The clash in Division One of the Clacton League between the Windsor Club’s top two teams, the Hawks and Eagles, ended all-square with honours even. Andy Vincent remained unbeaten for the Hawks, while there were two each for John Pattrick and Gavin Price of the Eagles.
Pattrick came close to taking his three and denying Vincent his hat-trick, losing 11-9, 6-11, 10-12, 11-7, 10-12 to the Hawks’ number one, with the winning point in the final fifth set coming from a fortuitous net.
Scott Campbell of the Hawks was involved in two five-setters, beating Phil Smith 11-5 in the fifth but going down 11-7 in the fifth to Pattrick.
Elsewhere, the Nomads Lions’ juggernaut continued to motor on, their 10-0 success against Brotherhood C their fifth whitewash win of the season. But despite three each for Adam Cuthbert, Adam Wilkin and Jason Lloyd, the Brotherhood team nearly snatched a point, Tim Leung going down 11-8 in the fifth to Wilkin, and Graham Playle losing out 12-10 in the fifth to Lloyd.
Nomads Panthers were 9-1 winners against Walton A. There were trebles from John Hatley and Greg Green, and a couple for Denes Somodi. Derek Willis took the Walton point with a victory over Somodi, who was also involved in the closest individual match of the week, edging past Mark Gale 13-11, 7-11, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10.
Trebles from Patrick Cheung and Russell Hillier saw Brotherhood B to an 8-2 success over Windsor Buzzards. James Smith-Daye picked up an 11-8 in the fifth victory over Dave Martin but went down by the same score to Buzzards’ reserve Barry Allen. Ray Chillingworth was the other points-scorer for the Buzzards.
In Division Two, Lily Liu recorded a debut hat-trick at this level in Brotherhood D’s 9-1 success against Windsor Kestrels, as well as sharing an 11-7 in the decider doubles win with Kevin Pryor against Graham and Jackie Bunce. Pryor also took a treble, while Fred Gallone won a couple but narrowly failed to make it three, going down 12-10 in the decider to Allen Denyer.
The Brotherhood J v Nomads Jaguars fixture ended all-square, a first drawn match of the season for both teams. Andy Hart with a hat-trick and Chris Petrou with two took the Jaguars’ points. For Brotherhood, Joe Sherwin won two, Lucy Carvell and Ruby Gallagher one each, with Sherwin and Gallagher sharing a doubles success. The first match of the evening was the only one to go the distance, Carvell beating Bob Jillins 11-8 in the fifth.
Three for Kelvin Olano-Harper, two for Paul Woolnough and a first win of the season for Paul Stanton was enough to give Windsor Penguins victory over Windsor Harriers. And the Penguins made it 7-3 thanks to an 11-7 in the decider doubles win for Olano-Harper and Stanton over Ferdy Rodriguez and Isabel Barton in the contest’s closest match.
In Division Three, leaders Brotherhood H defeated Brotherhood E 7-3. Dan Grindrod took his maximum, with Gary Simpson and Danny Still taking two each. Jack Hillier of the ‘E’ team recorded fine wins over Simpson and Still.
Gary Stallwood and Gerry Widnell notched up trebles for Holland Hurricanes in their 9-1 victory over club-mates Holland Lancasters. John Smith-Daye won two but lost out to Dave Wright, 11-5 in the decider.
Three for Dominic Joannou, two for Anne Bonny and one for Mark Taylor, plus a Joannou/Bonny doubles win, gave Nomads Leopards a 7-3 victory against Holland Vulcans. Derek Foxley took two for the Vulcans, whilst James Horsler won one but went down 11-7 in the fifth to Bonny.
Finchingfield B’s apparent stroll to the Braintree Table Tennis League division three title received an unexpected jolt last week when they were held to a draw by mid-table Black Notley H.
After seven successive wins since the start of the season, the league leaders found their hosts a tough nut to crack.
Seventeen-year-old Lucien Nolan-Bradford kept his unbeaten record – now 18 out of 18 – but was given a tough examination by Wayne Wilson, who bowed out only at 12-10 in the fifth game.
Two wins for Wilson and one each for Harry Wilson and Peter Foster, plus a doubles win for the Wilsons gave Notley a share of the points.
Things were stirring behind the leaders as well where the teams in second and third place faced each other.
Notley E and Rayne F had both won six out of seven and it was the former who came out on top 7-3 to bring the two teams level.
Peter Davenport and Dave Parker were unbeaten, but Davenport had to come back from two games to one down against Dave Whiting and Parker from 2-0 down against Conrad Gomes.
At the other end of the table, the bottom two played each other with Sudbury Drifters picking up their first win of the season.
An unbeaten Ian Whipps led them to a 6-4 win over Netts E.
Rayne G had a 10-0 win over Yeldham Whitlocks B while Netts F’s young warriors picked up a 7-3 win over Notley G.
Frank Chapman, 18, James Howard, 17 and Annabel Dix, 12, picked up two wins each.
Ben Southgate accounted for Notley’s three wins, but he was stretched to four games by Dix and five by Chapman and Howard, clinching a win against Howard only at 17-15.
In division two, Netts and Notley featured in two D v C matches and in both cases the C team came through 6-4.
Charles Calisin was unbeaten for Netts C against Notley D while Jamie Brooks took his three singles in Notley C’s win over Netts D.
The other match in the division was a draw between Yeldham A and Rayne D.
Lorraine Burgess made a welcome return for Yeldham after a lengthy injury lay-off but Dean Andrews’ three singles ensured Rayne shared the points.
A very tight set of matches in the top Division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League allows Cold Norton B to strengthen their lead without lifting a racket. Blackwater A are on the hunt in Division 2, and Blackwater C return with a bang after being held cheekily held last week.
Two draws and a tight 6-4 victory for Cold Norton A courtesy of the bonus doubles point show how close the middle teams are within the league this year – the luck of selection and the clash of styles is evident every week. A 2 player Cold Norton A were able to hold Mapledene A to a credible 5-5 draw despite the rampant Liam Squirrell beating both Kevin Read and Chas Sweeny. Read and Sweeny won all their other singles and obviously paired up for the doubles victory against George Reeves and the Rampant Squirrell. In their second match of the week Cold Norton A travelled the short distance to Woodham B and got off to a disastrous start when the awesome Sanjay Saptarshi thrashed Matt Stringer 3-0 in the opening match. Luckily Cold Norton’s fit and well again Duncan Taylor was on hand to smooth things over with two victories over Graham Briggs and Eamonn Hall – both matches being perhaps more difficult than expected as the Woodham boys put up a decent fight. The teams went in even at the break with Hall putting in a clinical performance to beat Neil Want in straight sets. With Stringer barrier hopping for the evening Taylor was called into Doubles action and he decided to play fast and furious – hitting winners for nearly every shot. His partner, Want, was allowed to serve but that was about all he was allowed to contribute as the Taylor assassination went largely unchecked and the important point was secured in record time. With a slender lead secured it was all down to the final 3 singles. Want found some form against Briggs as their topsy turvy match went into a deciding leg. Briggs remained the most focussed as his opponent was left Wanting and brought the match to a 4-4 stalemate. That didn’t last long as a relaxed Stringer stormed through Hall with an exhibition of forehand and back loops, so the match was left to the one they had all come to watch – Saptarshi versus Taylor. Taylor had found his mojo now and was in full winning mode, so much so that despite hitting a few decent winners Saptarshi was blown away for Taylor’s clean sweep of the evening leaving Cold Norton as the 6-4 victors. On the other side of the Woodham arena their was treble action for two of the Woodham A players. Daniel Young was in inspirational form for his unbeaten evening across both singles and doubles, whereas Woodham debutant Dan Zeffie had a night to forget as lost all of his singles in long hard fought battles – he lost in 5 to Matt Stringer having been 2-0 up, lost in 5 again to Kim Shead, and was a bit quicker when losing to Arron Chandler in 4 sets. The Woodham management have issued the standard vote of confidence in Zeffie and predict many a future hat-trick to follow. Woodham’s Chris Hancox took an excellent point off the very tricky Shead to help Woodham secure the draw.
The story in Division 2 is the rising fortunes of the Blackwater A side as they edge closer to the top 2 each week. Another good win this week has them closer to the podium than the peloton chasing them, and that’s 4 wins out of the last 5 matches with the other being a draw – so watch this space.. Maldon A stay out in front following an 8-2 victory over Cold Norton E – trebles for the reliable Hamish Innes and Lloyd Bennett-Simth with third wheel Colin napper falling to the divergent styles of Dick Wyman and Tony Forster. Wyman had a long and tough evening, playing the maximum 15 legs across his three matches for just the single win over Napper. Second-placed Mapledene C fell to the various charms offered by the Stow Maries B side. Stow’s Peter Hance was the driving force behind his team’s 7-3 win with a perfect evening where he really only struggled against the feisty Pat White where he needed to use all 5 legs to come out on top – this was the final match of the night so it could have been well past Hance’s bedtime by then. With Mapledene dropping points Blackwater A closed in on their podium position with a very respectable 7-3 turnover of the Maldon B trio. In a ‘Dusty Bin 3-2-1’ performance it was Denis Balic with the hat-trick action that did most damage, but he was ably supported by Alan Scammell with 2 wins and Neil Thompson playing up for the final singles point with his 3-0 win over Garry Eames. Woodham’s hard-hitting Chris Hancox was the difference between the Woodham C and Blackwater B sides this week. With everyone else taking points off each other it was left to Hancox to smash his way through the Blackwater barrier, dropping just the one set all evening in the 6-4 win. Maldon C are remarkably low in the division for some of the talent they have registered. This week they scrambled a draw against Cold Norton D largely thanks to a fantastic treble form Marty Englander including a notable victory over Neil Want. In support of Englander’s efforts Dawn Baldry notched 2 good wins to help secure the draw. Want atoned for his earlier loss to Englander by pairing up with Terry Hyland to take the doubles away from Baldry and Englander.
After last week’s unexpected draw for Division 3 leaders Blackwater C it was back to normal this week as they crushed Blackwater F in a chilling 10-0 whitewash. An unbeaten night for the C team trio of Andrea Alleyne, Gary Smith and Neil Thompson. Thompson coming through the hardest match of the night as he got the better of Keith Thompson over 5 sets of intense match play. Blackwater D continue there vain attempts to keep pace with their rampant C team and this week recorded a 7-3 victory over Blackwater E with Roger Tiffin once again the star player with an unbeaten evening of ping pong. Deb Ginn was the best of the E team winning both of her other matches. Tim Huxtable was in fine fettle for Maldon E with 3 decent wins against Woodham D. The Woodham side were just unable to penetrate the Huxtable unorthodox defence. With Joh Leavett chipping in with 2 wins the final scoreline was 7-3 to Maldon E. St Lawrence were back to winning ways this week against a 2-player Maldon D side. It was like going back in time to the early 1970s for this match as former Mens Champion Mick Robinson took on Former Ladies Champion Shirley Carroll – with Carroll narrowly coming out on top some 50 years later. Luckily for Robinson his team-mates fared better and both Mike Burton and Dave Bateman were undefeated all evening as St Lawrence won out 8-2.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Pic 1 – Daniel Young completing his hat-trick for Woodham A against Matt Stringer this week
Pic 2 – Sanjay Saptarshi with no answer against the skills of Duncan Taylor
Pic 3 – A Burnham debut to forget for Dan Zeffie – seen here against Arron Chandler.
Pic 4 – Neil and Keith bash it out in the Thompson Battle this week.
Pic 5 – The unbeatable Chris Hancox in destruction mode this week.
Daniel Young (left) against Matt StringerSanjay Saptarshi (left) v Duncan TaylorDan Zeffie v Arron ChandlerThe Thompson twins?!!Chris Hancox
There’s little to choose between Windsor Magpies and Walton C in Division Three of the Clacton League, and the two mid-table teams enjoyed another tight scrap this week, sharing the four matches which went the distance.
There was a maximum for the ever-reliable Magpies’ skipper, John Plummer, which included an 11-9 in the fifth win over Lynette Sparks and an even closer 12-10 in the fifth win over Maggie Earle.
But alas for Plummer, Walton took the match 6-4, Sparks and Earle both winning twice, Earle edging past Dave Sweetland 12-10 in the fifth, with Deborah Pallett taking a crucial point against Alan Rutledge, 4-11, 11-9, 13-15, 14-12, 11-4.
Elsewhere, three for Dan Grindrod and two for Gary Simpson, plus a shared doubles win, saw leaders Brotherhood H safely home 6-4 against Windsor Falcons. Gary Barnes’ couple for the Falcons included an unexpected victory over Simpson, while Nikki Hayes and Nigel Rolph each took one.
Holland Hurricanes, 8-2 winners against a Brotherhood E side fielding a guest, are now clear in second place. Gary Stallwood was unbeaten for the winners, while Tony Edmonds’ two points for the losers included an 11-7 in the decider success against John Smith-Daye.
The Leopards also fielded a guest in the all-Nomads clash with the Ocelots and, unsurprisingly, went down 7-3. Mike Wellum remained unbeaten to win his two while his Ocelots’ team-mate, Andrew Cousins, edged past Anne Bonny 11-7 in the fifth but lost out to Doug Green. Green won two for the Leopards and Bonny one.
Dave Wright and Peter Evans were undefeated in Holland Lancasters’ 7-3 win over club-mates Holland Vulcans, although it was the tightest of tight 7-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9, 13-11 victories for Wright against Bob Keefe.
In Division One, Kevin James, Gill Locke and Denes Somodi of Nomads Panthers were 10-0 winners against Brotherhood C, Brotherhood’s captain, Martin Edwards, unfortunately forced to concede two of his singles through injury.
No-one stayed unbeaten as Walton A got the better of Windsor Hawks 6-4. Mark Gale, Derek Willis and Paul Meikle each won two for Walton, both Gale and Meikle defeating Andy Vincent in five. Felipe Rodriguez won two for the Hawks and Scott Campbell one, the pair also sharing a doubles win, but Vincent failed to record a victory for the first time this season.
Despite a maximum from Pete Burrows, it was a similar 6-4 score-line for Brotherhood B against Walton B, Patrick Cheung, Russell Hillier and reserve Mark Boyland all winning two for Brotherhood. Walton’s Graham Buxton had an interesting evening, sharing an excellent doubles victory with Paul Newbould against Cheung and Hillier, being edged out 4-11, 8-11, 11-7, 17-15, 12-10 by Hillier, and then going down 11-4, 3-11, 13-11, 11-7 to Boyland, this after being 10-1 up in the third set.
But the all-Windsor clash between the Eagles and Buzzards ended in less dramatic fashion, the Eagles winning 10-0, Gary Cattermole, Phil Smith and John Pattrick remaining unbeaten. Pattrick’s 11-9 in the fifth victory against Dave Martin was the closest match of the tie.
In the all-Brotherhood match between the top two teams in Division Two, hat-tricks from Mark Boyland and John Gallagher saw the ‘G’ team home 7-3 against the ‘F’ team. But it was a tighter encounter than the score-line might suggest, with Brotherhood G winning four of the five matches which went all the way. Gallagher was involved in three of them, beating Paul Alden 11-9 in the decider, Neil Chegwidden 12-10 in the decider, and sharing an 11-9 in the fifth doubles win with Boyland against Chegwidden and Mark Salter.
John Colvin, Charlie Denholm and Ian Sherwood of third-placed Lawford recorded a comfortable 10-0 victory over Windsor Kestrels, with just three matches extended to a fourth set. It was the first whitewash result in the Division so far this season.
Brotherhood J are now clear in fourth place after taking the final four matches of a hard-fought encounter with Brotherhood D. Joe Sherwin took three, Ruby Gallagher two and Tom Bryden one in their 7-3 victory. Five of the matches went the distance, Bryden losing 11-9 in the decider to Kevin Pryor and 11-8 in the decider to Fred Gallone. But Sherwin defeated Gallone 11-4 in the fifth, Gallagher beat Lily Liu 11-7 in the fifth, with Sherwin and Gallagher taking the closest of them all, 13-11 in the fifth in the doubles against Pryor and Gallone.
It was also 7-3 for Windsor Penguins against Nomads Tigers, thanks to trebles from Kelvin Olano-Harper and Paul Woolnough. Tom Wilkin, Matt Sage and Alex Baldock won one each for the Tigers, Wilkin taking both Olano-Harper and Woolnough the distance but ultimately unsuccessful.
But there was a reverse of fortune for the Nomads and Windsor Clubs as the Jaguars defeated the Harriers 8-2, Andy Hart and Chris Petrou leading the way with hat-tricks. Bob Jillins’ win for the Tigers was also the closest match of the contest, 14-12 in the fifth against Isabel Barton.
* Details of the Knock-Out Cup competition which begins in the New Year will be circulated by 15th December at the latest.
Week 10 in the Southend Premier brought us a couple of whitewash results, one expected win and one shock. I’ll start with the whitewash results that saw Rawreth A and Thorpe Bay A back to their best as they took all the points on offer against Invicta A and Basildon A respectively. The dominance of Chris Penrose, Daniel Bronziet and Charles Sweeney for Rawreth and John Poysden, Paul Sayer and Ian Wall for Thorpe Bay was underlined by the fact that only 5 of the 18 games went to a 4th end and none to a 5th and deciding leg.
The expected win went the way of Thorpe Bay B over Stanford A as Kieran Skeggs with three wins and two a piece from Keith Willett and Rich Stubbington led the Bay to a 7-2 win. The two wins for Standford coming from Joshua Freeman and Peter Weatherall.
So finally to the shock of the week and a defeat for the leaders against 10th placed Matchpoint A. Harry Sawford and Stephen Heard in great form taking three wins each against Rawreth B’s Kim Shead, Andrew Halling and Norbert Fullerton. The result lets Thorpe Bay A leapfrog back over Rawreth B by 4 points at the top but we are not even half way into the season yet so a lot more balls to be smashed, chopped and top spinned before we know who this year’s Champions will be.
In a clash between two sides at the wrong end of the Division 1 table, home team Stanford Le Hope B narrowly overcame rivals Hadleigh Forum C 5 – 4. Despite being on the losing side, Forum’s Paul Fawell was unbeaten and took the player of the match award. Mind you, it was very tight in his contest with the home side’s Adrian Atkinson, with Paul just squeezing it 11 – 8 in the fifth set. Adrian went on to win his two other bouts. Team mate Robert Savage matched this feat, whilst Jake Nelson added one further win. Mark Everard got Forum’s other success.
Second place Hockley C missed the chance to close the gap on the top team, losing 6 – 3 away to Mapledene. Their Elliot Brackenbury did his best to avoid the defeat, winning all his matches and taking the player of the match award. However, the home side’s trio of Lin Roff, Mike Johnston and Bill Smith were just too good for Hockley’s other players, Stephanie Haddrell and James Evesham. Mind you, Stephanie had some very close encounters. Bill just overcame her 11 – 6 in the fifth, then was even more unfortunate to lose 11 – 9 in the fifth to Mike.
Hadleigh Forum B took advantage of Hockley C’s slip up to move to only three points behind them, thanks to an 8 – 1 home demolition of bottom side Basildon B. There were hat tricks for both Forum’s Anthon Ranjit-Singh and David Woolmer, with David just shaving it for the POM prize. Basildon’s Dale Gutteridge overcame Michael Tappenden to avoid a complete whitewash.
A Peter Cray inspired hat trick led Canvey A to a commendable 6 – 3 win over visitors Wakering A. Bob Skews added two more for the home side, whilst Lee McGonagle edged a close match against Wakering’s unfortunate Jeremy Giffin 11 – 8 in the fifth. in a close fought match, Martin Shaughnessy took two wins and Barbara Chabior got one for Wakering.
Basildon C are off the bottom of the table in Division 2. After six consecutive defeats they have now won two games in succession their 5-4 defeat of Hockley E replicating their 5-4 defeat of Invicta B the previous week. Dave Walton was their hero this time winning all his games with team mates Richard Reibold and Anton Kudyniuk picking up a point each. Secret of their success was down to the three matches that went to five sets Basildon coming out on top in all three. That was hard on Hockley’s Richard Coulon who lost two of them but he did have a single success against Reibold. Richard Kidd picked up two wins for Hockley and there was one for Neal Klyman.
At the other end of the table there was another close fought match featuring the other Hockley team against Canvey B. Hockley D found themselves 4-3 down against the Islanders until wins for Brian Bissenden and Paul Ogden turned the tide in the home side’s favour. Crucial match here was Bissenden’s clash with the previously unbeaten Trevor Hayes which finished 14/12 12/10 12/10 in three closely fought sets. Paul Ogden and Howard Collins provided the other points for Hockley whilst Hayes and Des Duffield both picked up braces for Canvey. Tony Westwell missed out and Canvey remain in second place.
Hockley D’s narrow win left a chance for Matchpoint B to overtake them and claim third place and they did this in style romping to a 9-0 win against Runnymede which dropped their opponents to bottom place in the league. Hannah Harbour finished with a perfect hat trick, the evergreen John Lott followed suit and young Lotte Mills picked up her first hat trick of the season dropping just a single set. Matchpoint now sit one point ahead of Hockley D.
League leaders Wakering demolished Stanford C 8-1 which meant another three wins for the unbeaten Callum Turner, three wins for Paul England and a brace for Michael Grout. England had to fight hard for two of his wins beating Vaughan Chambers in five sets and then coming back from two sets down to beat Mike Trendell winning the last three sets 12/10 12/10 11/9. Trendell did get Stanford’s consolation point beating Grout in four sets.
Team of the Week – Basildon C
Player of the Week – Brian Bissenden
In Division 3 Hockley ‘F’ skipper Gary Beck led from the front as his maximum, added to two wins apiece from his teammates, Ross Collins and Bob Garlick, meant a 7/2 win for his team over Stanford ‘D’ and ensured that they kept up the pressure on the league leaders, Invicta ‘C’, who were without a match this week. Martin Winter was the best on the night for Stanford with two wins.
Matchpoint ‘D’ recorded their first win of the season with a comprehensive 9/0 win over Evolve ‘B’. With this victory, they moved above Evolve and off the bottom of the table. David McHattie was the Player of the Match, and there were also maximums for Poppy Sherman and Cooper Hill.
Teddy Kent and Miles Bygrave were both unbeaten as Evolve ‘A’ beat Wakering ‘C’ 6/3. It was a blank night though for Sasha Syderenko, but it was not for want of him trying. Two of his matches were lost in the 5th set, and the other was a close 4-set defeat. For Wakering there was a win each for Jacek Bednarek, Kamil Pachalko and Stewart Mills.
A maximum from Chong Shing Lam and a double each for his Canvey ‘C’ teammates, David Coverley and John Saunders, meant a 7/2 win for his team over Hockley ‘G’. Kris Chankov recorded two wins for Hockley, but he was denied his hat-trick in the final game of the evening, when he came out on the wrong end of a narrow 5-set match against Chong.
An honourable draw in the battle betwixt the top two teams in the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League keeps Cold Norton B well on track to retain their title, and finally Blackwater C have been tamed (ish) in Division 3.
The clash of the titans finished in an respectable draw this week as Fambridge came from 2-5 down to squeeze out a draw against league leaders Cold Norton B. It was a mish mash of results as everyone came away with a win, and John Poysden, Keith Adams and Ian Wall all took a brace. A key component of any table tennis match is to ensure you have your tried and tested racket, customised to your grip, preferred rubbers and style of bat. As you leave for each match you always do your final checks as you close the door behind you – phone, keys and bat. Given his failure to implement these simple rules it was a miracle that Fambridge’s Bruce Kettle managed to get to grips with his temporary weapon of choice and completed a very notable straight sets win over the in form Sam Lowman in his final match of the night. A great effort, and at last a dent in the previously unblemished win record of the leaders. Mapledene B have snuck into 3rd place courtesy of a 6-4 win over Cold Norton A largely inspired by a Kieran Skeggs hat-trick including a 4 set victory over the extremely talented and consistent Kevin Read. Read won his other matches and combined with erstwhile traveller Arron Chandler for the extra doubles point. Mapledene’s penhold magician Colin Chatfield won the tightest contest of the night with a 17-15 deciding set win over the unlucky Kim Shead.
In Division 2 Maldon A climbed back into second spot following their 7-3 win in the latest Maldon derby against their own B side. Hat-tricks for both Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Hamish Innes and a bonus point as Ross Kirby defeated Garry Eames in straight sets following his earlier 5 set losses to Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell – it’s coming! Barrell and Aspland naturally took the bonus doubles point as they always do. Woodham C seem to have found their bouncebackability mojo of late following some recent crushing defeats. This week they saw off a very strong Cold Norton E side featuring both Dick Wyman and Steve Maltby. The Woodham star in the 6-4 victory was the bandana extremist Tim Pulham who went undefeated across all 4 of his matches keeping his win ratio well above the 70% mark so far this season. There was some joy for Cold Norton’s youngest player, Oscar Wyman, as he recorded his first win of the season as his game continues to improve. Wyman jnr came from behind in his match with Jeremy Giffin to win 11-7 in the final set. Giffin was not deterred by this unexpected loss as he channelled his disappointment into his next game and recorded an eye-catching win over Steve Maltby – swings and roundabouts. Blackwater B eased their way out of the relegation zone with a notable 8-2 score over Maldon C with trebles for both Merv Perriman and Roger Slade. Maldon’s Chris Ravenhill scored the only singles point for his team with a straight sets win over Louis Gunn. The tightest and I assume the longest match by far of the evening saw Perriman taken all the way to a fifth and final set against Brain Riedling – unfortunately none of the umpires fully understood how to implement the Expedite rules so the game ran on and on and on.
Finally Blackwater C have had a difficult match as they march towards the Division 3 title. This week Woodham D got stuck into the Blackwater trio and were actually 4-3 up going into the final straight of singles matches. Blackwater captain Gary Smith could see the unbeaten run drifting away as he fell 2 sets down against Chris Crooks but the spirit of Blackwater is strong and he summoned his inner strength to turn that match around and square the overall score at 4-4. David McHattie then bettered Diane King to put the Blackwaterarians 5-4 in the lead and back in control with trump card Colin Barham coming up in the final match. But Woodham were having none of it, as Simon Thomas ignored the Blackwater confidence and fired off a quick straight sets victory to ensure the Blackwater win column wasn’t troubled for one week at least this season. Blackwater D registered a comprehensive 8-2 winning margin over St Lawrence A with hat-tricks for Jacquie Treacy and Roger Tiffin. David Sage chipped in with a couple of wins, just losing out to Dave Bateman in the other match. Blackwater E Wildman Phil West was trigger happy this week with an impenetrable treble, including a tight 5-setter against Peter Hughes as his side ran out 7-3 winners against Blackwater F. Deb Ginn won her first 2 singles but then lost out to Peter Hughes as he avenged his earlier 5 set loss with a turnaround 5 set victory. Jo Hart was victorious in the other 5 set match as she defeated the E team’s Anne Brewer 12-10 in the decider.
Pic 1 – Fambridge’s Bruce Kettle and his random bat antics
Pic 2 – Woodham’s Tim Pulham plus his lucky Bandana
Pic 3 – Cold Norton E’s Wyman Twins in action this week
Pic 4 – Blackwater’s Gary Smith pulling a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Pic 5 – Wildman Phil West of Blackwater E fame in treble popping action this week.
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.
Plenty of action at the Clacton Drawn Doubles eventJohn Gallagher (left) and Matt ThomasDoubles Champions – Allen Denyer (left) and Mark Gale
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
