The rearranged top of the table clash in Division 1 of the Southend League took place during the interval of league fixtures for the Closed Championships. Matchpoint A entertained Basildon A. Matchpoint came out 5 – 4 winners. However, the closeness of the result means that the visitors remain favourites for the title, with a small cushion going into the last few rounds of fixtures for the season. Harry Sawford was Matchpoint’s star again. His hat trick included a close five-setter against Arun Joy that Sawford eventually won 12-10 in the fifth. Team mates Alex Deacon and Stephen Heard added one win each. For Basildon, Les Hoey and Arun Joy won two each.

Matchpoint didn’t have a fixture this week. Basildon were away again, visiting Wakering. Les Hoey took the POM award with an unbeaten evening and Arun Joy and Rob Burton won two each in a 7 – 2 away win. Callum Turner and Paul England took one win each for the home side.

An impressive 8 – 1 home win over Rawreth Megazone C has pushed Canvey A up into third place. Andrew Murray won all three of his rubbers quite comfortably to take the POM prize. However, Ray Wilson was also undefeated. His win over the visitors’ Garry Hartgrove was the closest of the night, with Wilson taking the fifth set 11 – 6.  Wilson and Murray were well supported by Joanna Hills who got two victories. Hartgrove got Rawreth’s consolation.

A keenly fought “local derby” between The Hadleigh Forum B and C teams was conducted in a good spirit and a competitive manner. The C team took a narrow victory 5 – 4, thanks to two wins each for Dave Thomas and Paul Fawell. Mark Everard got the other success. However, none of the ‘away’ team could overcome the B team’s skipper Dave Woolmer, who put in a POM performance. Mick Tappenden got the other point.

Stanford B are the Division 2 champions after their 6-3 win at Canvey B this week. They have been favourites all season to take the title and, with just one game to go, regulars Rob Salvage, Adrian Armstrong and Mark Downey completed the job they started 25 weeks ago. John Handscombe and Russell Bright made up the Stanford squad who have been top of the table since week 2.

The match against second placed Canvey wasn’t quite as straightforward as it might have been however, and was tied at 3-3 until a late flourish saw them win the final three games. Rob Salvage completed another hat trick with two wins for Armstrong and one for Downey. Canvey’s points came from a win for each of their team, Tony Westwell, Des Duffield and Kevin Walsingham.

This result didn’t just have a bearing on the title but also on who finishes second. Canvey and Hockley C have been battling it out in recent weeks but Hockley were unable to take advantage of Canvey’s defeat as they slipped to a 5-4 defeat at Rawreth D. With one game now to go both teams sit level on points so all will be decided next week. Canvey have the slight advantage as they face bottom of the table Invicta B whilst Hockley face their own D team.

Richard Kidd was the man who did the damage for Rawreth clinching a hat trick and with a brace from Amar Al-Soufi they actually led 5-2 before a late flurry from Hockley narrowed the gap. Paul Ogden won two for Hockley and there was a point each for Neal Klyman and Tony Molisso.

At the other end of the table the relegation issue was also decided as Matchpoint C pulled off an excellent 6-3 win at Stanford C whilst bottom of the table Invicta B crashed to a 9-0 defeat to Matchpoint B. That left Invicta 10 points adrift of their rivals with one game left to play.

Ollie Milchard was Matchpoint C’s star, as he has been all season, chalking up another hat trick and  was backed up by a brace from Roger Sherman and a point from Zach Samuels. Chris Crooks won two for Stanford plus a single win for Vaughan Chambers.

Matchpoint B’s demolition of Invicta came courtesy of veterans John Lott and Dennis Squirrell and a first hat trick of the season for young Lotte Mills. Matchpoint sit in fourth place and still have an outside chance of finishing second if the teams above them slip up.

Team of the Week – Stanford B

Player of the Week – Ollie Milchard

Galleywood C continued their late-season charge and now sit in second position in division three following a 9-1 home win over bottom side Writtle E.  Colin Blore and Nathan Blore went unbeaten for the hosts who are a point behind leaders Chelmsford D having played two fixtures more. A 7-3 away win at OCA C means third-placed Buttsbury B trail Galleywood by just two points having played a fixture less. Paul Sturton and Harry Sawford won three apiece for the visitors – the former recovering from 2-1 down against Tom Barker in their match.  Luke Richardson got the better of Buttsbury’s Jeremy Giffin over five ends before teaming with Barker for a 3-2 win over Giffin and Sawford in the doubles.  Hatfield Peverel B pulled off a 5-5 draw at Chelmsford F despite only fielding two players and facing an unbeaten evening from Cleon Fernandes.  Peverel’s Paul Mulley beat Dion Fernandes 3-2 but lost to his brother Cleon by the same scoreline (12-10 in the fifth). Matthew Brown not only fired a hat-trick but completed the set of playing for Writtle’s B, C and D teams in the same week in Writtle D’s 5-5 draw with Danbury H.  Brown’s teammate Malcolm Henstock chipped in with two wins – the first of which was an entertaining 9-11, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3 win over Ken Wilding. Gordon Gatheral won twice for the hosts but fell in three to Brown.

Division four leaders Hutton A were back in action with a bang as they posted a 9-1 home victory over eighth placed Highwood A. Alex Ware and Oladapo Owolabi fired trebles with two wins from Charlie Ware as Hutton sit 18 points clear having played one fixture more than nearest challenges Buttsbury C who posted a 9-1 away win at Chelmsford G thanks to trebles from Oscar Hutt and Gary Carr. Third-placed Maldon B lost a little ground despite a credible 7-3 away win at Danbury K who slip one place to fifth.  Chris Ravenhill led the way for the visitors with three wins though he was taken to five by Richard Allen who himself went on to beat Marty Englander 13-11 in the deciding game of their meeting. Englander later had a five-gamer go his way when getting the better of Dave Oxley-Goody. Russell Hall won all three as sixth placed OCA D inflicted yet another defeat on Danbury M – this time by a 7-3 scoreline.  The first of Danbury’s three wins on the night came thanks to a Steve Martin fightback in his match with David Bishop where he rallied having found himself 2-1 down. Neil Wood’s treble was in vain as his Hatfield Peverel C side lost 6-4 at home to Danbury L – a result which leaves both sides in equal ninth position.  Wood’s evening was anything but straight-forward having found himself 2-1 down against John Manning in the opener before recovering from 2-0 down to beat Greg Cooper. Cooper and Manning won their other singles matches and combined for a 3-1 doubles win against Wood and Samuel White. David Woolmer won all three singles matches on debut for Galleywood D though it was not enough to prevent his side falling to a 7-3 loss at the hands of fourth placed Buttsbury D.

The most anticipated fixture of the week in division five was between leaders Buttsbury E and second placed Hutton B with the latter showing their title credentials by posting an 8-2 away win. Charlie Gould won all three of his matches though it could have been different had Buttsbury’s Francesca Hart been able to find a way across the line when holding a 2-0 lead in their match up. Hart beat Hutton’s Lee Vallis in four before sister Freya got the better of Gheorghe Nita in a match which went the distance. Nita later earned a measure of revenge by beating Francesca in four.  Eighth-placed Galleywood E cruised to a 10-0 win over Anglia Ruskin University though the match card shows all three ARU players extended their Galleywood opponents to fifth-game deciders in a fixture which included a number of other close matches.  Steve Peacock, Darren Wright and Doug Blaber were the successful trio on this occasion. Chelmsford H beat Hatfield Peverel F 9-1 thanks to trebles from James Grindlay and Peter Davenport. Teammate Jacqui Smith won twice – both victories going all the way to a fifth game. Upset of the week goes to tenth-placed Hatfield Peverel E who won 7-3 on the road at Writtle F who slip to fourth. Davina Brazier and Phillip West won all of their singles matches – both players being taken to five games on two occasions each.  The mid-table clash between Hatfield Peverel D and Highwood B went in favour of the latter by a 6-4 scoreline in a fixture which saw Nicola Pippen finally post a treble having won two out of three in each of her last three outings. Peverel’s Mike Pitt did well to hold his nerve to win a five-gamer against Andy Whiley but later saw a 2-1 lead against Bruce Wickham slip.

There is no change at the top of division two as leaders Buttsbury A and second-placed Maldon A posted identical 5-5 draws in week 24. Maldon had to battle back from 2-0 and 5-3 down in their home fixture with Galleywood B.  Hamish Innes had the most interesting evening of the competitors on show, he lost his opener against Mark Taylor but then recovered from 2-1 down against both Will Goodchild and Mark Glenister.  Goodchild put Galleywood 5-3 up with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Ross Kirby but Innes held his nerve in the final match of the night to earn the hosts the draw. Neil Want was on fire as Danbury E scored a shock 5-5 draw at leaders Buttsbury A on Friday night. Want’s wins didn’t come easily as he needed five games to get past Rob Burton prior to being stretched in four tough games by David Gatheral before coming through 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 13-11.  Burton and Gatheral had earlier edged their singles encounters with Tony Forster and Tim Cramphorn in five games. Danbury D moved into the top three for the first time since week 12 with a 6-4 away win at OCA B. Eamonn Hall chose the optimum moment to fire his first league hat-trick of the season and he was well backed up with two wins from Peter Harverson.  Hall dropped just one game from his three wins while Harverson battled back from 2-1 down against both Mick Richardson and Michael Hayes.  Chelmsford C sit in fourth place and they have Kelvin Edeh to thank for his treble in the 7-3 success at Writtle B.  Edeh beat Phil Smith in three and both Trevor Carter and Matthew Brown by 3-1 scorelines while teammate Dusan Doszkoty recovered from 2-1 down to beat Smith in the only match of the night to go five ends. Speaking of Brown, he was called into action for Writtle C and joined forces with Gary Ward to go unbeaten in singles and doubles matches in a 7-3 away win at Danbury F.  Their teammate John Parodi was unfortunate not to post a win with two of his matches going to five games – Danbury’s Alan Scammell overturning a 2-0 scoreline to beat Parodi after Ken Sheard had withstood a Parodi fightback at 2-0 up.

There was only one fixture played in division one this week as Danbury B moved up to second place with a 9-1 victory over Chelmsford B.  Sam Lowman and Ian Wall won three apiece. Chelmsford’s Waseem Qureshi staged a great fightback to beat Dan Anderson 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10 for the visitors only success of the evening though Kelvin Edeh ran Anderson close before going down in a five.

The top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League was dominated this week by some highly expected hat-trick performances and a few from unusual sources.  Whilst in the second division both the leading teams continue to stutter along allowing what was a commanding lead to dwindle ever so slightly allowing just a chink of a glimpse of a chance for the chasing pack to clutch onto their straws of hope.

Leaders Fambridge are really going for it this year and put the sword to Cold Norton C this week in a terrifying 10-0 whitewash that saw Mark Stones record an amazing 9-dart hat-trick of wins, and team-mates Gurj Bhambra and Keith Adams matched the number of wins but they had a bit of resistance along the way.  The only singles that went to a deciding fifth set saw Cold Norton’s man-of-the-moment Arron Chandler fightback from 0-2 down to take the match into a final leg shootout, but Bhambra had weathered the Chandler Cyclone and put paid to the brazen attempt at upsetting the Fambridge apple cart.  Cold Norton B briefly took top spot this week courtesy of their tough 8-2 victory over Mapledene B.  It could have been worse for the Nortonians if Mitchell Jones had made his debut for Mapledene as had been rumoured.  As it is the 8 points keep them in touching distance of the rampant Fambridge.   A hat-trick for Norton’s boy wonder Sam Lowman, with 2 wins a piece for his comrades in arms Eric Green and Dave Richardson, neither of whom could outwit Mapledene’s Kieran Skeggs.  Mapledene A, so long the bookies favourite, may have thrown away their shot this week as they were held to a 5-5 draw by the current champions Woodham A.  Mapledene’s talismanic captain Reece Seddon was in dynamite form with a personal hat-trick including a long and hard fought 5 set triumph over Harry Chivers – a potential pre-cursor to this year’s Singles Final.  Seddon won out 11-8 in that deciding set, but 3 of the earlier sets had gone beyond deuce indicating just how tight the differences are – a net here, an edge there, and who knows.  Whilst everyone else was involved in the tussle for the top spot the two lowest placed teams met in their own Woodham Wooden Spoon Derby as Woodham C took on an understrength Woodham B trio.  In a shock start Woodham B went ahead 4-0 before the C team’s Chris Hancox won the first point for his team in a very close straight sets victory over Tony Bonnici.  Alas that was it for the C team as the B team romped home with Harry Sawford and Eamonn Hall recording their first ever hat-tricks in Division 1.  Hall survived a tight one against Graham Briggs saving 2 match points before closing out the fifth set 12-10 for a dramatic finish.  The doubles was also a tight affair with Sawford and Bonnici having to come from 1-2 down against Hancox and Adi Kamma to eventually win out 3-2.

The championship odds for Division 2 have been on a rollercoaster journey over the last few weeks, at one point Stow Maries A looked odds-on for the title until their ill-fated 2-man team draw last week.  They needed to right a few wrongs and get back to winning ways this week.  Well it was a real ‘Pitty’ when one of their players dropped out on the day for this week’s clash with Cold Norton D, and the 2-man team worked hard but couldn’t repeat the heroics of the week before as Stow went down 7-3, and their odds plummeted just as fast.  For Cold Norton D it was a team effort as all 3 players secured a win on the night plus their bonus point for the missing Stowman.  Dave Hancox outlasted Peter Chastin in a long 5-setter, Peter Lucraft did the same against Ken Sheard, and Neil Want also took the Sheard scalp.  Chastin won his other 2 singles, again both in 5 sets to secure the overall player-of-the-match award, although he was too tired to collect it as the doubles also went to 5 sets giving Chastin a money’s worth evening of the full 20 sets available to him.  So with Stow A faltering could Maldon A step up and assert their authority?  Well not quite, despite beating Mapledene C they could only manage to gather 6 points along the way.  Hat-tricks for both Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Dawn Baldry, with third player Brian Riedling losing out to the Mapledene trio.  Woodham D recorded a handsome 8-2 winning score against Blackwater B with both Peter Harverson and Alan Dadswell unbeaten all night in both the singles and doubles formats.  For Blackwater Gary Smith and Louis Gunn were able to overcome the challenge from Allan Steel, playing up from Division 3.  Gunn needed all 5 sets in his match against Steel, and in the final battle of the night he thought he would repeat that process against League Chairman Dadswell, but the Chairman had other ideas and asserted his authority allowing him to win the final 3 points of the night for a 5^th set 11-8 victory.  With Blackwater A short of players this week they looked to their C team for embellishment and despite their better judgement picked Mervyn Perriman to represent the A team for the first time this season.  Perriman took it all in his stride with 3 comprehensive victories for his A team debut – they love it when a plan comes together!  He still didn’t get picked for the doubles though – and opponents Stow B won that easily and it was that point that secured the overall draw.  A questionable management decision for sure.  For Blackwater Alan Scammell won 2 of his singles, and just lost out to the fierce forehand of Nicky Reece-Ford in a 5 set thriller.

Just a couple of matches in Division 3 this week but both saw decisive victories.  St Lawrence bested Blackwater F with an 8-2 win where Mike Pratley and Mike Burton were able to beat all opponents in singles and doubles with David Siggins adding the final point with a singles win over Peter Hughes.  Having starred in Division 2 earlier in the week surely a division 3 match would be a stroll in the park for the enigmatic Mervyn Perriman of Blackwater C, and so it proved as he racked up his second hat-trick of the week, and this time he only dropped a single set in the match with Maldon E.  Still no doubles though, although his team were victorious this time so no harm done.  In support of the one man hat-trick machine Perriman, team-mates Colin Barham and Chris Rolison both won 2 singles, and both lost to the strongest Maldonite John Leavett.

Pic 1 – Fambridge’s Mark Stones racking up his hat-trick against Cold Norton’s Arron Chandler

Pic 2 – Harry Sawford securing his hat-trick for Woodham B against Graham Briggs

Pic 3 – The unlikeliest of hat-tricks for Woodham B’s Eamonn Hall this week

Pic 4 – Peter Harverson winning another hat-trick for Woodham D in his match with Gary Smith

Pic 5 – Alan Dadswell in his last gasp victory over Louis Gunn this week

Pic 6 – Lin Roff versus Dawn Baldry at the Mapledene Arena this week – a possible early showing of the Ladies Singles Final this year?

Report by Eamonn Hall

The longest unbeaten record in the Braintree Table Tennis League came under serious threat last week – but in the end, survived

Matthew Brown has played in all 14 of Rayne E’s matches in division two and has rarely been troubled.

Up to his most recent match, Brown had been stretched to four games only nine times in 39 sets, but never to five.

That changed when he came across Black Notley C’s Rev Matthews.

For only the second time this season, he lost the first game.

The first time he did that he won the next three 11-5, 11-2, 11-4. 

Not this time. Instead, Matthews repeated the dose, winning the second at 11-9, as he had done in the first.

Brown came back to win the third 11-3, but the two then matched each other in the fourth –  until they reached 10-10. 

That was when the dream ended.  Brown clung on to take the next two points and clinched the win 11-7 in the fifth.

‘I thought it was all going well…until it wasn’t,’ said Matthews afterwards, a feeling familiar to table tennis players the world over.

Rayne E won the match 6-4, their third successive match by that scoreline.

That strenthened their hold on second place after Rayne D lost 7-3 to Yeldham Whitlocks A.

Fourth-placed Notley D, with only two players, could find no answer to leaders Sudbury Wanderers, who added to their growing list of 10-0 wins.

At the other end of the table, Rayne F put some daylight between themselves and the bottom rung with a 9-1 win over Notley F.  Richard Whiteside and Steve Buer were unbeaten.

Jamie Brooks and Lawrence Grantham took all seven between them as Notley E beat Netts D 7-3.

Division three leaders Finchingfield A were held up by something of a one-man show in their match against Netts E.

David Montgomery was the barrier none of them could get past, accounting for Peter Clark’s third defeat of the season and Dave Punt’s fifth in his three wins.  Finchingfield took the rest.

Second-placed Sudbury Strollers were grateful to the unbeaten Richard Fifield to see them through a stiff challenge against Rayne G.  His three singles steered them to a 6-4 win in the face of two excellent wins each for Rayne’s Ethan Collins and Conrad Gomes.

Notley G, in third place, were held to a draw by Finchingfield B.

Stewart Grant, beaten only once in his previous 20 sets, was surprisingly found out by Jacqueline Smith, who had lost her other two sets.

Tim Townsend and Dave Whiting were unbeaten in Rayne G’s 8-2 win over Notley H while Notley’s I team beat Netts F 9-1.

The latter was a hard-luck story for 16-year-old James Howard, who was responsible for Netts’ solitary point but could easily have taken two more, losing out at 11-9 in the fifth against Tony Brown and 14-12, 12-10 in his final two games against Ben Southgate after leading two games to one.

An unprecedented three teams from Division Three have made it through to the semi-finals of the Clacton League’s Handicap Cup, with pride of place going to Windsor Falcons who pulled off a famous win in Round Two with a nerve-jangling 5-4 success over 2023 cup-winners Brotherhood A of Division One.

The Falcons’ trio of Kelvin Olano-Harper, Ferdy Rodriguez and Nikki Hayes led 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 but were pegged back on each occasion by the Brotherhood trio, who eventually levelled the score at 4-4 to send the tie into a decider.

And it was somewhat inevitable that the final match of the evening should also go all the way, with the result in the balance almost until the final ball was played. But it was Olano-Harper and Rodriguez (+1) who edged a see-saw match 11-6, 11-13, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 against Kevin Gowlett and Russell Hillier (-8)

Olano-Harper remained unbeaten for the Falcons with Rodriguez and Hayes providing excellent support, no more so than Rodriguez’s (+1) 11-9 in the decider victory over Tim Leung (-5).

The Third Division Nomads Bobcats side of Matt Sage, Alex Baldock and Sam Watling reached the Cup semi-finals for a second year running by defeating Division Two Windsor Penguins 5-2. Sam Watling was their best player on the night, staying unbeaten. Windsor’s Neil Chegwidden won both his singles for his team’s points.

A Division Three side was always guaranteed a place in the semi-final when the Division’s two leading teams of young players, Brotherhood F and Brotherhood H, were drawn against each other. The tie ended as a resounding 5-0 victory for the ‘F’ team’s Joe Sherwin, Tom Bryden and Ruby Gallagher over Brotherhood H, Sherwin and Gallagher (-1) sealing the win with an 11-7 in the fifth victory over Savindu De Silva and Tony Woollard (+1) in the only match which went to five.

Nomads Lions are now the highest-ranked side left in the competition, winning their Round Two tie 5-1 against Cup-holders Walton B in an all-Division One clash. In the final two matches of the evening, Adam Cuthbert and Adam Wilkin (-3) edged past Mark Gale and Paul Meikle (+1) 11-5 in the fifth, while skipper Jason Lloyd (-3) wrapped up matters with an 11-7 in the fifth success over Mark Ratcliffe (+1).

The draw for the semi-finals, to be played in week beginning 24th March, will be made on Monday 3rd March.  

* In Division One of the League, three from Gavin Price proved the difference as Walton A took the honours 6-4 against Lawford.

Charlie Denholm and Glen Laing won two each for Lawford. The four matches which went the distance were shared between the teams. Walton’s Andy Foster edged past Richard Spence 11-9 in the fifth, while Price defeated Laing 12-10 in the fifth. For Lawford, Denholm defeated Foster 11-7 in the fifth and Kevin James 15-13 in the fifth.

Brotherhood C have a firm hold on the runners-up spot in Division Two after a convincing 9-1 victory over a much-weakened Brotherhood D. John Gallagher and Mark Boyland remained unbeaten, Gallagher edging past Tricia Salter 11-7 in the decider in the only match which went all the way.

In a second all-Brotherhood encounter, the ‘E’ team defeated the ‘G’ team 7-3, Kevin Pryor winning three, Fred Gallone two and Tony Edmonds one. The ‘G’ team reserve, Owen Woollard, impressed with a couple of good wins for the losers.

Meanwhile, the top v bottom clash between Windsor Buzzards and Windsor Magpies ended in a predictable 10-0 victory for the Buzzards.

The only match in Division Three saw Nomads Bobcats succeed 7-3 against Nomads Leopards. Matt Sage took his maximum, with Alex Baldock and Sam Watling each taking two. For the Leopards, Dominic Joannou beat Watling 11-3 in the fifth and Baldock 11-9 in the fifth, whilst he shared an excellent doubles win with Lily Liu, in her first appearance of the season, against Watling and Baldock in three-straight.

* Entry forms for the League’s Closed Championships, sponsored once again by The Survey Initiative, have been sent to all players. The closing date is Friday 14th March.

* Finally, a reminder that the Windsor Club’s ‘Pig Race Evening’ takes place on Saturday 8th March at the Brotherhood Hall, 7.00 pm for a 7.30 pm start. Bring your own drink and nibbles.   

RESULTS

Handicap Cup : Round Two

Walton B 1 Nomads Lions 5;

Windsor Falcons 5 Brotherhood A 4;

Brotherhood F 5 Brotherhood H 0;

Nomads Bobcats 5 Windsor Penguins 2.

League

Division 1

Walton A 6 Lawford 4.

League : Division 3

Brotherhood G 3 Brotherhood E 7;

Windsor Magpies 0 Windsor Buzzards 10;

Brotherhood D 1 Brotherhood C 9.

League : Division 3

Nomads Bobcats 7 Nomads Leopards 3.

Hockley TTC hosted the Southend League Championships 2025 and it turned out to be a special night for the home club as their very own Hannah Harbour walked off with the Ladies Singles title. She beat Trisha Winter of Invicta in straight sets. This is the first time a Hockley player has won either of the two major singles events in Southend so a little bit of history has been created in this, Hockley’s 15^th anniversary year. Hannah won the ladies doubles last year so, who knows, maybe the mixed doubles next year to create a unique treble!

The Men’s singles also produced a new name on the trophy as Mark Mulley and Reece Seddon met in the final. In the two semi finals two past champions, Duncan Taylor and Matt Spero, both fell convincingly to Seddon and Mulley respectively and the final itself went the same way as Mulley won in straight sets. The third set was only decided 15-13 which probably disappointed the audience as much as it did Seddon as it was a high quality game with lots of attacking rallies.

Seddon may have been down after this defeat but he finished the evening on a high winning the Mens doubles with Taylor and the Mixed doubles with teenager Lotte Mills. Seddon and Taylor beat Zyad Mauthoor  and Keith Adams in straight sets 11/6 11/3 11/7 and in the Mixed he and Mills beat George Reeves and Debbie O’neill three sets to one 11/8 11/8 7/11 11/7.

Lotte Mills picked up a second title in the Ladies Doubles as she and Jo Hills teamed up to clinch a four set victory against Trisha Winter and Sarah Ball 13/11 15/13 11/6.

Other titles decided were as follows:-

Over 40’s singles

Duncan Taylor beat Zyad Mauthoor 8/11 11/7 13/11 11/9

Vets Doubles

Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read beat Zyad Mauthoor and Matt Spero 11/9 9/11 13/15 11/8 12/10

Vets Over 50’s

Kevin Read beat Duncan Taylor 12/10 7/11 11/8 11/5

Vets Over 60’s

Keith Willett beat Colin Chatfield 11/8 11/3 11/8

Vets Over 70’s

Dave Bowles beat Ian Sangster 14/12 11/5 11/9

Under 21’s singles

Elliott Brackenbury beat Oliver Milchard 10/12 11/8 11/3 7/11 11/7

Finals night at Hockley drew an audience of over 70 people and provided a fitting end to the 2025 championships.

It was Cup week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League with both Team Handicap Cup semi-finals being played on the Monday, and both came to very decisive conclusions, without the need for VAR, penalties or replays. 

Team Handicap Cup holders and clear favourites Cold Norton B hosted a handily handicapped Woodham B assortment at their Latchingdon stronghold.  This notorious Handicap specialist team have yet to drop a single leg in their journey so far, but would they falter this week?  The Cold Norton trio of Sam Lowman (-17), Ian Wall (-18) and Captain Dan Anderson (-12) would have plenty of points to catch up in every leg of this semi-final with the 3 Woodham players all around the -5 mark.  A close one you would have thought!  In the opening doubles Lowman and Anderson started off at some pace to recover their -9 handicap against David Penrose (-5) and Harry Sawford (-6) and won the opening set at a canter.  The Woodham boys fought back in the second leg and made a go of it for the crowd but the experience of the Cold Norton duo was just a bit too much.  Wall versus Eamonn Hall (-5) was the opening singles battle and it was soon backs against the Wall as Hall dominated the opening leg for an unexpected lead.  The second and crucial leg saw Wall much more cagey and picking off his winners more selectively as Hall continued to defend but was given less opportunity to attack.  With Wall now in the ascendency and the game all square the final leg was closer but once Wall caught up his handicap there was only one winner and despite the scare Cold Norton went 2-0 up.  It was a similar tale of the tape in the next singles as Lowman lost the first leg comfortably to Sawford but then sorted out his noggin, ignored his injured hip and went about his business in a more professional manner to rattle off the final 2 legs for another Nortonian recovery win.  Anderson bucked the trend with a very tight but straight sets victory over Penrose despite having game points against in the opening leg that went to 25-23.  So 4-0 up and Cold Norton field their finest doubles duo (on paper) for the crucial 5^th contest of this semi-final.  Lowman and Wall with a -12 start, against the right-left combo of Hall and Sawford.  Well Lowman and Wall had recovered their handicap before the Woodham Boys had worked out the right way to serve for a right-left combo and the first game was gone in the blink of an eye.  Woodham fought back in the second and had racked up enough points by

the time Norton had recovered their handicap that the structure of the game was in Woodham’s favour and they finished strongly to even up the match.  With Woodham now on top would this be the first loss of the season for the Nortonians.  Well simply ‘No’ – they have better things to be doing with their time than taking Cup matches beyond the 5-0 status so Wall and Lowman did their team proud and crushed their opponents to win the leg, that match and secure yet another 5-0 overall victory that propels them into the final still without a single taste of defeat for any player – a true machine.

Blackwater A, similar to Cold Norton B, had also not dropped a single leg throughout their campaign this season – but that been courtesy of 2 byes, so we had no real idea of their handicap form but we expected they would be tough to beat.  Opponents Blackwater B had come through a tough last gasp 5-4 win over Woodham D in their quarter-final so they had plenty of skin in the game for this contest.  The opening doubles saw the A team’s Denis Balic (-6) and Alan Scammell (-5) take an early leg loss to the B team’s Louis Gunn (-3) and Gary Smith (+1) but this didn’t deter or hamper the A team duo as they went on to grind down the hard-working B boys and see out the opener for a 2-1 victory – first blood spilled!  Exactly the same scenario played out in the opening singles as the B team’s up and coming Noah Sage (-1) took the opening leg against the much more experienced Neil Freeman (-6), but the spirit of youth was quickly crushed as Freeman looped and smashed his way passed the Sage defence to regain his dominance and take the final 2 sets for the A team.  Balic was just too stagainst Smith and it looked like he had his number, but Smith had other ideas and served and fought his way back into contention with a second leg reverse.  Perhaps Smith had used up too much energy in that second leg as Scammell soon caught up the handicap in the deciding leg and then bamboozled Smith into submission to wrap things up for a seemingly unassailable 4-0 overall lead.  The crucial doubles saw Freeman and Balic win a tight opening leg against Gunn and Sage, but the B team duo weren’t going down lightly as they fought back and won the second leg – so all to play for in the decider.  With just a 5 point handicap to catch up it was important for the A team to have a good start so the gap remained achievable.  This one was close all the way through as the teams traded points and the gap was tightening but only very slowly.  As is befitting the

competition we arrived at deuce (20-20), and at this point we would find out who had the mental wherewithal to triumph over the adversity of pressure.  Well no surprise as the experience of Balic and Freeman saw out the contest for another overall 5-0 victory – but a tough one for sure!

So an April final betwixt two unbeaten sides, neither of whom have dropped a single point in the journey so far.  The bookies though have Cold Norton as odds-on favourites, which will both upset and galvanise the Blackwater posse.

Despite the Cup week status we did still managed to sneak in a few League games and there was some decisive action in Division 2 as both the top sides dropped points unexpectedly.  Maldon B have had an up-and-down kind of season so their A side will not be thanking them for having their most ‘up’ day in this week’s Maldon derby where the B side routed the A team in a comprehensive 7-3 conquest where Steve Aspland and Marty Englander laid down serious hat-tricks.  Aspland also combined with Garry Eames in the doubles for his most perfect 4-ball of the season.  So with Maldon A dropping points at will surely Stow Maries A would jump at the chance to strengthen their lead and get at least a few digits, if not one hand, on the Division 2 Shield.  Well they might have done if they had fielded a full side in the clash with Mapledene C, but alas the fight was left to just two protagonists – Gary Brignall and Peter Chastin.  They did themselves proud though with Brignall scoring yet another hat-trick of wins and he was ably wing-manned by the tough to beat Chastin who was able to better Tony Ayliffe and Mike Johnston,

but fell to the trusty forehand of Mapledene’s Andy Seaman. Seaman and Ayliffe then defeated the withering Stow duo in a five set doubles confrontation that led to an overall sharing of the points.  It could have been so much worse for the Stow outfit but looks like they have survived this scare.  In the final divisional bout this week Stow B and Stow C played out a competitive match that saw every player put at least a point on the scoreboard, with Nicky Reece-Ford going 2 better as he hat-tricked for the B side to secure the 7-3 win, with Tony Forster in support role with a decent brace.  Only one match in Division 3 this week and as usual when Maldon C take part the result is very decisive.  This week’s victims were Maldon E, who worked hard but were no match for the C team trio of Marty Englander, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill, all of whom laid down hat-tricks in the whitewash 10-0 win.  Englander was in devastating form taking just 12 legs

to record 4 wins, combining with Ravenhill in the doubles.  A win that just confirms Maldon C’s status as Champion-elect, and not surprisingly all 3 C team players are in the top 4 of the divisional player of the year running, each with an over 90% win rate – but chasing down the 100% man, Allan Steel, in top position.

Pic 1 – Cold Norton B’s Successful Handicap Cup Trio – Ian Wall, Dan Anderson & Sam Lowman

Pic 2 – Sam Lowman of Cold Norton B clawing back his handicap against Woodham’s Harry Sawford

Pic 3 – The opening Doubles encounter from the Cold Norton B semi-final victory this week

Pic 4 – Alan Scammell of Blackwater A working hard to better his clubmate Gary Smith

Pic 5 – Maldon C Trio – Division 3 Champions-Elect – Marty Englander, Brian Riedling & Chris Ravenhill

Pic 6 – Chris Ravenhill in his victory over Brian Dixon this week

Report by Eamonn Hall

Such has been the dominance of Netts A at the top of the Braintree Table Tennis League this season that even preventing them winning 10-0 counts as some sort of success.

After four consecutive such wins, they were brought down to earth with a bump – well,  maybe a slight shudder – when Rayne B restricted them to 8-2.

It was a match with significance on a personal level as well: a victory for Oliver Hicks over his dad James. 

That was close, and then not so close: 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3. 

Apart from the bragging rights in the Hicks household, it was a notable win in itself as Hicks senior had previously lost only three out of 31 – and had won the first battle with his son 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 in October.

Steve Pennell was responsible for Rayne B’s other point with a straight-games win over Andy Holmes.

It is largely academic, but Rayne A for once bettered the leaders by beating Liberal B 9-1, Ashley Skeggs gaining Liberal’s point with a win over Maria Boulton despite losing the first game 11-1.

Sudbury Nomads also moved a point closer to the top by beating Netts B 9-1. 

Jon Hill grabbed Netts B’s point with a win at 11-9 in the fifth against Aron Jordan, but of more interest was the fact that Richard Fifield, all-conquering in division three, remained al-conquering on his division one debut.

At the other end of the table, Liberal C registered their fourth win, 7-3 over Rayne C, but still remain behind their opponents who have yet to post a victory.

In the Black Notley club battle, it was the B team who came out on top, 8-2 against the A team.

Luke Burridge was unbeaten.

There were no wobbles at the top of division two where Sudbury Wanderers had a straightforward 10-0 demolition of Netts D, but below them Rayne D pulled two points closer to second place with an 8-2 win over Notley E while Rayne E were held to 6-4 by Rayne F. 

For Rayne D, Dave Moles and Paul Wellington were undefeated while for Notley E, Matt Brooks had the rare distinction of bettering son Jamie by registering his side’s only win at Dave Marsh’s expense. Notley C lost a bit of ground with a 6-4 defeat by Netts C, despite three singles from Rev Matthews, while Doug Sanders was unbeaten in Yeldham Whitlocks’ 6-4 win over Notley F.  He beat Graham Chinnery, who had earlier got the better of Roy Hooper.

In division three, leaders Finchingfield A matched their counterparts in the higher divisions with another thumping win, 9-1 over Notley I.  Tony Brown pinched the one for Notley with a win over Ray Bradford.

Second-placed Sudbury Strollers were much harder pushed by the juniors of Netts F and needed all the guile of Richard Kemp, in the second division for the past few seasons, to settle a 6-4 win.

The next two teams both lost.

James Dickson remained unbeaten for the first time to lead Yeldham B to a 6-4 win over third-placed Notley G while Finchingfield B succumbed by the same score to Rayne G.

Two of the division’s leading players, Ted Sims and Stewart Grant, were both playing for the first time in more than two months in the latter match, Sims creeping home in the battle between the two 9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9.  

Netts E pulled further away from the foot of the table with a 6-4 win over Notley H, with David Montgomery unbeaten.

Report by Ron Fosker

Second placed Chelmsford A’s 7-3 loss at Danbury B would have given much pleasure to division one leaders Danbury C who look to be odds-on to lift the 2024/2025 title. Danbury’s Sam Lowman was in great form as his three victories along with Dan Anderson’s brace helped the fourth-placed B team close the gap to their opponents to just six points. Chelmsford’s Simon Jarvis earned fine wins over Anderson and Chandler but narrowly lost out to Lowman in the opening contest of the evening by a 3-2 scoreline.  Chris Penrose and Dave Richardson won three matches apiece as third placed Danbury A beat sixth placed Galleywood A 8-2.  Galleywood’s James Hicks and Gary Brignall fought back from 2-1 down to beat Penrose and Richardson in the doubles.

In division two, Hatfield Peverel A continued their late-season revival with a third straight win having tasted defeat in their previous seven matches. There was a treble from Martin Archie backed up by two wins apiece for Alastair Piper and Julie Johnson as Peverel moved up to fourth position with a 7-3 home victory over the winless Old Chelmsfordians B.  Both Piper and Johnson were denied a third win by OC’s Mick Richardson who recovered from 2-1 down to beat Johnson in the last match of the evening.  Richardson had earlier raced to a 2-0 lead over Archie only for his opponent to strike back to earn the first of his three wins.  Derek Balding made his first league appearance of 2025 and took his record to 18 wins from 18 singles matches this season in an 8-2 Maldon A victory over Writtle C. Balding’s teammates Colin Napper and Chris Hancox won two matches apiece – the latter seeing his 2-1 lead end in a loss against Writtle’s Gary Ward.  There were trebles for both Mark Glenister and Gary Brignall as Galleywood B consolidated eighth position with an 8-2 victory over ninth placed Writtle B. Teammate Will Goodchild would have joined them on three victories but for Trevor Collin taking the deciding game of their matchup. Rob Burton dropped just one game from his three victories as leaders Buttsbury A won 8-2 on the road at Danbury D.  Burton was joined on three wins by Evie Knaapen who got the better of Daniel Patynski in a very exciting match which ended 14-12, 8-11, 12-10, 22-20 in Knaapen’s favour.

Chelmsford D moved ten points clear at the top of division three with an 8-2 home win over fourth placed Danbury G. Christopher Denyer and Alex Tkachuk did the business for the hosts with Tkachuk’s 3-2 victory over Mervyn Perriman the sole five-gamer over the course of the contest. Galleywood C moved withing four points of second placed Buttsbury B with a 7-3 away win at the two-person team of Hatfield Peverel B – Peverel’s Neil Freeman was the star of the show with three victories. Freeman beat Bryn Thomas in three, Colin Blore in four and managed to overcome a rallying Robin Armstrong in five. Dave Moles was on fire as his bottom of the table Writtle E side beat tenth placed Danbury H 7-3 to move within two points of eleventh placed OCA C.  Moles dropped just one game in his three victories – one of which was a 3-1 victory over Danbury’s Gordon Gatheral who saw success in his two other matches. 

Peter Harverson won all three as eighth placed Danbury J drew 5-5 with ninth placed Chelmsford F.  Harverson won his first two matches of the evening with 3-0 scorelines but was well tested by Chelmsford’s Salih Salim who finally went down 13-11 in the fifth.  There was a Tom Barker treble in eleventh placed Old Chelmsfordians C’s 6-4 away win at fifth placed Writtle D. Barker had to recover from 2-1 down against Malcolm Henstock in order to register his second win of the evening while Barker’s teammate Luke Richardson also caused Henstock angst when recovering from 2-0 down for the victory in their encounter.

Division four leaders Hutton A and second placed Maldon B were not in action in week 22 so the focus was on whether third placed Buttsbury C could close the gap when hosting fifth placed Danbury K in one of their two games in hand.  Buttsbury were boosted by news that Danbury were only able to field two players for the fixture as Joshua Freeman’s two 3-0 victories fired the hosts to a 8-2 win.  Buttsbury D moved above Danbury K into fourth place with a 9-1 away win at Danbury M thanks to trebles from Keith Abbott and Kevin Willis.  Danbury’s David Smith scuppered Buttsbury’s Lyndon Bubb’s hopes of a treble when eeking out a 3-2 win (3-11, 11-6, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10).  There were two wins apiece for Chelmsford G’s Mark Nolan, David Parker and Atharv Gupta in their 7-3 away win at Danbury L  John Manning put the hosts 1-0 up with a five-game win over Nolan before teammates Roy Gandy and Ken Wilding made the score 3-0.  Those three matches were the highlights of the evening for Danbury as Chelmsford then took the next seven matches, Nolan and Atharv Gupta recovered from 2-0 down to win the doubles contest and David Parker weathered a Gandy fight back from the same position in a 3-2 win. In two mid-table encounters, Nathan Blore was undefeated for Galleywood D as they ran out 8-2 winners against Hatfield Peverel C, while Farooq Ahmed won all three for OCA D despite a 6-4 away loss at the hands of Highwood A.

There were two wins for Buttsbury E in week 22 who sit 10 points clear at the top of division five though second-placed Hutton B have the advantage of three games in hand.  There were three wins for both James Hughes and Chris Hughes in a 9-1 victory over Hatfield Peverel F, while OCA E’s Matthew Porter’s treble couldn’t prevent Buttbury running out 6-4 winners.  Michael Anthony hit a hat-trick as third placed Writtle F won 7-3 at Highwood B while Tim Huxtable won all three as fourth placed Maldon C won 7-3 at Hatfield Peverel C. The basement battle between Anglia Ruskin and Hatfield Peverel F ended in a 5-5 stalemate as Peter Hughes took the player of the match honours with two wins from three while James Grindlay and Shengbing Zhu won three apiece as Chelmsford H posted an 8-2 home win over Hatfield Peverel D.