Saturday 18 September at 0930am with the U19 Boys event. NOTE THAT THIS EVENT IS AN U19 EVENT INSTEAD OF A NORMAL U18 EVENT. All other events: U15, U13, U11 Boys and all Girls events (U19, U15, U13 and U11) will be held on Sunday as we normally require ten tables for these events. Depending on entries, the U11 events may have to be merged into the U13 events as has happened in recent years.
The purpose of the event is to provide information upon which the Essex Junior Ranking Lists for the season will be based. These trials will also enable the County Junior Committee to select the teams to represent Essex in County Championship and other matches during the coming season and assess the future potential of other players. If you wish to be considered but are unable to play on the appropriate trials day please let me know with a brief explanation.
As stated above, the Boys U19 event will be played on the Saturday 18 September, and it is hoped that all other events will be played on Sunday 19th September. This may depend on the number of entrants for each event, particularly the Girls events. As a rough guide I anticipate that the Boys U13 and Girls U19 events will start at 0900 Sunday with the Boys U15 about 1300. As in previous years I will endeavour to organise the U11 entrants to all play one another during the course of the U13 events. For the Girls remaining events I will have to juggle the event times depending upon how many Girls enter each event.
Players (girls and boys in separate age lists) should be nominated for the following age categories:
U19 – players must be 18 years of age or under on 31 December 2021.
U15 – players must be 14 years of age or under on 31 December 2021.
U13 – players must be 12 years of age or under on 31 December 2021.
U11 – players must be 10 years of age or under on 31 December 2021.
Players may be nominated to play in more than one age category. Fees payable are £5.50 per player per age category entered. U11/U13 will be considered a single Entry. Please send Entry Forms to me no later than Monday 9 August 2021 together with a cheque(s) in respect of the total fee made out to ECTTA. Alternately payment may be made electronically to the Essex Account No. 70350346 , Sort Code 20-72-89. Please use the word *Trials” and the surname of the first player on the form as payment reference.
Please inform your nominees that normal table tennis clothing must be worn at the Trials, i.e., no white shirts or shorts, no tracksuit trousers when playing matches, no headwear (other than on religious grounds), and all footwear to have rubber soles. All to note that as this is a Closed event the time out provisions DO NOT APPLY. Some Covid restrictions may still apply.
Refreshments, both hot and cold, may be purchased in the BATTS Canteen.
Please note that I require for each player nominated their Christian and surnames, address and postcode, date of birth, telephone number and affiliated main league or ETTA affiliation in the format of the attached Entry Form. Also, parents E-mail address in the E-mail column should I need to contact them during the season to advise players/parents of other events that may take place (but see below).
Also, Player or Player Member Licence number (i.e., last season’s Licence number or the previous year’s or as a new player this season’s new Licence number). Note that, assuming that there are no Table Tennis England changes from those of last season, a Player Member licence is required to play in local Leagues, One Star Tournaments carrying National Ranking points and National Cadet and Junior Tournaments and a Player licence is required to play in Junior British League and 2 Star and above Tournaments. Payment for these Licences must be made to Table Tennis England before players are permitted to play in any of these competitions.
Please let me know if you require a map showing the location of the BATTS Norman Booth Centre which I can enclose in due course with event times confirmation information.
If you think there is somebody that I have missed out from the circulation list on this page to Leagues, Coaches or you know that they have changed their E-mail address or your League contact has changed please either let me know so that I can forward a copy to them or forward them a copy yourself. I will send a copy of the Entry Form to every Parent/Junior that I have E-mail addresses for as a reminder in due course. I would prefer Entry Forms to be forwarded to me on block from clubs or leagues but I know this will not always be the case.
Note that under the latest Data Protection Regulations I cannot list the E-mail addresses of those players/parents that I send circular E-mails to. I will assume that I can still send E-mails to you on Essex County Table Tennis matters unless I receive an E-mail from you stating that you, or any parent of a player, do not wish to receive communications from me in the future.
Three Clacton juniors – Sam Hume, Gracie Edwards and Jonathan Found – took centre stage at the Clacton and District League’s 2015 Annual General Meeting and Presentation Evening held this week at Clacton’s Brotherhood Hall.
Pride of place went to 14-year old Sam Hume who received the prestigious Harry Walker Memorial Award, an annual award made to the outstanding player in the whole of Essex.
In making the award, County Chairman Ken Field said that Sam, as well as playing a major part in the County’s successful Cadet Team and being an outstanding player in the Clacton League, had also achieved exceptional results in the Southend League where he’d won the under-21 and Restricted Singles titles.
As importantly, he was a young player who was quick to compliment his opponents, sporting in both victory and defeat. Mr Field concluded by saying that Sam was a worthy winner and the youngest player ever to receive the award in its 30-year history.
Sam and 13-year old Gracie Edwards were also awarded trophies as successful members of the Essex Cadet Team which won the National Division 1B.
It crowned a memorable year for Gracie who became the Ladies Singles champion at the Clacton League’s Closed Championships in April as well as being part of the successful Brotherhood B Cup-winning side last month.
The Brian Hogg Trophy, awarded annually to a junior player of whom the Clacton League is proud, was made to 17-year old Jonathan Found.
In making the presentation, League Chairman Peter White said Jonathan, now in his final season as a junior, had made good progress since he started playing table tennis four years ago, last year being his first season in Division Two.
Mr White said that, although Jonathan had shown much improvement on the table, the award was being made for his contribution to local table tennis as a whole – his excellent attitude to the sport, his politeness and good sportsmanship on the table, his helpfulness at local coaching and his willingness to enter all local Tournaments on a regular basis.
League trophies for the 2014/15 season were presented by Vice-President Shirley Rowlen to Nomads Panthers (Division One winners), Nomads Lions (Division One runners-up), Brotherhood C (Division Two winners), Nomads Ocelots (Division Two runners-up), Windsor Buzzards (Division Three winners), Nomads Lynx (Division Three runners-up).
Officers elected for the 2015/16 season were: President, Sheila Howe; Chairman, Peter White; Vice-Chairman, Graham Parkes; Secretary, Lyn White; Treasurer, Mike Hillier; Press and Records Secretary, Tony Oswick; Tournament Officer, David Wilkin; Development Officer, Ferdy Rodriguez; Coaching Officer, Felipe Rodriguez; Minutes Secretary, Debra Found; Committee members, Lee Harvey, Doug Green, Tony Hooper, Tony Rayner, Dan Wright; Independent Examiner, Ray Chillingworth.
* The League’s free ‘Come and Try’ sessions begin on Thursday 25th June at 7.30 pm at the Brotherhood Hall and continue on 2nd, 9th and 16th July. Anyone who would like to take up competitive table tennis can attend one or all of the evenings. For details, ring Ferdy Rodriguez on 01255 830951.
Congratulations to Colin Sherrin who this evening was presented with the prestigious ‘Corti Woodcock’ award by Essex County. The award recognises Colin’s service both to the Romford league (over 20 years on the committee) and to Essex itself where he is a member of a number of important sub committees.
The award also recognised the time he continues to spend trying to develop the game further. He has been an ever present at the the Romford league’s Tuesday junior coaching sessions (something he helped set up 15 years ago). He also works with the local council visiting various schools to promote the sport; not only by coaching the pupils but by also by improving the knowledge and confidence of the teaching staff.
All this has been achieved despite having only one type of serve and two dodgy knees. Well done Colin.
