With five rounds complete in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League season we have a real battle developing at the top of the Division 1 table.  The top 4 teams are now only separated by 5 points and of course they all have to face each other over the coming weeks.  “Gladiators are you ready?”

Mapledene A just about maintained their 100% win rate record with a very tight 6-4 victory over relegation challengers Woodham B.  Steve Muth was once again the man Mapledene turn to in a crisis, and he delivered his second hat-trick on the bounce that included a drama-filled 5 setter with Woodham’s top dog Sanjay Saptarshi.  Muth went on to win his other 2 singles battles, both in 4 sets against Harry Sawford and Eamonn Hall.  The final match of the night saw Muth claim the team victory parade in his win over Sawford, after Sawford and Saptarshi had cheekily won the doubles to put pressure on the Mapledene crew.  In a rare Burnham outing Peter Barrett won 2 singles to help the cause with some excellent looping and backhand punching.  Saptarshi was the best of the Woodham bunch with 2 wins and Sawford picked up a notable scalp with a 4 set win over George Reeves.  So the unbeaten run continues but at what cost to Mapledene – in recent weeks they have dropped significant points against two of the lower teams and this may come back to haunt them beyond this year’s Halloween celebrations.  Woodham A leapfrogged Mapledene A with a solid 8-2 victory over struggling Woodham C.  A last minute roster crisis saw League Chairman Alan Dadswell make his Div 1 debut for the season and he didn’t disappoint as he contributed to the A team haul with a win over David Penrose.  The rest of the A-Team’s points came from the trusted paddles of Harry Chivers and Daniel Piglet who went unbeaten throughout the duration.   John Poysden’s star continues to shine bright as he led his Fambridge trio to a close awayday 6-4 triumph at Cold Norton B.  Recent hat-trick merchant Sam Lowman was drafted in for this one to boost confidence and increase the points haul for Cold Norton – unfortunately he notched up a negative hat-trick and this only boosted the Fambridge team.  Poysden was in full talisman mode as he went unbeaten in singles all evening, but did lose out in a lengthy doubles 5-setter shift with partner Gary Young that went beyond deuce in the decider.  Young won 2 of his 3 singles and this was matched by Cold Norton’s best player Eric Green who recorded good wins over Bruce Kettle, and Young.  Green and Ian wall were the victorious doubles pairing for Cold Norton.  This tight win sees Fambridge back on top of the table as their odds continue to drop – they certainly have the squad to reclaim their title.

With runaway leaders Maldon A on a warm weather training week in Majorca it was time for the potential challengers to stand up and be counted.  Boy did they deliver!  All 3 of the most likely contenders posted comprehensive 8-2 home victories to at least put a draught into the sails of Maldon A.   Stow Maries A showed no mercy to stablemates Stow Maries B as both Ryan Pitt and Peter Chastin won all their singles.  Third wheel Ken Sheard chipped in with 2 wins, just losing out to the very tricky Peter Hance.  Hance and Dave Marsh surprisingly pipped the doubles for some extra consolation on a night of woe.   Mapledene C displayed the strength of their squad by fielding a trio rarely seen in the Burnham league – but welcome they are.  Well maybe Cold Norton D would disagree with that as they fell to an 8-2 defeat which stunts their recent progression.  For Cold Norton Neil Want was able to muster a couple of wins, but lost out to the Mapledene star player Dave Woolmer in a close 5-setter.  Woolmer posted his first hat-trick of the season, and was ably supported by Tony Ayliffe and Dennis Squirrell who each won their other 2 singles.  Surprisingly Woolmer was not selected for the doubles match but this didn’t turn out to be as costly as is oft the case as Ayliffe and Squirrell finished the task in another 5 setter.  Woodham D are the growing threat in Division 2 and despite giving away approximately 120 years of experience they were able to overcome the wisdom and guile of the Stow Maries C trio.  The final score was 8-2 to Woodham D but the scorecard shows the match to be a lot tighter, especially for the lovable Dave Goody who played the maximum 15 legs of singles matchplay only to come away empty-handed.  Goody sorted this travesty out in  the doubles as he and partner Jean Chasmer, destroyed the Woodham pairing in 3 very quick and straight sets – some small consolation for the Stow stalwart.  For Woodham both Scott Perry and Peter Harverson were on hat-trick podium duty, and not far behind was Jeremy Griffin with a brace of wins, just losing out in 5 to Pete Layzell despite going 2-0 up early doors.  The next league fixture will see Maldon A and Mapledene C lock horns – could be more of a spectacle than the actual Maldon fireworks display!   Last week we boosted the relative merits of Maldon B’s Colin Barrell and Garry Eames and right on cue the editor’s curse strikes as both players had disappointing results in their loss to the awkward Blackwater A trio.   It was a good teamwork evening for the Blackwater squad as they all contributed to the 6-4 win.  Denis Balic and Roger Slade both won twice including notable wins over Barrell.  Captain Alan Scammell took a point against Eames and joined up with Balic for a straight sets doubles win over the usually proficient Maldon B doubles duo.  So where did all the Maldon points come from – well he’s back ladies and gentleman – Steve Aspland back in the groove and posting only his second hat-trick of the season, perhaps he’s now fired up and ready to go!

There is no questioning the favourites for the Division 3 crown and if you need any extra proof then this week’s 10-0 whitewash victory for Maldon C will do the trick.  They have now played 4 matches, won them all, and only dropped 4 individual matches along the way.  Come on Division 3 someone stand up to these imposters!  This week’s unfortunate opponents were a highly talented Blackwater C trio that included the mercurial Colin Barham.  But no mercy was given as the Maldon C crew of Marty Englander, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill had to jostle like shivering penguins as they all perched happily on the hat-trick podium together – with Ravenhill just taking the player of the match crown on a statistical countback.  Barham did his best to burst the Maldon bubble including taking Riedling to a fifth set having won the marathon fourth set 19-17 – but alas no cigar this time.  Maldon D kept up the semblance of a chase with a close 6-4 victory over Blackwater D but they will need bigger scorelines to trouble their C team.  The reliable James Raymond was again the most consistent player with a hat-trick of singles including a fifth set barnstorming comeback against Peter Davenport.  Raymond’s sidekick Arthur Shadforth added 2 further points with victories over Ron Tam and David Sage but he couldn’t outsmart the wily Davenport.  Not surprisingly Raymond and Shadforth paired up for a straightforward doubles victory that ensured the overall team win.  In the final match of the week Blackwater E adopted the Dusty Bin scoring method with a 3-2-1 set of singles wins for a hard earned 6-4 winning margin over Maldon E.  Blackwater’s Deb Ginn was the hat-trick star that included a deciding set triumph over Maldon’s top player John Leavett.  Leavett won his remaining singles and then combined with Kym Eames for a comfortable doubles bonus.  Blackwater matriarch Kath Little won out in the toughest match of the night as she eventually dispatched Eames 15-13 in a fifth set full of drama.  Little and Keith Thompson also beat Maldon’s Patrick Coyne but needed quite a few deuce legs to go their way. 

Pic 1 – Steve Muth in dominant form this week for the unbeaten Mapledene A

Pic 2 – George Reeves v Harry Sawford this week.

Pic 3 – Woodham D’s Peter Harverson racking up another hat-trick this week

Pic 4 – The lovable but unlucky Dave Goody from Stow C

Pic 5 – The Star team of Division 3 – Maldon C ( Brian Riedling, Marty Englander, and Chris Ravenhill)

Report by Eamonn Hall

Southend League Division 1

A welcome return to full strength for Wakering this week. Unfortunately, their visitors, Hadleigh Forum B, were just too strong for them, coming out 4 – 5 winners. The home side’s returning Callum Turner showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with at this level, winning the POM prize with a maximum. Hadleigh’s Paul Fawell and Dave Woolmer each won two and Jim Stait one. Paul England scored Wakering’s other success.

Despite Canvey A only being able to muster two players for their visit to Brand Identity B, they managed to come away with an impressive 6 – 3 win. Maximums from Ray Wilson and POM Andy Murray did the damage. This result has also hoisted their team to top of the table.

Another team pressing for the top spot are Rawreth Megazone C. Their visit to Hadleigh Forum C resulted in a 7 – 2 success. Paul Brown scored a POM maximum and Garry Hartgrove was unbeaten too. Veteran Trevor Ward got their other win. For the home side Mark Everard and Graham Farmer won one each.

Southend League Division 2

Stanford C finally broke their duck in Division 2 pulling off a first win of the season by beating Rawreth Megazone 6-3. The win also lifted them off the bottom of the table and they now sit above Runnymede and Matchpoint C. Vaughan Chambers, Peter Moxham and Martin Winter all won two games but none could get the better of Rawreth’s Richard Kidd who only conceded one set all night.

Also keeping themselves away from bottom place were Runnymede who got their second win of the season. They had to work hard however to edge out Invicta B 5-4. Tony Millward was the man who made the difference winning all his games without really being threatened, and he got the right support from Steve Wisbey who got a brace and won the decisive final match of the evening beating Mike Keeble in straight sets. Keeble, Steve Lennox and John Blackman all got the better of Heather Stiles and Lennox got the other point beating Wisbey.

At the other end of the table Stanford B marched on with a 9-0 thrashing of Matchpoint C. It was a straightforward win for the league leaders the only real opposition coming from young Ollie Milchard  who led Mark Downey two sets to nil before losing the last three 11/4 11/8 11/3. Rob Salvage and Russell Bright made up the winning team, Salvage recording the perfect hat trick.

Matchpoint B sit five points behind the leaders after beating Hockley D 7-2. John Lott and Alex Bowden both picked up hat tricks with Lotte Mills adding a single point. She conceded matches to Ben Cook and Elliot Brackenbury and Hockley remain winless after five games but stay in seventh place.

Team of the Week – Stanford C

Player of the Week – Robert Salvage

David Benstead fired a  hat-trick, his first since January 2023, as Hatfield Peverel F earned their first league win in 568 days.

Division 1

Josh Bickles won all three of his matches but ‘Chiversless’ Chelmsford A failed to win for the first time this season in division one as they were held to a 5-5 draw with Galleywood A.  The treble was Bickles’ third of the season while doubles from James Hicks and Peter Barrett halted Galleywood’s two-match losing run.  Danbury A consigned Chelmsford B to their fourth successive defeat of the season in a 9-1 away win which saw trebles from Eric Green and Bruce Kettle.  Danbury’s record moved to three wins from four matches this season though Waseem Qureshi prevented the 10-0 scoreline with a 3-1 win over Dave Richardson.   Trevor Lloyd, the only ever-present Danbury C player this season, fired a hat-trick as the C’s beat Danbury B 9-1.  Liam Squirrell also hit a treble, his second in two appearances, dropping just one game in the process.  Reece Seddon was involved in two match of the night contenders, the first a 3-2 victory over Sam Lowman: 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, with the second an equally as tight 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 against Dan Anderson.

Standings div 1: 1:  Chelmsford A 35 points (from 5 matches), 2: Danbury A 26 points (4 matches), 3: Writtle A 25 points (4 matches).

Division 2

The big match in division two this week was the meeting between second-placed Hatfield Peverel A and Chelmsford C who sat just one place behind them.  It was the team from Chelmsford who left with a 6-4 victory as Simon Jarvis produced his fourth treble in four matches this season though he had to recover from a 2-0 deficit in the evening’s opener against Julie Johnson.  Johnson went on to beat Dusan Doszkoty and Adi Kamma following Kamma’s 3-2 win over Gareth Davies. Peverel were once again without Alastair Piper who had won seven of his first nine singles matches this season. Buttsbury A extended their lead at the top with an 8-2 win at Old Chelmsfordians B, Rob Burton followed last week’s fine double with a treble and he was well backed up by two wins each for David Gatheral and Evie Knaapen. Mick Richardson was back to being the pick of OCA’s players with another two wins though he could only muster 10 points against the in-form Burton. Gary Ward was back in action for the first time since week two and he picked up where he left off with another hat-trick as Writtle C beat Writtle B 6-4. Dave Moles made his first appearance of the season for the B side and earned two wins – his second victory went to a deciding game and prevented John Webber from a treble of his own.  Fourth placed Maldon A look like they will be a handful for anyone this season, especially if they can field the tandem of Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Derek Balding who both won three each in a 6-4 away win at Danbury E.  Danbury’s Neil Want pushed both Bennett-Smith and Balding to fifth game deciders having earlier beaten Hamish Innes. Bennett-Smith also had five-gamers with Tim Cramphorn and Dick Wyman. There was another treble for Sanjay Saptarshi in Danbury D’s 7-3 win over Danbury F though Peter Chastin joined the ‘Saptarshi party’ with three wins of his own.

Standings div 2: 1:  Buttsbury A 36 points (from 5 matches), 2: Hatfield Peverel A 31 points (5 matches), 3: Chelmsford C 30 points (5 matches).

Division 3

Division three’s marquee matchup this week was the clash between leaders Chelmsford E and second-placed Writtle D which resulted in a change at the top as a Matthew Brown treble helped secure a 7-3 home win for Writtle. Brown dropped just one game as he took his record this season to 14 singles victories from 15 matches, teammate Malcolm Henstock played in three five-gamers but was denied his first treble of the season by Rev Matthews.  After two lean weeks by his standards, Mike Johnston was back in form as he registered a third hat-trick of the season in Chelmsford D’s 7-3 victory at Danbury J.  Johnson was well supported with two wins by Dusan Doszkoty as the Chelmsford D side moved up to second in the table. After hitting the headlines last week, Neil Freeman was in action again though he could ‘only’ muster two wins as his Hatfield Peverel B side drew 5-5 with Danbury H.  Freeman was all set for more headlines until Danbury’s Scott Perry eked out a win over five games.  With a fourth successive double this season it won’t be long until Perry fires a hat-trick. There was no Gary Copsey for Galleywood C this week but Bryn Thomas and Colin Blore were able to pick up the baton with three wins apiece in an 8-2 away victory against Chelmsford F.  Chelmsford remain bottom of the division while Galleywood move up to fourth with the experts wondering what kind of damage a Copsey/Thomas/Blore partnership might do when selected. A two week hiatus seems to have done OCA C’s Tom Barker the world of good as he bagged three victories in the 5-5 draw at Writtle E.  Writtle’s Malcolm Storey and OCA’s Luke Richardson had a right old ‘ding-dong’ which ended 3-1 to Richardson: 12-10, 13-11, 9-11, 14-12.  Danbury G continued their rollercoaster ride of a season to date with a 6-4 win at Buttsbury B, a result which meant the hosts tasted defeat for the first time this season. There were three wins for the third time in four matches this season for Harry Sawford though he had to dig deep when finding himself two down to Denis Crapnell.  Crapnell won two matches himself as did teammate Denis Balic. Regardless of the results, both teams are well placed to mount a title challenge – just five points from the top.

Standings div 3: 1: Writtle D 32 points (5 matches), 2: Chelmsford D 32 points (5 matches), 3: Chelmsford E 31 points (from 5 matches),

Division 4

Hutton A remain top despite failing to see victory for the first time this season as they were held to 5-5 draw by Buttsbury C in a match which saw Oscar Hutt fire a hat-trick. There was a first treble of the season for Dave Oxley-Goody in Danbury K’s 7-3 win at Chelmsford G. Atharv Gupta gave Oxley-Goody the biggest test of the evening in an encounter which went the distance, Richard Allen and Dave Powell won two apiece for Danbury while Chelmsford’s Mark Nolan also saw two victories. Neil Wood’s three wins in his first appearance of the season boosted Hatfield Peverel C to a 6-4 away win at Danbury M. Danbury’s David Smith fought back from 2-0 against Bob Hillis but lost in five to Wood. A treble for Roger Patient wasn’t enough for his Highwood A team as they lost 6-4 at home to a Buttsbury D side who are now unbeaten in four matches and sit in third position. Danbury L slipped from fourth position to sixth following a 6-4 home defeat against Galleywood D.  Lewis Armstrong and Nick Rounce won two games each for Galleywood as teammate Ron Salton played in the evening’s longest matches – winning 3-2 against Ken Wilding before losing by the same scoreline in his clash with John Manning.

Standings div 4: 1:  Hutton A 36 points (from 5 matches), 2: Maldon B 30 points (4 matches), 3: Buttsbury D 29 points (5 matches).

Division 5

Division five is shaping up to be one of the more interesting divisions in the C&DTTL with the three teams at the top all holding unbeaten records.  Buttsbury E lead the way with five wins from five followed by Hutton B with four wins from four and Writtle F holding an unbeaten record of three wins and a draw. Buttsbury E cruised to a 10-0 victory at Hatfield Peverel E, more trebles for Joshua Freeman and Torsten Greenan and a first for Lyndon Bubb.  OCA E fielded two players for the third time this season but unlike previous weeks they fell to a 6-4 defeat at the hands of Hutton B. ‘Steady’ Stuart Wintle won two of his matches for the fourth successive time this season, while Suzanne Shaw also won twice.  The closest match of the night was Wintle’s 3-2 win over Lee Vallis. There was a first hat-trick of the season for Richard Drozd in Hatfield Peverels D’s 8-2 win over ARU.  Teammates Andy Whiley and Barbara Kirkby won two apiece, both falling to ARU’s Douglas Bawuah.  And lastly, the good news story of the week – 568 days had passed since Hatfield Peverel F’s last win but that all ended on Wednesday night in the Galleywood Scout Hut as David Benstead, Alastair Brown and Peter Hughes all contributed to a famous Peverel success. A doubles win for Peverel’s Brown and Benstead in the seventh contest of the night put the visitors ahead in the fixture for the very first time, with that result followed by teammate Hughes holding his nerve to see off a Tomas Ratinas recovery from 2-0 down.  Doug Blaber then beat Brown and when Galleywood’s Steve Peacock looked like he would prevent a Hatfield win when going 2-1 up, an inspired Benstead with the whole of Hatfield Peverel behind him dug deep to take a 3-2 win. 

Standings div 5: 1:  Buttsbury E 41 points (from 5 matches), 2: Hutton B 30 points (4 matches). 3: Writtle F 26 points (4 matches),

Chelmsford Junior League division 1A

The Buttsbury Bees took top spot in division 1A from opponents Hutton Hawks with a 4-1 away victory in a match which saw Joshua Freeman win both of his matches 3-0.  The Chelmsford Lions moved into third place with a 5-0 win at Hutton Harriers, Ben Robinson and Amir Chetitah winning twice apiece.  William Guilloux was the lone representative for the Chelmsford Tigers in a 3-2 loss at the Buttsbury Bats though Guilloux won both of his matches. 

Standings div 1A: 1: Buttsbury Bees 18 points (5 matches), 2: Hutton Hawks 16 points (from 5 matches), 3: Chelmsford Lions 13 points (5 matches).

Chelmsford Junior League division 1B

The Chelmsford Leopards remain top of junior division 1B following a 3-2 win over Chelmsford Jaguars however it may have been a different story had the Jaguars been able to field two players. Sean Kwan performed admirably as he took on both Leopards single-handedly and beat both Sai Suresh and Atharv Srivastava with a 3-2 scoreline. The Hutton Hyenas took advantage of the first and second placed teams going into week five playing each other by moving into second place with a 4-1 win over the Hutton Hammers.  Theo Rugg won twice for the Hyenas with both victories by a 3-0 scoreline, while teammate Henry Willingdale earned his first victory in the CJL.

Standings div 1B: 1:  Chelmsford Leopards 16 points (from 5 matches), 2: Hutton Hyenas 14 points (5 matches), 3: Chelmsford Jaguars 13 points (4 matches)

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

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After just a few early rounds of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League season we now have 3 clear favourites for the divisional titles.   All 3 leading teams are the only 100% win rate teams left in their respective divisions, and all have come out of the blocks like a ping pong bat wielding Usain Bolt. 

Cold Norton A remain at the top of Division 1 but fell foul to the paddles of new favourites Mapledene A this week.  Mapledene A had Steve Muth and new signing Jordan Allen to thank for their close, but important, 6-4 victory over their championship rivals.  Muth won all 3 of his singles, all in tight 4 and 5 setters, and Allen had debut victories over Charles Sweeny and Neil Want but lost out to the rejuvenated Steve Maltby in a tense 5 setter having been 2 sets up.  Muth and Allen then combined for the key doubles point to secure the overall win.  Maltby was the best of the Cold Norton trio with an extra win over Babul McLeod, again coming from behind to win out 12-10 in the decider.  That leaves Mapledene A the only unbeaten team in the top division and now the bookies favourite for the crown.  Fambridge kept up their challenge with a comprehensive 9-1 triumph over 2-player Mapledene B.  Hat-tricks for stalwarts Mark Stones and John Poysden, with the sole Mapledene point coming from Colin Chatfield’s inspired 5 set turnover of Bruce Kettle.  Champions Woodham A edged past this year’s surprise package of Cold Norton C.  Woodham’s Chris Penrose was back to his best with an impeccable hat-trick, and he combined with his Captain Dan Piglet for a straight sets doubles point.  4 matches, 12 legs, job done!  Just as well as the Hot Norton pair of Arron Chandler and Kim Shead were in the finest of fettles as both players skirted past Woodham’s Piglet and Tony Bonnici in quick fashion for their team’s points haul in the 6-4 overall loss.  Hot Norton C seem destined to completely avoid another flirtation with the relegation zonoids this season thanks largely to the inclusion of Sam Lowman and the recent excellent form of Mr Chandler.

Division 2 leaders Maldon A came up against their toughest challenge of the season so far when they faced Woodham D this week, but took it all in their stride and posted a 7-3 winning margin with Lloyd Bennett-Smith the slayer in charge with a perfect unbeaten evening.  Bennett-Smith was ably wing-manned by Colin Napper who won 2 singles and the pair partnered up for the extra doubles bonus.  For Woodham, their young star Peter Harverson did the most damage with a straight sets victory over the very tricky Brian Riedling, and then a revengeful 4 set triumph over the very choppy Napper – an excellent scalp for the emerging Woodham player.  This victory leaves Maldon 4 for 4, and sitting very comfortable, if not that pretty, at the top of leader board.  It will be very difficult to hinder this runaway train.  Despite a sticky start to the season the Maldon B trio are now beginning to fire on all cylinders and the impressive form of Garry Eames is now helping to convert draws and close wins into healthy margin victories that sees Maldon B roaring into the runner-up spot just behind their Galacticos clad A side.  This week Maldon B secured an 8-2 victory over Blackwater B with Colin Barrell recording his first positive hat-trick of the season – fresh on the heels of his negative hat-trick the previous week – someone has been chomping on their Weetabix this week (other cereals are available)!  Barrell’s team-mates Steve Aspland and Garry Eames both added 2 wins to boost the tally and of course Aspland and Barrell nicked the doubles as they always do.  Big shout out to Blackwater’s Gary Smith who took his best scalp of the season in his 4 sets conquest over Aspland.  The tricky Blackwater A side recorded their first win of the season with a 6-4 margin over Stow Maries A.  In a team dominated by defenders and pimpled paddles the contrast of Neil Freeman’s loopy attacking play can often confuddle Blackwater’s opponents.  This week was a prime example as Freeman unleashed his assets to great avail with a stunning first hat-trick of the season.  Denis Balic more than played his part in the victory with 2 singles wins including a very high ranking points victory over Richard Storey.  For Stow Maries it was Peter Chastin who kept the score in check with victories over Balic and Alan Scammell, plus the doubles win when partnering Storey.

Division 3 is mirroring the division above with its own Maldon-off at the top of the table as the Maldon C and D teams battle for supremacy.  Maldon D remain top courtesy of having played an extra game whilst Maldon C retain their 100% win rate and look certain to make the running.   Maldon D posted a comfortable 8-2 winning margin over Blackwater F with Arthur Shadforth back to his hat-trick ways.  Ross Wheeler and Matthew Copsey both added a brace of points with Blackwater’s David McHattie beating Wheeler and Oscar Wyman inflicting Copsey’s only loss of the evening.  Maldon C went one better with a 9-1 scoreline over Blackwater E.  Impressive and hard-fought hat-tricks for both Ella Sach and Shirley Carroll with Blackwater’s sole point coming courtesy of Keith Thompson’s victory over Chris Ravenhill.  In the final match of the week Woodham E opened their winning account for the season with a 6-4 victory over Blackwater D.  All of Woodham’s points came from the returning Allan Steel and the sartorial elegance of Chris Crooks.  Steel looks a class above the rest of the field in this division and has been quickly installed as the favourite for the Roy Davis MVP Trophy.  This week he was largely untroubled in his singles hat-trick that included a straight sets victory over the current holder of the Roy Davis Trophy Peter Davenport.  Crooks was unable to repeat this feat and lost out to Davenport in 5 sets but won his other matches and combined with the Man of Steel for the crucial doubles point.  With Steel and Crooks in their ranks you would expect Woodham to trouble some of the top sides over the course of the campaign.

Pic 1 – Arron Chandler (Cold Norton C) versus Chris Penrose (Woodham A) this week

Pic 2 – John Poysden with another hat-trick for Fambridge this week.

Pic 3 – Lloyd Bennet-Smith leading the charge for his Maldon A side

Pic 4 – Shirley Carroll (Maldon C) in her victory over Keith Thompson (Blackwater E)

Pic 4 – Woodham’s very own Superman – Allan Steel in action this week

Report by Eamonn Hall

It is a measure of how evenly balanced division two of the Braintree Table Tennis League is that the top eight teams are covered by just nine points.

Week three results were a good illustration: three draws and a 7-3, with Rayne D’s 9-1 win over Netts D the only outlier.

While last week’s leaders Sudbury Wanderers were without a match, that win took Rayne D to the top of the table but Rayne E, who were level on points, slipped back after being held to a draw by Yeldham Whitlocks A.

Matthew Brown took his expected three singles for Rayne E but two each from Roy Hooper and Doug Sanders, plus the doubles, enabled Yeldham to share the points.

Netts C and Black Notley’s E and F teams are two points behind after Netts drew with Rayne F and E beat F in the Notley battle.

Kierlan Richards was unbeaten for Netts C and Jamie Brooks for Notley E.

The other draw was between Notley’s D and C teams, where Rev Matthews was unbeaten and Gordon Fairchild made a welcome return to action.

In division one, last year’s top two, Rayne A and Netts A, both won 9-1.

Rayne beat Notley B, where Steve Noble had an excellent win over Adam Buxton, while Netts beat Liberal B, Robin Armstrong’s win over Andy Holmes the one that got away.

Scott Dowsett won his three singles in Liberal A’s draw at Rayne C while Chris Parr was unbeaten in Notley A’s 7-3 win over Netts B where Jamie Brooks, playing up from division two, had a good win over Joe Meleschko, avenging his defeat at 12-10 in the fifth at the end of last season.

Finchingfield A continued their impressive run at the top of division three, although their 10-0 win over a two-person Netts F was not as straightforward as it looks.

JJ Calisin pushed John Barrett to five games as did he and James Howard against Barrett and Peter Clark in the doubles.

Finchingfield’s B team notched up their first win of the season, 8-2 over Netts E, with John Dennison and Stewart Grant unbeaten.

Yeldham B made it two wins out of two with a 6-4 victory over Rayne G where Steve Willis’s three singles and a doubles held them together, while Jacqueline Smith was unbeaten in Notley G’s 7-3 win over Rayne H.

Report by Ron Fosker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton A 9 Lawford 1;

Brotherhood B 6 Windsor Eagles 4;

Walton C 2 Nomads Panthers 8;

Windsor Hawks 7 Brotherhood A 3.

Division 2

Windsor Harriers 4 Windsor Penguins 6;

Nomads Tigers 3 Brotherhood C 7;

Windsor Buzzards 7 Windsor Kestrels 3;

Brotherhood E 6 Nomads Jaguars 4.

Division 3

Brotherhood H 5 Brotherhood F 5;

Holland Mosquitos 4 Holland Vulcans 6;

Windsor Falcons 7 Nomads Ocelots 3;

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

Report by Tony Oswick

• 

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

Division 1

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

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

Division 2

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

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

Division 3

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

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

Division 4

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

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

Division 5

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

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

Chelmsford Junior League division 1A

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

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

Chelmsford Junior League division 1B

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

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

___________________________

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

___________________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oliver Hicks won five out of six.

Notley A also started with a win and a draw.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report by Ron Fosker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report by Eamonn Hall