The longest unbeaten record in the Braintree Table Tennis League came under serious threat last week – but in the end, survived

Matthew Brown has played in all 14 of Rayne E’s matches in division two and has rarely been troubled.

Up to his most recent match, Brown had been stretched to four games only nine times in 39 sets, but never to five.

That changed when he came across Black Notley C’s Rev Matthews.

For only the second time this season, he lost the first game.

The first time he did that he won the next three 11-5, 11-2, 11-4. 

Not this time. Instead, Matthews repeated the dose, winning the second at 11-9, as he had done in the first.

Brown came back to win the third 11-3, but the two then matched each other in the fourth –  until they reached 10-10. 

That was when the dream ended.  Brown clung on to take the next two points and clinched the win 11-7 in the fifth.

‘I thought it was all going well…until it wasn’t,’ said Matthews afterwards, a feeling familiar to table tennis players the world over.

Rayne E won the match 6-4, their third successive match by that scoreline.

That strenthened their hold on second place after Rayne D lost 7-3 to Yeldham Whitlocks A.

Fourth-placed Notley D, with only two players, could find no answer to leaders Sudbury Wanderers, who added to their growing list of 10-0 wins.

At the other end of the table, Rayne F put some daylight between themselves and the bottom rung with a 9-1 win over Notley F.  Richard Whiteside and Steve Buer were unbeaten.

Jamie Brooks and Lawrence Grantham took all seven between them as Notley E beat Netts D 7-3.

Division three leaders Finchingfield A were held up by something of a one-man show in their match against Netts E.

David Montgomery was the barrier none of them could get past, accounting for Peter Clark’s third defeat of the season and Dave Punt’s fifth in his three wins.  Finchingfield took the rest.

Second-placed Sudbury Strollers were grateful to the unbeaten Richard Fifield to see them through a stiff challenge against Rayne G.  His three singles steered them to a 6-4 win in the face of two excellent wins each for Rayne’s Ethan Collins and Conrad Gomes.

Notley G, in third place, were held to a draw by Finchingfield B.

Stewart Grant, beaten only once in his previous 20 sets, was surprisingly found out by Jacqueline Smith, who had lost her other two sets.

Tim Townsend and Dave Whiting were unbeaten in Rayne G’s 8-2 win over Notley H while Notley’s I team beat Netts F 9-1.

The latter was a hard-luck story for 16-year-old James Howard, who was responsible for Netts’ solitary point but could easily have taken two more, losing out at 11-9 in the fifth against Tony Brown and 14-12, 12-10 in his final two games against Ben Southgate after leading two games to one.

An unprecedented three teams from Division Three have made it through to the semi-finals of the Clacton League’s Handicap Cup, with pride of place going to Windsor Falcons who pulled off a famous win in Round Two with a nerve-jangling 5-4 success over 2023 cup-winners Brotherhood A of Division One.

The Falcons’ trio of Kelvin Olano-Harper, Ferdy Rodriguez and Nikki Hayes led 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 but were pegged back on each occasion by the Brotherhood trio, who eventually levelled the score at 4-4 to send the tie into a decider.

And it was somewhat inevitable that the final match of the evening should also go all the way, with the result in the balance almost until the final ball was played. But it was Olano-Harper and Rodriguez (+1) who edged a see-saw match 11-6, 11-13, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 against Kevin Gowlett and Russell Hillier (-8)

Olano-Harper remained unbeaten for the Falcons with Rodriguez and Hayes providing excellent support, no more so than Rodriguez’s (+1) 11-9 in the decider victory over Tim Leung (-5).

The Third Division Nomads Bobcats side of Matt Sage, Alex Baldock and Sam Watling reached the Cup semi-finals for a second year running by defeating Division Two Windsor Penguins 5-2. Sam Watling was their best player on the night, staying unbeaten. Windsor’s Neil Chegwidden won both his singles for his team’s points.

A Division Three side was always guaranteed a place in the semi-final when the Division’s two leading teams of young players, Brotherhood F and Brotherhood H, were drawn against each other. The tie ended as a resounding 5-0 victory for the ‘F’ team’s Joe Sherwin, Tom Bryden and Ruby Gallagher over Brotherhood H, Sherwin and Gallagher (-1) sealing the win with an 11-7 in the fifth victory over Savindu De Silva and Tony Woollard (+1) in the only match which went to five.

Nomads Lions are now the highest-ranked side left in the competition, winning their Round Two tie 5-1 against Cup-holders Walton B in an all-Division One clash. In the final two matches of the evening, Adam Cuthbert and Adam Wilkin (-3) edged past Mark Gale and Paul Meikle (+1) 11-5 in the fifth, while skipper Jason Lloyd (-3) wrapped up matters with an 11-7 in the fifth success over Mark Ratcliffe (+1).

The draw for the semi-finals, to be played in week beginning 24th March, will be made on Monday 3rd March.  

* In Division One of the League, three from Gavin Price proved the difference as Walton A took the honours 6-4 against Lawford.

Charlie Denholm and Glen Laing won two each for Lawford. The four matches which went the distance were shared between the teams. Walton’s Andy Foster edged past Richard Spence 11-9 in the fifth, while Price defeated Laing 12-10 in the fifth. For Lawford, Denholm defeated Foster 11-7 in the fifth and Kevin James 15-13 in the fifth.

Brotherhood C have a firm hold on the runners-up spot in Division Two after a convincing 9-1 victory over a much-weakened Brotherhood D. John Gallagher and Mark Boyland remained unbeaten, Gallagher edging past Tricia Salter 11-7 in the decider in the only match which went all the way.

In a second all-Brotherhood encounter, the ‘E’ team defeated the ‘G’ team 7-3, Kevin Pryor winning three, Fred Gallone two and Tony Edmonds one. The ‘G’ team reserve, Owen Woollard, impressed with a couple of good wins for the losers.

Meanwhile, the top v bottom clash between Windsor Buzzards and Windsor Magpies ended in a predictable 10-0 victory for the Buzzards.

The only match in Division Three saw Nomads Bobcats succeed 7-3 against Nomads Leopards. Matt Sage took his maximum, with Alex Baldock and Sam Watling each taking two. For the Leopards, Dominic Joannou beat Watling 11-3 in the fifth and Baldock 11-9 in the fifth, whilst he shared an excellent doubles win with Lily Liu, in her first appearance of the season, against Watling and Baldock in three-straight.

* Entry forms for the League’s Closed Championships, sponsored once again by The Survey Initiative, have been sent to all players. The closing date is Friday 14th March.

* Finally, a reminder that the Windsor Club’s ‘Pig Race Evening’ takes place on Saturday 8th March at the Brotherhood Hall, 7.00 pm for a 7.30 pm start. Bring your own drink and nibbles.   

RESULTS

Handicap Cup : Round Two

Walton B 1 Nomads Lions 5;

Windsor Falcons 5 Brotherhood A 4;

Brotherhood F 5 Brotherhood H 0;

Nomads Bobcats 5 Windsor Penguins 2.

League

Division 1

Walton A 6 Lawford 4.

League : Division 3

Brotherhood G 3 Brotherhood E 7;

Windsor Magpies 0 Windsor Buzzards 10;

Brotherhood D 1 Brotherhood C 9.

League : Division 3

Nomads Bobcats 7 Nomads Leopards 3.

Hockley TTC hosted the Southend League Championships 2025 and it turned out to be a special night for the home club as their very own Hannah Harbour walked off with the Ladies Singles title. She beat Trisha Winter of Invicta in straight sets. This is the first time a Hockley player has won either of the two major singles events in Southend so a little bit of history has been created in this, Hockley’s 15^th anniversary year. Hannah won the ladies doubles last year so, who knows, maybe the mixed doubles next year to create a unique treble!

The Men’s singles also produced a new name on the trophy as Mark Mulley and Reece Seddon met in the final. In the two semi finals two past champions, Duncan Taylor and Matt Spero, both fell convincingly to Seddon and Mulley respectively and the final itself went the same way as Mulley won in straight sets. The third set was only decided 15-13 which probably disappointed the audience as much as it did Seddon as it was a high quality game with lots of attacking rallies.

Seddon may have been down after this defeat but he finished the evening on a high winning the Mens doubles with Taylor and the Mixed doubles with teenager Lotte Mills. Seddon and Taylor beat Zyad Mauthoor  and Keith Adams in straight sets 11/6 11/3 11/7 and in the Mixed he and Mills beat George Reeves and Debbie O’neill three sets to one 11/8 11/8 7/11 11/7.

Lotte Mills picked up a second title in the Ladies Doubles as she and Jo Hills teamed up to clinch a four set victory against Trisha Winter and Sarah Ball 13/11 15/13 11/6.

Other titles decided were as follows:-

Over 40’s singles

Duncan Taylor beat Zyad Mauthoor 8/11 11/7 13/11 11/9

Vets Doubles

Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read beat Zyad Mauthoor and Matt Spero 11/9 9/11 13/15 11/8 12/10

Vets Over 50’s

Kevin Read beat Duncan Taylor 12/10 7/11 11/8 11/5

Vets Over 60’s

Keith Willett beat Colin Chatfield 11/8 11/3 11/8

Vets Over 70’s

Dave Bowles beat Ian Sangster 14/12 11/5 11/9

Under 21’s singles

Elliott Brackenbury beat Oliver Milchard 10/12 11/8 11/3 7/11 11/7

Finals night at Hockley drew an audience of over 70 people and provided a fitting end to the 2025 championships.

It was Cup week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League with both Team Handicap Cup semi-finals being played on the Monday, and both came to very decisive conclusions, without the need for VAR, penalties or replays. 

Team Handicap Cup holders and clear favourites Cold Norton B hosted a handily handicapped Woodham B assortment at their Latchingdon stronghold.  This notorious Handicap specialist team have yet to drop a single leg in their journey so far, but would they falter this week?  The Cold Norton trio of Sam Lowman (-17), Ian Wall (-18) and Captain Dan Anderson (-12) would have plenty of points to catch up in every leg of this semi-final with the 3 Woodham players all around the -5 mark.  A close one you would have thought!  In the opening doubles Lowman and Anderson started off at some pace to recover their -9 handicap against David Penrose (-5) and Harry Sawford (-6) and won the opening set at a canter.  The Woodham boys fought back in the second leg and made a go of it for the crowd but the experience of the Cold Norton duo was just a bit too much.  Wall versus Eamonn Hall (-5) was the opening singles battle and it was soon backs against the Wall as Hall dominated the opening leg for an unexpected lead.  The second and crucial leg saw Wall much more cagey and picking off his winners more selectively as Hall continued to defend but was given less opportunity to attack.  With Wall now in the ascendency and the game all square the final leg was closer but once Wall caught up his handicap there was only one winner and despite the scare Cold Norton went 2-0 up.  It was a similar tale of the tape in the next singles as Lowman lost the first leg comfortably to Sawford but then sorted out his noggin, ignored his injured hip and went about his business in a more professional manner to rattle off the final 2 legs for another Nortonian recovery win.  Anderson bucked the trend with a very tight but straight sets victory over Penrose despite having game points against in the opening leg that went to 25-23.  So 4-0 up and Cold Norton field their finest doubles duo (on paper) for the crucial 5^th contest of this semi-final.  Lowman and Wall with a -12 start, against the right-left combo of Hall and Sawford.  Well Lowman and Wall had recovered their handicap before the Woodham Boys had worked out the right way to serve for a right-left combo and the first game was gone in the blink of an eye.  Woodham fought back in the second and had racked up enough points by

the time Norton had recovered their handicap that the structure of the game was in Woodham’s favour and they finished strongly to even up the match.  With Woodham now on top would this be the first loss of the season for the Nortonians.  Well simply ‘No’ – they have better things to be doing with their time than taking Cup matches beyond the 5-0 status so Wall and Lowman did their team proud and crushed their opponents to win the leg, that match and secure yet another 5-0 overall victory that propels them into the final still without a single taste of defeat for any player – a true machine.

Blackwater A, similar to Cold Norton B, had also not dropped a single leg throughout their campaign this season – but that been courtesy of 2 byes, so we had no real idea of their handicap form but we expected they would be tough to beat.  Opponents Blackwater B had come through a tough last gasp 5-4 win over Woodham D in their quarter-final so they had plenty of skin in the game for this contest.  The opening doubles saw the A team’s Denis Balic (-6) and Alan Scammell (-5) take an early leg loss to the B team’s Louis Gunn (-3) and Gary Smith (+1) but this didn’t deter or hamper the A team duo as they went on to grind down the hard-working B boys and see out the opener for a 2-1 victory – first blood spilled!  Exactly the same scenario played out in the opening singles as the B team’s up and coming Noah Sage (-1) took the opening leg against the much more experienced Neil Freeman (-6), but the spirit of youth was quickly crushed as Freeman looped and smashed his way passed the Sage defence to regain his dominance and take the final 2 sets for the A team.  Balic was just too stagainst Smith and it looked like he had his number, but Smith had other ideas and served and fought his way back into contention with a second leg reverse.  Perhaps Smith had used up too much energy in that second leg as Scammell soon caught up the handicap in the deciding leg and then bamboozled Smith into submission to wrap things up for a seemingly unassailable 4-0 overall lead.  The crucial doubles saw Freeman and Balic win a tight opening leg against Gunn and Sage, but the B team duo weren’t going down lightly as they fought back and won the second leg – so all to play for in the decider.  With just a 5 point handicap to catch up it was important for the A team to have a good start so the gap remained achievable.  This one was close all the way through as the teams traded points and the gap was tightening but only very slowly.  As is befitting the

competition we arrived at deuce (20-20), and at this point we would find out who had the mental wherewithal to triumph over the adversity of pressure.  Well no surprise as the experience of Balic and Freeman saw out the contest for another overall 5-0 victory – but a tough one for sure!

So an April final betwixt two unbeaten sides, neither of whom have dropped a single point in the journey so far.  The bookies though have Cold Norton as odds-on favourites, which will both upset and galvanise the Blackwater posse.

Despite the Cup week status we did still managed to sneak in a few League games and there was some decisive action in Division 2 as both the top sides dropped points unexpectedly.  Maldon B have had an up-and-down kind of season so their A side will not be thanking them for having their most ‘up’ day in this week’s Maldon derby where the B side routed the A team in a comprehensive 7-3 conquest where Steve Aspland and Marty Englander laid down serious hat-tricks.  Aspland also combined with Garry Eames in the doubles for his most perfect 4-ball of the season.  So with Maldon A dropping points at will surely Stow Maries A would jump at the chance to strengthen their lead and get at least a few digits, if not one hand, on the Division 2 Shield.  Well they might have done if they had fielded a full side in the clash with Mapledene C, but alas the fight was left to just two protagonists – Gary Brignall and Peter Chastin.  They did themselves proud though with Brignall scoring yet another hat-trick of wins and he was ably wing-manned by the tough to beat Chastin who was able to better Tony Ayliffe and Mike Johnston,

but fell to the trusty forehand of Mapledene’s Andy Seaman. Seaman and Ayliffe then defeated the withering Stow duo in a five set doubles confrontation that led to an overall sharing of the points.  It could have been so much worse for the Stow outfit but looks like they have survived this scare.  In the final divisional bout this week Stow B and Stow C played out a competitive match that saw every player put at least a point on the scoreboard, with Nicky Reece-Ford going 2 better as he hat-tricked for the B side to secure the 7-3 win, with Tony Forster in support role with a decent brace.  Only one match in Division 3 this week and as usual when Maldon C take part the result is very decisive.  This week’s victims were Maldon E, who worked hard but were no match for the C team trio of Marty Englander, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill, all of whom laid down hat-tricks in the whitewash 10-0 win.  Englander was in devastating form taking just 12 legs

to record 4 wins, combining with Ravenhill in the doubles.  A win that just confirms Maldon C’s status as Champion-elect, and not surprisingly all 3 C team players are in the top 4 of the divisional player of the year running, each with an over 90% win rate – but chasing down the 100% man, Allan Steel, in top position.

Pic 1 – Cold Norton B’s Successful Handicap Cup Trio – Ian Wall, Dan Anderson & Sam Lowman

Pic 2 – Sam Lowman of Cold Norton B clawing back his handicap against Woodham’s Harry Sawford

Pic 3 – The opening Doubles encounter from the Cold Norton B semi-final victory this week

Pic 4 – Alan Scammell of Blackwater A working hard to better his clubmate Gary Smith

Pic 5 – Maldon C Trio – Division 3 Champions-Elect – Marty Englander, Brian Riedling & Chris Ravenhill

Pic 6 – Chris Ravenhill in his victory over Brian Dixon this week

Report by Eamonn Hall

Such has been the dominance of Netts A at the top of the Braintree Table Tennis League this season that even preventing them winning 10-0 counts as some sort of success.

After four consecutive such wins, they were brought down to earth with a bump – well,  maybe a slight shudder – when Rayne B restricted them to 8-2.

It was a match with significance on a personal level as well: a victory for Oliver Hicks over his dad James. 

That was close, and then not so close: 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3. 

Apart from the bragging rights in the Hicks household, it was a notable win in itself as Hicks senior had previously lost only three out of 31 – and had won the first battle with his son 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 in October.

Steve Pennell was responsible for Rayne B’s other point with a straight-games win over Andy Holmes.

It is largely academic, but Rayne A for once bettered the leaders by beating Liberal B 9-1, Ashley Skeggs gaining Liberal’s point with a win over Maria Boulton despite losing the first game 11-1.

Sudbury Nomads also moved a point closer to the top by beating Netts B 9-1. 

Jon Hill grabbed Netts B’s point with a win at 11-9 in the fifth against Aron Jordan, but of more interest was the fact that Richard Fifield, all-conquering in division three, remained al-conquering on his division one debut.

At the other end of the table, Liberal C registered their fourth win, 7-3 over Rayne C, but still remain behind their opponents who have yet to post a victory.

In the Black Notley club battle, it was the B team who came out on top, 8-2 against the A team.

Luke Burridge was unbeaten.

There were no wobbles at the top of division two where Sudbury Wanderers had a straightforward 10-0 demolition of Netts D, but below them Rayne D pulled two points closer to second place with an 8-2 win over Notley E while Rayne E were held to 6-4 by Rayne F. 

For Rayne D, Dave Moles and Paul Wellington were undefeated while for Notley E, Matt Brooks had the rare distinction of bettering son Jamie by registering his side’s only win at Dave Marsh’s expense. Notley C lost a bit of ground with a 6-4 defeat by Netts C, despite three singles from Rev Matthews, while Doug Sanders was unbeaten in Yeldham Whitlocks’ 6-4 win over Notley F.  He beat Graham Chinnery, who had earlier got the better of Roy Hooper.

In division three, leaders Finchingfield A matched their counterparts in the higher divisions with another thumping win, 9-1 over Notley I.  Tony Brown pinched the one for Notley with a win over Ray Bradford.

Second-placed Sudbury Strollers were much harder pushed by the juniors of Netts F and needed all the guile of Richard Kemp, in the second division for the past few seasons, to settle a 6-4 win.

The next two teams both lost.

James Dickson remained unbeaten for the first time to lead Yeldham B to a 6-4 win over third-placed Notley G while Finchingfield B succumbed by the same score to Rayne G.

Two of the division’s leading players, Ted Sims and Stewart Grant, were both playing for the first time in more than two months in the latter match, Sims creeping home in the battle between the two 9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9.  

Netts E pulled further away from the foot of the table with a 6-4 win over Notley H, with David Montgomery unbeaten.

Report by Ron Fosker

Second placed Chelmsford A’s 7-3 loss at Danbury B would have given much pleasure to division one leaders Danbury C who look to be odds-on to lift the 2024/2025 title. Danbury’s Sam Lowman was in great form as his three victories along with Dan Anderson’s brace helped the fourth-placed B team close the gap to their opponents to just six points. Chelmsford’s Simon Jarvis earned fine wins over Anderson and Chandler but narrowly lost out to Lowman in the opening contest of the evening by a 3-2 scoreline.  Chris Penrose and Dave Richardson won three matches apiece as third placed Danbury A beat sixth placed Galleywood A 8-2.  Galleywood’s James Hicks and Gary Brignall fought back from 2-1 down to beat Penrose and Richardson in the doubles.

In division two, Hatfield Peverel A continued their late-season revival with a third straight win having tasted defeat in their previous seven matches. There was a treble from Martin Archie backed up by two wins apiece for Alastair Piper and Julie Johnson as Peverel moved up to fourth position with a 7-3 home victory over the winless Old Chelmsfordians B.  Both Piper and Johnson were denied a third win by OC’s Mick Richardson who recovered from 2-1 down to beat Johnson in the last match of the evening.  Richardson had earlier raced to a 2-0 lead over Archie only for his opponent to strike back to earn the first of his three wins.  Derek Balding made his first league appearance of 2025 and took his record to 18 wins from 18 singles matches this season in an 8-2 Maldon A victory over Writtle C. Balding’s teammates Colin Napper and Chris Hancox won two matches apiece – the latter seeing his 2-1 lead end in a loss against Writtle’s Gary Ward.  There were trebles for both Mark Glenister and Gary Brignall as Galleywood B consolidated eighth position with an 8-2 victory over ninth placed Writtle B. Teammate Will Goodchild would have joined them on three victories but for Trevor Collin taking the deciding game of their matchup. Rob Burton dropped just one game from his three victories as leaders Buttsbury A won 8-2 on the road at Danbury D.  Burton was joined on three wins by Evie Knaapen who got the better of Daniel Patynski in a very exciting match which ended 14-12, 8-11, 12-10, 22-20 in Knaapen’s favour.

Chelmsford D moved ten points clear at the top of division three with an 8-2 home win over fourth placed Danbury G. Christopher Denyer and Alex Tkachuk did the business for the hosts with Tkachuk’s 3-2 victory over Mervyn Perriman the sole five-gamer over the course of the contest. Galleywood C moved withing four points of second placed Buttsbury B with a 7-3 away win at the two-person team of Hatfield Peverel B – Peverel’s Neil Freeman was the star of the show with three victories. Freeman beat Bryn Thomas in three, Colin Blore in four and managed to overcome a rallying Robin Armstrong in five. Dave Moles was on fire as his bottom of the table Writtle E side beat tenth placed Danbury H 7-3 to move within two points of eleventh placed OCA C.  Moles dropped just one game in his three victories – one of which was a 3-1 victory over Danbury’s Gordon Gatheral who saw success in his two other matches. 

Peter Harverson won all three as eighth placed Danbury J drew 5-5 with ninth placed Chelmsford F.  Harverson won his first two matches of the evening with 3-0 scorelines but was well tested by Chelmsford’s Salih Salim who finally went down 13-11 in the fifth.  There was a Tom Barker treble in eleventh placed Old Chelmsfordians C’s 6-4 away win at fifth placed Writtle D. Barker had to recover from 2-1 down against Malcolm Henstock in order to register his second win of the evening while Barker’s teammate Luke Richardson also caused Henstock angst when recovering from 2-0 down for the victory in their encounter.

Division four leaders Hutton A and second placed Maldon B were not in action in week 22 so the focus was on whether third placed Buttsbury C could close the gap when hosting fifth placed Danbury K in one of their two games in hand.  Buttsbury were boosted by news that Danbury were only able to field two players for the fixture as Joshua Freeman’s two 3-0 victories fired the hosts to a 8-2 win.  Buttsbury D moved above Danbury K into fourth place with a 9-1 away win at Danbury M thanks to trebles from Keith Abbott and Kevin Willis.  Danbury’s David Smith scuppered Buttsbury’s Lyndon Bubb’s hopes of a treble when eeking out a 3-2 win (3-11, 11-6, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10).  There were two wins apiece for Chelmsford G’s Mark Nolan, David Parker and Atharv Gupta in their 7-3 away win at Danbury L  John Manning put the hosts 1-0 up with a five-game win over Nolan before teammates Roy Gandy and Ken Wilding made the score 3-0.  Those three matches were the highlights of the evening for Danbury as Chelmsford then took the next seven matches, Nolan and Atharv Gupta recovered from 2-0 down to win the doubles contest and David Parker weathered a Gandy fight back from the same position in a 3-2 win. In two mid-table encounters, Nathan Blore was undefeated for Galleywood D as they ran out 8-2 winners against Hatfield Peverel C, while Farooq Ahmed won all three for OCA D despite a 6-4 away loss at the hands of Highwood A.

There were two wins for Buttsbury E in week 22 who sit 10 points clear at the top of division five though second-placed Hutton B have the advantage of three games in hand.  There were three wins for both James Hughes and Chris Hughes in a 9-1 victory over Hatfield Peverel F, while OCA E’s Matthew Porter’s treble couldn’t prevent Buttbury running out 6-4 winners.  Michael Anthony hit a hat-trick as third placed Writtle F won 7-3 at Highwood B while Tim Huxtable won all three as fourth placed Maldon C won 7-3 at Hatfield Peverel C. The basement battle between Anglia Ruskin and Hatfield Peverel F ended in a 5-5 stalemate as Peter Hughes took the player of the match honours with two wins from three while James Grindlay and Shengbing Zhu won three apiece as Chelmsford H posted an 8-2 home win over Hatfield Peverel D.

Windsor Buzzards are clear at the top of Division Two of the Clacton League but, with only six matches remaining, just nine points separate the next four teams – Brotherhood C, Brotherhood D, Nomads Tigers and Nomads Jaguars – in the battle for the runners-up spot.

Current second-placed side Brotherhood C beat a Nomads Tigers’ team forced to play with a guest and, despite a hat-trick from Tigers’ skipper Dave Miller, emerged 6-4 winners. The victory leaves the ‘C’ team on 86 points, six ahead of fourth-placed Tigers on 80 points.

Brotherhood D improved their position and are now in third position on 83 points following their 8-2 success over Brotherhood G. Both sides fielded reserves, late call-up Joe Sherwin excelling to stay unbeaten for the winners whilst ‘G’ team reserve Owen Woollard will feel pleased to have picked up a point for the losers.

And Nomads Jaguars are still in with a shout, moving on to 77 points after a 9-1 win against Brotherhood E. Chris Petrou and Jonathan Hockley both stayed unbeaten, with only Fred Gallone’s victory over Tom Wilkin in the final match of the evening preventing the whitewash.

Meanwhile, leaders Windsor Buzzards recorded their fourth 10-0 win of the season, this time beating Windsor Kestrels 10-0, Andy Cawley, Scott Campbell and Ray Chillingworth taking the points. But the final match of the evening might well have earned the Kestrels a consolation point, Cawley getting over the line 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 13-11 against Peter Aumord. The Buzzards now lead the Division by 23 points.

The closest match of the week was the all-Windsor clash between the Penguins and the Harriers where six of the matches went the distance, with no-one staying unbeaten. Neil Chegwidden and Paul Woolnough won two each for the Penguins, as did Barry Allen and Isabel Barton for the Harriers. Barton was involved in three five-setters, beating Sharon Gowlett 14-12 in the fifth and Neil Chegwidden 11-9 in the fifth, whilst the battling Gowlett was also involved in three five-setters but unfortunately failed to get on the score-sheet.

In Division Three, Brotherhood F took the bragging rights in match between the top two teams, defeating Brotherhood H 9-1. Joe Sherwin and Ruby Gallagher took trebles, with Savindu De Silva taking the ‘H’ side’s point with victory against Lucy Carvell. Two of the matches went to five, Gallagher beating Harindu De Silva 11-5 in the fifth and Owen Woollard 11-8 in the fifth. The ‘F’ team have now established a 20-point lead over their ‘H’ team rivals.

The Nomads Ocelots v Windsor Falcons encounter ended with honours even, Ferdy Rodriguez’s treble for the Falcons including an 11-9 in the fifth win over Andrew Cousins. There were two each for Cousins and Arthur Wells-Garrett of the Ocelots, Wells-Garrett having a close tussle with Nigel Rolph before edging it 12-10, 12-10, 14-16, 4-11, 12-10.

Holland Hurricanes defeated Holland Lancasters 7-3. There were three for Gary Stallwood, two for Gerry Widnell, one for John Smith-Daye, plus an 11-6 in the decider doubles win for Widnell and Smith-Daye over Dave Wright and Pam Cousins. Wright picked up a couple for the Lancasters. 

In Division One, three each for Paul Hume and Jason Lloyd were  the basis of Nomads Lions’ 8-2 success over Walton B. Mark Ratcliffe and Mark Gale picked up a point apiece for Walton, Ratcliffe defeating Martyn Green 11-8 in the decider but going down 11-6 in the decider to Lloyd.

Brotherhood A beat Windsor Hawks 7-3, Kevin Gowlett unbeaten. Martin Edwards won two for the winners, as did Felipe Rodriguez for the Hawks. Dave Martin, acting as a reserve for the Hawks, failed to get on the score-sheet but showed much of his old know-how to test Edwards and Russell Hillier before going down in five to both players.

Finally, Gary Cattermole and John Pattrick took trebles in Windsor Eagles’ 7-3 victory against Brotherhood B. The closest match of the contest saw Pattrick edge out Joe Plummer 11-9 in the fifth. There was a point each for both Sam Plummer and Joe Plummer, the pair sharing an 11-7 in the fifth doubles win against Cattermole and Pattrick.

* A final reminder that there are a number of matches between teams from the same Club which need to be brought forward and played before 4th April. The relevant teams have been notified by e-mail and Team Secretaries are urged to check the League Handbook (page 4) for details of these fixtures. Any such matches not played by this date will be declared void.

* The Windsor Club’s ‘Pig Race Evening’ is on Saturday 8th March at the Brotherhood Hall. Doors open at 7.00 pm with the first race starting at 7.30 pm. Entry is free, bring your own drinks and nibbles. For more details, contact Jenny Higgins (Tel : 07790  240566).

* The Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, take place over the weekend of 12th and 13th April. Entry forms will be sent out shortly, with a closing date of Friday 14th March. The qualification for entry is confirmed as five matches.

RESULTS

Division 1

Brotherhood A 7 Windsor Hawks 3;

Walton B 2 Nomads Lions 8;

Windsor Eagles 7 Brotherhood B 3.

Division 2

Nomads Jaguars 9 Brotherhood E 1;

Windsor Kestrels 0 Windsor Buzzards 10;

Brotherhood D 8 Brotherhood G 2;

Windsor Penguins 5 Windsor Harriers 5;

Brotherhood C 6 Nomads Tigers 4.

Division 3

Brotherhood F 9 Brotherhood H 1;

Nomads Ocelots 5 Windsor Falcons 5;

Holland Hurricanes 7 Holland Lancasters 3.

The Burnham & District Table Tennis League title race is as tight as an otter’s pocket this season.  All 3 contenders were on show this week and they have somehow contrived to narrow the margins yet again.  Second placed Cold Norton B defeated Leaders Fambridge in a tight 6-4 win, and third placed Mapledene A gained ground with a hard-fought 8-2 triumph over Woodham B.  The bonfire is lit and the sparks are starting to fly!

Cold Norton B travelled the short distance to Fambridge this week for the top of the table clash – both teams fully loaded.  A good win by Fambridge would see them take full control of the leadership contest and their odds would surely tighten significantly.  But Cold Norton are still on for the double this

season and have the wherewithal to make this happen.  It didn’t take long for Cold Norton to impress their credentials upon the Fambridge Galacticos as they won all 3 of the opening salvos – Eric Green beating Mark Stones, Sam Lowman overcoming Gary Young, and Ian Wall triumphing over John Poysden.  Wall went on to beat Stones but Green fell to Young and Poysden made up for his early loss by taking the Lowman scalp in 5 tricky sets.  So a more respectable 4-2 scoreline at the break and this was improved with a doubles point for Fambridge.  Wall completed his impressive treble and Poysden bagged a noteworthy win over Green to make it 5-4 to the Nortonians going into the final battle of the evening.  Stones, eager to bother the scoreboard for his side, welcomed the young contender Lowman into the

home side’s Octagon.  But that was as scary as it got for Lowman who went about his business with some aplomb for a straight sets victory and the overall 6-4 winning margin – a score that opens up the door for both Cold Norton and Mapledene in the chasing pack to push on and take the challenge to Fambridge.   Mapledene A travelled to South Woodham for what should have been a straightforward affair against lowly Woodham B.  But despite the final 8-2 scoreline the match was pretty even and you have to feel the pain of Woodham’s Dan Patynski who took all of the Mapledeners to 5 sets but came away without a point to show for his efforts.  A truly enjoyable evening was had by all with some phenomenal play from all 6 players.  Mapledene’s George Reeves came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders playing like Boris Becker in his finest serve and volley days.  A Reeves’ serve is tough to face and tough to read and if an opponent can return the serve it is often high and exactly where Reeves wants it and wham-bam-thank-you-mam the subsequent smash is way past you before you can react.  This is exactly what happened in the opening match against Woodham’s Harry Sawford as Reeves won in a blastfest 3 straight sets.  In his next game Reeves’ serve and volley style tactics were still in play but his opponent Patynski was able to retrieve more serves and was winning the lion’s share of the longer rallies and this pattern ensued all the way to the bitter end of the fifth set where Reeves’ determination took him through to the victory.  Peter Barrett won both his opening singles – but again nothing straightforward as he had to battle past Sawford and Eamonn Hall with the majority of the legs going into deuce shootouts.  Mapledene Captain Reece Seddon was nursing an injury but still had his usual range of match winning shots – but again he was tested by both Hall in 4 sets, and then Patynski in a 5 set marathon that saw Patynski turn in the lead at the ends switch dance in the deciding set but he was unable to match the experience of Seddon in this sudden death corridor and fell just at the crucial moment.   So Woodham found themselves 0-6 down at the break despite having been competitive in 5 of the opening matches – that’s sport for you!  So time for some half-time legendary team talking – well a debate as to who should play the doubles with the untried combo of Hall and Patynski emerging from the fracas.  It was indeed

a moment of genius as the new pairing dominated proceedings taking a pretty comfortable 4 set victory with some great combination play and a hatful of outright winning strokes.  On the board at last!  In the final singles run-in Barrett and Patynski played out a blinder with the differences being thinner than a bees wing.  The opening 3 sets went beyond deuce as Patynski pulled back from 0-2 down to even up the contest – but Barrett held his nerve and punched his way to a 5^th leg knock-out for his treble and a Player-of-the-Match award.  From somewhere deep within Hall kept pace with the early batterings from Reeves and was able to control the Reeves serve to such an extent that the match remained competitive and Hall took the opening leg.  Much the same in the second leg although the nets and edges gods and the luck of the Irish all descended at once to help Hall stretch his lead, and then with more open play he was able to take the only singles point of the night for Woodham.  So positive hat-tricks for Barrett and Seddon, and a more painful hat-trick for Patynski.  At the other end of the Arena, and plodding along at a much quicker pace, was the Woodham derby betwixt A and C.   There was a shock in the opening match as the C team’s Hitman Chris Hancox blasted his way past the largely non-existent Dan Piglet defence for the C team to take an unexpected early lead.  However things got back to a more alphabetical order as the Penrose brothers rescued the A team from that opening match reverse and by half-time the A team were 4-2 to the good.   Chris Penrose was the standout player notching another hat-trick for the A team for the overall 7-3 win, with Hitman Hancox winning 2 points for the C team.

Stow Maries A have extended their lead at the summit of Division 2 following a 7-3 derby victory over Stow B.  Their top players Richard Storey and Gary Brignall both fired rapid hat-tricks in the singles, and although third wheel Malcolm Storey was unable to trouble the scoreboard in the singles he did combine with Brignall for a long and hard-fought doubles extra point.  The third Stow side in this division, Stow C, brought their run of 12 straight defeats to a stumbling halt as they hosted Woodham D and forced them from the brink of success to the disappointment of a draw as Stow’s Pete Layzell and Tim Huxtable won the final 2 singles matches to even up the match.  In fact Stow won 4 of the final 5 matches for a tremendous morale boosting performance.  Woodham’s ever improving Peter Harverson was the best player on a show with an unbeaten treble, with Stow’s Pete Layzell taking a brace of wins for his troubled side.  The doubles proved crucial and Stow’s pairing of Huxtable and Jean Chasmer held out for a rollercoaster 5 set success.  Blackwater A continue to rattle cages, this week with a surprising 8-2 victory over Maldon B – with Captain Alan Scammell the standout performer with his 3^rd hat-trick of the season, including the notable scalp of top player Steve Aspland.  Noah Sage and Denis Balic both recorded braces but were unable to beat the usually impenetrable Aspland.  The Mapledene C trio combined with 2 wins each for their 6-4 win away at Cold Norton D.  Dennis Squirrell was the player of the match on countback but it was a close call with his colleagues Sue Body and Dave Woolmer.  Neil Want proved the toughest Cold Norton nut to crack as he defeated both Body and Woolmer.

There is an air of alphabetical regularity across Division 3 as the Maldon C, D & E sides and the Blackwater C to F sides all fit into the divisional standings in the correct order with the 2 highest ranked  Maldon collaborations holding the top slots.  Maldon C maintained their 100% win rate this week but it needed a last gasp come-from-behind final match of the night deciding leg victory by the war horse veteran Shirley Carroll to secure the 6-4 team victory.  Carroll had lost her earlier singles battles so she will have been delighted to secure that point for her team.  Maldon’s Ella Sach was the player of the match winning 2 singles and combining with Marty Englander for the important doubles point.  Englander matched Sach’s stats whilst Dave Benstead and Chris Rolison both won 2 singles for the Blackwater Club.  Maldon D slipped into the runner-up position courtesy of a very decent 8-2 winning margin over Blackwater D – hat-tricks for Arthur Shadforth and James Raymond along the way, neither of whom dropped a set in singles or doubles all evening – in fact the match was notable for all 10 matches being won in straight sets with everyone home in time for the 9 o’clock news!  John Leavett from Maldon E will feel a little hard done by this week having notched a treble in the singles and partnering Patrick Coyne for the doubles win only to see his dreams of a team win dissipate before his eyes as the regular Blackwater trio of Phil West, Kath Little, and Deb Ginn won the remaining 6 singles to steal the team victory.  West almost broke the Leavett winning streak in the final match going 2-1 up in sets before the Leavett comeback got into full swing and the Wild West was tamed and left abandoned at the victory altar. 

Entries for the Burnham Closed tournament are now open and entry forms and details can be found on the League website :- https://www.tabletennis365.com/Burnham/Pages/Tournament_2025

Pic 1 – Cold Norton B’s Treblemaker Ian Wall

Pic 2 – Mapledene A’s player of the match this week – Peter Barrett

Pic 3 – The very unfortunate negative hat-trick man – Dan Patynski this week

Pic 4 – Maldon C Trio – sitting pretty at the top of Division 3 – Marty Englander, Shirley Carroll, Ella Sach

Pic 5 – Reece Seddon (Mapledene A) in his 5 set match with Dan Patynski (Woodham B)

Pic 6 – Personal success but team despondency for Maldon’s John Leavett this week

Report by Eamonn Hall

In the last week of league fixtures before the break for the SDTTL Closed Championships, at the wrong end of the Division 1 table, an encounter between home side Brand Identity B and Wakering TTC was a close run affair that the home side eventually won 5 – 4. The evening was notable for Wakering’s Callum Turner losing for just the second time this season in the very first rubber of the night. Mick Grout was his nemesis. Mick went on to take the Player of the Match award with an unbeaten evening. However, everyone had a part to play in this contest. Dale Gutteridge and Jenny Harrison won one each for Brand, whilst Callum won his two other rubbers and Andy Deadman and Paul England got one each for Wakering.

Basildon A firmed up their hold on the top spot with an emphatic 9 – 0 home win over Hadleigh Forum B. However Forum, and in particular Mick Tappenden, put up considerable resistance. Two of Mick’s encounters went to five sets, eventually losing 11 – 9 in the fifth to

 Arun Joy and 11 – 8 in the deciding set to Rob Burton. The home side’s trio of Arun, Rob and Les Hoey look destined to take the title unless Matchpoint A can make up some ground in their remaining fixtures.

This week Matchpoint were away to bottom team Hadleigh Forum C. They won 7 – 2. However, Forum were very unfortunate not to get more out of the match. Two of Mark Everard’s rubbers went to five sets, with him losing them both 10 – 12 in the fifth; first to Alex Deacon, and then to Debbie O’Neil. Paul Fawell got both Forum’s successes, whilst their Graham Farmer also suffered a 10 – 12 defeat in the fifth set of his match-up with Debbie. The visitor’s Stephen Heard was POM with an unbeaten hat trick.

Report by David Barnes

Eyes turned to the bottom of Division 2 this week as bottom club Matchpoint C pulled off something of a surprise win coming back from 4-1 down to beat Rawreth D 5-4. It was an all round team performance by Matchpoint for whom Roger Sherman and Zach Samuels both won two and Alwine Jarvis got a crucial point, coming back from two sets down to beat Amari Al-Soufi 14/12 in the decider. Al – Soufi was denied his hat trick by Jarvis having won his other two games and Jaspreet Singh and Jonathan Allen both won one to ensure every player on the night had at least one win to their name. The result lifts Matchpoint off the bottom of the table and two points clear of Invicta B who have a game in hand.

Fellow strugglers Invicta went down 6-3 to Hockley C but it was a close match, 2-2 at one stage, and three matches went the distance two of them involving Invicta’s Sarah Ball who was pipped in both 12/10 in the final set. Star of the night was Hockley’s Paul Ogden who was unbeaten and dropped only one set all evening. Paul Strutt weighed in with a brace and Tony Molisso a single win to give Hockley the points. Steve Lennox was Invicta’s best with two wins and John Blackman chipped in with one.

At the other end of the table Matchpoint B, who have lost their way a little bit in recent weeks dropping to fourth, took on leaders Stanford B but were edged out 5-4 despite John Lott’s maximum. Matchpoint actually led Stanford 4-3 at one stage but wins from Mark Downey and John Handscombe swung the match in Stanford’s favour. Both sides were missing regulars Dennis Squirrell for Matchpoint and Rob Salvage for Stanford so Handscombe came into Stanford’s side whilst Matchpoint had to call on Richard Sloman from their D team. Sloman pulled off a good win against Adrian Armstrong to get Matchpoint’s fourth point whilst Handscombe’s brace was matched by Mark Downey with Armstrong adding one for Stanford. Matchpoint are now level on points with Canvey B (who didn’t play) but have played two games more.

With just three weeks to go Stanford look certain to finish top currently having a 14 point lead from Hockley C who do have a game in hand, but this is against third placed Canvey B and unlikely to give Hockley what ideally would be a nine point win to put some pressure on Stanford. At the other end of the table, despite having a game in hand on rivals Matchpoint C, Invicta B face the toughest remaining fixtures having to play Stanford B, Matchpoint B and Canvey B. Matchpoint C face Stanford C and Hockley D.

Player of the Week – Paul Ogden

Team of the Week – Matchpoint C

Report by Paul Strutt