After a 2023/24 season blighted by injury and illness, super-veteran Peter Aumord has bounced back to form in Division Two of the Clacton League.

This week, he recorded his second hat-trick of the current campaign in Windsor Kestrels’ 8-2 victory over Windsor Magpies. Employing his usual uncompromising aggressive play, Aumord, one of the League’s more senior citizens, was the only player to remain unbeaten on the night.

Graham Bunce and Debra Found each won a couple, the pair completing the scoring for the Kestrels with an 11-8 in the decider doubles win against John Plummer and Alan Rutledge.

Plummer’s two points for the Magpies included a surprise 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-10 victory over Bunce.  

Another of the League’s senior players, Tony Edmonds of Brotherhood E, also produced the goods, undefeated in his side’s 7-3 success over Brotherhood G. But it was a hard-fought treble, with wins in five over both Dan Grindrod and Danny Still. Kevin Pryor also stayed unbeaten for the winners, while there was a point each for the ‘G’ team’s Grindrod, Still and Gary Simpson.

The battle of the top two teams ended with leaders Windsor Buzzards edging out Brotherhood C 6-4. Scott Cambell won all his three for the Buzzards, while there were two each for Brotherhood’s Mark Boyland and Mark Beckham.

The Buzzards enjoyed a second 6-4 victory, this over Windsor Harriers. Campbell again won three, with Ray Chillingworth winning two and Andy Cawley one. For the Harriers, Barry Allen won two and shared a close 11-9 in the fifth doubles victory, the first Buzzards’ doubles defeat of the season. Harriers’ reserve Kelvin Olano had a narrow 11-9 in the fifth win over Cawley.

The Nomads Jaguars v Brotherhood C encounter ended with honours even. Jonathan Hockley took three for the Jaguars and Chris Petrou two. Mark Boyland won a couple for Brotherhood and shared a crucial 11-9, 11-13, 11-4, 12-14, 13-11 doubles win with Mark Beckham against Jonathan and John Hockley.

A Mark Salter maximum was central in Brotherhood D’s 6-4 success over Windsor Penguins. Neil Chegwidden and Paul Woolnough won two each for the Penguins, Woolnough beating Tricia Salter 11-5 in the decider in the only match which went the distance.

In Division Three, the impressive youngsters of Brotherhood F approach the half-way mark of the League season ten points clear at the top, this week defeating Nomads Ocelots 10-0. Tom Bryden, Ruby Gallagher and Joe Sherwin were the winning trio.

The Hurricanes, the most experienced of the four Holland teams, notched up a 9-1 win over club-mates, the Vulcans, who were forced to play with a guest. But Derek Foxley is proving a useful player for the Vulcans, beating Gerry Widnell to take his side’s consolation point and going close against John Smith-Daye before going down 11-5 in the fifth.

In the first of three matches which ended 8-2, Windsor Falcons beat Holland Lancasters, Ferdy Rodriguez unbeaten. Dave Wright took the two Lancasters’ points.

A Matt Sage maximum, and two each for Alex Baldock and Sam Watling, gave Nomads Bobcats victory over Walton D. Walton won the last two matches of the evening, Sexton defeating Watling, and Earle, who’d taken Sage close before losing 11-6 in the fifth, defeating Baldock.

And it was 8-2 for Nomads Leopards against a Holland Mosquitos’ side fielding a guest. Dominic Joannou stayed undefeated for the winners, while Brian Abram took the Holland sides’ two points with wins over Anne Bonny and Mark Taylor.

In Division One, Nomads Panthers, playing with a reserve, were still good enough to win 8-2 against Walton B. Greg Green and John Hatley took trebles, with Panthers’ reserve Dave Miller having a hard-fought scrap with Paul Meikle before emerging as a narrow 2-11, 13-15, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9 winner.

Adam Cuthbert was the star player for Nomads Lions as they beat Windsor Hawks 7-3. Cuthbert overcame Gary Young, Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez, his closest match an 11-7 in the decider win against Rodriguez. Jason Lloyd’s two for the Lions included a tight 11-9 in the decider victory over Vincent. Young won a couple for the Hawks. The result moves the Lions two points behind second-placed Hawks but with a match in hand.  

A Gavin Price hat-trick was the highlight of Walton A’s 6-4 success against Brotherhood B. Derek Willis won two for Walton, as did Sam Plummer for Brotherhood.

Finally, Brotherhood A proved too good for Lawford, Russell Hillier, Kevin Gowlett and reserve Martin Edwards unbeaten in the 10-0 victory. Edwards’ 9-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 win over Charlie Denholm was the only match which went to five.

* The Handicap Cup Group stage begins in week commencing 9th December. Full details of the draw and players’ grades can be viewed on the League’s website. During the Cup weeks, results and tables will be up-dated on-line each Wednesday and Saturday.  

RESULTS

Division 1

Nomads Panthers 8 Walton B 2;

Brotherhood B 4 Walton A 6:

Brotherhood A 10 Lawford 0;

Windsor Hawks 3 Nomads Lions 7.

Division 2

Brotherhood E 7 Brotherhood G 3;

Windsor Harriers 4 Windsor Buzzards 6;

Brotherhood C 4 Windsor Buzzards 6;

Brotherhood D 6 Windsor Penguins 4;

Nomads Jaguars 5 Brotherhood C 5;

Windsor Magpies 2 Windsor Kestrels 8.

Division 3

Holland Vulcans 1 Holland Hurricanes 9;

Windsor Falcons 8 Holland Lancasters 2;

Nomads Bobcats 8 Walton D 2;

Nomads Ocelots 0 Brotherhood F 10;

Holland Mosquitos 2 Nomads Leopards 8.

Report by Tony Oswick

In week 9  Division 3 of the Southend League Invicta C climbed to second in the table following a 9/0 win away at Matchpoint D.  Trisha Winter was the POM here, well supported by her wingmen Brendan Raja and Andrew St John.  Blake Stewart came the closest to a win for Matchpoint, going down in 5 sets to Raja

Stanford D werealso 9/0 winners this week.  The Hockley F juniors put up a brave fight, winning a number of sets along the way, but the greater experience of the Stanford trio told eventually.  Randy Santiago was the POM after his flawless maximum.

The final match played this week involved another junior team, Evolve, up against Hadleigh Forum D, with Forum emerging as 6/3 winners.  Douglas Brown led the way for Hadleigh with an unbeaten performance.  However, he was pushed all the way by young Miles Bygrave in the opening match of the evening (a remarkable age difference of over 70 years between these two players).  Despite losing the first two sets against his wily and experienced opponent, Bygrave fought back to take the game to a deciding set, only to come up just short at 9/11 in the end.  Perhaps inspired by his performance in his first game, he went on to record straight sets wins over Ivan Arabadzhiev and Sineh Ball.  Nova Narayanan added the extra point for Evolve.

In week 10 Canvey C notched up their first win of the season when they took on Stanford D.  The result a 6/3 win for the Islanders, with Steve Kemp and Che Martin at the forefront, both unbeaten on the night.  A win apiece here for the Stanford trio of Andrew Jessop, Karen Kempster and James Parker.

Basildon B continue to forge ahead at the top of the table.  Another big win, this time 8/1 at the expense of Invicta C, saw them stretch their lead to 14 points.  Skipper Andy Roff with another maximum here, but it was teammate Dave Walton who took the POM honours, winning his three games without dropping a set.

The youngsters of Evolve hosted a (somewhat older) Rawreth Meggazone E team.  A fine hat-trick from Ben Berwick, backed up by two wins for Leo Goodey and a single win for Teddy Kent saw them run out 6/3 winners on the night.  Graham Back with a brace and Ro Brett with one win were the points scorers for Megazone.

Matchpoint D are now in third place in the league following a 7/2 victory over Hockley F.  Richard Sloman led the way for Matchpoint, with his maximum added to by Samuel Morgan and Cooper Hill with two wins each.  For Hockley there was a win each for Kris Chankov and George Higgins.  The game of the night saw Hill come from behind to eventually get the better of Higgins, with the score 8/11, 17/15, 11/7, 9/11, 10/12 in Cooper’s favour.

In Division 1 of the Southend League this week, with leaders Basildon A not playing, Matchpoint A closed the gap between the sides with a convincing 7 – 2 win against visiting Rawreth Megazone C. Stephen Heard was the Matchpoint’s  star with an unbeaten hat trick. Team mates Dan Stewart and Debbie O’Neil won two each. However, neither could overcome Garry Hartgrove who bagged both the visitors’ points.

In a bottom of the table clash, Wakering put some daylight between themselves and visitors Hadleigh Forum C. Both Callum Turner and Paul England were unbeaten for the home side, whilst David Thomas, Graham Farmer and Mark Everard won one each for Forum in a 6 – 3 victory for Wakering. 

After a spell playing up for his A team in the Premiership (and making a useful contribution there) Adam Jackman returned to playing for Brand Identity B this week. He made an instant impact by winning all his contests in a 6 – 3 victory at home to Mapledene. Team mate Mick Grout won two and Dale Gutteridge won one. For Mapledene, Lin Roff had one success and Charles Yeung recorded two.

With leaders Basildon A not playing this week, Matchpoint A closed the gap between the sides with a convincing 7 – 2 win against visiting Rawreth Megazone C. Stephen Heard was the Matchpoint’s star with an unbeaten hat trick. Team mates Dan Stewart and Debbie O’Neil won two each. However, neither could overcome Garry Hartgrove who bagged both the visitors’ points.

In a bottom of the table clash, Wakering put some daylight between themselves and visitors Hadleigh Forum C. Both Callum Turner and Paul England were unbeaten for the home side, whilst David Thomas, Graham Farmer and Mark Everard won one each for Forum in a 6 – 3 victory for Wakering. 

After a spell playing up for his A team in the Premiership (and making a useful contribution there) Adam Jackman returned to playing for Brand Identity B this week. He made an instant impact by winning all his contests in a 6 – 3 victory at home to Mapledene. Team mate Mick Grout won two and Dale Gutteridge won one. For Mapledene, Lin Roff had one success and Charles Yeung recorded two.

Report by David Barnes

All the top teams were in action this week in Division 2 with the biggest clash coming between top of the table Stanford B and third placed Canvey B. Stanford won 6-3 but it was a battling performance from Canvey who had to call up Ray Baker from their C team to make up the side. Having Trevor Hayes in your team means you’re always going to be in with a chance of points and he picked up two wins on the night beating Mark Downey and John Handscombe and spare a thought for Des Duffield who went the distance in all his games but only came away with one win against Handscombe. For Stanford, it was the unbeaten Adrian Armstrong who led the way maintaining his 100% record despite being pushed to five sets by Duffield. Mark Downey weighed in with two wins and Handscombe got the other point. Stanford lead by 15 points at the top.

Canvey’s loss meant they dropped down to fourth place in the league as Hockley C took the opportunity to leapfrog, them beating Rawreth Megazone B 7-2. Mike Worship recorded another hat trick, despite being taken to five sets by Steve McQuillan, and he was supported by braces from Paul Ogden and Paul Strutt. Both these two fell foul however, of the always awkward Richard Kidd. Graham Back made up the Rawreth team.

Invicta B fell to their fifth defeat in a row succumbing 8-1 to second in the table Matchpoint B who showed their potential for the future fielding three teenagers in Max Mayo, Alex Bowden and Ollie Milchard. Only two games went the distance and both of them featured Invicta’s John Blackman who secured an impressive win against Bowden coming back from two sets down to win 7/11 8/11 11/9 12/10 12/10. Unfortunately he then fell to defeat against Mayo who won 13/11 7/11 11/8 9/11 14/12. This defeat leaves Invicta bottom of the table.

Milchard found himself in action again later in the week as he captained his own Matchpoint C team against Stanford C and he picked up two important wins beating Chris Crooks in four sets and Martin Winter 12/10 in a deciding fifth set. He was beaten, however, by POTM Vaughan Chambers who was himself extended to five sets by Zach Samuels. Two wins for Winter and a single for Crooks gave Stanford a 6-3 win Samuels getting Matchpoint’s third point beating Alwine Jarvis.

Player of the Week – Ollie Milchard

Team of the Week – Matchpoint B

Report by Paul Strutt

Chelmsford A recaptured top spot in division one for the first time since Week Six with a 9-1 win over Chelmsford B, debutant Ayo Ademakinwa joined Josh Bickles in firing a treble.  Liam Squirrell was back in action for Danbury C as his hat-trick boosted demoted previous leaders Danbury A to second place in an 8-2 victory. Danbury C will be eyeing the top spot having played a match less than the top two but only trailing by five points.

Buttsbury A hold on to top spot of division two despite being held to a 5-5 draw at eighth placed Galleywood B. John Holland and Mark Taylor won two apiece for the hosts while Buttsbury’s Evie Knaapen went undefeated. Third placed Danbury D made up ground on the top two with an 8-2 victory over Danbury E in a match which saw trebles from Daniel Piggott and Sanjay Saptarshi. Julie Johnson followed up her two victories last week with a second hat-trick of the season though fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel A lost 6-4 at home to Writtle B who moved up to seventh position. Richard Storey and Trevor Carter won two apiece for the visitors. A fifth treble of the season for Simon Jarvis guided Chelmsford C to an 8-2 home win over Danbury F, Felix Reeve and Adi Kamma chipped in with two wins each as fourth-placed Chelmsford C got back to winning ways after last week’s first loss of the season.  OCA B avoided defeat for the first time in eight outings this season as they earned an excellent 5-5 draw with sixth placed Writtle C despite three wins for Gary Ward.   

Chelmsford D moved to the top of division three with a 7-3 victory over Danbury H, Adi Kamma won all three for Chelmsford with teammate Keith Martin chipping in with two.  Gordon Gatheral was the pick of the Danbury players winning two but falling to Kamma in four. Danbury G’s Denis Ballic fired his third consecutive treble as his side beat bottom of the table Old Chelmfordians C 7-3.  Denis Crapnell couldn’t quite join Balic on a third successive treble, he won two but lost 14-12 to Tom Barker in their decider. Another player posting a third consecutive treble was Hatfield Peverel B’s Neil Freeman who led his seventh placed team to a 7-3 win over the winless Writtle E.  There was a first hat-trick of the season for Writtle D’s Ryan Pitt in the 8-2 home victory over Chelmsford F.  Writtle’s Malcolm Henstock and Pete Layzell both saw victory twice but were undone by Chelmsford’s Cleon Fernandes. There was a good team performance by Danbury J’s double winners of Terry Hyland, John Robinson and Peter Harverson in a 6-4 home win over Chelmsford E.  All of Alesha Ellis-Austin’s four matches on the night went the distance.

In division four, Hutton A stay top after a 7-3 victory over bottom of the table Galleywood D – Hutton’s continued performance at the top of the table is quite remarkable given they have used a division high of ten different players so far this season!  Kevin Willis won all three matches as Buttsbury D remained second with an 8-2 away win at Danbury L. Jenne Seibolt and Lyndon Bubb won two each for the visitors but Danbury’s Greg Cooper beat both, Cooper was 2-1 up in his match with Willis but fell victim to a Willis comeback. Maldon B slipped from second to third position following a 6-4 home loss against Buttsbury C whereby Oscar Hutt hit a treble for the second time this season.  Hutt was well tested by Maldon’s Ella Sach who extended the match with a 13-11 fourth game before Hutt recovered for victory in the fifth.  There was a first treble of the season for Richard Allen in Danbury K’s 9-1 success over Danbury M.  Allen’s teammate Dave Powell also posted three wins though had to get through tough five-gamers against Oliver Ware and David Smith. Roger Patient managed to post his fifth treble of the season despite Highwood A’s 6-4 home loss against Chelmsford G.  Patient was extended by all three Chelmsford players with Elliott Hawthorne and Mark Nolan taking him to a fifth game decider.

In division five there was a second treble of the season for Anglia Ruskin’s Douglas Bawuah though ARU fell to their eighth defeat of the season courtesy of a 6-4 scoreline against Chelmsford H.  Bawuah overcame Peter Davenport and James Grindlay in fifth game shoot-outs.  Writtle F remain undefeated this season following a 6-4 away victory at Buttsbury E despite a treble from Torsten Greenan. In a division where some teams have fielded as many as 15 players over the first 10 weeks of the season, Writtle F have used just Ron Tam, Paul Aarons and Michael Anthony – hats off to them!  Gary Eames made it two trebles in two appearances for Maldon C in their 6-4 away success at Hutton B.  There was a second hat-trick of the season for Hatfield Peverel F’s 6-4 loss against Hatfield Peverel E, while Bruce Wickham won all three for the third time this season in Hatfield Peverel D’s 8-2 away win at OCA E.  There was no movement in the table for either eighth-placed Highwood B or seventh-placed Galleywood E as they shared a 5-5 draw, Nicola Pippen went undefeated when registering her second treble in two league matches. 

There is no change at the top of CJL 1A as Charlie Ware won twice in leaders Hutton Hawks 3-2 win at home against third placed Chelmsford Lions. Ware was taken to five games by both Ethan Collins and Ben Robinson but came through comfortably in both deciders. George Gregory was the only Chelmsford Tiger brave enough to tackle the mean streets of Hutton and his two wins gained the maximum possible points in a 3-2 loss against the Harriers.  The Chelmsford Jaguars bounced from third place to first place with a 5-0 home win against Hutton Harriers in CJL 1B which saw unbeaten outings for Archie Spurrier and Sai Suresh. The fifth-placed Hutton Hammers cruised to a 5-0 home win over the Buttsbury Bulldogs as Theo Rugg and Lockie Stewart won all of their matches without dropping a game.

The 2024/2025 C&DTTL Tournament will take place between the 3rd and 5th January 2025 at Mildmay Hall, Anglia Ruskin University.  Please find details and entry form here:  https://www.tabletennis365.com/chelmsford

___________________________

Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

For results, fixtures, stats and more please visit https://www.tabletennis365.com/chelmsford

___________________________

Finchingfield A’s apparently relentless progress towards the division three title in the Braintree Table Tennis League received a major boost when their only serious rivals, Sudbury Strollers, suffered a crushing 9-1 defeat.

The team responsible were Finchingfield’s own B team.

Strollers had won all five matches up to that point but were no match for Stewart Grant, Lucien Nolan-Bradford and Chad Rose.

Grant, still unbeaten this season, and 16-year-old Nolan-Bradford won their three singles while Peter Abbott preserved a modicum of respectability for Strollers by beating Rose 11-6 in the fifth game.

Finchingfield A didn’t just rely on their B team.  They added eight points to their total against third-placed Black Notley G.

One place behind their G team, Notley I had a 7-3 win over Rayne G, where Ben Southgate was the only one to beat Ted Sims.

Adrian Boeriu, new to league table tennis this season, scored excellent wins over the experienced Alastair Brown and Brian How and had a match point before bowing out against Sims.

Perhaps the performance of the week came from 10-year-old Ethan Collins.  He won his three singles in Rayne H’s 6-4 win over Yeldham Whitlocks B, including a very creditable win over Steve Willis, a division two player last season with only three defeats behind him this term.

In the Netts v Netts battle at the lower end of the table, JJ Calisin’s three sets helped F beat E 6-4.

Strollers weren’t the only Sudbury team to suffer an unexpected defeat.  Wanderers, with five wins out of five in division two, came up against a stronger than usual Rayne E where they were unable to cope with the twin thrust of Matthew Brown and Adi Kamma, who took all seven between them in a 7-3 victory.

Kamma had to fight hard, though.  He had to come from two games down to beat Ian Shrubsole 11-8 in the fifth, while Louise Hartshorn took him even closer, 13-11 in the fifth.

The damage was limited, however, as rivals Rayne D were held to 6-4 by Notley C.  Dave Moles continued his excellent form with three wins, which takes him to 19 out of 21.

Notley D beat Netts C 9-1 with unbeaten evenings from Alesha Ellis-Austin and Paul Nicol, while the Notley’s E team and Rayne F shared the points, with Notley’s Jamie Brooks unbeaten.

In division one, Notley’s A and B teams both notched up victories against Liberal teams.

The A team beat Liberal A 6-4 despite three wins from Brandon Crouchman while the B team came away 9-1 better off against Liberal C.

A consolation for the Sudbury club came from their first team, Nomads, who dealt with a two-man Rayne B 9-1.

Report by Ron Fosker

Whether at the top or bottom of the Clacton League, there’s always healthy competition, and there was healthy competition aplenty in this week’s all-Holland clash at the foot of Division Three between the Lancasters and the Mosquitos.

And it was the Lancasters who came out on top 7-3, Dave Wright, the Holland Club Secretary who’s been central in getting four Holland teams up-and-running in the League this season, starring with a treble.   

There were also two welcome debut League wins for Grace Andrews, one of which was a tight 11-9, 4-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-9 victory over Chris Woods. Ann Peart also picked up a singles win for the Lancasters and shared a doubles success with Wright.

For the Mosquitos, Brian Abram won two and captain Pam Blakeley one.

No-one stayed unbeaten as Holland Hurricanes recorded a 7-3 victory over Nomads Ocelots, with Ian Gwillim, Pam Cousins and John Smith-Daye all winning two. But it was an up-and-down evening for Smith-Daye, who enjoyed an excellent 11-5 in the decider success over Arthur Wells-Garrett but surprisingly went down to Norman Jacobs in four sets. Wells-Garrett’s two points for the Ocelots included a five-set win over Cousins.

Brotherhood H were 6-4 winners against Windsor Falcons, Savindu De Silva, Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard taking a couple each. Kelvin Olano again stayed unbeaten for the Falcons but he came the nearest to defeat all season, scraping home against an inspired Savindu De Silva 11-7, 5-11, 12-14, 11-7, 12-10.

Nomads Bobcats consolidated their position in the top three with an emphatic 9-1 victory over Holland Vulcans, Matt Sage and Sam Watling unbeaten. Derek Foxley was the Vulcans’ best player, defeating Jack Riddleston and taking Watling close before losing 11-7 in the fifth.

Lynette Sparks took three, Adrian Sexton two and Deborah Pallett one as Walton D defeated Nomads Leopards 6-4. Dominic Joannou won a couple for the Leopards and Anne Bonny one, the pair also combining to take the doubles.

In Division One, Nomads Lions beat Brotherhood B 8-2, Adam Cuthbert taking his maximum, and Charlie Fulcher and Jason Lloyd two each. But Joe Plummer produced two excellent results for the losers, his two points including a surprise 15-13, 11-9, 14-12 success over Fulcher.

An Andy Vincent hat-trick, plus two for Felipe Rodriguez and one for John Barton, gave Windsor Hawks a 6-4 win over Walton A. For Walton, Gavin Price took a couple and Kevin James one, the pair also beating Vincent and Rodriguez in the doubles, a first doubles defeat of the season for the Hawks.

Walton B continued their fine form with a 7-3 success over Brotherhood A, this after Brotherhood led 3-1. Mark Ratcliffe took a treble, Mark Gale two and Paul Meikle one, with Gale and Ratcliffe combining for an 11-6 in the decider doubles success against John Cleasby and Russell Hillier. Four of the matches in the encounter went the distance, the two sides sharing them equally, with Hillier’s 11-9 in the decider win over Gale being the closest.  

In Division Two, Brotherhood D, playing with a reserve, and Nomads Jaguars played out a hard-fought draw. Mark Salter stayed undefeated for Brotherhood. The Jaguars won all three matches which went the distance, Chris Petrou beating both Paul Alden and reserve Lucy Carvell in five, whilst Tom Wilkin’s two included an 11-8 in the fifth win over Alden. Callum Hogg took the Jaguars’ fifth point.

Fred Gallone recorded a fine treble for Brotherhood E in his side’s 6-4 victory over Nomads Tigers. Kevin Pryor’s two for Brotherhood included an 11-5 in the decider win over Bob Jillins, while Dave Miller had wins for the Tigers against Pryor and Duncan Dunne, the latter 11-4 in the decider.

It was also 6-4 for Windsor Penguins against Brotherhood G, Neil Chegwidden winning three and Paul Woolnough two, although it was a tight 9-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-13, 11-7 for Woolnough against Brotherhood reserve Tom Bryden. Dan Grindrod won a couple for the losers, with Bryden and Gary Simpson winning one each, Simpson edging out Paul Stanton 7-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-13, 11-8.

An all-Windsor clash ended 7-3 in favour of the Kestrels over the Harriers, Graham Bunce taking three, Peter Aumord two and Jackie Bunce one. Barry Allen won two for the Harriers and Isabel Barton one, Barton involved in the closest match of the evening, going down 13-11 in the fifth to Aumord.

Finally, Brotherhood C were comfortable 10-0 winners over Windsor Magpies, Mark Boyland, Mark Beckham and Paul Metcalf unbeaten.

* Details about the Handicap Cup competition have been circulated to all players. The first stage of the competition will be played in Groups, to be played during weeks commencing 9th December, 16th December and 6th January.

RESULTS

Division 1

Nomads Lions 8 Brotherhood B 2;

Walton A 4 Windsor Hawks 6;

Walton B 7 Brotherhood A 3.

Division 2

Brotherhood D 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;

Brotherhood C 10 Windsor Magpies 0;

Nomads Tigers 4 Brotherhood E 6;

Windsor Penguins 6 Brotherhood G 4;

Windsor Kestrels 7 Windsor Harriers 3.

Division 3

Holland Hurricanes 7 Nomads Ocelots 3;

Brotherhood H 6 Windsor Falcons 4;

Holland Lancasters 7 Holland Mosquitos 3;

Walton D 6 Nomads Leopards 4.

Nomads Bobcats 9 Holland Vulcans 1.

Some contrasting fortunes this week in Division 1 of the Southend League, two of the three fixtures finished 9 – 0, and the third 8 – 1.

Basildon A have taken over the top of the table spot, thanks to hat tricks from Les Hoey, Arun Joy and Rob Burton in a 9 – 0 drubbing of visiting Wakering. The home side were far too strong and didn’t drop a set all night.

Canvey A relinquished top spot and dropped to fourth place with a dramatic fall from grace, going down 8 – 1 at Rawreth Megazone C. Rawreth’s unbeaten Paul Brown took the Player of the Match award, although Garry Hartgrove was also unbeaten. Canvey’s only success came in the first rubber of the match when Bob Skew overcame Gary McCarthy. Joanna Hills was unfortunate to lose two of her three in the fifth set.

In the Hadleigh Forum ‘derby’, the ‘visiting’ B team overcame their ‘hosts’, the C team, 9 – 0. Tony Jack’s unbeaten threesome gave him the POM award, but both Mick Tappenden and Dave Woolmer were similarly successful. However, there were a couple of close ‘what could have been’ moments for the C team. Dave Thomas lost 9 – 11 to Tony in the fifth set and Graham Farmer lost 8 – 11 in the fifth to Mick.

Stanford B now sit an impressive twenty points clear at the top of Division 2 after a crushing 9-0 victory against Invicta B. The Stanford boys are sweeping all before them this season but all credit to Invicta who put up a strong fight despite the unflattering scoreline. Four matches went the distance with Trish Winter twice missing out against Rob Salvage and Mark Downey whilst Mike Keeble also took Downey the distance and John Blackman fully extended Russell Bright. Invicta have now slipped to one but bottom of the table one point ahead of Matchpoint C but with a game in hand.

Bottom side Matchpoint C went down 6-3 away at Hockley D who have now won their last three games and have moved up to fifth in the table. Their win came courtesy of hat tricks from Hannah Harbour and Elliot Brackenbury with Harbour not dropping a set. Brackenbury had to work a lot harder overcoming a 2-1 deficit to beat Zach Samuels and then going to another five sets before edging out Roger Sherman in the decider. Samuels, Sherman and Ollie Milchard all got the better of Graham Gregory.

Runnymede had an exciting 5-4 win against Stanford C coming back from 4-3 down to clinch victory in the final game. Andrew Humphris beat Peter Moxham in straight sets. Star of the show, however, was Tony Millward who claimed his fourth POTM award of the season. Basically, if Tony plays, Runnymede win! Humphris also got the better of Mark Farley to make it a brace but couldn’t get the better of Vaughan Chambers. All the Stanford boys got the better of Heather Stiles.

Unfortunately the match between Canvey B and Hockley C had to be postponed.

Team of the Week – Hockley D

Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour

In Division 3 Hockley E have moved up to second place in the table after two big wins.  They travelled to face Stanford D in their first match and a good team performance resulted in a 7/2 win.  Gary Beck was the player of the match, turning in an unbeaten performance, ably supported by teammates Ron Rogerson and Robert Garlick who recorded two wins apiece.  Randy Santiago with the points for the home side.  Their second match saw them take on a junior Hockley F team, who are finding the going very tough.  A 9/0 scoreline was not unexpected, and only one set was dropped in achieving this.

Canvey C are another team who are struggling.  Another two defeats mean they are still searching for the first win of the season.  Their first match was against Hadleigh Forum D who are showing some good form.  Todd Barker and Douglas Brown were unbeaten for Forum in their 7/2 win with Ivan Arabadzhiev adding the extra.  Despite Che Martin’s maximum, Canvey slipped to another defeat on their visit to Rawreth Meggazone E, 5/4 the score in favour of the home side with Edward Philcox, Ro Brett and Graham Back all on the scoresheet.

Invicta C remain in third place in the league after a 7/2 win away at Evolve.  Keith Baxter was unbeaten in this one, supported by David Youngman and Jonathan Gould with two wins each.  Ben Berwick with a double for Evolve.

Hockley F picked up a couple of points when Rawreth Meggazone E came to visit.  James Evesham was their hero with wins over Mike Webb and Edward Philcox, and he came so close to a hat-trick in his game with Ro Brett.  Despite the setback of falling two sets behind, he fought back to level the scores only to fall short at 9/11 in the decider.

Stanford D inflicted the first defeat of the season on Matchpoint D with Randy and Jake Santiago both unbeaten for Stanford.  Jeff Gritzman and Blake Stewart were the point winners for Matchpoint. 7/2 was the final score.

League leaders, Basildon B remain unbeaten following a 7/2 victory over Evolve, a match in which Andy Roff surrendered his 100% winning record, going down in 5 sets to Nova Narayanan.  Indeed, Andy only just scraped past Ben Berwick, losing a two set lead before edging home 15/13 in the final end.  Ross Letham was the hero for Basildon with a maximum.

Basildon top the table by 12 points from Hockley E, and by 16 points from Invicta C in third place.  1^st Basildon B played 7, 52 points.  2^nd Hockley E played 7, 40 points.  3^rd Invicta C played 6, 36 points.

Divisional reports compiled by David Barnes (Div 1), Paul Strutt (Div 2) and Dave Woolmer (Div 3).

The top two in the Braintree Table Tennis League both notched up further convincing wins as they move towards their first meeting of the season on Thursday of next week.

As with the previous week it was Netts A who came off better, scoring their second successive 10-0 win, over Rayne C, while Rayne A dropped a point in beating Liberal A.

Scott Dowsett put the dent in Rayne’s record by beating Adam Buxton.

Rayne’s Paul Lucas has won 18 out of 18 while Paul Davison at Netts has 14 out of 14.

Something has to give next week, but the result could depend more on the form of the rest of the team, Buxton and Maria Boulton for Rayne and James Hicks plus either Andy Holmes or Gary Young for Netts.

Rayne have a six-point lead but Netts have a match in hand.

The next two teams, Sudbury Nomads and Black Notley B both won 7-3, Nomads over Liberal B and Notley B against Netts B, while Rayne B registered the same scoreline against Notley A.

Sudbury Wanderers have taken over the top spot in division two after a 10-0 win against Netts C.

They jumped above Rayne D, who were held to a draw by their own F team despite Dave Moles’ unbeaten evening.

Eliot Hawthorn made his debut for Notley D and helped his team to a 10-0 win over Netts D while Yeldham Whitlocks A beat Notley E 7-3 and Notley C picked up their first win of the season, also 7-3, against Notley F, for whom Graham Chinnery was unbeaten – including two wins at 11-9 in the final game.

Finchingfield A continue to march on in division three with an 8-2 win over Rayne G, where Alastair Brown and Dave Whiting picked up the two for Rayne.

Second-placed Sudbury Strollers crept a point closer with a 9-1 win over Yeldham B, with Peter Abbott and George Berry unbeaten, while Notley G, in third, took all ten against their own H team.

Ben Southgate and Steve Baines were unbeaten in Notley I’s 7-3 win over Netts E while Chris High’s three wins led Rayne H to a 6-4 win over Netts F.

Report by Ron Fosker

Fambridge, so long the standard bearers for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League, have stormed ahead in the race to the Division 1 title this season.  Will holders Woodham A or pre-season favourites Mapledene A be able to breach the gap – with every week that passes it looks less likely.  In the lower divisions it was all about Maldon this week as the Club experienced some very highs and some very lows.

Fambridge had the most comfortable of 10-0 victories this week as they brushed aside Woodham C barely dropping a leg along the way.  This loss leaves Woodham C ensconced at the foot of the table but having played all the top sides for very little return – hopefully their time will come as they battle it out with the teams closer to them in the standings.  A full scoring evening for the Fambridge trio of Gary Young, Mark Stones and Captain John Poysden.  Cold Norton B travelled all the way to their own venue for the derby clash with Cold Norton C and left with 7 points and the win but the accolades of the evening all go to the C team’s in-form Arron Chandler who stood alone in defiance of the B team with 3 stunning 5 set victories over Sam Lowman, Eric Green and Daniel Anderson – that is a truly remarkable feat.  Whilst the Cold Norton B and C teams were battling it out for the local bragging rights the Cold Norton A side were waving the white flag at their championship bid as their 2 player team fell to an 8-2 loss at home to Mapledene B. Mapledene’s Kieran Skeggs was the stand out performer in this encounter as he went unbeaten all evening including an eye-catching deciding set triumph over Duncan Taylor.  Mapledene’s Anthon Ranjit Singh returned from his recent injury and recorded his first win of the season over Steve Maltby – again in 5 long sets.

Division 2 leaders Maldon A experienced the bitter sting of defeat for the first time this season – succumbing to a 6-4 loss at the hands of a very powerful Stow Maries A trio.  It was a team approach for the Stow trio with braces for Gary Brignall and Richard Storey, with Peter Chastin picking up a point against Brian Riedling.  Brignall and Chastin then combining for the bonus doubles point that confirmed the victory.  The surprising star of the show was the stoic Hamish Innes who took on allcomers and left undefeated.  Innes’ hat-trick included a hard-fought 5 setter against Storey that went beyond deuce in the deciding set, and a remarkable match-up with Chastin where expedite must have been a consideration in an opening leg that was finally settled 24-22 in Innes’ favour.  This result tightens up the top of the Division 2 ladder with Maldon A, Stow Maries A and Woodham D all hopeful of a podium finish come the end of the season.   Cold Norton D seem to have lost their early season form of late and were swiftly dispatched in a one way 9-1 defeat against Blackwater A this week.  Cold Norton’s Terry Hyland spared his team’s whitewash blushes with a 13-11 fifth set win over the tricky Alan Scammell.  Scammell’s team-mates Denis Balic and Neil Freeman both registering excellent hat-tricks to boost their personal stats.  Tony Ayliffe continued his recent fine form with a talismanic display for his Mapledene C side as they brushed aside the challenge from Stow Maries C with a comfortable 9-1 win.  Jean Chasmer was the heroine for Stow with a well-earned 5 set victory over Bill Smith.  Ayliffe and Andy Seaman went unbeaten and combined for the extra doubles victory too.  The final Division 2 game of the week saw somewhat of a resurgence in form for league stalwart Dave Marsh.  Limited in movement and with only a couple of single wins to his name all season Marsh will have been delighted to have recorded a brace of wins in the stalemate between the B teams of Stow Maries and Maldon B.  Marsh had victories over Maldon’s Garry Eames and Colin Barrell, whilst his wingman Peter Hance went one better with a hat-trick that included a 4 set triumph over Steve Aspland.  Aspland was the best of the Maldon players with 2 singles victories and he combined with regular partner Barrell for the doubles in the 5-5 draw.

Maldon C now have a commanding lead in Division 3 after they destroyed the growing confidence and challenge of nearest rivals Maldon D in this week’s top of the table clash.  The final score was 9-1 in favour of the C team with impressive results for all their players.  A commanding but expected hat-trick for Captain Marty Englander, whereas the hat-trick earned by Ella Sach was definitely not expected and is perhaps the stand-out performance of the week.  Sach beat Matthew Copsey in 4 sets, then overcame Arthur Shadforth (who was on 87% win rate prior to this match) in 4 sets, but the pièce de résistance was coming from 2 sets down against 82% win rate James Raymond to battle her way back into the match and finish off the job in 5 sets to earn a remarkable victory dance.  Shadforth redeemed himself with his team’s only point of the evening that had promised so much but in the end delivered so little – a 5 sets win over Chris Ravenhill.  This victory leaves Maldon C 15 points ahead of the chasing pack after just six rounds of matches – the bookies are starting to payout on this one already.  Blackwater D bounded into 3^rd place just a couple of points behind the shell-shocked Maldon D team with a professional 10-0 win over Blackwater F – hat-tricks all round for Peter Davenport, Ron Tam, and David Sage.  The ever-improving Oscar Wyman came closest to nicking a point as he narrowly lost out to the experienced Davenport in 5 sets.  St Lawrence blustered their way past the regular Blackwater E trio.  The eventual score being 6-4 to St Lawrence but it could have so easily gone the other way as St Lawrence dominated the 5 setters winning 3 out of 4 to secure the win.  Dave Bateman was the star Baysider with a very respectable hat-trick and he was well supported by the wily Mike Pratley who notched two 5-set wins, and then the pair combined for the doubles.  For Blackwater Deb Ginn showed great form with 2 wins of her own to keep the opposition on their toes.  In the final game of the week Woodham E continued their winning ways with a very good 6-4 turnover of Maldon E.  Woodham’s own Clark Kent impersonator Allan Steel was up to his leftie hat-trick magic tricks to set the foundation for the win but this week it was Reece Arundell that made the difference with his first brace of wins beating both Brian Dixon and Dennis Eraut, and then joining forces with Steel for a hard earned comeback doubles victory.  For Maldon Kym Eames was on good form with 2 victories of her own, and a fighting performance against Steel to boot.

It is also with great sadness that we remember Burnham and Colchester league stalwart Roger Warren who passed away last week after a short battle with illness.  He will be remembered fondly by everyone in our leagues and beyond.

Pic 1 – Ella Sach in her remarkable comeback victory over James Raymond.

Pic 2 – Maldon C and D teams before this week’s decisive derby encounter

Pic 3 – Tony Ayliffe in action for Mapledene C this week

Pic 4 – Hamish Innes – the sporting hero for Maldon A this week

Pic 5 – Roger Warren in a Burnham league match against Ross Wheeler…

Report by Eamonn Hall