The young guns of Netts F have won their way through to the final of the Braintree Table Tennis League handicap cup.

Sixteen-year-olds JJ Calisin and James Howard and Tom Verrier, 14, will be hoping to make it four wins in a row for a Netts team after successes for the C team last year, E team the year before and C team (with a different set of players) in 2022.

Their win in the semi-final dashed Finchingfield A’s hopes of doing the double of the cup and the third division title.

John Barrett, Peter Clark and Dave Punt were unable to overcome the handicaps of the younger players and succumbed 5-1.

Calisin, with a five-point advantage, opened the proceedings with a 21-19, 21-9 win over Punt, followed by Howard’s 21-15, 21-12 win over Barrett, playing off a 12 handicap.

Clark gave the home side some hope with a win in three games against Verrier (+6) but a win for Calisin (+6) over Barrett restored the two-set lead and this was followed by wins for Verrier (+8) over Punt and Howard (+10) over Clark to clinch their path to the final.

The other semi final had to be postponed and will be played later.

In the league division two, Black Notley C racked up two wins over their clubmates, 8-2 against the F team and 6-4 over the D team.

Matt Stephenson won twice for the F team, while for the D team Alesha Ellis-Austin scored a good win over Rev Matthews but an in-form Mark Nolan remained unbeaten.

Leaders Sudbury Wanderers beat Netts C 8-2, with Richard Kemp unbeaten, while Rayne D took advantage of Rayne E’s inactivity to jump into second place with a 7-3 win over Rayne F, despite three straight-game wins for the F team’s Richard Whiteside.

Notley D’s defeat by their C team came after they had scored an 8-2 win over Netts D.  

They welcomed back Alan Billing for the first time this season and he played as if he had never been away, winning his three singles and the doubles with Stewart Ireland.

Notley E sprang a surprise with a 6-4 win over Yeldham Whitlocks A, three places above them.

Jamie Brooks led the way with three wins.

Particularly commendable was his win over Roy Hooper (a player with a 74.4 per cent average before this match compared with Brooks’ 55.2).

But equally commendable was Matt Brooks’ win over Doug Sanders (23.3 per cent versus 56.4).

Division three leaders Finchingfield A came up against an unexpected hurdle in Rayne G’s Alastair Brown.

With only nine wins out of 45 behind him, Brown’s wins against Dave Punt and Ray Bradford came out of the totally unexpected drawer.

John Barrett was the only Finchingfieldian unfazed by Brown’s unorthodox style and took his three singles to lead the home side to a 7-3 victory.

Yeldham B had the misfortune to come up against Sudbury Strollers’ strongest team of the season, Richard Fifield, Richard Kemp and Peter Abbott, who were unlikely to give much away.  Steve Willis’s win over Abbott was the only one that eluded them.

Yeldham got one more point against Netts F but must have hoped for something better than an 8-2 defeat against a team 13 points behind them.

Netts F also had a 7-3 win over Rayne H.

An injury to Nigel Parmenter a few minutes into the evening hit Notley H’s hopes against Notley G.  Parmenter doggedly finished the first set but was unable to continue and it was only Jill Canning’s win over Jacqueline Smith that broke the duck.

Tony Brown remained unbeaten for the second match running in Notley I’s 6-4 win over Netts E.

Report by Ron Fosker

Honours were even in the big Division 1 showdown this week at the very top of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League.  A decisive win for either leaders Fambridge or the chasing Mapledene A would have left the victors in charge of their own destiny.  However with both protagonists settling for a draw this has now left the barn door wide open for Cold Norton B to nip in and shoplift the title away from the bookies favourites. 

So in the battle for top spot Fambridge travelled to the Mapledene Arena expecting to face a trio consisting of Reece Seddon, Liam Squirrell, and potentially Mitchell Jones – a frightening thought for any league encounter across the county let alone the Burnham District.  However Mapledene had resisted this line-up and that made for a much more even encounter.  Seddon was present and he kicked the evening off with a settling 3-0 victory in the battle of the Captains against John Poysden.  Gary Young was up next for Fambridge and quickly found himself 2-0 up against the fiery Jordan Allen.  But Allen was not going down without a fight and following some encouragement from his team-mates he bolstered his defence and squared up the match at 2-2.  Slightly irked at the cheek of this attempted comeback Young upped his game and completed the win to put Fambridge on the board.  Mapledene’s Steve Muth then took an unexpected straight sets point against Bruce Kettle and so the match continued tit-for-tat all the way to the final match where Seddon defeated Young to complete the even stevens affair that helps neither team.  A hat-trick for Seddon that bodes well for his attempt to retain the Singles crown at the upcoming Burnham Closed Tournament.  Mapledene won all their five victories in straight sets, but when the matches were close the experienced heads of Fambridge were able to see out the wins through endeavour and patience winning all three 5 setters on the night.  Fambridge have now completed their season and have to play the waiting game to see if either Mapledene or Cold Norton B can muster the energy to challenge their points haul.  These two meet next week and the fireworks are ready to explode. 

Mapledene B recorded a very decisive win over Cold Norton C.  Mapledene’s Simon Jacob was the star player with an unbeaten singles treble and he then paired up with Kieran Skeggs for the bonus doubles point.  The in-form Arron Chandler was the only Hot Nortonian as he posted good wins over David Jacob and Skeggs – again watch out for Chandler in the Mixed Open Singles event this year – a potential winner for sure.  Cold Norton A had the pleasure of the services of Matt Stringer this week and he was on stupendous form as he bossed his way past the Woodham B trio without so much as a glitch in the 9 legs he limited himself too.  For Woodham Sanjay Saptarshi made a welcome return and after a rusty start he was able to grab a couple of much needed points for Woodham in wins over Steve Maltby and Neil Want.  Want and his partner ‘nets and edges’ combined for a couple of victories including a long 5-setter against Harry Sawford.  Maltby was on fire early doors against Saptarshi and carried that form into his match with Eamonn Hall to record his only win on the night.  So with Stringer and Maltby in great form the doubles against Saptarshi and Hall should have been a cake-walk for them but they somehow rescued a defeat from the jaws of victory having taking an early 2-0, 7-4 lead before a tactical realignment from the Woodham pair that saw them negate the firepower of Stringer and impose their own authority to take the tight third set and then romp the final two. 

A 10-0 whitewash victory for Leaders Stow Maries A against their bewitched, bothered and bewildered opponents Stow Maries C seems aplenty to secure the Division 2 Title – although not mathematically certain just yet.  Maldon A can still catch the Stow Express but can’t afford to drop any points in their last 3 matches – a tall order.  So trebles all round for the Stow trio of Ken Sheard, Peter Chastin and Gary Brignall without much resistance from the opposition.  Jean Chasmer did well to take a leg off Brignall, but she couldn’t do the same in the family battle with son Chastin who showed no mercy in his straight sets victory – although he has since been de-invited from all family gatherings.  The harsh realities of table tennis in Essex hit hard at times.   Maldon A put on a good display against the tricky Blackwater A trio triumphing 7-3 on the night with Colin Napper and Lloyd Bennett-Smith unbeaten in their singles endeavours.  For Blackwater Roger Slade and Neil Freeman took the long road in 5 set victories over Dawn Baldry, and Freeman and Alan Scammell combined for another 5 set point against Napper and Baldry.   Mapledene C boosted their league standing as they bested Blackwater B in a 7-3 thriller.  Dave Woolmer posted his 4^th hat-trick of the season and was the best of the Mapledene crew, with able support from Dennis Squirrell who secured 2 points over the duration of the night’s sport.  Woodham D may have lost out to Maldon B in a 4-6 loss but they had the star attraction in the ever improving youngster Peter Harverson who posted another hat-trick and in doing so laid down a marker for the Dan Richardson Trophy event at the Burnham Closed Tournament – could a non-seed really take the title?  For the victors Steve Aspland and Garry Eames both won 2 singles – Eames having a full night of fun playing all 15 legs available to him in his singles encounters.  Cold Norton D bashed out a surprising comfortable 7-3 win over Stow Maries B, but they did have their best players out to play.  The very awkward Pete Lucraft was unstoppable as he pushed and tweaked his way to an excellent treble, and he was ably supported by his wingmen Neil Want and Terry Hyland both with 2 victories and both falling to the trusty backhand of Peter Hance.

Maldon C have all but claimed the Division 3 Title – so the real race is amongst the undercard to see who will emerge to share the podium with Maldonites.  Blackwater C are favourites for the coveted runner-up spot and their only real challengers left in the race as we approach the final furlong are Maldon D.  However Maldon D did themselves no favours this week despite a tight 6-4 victory over stablemates Maldon E, they really needed to be posting 9 or 10 points to worry the Blackwateronians.  Blackwater C were victorious themselves in their own derby battle with Blackwater E coming out 7-3 winners thanks to interclub hat-tricks from Peter Davenport and Chris Rolison.  Thridwheel Jacqui Treacy chipped in with a win over Phil ‘Wild’ West but she was undone by both Kath Little and Deb Ginn as they lay down markers for the upcoming Ladies Singles tournament.  West didn’t stay wild for too long as he combined with Little for a big win in the doubles taking 3 sets after deuce for the victory.  Maldon D’s 6-4 win came courtesy of a treble from James Raymond in the singles and then he had a big hand in the bonus doubles victory when he paired up with Matt Copsey.  Copsey and Luca Riedling both got the better of Patrick Coyne for the final 2 points, and for Maldon E John Leavett and Kym Eames scored a brace of wins each over Copsey and Riedling.  Peter Davenport was a busy man for Blackwater this week as he also made an appearance in the Blackwater D loss to St Lawrence.  The match finished 7-3 to St Lawrence and Davenport was on his knees come the end of the evening.  Dave Bateman takes the credit for being the only player to beat Davenport all week – but it was his 7th and final match of a very long evening!  In fact Bateman beat all in front of him for his 3 wins and he combined with League stalwart Mike Pratley for a 3 set win over Ron Tam and Davenport (hadn’t had enough table time by now?).  Pratley added 2 extra points from the singles and Dave Siggins rounded off the scoring with a win over Jo Hart.  Blackwater F turned up for their match without Davenport in tow – he must still have been suffering from his exploits earlier in the week.  Woodham employed the Dusty Bin tactics with a 3-2-1 ratio in the singles and a doubles bonus for a 7-3 victory.  Woodham’s star player Allan Steel remains on 100% win rate after another nine dart treble – this form has instilled Steel as the only odds-on favourite at the Burnham Championships where he is bound to take the Fambridge Trophy.  Woodham’s Diane King had a good night taking 2 wins both in straight sets, and Reece Arundell completed the Dusty Bin with a single win over Mike Crumpton in 5 tight sets.  David McHattie was the best of the Blackwater bunch with 2 wins to his name across the evening.

Pic 1 – Mapledene A’s Captain and Treblemaker Reece Seddon at the Mapledene Arena this week

Pic 2 – The brilliant Matt Stringer on hat-trick form for Cold Norton A

Pic 3 – The Family Affair as Jean Chasmer tries to outdo son Peter Chastin in the Stow Maries Derby this week

Pic 4 – Woodham’s starlet Peter Harverson with another unbeaten evening under his belt

Pic 3 – Matt Stringer and Sanjay Saptarshi take to the table for their one-sided contest.

Report by Eamonn Hall

• 

Windsor Buzzards edged ever-nearer to the Clacton League’s Division Two title with an 8-2 win over Brotherhood G and now need just six points from their last three matches to confirm their position as Divisional champions.

Andy Cawley and Dave Martin took trebles in the Buzzards’ victory against Brotherhood G, but it was no push-over with four of the individual encounters going all the way. Cawley edged past Danny Still 11-9 in the fifth and, with Ray Chillingworth, defeated Dan Grindrod and Gary Simpson 11-7 in the fifth in the doubles.

Grindrod and Simpson took a point each for Brotherhood, Grindrod defeating Pete Bloomfield 11-8 in the fifth and Simpson beating the same player 11-6 in the fifth.

Third-placed Brotherhood D beat Windsor Harriers 6-4. Mark Salter took three and Paul Alden two, with the pair combining to win the doubles 12-14, 11-4, 15-13, 9-11, 11-9 against Barry Allen and Isabel Barton. Among the five matches which went the distance were Allen’s two victories for the Harriers, 13-11 in the decider against Alden and 11-9 in the decider against Tricia Salter. The unlucky Salter also went down 11-6 in the decider to Barton.

Nomads Tigers beat Windsor Penguins 6-4, a reverse of their early-season score. Dave Miller stayed unbeaten for the Tigers, with Neil Chegwidden and Paul Woolnough winning a couple each for the Penguins. Tigers’ reserve Matt Sage picked up a point and narrowly lost 11-6 in the decider to Woolnough.

Peter Aumord of Windsor Kestrels is enjoying something of a table tennis Indian summer, beating Brotherhood E’s Duncan Dunne, Kevin Pryor and, in a tight contest, Fred Gallone 11-9 in the fifth on his way to an impressive maximum. Unfortunately, they were his side’s only points, Gallone, Dunne and Pryor each taking two in Brotherhood’s 7-3 success.  

There were trebles for father and son duo, John and Jonathan Hockley, as Nomads Jaguars defeated Windsor Magpies 9-1. Alan Rutledge nearly caused an upset against the previously unbeaten Jonathan Hockley, narrowly going down 11-8 in the fifth. John Plummer took a last-gasp consolation point for the Magpies with an 11-9 in the fifth success over Tom Wilkin in match ten.  

In Division Three, top met bottom with a predictable result, Brotherhood F beating Holland Mosquitoes 10-0, a result which mathematically – almost, but not quite – guarantees the Brotherhood juniors the title.

Second-placed Brotherhood H faced a determined Nomads Leopards’ trio and they had to battle hard for their 6-4 victory in a match where no-one stayed unbeaten. Owen Woollard won a couple for Brotherhood, but lost to Miaomei Liu, whilst Savindu De Silva was denied his hat-trick by Dominic Joannou. Harindu De Silva picked up a point and shared a 13-11 in the fifth doubles win with Woollard against Liu and Anne Bonny. For the Leopards, Joannou and Liu each won two.

So, with four matches left, Brotherhood H lead third-placed Nomads Bobcats, who were without a fixture, by just four points.

Elsewhere, Holland Hurricanes beat Windsor Falcons 6-4. Gary Stallwood remained unbeaten, his 11-5, 11-4, 14-16, 11-8 win over Kelvin Olano-Harper ending the latter’s thirty-match unbeaten run. Gerry Widnell picked up a couple for the Hurricanes but it was John Smith-Daye’s 11-9 in the decider win over Nikki Hayes which ultimately tipped the balance for the Hurricanes.

Holland Vulcans were 6-4 victors against a Nomads Ocelots’ side fielding a guest player to record their third win of the season. Derek Foxley was unbeaten for the Vulcans whilst Arthur Wells-Garrett took a couple for the Ocelots.

Holland Lancasters were forced to play with two guest players against Walton D so it was no surprise that Walton ended 8-2 winners. Dave Wright took the two Lancasters’ points but he was unable to get the better of Maggie Earle who took their individual match 11-7, 10-12, 11-13, 11-8, 11-3.

Nomads Panthers continued their stately progress at the top of Division One with an 8-2 success over Brotherhood A. Greg Green maintained his 100% season record, with Gracie Edwards and Denes Somodi winning two each. The ever-reliable Kevin Gowlett took the two Brotherhood points, which included a hard-fought 11-9, 3-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9 victory over Edwards.

But Nomads Lions, 7-3 winners against a two-player Windsor Eagles, are putting up an excellent challenge and are only ten points behind the Panthers. Charlie Fulcher stayed unbeaten against the Eagles, for whom John Pattrick won two and shared an unexpected three-set doubles win with John Hobson against Jason Lloyd and Adam Cuthbert.

Windsor Hawks were 8-2 winners against Walton B, Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez remaining unbeaten. Hawks’ skipper John Barton was involved in the two closest matches of the evening, defeating Mark Ratcliffe 11-5 in the fifth but going down 11-6 in the fifth to Paul Meikle. Mark Gale picked up the second Walton point.

A Peter Burrows’ hat-trick, and two each for Graham Buxton and Clive Allenby, saw Walton C home 7-3 against Lawford. Glen Laing picked up two wins for Lawford and, with Ian Sherwood, celebrated Lawford’s first doubles victory of the season, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 against Burrows and Buxton.

* The League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, has attracted an excellent entry of 70 players. The Championships are being held on 12th and 13th April at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall. All entrants will receive more details, including individual check-in times, at least seven days before the Championships.

* Congratulations to the Clacton League players who were successful in the recent Colchester Closed Championships. Gracie Edwards swept the board in the Ladies’ events with success in the Ladies Singles, Ladies Doubles and, with Greg Green, in the Mixed Doubles. Paul Hume took a well-deserved first major individual title when he won the Mens Singles by defeating his good friend, James Denyer. However, James did have success when, with Greg Green, he took the Mens Doubles title.   

RESULTS

Division 1

Brotherhood A 2 Nomads Panthers 8;

Walton C 7 Lawford 3;

Windsor Hawks 8 Walton B 2;

Nomads Lions 7 Windsor Eagles 3.

Division 2

Windsor Harriers 4 Brotherhood D 6;

Windsor Magpies 1 Nomads Jaguars 9;

Brotherhood G 2 Windsor Buzzards 8;

Nomads Tigers 6 Windsor Penguins 4;

Brotherhood E 7 Windsor Kestrels 3.

Division 3

Holland Lancasters 2 Walton D 8;

Holland Mosquitoes 0 Brotherhood F 10;

Windsor Falcons 4 Holland Hurricanes 6;

Nomads Ocelots 4 Holland Vulcans 6;

Nomads Leopards 4 Brotherhood H 6.

Report by Tony Oswick

Chelmsford A reclaimed second position in division one with a 10-0 away win at Galleywood A in a fixture which saw three wins apiece for Harry Chivers, Simon Jarvis and Josh Bickles. Chivers did not drop a game in his singles matches while Jarvis needed to recover from 2-1 down against James Hicks, and Bickles earned victory over Alastair Hill with a 12-10 scoreline in the fifth game. Chelmsford can thank third-placed Danbury B for helping to keep their title dreams alive as they ran out winners over leaders Danbury C – Sam Lowman fired a treble and there were two wins from Matthew Stringer in a 6-4 victory. Two matches went the distance: Trevor Lloyd and Gary Young did well beating Stringer and Arron Chandler in the doubles before Stringer came from behind to see off Lloyd 7-11, 10-12, 15-13, 11-6, 12-10. Chris Penrose won all three as Danbury A earned a 7-3 away win at the division’s bottom side Chelmsford B. Penrose did not drop a game in any of his three singles victories while teammate Bruce Kettle was on the end of two five-game losses – Waseem Qureshi won their matchup 13-11 in the fifth while Kelvin Edeh took the last game 12-10. While ten points separate the top two teams vying for the title with two fixtures remaining, Danbury C will surely find a way over the line in their final two matches of the season against the bottom two teams Galleywood A and Chelmsford B.

A Gary Ward treble was not enough to prevent Buttsbury A edging closer to the division two title as his Writtle C side fell to a 7-3 loss to the division’s leaders.  Ward dropped just one game in his three wins while Buttsbury’s impressive junior Joshua Freeman earned two singles victories and teamed with Rob Burton for a 3-2 success over Ward and John Parodi in the doubles. There was another win for second placed Maldon C but they were unable to make up any ground on the leaders as they also posted a 7-3 victory in their away trip at Chelmsford C. Maldon’s Chris Hancox, Dawn Baldry and Colin Napper won two matches apiece while Adi Kamma’s two wins was the high point for the hosts. Hatfield Peverel A continued their good form of late with a fourth consecutive win as Martin Archie posted a hat-trick in an 8-2 home win over Danbury D, while Mark Glenister and Robin Armstrong warmed up for their week 26 meeting with leaders Buttsbury by firing trebles in an 8-2 home win over Danbury F.  There were three wins for Tim Cramphorn and Neil Want in an 8-2 home win over Old Chelmsfordians B who remain winless and rooted to the foot of the table.      

The top three teams in division three went winless in week 25 as leaders Chelmsford D were held to a 5-5 home draw by OCA C, second-placed Galleywood C lost 6-4 on the road at Writtle D while third placed Buttsbury B were held to a 5-5 home draw by Danbury H.  Those three matches saw unbeaten outings for Chelmsford’s Chris Denyer, Writtle’s Matthew Brown and Buttsbury’s Harry Sawford. Elsewhere, Cleon Fernandes went undefeated in Chelmsford F’s 5-5 draw at Writtle E, Rev Matthews and Kuzey Musabak won three apiece in Chelmsford E’s 9-1 win at Danbury G, and Peter Hance and Terry Hyland went unbeaten for Danbury J in their 7-3 home win over Hatfield Peverel B. Just three points separate the top three teams in this division though leaders Chelmsford D hold the trump card of a fixture in hand. 

Hutton A continue to lead the way in division four though the 16 point gap to second placed Buttsbury C should be reduced when Buttsbury play their fixture in hand. Third placed Maldon B may still also come into the equation as they have to face both title rivals and also sit 16 points behind Hutton. There were perfect evenings for Buttsbury C’s Lucy Elliott, Oscar Hutt and James Hughes in a 10-0 away victory at Danbury J, Alex Ware and Oladapo Owolabi went undefeated in Hutton A’s 8-2 away win at bottom of the table Danbury M, and Lyndon Bubb secured another hat-trick in Buttsbury D’s 7-3 triumph over Hatfield Peverel C. Farooq Ahmed won all three single matches as OCA D edged a tight fixture 6-4 against Galleywood D – Nathan Blore and Nick Rounce both won twice for Galleywood. Maldon B cruised to a 10-0 home win over Chelmsford G with Marty Englander, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill all three-match winners, while Highwood A and Danbury K fought out a close encounter as the latter took a 6-4 win back to Danbury.

Hutton B hold a 15 point lead with a game in hand in division five as they registered a 9-1 win at ARU thanks to trebles from Gheorghe Nita and Charlie Gould, As the affectionate saying goes: “If anyone can, Ron Tam can” and he certainly delivered for Writtle F by hitting a treble in their 8-2 away win at OCA E.  Richard Drozd also went undefeated though his Hatfield Peverel D side were held to a 5-5 draw at Peverel’s E team – Davina Brazier and Jackie Treacy won two singles matches each. Martin Goddard won all three in Highwood B’s 6-4 home win over Hatfield Peverel F, Mike Pitt backed Goddard up with two wins while David Benstead earned two victories for Peverel.  Goddard and Pitt recovered from 2-1 down to take the doubles encounter with Benstead and Peter Hughes 3-2.

The overall results may not set pulses racing but there were some intriguing vignettes among recent matches in the first division of the Braintree Table Tennis League. 

Zach Harrington, for instance, illustrated the continuing improvement in his form this season with an excellent win over Maria Boulton in Liberal A’s 9-1 defeat by Rayne A.

Boulton had beaten him 11-5. 11-5, 11-2 in their first meeting earlier in the season but this time it was Harrington who came out on top 11-4 in the fifth game.

In doing so he bettered teammate Scott Dowsett for the first time, an achievement in itself as Dowsett had lost only twice before that match.

It means that Harrington, who won only two of his first 15 singles, has gone on to lose only four of the next 15, including to Paul Lucas and Adam Buxton in this match.

Oliver Hicks was another one to make his mark, although not perhaps as he would have wished.  After his landmark victory over his dad James in the previous match, he re-registered with Rayne’s A team only to find himself facing his old Rayne B colleagues in his first match for the current champions.

But his former teammates showed no sentimentality and both Steve Pennell and Ian Whiteside got the better of him in the A team’s 8-2 win.

In Rayne B’s next match, it was Dave Moles who stood out.  Normally in division two, he stepped up to take a singles in the top sphere when he overcame Black Notley A’s Chris Parr, never an easy task.

This was one of those curious matches – although not as rare as logic would suggest – where no one won all three and no one lost all three.  Sean Clift and Sam Burrows won two for Notley A and Whiteside two for Rayne B in a 6-4 victory for Notley.

It was Parr who outscored his teammates in Notley A’s other match, a defeat by the same score to Liberal B, where he was the only one to beat James Mullane.   Adam Cuthbert remained unbeaten for Liberal B.

Liberal B’s other match was another round-the-houses affair, where A beat B, B beat C, C beat D and D beat A.

The flesh on those particular bones amounted to Karl Baldwin and Ken Lewis winning two each for Sudbury Nomads and Mullane and Alistair Hill winning two for Liberal B.

The match appropriately ended in a draw.

Sam Burrows and Steve Noble were both unbeaten in Notley B’s 8-2 win over Netts B while Netts’ A team racked up another 10-0 win, this time over Rayne C.

The only frisson of excitement in the latter match came from Keith Martin stretching men’s singles champion Paul Davison to five games, something that doesn’t happen very often.

Report by Ron Fosker

There was some decisive action at the top of Division 2 of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League this week as the top two contenders went head-to-head in a potential winner takes all battle in sunny Maldon.  Both teams have been struggling of late with points being dropped willy nilly, but this was the main event and both teams were raring to go.  There were some great individual contests but Stow upped their game and by winning 3 out of the last 4 matches they secured the decisive 7-3 triumph that should see them land the divisional crown.

The next couple of weeks are crucial in the 3-way battle for the Division 1 Championship as Mapledene A play both of the top teams in a season-defining 5 day period.  Although mathematically still very possible for Mapledene to catch the leading pair they will need to win virtually every game to do so – and that’s gonna be an almighty effort against the calibre of opposition they still have to face.  So to the top two teams – Fambridge and Cold Norton B separated by a whisker, with Fambridge in the ‘points in the bag’ comfy chair for now.  Both teams recorded impeccable 10-0 whitewash victories this week to edge closer to the victory podium.  Fambridge steamrollered Woodham C with hat-tricks for their 3 stars – Gary Young, Mark Stones and Bruce Kettle.  Although Young was given an almighty fright in the opening match when the hard-hitting Chris Hancox went into a swift 2-0 lead before Young could gather his thoughts and composure and mount a fightback that saw him come through in 5 sets.  Hancox proved the most difficult opponent all evening with a further 5 set battle with Bruce Kettle – but as with Young the experienced players come through these tests!  Cold Norton B had a more straight forward win against Cold Norton C – with Sam Lowman and Eric Green excelling as they dropped just one set between them in both singles and doubles matches.  Third player Dave Richardson added his hat-trick but he needed 4 sets in each of his matches to add the 3 points for his team, and this included a bizarre opening game with Tim Cramphorn that neither appeared to want to win as they went back and forth for an extra 18 rallies before Davison won out 20-18.  Mapledene B fielded a strong trio against Cold Norton A and were rewarded with an enthusiastic 9-1 win that sees them pull away from the danger zone.  Colin Chatfield and Keith Willett taking straightforward trebles and pairing up for the doubles, with Simon Jacob chipping in with 2 wins.  The only point for Cold Norton came from the paddle of Steve Sawyer in a rollercoaster 5 setter against Jacob.

In what looks to be the defining result of the season in Division 2 Stow Maries A defeated arch rivals Maldon A 7-3 to edge further ahead of the long time leaders.  It was a proper team effort for the Stow boys as they each won 2 of their singles and Peter Chastin and Richard Storey took the doubles in straight sets.  Chastin started the night with great gusto with an excellent win over the tricky Lloyd Bennett-Smith and this set the tone for the early matches as Stow went 4-0 up with Storey taking the important scalp of Hamish Innes in 5 hard sets.  But Maldon fought back with Innes and Bennett-Smith redeeming themselves with wins over Ken Sheard and Storey respectively.  So with the challenge laid down Stow fought back and won 3 of the final 4 matches to record the overall victory with Sheard unexpectedly beating Bennet-Smith in the final encounter of the evening – will this one match be the difference come the reckoning hour?  Mapledene C ran riot against 2-player Stow C with Stow’s Jean Chasmer and Tim Huxtable unable to get past any of the Mapledene gladiators.  Chasmer went closest with a 5 set loss to Pat White but that was the only real trouble for the Mapledene team as they were able to finish early for once.  Trebles for White, Andy Seaman, and Dave Woolmer.  Stow B fared better in their match with Maldon B as Peter Hance laid down a hat-trick of wins in Stow’s 6-4 victory.  Hance’s colleagues completed the Dusty Bin scoring with 2 wins for Dave Marsh and 1 for Nicky Reece-Ford.  Steve Aspland won 2 for Maldon B including a long 5 setter against Marsh.  Cold Norton D had Neil Want to thank for their draw with Blackwater A as he secured the saving point in the final match of the night against the tricky defender Denis Balic.  It shouldn’t have come to that though as at one point Cold Norton were 4-1 up and from the jaws of victory they adopted to collapse and allowed Blackwater to win the next 4 matches to take that unexpected 5-4 lead going into the final match.  Pete Lucraft did his best to upset the Blackwater team and took 2 points to bolster Want’s efforts.  For Blackwater Neil Freeman bested Dave Hancox and Lucraft, but lost out to Want in 5 sets that no doubt including a lot of nets for the lucky Want.  

Maldon C have all but wrapped up the Division 3 title and will be looking forward to the challenge of Division 2 next season.  This week they beat their own D team by a 7-3 margin with regular points scorer Chris Ravenhill recording a straightforward 9 dart finish treble.  Arthur Shadforth of the D team showed his credentials for a personal promotion next year as he defeated Marty Englander in 5 sets and Shirley Carroll in 3.  Dave Bateman was the star of the match for St Lawrence as they sent Blackwater E back from whence they came cradling a 6-4 loss.  Bateman secured his treble with a 4 set win over Keith Thompson.  Thompson did win his other matches including a 13-11 final set victory over Mike Pratley.  All of the players were involved a 5 set battle in this one with Bateman edging past Phil West, and Vanessa Thompson just squeezing past Nigel Brand – great sport!   Blackwater D came out on top in this week’s Blackwater derby with Blackwater F.  David Sage and Peter Davenport did all the damage for the D side with 3 wins a piece in the singles and a joint effort in the doubles – and all that without dropping a single set all evening.  Woodham E’s Allan Steel was at it again this week – another untroubled hat-trick of wins that maintains his 100% win rate in this Division and he remains odds-on for the Roy Davis Trophy.  Steel’s treble was matched by his sartorially elegant partner Chris Crooks, and of course they joined forces for a simple doubles bonus point.  Diane King added the final point with a 5 set point against Dennis Eraut.

Pic 1 – Maldon A’s Hamish Innes doing his best to stop the Stow Maries juggernaut.

Pic 2 – The Impeccable Duo from Cold Norton B – Eric Green and Sam Lowman

Pic 3 – Stow Maries A’s Ken Sheard in his win over Lloyd Bennett-Smith

Report by Eamonn Hall

The improvement of Walton B in Division One of the Clacton League has been one of the features of the season and they can now lay claim to be the best of the three Walton top-flight teams.

This week, they inflicted a 9-1 defeat on club-mates Walton C, the two Marks, Gale and Ratcliffe, both recording hat-tricks. Paul Meikle took a couple, including an 11-7 in the fifth success over Clive Allenby, but he went down in four to the ‘C’ team’s John Marshall who picked up a welcome win.

Adam Wilkin was Nomads Lions’ best player in his side’s 8-2 win over Walton A, but the match was far closer than the score-line suggests, the Lions taking all four matches which went the distance. Ethan Lloyd defeated Derek Willis, in his first match back from injury, 11-9 in the fifth and then Gavin Price 11-5 in the fifth, whilst Jason Lloyd defeated Kevin James 12-10 in the fifth and the unlucky Willis 11-7 in the fifth. This latter match was a 40-minute marathon, which very nearly went to expedite, one of the rallies including over 150 shots!

Kevin Gowlett’s hat-trick for Brotherhood A against Windsor Eagles included a fine win over Gary Cattermole but it could not prevent his team going down 6-4. There were two each for Windsor’s Cattermole and John Pattrick, and one for Phil Smith. The only five-setter of the evening was an 11-7 in the decider win for Brotherhood’s Russell Hillier over Smith.

In Division Two, hat-tricks for Mark Boyland and John Gallager, and a 12-10 in the fifth win for Mark Beckham over Rodney Betts, saw Brotherhood C home 7-3 against Brotherhood E. Fred Gallone and Kevin Pryor enjoyed an excellent doubles win for the ‘E’ team against Boyland and Gallagher.

Peter Aumord was on-song for Windsor Kestrels, taking a treble in his team’s 6-4 victory over Brotherhood G. Debra Found won two, as did Gary Simpson for Brotherhood.

Windsor Harriers squeezed a 6-4 win against Nomads Jaguars, thanks to Barry Allen’s final match 11-9 in the fifth win over Tom Wilkin. But none of the Windsor players could get the better of Nomads’ Chris Petrou who remained unbeaten on the night.

Windsor Magpies were forced to field two guest players against Windsor Penguins and, unsurprisingly, went down 8-2. Paul Woolnough stayed undefeated, with Sharon Gowlett and Paul Stanton each winning two. Alan Rutledge, the Magpies’ only regular player on show, enjoyed his best night of the season, notching up two wins, 11-4 in the decider against Gowlett and 11-8 in the decider against Stanton.

In Division Three, leaders Brotherhood F defeated Nomads Leopards 9-1 for a second time this season, Tom Bryden and Joe Sherwin staying unbeaten. Lily Liu took the Leopards’ sole point with a surprise win over Ruby Gallagher.

Brotherhood H were also 9-1 winners, this over a Holland Lancasters’ side fielding a guest player. The closest match of the evening was Owen Woollard’s 11-6 in the fifth victory over Lancasters’ captain Dave Wright. Wright took his team’s sole point with a win over Harindu De Silva.

Kelvin Olano-Harper maintained his season’s unbeaten record in Windsor Falcons’ match with Nomads Bobcats, but the Bobcats ran out 6-4 victors to keep them in the hunt for the runners-up spot.

Bottom-team Holland Mosquitos earned praise from their opponents for their much-improved performance, but Holland Hurricanes were still too strong, Gerry Widnell, John Smith-Daye and Gary Stallwood of the Hurricanes taking the match 10-0. The closest encounter was Smith-Daye’s 11-8 in the decider win over Pam Blakeley. 

* The draw for the semi-finals of the Handicap Cup sees Nomads Lions, the only Division One side left in the competition, paired with Third Division Windsor Falcons. The second semi-final is an all-Division Three affair with Brotherhood F facing Nomads Bobcats, a repeat of a Group stage tie which the Brotherhood youngsters won 5-2.

Members of the League will be saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected death of Zein Shafat. Zein had only recently joined the League and was currently in his second season with Nomads Tigers in Division Two. He was settling in well to the rigours of League play and, with an average of just under 50%, was developing into a determined and competitive player. Zein was only 49 years old and his death at such an early age has come as a shock to us all, and we send our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this extremely sad time.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton A 2 Nomads Lions 8;

Walton B 9 Walton C 1;

Windsor Eagles 6 Brotherhood A 4.

Division 2

Windsor Kestrels 6 Brotherhood G 4;

Windsor Penguins 8 Windsor Magpies 2;

Brotherhood C 7 Brotherhood E 3;

Nomads Jaguars 4 Windsor Harriers 6.

Division 3

Nomads Bobcats 6 Windsor Falcons 4;

Brotherhood H 9 Holland Lancasters 1;

Holland Hurricanes 10 Holland Mosquitoes 0;

Brotherhood F 9 Nomads Leopards 1.

Report by Tony Oswick

Web Report

Date : 8th March 2025                    

This is a last call for entries for the League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, and to be held on 12th and 13th April at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall. The Championships are the highlight of the League’s year and there are events to suit all level of abilities. Entries can be made on-line or posted to Tony Oswick. Please support the League if you can. The closing date is Friday 14th March.

The rearranged top of the table clash in Division 1 of the Southend League took place during the interval of league fixtures for the Closed Championships. Matchpoint A entertained Basildon A. Matchpoint came out 5 – 4 winners. However, the closeness of the result means that the visitors remain favourites for the title, with a small cushion going into the last few rounds of fixtures for the season. Harry Sawford was Matchpoint’s star again. His hat trick included a close five-setter against Arun Joy that Sawford eventually won 12-10 in the fifth. Team mates Alex Deacon and Stephen Heard added one win each. For Basildon, Les Hoey and Arun Joy won two each.

Matchpoint didn’t have a fixture this week. Basildon were away again, visiting Wakering. Les Hoey took the POM award with an unbeaten evening and Arun Joy and Rob Burton won two each in a 7 – 2 away win. Callum Turner and Paul England took one win each for the home side.

An impressive 8 – 1 home win over Rawreth Megazone C has pushed Canvey A up into third place. Andrew Murray won all three of his rubbers quite comfortably to take the POM prize. However, Ray Wilson was also undefeated. His win over the visitors’ Garry Hartgrove was the closest of the night, with Wilson taking the fifth set 11 – 6.  Wilson and Murray were well supported by Joanna Hills who got two victories. Hartgrove got Rawreth’s consolation.

A keenly fought “local derby” between The Hadleigh Forum B and C teams was conducted in a good spirit and a competitive manner. The C team took a narrow victory 5 – 4, thanks to two wins each for Dave Thomas and Paul Fawell. Mark Everard got the other success. However, none of the ‘away’ team could overcome the B team’s skipper Dave Woolmer, who put in a POM performance. Mick Tappenden got the other point.

Stanford B are the Division 2 champions after their 6-3 win at Canvey B this week. They have been favourites all season to take the title and, with just one game to go, regulars Rob Salvage, Adrian Armstrong and Mark Downey completed the job they started 25 weeks ago. John Handscombe and Russell Bright made up the Stanford squad who have been top of the table since week 2.

The match against second placed Canvey wasn’t quite as straightforward as it might have been however, and was tied at 3-3 until a late flourish saw them win the final three games. Rob Salvage completed another hat trick with two wins for Armstrong and one for Downey. Canvey’s points came from a win for each of their team, Tony Westwell, Des Duffield and Kevin Walsingham.

This result didn’t just have a bearing on the title but also on who finishes second. Canvey and Hockley C have been battling it out in recent weeks but Hockley were unable to take advantage of Canvey’s defeat as they slipped to a 5-4 defeat at Rawreth D. With one game now to go both teams sit level on points so all will be decided next week. Canvey have the slight advantage as they face bottom of the table Invicta B whilst Hockley face their own D team.

Richard Kidd was the man who did the damage for Rawreth clinching a hat trick and with a brace from Amar Al-Soufi they actually led 5-2 before a late flurry from Hockley narrowed the gap. Paul Ogden won two for Hockley and there was a point each for Neal Klyman and Tony Molisso.

At the other end of the table the relegation issue was also decided as Matchpoint C pulled off an excellent 6-3 win at Stanford C whilst bottom of the table Invicta B crashed to a 9-0 defeat to Matchpoint B. That left Invicta 10 points adrift of their rivals with one game left to play.

Ollie Milchard was Matchpoint C’s star, as he has been all season, chalking up another hat trick and  was backed up by a brace from Roger Sherman and a point from Zach Samuels. Chris Crooks won two for Stanford plus a single win for Vaughan Chambers.

Matchpoint B’s demolition of Invicta came courtesy of veterans John Lott and Dennis Squirrell and a first hat trick of the season for young Lotte Mills. Matchpoint sit in fourth place and still have an outside chance of finishing second if the teams above them slip up.

Team of the Week – Stanford B

Player of the Week – Ollie Milchard

Galleywood C continued their late-season charge and now sit in second position in division three following a 9-1 home win over bottom side Writtle E.  Colin Blore and Nathan Blore went unbeaten for the hosts who are a point behind leaders Chelmsford D having played two fixtures more. A 7-3 away win at OCA C means third-placed Buttsbury B trail Galleywood by just two points having played a fixture less. Paul Sturton and Harry Sawford won three apiece for the visitors – the former recovering from 2-1 down against Tom Barker in their match.  Luke Richardson got the better of Buttsbury’s Jeremy Giffin over five ends before teaming with Barker for a 3-2 win over Giffin and Sawford in the doubles.  Hatfield Peverel B pulled off a 5-5 draw at Chelmsford F despite only fielding two players and facing an unbeaten evening from Cleon Fernandes.  Peverel’s Paul Mulley beat Dion Fernandes 3-2 but lost to his brother Cleon by the same scoreline (12-10 in the fifth). Matthew Brown not only fired a hat-trick but completed the set of playing for Writtle’s B, C and D teams in the same week in Writtle D’s 5-5 draw with Danbury H.  Brown’s teammate Malcolm Henstock chipped in with two wins – the first of which was an entertaining 9-11, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3 win over Ken Wilding. Gordon Gatheral won twice for the hosts but fell in three to Brown.

Division four leaders Hutton A were back in action with a bang as they posted a 9-1 home victory over eighth placed Highwood A. Alex Ware and Oladapo Owolabi fired trebles with two wins from Charlie Ware as Hutton sit 18 points clear having played one fixture more than nearest challenges Buttsbury C who posted a 9-1 away win at Chelmsford G thanks to trebles from Oscar Hutt and Gary Carr. Third-placed Maldon B lost a little ground despite a credible 7-3 away win at Danbury K who slip one place to fifth.  Chris Ravenhill led the way for the visitors with three wins though he was taken to five by Richard Allen who himself went on to beat Marty Englander 13-11 in the deciding game of their meeting. Englander later had a five-gamer go his way when getting the better of Dave Oxley-Goody. Russell Hall won all three as sixth placed OCA D inflicted yet another defeat on Danbury M – this time by a 7-3 scoreline.  The first of Danbury’s three wins on the night came thanks to a Steve Martin fightback in his match with David Bishop where he rallied having found himself 2-1 down. Neil Wood’s treble was in vain as his Hatfield Peverel C side lost 6-4 at home to Danbury L – a result which leaves both sides in equal ninth position.  Wood’s evening was anything but straight-forward having found himself 2-1 down against John Manning in the opener before recovering from 2-0 down to beat Greg Cooper. Cooper and Manning won their other singles matches and combined for a 3-1 doubles win against Wood and Samuel White. David Woolmer won all three singles matches on debut for Galleywood D though it was not enough to prevent his side falling to a 7-3 loss at the hands of fourth placed Buttsbury D.

The most anticipated fixture of the week in division five was between leaders Buttsbury E and second placed Hutton B with the latter showing their title credentials by posting an 8-2 away win. Charlie Gould won all three of his matches though it could have been different had Buttsbury’s Francesca Hart been able to find a way across the line when holding a 2-0 lead in their match up. Hart beat Hutton’s Lee Vallis in four before sister Freya got the better of Gheorghe Nita in a match which went the distance. Nita later earned a measure of revenge by beating Francesca in four.  Eighth-placed Galleywood E cruised to a 10-0 win over Anglia Ruskin University though the match card shows all three ARU players extended their Galleywood opponents to fifth-game deciders in a fixture which included a number of other close matches.  Steve Peacock, Darren Wright and Doug Blaber were the successful trio on this occasion. Chelmsford H beat Hatfield Peverel F 9-1 thanks to trebles from James Grindlay and Peter Davenport. Teammate Jacqui Smith won twice – both victories going all the way to a fifth game. Upset of the week goes to tenth-placed Hatfield Peverel E who won 7-3 on the road at Writtle F who slip to fourth. Davina Brazier and Phillip West won all of their singles matches – both players being taken to five games on two occasions each.  The mid-table clash between Hatfield Peverel D and Highwood B went in favour of the latter by a 6-4 scoreline in a fixture which saw Nicola Pippen finally post a treble having won two out of three in each of her last three outings. Peverel’s Mike Pitt did well to hold his nerve to win a five-gamer against Andy Whiley but later saw a 2-1 lead against Bruce Wickham slip.

There is no change at the top of division two as leaders Buttsbury A and second-placed Maldon A posted identical 5-5 draws in week 24. Maldon had to battle back from 2-0 and 5-3 down in their home fixture with Galleywood B.  Hamish Innes had the most interesting evening of the competitors on show, he lost his opener against Mark Taylor but then recovered from 2-1 down against both Will Goodchild and Mark Glenister.  Goodchild put Galleywood 5-3 up with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Ross Kirby but Innes held his nerve in the final match of the night to earn the hosts the draw. Neil Want was on fire as Danbury E scored a shock 5-5 draw at leaders Buttsbury A on Friday night. Want’s wins didn’t come easily as he needed five games to get past Rob Burton prior to being stretched in four tough games by David Gatheral before coming through 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 13-11.  Burton and Gatheral had earlier edged their singles encounters with Tony Forster and Tim Cramphorn in five games. Danbury D moved into the top three for the first time since week 12 with a 6-4 away win at OCA B. Eamonn Hall chose the optimum moment to fire his first league hat-trick of the season and he was well backed up with two wins from Peter Harverson.  Hall dropped just one game from his three wins while Harverson battled back from 2-1 down against both Mick Richardson and Michael Hayes.  Chelmsford C sit in fourth place and they have Kelvin Edeh to thank for his treble in the 7-3 success at Writtle B.  Edeh beat Phil Smith in three and both Trevor Carter and Matthew Brown by 3-1 scorelines while teammate Dusan Doszkoty recovered from 2-1 down to beat Smith in the only match of the night to go five ends. Speaking of Brown, he was called into action for Writtle C and joined forces with Gary Ward to go unbeaten in singles and doubles matches in a 7-3 away win at Danbury F.  Their teammate John Parodi was unfortunate not to post a win with two of his matches going to five games – Danbury’s Alan Scammell overturning a 2-0 scoreline to beat Parodi after Ken Sheard had withstood a Parodi fightback at 2-0 up.

There was only one fixture played in division one this week as Danbury B moved up to second place with a 9-1 victory over Chelmsford B.  Sam Lowman and Ian Wall won three apiece. Chelmsford’s Waseem Qureshi staged a great fightback to beat Dan Anderson 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10 for the visitors only success of the evening though Kelvin Edeh ran Anderson close before going down in a five.

The top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League was dominated this week by some highly expected hat-trick performances and a few from unusual sources.  Whilst in the second division both the leading teams continue to stutter along allowing what was a commanding lead to dwindle ever so slightly allowing just a chink of a glimpse of a chance for the chasing pack to clutch onto their straws of hope.

Leaders Fambridge are really going for it this year and put the sword to Cold Norton C this week in a terrifying 10-0 whitewash that saw Mark Stones record an amazing 9-dart hat-trick of wins, and team-mates Gurj Bhambra and Keith Adams matched the number of wins but they had a bit of resistance along the way.  The only singles that went to a deciding fifth set saw Cold Norton’s man-of-the-moment Arron Chandler fightback from 0-2 down to take the match into a final leg shootout, but Bhambra had weathered the Chandler Cyclone and put paid to the brazen attempt at upsetting the Fambridge apple cart.  Cold Norton B briefly took top spot this week courtesy of their tough 8-2 victory over Mapledene B.  It could have been worse for the Nortonians if Mitchell Jones had made his debut for Mapledene as had been rumoured.  As it is the 8 points keep them in touching distance of the rampant Fambridge.   A hat-trick for Norton’s boy wonder Sam Lowman, with 2 wins a piece for his comrades in arms Eric Green and Dave Richardson, neither of whom could outwit Mapledene’s Kieran Skeggs.  Mapledene A, so long the bookies favourite, may have thrown away their shot this week as they were held to a 5-5 draw by the current champions Woodham A.  Mapledene’s talismanic captain Reece Seddon was in dynamite form with a personal hat-trick including a long and hard fought 5 set triumph over Harry Chivers – a potential pre-cursor to this year’s Singles Final.  Seddon won out 11-8 in that deciding set, but 3 of the earlier sets had gone beyond deuce indicating just how tight the differences are – a net here, an edge there, and who knows.  Whilst everyone else was involved in the tussle for the top spot the two lowest placed teams met in their own Woodham Wooden Spoon Derby as Woodham C took on an understrength Woodham B trio.  In a shock start Woodham B went ahead 4-0 before the C team’s Chris Hancox won the first point for his team in a very close straight sets victory over Tony Bonnici.  Alas that was it for the C team as the B team romped home with Harry Sawford and Eamonn Hall recording their first ever hat-tricks in Division 1.  Hall survived a tight one against Graham Briggs saving 2 match points before closing out the fifth set 12-10 for a dramatic finish.  The doubles was also a tight affair with Sawford and Bonnici having to come from 1-2 down against Hancox and Adi Kamma to eventually win out 3-2.

The championship odds for Division 2 have been on a rollercoaster journey over the last few weeks, at one point Stow Maries A looked odds-on for the title until their ill-fated 2-man team draw last week.  They needed to right a few wrongs and get back to winning ways this week.  Well it was a real ‘Pitty’ when one of their players dropped out on the day for this week’s clash with Cold Norton D, and the 2-man team worked hard but couldn’t repeat the heroics of the week before as Stow went down 7-3, and their odds plummeted just as fast.  For Cold Norton D it was a team effort as all 3 players secured a win on the night plus their bonus point for the missing Stowman.  Dave Hancox outlasted Peter Chastin in a long 5-setter, Peter Lucraft did the same against Ken Sheard, and Neil Want also took the Sheard scalp.  Chastin won his other 2 singles, again both in 5 sets to secure the overall player-of-the-match award, although he was too tired to collect it as the doubles also went to 5 sets giving Chastin a money’s worth evening of the full 20 sets available to him.  So with Stow A faltering could Maldon A step up and assert their authority?  Well not quite, despite beating Mapledene C they could only manage to gather 6 points along the way.  Hat-tricks for both Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Dawn Baldry, with third player Brian Riedling losing out to the Mapledene trio.  Woodham D recorded a handsome 8-2 winning score against Blackwater B with both Peter Harverson and Alan Dadswell unbeaten all night in both the singles and doubles formats.  For Blackwater Gary Smith and Louis Gunn were able to overcome the challenge from Allan Steel, playing up from Division 3.  Gunn needed all 5 sets in his match against Steel, and in the final battle of the night he thought he would repeat that process against League Chairman Dadswell, but the Chairman had other ideas and asserted his authority allowing him to win the final 3 points of the night for a 5^th set 11-8 victory.  With Blackwater A short of players this week they looked to their C team for embellishment and despite their better judgement picked Mervyn Perriman to represent the A team for the first time this season.  Perriman took it all in his stride with 3 comprehensive victories for his A team debut – they love it when a plan comes together!  He still didn’t get picked for the doubles though – and opponents Stow B won that easily and it was that point that secured the overall draw.  A questionable management decision for sure.  For Blackwater Alan Scammell won 2 of his singles, and just lost out to the fierce forehand of Nicky Reece-Ford in a 5 set thriller.

Just a couple of matches in Division 3 this week but both saw decisive victories.  St Lawrence bested Blackwater F with an 8-2 win where Mike Pratley and Mike Burton were able to beat all opponents in singles and doubles with David Siggins adding the final point with a singles win over Peter Hughes.  Having starred in Division 2 earlier in the week surely a division 3 match would be a stroll in the park for the enigmatic Mervyn Perriman of Blackwater C, and so it proved as he racked up his second hat-trick of the week, and this time he only dropped a single set in the match with Maldon E.  Still no doubles though, although his team were victorious this time so no harm done.  In support of the one man hat-trick machine Perriman, team-mates Colin Barham and Chris Rolison both won 2 singles, and both lost to the strongest Maldonite John Leavett.

Pic 1 – Fambridge’s Mark Stones racking up his hat-trick against Cold Norton’s Arron Chandler

Pic 2 – Harry Sawford securing his hat-trick for Woodham B against Graham Briggs

Pic 3 – The unlikeliest of hat-tricks for Woodham B’s Eamonn Hall this week

Pic 4 – Peter Harverson winning another hat-trick for Woodham D in his match with Gary Smith

Pic 5 – Alan Dadswell in his last gasp victory over Louis Gunn this week

Pic 6 – Lin Roff versus Dawn Baldry at the Mapledene Arena this week – a possible early showing of the Ladies Singles Final this year?

Report by Eamonn Hall