The notion that Sudbury Nomads could wrest Netts A’s Braintree Table Tennis League crown off them lasted only until the two met head to head in the sixth week of the season.

It was then that the champions put the pretenders firmly in their place – with a 10-0 victory.

Netts had used six different players in their first five matches, but in this match for the first time they brought together their A team of last season, Paul Davison, James Hicks and Andy Holmes.

The result was that their opponents rarely got a look in.  Ken Lewis stretched Davison to five games and Richard Fifield did likewise to James Hicks, but they both went down 11-5 in the decider.

Of the other sets, three were decided in four games and five in three.

Black Notley A have proved to be something of a surprise package so far.  Fifth last year, as Notley B, they moved up to second place with a 7-3 win over Rayne B.

The evening was a personal triumph for Steve Noble, who outscored his teammates, something he had not managed this season – or for the whole of last season.

He won all three singles as well as the doubles with Luke Burridge.

At the other end of the table there was a first win for Sudbury Wanderers, 7-3 over Liberal B, which lifted them from ninth to seventh.

Fifield, who turned out for Nomads the following day, was unbeaten this time.

Division two’s reputation for close results continued with a 5-5, two 6-4s and even top team Rayne C joined in with a closer than might have been expected 7-3 win over seventh-placed Yeldham Whitlocks A.

Behind them, Notley C were held to a draw by Finchingfield A – the first time the latter have avoided defeat – but nonetheless moved up to second place in view of Netts D’s 6-4 defeat by Rayne D.

Jamie Brooks was unbeaten for Notley C and Dean Andrews for Rayne D.

Sudbury Strollers introduced new signing David Fiddeman, but his three singles were not enough to stave off a 6-4 defeat by Netts C.

In division three Finchingfield B maintained their 100 per cent record with a 7-3 win over Notley G.

Lucien Nolan-Bradford kept his own unbeaten record but was stretched to 11-9 in the fifth by Ben Southgate.

Behind them, an unbeaten evening for Tim Townsend and Dave Whiting gave Rayne F an 8-2 win over Sudbury Drifters to keep them in second place.

Notley E moved ahead of their own H team by beating Netts F 7-3 – Netts’ first defeat – while the H team were being held to a draw by Notley F.

Dave Parker was unbeaten for Notley E.

Yeldham Whitlocks B meanwhile picked up their first win of the season, 8-2 over Netts E, where Steve Willis was the only one to beat Tony McShane.

There have been many famous double acts over the years but Mark Gale and Allen Denyer performed a magic trick worthy of Penn and Teller in taking the honours this week in the Clacton League’s Drawn Doubles Tournament held at Windsor’s St James’ Hall venue.

Having finished bottom of their Group, Gale and Denyer grew in confidence and stature in the later stage of the Tournament to finish with a flourish, winning their four Knock-Out matches to take the title, in the final (on -5) defeating John Gallagher and Matt Thomas (+1) 5-11, 11-5, 3-11, 11-8, 11-3.

It was a marvellous comeback for the winning pair after losing their three Group matches, which included a defeat by Gallagher and Thomas who actually topped the Group. But Gale and Denyer gained strength as the Tournament progressed and entered the Knock-Out stage displaying cool heads, clear thinking and an abundance of steady table tennis play.

The final proved to be a see-saw match which ebbed and flowed throughout, largely depending on whether Gale and Denyer’s consistency could claw back the handicap deficit quickly enough. And an excellent start in the final set saw them retrieve their handicap at 2-all to ensure success for this unlikely, but thoroughly deserving, pair of winners.

In Round One of the Knock-Out stage, Gale and Denyer had  eliminated the pairing of Barry Allen and Lily Liu, who’d excelled to finish top of their Group, winning 11-4 in the fifth in a match played off-scratch.

After which, in the quarter-final, they edged past Graham Playle and Derek Foxley by the narrowest of margins in one of the tensest matches of the Tournament, taking it 11-7, 7-11, 1-11, 12-10, 13-11, a match also played off-scratch.

And, in their semi-final, Gale and Denyer defeated the talented young pairing of Joe Sherwin and Ruby Gallagher, the Brotherhood J team-mates who had coincidentally and randomly been drawn together. The winning score was 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11 in another scratch-match.

In the other half of the draw, Gallagher and Thomas showed commendable team-work, as they had all day, and were never taken to a fifth set in winning their three Knock-Out matches, in the semi-final (on +1) easing through to the final by defeating John Barton and Ferdy Rodriguez (-6) 11-4, 11-2, 9-11, 11-2.

The Tournament, which was played on a handicap basis, saw a number of close matches, with the pairing of Russell Hillier and Anne Bonny looking particularly impressive before (on +1) being edged out at the quarter-final stage 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 15-13 by Joe Sherwin and Lucy Gallagher (-3), while Scott Campbell and Lucy Carvell looked extremely competitive before being eliminated (on -6) by John Gallagher and Matt Thomas (+1) at the same quarter-final stage.

But no match was closer than the Round One match of the Knock-Out stage where Graham Playle and Derek Foxley (+1) scraped past Mark Salter and Bob Jillins (-1) 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 14-12.

Although the League had previously run a Drawn Doubles Tournament between 1988 and 1993, this was the first time it was run in its current format, with the pairs drawn at random at the start of the day’s play, with the initial matches played in Groups of four and with their positions in the Groups determining their Knock-Out stage opponents.

It was a credit to all 32 players who took part that they entered into the spirit of the new Tournament. And it was refreshing that the players were spread across all three Divisions, with twelve coming from each of the First and Second Divisions, and eight from Division Three.  

League Report

After dropping just one point in their first five matches, it was an important week in Division One of the League for Nomads Lions, with fixtures against both their title rivals.

Their first match against reigning champions Nomads Panthers ended all-square, Paul Hume taking two, and Ethan Lloyd and Charlie Fulcher one each. But none of them could get the better of James Denyer who was in unstoppable mood and remained unbeaten. Greg Green’s two points for the Panthers were wins in five against Lloyd and Fulcher.

But in the Lions’ second match, it was Brotherhood A who took the honours 7-3. Daniel Young was Brotherhood’s unbeaten hero, with Kevin Gowlett adding a couple and Gary Young taking a point by overcoming Adam Cuthbert 11-9 in the fifth. Paul Hume’s two for the Lions included a close 11-9 in the fifth win over Gary Young, whilst Ethan Lloyd’s point was an even closer 12-10, 10-12, 13-11, 7-11, 12-10 against the same player.

And with the Brotherhood trio of Gracie Edwards, Kevin Gowlett and Daniel Young taking all ten points against Brotherhood B earlier in the week, it means the Brotherhood A team have leap-frogged to the top of the table for the first time this season, four points ahead of the Lions.   

Elsewhere, Windsor Hawks beat Brotherhood C 8-2, Andy Vincent and Scott Campbell taking trebles. John Barton took one point for the Hawks but was denied a second by Brotherhood’s Graham Playle who took their individual match 12-10 in the decider.

Walton A chalked up a first win of the season, 8-2 over Windsor Buzzards, Mark Ratcliffe starring with a maximum. Derek Willis and Paul Meikle each won two for Walton whilst, for the Buzzards, there was one each for Andy Cawley and Andy Foster, Foster edging out Willis 12-10 in the fifth. Encouragingly, it was good to see Windsor’s Ray Chillingworth back in table tennis action taking part in the doubles.

Brotherhood J have settled well to life in Division Two, this week beating Windsor Kestrels 8-2, their fourth victory of the season. Tom Bryden stayed undefeated, while there were two each for Lucy Carvell and Ruby Gallagher. The two closest matches of the evening involved Windsor’s Peter Aumord, beating Gallagher 11-9 in the fifth but losing by the same score to Bryden. 

Brotherhood F were 6-4 victors against Windsor Penguins, Mark Salter unbeaten, Neil Chegwidden taking two and Tricia Salter one. Kelvin Olano-Harper won two for the Penguins and, with Paul Woolnough, took the doubles against Chegwidden and Mark Salter, the Penguins’ first doubles win of the season and Brotherhood’s first doubles defeat.

Brotherhood D beat Windsor Harriers 7-3 in an encounter where none of the matches were settled in three, and with seven going the full distance. For Brotherhood, Kevin Pryor took three, Fred Gallone two and Lily Liu one, with Barry Allen taking a couple for the Harriers and Ferdy Rodriguez one.

By contrast, although the Lawford v Brotherhood G match ended all-square, only three individual matches were extended to a fourth set, the remainder settled in three. John Colvin recorded a treble for Lawford whilst there were a couple each for Brotherhood’s Mark Boyland and John Gallagher.

In an all-Nomads’ clash, the Jaguars’ Andy Hart was the stand-out player, remaining unbeaten in his side’s 7-3 success against the Tigers. Chris Petrou picked up a couple, as did Tom Wilkin for the Tigers.

In Division Three, a Danny Still hat-trick and two for Dan Grindrod saw Brotherhood H home 6-4 against Walton C. Lynette Sparks’ two for Walton included an 11-9 in the fifth win over Grindrod but she failed to get the better of Still, going down 11-7 in the fifth. There was a point each for Walton’s Adrian Sexton and Deborah Pallett, Pallett edging past Tony Woollard 11-4 in the fifth.

Holland Hurricanes won the three individual matches which went the distance to record a 7-3 success over Windsor Falcons, Gary Stallwood winning three, Gerry Widnell two and John Smith-Daye one. Matt Thomas won two for the Falcons and Nigel Rolph one, with Gary Barnes unfortunate not to get on the score-sheet, going down 14-12 in the decider to Widnell. The doubles was also ultra-close, Widnell and Smith-Daye edging past Thomas and Barnes 12-10 in the decider.

Three for Andrew Cousins, two for Hazel Blanche and one for Norman Jacobs was good enough for Nomads Ocelots to take the win 6-4 against Holland Vulcans. For the Vulcans, Derek Foxley picked up two, James Horsler one, plus Foxley and Bob Keefe took the doubles.

Dominic Joannou won his three and Anne Bonny two, including a 12-10 in the fifth win over Alan Rutledge, as Nomads Leopards beat Windsor Magpies 6-4. John Plummer won two for the Magpies.

Finally, no-one stayed unbeaten in the drawn match between Brotherhood E and Holland Lancasters. Joe Hillier and Jack Hillier each won two for Brotherhood, as did Peter Evans and Dave Wright for the Lancasters.

* The Windsor Club’s Quiz Evening is being held this coming Saturday (29th November) at the Brotherhood Hall, 7.00 pm for a 7.30 pm start. For more information, or to enter a team, get in touch with Jenny Higgins (Tel : 07790 240566). 

RESULTS

Division 1

Nomads Panthers 5 Nomads Lions 5;

Windsor Buzzards 2 Walton A 8;

Brotherhood A 10 Brotherhood B 0;

Windsor Hawks 8 Brotherhood C 2;

Nomads Lions 3 Brotherhood A 7.

Division 2

Windsor Harriers 3 Brotherhood D 7;

Lawford 5 Brotherhood G 5;

Nomads Tigers 3 Nomads Jaguars 7;

Brotherhood F 6 Windsor Penguins 4;

Brotherhood J 8 Windsor Kestrels 2.

Division 3

Windsor Falcons 3 Holland Hurricanes 7;

Walton C 4 Brotherhood H 6;

Holland Vulcans 4 Nomads Ocelots 6;

Brotherhood E 5 Holland Lancasters 5;

Nomads Leopards 6 Windsor Magpies 4.

After wins against their two biggest title rivals and an unbeaten start to the season it was Rawreth B’s turn to suffer an upset in week 9 of the Premier Division season as they went down 6-3 to Rayleigh Mill. It does go to show that the Millers are a match for any team on their day as they fielded one of their strongest possible line ups. Liam Squirrell won all 3 of his matches against Dan Zeffie, Gary Young and Peter Barrett with Duncan Taylor taking two wins and Colin Chatfield beating Barrett.

This result paired with the Thorpe Bay A result brings things much closer at the top of the division in what really will be an intriguing season. Thorpe Bay A for their part saw off Hockley A 8-1 with maximums for Paul Sayer and John Poysden. The single victory or Hockley coming by way of a win for Sanjay Saptarshi against Chris Ballard.

Elsewhere Rawreth A were in no mood to take any prisoners as the side of Kevin Read, Dan Zeffie (playing up from the B team) and Chris Penrose dispatched Basildon A 9-0 and there was a welcome win for Invicta A as Tony Ayliffe and Paul Sims led them to a 5-4 win over Stanford A.

In Division 1 despite only being able to find two players for their trip to Stanford Le Hope B, Canvey A were far too strong for their hosts. Both Bob Skews and Peter Cray recorded maximums to give the Islanders a 6 – 3 win. Dave Hancox came closest for Stanford, losing 11 – 4 in the fifth to Peter and 11 – 6 in the fifth against Bob.

Top team Hockley B were virtually unstoppable when they hosted Hadleigh Forum B. Hat tricks from the Player of the Match David Colwill and colleague Stuart Adshead, together with two successes for Keith Abbott, gave the home side an 8 – 1 win. Only blot on their copy book was caused by Forum’s skipper Dave Woolmer who overcame Keith in the very last rubber of the night.

Mapledene bounced back from a home defeat last week to win 7 – 2 away to Wakering A. The ever-consistent Dawn Baldry took the Player of the Match award by being unbeaten all night, a feat matched by team mate Andy Seaman. However, Andy was pushed all the way by the home side’s Martin Shaughnessy and Barbara Chabior, just squeezing past both in the fifth set. Bill Smith added another victory for Mapledene.

Rawreth C’s match away to Basildon B was postponed as Rawreth were unable commit any players. It will be played later in the month.

It will be a hard choice picking the team of the week in Division 2 this week, as two surprising results stand out. Firstly Basildon C, without a win so far this season, went to Invicta B with just two players and won 5-4  and then league leaders Wakering went to Canvey B, lying in second place, and handed out a crushing 9-0 whitewash!

Basildon’s win at Invicta came in the last match of the evening. Having found themselves 4-3 down first Andy Roff and then Michael Elemide won their singles to clinch a significant win. Elemide completed a hat trick, his first of the season, whilst Roff won twice losing to John Blackman in four sets for Invicta’s only actual win on the night. The only way is up now for Basildon C!

Canvey B were without the unbeaten Trevor Hayes for the match against Wakering but you still wouldn’t have expected a 9-0 scoreline in this clash of the top two teams in the division. Michael Grout put in the perfect performance on the night not dropping a set but Callum Turner, unbeaten this season and only having dropped one set so far, had to fight hard to overcome Terry Giddens, finding himself 2-1 down before winning the final two sets 11/2 11/5. Paul England made up the winning Wakering trio but he had to fight even harder to overcome Des Duffield 15/13 11/4 13/15 13/15 13/11.

Final games of the week saw the two Hockley teams take on the two Matchpoint teams and, perhaps not surprisingly, it finished with one win each.

Matchpoint C took on Hockley D and the match see-sawed throughout the evening an early 2-1 Matchpoint lead turning into a 4-2 deficit before a fightback saw both sides level at 4-4 when Hockley captain Paul Strutt brought home the victory with a straight sets win against Blake Stewart. Strutt and Paul Ogden both finished with two wins and there was a vital point provided by Gary Beck who had stepped up from the E team on the night. For Matchpoint Richard Sloman and Samuel Morgan also finished with two wins apiece.

In the reverse fixture Hockley E took on Matchpoint B and veteran John Lott took the POTM honours with a perfect hat trick whilst former Hockley player Roger Sherman weighed in with two wins and there was a single victory for young Lotte Mills. Her win came in a five set fight back against Amar Al-Soufi coming back from two sets down to record her first win of the season. Richard Kidd got the better of Mills and Sherman for the home side with Richard Coulon adding the other point. Hockley D and Matchpoint B sit third and fourth respectively after these results.

Team of the Week – Basildon C

Player of the Week – Michael Grout

The clash between the top two in Division 3 was a predictably tight affair, not settled until the final end, when Hockley ‘F’s Robert Garlick got the better of Invicta’s David Barlow to clinch a 5/4 win for his team.  Prior to that, there was a maximum for Harry Venables, thus maintaining his 100% record for Invicta, and a single win for skipper Mike Keeble.  For Hockley, Robert Garlick and Ross Collins both recorded a double, with George Clark adding the extra point.  With both sides having played the same number of matches, Invicta has a 10 point lead over the rest of the field.

Kris Chankov’s maximum was to no avail as his Hockley ‘G’ side suffered a narrow 5/4 defeat at the hands of Wakering ‘C’.  Anay Vatsa added the extra point for Hockley, but a brace each for Alwine Jarvis and Nigel Strike and a single win for Candice Geake were sufficient to get Wakering over the line.

It was certainly not a close match when Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ entertained Matchpoint ‘D’.  A rapid 9/0 win for the home side was achieved with the loss of just one set.  Jan Thorpe was the Player of the Match here, with maximums also for Douglas Brown and Sineh Bali (his first of the season.

The first round of the team and restricted cups in the Braintree Table Tennis League is invariably a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff.

And so it was this year as in all but two of the matches, the higher placed team was victorious.

The exceptions were wins for Sudbury Nomads, 6-3 over Black Notley A, and Notley B, 5-3 over Liberal B in the team KO cup.

There were extenuating circumstances.  In the league Nomads were only two points behind Notley A with a match in hand, and Notley B three points behind Liberal B with a match in hand.

In the first match, both Nomads’ Aron Jordan and Notley’s Luke Berridge won two out of two.

Notley B’s win was notable for an excellent performance by Mike Fenech. With no league experience before this season, he brought off excellent wins against seasoned veterans Guy McKenzie and Richard Jennings.

The top two, Netts A and Rayne A, both came through safely.

Netts A beat their own B team 5-0 while Rayne beat Sudbury Wanderers 5-2.

Rayne will have five teams in the quarter final.  The C and D teams both had byes while the B team came through comfortably, 6-2 against second division Yeldham Whitlocks A.

Keith Martin and Dave Moles were unbeaten.

Rayne E were the only second division team to win their way through. They had a convincing 8-1 win over Netts C, with only two sets going beyond three games.

James Grimston and Richard Whiteside were unbeaten while David Montgomery picked up Netts’ sole win.

In the restricted cup, all six ties went by the formbook with only one even remotely close.

JJ Calisin and dad Jimmy were responsible for pulling Netts D through against Rayne F, accounting for all the winning sets in a 5-4 victory.

The one that clinched it was effectively Calisin junior’s win at 12-10 in the fifth game against Conrad Gomes.

Other than that, the losing sides scored either nil or one.

Notley H declared at 8-0 against Netts E, Adrian Boeriu’s defeat by Mike Smith at 13-11 in the fifth the closest Netts came, while Notley G took all five sets in straight games against Sudbury Drifters.

Sudbury Strollers ensured the club were represented in the next round with an 8-1 win over Yeldham Whitlocks B – Steve Willis’s win over Ian Whipps breaking the sequence – while Notley E and Netts F had 5-1 wins over Notley F and Rayne G respectively.

A commendable win in the doubles for Wendy Day and Aivars Taimins over Peter Davenport and Dave Parker gave Notley F a spark of daylight and it was Karl Bowden’s win over James Howard that did likewise for Rayne G

Division Three of the Clacton League is the strongest it’s been for many seasons, with no obvious weak teams, but Brotherhood H look to be a class above the rest.

This week, the Brotherhood trio enjoyed a convincing 10-0 victory over the old hands of Windsor Magpies. Dan Grindrod, Danny Still and Gary Simpson all took trebles, Still’s 11-5 in the fifth win against John Plummer the only match which went the distance.

There was mixed fortune for Walton C who caught up on their fixtures with a win and a defeat.

In their first match, Walton beat Nomads Leopards 6-4, captain Lynette Sparks leading her side with an unbeaten three and, with Adrian Sexton, sharing an 11-5 in the decider doubles win over Dominic Joannou and Anne Bonny. Sexton and Maggie Earle picked up a point each for Walton, whilst Joannou and Bonny won two apiece for the Leopards, Bonny’s 11-9 in the decider victory over Sexton the closest match of the encounter.

But Walton later went down 8-2 to Holland Hurricanes, Gary Stallwood taking a  predictable treble, with John Smith-Daye and Gerry Widnell each taking two. Sparks won the two Walton points while Sexton, who seems to have made a habit this season of losing matches close in five, went down 16-14 in the decider to Widnell.

In Division One, the all-Walton clash between the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams ended all-square. However, Walton A will feel they might well have snatched the win, Pete Burrows taking his maximum for Walton B but only after edging past Derek Willis 11-6, 11-7, 11-13, 10-12, 16-14, whilst it was 11-9 in the decider for Graham Buxton against Paul Meikle. For the ‘A’ team, Willis and Mark Ratcliffe got two each, and Meikle one.

The meeting of the two promoted sides in Division Two saw Brotherhood J take it 6-4 against Nomads Tigers, Joe Sherwin’s excellent run of form continuing with a third maximum of the season. There was one each for Lucy Carvell and Tom Bryden, Carvell getting the better of Sam Watling 11-7 in the fifth, whilst Bryden nearly picked up a second point, narrowly going down 13-11 in the fifth to Tom Wilkin. There were two each for Wilkin and Matt Sage of the Tigers.

Three for John Colvin, and two each for Charlie Denholm and Ian Sherwood, saw Lawford to an 8-2 success against a weakened Windsor Penguins. Kelvin Olano-Harper’s two points for the Penguins included an 11-6 in the fifth win against Denholm.

* The League’s first Tournament of the season, the Drawn Doubles, takes place next Saturday (22nd November) at Windsor’s St James’ Hall venue. There will be 32 players competing for the title. Players are reminded they should be in attendance by 9.30 am when the draw will take place.

* The Windsor Club’s Quiz Evening is being held on Saturday 29th November at the Brotherhood Hall. For more details, or to enter a team, please contact Jenny Higgins (Tel : 07790 240566). 

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton A 5 Walton B 5.

Division 2

Windsor Penguins 2 Lawford 8;

Nomads Tigers 4 Brotherhood J 6.

Division 3

Windsor Magpies 0 Brotherhood H 10;

Walton C 6 Nomads Leopards 4;

Holland Hurricanes 8 Walton C 2.

Report by Tony Oswick

The big news this week is that we have a new name at the top of the Premier Division table and that is Rawreth B. Two big wins against their nearest rivals in week 7 and 8 of the season puts them now firmly in the title contender category. Whether they can stay there or not will depend on them remaining as consistent as they have been to date but currently they show no signs of letting up. In week 7 they comprehensively beat their A team 8-1 with the two Dan’s, Zeffie and Young taking a hatrick of wins and Keith Adams chipping in with two, just Chris Penrose recording any success for the A side with a 4 set win over Adams.

Fresh from that impressive victory Rawreth B then took on the current champions Thorpe Bay A and they were similarly dispatched by the same Rawreth B players 7-2. As we know Thorpe Bay A hardly ever lose any matches so this was quite the seismic event.  Dan Young was again in great form and took his three singles with Dan Zeffie and Adams taking two apiece losing to Mark Stones and John Poysden respectively. It has been a great start to the season for Paul Brown’s side but as we know we can never write off Thorpe Bay A whose consistency over a full season is always impressive. We will watch with interest as to how the rest of the season unfolds.

To round up the other matches from week 8, Brand Identify recording a huge 9-0 win over Stanford, Hockley A consigned Rawreth A to their second defeat in two weeks with Sanjay Saptarshi the star with his three wins

There were also wins for Basildon A, 5-4 over a two man Invicta A side with Arun Joy taking the player of the match honours and a much needed win for Hadleigh Forum 6-3 over Rayleigh Mill despite a hatrick of wins for the Mill’s Duncan Taylor, two wins each for Martin Turner, Berti Makolli and Dave Bassett in this one.

Report by Duncan Taylor

Having seen their relegation rivals Hadleigh Forum C record their first win of the season in Division 1 last week, Stanford Le Hope B had to find a way to respond. They travelled to Mapledene and recorded an impressive 6 – 3 away win, for only their second victory of the campaign. Stanford’s veteran Adrian Armstrong was unbeaten and deservedly took the player of the match award. Jake Nelson won two, and Rod Savage another. John Tendler was Mapledene’s best player with two wins, while Mike Johnston added one more.
Hadleigh Forum C were overcome 7 – 2 on their trip to Canvey A. Stalwart Ray Wilson was yet again the star for Canvey, taking yet another hat trick. Team mates Peter Cray and Trevor Hayes (playing up from Division 2) both collected two victories, but both were unable to overcome Forum’s Paul Fawell, who took both points for Forum.
The battle between Hockley B and Hockley C for the top of the league spot continues. This week, courtesy of a slightly better result, the B team have extended their lead to three points. 
A most enjoyable match between Hadleigh Forum B and Hockley C was played in a good spirit. William Evesham was deservedly the player of the match award, but there was some fine play and powerful shots from all the Hockley youngsters. Elliot Brackenbury added two victories to Will’s three to give Hockley C a 5 – 4 away win. Captain Dave Woolmer was in fine form for the home side, recording two successes. Team mates Anthon Ranjit-Singh and Mick Tappenden took one win apiece.
Hockley B’s lead over their second placed C team was increased by virtue of their 6 – 3 away win at third placed Rawreth C. Not for the first time, Joe Odegbami was Hockley’s hero, comfortably winning all his three match-ups. Keith Abbott added two more and Stuart Adshead one. Gary McCarthy won two for the home side and Adi Kamma another.

Report by David Barnes

Four matches to report on in Division 2 the week we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night and there were four sparkling victories to celebrate, the winners in each game all now sitting in the top four positions in the league.

Second in the table Canvey B started the week with a bang winning 8-1 at Stanford C. Although the score may suggest otherwise and no game went beyond four sets, there were, nonetheless, some very close games. Set scores of 11/9 12/10 13/11 15/13 16/14 and 19/17 give ample proof of that. Trevor Hayes and Terry Giddens both recorded hat tricks and Des Duffield won the other two but was beaten by Jake Santiago to deny the whitewash. Stanford drop to fifth as a result.

The guys of table toppers Wakering rocketed through their match against Matchpoint C completing a 9-0

 win in double quick time. Seven matches did not go beyond three sets but there was almost a hiccup as Paul England had to fight hard to overcome Ollie Milchard in five sets 11/8 9/11 11/8 8/11 11/8. Callum Turner and Mick Grout made up the winning Wakering team.

Matchpoint B would have been hopeful of a win against Invicta B who had lost their last four games so, when Trisha Winter came back from two sets down to edge out Roger Sherman in five sets in the opening match, they must have feared the evening would turn into something of a damp squib. However the reverse happened and it sparked a surge of home wins as they completed an 8-1 victory. John Lott recorded a perfect hat trick, Hannah Harbour maintained her 100% record in the league and Sherman won his other two games to condemn Invicta to another defeat.

Hockley D completed a 7-2 win at home to Runnymede to maintain their position in fourth and whilst their trio of Brian Bissenden, Howard Collins and Paul Strutt were generally in command they found the energetic Steve Wisbey revelling in the space available performing like a jumping cracker retrieving shots from the unlikeliest of angles. He led Player of the Match Bissenden 2-1 at one stage before going down in five sets, beat Strutt in four sets and then came back from two sets down against Collins to clinch his second win.

Team of the Week – Canvey B

Player of the Week – John Lott

Report by Paul Strutt

Table-topping Invicta ‘C’ continued their unbeaten run in Division 3 with a 7/2 victory over Canvey ‘C’.  Skipper Mike Keeble led from the front with a straight sets hat-trick, ably assisted by Steve Lennox, who also went unbeaten.  Scott Giddens, in his first season, and Che Martin scored the Islander’s points with wins over David Barlow.

Martin Winter led the way for Stanford ‘D’ when visited Matchpoint ‘D’.  His hat-trick was completed without any fuss and with no sets conceded.  Andrew Jessop and Karen Kempster provided good support with a pair of wins each, although neither could get the better of David McHattie.

Hockley ‘G’ were a player short when they took on Evolve ‘B’, but a double for George Higgins and a single win for Amelia Taylor meant that they shared the points available on the table.  For Evolve, Zac Eighteen was the POTM with an unbeaten performance.

The match between Evolve ‘A’ and Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ was a close affair but, in the end, the greater  experience of Jan Thorpe and Douglas Brown proved decisive.  A hat-trick for Jan and a brace for Douglas won the day for Forum.  All three Evolve players got on the score sheet, a win each for Miles Bygrave and Edward Feeley, and a double for Sasha Syderenko that included a good win over Douglas.

Report by Dave Woolmer

Nomads Ocelots put out their strongest side so far this season in Division Three of the Clacton League and were rewarded with a first success of the current campaign.

The Ocelots were 8-2 winners against Holland Lancasters, Andrew Cousins, making a first appearance of the season, and Mike Wellum, continuing his excellent return to League table tennis, both staying unbeaten. Hazel Blanche picked up a singles win for the Ocelots, as did Dave Wright and Peter Evans for the Lancasters.

Brotherhood H were forced to field a guest against Nomads Leopards but trebles from Dan Grindrod and Danny Still saw them safely home to a comfortable 7-3 victory.

Bob Keefe’s impressive start to his Clacton League career continued with a hat-trick for Holland Vulcans against Windsor Magpies, plus a shared doubles success with James Horsler. Alas, it was the Windsor Magpies who prevailed 6-4, John Plummer, Dave Sweetland and Alan Rutledge all winning twice.

Nomads Lions seemingly can’t do wrong in Division One,  powering to another 10-0 victory, this time over Brotherhood B. Adam Cuthbert, Jason Lloyd and Ethan Lloyd were the winning trio.

There were hat-tricks for Greg Green and Gill Locke as Nomads Panthers defeated Windsor Hawks 8-2. Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez took a point apiece for the Hawks, Vincent giving Green a fright before eventually going down 11-8 in the fifth.

There were two 10-0 results involving teams from the Brotherhood and Windsor clubs, both of which ended in favour of Brotherhood.

Brotherhood A made quick work of a Windsor Eagles’ side who were forced to field a guest player, Kevin Gowlett, Danniel Young and Gary Young staying unbeaten.

The Brotherhood C v Windsor Buzzards match was somewhat more competitive but Brotherhood’s John Cleasby, Martin Edwards and Graham Playle proved too good in the end, with only Edwards’ 11-6 in the decider win against Andy Foster going the distance.

In Division Two, three each for Mark Boyland and John Gallagher, and a couple for Mark Beckham, gave Brotherhood G a 9-1 victory over Windsor Kestrels. Peter Aumord took the Kestrels’ point with a victory over Beckham whilst Jonathan Found came nearest to getting a second, going down 11-7 in the decider to Gallagher.

The ‘G’ side are now one point ahead of club-mates Brotherhood F, 8-2 victors this week over Nomads Jaguars. Neil Chegwidden and Mark Salter both stayed unbeaten, Chegwidden needing the full five sets to beat Andy Hart 11-5 in the fifth and Chris Petrou 11-6 in the fifth. Brotherhood’s Tricia Salter enjoyed a good win over Bob Jillins.

Brotherhood D, playing with a reserve, won three of the four matches which went the distance to edge past Nomads Tigers 6-4. Kevin Pryor’s hat-trick for the winners included a nail-biting 12-10 in the decider victory over Matt Sage. Brotherhood skipper Fred Gallone picked up a couple, defeating Tom Wilkin 11-4 in the decider but losing by the same score to Sage. Sage won two for the Tigers, Wilkin and Alex Baldock one each.

Finally, Joe Sherwin continued his good form for Brotherhood J, taking an impressive hat-trick in his side’s 6-4 success over Windsor Harriers. There was one each for Lucy Carvell and Ruby Gallagher, Carvell’s 11-9 in the fifth win against Isabel Barton ultimately proving the match-winner.

* The League’s first Tournament of the season, the Drawn Doubles, takes place on Saturday 22nd November at Windsor’s St James’ Hall venue. Players should be in attendance by 9.30 am when the draw will take place.

* For details of the Windsor Club’s Quiz Evening being held on Saturday 29th November at the Brotherhood Hall, contact Jenny Higgins (Tel : 07790 240566). 

RESULTS

Division 1

Brotherhood C 10 Windsor Buzzards 0;

Nomads Panthers 8 Windsor Hawks 2;

Nomads Lions 10 Brotherhood B 0;

Windsor Eagles 0 Brotherhood A 10;

Division 2

Brotherhood D 6 Nomads Tigers 4;

Brotherhood J 6 Windsor Harriers 4;

Nomads Jaguars 2 Brotherhood F 8;

Windsor Kestrels 1 Brotherhood G 9.

Division 3

Holland Lancasters 2 Nomads Ocelots 8;

Brotherhood H 7 Nomads Leopards 3;

Windsor Magpies 6 Holland Vulcans 4.

Report by Tony Oswick