Life at the wrong end of a division is never much fun, but things have just brightened up for two teams in the Braintree Table Tennis League.
Black Notley H recorded their first win in division three and while Netts E’s win was their second, it was an out-of-the-blue success against the division’s second-placed team.
Notley H’s win came against fourth-placed Finchingfield B by 8-2, although to be fair the opposition were without most of their big guns.
Nigel Parmenter was their mainstay as he has been for most of the season. His three wins took his total to 17 out of 21.
Jill Canning chimed in with two wins as did Mike Smith, to end his unusual barren spell.
Netts E’s only victory so far had come at Notley H’s expense, which made their success against a far from negligible Sudbury Strollers side – Peter Abbott, Geoff Barrett and Tim Matthews – particularly notable.
David Montgomery was the architect of victory. He is also on a good run, his three singles taking him to 13 wins in his last 15.
Lindsay Dodd won twice and the two combined to win the doubles for a 6-4 scoreline.
Division leaders Finchingfield A had a harder time of it than usual when Yeldham Whitlocks B stretched them to 6-4.
Whitlocks’ Steve Willis scored wins over Ray Bradford and Chad Rose while James Dickson lost to them but surprisingly got the better of Dave Punt.
Dickson, a junior at the Colne club many years ago, is one of quite a number of players who have come back to the game after dropping out after their junior years.
He picked up a bat again after the village was given a table via a grant from the league and Table Tennis England. He has so far knocked up a number of useful wins, but success against Punt, a player with an 85 per cent average, was definitely the pick of them.
Eleven-year-old Arun Cochrane is just starting his junior career and he stood in the way of victory for third-placed Notley G in their match with Netts F. He won his three singles for the first time in his nascent career to enable his side to share the points.
Conrad Gomes was the man in form in Rayne H’s draw with Notley I. He remained unbeaten for the first time this season.
Southend Division 2 promotion hopefuls Canvey B were dealt a blow to their ambitions by Rawreth Megazone D who just pipped them 5-4 in a tight encounter this week. Three matches went the distance and the lead swapped back and forth Canvey going 2-0 down, then leading 3-2, down 4-3 and then levelling at 4-4. Just as well for Rawreth that Gus Heath stepped up to play that final game as he beat Tony Westwell in straight sets, completed a perfect hat trick and took the POTM award to boot. Heath was supported by a win each for Richard Kidd and Amar Al-Soufi whilst Trevor Hayes got a brace for Canvey plus a point each for Westwell and Kevin Walsingham. Canvey stay fourth as a result and Rawreth sixth.
Big winners of the week were league leaders Stanford B who duly swept aside their own C team 8-1. Rob Salvage and Adrian Armstrong were both unbeaten, albeit Armstrong was taken to five sets by Martin Winter and Vaughan Chambers, and Russell Bright picked up a brace but fell to Chris Crooks in another five set match for the C team’s consolation point.
In another inter club match Matchpoint B beat their C team 7-2 with John Lott and Max Mayo recording hat tricks and Samuel Morgan getting the remaining point. Mayo was taken to five sets by Alwine Jarvis and Oliver Milchard and it was they who picked up the C team’s points both beating Morgan. Matchpoint B stay second in the table 19 points behind Stanford.
Hannah Harbour of Hockley D has been in fine form in recent weeks and this continued as she picked up another hat trick against Invicta B. Team mate William Evesham matched this performance with his own maximum and together with a point from Elliot Brackenbury they ran out 7-2 winners. It wasn’t all straight forward as Harbour was taken to five sets by John Blackman and Evesham did likewise extended by Blackman and Mike Keeble. Hockley go fifth nine points behind Canvey whilst Invicta stay one but bottom of the table.
Team of the Week – Rawreth Megazone E
Player of the Week – Gus Heath
Report by Paul Strutt
In Division 3 another week and another win for league leaders, Basildon C, making it 10 wins on the trot. Dave Walton fired a hat-trick in their latest match against Hadleigh Forum D, well supported by skipper Andy Roff with a double and Ross Letham who chipped in with a single win. 6/3 being the margin of victory. Todd Barker with two wins was the best on the night for Hadleigh.
Second placed Invicta C closed the gap at the top, but by only one point following their 7/2 win over Rawreth Meggazone E. Keith Baxter took the POM honours with a maximum, with his wingmen Brendan Raja and David Barlow adding a brace apiece. For Rawreth there was a win each for Graham Back and Mike Webb.
Canvey C recorded only their second win of the season when they travelled to Hullbridge to take on Matchpoint D. Captain Ray Baker led the way, turning in an unbeaten performance and with Che Martin and Stephen Parker each adding a pair, it was left to Matchpoint’s Richard Sloman to add an air of respectability to the final score with a double of his own. Finally, a youthful Evolve team found things a bit too hot to handle when they took on Stanford D. whose trio of Randy and Jake Santiago plus Andrew Jessop made no mistakes and a 9/0 whitewash ensued. Mention should be made however of Evolve’s Ben Berwick who pushed both Jake and Andrew to a deciding set before falling short.
Lowly Holland Hurricanes of Division Three produced one of the surprises of the week in the Clacton League’s Handicap Cup competition with a 5-4 victory over an experienced and determined Lawford trio.It was no breeze for the Hurricanes in their Group H match who, after leading 2-0, lost the next four matches to fall behind 4-2 to Lawford’s Charlie Denholm, Richard Spence and Ian Sherwood.
The Hurricanes needed to win all three remaining matches to take the tie and, with the same handicap applying to all three matches (Hurricanes +2, Lawford -11), Ian Gwillim defeated Spence, Pam Cousins defeated Sherwood, before Gwillim and Widnell took the final doubles against Denholm and Spence 10-12, 11-2, 11-3 to clinch an unlikely 5-4 victory.
The second match in the Group saw reigning Cup-holders Walton B up against 2023 Cup-winners Brotherhood A. Walton took an early 3-0 lead and looked comfortable but Brotherhood’s Kevin Gowlett, John Cleasby and Russell Hillier bounced back to take five hard-fought matches on the trot and the tie 5-3. Two of those wins proved extremely tight, Gowlett and Hillier (-3) taking the middle doubles 12-10 in the fifth against Mark Gale and Paul Meikle (+1), and, in a scratch-match, Cleasby defeating Gale, also 12-10 in the fifth.
By contrast, Group A produced two 5-0 results, Brotherhood F defeating Nomads Tigers, none of the matches extended beyond a third set, and Nomads Bobcats beating fellow-Division Three side Holland Vulcans, Alex Baldock’s (-6) 11-5 in the fifth win over James Horsler (+1) the closest match of the encounter.
Windsor Harriers lead the way in Group B after their 5-1 success against Brotherhood D. Barry Allen and Isabel Barton (+1) had a vital 11-6 in the decider doubles win over Martin Edwards and Tricia Salter (-3), with Allen (+1) finishing off the tie with an 11-5 in the decider win over Paul Alden (-1).
Nomads Ocelots and Windsor Penguins benefitted from walk-over wins in Group C, but both Windsor Buzzards and Brotherhood C had to fight hard for their wins in Group D.
In an all-Division One all-Windsor clash, the Buzzards were 5-2 victors against the Eagles, the Buzzards losing both doubles but winning five singles, three of which went the distance. Andy Cawley (+2) sealed the deal with an 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6 victory over Gary Cattermole (-8).
Captain John Gallagher was Brotherhood C’s only unbeaten player as his Second Division side overcame Third Division Windsor Falcons 5-2, his 10-12, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 success against Kelvin Olano the pick of the encounters in a match played off scratch.
Another all-Division one clash in Group E ended in a 5-2 victory for Brotherhood B against Walton A, Sam Plummer unbeaten in his one singles and two doubles.
But the Walton A side bounced back in their second match, often having to retrieve a twenty-point-plus handicap disadvantage to defeat Third Division Nomads Leopards 5-1.
It was a second 5-1 defeat for the Leopards who, earlier in the week, had lost to Division Three Walton D, Nomads’ Mark Taylor and Cieran McCallan (+1) beating Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton (-8) 11-8, 15-13, 9-11, 5-11, 11-6 in the opening doubles for their side’s only win of the match.
Division Three Brotherhood H had a great scrap with the old hands of Division One Walton C in Group F, ending as narrow 5-4 winners. In a see-saw match, Brotherhood led 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3, before Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard (+1) clinched the tie 6-11, 11-0, 11-6, 11-6 with a doubles win over Graham Buxton and Paul Newbould (-8). Crucially, Brotherhood won all three doubles.
After losing the first doubles of the match, Paul Hume, Martyn Green and Adam Wilkin of Nomads Lions got their side’s Cup campaign off to a good start in Group G with a confident 5-1 win over potentially difficult opponents Brotherhood E.
But in an all-Windsor clash, Division One Hawks were only able to field two players against Division Two Kestrels and so it was little surprise the Kestrels took the tie 5-0.
* Winning teams are reminded they must send the result sheet to Tony Oswick within twenty-four hours of the match being played. Results and tables will be up-dated and can be viewed each Thursday and Sunday during the Cup weeks on both the League’s website (‘Knock Out Cup Results’) and Facebook pages.
* The only League match played was a bottom-of-the-table clash in Division Two where Brotherhood G won four of the five matches which went the distance to win 8-2. Danny Still’s treble included an 11-7 in the decider win over John Plummer, while Dan Grindrod’s three included an 11-7 in the decider win against the unfortunate Plummer, as well as an 11-4 in the decider success over Dave Sweetland. Still and Grindrod took the doubles 11-6 in the fifth against Plummer and Sweetland.
The Braintree Table Tennis League second division trophy is clearly heading in Sudbury Wanderers’ direction but who will carry off the runners-up trophies is another matter.
For some time they had appeared to be destined for Rayne D but a couple of stumbles pulled them back into the pack.
And their latest result – more of a tumble than a stumble – has relegated them to fourth place.
The absence of Dave Moles and Dave Marsh did not help, but a 9-1 reverse at the hands of Black Notley D was still unexpected.
Notley included new signing Wictor Delimat, who quickly proved his worth by winning his three singles.
He was joined by Alesha Ellis-Austin, who had her best evening in the league so far with three wins in straight games, while Richard Whiteside picked up Rayne D’s sole point, a win at 11-8 in the fifth over Stewart Ireland.
Notley D climbed above their opponents as a result of that win, but it’s Rayne’s E team who now occupy second place. They beat Netts D 7-3.
The next two teams, Notley C and Netts C, both had 8-2 wins, over Rayne F and Notley F respectively.
Rev Matthews was unbeaten for Notley C and Charles Calisin for Netts C.
The top two in division one both had 10-0 wins, Netts A over Notley A and Rayne A against Liberal C.
Liberal B and Rayne B are separated by one point in third and fourth place and the match between them reflected that in that six of the ten sets went to five games.
Sadly for Liberal B, they only won two of them, and they lost the other four as well to finish 8-2 down.
Victor Chan and Steve Pennell were unbeaten for Rayne.
Liberal A drew with Notley B while Netts B scored their second successive win and climbed out of the bottom two by beating a two-man Rayne C, the team below them, 8-2. Joe Meleschko was unbeaten.
In division three, leaders Finchingfield A beat Rayne H 9-1 – a good win for Conrad Gomes over Dave Punt – while Sudbury Strollers increased the gap between them and third-placed Notley G to four points by beating Notley I 8-2 while Notley G drew with Rayne G.
The gap is only likely to grow bigger if Richard Fifield continues to turn out for Strollers. His second appearance was a repeat of his first, three wins, with only one game dropped in the process.
Newcomer Adrian Boeriu, of Notley I, continues to impress in his first season: Peter Abbott is not an easy opponent to get past.
Notley I drop behind Finchingfield B, who had an 8-2 win over Netts F.
Lucien Nolan-Bradford won the battle of the 16-year-olds – they were born 19 days apart – just nudging home against JJ Calisin at 14-12 in the fifth.
Nigel Parmenter was the man in form for Notley H. He won his three sets against Yeldham B but his teammates failed to follow suit.
This week saw the quarter-final stage of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Team Handicap Cup. The Handicap Cup is played across the whole league structure – just like the FA Cup in football – but players are assigned a handicap based on ability and ranking to even out the playing field, or in this case, table.
Cold Norton B are both the current holders and red-hot favourites to retain the cup. In this round they travelled the short distance to face the league’s friendliest team Blackwater E – but would their notorious generosity and hospitality off the table transfer to the on-table battle. With handicap differences of up to 26 points the challenge was all uphill for the Nortonites. But battle they did and with the handicaps proving pretty accurate it was really the quality of the Cold Norton players that saw out each leg at the crucial death points. In the opening doubles Blackwater’s Phil West (+7) and Kath Little (+9) got to the precipice but couldn’t quite find the momentum to skip over the edge as Sam Lowman (-17) and Dan Anderson (-12) caught up very late into each leg and then powered through the last couple of points winning out 21-17, 21-18. Deb Ginn (+5) had a 22 point start on Cold Norton’s Eric Green (-17) and played exceptionally well in the first 2 sets, getting to 20-20 in set 1 but just losing out and then taking the second leg 21-19 – but despite all this effort Green was able to maintain his accuracy and determination for the crucial deciding set and took another point for his Cold Norton combo. Little had a similar experience in her drawn out battle with the defensive king that is Anderson, comfortably taking the opening set but then just losing out in the second set as Anderson got his eye in and concentration levels up. The deciding set remained close throughout but again Anderson pulled through for Cold Norton taking the match with a 21-16 leg. This story was largely repeated throughout the games as Blackwater put up a brave fight but when the handicaps were pulled back around 17 all it was the higher ranked players that were able to finish off the games. Cold Norton go through 5-0 but the scoreline doesn’t really do justice to the efforts of the Blackwater E trio.
In an all Division 2 encounter Blackwater B hosted Woodham D with only a handful of handicap differences between them with 5 points being the highest. Woodham’s opening doubles pairing kicked things off with a long and hard fought 21-19 deciding leg victory as Peter Harverson (-4) and Jeremy Giffin (-1) defeated Blackwaters Noah Sage (-1) and Gary Smith (+1). But Blackwater soon found themselves 2-1 up thanks to straight set triumphs for Louis Gunn (-3) over Scott Perry (-3), and Sage over Harverson. Giffin squared up the match as he edged passed Smith in 3 long sets and then the match went into a pattern of win one lose one with Blackwater always ahead by 1 win but Woodham pulling back each time. So deep into the evening and we had a final match all-or-nothing decider – Gunn and Smith (-1) versus Perry and Giffin (-2) – would that 1 point advantage make the difference? Well not in the opening set as the Blackwater duo stormed ahead and took the frame quite comfortably. But as throughout the match the Woodham team fought back in the second leg and in this one the extra point did make the difference with Blackwater squeezing through 21-19 for the leg, the match, the overall team win and the important bragging rights!
With Blackwater A prevailing via a walkover, the final match of the week saw Division 1 strugglers Woodham B host their Division 3 stablemates Woodham E. Again plenty of fun handicap differences in this one for the crowd to enjoy. With such a range of handicaps and playing styles it was hard to predict how this one would go. The opening game set the scene though as the Woodham B pairing of Eamonn Hall (-5) and Harry Sawford (-6) had to work tirelessly against the E team’s Allan Steel (-2) and Diane King (+10) in order to reduce the deficit. Efficient serving and taking chances when they arose were the order of the day catching up the handicaps at 15-15 in both legs and then finishing off the match with some more relaxed attacking play. Woodham B’s highest ranked player Sanjay Saptarshi (-12) hadn’t got the memo on how to play his handicap matches as he initially struggled against Reece Arundel (+8), taking unnecessary risks and allowing Arundel to build up what seemed an unassailable lead culminating in 8 game points at 20-12 to his advantage. Around this time Saptarshi switched to a more cautious approach and ground out point after point forcing Arundel into errors and only attacking when there was minimal risk. Eventually he caught up at 20-20 and then took the final 2 points for a run of 10 points on the bounce and the unexpected first leg. That was Saptarshi sorted and he rattled off the second leg with much more ease. This was really the pattern of the whole match as Woodham B went into stealth mode until they had caught up their handicaps in the high teens and then were able to finish off with more attacking shots. So a 5-0 victory dance for the B team but as with the Cold Norton game earlier in the week the handicaps worked as virtually all games saw the E team reach 17-18 points and then the match becomes a 3-4 point shootout. Onto the semi-final, with the draw taking place later in the week and venue and ticket information to follow.
On a sadder note the League lost one of its long standing players this week as we mourn the passing of John Monk. John was a stalwart of Mapledene Table Tennis Club and was a previous winner of our coveted Singles Title. An awesome player and a real character on and off the table. He was playing at the highest level right up until his illness took hold of him earlier this year, and was a regular at the Burnham Tournaments with his last Final being the Over 60s Singles in 2023. He will be sorely missed and we pass on our condolences to all his family and friends.
Pic 1 – Triumphant Blackwater B trio – Messrs Sage, Smith & Gunn
Pic 2 – Sanjay Saptarshi in his opening set with Reece Arundel
Pic 3 – Cold Norton B’s captain Dan Anderson grinding out the wins
Pic 4 – John Monk RIP
Report by Eamonn Hall
Blackwater BSanjay Saptarshi (in red) v Reece ArundelDan Anderson – Cold Norton BJohn Monk RIP
Harry Chivers was back in action and fired a hat-trick as his Chelmsford A team fell to a 6-4 away defeat to Danbury C who moved one point clear at the top of division one. John Poysden and Keith Adams won twice apiece for the hosts with Poysden doing well to overcome Aidan Lees over five games in a see-saw battle. There were trebles for Arron Chandler and Matthew Stringer in Danbury B’s 8-2 victory over Chelmsford B. Chelmsford’s Waseem Qureshi proved a tough nut to crack, he beat Dan Anderson in three, took Chandler to four and was 2-1 up against Matthew Stringer before the fightback. The two-person team of Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read went undefeated for Writtle A in their 7-3 success at Galleywood A.
Dawn Baldry and Chris Hancox were on top form with three wins apiece as Maldon A earned a fine 8-2 win at last year’s division two runners up Hatfield Peverel A. Baldry was in a relentless mood, dropping just one game across her three victories while teammate Lloyd Bennett-Smith threw away winning positions in five game losses to both Alastair Piper and Martin Archie. Maldon continue to sit in second position, now seven points behind leaders Buttsbury A and seven points ahead of third-placed Danbury D with all three sides through ten fixtures of the season. Danbury D’s position is very much thanks to Sanjay Saptarshi who fired his fifth treble of the season (three more than any teammate) in a 7-3 away win at Galleywood B. Saptarshi didn’t lose a game while teammate Peter Chastin did well to recover from 2-0 down against Robin Armstrong for the first of his two wins. Another key player for their team – Simon Jarvis – fired his sixth hat-trick of the season (five more than any teammate) in Chelmsford C’s 8-2 home win against Old Chelmsfordians B. Dusan Doszkoty joined Jarvis with three wins (his first of the season) though he had to come through a tight opener with Mick Richardson: 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 16-14. Despite mixed results this season in division three Peter Hance made his first appearance of the season in division two and won all three in Danbury F’s 5-5 draw at Writtle B. Hance beat Phil Smith in three, Trevor Collin in four and recovered from 0-2 to beat Trevor Carter, the defeat to Hance was the only loss of the night for both Collin and Smith. There were three wins for Tim Cramphorn and two each for Neil Want and Tony Forster as Danbury E earned an 8-2 win on the road at Writtle C. Writtle’s John Webber won twice but lost out to Cramphorn by a 15-13 scoreline in the decider with Danbury continuing their progress up the table up to sixth position from tenth two weeks ago.
The top three positions in division three are separated by just four points with this division still waiting to be taken by the scruff of the neck by one of the teams, Writtle D in fifth position have lost fewer games than two of the top three sides and hold a game in hand so may make their move shortly. Chelmsford D lead the way on 72 points from 11 matches and they earned a 7-3 home win over clubmates Chelmsford F despite a first treble since week four for F’s Cleon Fernandes. Fernandes beat Chris Denyer in three, Adi Kamma in four and Keith Martin in five. Simon Quelch capped his first appearance of the season with a hat-trick as his Hatfield Peverel B trio drew 5-5 on the road at Buttsbury B. Buttsbury’s Oscar Hutt posted a fine 3–2 win over Neil Freeman and was one game up against Quelch before going down in four. There were three wins for Matthew Brown in Writtle D’s 7-3 home win over Writtle while Danbury G’s Denis Balic and Denis Crapnell won two apiece in an entertaining looking home fixture with Galleywood C which ended 6-4 to the hosts.
Hutton A earned themselves some breathing space at the top of division four with another 10-0 victory, this time against Buttsbury D who slip from third to fifth in the table. While the father/son tandem of Alex and Charlie Ware had relatively straightforward evenings, teammate Oladapo Owolabi did extremely well to hold his nerve in tight five-game matches with Caroline Cole and Jenne Seibolt. Maldon B remain second following a 9-1 away win at Highwood B while Danbury K find themselves in a season high third position as three wins from Dave Hancox and two from Dave Oxley-Goody saw off Hatfield Peverel C in a 7-3 scoreline. There was a first appearance of the season for Farooq Ahmed who won all three in OCA D’s 7-3 away success at Danbury L. Ahmed beat both Ken Wilding and Roy Gandy in four with his match against John Manning being the only to go the distance. There was a fourth treble of the season for Buttsbury C’s Oscar Hutt in his sides 9-1 away victory at winless Danbury M – Frances Hutt and Lucy Elliott also went undefeated. Galleywood D’s Stewart Ireland fired his first hat-trick since week four as his team edged out Chelmsford G 6-4. Ireland recovered from 2-1 down against Mark Nolan in the opener with Nolan later fighting back from 2-0 down against Lewis Armstrong only for Armstrong to take the decider.
Trebles from Gheorghe Nita and Lee Vallis extended Hutton B’s lead at the top of division five to 14 points in a 7-3 home win over Writtle F. Writtle fell to their second successive defeat having gone unbeaten in their first eight matches. There was a 5-5 draw for Maldon C despite a third successive treble for Garry Eames against fourth placed Hatfield Peverel D who remain just a point back. David Cockrell won all three as his Highwood B moved from eighth to a season-high position of sixth with an 8-2 home win over Chelmsford H. Highwood are now unbeaten in four having lost their previous five matches. OCA E and Galleywood E shared the spoils in a 5-5 draw with OCA now unbeaten in two matches having lost five on the bounce, Galleywood E have now just one loss in their last six fixtures. Douglas Bawuah’s second hat-trick in his last three appearances wasn’t enough to prevent ARU from their tenth straight defeat this season. Bawuah has earned 16 of ARU’s 25 points to date and he dropped just one game in ARU’s 6-4 loss to Hatfield Peverel E.
The 2024/2025 C&DTTL Tournament will take place between the 3rd and 5th January 2025 at Mildmay Hall, Anglia Ruskin University. Please find details and entry form here: https://www.tabletennis365.com/chelmsford
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Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
For results, fixtures, stats and more please visit https://www.tabletennis365.com/chelmsford
In Division 2 of the Southend League Hockley D’s Hannah Harbour hit successive hat tricks, both against the two Stanford sides, to give her an outstanding Player of the Week award. Firstly she moved up to Hockley’s C team to help them overwhelm Stanford C 9-0, and then she led her own D team to a surprise 5-4 victory against runaway leaders Stanford B inflicting on them their first defeat of the season.
Paul Strutt and Brian Bissenden were Hannah’s team mates in the match against Stanford C and it was pretty straight forward as they dropped only three sets all night. Needless to say Hannah didn’t drop any. Vaughan Chambers, Chris Crooks and Peter Moxon made up the Stanford team. The win moves Hockley up to second place behind Stanford B.
Hannah’s second appearance of the week was a lot more eventful. Hockley had to make a last minute change to their team having to call up Keith Denyer from their E team due to a late withdrawal. Stanford B, unbeaten at the start of the evening, arrived without their top performers this season Rob Salvage and Adrian Armstrong but with the unbeaten Russell Bright. The Stanford team of Bright, Mark Downey and John Handscombe proved too strong for Denyer which meant it was down to Hannah and young William Evesham to fly the Hockley flag and they flew it almost perfectly. Harbour’s first and toughest match of the evening came against Downey and after winning the first two sets Harbour found herself pulled back to 2-2 before she clinched the final set 11/8. She followed this by defeating Bright in four sets and then Handscombe in three, and wins for Evesham against Handscombe and Downey, another five set match, meant Hockley had a winning 5-2 lead. Stanford took the final two matches Bright beating Evesham in four sets and Downey beating Denyer in three. Stanford stay top and have a healthy 17 point lead although Hockley C have a game in hand.
Second placed Matchpoint B took on fourth placed Canvey B and a closely fought match went down to the final match of the evening after the Islanders fought back from 4-1 down to level the scores at 4-4. The deciding match saw John Lott of Matchpoint taking on Trevor Hayes, both unbeaten on the night, but it turned out pretty one sided as Lott won in straight sets to clinch the match for the home team. Max Mayo and Oliver Milchard added a point each for Matchpoint, Milchard coming from two sets down to beat Des Duffield and Mayo beating Tony Westwell in straight sets. Canvey’s points came from Hayes two wins and one each from Duffield and Westwell.
In the bottom half of the table Rawreth Megazone kept themselves clear of any relegation issues by beating Invicta B 6-3 who now sit one but bottom of the table. Gus Heath was in form, as usual, claiming a maximum and he was supported by Richard Kidd with two wins and Amar Al-Soufi with one. Match of the night was Steve Lennox’s marathon defeat of Kidd with the closest of scorelines 9/11 10/12 12/10 12/10 12/14. Lennox also beat Al-Soufi as did Mike Keeble who came back from two sets down to claim his win.
The team who sit bottom of the table, Matchpoint C, went down 7-2 to Runnymede but it was closer than the score might suggest. Take away Tony Millward’s perfect hat trick and every other game went to four sets and beyond. Ollie Milchard picked up both his sides points beating Steve Wisbey in four and Andy Humphries in a long five set match 7/11 15/13 11/9 15/17 7/11. Humphries and Steve Wisbey both got two wins for Runnymede but spare a thought for Zach Samuels of Matchpoint who took them both to five sets with no reward.
Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour
Team of the Week – Hockley D
Report by Paul Strutt
The position at the top of the Division 1 table is hotting up, with four teams separated by just two points. Matchpoint A joined Basildon A at the top of the table, tied on 48 points, thanks to a close 5 – 4 away win at Canvey A. Stephen Heard was their match winner, taking a maximum, although it was single wins from Debbie O’Neil and Dan Stewart that settled things. Peter Cray got two wins for Canvey, and Joanna Hills and Lee McGonagle one each. Canvey are two points off top spot with 46 points. Mapledene had arguably their best result of the season, overcoming visitors Basildon A 6 – 3 to put a brake on the away team’s progress. It was an all round effort, with Andy Seaman, Mike Johnston and Bill Smith each winning two. Self-styled ‘old codger’ Bill produced the performance of his season, getting the better of Basildon’s Arun Joy in four sets, to inflict only Arun’s second defeat of the season. Arun was the visitor’s best player, taking two victories, while Rob Burton got one. Rawreth Megazone C are the other team currently on 46 points. This week saw them complete a comfortable 6 – 3 home win over Wakering. Callum Turner scored a hat trick for the visitors to take the POM prize and to extend his unbeaten run. However, two wins each for the home side’s Garry Hartgrove, Trevor Ward and Gary McCarthy saw them claim victory with ease. Brand Identity B are not far behind the leading bunch. Their 5 – 4 win at Hadleigh Forum C sees them move on to 43 points. Forum’s Mark Everard will consider himself unlucky to finish on the losing side, despite his maximum POM performance. However, two wins each for Spud Saunders and Mick Grout, together with a single from Dale Gutteridge saw the visitors to victory. David Thomas got Forum’s other win.
With the top two teams on a rest week it was up to chasing pack to demonstrate their intentions in the developing leadership battle at the top of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Both Mapledene A and Woodham A had wins this week but the Mapledene crew will be happier with their victory margin whilst the Woodhamites were involved in a much more closely fought ding-dong with their own B side. But there are plenty more dramas to unfold as we have a 4 horse shootout in play for the next few rounds of this intriguing season.
Mapledene A quickly dispatched a 2-man Cold Norton C team in a confident 8-2 victory that pushes them into third spot with a game in hand that could see them overtake current leaders Fambridge. Arron Chandler was the thorn in the side of Mapledene as he took a 4 set win over Steve Muth and then a very tight 12-10 fifth set triumph over Evie Knappen – a continuation of Chandler’s excellent form this season. For Mapledene it was their rarely seen Captain Reece Seddon who did most damage with a clean night of wins in both the singles and doubles categories. Woodham A welcomed Woodham B to Champions Manor Hall and didn’t take long for the away side to adjust to the foreign environment taking the first point as Daniel Patynski beat Gus Heath in straight sets. The A teams Chris Penrose soon sorted out the alphabeticalness of the scorecard with good wins over Patynski and Sanjay Saptarshi, and with Saptarshi edging passed Daniel Piglet in a rollercoaster 5-setter the A team found themselves 4-2 up at the break. Penrose and Piglet were odds on for the doubles and took the first leg but them something clicked with the B team pairing of Patynski and Saptarshi and they rattled off the next 3 legs for an unexpected but very welcome bonus point, bringing the score back to a respectable 4-3. In the final run of singles matches Penrose completed his hat-trick with a straight sets victory over B team debutant Peter Harverson, Piglet ousted Patynski, and then Saptarshi closed out the scoring with a win over Heath for a final 6-4 victory for the A team – a slight dent in their podium finish ambitions. In the other top flight match this week Mapledene B romped home against an undermanned Woodham C. The final score was 9-1 to Mapledene with Paul Brown the only Mapledenite to drop a point, losing out to the effervescent Adi Kamma. Both Keith Willett and penhold fanatic Colin Chatfield went unbeaten across the evening despite some really strong play from Woodham’s Graham Briggs.
Maldon A strengthened their grip on pole position in Division 2 with a less than comfortable 8-2 victory over Cold Norton D. Lloyd Bennett-Smith and that man Hamish Innes went unbeaten all evening in both competitive formats leaving debutant Ross Kirby to secure the final point with his defeat of Dave Hancox. This encounter saw 5 of the individual matches go to deciding sets and only 1 of the matches was settled in straight sets – tough on the Cold Norton team but at least they won a couple of points for their endeavours. A prevailed over B in the Battle of the Blackwater this week. Blackwater A’s Neil Freeman was the strongest knight coming away completely unscathed from the battle – 4 matches, 12 sets for, none lost, where’s that cigar? Freeman was supported well by his entourage of Alan Scammell (1 win) and Roger Slade (2 wins), with the B team’s young buck Noah Sage causing the most upset with wins over Scammell and Slade. Mapledene C further dented the hopes and aspirations of Woodham C this year with a 7-3 away victory that propels them into 3rd place. Mapledener Andy Seaman was on tremendous form hitting an excellent hat-trick in the singles, with both Pat White and Mike Johnston hitting doubles. White losing out to Alan Dadswell in the final match of the evening, and Johnston succumbing to the skills of Jeremy Giffin. Dadswell and Mal Henstock combined for an unexpected bonus with a deciding set doubles victory over White and Seaman.
In the battle for Division 3 Maldon C extended their lead with a high scoring 8-2 conquest of Blackwater D. Ella Sach was in formidable mood with a fine hat-trick which was matched by Chris Ravenhill, and the two combined for the doubles. For Blackwater both David Sage and Peter Davenport edged passed Shirley Carroll for the Blackwater haul, with Carroll coming through a topsy turvy 5 setter with Ron Tam to complete her side’s scoring for the evening. Blackwater C are secure in second place but will really need to pull a few high scoring rabbits out of the fixtures hat to get anywhere near the runaway leaders. This week they travelled to Woodham E only to encounter the deft skills of Woodham’s unbeaten Allan Steel. Steel, predictably, won all his singles only dropping the one leg to Merv Perriman – come on Division 3 players, someone take this man down! Other than Steel’s 3 points for Woodham, Blackwater cleaned up for a 7-3 win with 2 wins apiece for Perriman, Dave Benstead, and Jacqui Treacy. Blackwater E and Maldon D ended in stalemate with Maldon’s James Raymond claiming the player of the match accolades with an impressive hat-trick. Both sides had good chances to win the match as 4 of the contests went to deciding frames but they decided that it would be nice all round for everyone to win at least one match and to share the spoils evenly – how lovely. Maldon E must be the less friendly side of the Club as they didn’t succumb to such niceties as they rolled over Blackwater F for a final score of 7-3. John Leavett was the most effective Maldonian with a hat-trick in the singles and he then combined with Kym Eames for the extra doubles point. Eames won 2 of her singles, as did Blackwater’s young star of the future Oscar Wyman.
Pic 1 – Woodham A’s Chris Penrose in unbeatable form this week
Pic 2 – Sanjay Saptarshi battles it out over 5 sets with Daniel Piglet in the Woodham Derby this week
Pic 3 – Alan Dadswell goes down fighting against the hat-trick man from Mapledene C Andy Seaman
Pic 4 – Blackwater C’s experienced pimple pusher Mervyn Perriman in action this week.
Pic 5 – Woodham E’s Reece Arundell tries his hand against Jacqui Treacy of Blackwater C
Report by Eamonn Hall
Chris Penrose – Woodham ASanjay Saptarshi v Dan PigletAlan Dadswell v Andy SeamanMervyn Perriman – Blackwater CReece Arundell v Jacqui Treacy
It was a good week in the Clacton League for Alex Baldock, captain of Division Three side Nomads Bobcats.
The much-improved Baldock kept his cool to remain unbeaten in the Bobcats’ 8-2 victory over Holland Hurricanes, a treble which included hard-fought wins over Ian Gwillim, 11-7 in the fifth, and Pam Cousins, 11-3 in the fifth. It was his third maximum of the season. Sam Watling and Jack Riddleston each won two for the Bobcats, Watling having a narrow 11-7 in the fifth win over John Smith-Daye. Gwillim took the two points for the Hurricanes.
And Baldock followed this up with an impressive performance as a reserve for Nomads Jaguars in Division Two against Windsor Kestrels, enjoying excellent victories over Debra Found and Jackie Bunce, which, together with a Chris Petrou hat-trick, gave the Jaguars a 6-4 win.
Back in Division Three, there were handsome victories for the top two teams.
Long-time pace-setters, Brotherhood F, had a comfortable 10-0 win over Holland Vulcans. Tom Bryden, Lucy Carvell and Joe Sherwin were the successful trio. The win maintains their ten-point cushion over nearest rivals, Brotherhood H.
The ‘H’ team, in their turn, are seven points clear of third-placed Nomads Bobcats, this week beating Nomads Ocelots 10-0, Savindu De Silva, Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard unbeaten.
The ever-reliable fourth-placed Walton D defeated Holland Mosquitos 9-1, Adrian Sexton and Maggie Earle taking three each, and Deborah Pallett two. Brian Abram picked up the Mosquitos’ point.
In the closest match of the week, Nomads Leopards and Windsor Falcons shared the spoils. Kelvin Olano maintained his 100% record, but it was a close-run thing, defeating Dominic Joannou 11-8 in the decider. Nikki Hayes and Nigel Rolph added a point apiece for the Falcons whilst, for the Leopards, Joannou and Anne Bonny each took a couple, the pair edging past Olano and Hayes 11-7 in the fifth to take the doubles and secure the draw.
In Division One, reigning champions and favourites, Nomads Panthers, end the first half-season with a healthy lead at the top following their 10-0 win against bottom team Lawford. James Denyer, Greg Green and John Hatley all won their three, captain Hatley’s 11-6 in the fifth victory over Glen Laing the closest match of the encounter.
Windsor Eagles defeated Walton C 8-2, but the score-line belies the fact that all five matches which went the distance went to the Eagles.
John Pattrick and Phil Smith both stayed unbeaten, Pattrick defeating John Marshall 11-7 in the fifth and Graham Buxton 11-6 in the fifth, whilst Phil Smith had a nail-biting 13-11 in the fifth win over Buxton. The pair also took the doubles, 11-7 in the fifth against Buxton and Marshall. Windsor skipper John Hobson gained a point with an 11-7 in the decider victory over Marshall, whilst there was a point each for Walton’s Buxton and Clive Allenby.
In Division Two, leaders Windsor Buzzards inflicted a 10-0 defeat on bottom team Windsor Magpies. Scott Campbell, Ray Chillingworth and Pete Bloomfield all took trebles, although Bloomfield was severely tested by Dave Sweetland before coming through 12-10 in the fifth.
So the Buzzards end the first half-season with a thirteen-point lead over second-placed Brotherhood C, who were unable to close the gap after losing 6-4 to third-placed Brotherhood D.
Five of the matches went all the way, the ‘D’ team winning four of them. Mark Salter’s maximum for the winners included an 11-9 in the fifth win over Mark Boyland, whilst Paul Alden beat the same player 11-8 in the fifth and then overcame Paul Metcalf 11-6 in the fifth. Salter and Alden combined to win the doubles 11-9 in the decider. Mark Beckham was the ‘D’ team’s most successful player, winning twice, including an 11-9 in the fifth victory over Alden to deny Alden his hat-trick.
Three teams currently share fourth place, all on fifty-five points.
Nomads Jaguars, 6-4 winners against Windsor Kestrels, are level with Brotherhood E, also 6-4 winners against Windsor Penguins, despite a hat-trick for Penguins’ skipper, Neil Chegwidden. Fred Gallone and Kevin Pryor each won two for the Brotherhood side, with Duncan Dunne pipping Paul Stanton, 11-8 in the decider.
Nomads Tigers are the third team sharing fourth spot, Zein Shafat leading the way this week with a hat-trick in his side’s 7-3 success against Windsor Harriers, a hat-trick which included a tight 13-11 in the fifth victory over Barry Allen. Bob Jillins won two and reserve Matt Sage one, Shafat and Jillins sharing an 11-8 in the fifth doubles win in the only other match which went the distance. Allen was the Harriers’ best player, winning two.
* Next week sees the start of the Group matches of the Handicap Cup. Winning teams must send the result sheet to Tony Oswick within twenty-four hours of the match being played. Players should note that Holland Lancasters and Holland Mosquitos have withdrawn from the competition, and any matches they were due to play have been awarded as walk-over wins to their opponents.
The big news of the week in Southend Division 3 was the first win of the season by the junior Hockley F side. George Higgins led the way with a hard-fought maximum, well supported by James Evesham and Amelia Taylor, who achieved her first win of the season. Indeed, it was Taylor who finally secured the 5/4 win over Canvey C. With the match score locked at 4/4, she held her nerve to overcome David Coverley in 4 sets to get her team over the line. Well done Hockley!
Elsewhere, league leaders, Basildon B, maintained their unbeaten run courtesy of a narrow 5/4 win away at Matchpoint B. Richard Sloman was unbeaten for the hosts and Jeff Gritzman added the extra point, but Basildon prevailed with two wins each for Richard Riebold and Anton Kudynuik, and a single win for Michael Elemide.
Second placed, Invicta C, closed the gap at the top to 12 points following their 7/2 win over Hadleigh Forum D. Trisha Winter was the POM here with a straight sets maximum. Skipper Keith Baxter was also unbeaten on the night and David Youngman added the extra.
Hockley E have moved into third place after a 7/2 win over Evolve, with a hat-trick from Gary Beck and two wins each for Keith Denyer and George Clark. Miles Bygrave was the best player on the night for Evolve, with two wins to his name.
Brand Identity’s Adam Jackman’s return from Southend Premier League duties has again upset the Division 1 equilibrium. This week his team were away at leaders Basildon A. Jackman recorded an unbeaten maximum to lead his side to an impressive 7 – 2 victory. His hat trick included a first defeat of the season for the home side’s Arun Joy. Team mates Michael Grout and Dale Gutteridge each added two wins, whilst Joy was responsible for both Basildon’s successes.
Canvey A returned to winning ways. Bob Skews was their hero, winning all three of his rubbers in a 7 – 2 away win at Mapledene. The returning Ray Wilson and stalwart Peter Cray shared their sides other points. The home side’s ladies, Lin Roff and Dawn Baldry, won one contest each.
In a close fought match, Rawreth Megazone C overcame their visitors Hadleigh Forum B 6 – 3. Paul Brown was again Rawreth’s star, taking the POM prize with an unbeaten evening. Gary McCarthy added two and Trevor Ward one win. The Forum team of Dave Woolmer, Tony Jacks and Mick Tappenden each managed one victory. Mick was particularly unfortunate to be on the losing side of a five-set encounter with Ward by 15 – 13 in the fifth.
