Sage & Bush – a Recipe for Success

Woodham C continue to dominate proceedings in the second division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as they remain the only team across the whole league with a 100% win rate.   Whilst in Division 3 David Sage and Jason Bush cooked up a fine win for Blackwater E as they ‘got one up’ on their very own C Team.

The developing story of Division 2 this season is whether any opponent will be able to beat the dynamic Woodham C team.  Woodham C are firmly lodged at the top of the table with an impeccable 8 wins from 8 matches – and only one of those has been anywhere near a close encounter.  This week they travelled the short distance to Cold Norton D and came away with another 9-1 victory.  Adi Kamma was the player of the match with his hat-trick but was ably supported by Graham Briggs who was also unbeaten, and David Meah with 2 wins as he just lost out to the wily and unconventional style of Gordon Gatheral.  Woodham D didn’t fare so well despite Gus Heath’s phenomenal hat-trick against Maldon C – alas they were his team’s only points as the Maldon trio of Colin Barrell, Steve Aspland and Garry Eames each won their remaining singles and as per norm Aspland and Barrell won the doubles.  The remaining Division 2 matches were closely fought derbies.  Blackwater A and Blackwater B fought out a tight draw with the B team’s Louis Gunn and Noah Sage winning the last 2 singles of the night to come back from 3-5 down to square things up and frustrate the A Team.  Neil Freeman was on fine form for the A Team as he won all his matches including a hard-fought 5 setter with Gunn.  In the Stow derby the C team hosted the B team, but it seems the C team had given up before they started as they were a player short.  Invigorated by the underdog status the C Team’s Pete Layzell was inspired to a superb hat-trick of wins to keep the score more than respectable as they finally went down 4-6.

Division 3 saw all 3 Blackwater teams in action as they compete for the runner-up position – by the end of the week’s competition only 2 points separate the 3 teams with the D Team in the ascendency.  Blackwater C will rue their missed opportunity as they were humbled by their very own E team in a humiliating 8-2 reverse.  This one will be talked about for years to come down at the West Maldon Community Centre.  The C team lost out in three 5 setters as the E Team’s Jason Bush and David Sage completed their hat-tricks.  The E team’s third player was the fabled and much respected Norman Hayes who somehow defied human and medical logic to play out all of his matches to deciding fifth sets and two of those went to deuce and beyond – with one win and two defeats, but what an effort.  Hayes benevolently left the doubles to Messrs Sage and Bush (if only they ran a local horticultural business!) to complete the 8-2 landslide.  Meanwhile Blackwater D travelled to the depths of Mayland to take on the runaway league Leaders St Lawrence.  The Blackwater trio all came away with points as they secured an unexpected but very welcome draw, with David Benstead winning the final match of the night for Blackwater.   For St Lawrence the experienced duo of David Siggins and Mick Robinson each won two singles and combined to just about take the doubles 14-12 in the decider against Benstead and Jacqui Treacy.  Treacy and Chris Rolison took two singles each for the delighted Blackwater team.

In Division 1 Cold Norton A’s streak of good form was halted in dramatic fashion as they succumbed to a very strong Mapledene B side.  Cold Norton’s Duncan Taylor was unstoppable as he dominated all of his matches – but unfortunately that was it for Cold Norton on the night as they failed to win another single set as Mapledene ran out 6-4 winners with 2 wins a piece for David and Simon Jacob and Kieran Skeggs. Whilst the Mapledene B side were admirably thwarting the Cold Norton A advance their A team took full advantage to strengthen their position at the head of the table with a comfortable 8-2 victory at home to Cold Norton C.  Mapledene’s captain Reece Seddon doing the most damage with a hat-trick of wins with Cold Norton’s in form Kim Shead providing the most resistance as he was able to record excellent wins over Steve Muth and Peter Barrett.  In the final match of the week Maldon A were able to muster some decent pointage from their 7-3 win over Stow Maries A which will undoubtedly help their cause come the relegation reckoning.  Both Harrison Hill and Derek Balding won all their singles to ensure the healthy winning margin.

Top of page – The mighty Duncan Taylor – another hat trick in Burnham this week.

Pic 1 – Action from the Double Derby at Blackwater – as Norman Hayes holds court whilst Neil Freeman and Alan Scammell discuss doubles tactics on the court behind.

Pic 2 – A frustrated Blackwater A – Alan Scammell in action with Neil Freeman and Merv Perriman waiting in the wings

Pic 3 – The infamous Blackwater chefs – Jason Bush & David Sage

Pic 4 – Woodham C’s Graham Briggs in winning action against Terry Hyland this week.

Windsor Kestrels will feel entitled to open a champagne bottle or two this week as they celebrated their first win of the season in Division Two of the Clacton League.

Languishing at the foot of the table, the Kestrels enjoyed a 7-3 success over Nomads Jaguars’ second-string side, Graham Bunce staying unbeaten and Debra Found winning two.

In two crucial matches, Bunce beat Chris Petrou 11-6 in the decider, while Bunce and Found edged the doubles 11-9 in the decider against Kevin Hogg and Callum Hogg. Petrou won a couple for the Jaguars.

It was a double disappointment for the Jaguars when, in their second match against Brotherhood C, they went down 6-4. Mark Boyland won three and Mark Beckham two for Brotherhood, but the Jaguars came out on top in another close doubles, Petrou and Kevin Hogg beating Boyland and Beckham 11-7 in the decider.

At the top of the table, leaders Brotherhood D were given a stern test by Walton D, the match ending all-square. Simon Smith-Daye won three and Sam Plummer two, Smith-Daye’s hat-trick including an 11-8 in the fifth win over Andy Foster. Foster won two for Walton, although he struggled before overcoming James Smith-Daye 11-6 in the fifth. Foster and Clive Allenby had the satisfaction of inflicting a first doubles defeat of the season on Brotherhood, beating Plummer and Simon Smith-Daye in four.

Lawford defeated Brotherhood B 7-3 in a match where every player picked up at least one point. James Tindle, in his first appearance of the season, won three for Lawford and Richard Spence two. Charlie Denholm chipped in with an 11-6 in the fifth victory over Mark Salter in the closest match of the evening.

Windsor Penguins and Nomads Tigers enjoyed a tough tussle, the match ending with honours even. Denes Somodi won his three for the Tigers, with Dave Miller getting an important 11-6 in the decider win over Sharon Gowlett. For the Penguins there were two each for Scott Campbell and Annabelle Stallwood, Campbell defeating Miller 11-5 in the fifth and Stallwood edging past Colin Webber by the same score.

In Division Three Windsor Harriers beat Walton E 6-4 despite a sparkling maximum from Walton captain Lynette Sparks. Her toughest match was against Isabel Barton, eventually winning 11-6 in the decider.

Three from John Plummer, and two each from Dave Sweetland and Alan Rutledge, saw Windsor Magpies home 7-3 against Brotherhood F. The improving Ruby Gallagher picked up two points and, with Lucy Carvell, took the doubles against Plummer and Sweetland.

Brotherhood E cantered home 10-0 against Nomads Ocelots, Rodney Betts and Tricia Salter’s doubles win against James Horsler and Anne Bonny the only match extended to a fourth set.

And there was another 10-0 result in another Brotherhood v Nomads encounter, Danny Still, Dan Grindrod and Gary Simpson all taking trebles for Brotherhood F against the Lynx.

In Division One Nomads Panthers brought out the big guns against Brotherhood A and it was enough to see them to a 6-4 victory. James Denyer maintained his 100% record although it was a tight 9-11, 2-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9 against Gary Young. The doubles ultimately proved pivotal, Denyer and Greg Green beating Young and Kevin Gowlett 11-6 in the decider. Young and Gowlett won two singles apiece for Brotherhood.

Walton A were 6-4 winners against Walton B, Kevin James winning three and Derek Willis two. Pete Burrows, in his first appearance of the season for the ‘B’ team, won a couple, although it was a close 4-11, 15-13, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 against Willis.

Finally, the all-Windsor clash between the Eagles and Buzzards ended, somewhat predictably, 10-0 in favour of the Eagles, John Pattrick, Mel Rampton and Phil Smith all taking trebles.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton A 6 Walton B 4;

Brotherhood A 4 Nomads Panthers 6;

Windsor Buzzards 0 Windsor Eagles 10.

Division 2

Walton D 5 Brotherhood D 5;

Nomads Jaguars 4 Brotherhood C 6;

Windsor Kestrels 7 Nomads Jaguars 3;

Windsor Penguins 5 Nomads Tigers 5;

Lawford 7 Brotherhood B 3.

Division 3

Nomads Ocelots 0 Brotherhood E 10;

Walton E 4 Windsor Harriers 6;

Brotherhood F 3 Windsor Magpies 7; Nomads Lynx 0 Br

There were wins for both Hockley teams in the Premier Division of the Southend & District Table Tennis League this week. Hockley A were in fine form as they pulled out an unlikely 9-0 scoreline over Hadleigh Forum A. Sanjay Saptarshi living up to his ‘Sensation’ nickname from the Burnham league won all his games as did Matt Stringer and Player of the Match Dan Patynski.

Hockley B overcame the Millers of Rayleigh 6-3 in a match that saw a number of hard fought games. Three wins as you might expect for Andy Cunningham but there was also a great hattrick for Player of the Match Dave Colwill as he saw off the best efforts of Rob Harris, Colin Chatfield and Eric Green. There was one win a piece for the Rayleigh trio over Keith Abbott.

In a top of the table clash Thorpe Bay A came out on top against Rawreth A 5-4 despite a great hattrick for Liam Squirrell against Paul Sayer, Mark Stones and John Poysden. Stones and Sayer picked up two wins over Charles Sweeny and Kevin Read while Poysden defeated Sweeny for the win.

In the final game this week there was a close win for Irons A over Thorpe Bay B, in the main due to three wins for Reece Seddon. Player of the Match Seddon was backed up with a win each for Dave Bowles and Babul McLeod over Adam Deadman. Kieran Skeggs and Richard Stubbington with two wins a piece for the Bay.

Three wins for Saptarshi

Another week, another leader at the top of the Division 1 table. This time it is Invicta A, albeit only by the finest of margins. They have the same number of points as last week’s leaders Stanford A, but have lost one less match. Invicta’s impetus came from a comfortable 8 – 1 home win against Hadleigh Forum C. The visitor’s Mark Everard was their only player to have any success, overcoming Lee Marson. Tony Ayliffe and Steve Marr were unbeaten for Invicta.

Stanford came a cropper away to Forum’s B team 6 – 3. Tony Jacks was their POM, being unbeaten. It was a team effort, though, with Dave Woolmer adding two and Mick Tappenden one. Pat White got two for Stanford, just edging a five-set thriller against Mick, and Pete Weatherall added one.

Brand Identity B maintain third place with a 6 – 3 win at home to Hockley C. No one player was unbeaten, however. Each of the home side’s John Lott, Jenny Harrison and Mick Grout won two. Brian Bissenden also got two victories for the visitors and David Chenery one.

Lentern are now joint fourth with Rawreth Megazone D. Lentern had Martin Archie to thank for the basis of their away win at Canvey A. His POM hat trick gave his side a 5 – 4 victory, whilst Peter Lucraft and Wayne Farmer chipped in with one win each. Peter Cray and Ray Wilson got two successes each for Canvey.

In a ‘derby match’ between the D and C teams, Rawreth Megazone D came out on top. Yet again, the C team could only muster two players, which contributed to the D team’s 6 – 3 success. Mike Hayes was unbeaten for the winners, whilst Garry Hartgrove got two for the losers.

There were some close contests in the match between RESSC and Mapledene. Both Mapledene’s Lin Roff and their POM Mike Johnston eked out successes in close five-setters. Mike went on to win all three of his rubbers, whilst Lin succumbed to RESSC’s Bob Skews in the very first match of the evening. Bill Smith added one further win for Mapledene to give them a 6 – 3 away win. Bob got two for the home side, and Richard Gill, one.

Another week, another leader at the top of the Division 1 table. This time it is Invicta A, albeit only by the finest of margins. They have the same number of points as last week’s leaders Stanford A, but have lost one less match. Invicta’s impetus came from a comfortable 8 – 1 home win against Hadleigh Forum C. The visitor’s Mark Everard was their only player to have any success, overcoming Lee Marson. Tony Ayliffe and Steve Marr were unbeaten for Invicta.

Stanford came a cropper away to Forum’s B team 6 – 3. Tony Jacks was their POM, being unbeaten. It was a team effort, though, with Dave Woolmer adding two and Mick Tappenden one. Pat White got two for Stanford, just edging a five-set thriller against Mick, and Pete Weatherall added one.

Brand Identity B maintain third place with a 6 – 3 win at home to Hockley C. No one player was unbeaten, however. Each of the home side’s John Lott, Jenny Harrison and Mick Grout won two. Brian Bissenden also got two victories for the visitors and David Chenery one.

Lentern are now joint fourth with Rawreth Megazone D. Lentern had Martin Archie to thank for the basis of their away win at Canvey A. His POM hat trick gave his side a 5 – 4 victory, whilst Peter Lucraft and Wayne Farmer chipped in with one win each. Peter Cray and Ray Wilson got two successes each for Canvey.

In a ‘derby match’ between the D and C teams, Rawreth Megazone D came out on top. Yet again, the C team could only muster two players, which contributed to the D team’s 6 – 3 success. Mike Hayes was unbeaten for the winners, whilst Garry Hartgrove got two for the losers.

There were some close contests in the match between RESSC and Mapledene. Both Mapledene’s Lin Roff and their POM Mike Johnston eked out successes in close five-setters. Mike went on to win all three of his rubbers, whilst Lin succumbed to RESSC’s Bob Skews in the very first match of the evening. Bill Smith added one further win for Mapledene to give them a 6 – 3 away win. Bob got two for the home side, and Richard Gill, one.

Matchpoint B took advantage of rivals Stanford not having a game and moved into third place in Division 2 after a 6-3 win against Rawreth Megazone E. Stephen Heard, on his debut, was the POTM and he was supported by a brace from Debbie O’Neill and a single win from Dan Stewart. Debbie had to work particularly hard for her wins beating Jaspreet Singh in five sets after being 2-1 down and then doing even better against Jonathan Allen coming back from two sets down before winning the next three 11/7 11/9 11/7. Richard Kidd picked up two wins for Rawreth and Jonathan got the other point after another five set match this time edging out Dan 11/8 in the decider.

Wakering bounced back to form and moved within a point of Stanford in fifth place after a comprehensive 8-1 win against Invicta B. The father and son double act of Paul and Zac England both recorded maximums with Andrew Deadman providing the other two points. Barbara Chabior was again Invicta’s best player beating Andrew in straight sets and just going down in five to Paul.

Basildon B find themselves bottom of the table after losing 8-1 at home to a revitalised Canvey B. It’s now three games and nine victories for Andrew Murray since his return and his performances have seen the Islanders climb from tenth place to sixth in those three matches. A perfect hat trick for him, another hat trick for Kevin Walsingham and a double for Des Duffield made it a miserable night for the Basildon boys for whom Jenne Seibolt got their consolation.

In the final game of the week a still winless Hockley D almost picked up an unlikely win away at Runnymede as despite only being able to field two players they took the match to a last game decider which saw Runnymede’s Steve Wisbey beat Neal Klyman in four sets to snatch the win. Hockley’s Paul Ogden took the POTM honours with a perfect hat trick whilst Neal got the better of Barry Edgar for their other point. Anne Adlington got the other win for Runnymede against Neal.

Player of the Week – Paul Ogden

Team of the Week -Matchpoint B

Firstly, a result carried over from Week 7 in Division 3.  The young Hockley ‘F’ side took on a (much) older and more experienced Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ team.  The evening started well for Hockley when Kris Chankov got the better of Edward Philcox after the closest of games, Kris eventually winning 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9.  Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the home side with Rawreth eventually running out 8/1 winners with the further loss of only two sets.  Jan Thorpe took the POTM honours with Graham Back also unbeaten.

The first three matches played in Week 8 were all close affairs.

Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ were a player short for their trip up the A13 to take on Stanford ‘C’.  Despite this, they made a fight of it, with two wins apiece for Mike Webb and Ro Brett, although neither were able to get the better of Stanford skipper, Mark Farley.  With Mandy Till and Karen Kempster unable to add any points, the home team were 5/4 winners.

Alex Bowden continued his impressive run with another unbeaten performance as his Matchpoint ‘C’ side travelled to the home of the league leaders, Invicta ‘C’, and came away with a 5/4 victory.  His ‘perfect’ hat-trick was backed up with two wins from Roger Sherman.  Indeed, Roger was close to recording a maximum himself.  In his game against Trisha Winter, he led by two sets before Trisha rallied and got home 9-11, 5-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9.  The Invicta points came from Trisha with two wins with Brendan Raja and Keith Baxter adding a win apiece.

There was a first hat-trick of the season for Matchpoint ‘D’s Blake Stewart in his teams 5/4 win over Hadleigh Forum ‘D’.  Teammate Oliver Milchard gave good support with a couple of wins; indeed, it was his 5-set win over Forum’s Jean Catley in the final game of the match that confirmed the win for his team.  Todd Barker was Forum’s best player on the night with two wins.  Jean and Sineh Ball both with a single win. 

It was a tough night for a young Evolve team when they took on Hockley ‘E’.  Although Ben Berwick took Graham Gregory to a deciding set, they were only able to win one more set as Hockley ran out 9/0 winners.  Keith Denyer took the POTM honours with teammates Graham and Gary Beck also undefeated.  11-year-old Archie Wakerly played his first match for Evolve and will certainly learn and improve as the season progresses.

It was an equally tough night for the junior players of Hockley ‘F’ when they hosted Stanford ‘F’.  Vaughan Chambers, Andrew Jessop and David Arnett showing their greater experience in a 9/0 victory.  There were though encouraging signs for the future as Elliot Brackenbury forced Andrew into a fifth set and William Evesham pushed David all the way before eventually going down 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11.  No scares for Vaughan as he took the POTM with a straight sets maximum

Cold Norton A Team ‘Love it when a plan comes together!’

There were plenty of fireworks in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League this week as Mapledene A reclaimed top spot and all three division 1 Cold Norton teams recorded banging wins including a memorable evening for the Cold Norton A Team who blasted and whizzed their way passed perennial champions Fambridge. 

With Leaders Woodham on a mid-season break it was up to the peloton members to decide who would make the break this week.  Up stood early season leaders Mapledene A who put down a vey strong 9-1 winning margin against a competent Maldon A trio.  Mapledene’s starlets Daniel Young and Reece Seddon won all their matches including the doubles.  Steve Muth won 2 of his singles and was just pipped late on in the deciding set of his encounter with superb Maldon leftie Jon Stokes.  Cold Norton A fielded their holy trinity of players this week leaving Fambridge without a prayer.  The Cold Norton trio of Duncan Taylor, Charles Sweeny and Kevin Read all won 2 a piece, but none of them could conquer the Fambridge archangel Keith Adams.  Adams must have stood in something en route to the venue or it really was divine intervention as he held on and overcame the challenge of both Read and Taylor despite being drawn into a 5^th set shootout in both ties.  Read & Taylor did get their revenge in the doubles though, securing the extra bonus point for the overall 7-3 victory.  With Cold Norton A of late fielding stronger sides they have pushed themselves back into contention as the league splits down the middle into a championship race, and a race for survival.  Cold Norton B are firmly in that championship race and this week’s whitewash against Mapledene B has really pushed them back into the melee.  A largely straightforward set of hat-tricks for the Cold Norton B boys Eric Green, Sam Lowman and Ian Wall – although Mapledene’s David Jacob threatened to spoil the party when in the final game of the night he came back from 0-2 down to force Green into a final deciding set he wasn’t expecting.  Green recovered his composure and won out 11-8.   In the survival race Woodham B lost out to Cold Norton C despite having the unbeaten player of the match in their ranks.  Cold Norton triumphed 6-4 with Kim Shead and Arron Chandler taking 2 wins each and then crucially combining for an excellent doubles victory over Sanjay Saptarshi and Dan Patynski.  Saptarshi was the star turn winning all his singles for the majority of the Woodham haul.

In Division 2 Woodham C continue to pull away from the chasing pack, and at this stage it looks like their only title challengers will be Mapledene C and Maldon B – but of course this can all change in the bat of an eye.   Both Woodham teams recorded good wins this week.  Leaders Woodham C welcomed the Stow C trio to their manor, and to be honest were poor hosts as they only allowed Stow to go home with a single point courtesy of Pete Layzell’s 5 set win over the previously undefeated Graham Briggs.  Kudos to Layzell, but that didn’t help his cause too much as the Woodham trio of Briggs, Chris Hancox and David Meah swept away every other challenge for an emphatic 9-1 victory.  Gus Heath was in impeccable form for Woodham D this week, 4 wins in 12 sets which formed the bedrock of his team’s 8-2 winning margin over Cold Norton D.  Heath was ably supported by wingmen Mal Henstock and Alan Dadswell.  Maldon B continued their efforts to keep in touch with the leaders as they overcame the challenge of Stow B for a 7-3 victory.  It was all about team work for the Maldonians as they each won 2 games but none of them had the wit or the guile to defeat the master of the backhand Peter Hance.  Hance has now played 9 and won them all – perhaps he should be picked every week!  Mapledene C lost some ground on the leaders this week as they were held to a 5-5 draw at the Mapledene Arena by Maldon C.  No hat-trick this week for the Maldon Talisman Steve Aspland just the bare minimum 2 wins as he was outfought and outlasted by the gutsy Lin Roff in a tense 5-setter.  Roff completed her hat-trick with wins over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames, whereas Barrell and Aspland recovered to grab the match-saving doubles win.  In the remaining division 2 matches there were conflicting emotions for the two Blackwater teams.  The A-Team ran out 7-3 winners over Stow D with hat-tricks for Neil Freeman and Denis Balic, whereas the B-Team succumbed to a 6-4 defeat against a resurgent Maldon D side despite Blackwater’s Louis Gunn recording the only hat-trick of the evening.  Two wins each for Maldon’s youth and experience combination of Brian Riedling and Marty Englander plus a doubles victory to secure the result.  That win lifts Maldon D off the bottom of the table at the expense of Cold Norton D.

In Division 3 St Lawrence continue to dominate the leaderboard and this week’s victims were Maldon E.  St Lawrence ran out 9-1 winners to keep a stranglehold on the top spot.  Hat-tricks for the ever reliable Mick Robinson and Steve King, with Mick Pratley chipping in with 2 wins but just losing out to Maldon starlet Arthur Shadforth.  Blackwater D and E fought out an in-house battle for the local bragging rights – but both teams failed as they settled on a draw, shook hands and agreed to return to fight on another day.  Blackwater E had Peter Davenport to thank for 4 of their points whereas the E Team shared their successes a bit more evenly with 2 wins for both Jacqui Treacy and Chris Rolison.  Blackwater C were much more clinical as they dispatched a 2 man Maldon F team 7-3, with all 3 Maldon points courtesy of the paddle of John Leavett.  This fine form deserted the Blackwater C squad as they played their second match of the week losing out in a 6-4 battle with Woodham E.  A battle it truly was as 5 of the matches went deep into 5^th sets with Woodham cruelly winning 4 out of these 5 ‘could go anyway’ encounters.  For Woodham Chris Crooks won all his singles and paired up with dark horse Mitch Davies for the doubles victory, and for Blackwater both Andy Simmonds and Phil West took 2 wins.  Those extra points push Blackwater C into second place but really the whole of the division is in the running for runner-up slot this season.

Top of page – Brian Reiding in unstoppable form this week as he warms up with Maldon team-mate Shirley Carroll

Pictured above clockwise :-

1. The battle for supremacy betwixt Kim Shead of Cold Norton and Sanjay Saptarshi of Woodham
2. Fambridge’s Keith Adams hols out against the Cold Norton onslaught
3. Eric Green and Sam Lowman pair up in the doubles for Cold Norton
4. Maldon’s Arthur Shadforth saving his team from a whitewashing this week

When an irresistible force meets an immovable object something’s got to give! That’s what the song says and that’s what happened when the two top teams in Division 2 of the SDTTL met at the Riverside this week. Riverside School not football ground that is.

The match couldn’t have been set up more perfectly with the home side Matchpoint A sitting at the top of the table just one point clear of arch rivals Basildon A, both teams unbeaten, and three players also boasting individual unbeaten records. Only one player emerged afterwards with their record intact.

The evening started with a five set match between Evie Knaapen and Szymon Jarka the first of six consecutive such games at the end of which, not surprisingly, the teams were level at three all. Knaapen started well going two sets up before Jarka fought back to level only to lose the fifth 11/6.

In the second game the home side’s Harry Sawford raced into a two set lead against Arun Joy but a superb comeback from the Basildon man saw him take the next three 11/8 11/2 12/10.

Match three saw teenager James Elliott take on Basildon’s very experienced Les Hoey and he led 2-1 before going down 11/9 in a close deciding set. Basildon lead 2-1.

Harry Sawford met Szymon Jarka next and a two set lead for Jarka soon evaporated but a closely fought decider eventually fell 13/11 in his favour. 3-1 to the Basildon boys!

The fifth game was now all important for the Matchpoint side, to go 4-1 down would leave them a mountain to climb, and this match between Knaapen and Hoey, both unbeaten this season, was to prove a turning point. First set to Knaapen 11/7, second to Hoey 13/11, third set to Knaapen 11/6, fourth set to Hoey 11/5. Fifth and final set and it’s the teenager Knaapen who wins 11/8 to bring the overall score back to 3-2 to Basildon and ruin Hoey’s unbeaten record.

Elliott stepped up next to take on Arun Joy and although it was another five set match it must have been a quick one as Joy rushed through the first two sets 11/8 11/4, but the tables turned completely after that as Elliott won the next three sets 11/5 11/6 11/5. Joy’s unbeaten record falls and the match now level at 3-3.

The next two games didn’t go to five sets as Hoey defeated Sawford in four but Elliott then restored the equilibrium beating Jarka in three sets and leaving the match score at 4-4. The crucial last and deciding game saw the still unbeaten Knaapen take on Joy, both sides with everything to play for.

Like all the other five set games before, this one swung back and forth as Knaapen won the first two sets 11/4 12/10 only to see Joy fight back winning the next two 11/8 11/8 to level the match. The fifth and final set couldn’t have been closer but in the end game set and match went to Knaapen 13/11.

A fitting end to an exceptional match played in very good spirit and congratulations Matchpoint A – still top of the league!

This Halloween week was all about the Woodham teams in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as unbeaten Woodham A took over the top spot in Division 1, Woodham B climbed off the bottom of Division 1 and Woodham C continued their winning streak to remain firmly in control of Division 2.  What curses have the Woodham witches put on all the other teams? 

Unbeaten Woodham A conquered the challenge of a strong Cold Norton C squad with an emphatic 8-2 victory.  As with previous champions it is often down to the number of deciding sets you can get through unscathed, and in this match Woodham managed to win all 3 matches that went the distance.  Good form indeed.  Kaung Htet Paing led the way with his singles hat-trick and paired up with Dan Piglet for the doubles, and Piglet and Chris Hancox each took a brace of wins.  For the Cold Nortonians Tim Cramphorn blasted his way passed Piglet for his point and Kim Shead was able to take a comfortable win over Hancox.  It took Woodham B until March last season to get their first win so they are way ahead of schedule this season with a 7-3 turnover of Maldon A.  For Woodham it was Dan Patynski who led the charge especially in his battle with Derek Balding, coming back from 0-2 down and deuce in the third set to finally win out 11-9 in the 5^th – a great battle of styles.  Patynski’s stablemates couldn’t cope with Balding’s mixed style of play that proved so effective and this led to a Dusty Bin set of results for Woodham B as Patynski won 3, Sanjay Saptarshi took 2 points, and Eamonn Hall chipped in with 1 win over Steve Whiteley.  Due to the inclement weather and a fear of puddles the fixture betwixt Stow Maries A and Cold Norton A was abandoned before it could get underway, and in the only other Ist division encounter Fambridge recorded a solid 8-2 scoreline against Mapledene B with hat-tricks for both Bruce Kettle and John Poysden.  Mapledene’s John Monk came out on top in the most contested match as he took the notable scalp of Mark Stones in a rollercoaster 5-setter.  That result pushes Fambridge back into contention just a point behind the leading two teams.

A full programme of fixtures in Division 2 facilitated a top two showdown at the Maldon Arena.  The wizards of Woodham C arrived in great form and Halloween spirit only to meet a steely eyed and determined Maldon trio.  After the traditional greetings and hakas it was down to the action and Maldon got a flier as Dawn Baldry took the opening game against Alex Wilson.  For Woodham Graham Briggs won both his openers and this helped to square things up at 3-3 going into the doubles.  The statistical gods were on Woodham’s side as their 100% doubles win rate pairing of Hancox and Briggs continued their fine form and shimmied their team into a 4-3 lead going into the final singles.  Briggs just about beat Colin Napper going deep into the deciding set.  Hamish Innes then repaid that fate on Alex Wilson as the night got longer and longer.  So Woodham were 5-4 up going into the final countdown which featured Baldry versus Hancox – a hittingfest in the making.  Well the rallies were short as was the match as Hancox won through in straight sets to maintain the 100% win rate for the leaders Woodham C, but they knew they had been in a battle.  Third placed Mapledene C took great advantage of the top two clash by putting down a whitewash 10-0 result against Cold Norton D – hat-tricks all round for Barrie Delf, Dave Woolmer, and Richard Gill.  That result pushes Mapledene into second place between our earlier protagonists.  Looks like this one will go all the way.  Elsewhere in the division Blackwater A excelled with a surprising 10-0 clear-out against Maldon D.  It was largely plain sailing for a very strong Blackwater team of Denis Balic, Merv Perriman and Neil Freeman, although Maldon’s Marty Englander did take Perriman for a little stroll into a fifth set tie-break but couldn’t quite get through the resolve of the seasoned campaigner.  Blackwater B also registered a healthy scoreline with an 8-2 win over 2-man Stow Maries B with Simon Quelch managing the only hat-trick of the shorter-than-usual evening.  Woodham D got themselves back to winning ways this week and remain in contention with the peloton.  Woodham’s Gus Heath was untroubled throughout his singles campaign with a 9 dart finish for his perfect hat-trick.  Heath was very ably supported by wingman Trevor Collin who continues to impress on his journey to full recovery on this occasion matching his talisman with 3 wins of his own.  Steve ‘hat-trick’ Aspland was up to his usual Tuesday evening trick or treats for his Maldon C side against Stow Maries D with, yes you’ve guessed it, another fine faultless evening of exhibition singles.  The man is a machine.   For Maldon Tim Pulham put up the most resistance with good wins over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames.

The third division is proving very tight this season.  St Lawrence have a healthy lead and are the bookies favourite for the championship but under them there is not much to separate all of the other competitors.  So any decent wins can really make a difference in league standings and always provide a confidence boost.  A perfect illustration being Blackwater D’s most welcome 7-3 triumph over nearest rivals Woodham E.  A result that propels the Blackwaterites into the runner-up slot just ahead of the slain Woodham E.  Blackwater’s Dave Benstead was in fine fettle with 3 wins to maintain his 100% win rate for the D team.  Benstead’s team-mates Jacqui Treacy and the legend that is Norman Hayes both won 2 of their matches to ramp up the score.  For Woodham it was the up and coming Peter Harverson who kept the score somewhat respectable with great wins over Treacy and Hayes, plus combining with Reece Arundell for a very important doubles point that went to deuce and beyond in the fifth leg of an almighty battle.  The final match of the week was a typical encounter in this years third tier as the E teams from Maldon and Blackwater went toe-to-toe until the Blackwater trio emerged triumphant in a tight 6-4 awayday victory.  Peter Davenport of Blackwater fame was the main reason for the victory with 3 solid singles points that were the bedrock of the winning margin.

Headline picture – Stow-in-the-Slow – the journey to Stow was too much for the Cold Norton tractors

Stu Wilkinson has been a regular in the Leopards’ side in
Division Three of the Clacton League since he joined the
Nomads club ten years ago, and he’s developed into a reliable
seventy per cent player at this level without ever hitting the
headlines.
But the often under-rated Wilkinson stepped into the limelight
this week as Nomads Leopards’ unlikely hero in their encounter
with Windsor Magpies, putting in a notable unbeaten
performance. Playing without their number one Dominic Joannou,
the Leopards did well to record a 6-4 victory, Wilkinson taking a
fine maximum.
He picked up impressive singles wins over John Plummer, Alan
Rutledge and Dave Sweetland, and shared an important doubles
victory with Bob Jillins 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 against
Plummer and Sweetland. Jillins won two for the Leopards but was
denied his own hat-trick by Sweetland who edged their match 11-
8 in the fifth.
The Magpies had a second tough match, this against Brotherhood
E. Four matches went the distance, each side winning two of
them, but Brotherhood came out on top 7-3. Fred Gallone won
three, Tricia Salter two and Tony Edmonds one. Gallone’s
maximum included an 11-8 in the fifth win over Dave Sweetland,
the same score by which Salter defeated Alan Rutledge. For the
Magpies, Sweetland won two and Rutledge one, both players
edging out Edmonds by the same 11-7 in the fifth score.
Brotherhood E also played twice this week and they followed up
their success against the Magpies with an 8-2 win against
Nomads Bobcats. Duncan Dunne and Fred Gallone took maximum
points, with Rodney Betts defeating Alex Baldock 11-5 in the fifth
for a point. Jack Riddleston and Matt Sage, with a debut League
win, took the Bobcats’ points.
Walton E overcame Nomads Lynx 8-2, with Lynette Sparks

unbeaten, and Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton winning a pair
apiece. Ian Gwillim took the Nomads’ points with two close wins,
11-7 in the fifth against Earle and 11-4 in the fifth against
Sexton, whilst Gerry Widnell narrowly failed to get on the score
sheet, going down to Sexton 11-2 in the deciding set.
Finally in Division Three, Windsor Harriers defeated Nomads
Ocelots 10-0, none of the matches extended beyond a third set.
Jenny Higgins, a late call-up for the Harriers, recorded hat-tricks
in successive weeks for the first time in seventeen years.
In Division One trebles for James Denyer and John Hatley, and a
couple from Gill Locke, saw Nomads Panthers home 9-1 against
Walton B. The only match which went the distance was Locke’s
11-4 in the decider win against Graham Buxton. Gavin Price took
the Walton point.
Three for Daniel Young, two for Andy Vincent and a crucial 12-10
in the fifth win for John Barton against Russell Hillier gave
Windsor Hawks the edge 6-4 against Brotherhood A. Gary Young
won two and Kevin Gowlett one for Brotherhood. Highlight of the
match was the final encounter of the evening where son Daniel
earned the bragging rights over Dad Gary with a 14-12, 11-9, 7-
11, 11-6 victory.
For a second week running, Walton A lost 9-1 to a Windsor side –
last week it was the Hawks, this week the Eagles. Mel Rampton,
Phil Smith and, making a rare appearance for the Eagles, Gary
Cattermole all stayed undefeated. Walton’s point came from a
five-set doubles win for Colin Dearman and David Binns over
Smith and Cattermole.
In Division Two Brotherhood D extended their lead at the top
with another convincing performance, defeating Windsor Penguins
9-1, Simon Smith-Daye and Sam Plummer unbeaten. James
Smith-Daye’s two wins for Brotherhood were both five-setters,
11-6 in the decider against Sharon Gowlett and 11-8 in the
decider against Annabelle Stallwood. But he couldn’t get the
better of Scott Campbell who took the Penguins’ consolation
point.
Brotherhood B were predictable 10-0 winners against Windsor
Kestrels. John Owen returned to League action with an
undefeated three, whilst there were trebles also for Barry Allen,
his first wins of the season, and Paul Alden. Debra Found was the
Kestrels’ best player, narrowly going down 11-6 in the fifth to
Allen and 11-9 in the fifth to Owen.

Finally, Walton D were 6-4 winners against Brotherhood C, Andy
Foster winning three and Clive Allenby two. Walton’s Paul
Woolnough will consider himself the unluckiest player of the
week, if not the season, losing three tight five-setters – 11-5 in
the decider to John Gallagher, 11-7 in the decider to Paul Metcalf
and 11-9 in the decider to Mark Beckham. Brotherhood’s fourth
point, and Gallagher’s second win of the evening, also came from
a match which went the distance, Gallagher enjoying an
unexpected win 11-5 in the fifth over Allenby.

• Members of the League will be saddened to learn of the death
  this week of its most senior Vice-President, Brian Baines. As a
  player, supporter and official, Brian had been associated with the
  League for over seventy years. A full appreciation of Brian’s
  contribution to the League will follow in due course.
• 
  RESULTS
  Division 1
  Walton A 1 Windsor Eagles 9;
  Nomads Lions 9 Windsor Buzzards 1;
  Walton B 1 Nomads Panthers 9;
  Brotherhood A 4 Windsor Hawks 6.
  Division 2
  Brotherhood C 4 Walton D 6;
  Windsor Penguins 1 Brotherhood D 9;
  Windsor Kestrels 0 Brotherhood B 10.
  Division 3
  Nomads Bobcats 2 Brotherhood E 8;
  Windsor Magpies 3 Brotherhood E 7;
  Nomads Leopards 6 Windsor Magpies 4;
  Nomads Ocelots 0 Windsor Harriers 10;
  Walton E 8 Nomads Lynx 2.

Three games from week 7 of the Southend Premier Division but first a late result in from week 6 and it was a tremendously close battle between two very evenly matched teams in the shape of Rayleigh Mill and Irons A. Only one of the eight games was settled in three ends with four matches going the full distance, the closest being a 14-12 win for Eric Green over Dave Bowles. Green picked up another win over John Monk but like the other two Millers could not get the better of player of the match Reece Seddon. Seddon’s three games and a win for Monk over Colin Chatfield was their lot for the evening and the two wins for Green along with Bruce Kettle’s brace and the win for Chatfield meant a 5-4 win for the Millers.

Rawreth A and Thorpe Bay A continue their good form as they picked up 7-2 and 8-1 wins over Hockley A and Brand Identity A respectively. Hatricks a piece for Liam Squirrell and Kevin Read for Rawreth along with a single win for Charles Sweeny over Sanjay Saptarshi in the first match and maximum wins for John Poysden and Paul Sayer and two for Mark Stones in the second fixture. A good win for David Jacob over Stones for the consolation in that one.

Hadleigh Forum have been busy in the transfer market and new signing Mark Mulley got off to a flying start in his Southend career as he won his three games to help Hadleigh to a 5-4 win over Rawreth B. Teammate Neal Barker continued his early season good form picking up wins against Arron Chandler and Kim Shead but he couldn’t pick up the scalp of Peter Barrett who won two on the night.

Stanford Le Hope A hung on to first place in Division 1, thanks to a 6 – 3 home win over Canvey A. Yet again Mitchell Jones was their star. His maximum POTM performance was assisted by two wins from Russel Bright and one from Dave Hancock. Ray Wilson won two for Canvey and Joanna Hills the other one.

Lentern surprisingly lost at home to RESSC 5 – 4 and consequently slipped down the pecking order. The visitor’s John Holland won all his matches to take the accolades and skipper Bob Skews got the other two. Paul Sims was responsible for both Lentern’s successes.

Invicta A’s fine 7 – 2 away win at Mapledene moved them into second place. POTM Lee Marson was unbeaten, as was his team mate Steven Marr. Lin Roff and Anthon Ranjit-Singh got one victory each for the home side, and Tony Ayliffe one for Invicta.

Brand Identity B took advantage of Lentern’s slip up to move up the table. They overcame Rawreth Megazone C 6 – 3 away. Adam Jackman had an unbeaten evening to earn the POTM prize. Veteran John Lott added two and Michael Grout one. The home side’s victories came from Garry Hartgrove, with two, and Trevor Ward with one.

Hadleigh Forum B could only muster two players for their visit to Hockley C and consequently, the home side were able to record their first win of the season. Ollie George was Hockley’s hero, being unbeaten and Eamonn Hall picked up a point on debut. The visitors’ Mick Tappenden won two, and David Woolmer one.

Rawreth Megazone D obtained a 6 – 3 victory from their visit to Hadleigh Forum C, despite only having two players. Mike Hayes and George Davis were both too strong for the home side.

Matchpoint A returned to the top of the Division 2 table this week after a crushing 9-0 victory at Runnymede. Needless to say Evie Knaapen turned in another perfect POTM performance and was backed up by Harry Sawford and Jeremy Giffin. The only real sign of resistance from the home team came in the first match of the evening where Andy Humphris took Harry to five sets but after that it was plain sailing for Matchpoint six matches ending in straight sets.

Basildon A relinquished their position at the top by one point as a result of their 7-2 defeat of Wakering. It seems you have to be pretty near perfect to keep top position at the moment! The father and son combination of Paul and Zac England did the damage by both beating Robert Platt but otherwise Basildon’s Les Hoey and Arun Joy reigned supreme Arun completing the perfect hat trick. Robert’s point came with a win against Stewart Mills.

Matchpoint B’s young team beat Basildon B 7-2 with Jack Riley’s hat trick supported by braces from Alexander Deacon and Ben Murray but they met strong resistance from Jenne Seibolt who beat Alex and Ben and took Jack to five sets. No joy for Richard Reibold and Andy Roff.

Stanford B maintained their winning run chalking up their sixth successive victory by beating bottom of the table Rawreth Megazone E 8-1. Robert Salvage and Adrian Armstrong were the hat trick heroes with Mark Downey picking up two wins but succumbing to Richard Kidd in the final game of the evening thus preventing the whitewash. Stanford stay third in the table.

The return of Andrew Murray to the Canvey B ranks has given them a significant boost in their last two games and his hat trick was the cornerstone of their 7-2 win against Hockley D. Braces from Tony Westwell and Des Duffield helped clinch the win whilst single wins for Tony Molisso against his namesake and Paul Strutt against Des got the points for a still winless Hockley. The final game of the night produced the closest match as Paul let slip a 2-1 lead against Tony eventually going down 13/11 6/11 12/10 5/11 9/11.

Team of the Week – Matchpoint A

Player of the Week – Arun Joy

In Division 3 another Trevor Hayes maximum was the cornerstone of a 6-3 win for Canvey ‘C’ over Matchpoint
‘C’. Stephen Parker with two wins and Andy O’Rawe with a single win added the extra points for the
Islanders. Max Mayo with a brace and Blake Stewart were the points scorers for Matchpoint.
John George led the way for Hockley ‘E’ with an unbeaten performance as they narrowly overcame
Matchpoint ‘D’ Teammates Gary Beck and Keith Denyer added a win apiece to ensure a 5-4 win.
For Matchpoint there were two wins each for Richard Sloman and Oliver Milchard but it was a blank
night unfortunately for Jeff Gritzman.
A young Evolve side hosted Stanford ‘C’ and were on the wrong end of a 7-2 defeat. However, the
final scoreline does not reflect how close this match actually was. Three of the games went the full
distance with the Evolve player narrowly falling short in the deciding set on each occasion.
Stanford’s Randy Santiago, with a hat-trick, was the POTM, well supported by Karen Kempster and
James Parker with two wins each. For Evolve, there was a win each for Reuben Stracey and Aaron
Price. No wins for George Key, but he came so close, recovering from losing the first two sets
against Karen to take it to the closest of final sets, 9/11, 9/11, 11/8, 11/9, 9/11 being the final score.

The juniors of Hockley ‘F’ were involved in a close contest against Hadleigh Forum ‘D’. They led 4-2
but were eventually pegged back with Forum winning the last 3 games for a 5-4 win. Elliot
Brackenbury and William Evesham both won two games for Hockley, whilst for Forum there was a
brace each for Douglas Brown and Todd Barker with Jean Catley chipping in with the extra point.
Finally, Rawreth Meggazone ‘F’ were unable to field a team for their match against Invicta ‘C’ and so,
unfortunately, had to concede.