The Braintree Table Tennis League does not keep sophisticated computerised records but it’s hard to imagine there has ever been a team to match that put out by division three Rayne H in the first week of the league season.
Between them Ian Rubens, Ernst Midl and Chris High have notched up 243 years.
It was particularly pleasing to see Ian Rubens back in action after a four-year gap and at 88, he has surely set an individual record.
Nor has he forgotten how to play the game. He was beaten by Netts E’s new signing David Montgomery but came out top in his other two singles.
Midl and High followed suit with two wins to give Rayne H a 6-4 victory.
Sudbury Strollers were the big winners in division three with a 9-1 win over a far from negligible Rayne G side.
Natalie Dodd and George Berry were unbeaten while Rayne’s new signing Conrad Gomes avoided a nil return by beating Geoff Bradford.
There were 7-3 wins for Netts F over Black Notley H and Finchingfield A over their own B team.
In contrast with Rayne H, Netts F’s team were all under 17 and equipped themselves well against experienced opposition. JJ Calisin was the pick of the bunch, the only one to beat Nigel Parmenter.
At Finchingfield, it was the B team’s Stewart Grant who was unbeaten, including a victory over the returning Dave Punt.
Yeldham Whitlocks’ new B team started with a draw against Notley I with three wins from Steve Willis.
Division two produced some more clearcut results, 10-0 wins for Sudbury Wanderers over Rayne F and Notley F over Netts D, while Notley D had a 9-1 win over Yeldham A.
The other two matches finished 6-4, Netts C against Notley E while Rayne E got the better of their own D team.
Jamie Brooks was unbeaten for Notley E and Matthew Brown for Rayne E.
Bob Jillins has started life in Division Two of the Clacton League in fine style, this week recording his second hat-trick in as many matches.
Newly recruited into the re-formed Nomads Tigers’ side, Jillins starred with an excellent maximum in his team’s drawn match with club-mates Nomads Jaguars, all three wins achieved in three-straight. He also shared an 11-9 in the fifth doubles win with Zein Shafat against Tom Wilkin and Callum Hogg. Shafat picked up the fifth Tigers’ point while, for the Jaguars, Wilkin and Chris Petrou each won two, and Hogg one.
Five of the matches between Windsor Buzzards and Brotherhood D went the distance, but it was the Buzzards who edged it 6-4. Scott Campbell took a treble and Pete Bloomfield a couple, Campbell defeating Paul Alden 11-5 in the decider and Mark Salter 11-9 in the decider. Salter won two for Brotherhood, in the process denying Bloomfield his treble, winning 11-9 in the decider. And in yet another 11-9 in the decider result, Brotherhood’s Tricia Salter excelled to beat Ray Chillingworth.
The battle of last season’s top two Division Three sides ended with Brotherhood E defeating Windsor Harriers 7-3. Kevin Pryor was unbeaten, Rodney Betts took two and Tony Edmunds one. In two tight matches, Edmunds beat Jenny Higgins 12-10 in the fifth and Betts beat Windsor reserve Ferdy Rodriguez by the same score.
Brotherhood C have started the season in good form, three from Mark Boyland, and two each from Paul Metcalf and John Gallagher, seeing them to an 8-2 success over Windsor Kestrels. Graham Bunce took the Kestrels’ points.
In Division Three, Kelvin Olano picked up a hat-trick for Windsor Falcons against Walton D, but two each for Lynette Sparks, Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton gave Walton a 7-3 victory. Walton also took the doubles in the closest finish of the League season so far, Sparks and Earle edging past Olano and Nikki Hayes 4-11, 11-4, 12-10, 4-11, 15-13.
In their second match, Walton D fielded a guest against Holland Hurricanes, Sparks winning three and Sexton two to earn a draw. Ian Gwillim picked up a point for the Hurricanes while Gerry Widnell twice went close, losing 11-7 in the fifth to Sparks and 13-11 in the fifth to Sexton. But Gwillim and Widnell had the satisfaction of taking the doubles 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 11-7 against the more experienced Sparks and Sexton.
However, the Hurricanes then lost 10-0 to Lucy Carvell, Joe Sherwin and Tom Bryden of Brotherhood F who, even at this early stage of the season, look the team to beat.
The Brotherhood H v Nomads Bobcats encounter proved a hard-fought match, Brotherhood emerging narrow 6-4 victors. Savindu De Silva recorded a maximum whilst Owen Woollard played well to defeat both Jack Riddleston and Alex Baldock in five-setters. Harindu De Silva won one but lost in five to both Baldock and Matt Sage. Sage took two for the Bobcats.
Holland Lancasters were 8-2 winners over club-mates Holland Vulcans who fielded a guest player. Frank Wimpress and Dave Wright were unbeaten. For the Vulcans, there was a debut League win for Derek Foxley and, after a barren spell, a welcome success for Mick Coker.
Dominic Joannou took his maximum as Nomads Leopards drew with Nomads Ocelots. Joannou was involved in both matches which went the distance, beating Andrew Cousins 11-9 in the fifth and, with Anne Bonny, taking the doubles 13-11 in the fifth against Cousins and Arthur Wells-Garrett. Cousins and Wells-Garrett each took two for the Ocelots.
In Division One, Nomads Panthers recorded a second 9-1 win of the season, this week beating Nomads Lions. Greg Green and Gracie Edwards remained undefeated. Ethan Lloyd beat John Hatley to take the Lions’ point, while Adam Wilkin took Green close before going down 11-8 in the fifth.
In an all-Windsor clash, the Hawks came out on top 7-3 against the Eagles. Gary Young won three, Andy Vincent two and John Barton one, with Gary Cattermole picking up a couple for the Eagles.
It was also 7-3 for Walton B against Lawford, Mark Gale winning three, Mark Ratcliffe two and Paul Meikle one. The doubles was the closest match, Gale and Ratcliffe getting past James Tindle and Glen Laing 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7. Laing won two for Lawford.
Finally, Walton C and Brotherhood B enjoyed an excellent evening’s table tennis, the match finishing with honours even. Simon Smith-Daye stayed undefeated for Brotherhood, with Sam Plummer’s two victories including the only match which went to a decider, beating Graham Buxton 11-9 in the fifth. Pete Burrows won two for Walton, with Buxton and Paul Newbould winning one apiece.
* The Windsor Club is holding a Quiz Evening on Saturday 16th November at the Brotherhood Hall, 7.00 pm for a 7.30 pm start. It’s for teams of up to six, £5.00 per person, bring your own drinks and nibbles. For more details or to enter a team, contact Jenny Higgins on 07790 240566.
* There are two vacancies on the League’s Management Committee. Anyone who may be interested in joining the Committee should contact League Secretary Isabel Barton (Tel : 07706 450488) for more information.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton C 5 Brotherhood B 5;
Windsor Eagles 3 Windsor Hawks 7;
Nomads Lions 1 Nomads Panthers 9;
Lawford 3 Walton B 7.
Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 2 Brotherhood C 8;
Windsor Buzzards 6 Brotherhood D 4;
Nomads Tigers 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;
Brotherhood E 7 Windsor Harriers 3.
Division 3
Nomads Leopards 5 Nomads Ocelots 5;
Brotherhood H 6 Nomads Bobcats 4;
Brotherhood F 10 Holland Hurricanes 0;
Walton D 7 Windsor Falcons 3;
Holland Hurricanes 5 Walton D 5; Holland Lancasters 8 Holland Vulcans 2
Keith Adams fired a hat-trick in his first appearance of the season to boost Danbury TTC who will be looking to improve on just 7 victories from their 20 fixtures completed over the first two weeks of the season. Division 1 An Adam Brewer hat-trick led Writtle A to a 7-3 home win over a Danbury B side who slipped to their second straight defeat at the start of their division one campaign. Brewer beat Dan Anderson in three games, Ian Wall in four and took the decider in his match with Sam Lowman. Danbury’s Wall and Lowman narrowly missed out in the doubles encounter to the Writtle team. Aidan Lees and Josh Bickles fired trebles as Chelmsford A maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 9-1 victory over Chelmsford B. The ever-improving Felix Reeve took his largest league scalp to date with a 3-1 win over Harry Chivers – Reeve started last season in division three where he posted a 57% win rate. Keith Adams won all three matches as Danbury C took their bow for the new season with an 8-2 win at Danbury A. Adams dropped just one game and will be hoping to take that early season form into Danbury’s upcoming matches with Writtle A and Chelmsford A. Division 2 Lloyd Bennett-Smith was the star of the show as his Maldon A were held to a 5-5- home draw with Buttsbury A. Bennett-Smith beat Jamie Elliott in three games, David Gatheral in four and young talent Grace Liu in five. Felix Reeve hit a hat-trick as Chelmsford C cruised to an 8-2 home victory over Danbury E. Reeve won two of his matches by a 3-0 scoreline but was made to work hard by Tony Forster and had to rally from 2-1 behind in order to take the win. Another commanding win for early pacesetters Hatfield Peverel A as Alastair Piper went one better than last week with a treble, Julie Johnson also won three in her first appearance of the season. Ian Whiteside prevented Martin Archie from a successive hat-trick with a come-from-behind 3-1 win. Two wins apiece for Trevor
Carter, Richard Storey and Bob Garson gave Writtle B a 6-4 home win over Old Chelmsfordians B. Mick Richardson proved the toughest nut to crack for OCA with two victories of his own, though missed out in a five-gamer with Garson. OCA’s David Porter was the man to prevent a treble from Garson. After two wins last week, Gary Ward fired his first hat-trick of the season in Writtle C’s 6-4 away win at Galleywood B. Ward dropped just one game on the night but his match with Mark Glenister was a tight 14-12, 14-12, 13-11. Division 3 Chelmsford D are top of division three having registered their second 9-1 victory of the season, this time at home to Writtle E. Mike Johnston fired his second treble of the season and he was assisted by Dusan Doszkoty and Alex Tkachuk who won three and two matches respectively. Despite the final scoreline, Writtle put up a good fight with Neil Thompson winning the opener over Tkachuk in five games and Malcolm Storey taking Doszkoty the distance. Buttsbury B, Galleywood C and Writtle D currently sit behind the leaders equal on 11 points after two fixtures. Buttsbury B and Writtle D played out a 5-5 draw with Buttsbury’s Harry Sawford dropping just one game from his three wins. Writtle Matthew Brown and Ryan Pitt gave Sawford a taste of defeat in the double contest whereby they conquered Sawford and Keith Abbott in five. Gary Copsey fired another hat-trick as Galleywood C earned a 5-5 draw at OCA C. The OCA team failed to take a game off Copsey who has dropped just one game in his six wins so far this season. The closest match of the night was OCA’s Luke Richardson’s 3-2 success over Nathan Blore – Blore had won games two and three 13-11 and 18-16 before the Richardson fight back. After three defeats (two in five-gamers) last week against title favourites Chelmsford D, Neil Freeman won all three matches in week two to help Hatfield Peverel B to a 6-4 away win at Danbury G. Freeman had to overcome Denis Balic in the opening contest of the night which was only settled in the fifth and final game. Freeman and Paul Mulley recovered from 2-0 to beat Danbury’s Balic and Louis Gunn – Gunn like Balic only saw singles defeat at the hands of Freeman. Danbury H could only field two players in their clash with Danbury J though H’s Peter Harverson won all three of his singles matches to take his record to five wins from six this season. Harverson beat Oliver Ware in three, Terry Hyland in four and had to recover from 2-1 down to get the better of Dave Marsh in a match which saw the J team take the honours 6-4. Hyland and Marsh beat Harveron and Steve Buer 3-1 in the doubles. Division 4 Maldon B sit proudly at the top of division four with two wins from two following a 10-0 away win at Galleywood D. While the match card reported a ‘whitewash’ it was clear that Galleywood D were no rollovers as three matches went five games and a further four went to four games as Marty Englander, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill became the first team this season to claim a maximum of 10 points. Hutton A have also won two
from two as Alex Ware dropped just one game enroute to a treble in a 7-3 win at Danbury L. Danbury’s John Manning prevented both Nick Giles and Anthony Barnes from completing their hat-tricks for Hutton, Giles and Ware won a closely contested double contest which went the distance. Two wins for Melanie Bonnett and Roger Patient earned Highwood A a 5-5 draw at last years division five champions Danbury M. Bonnett’s two wins were in three straight games but she was denied a treble by Danbury’s Graham Naggs who took the deciding game 13-11. Steve Martin and David Smith fought back in the double contest to take the fourth and fifth games 13-11, 15-13. Despite all three players losing their first match of the contest there were two wins apiece for Frances Hutt, Torsten Greenan and Oscar Hutt as Buttsbury C posted a 6-4 away win at Hatfield Peverel C. Both of Greenan’s wins were from a 2-1 deficit though he was unable to repeat this feat when teaming with Frances Hutt having levelled at 2-2 against Bob Hillis and Gary Simmons. David Bishop fired a hat-trick and was well supported by two wins from Russell Hall as OCA D won 6-4 at home to Danbury K. Hall was denied his hat-trick by a Dave Marsh recovery from 2-1 down. Three singles wins by Kelvin Edeh were not enough to prevent Chelmsford G from falling to a 7-3 away loss to Buttsbury D on Friday night. Edeh’s victories over Jenne Seibolt and Kevin Willis were clinched in the deciding game. Division 5 It was a good week for junior players in division five as both Joshua Freeman and Charlie Ware fired three wins apiece to lead their respective teams to 8-2 victories. Freeman’s three wins were completed with the minimum of fuss against ARU – all three victories being comfortable-looking 3-0 routs. Ware dropped just two games from his three matches and teamed with Vicente Beco in a 3-0 doubles win over Bruce Wickham and Andy Whiley. Martin Goodard fired a hat-trick as Highwood B won 6-4 on the road at Hatfield Peverel E. Peverel’s Jackie Treacy was the only player from the hosts who was able to take a game off Goodard, Treacy had earlier beaten Keith Pallett but fell to Mike Pitt despite holding a 2-0 lead. Two wins each for Stuart Wintle and Matthew Porter helped OCA E to a 6-4 home win against Chelmsford H. Wintle did well to fend off a James Grindlay recovery from 2-0 down to take the decider but fell in three straight games to Jacqui Smith. Wintle beat Peter Davenport in five while teammate Mike Morecroft came back from 2-1 down to beat Smith. Steve Peacok won three as Galleywood E won 6-4 at Maldon C. Peacock’s toughest match of the night was with Kym Eames who he managed to see off in the fifth game. Chelmsford Junior League division 1A Joseph Hutt showed good form as he went undefeated in the Buttsbury Bees’ 3-2 home win over the Chelmsford Lions. Hutt was taken the distance by Chelmsford’s Ethan Collins who narrowly missed out to Vivaan Babbar by the same 3-2 scoreline. Ben Robinson completed a fine turnaround to get the better of Babbar in five and teamed with Collins to take a close doubles encounter. The Buttsbury Bats picked up a first win
of the season with a 5-0 home victory over the Hutton Harriers. Joseph Hutt and Lewis Woods didn’t drop a game in their singles matches and combined for a 3-1 doubles success. Chelmsford Junior League division 1B Sai Suresh extended his unbeaten record this season as the Chelmsford Leopards beat the Buttsbury Bears 5-0 in division 1B. Vivaan Deshpande also won twice for the Leopards and had to recover from 2-1 down against Shay Coughlan – earning victory with a 12-10 score in the fifth game. The Hutton Hyenas won the battle of two teams who tasted defeat in week one with a 3-2 home victory against the Buttsbury Bulldogs despite two wins from Zac Berry of the Bulldogs. Berry fought back from 2-1 against Michael Bradshaw to take the match 12-10 in the decider.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
Mapledene A take an early lead in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League largely thanks to an impeccable hat-trick of wins from their ‘ace in the pack’ Liam Squirrell. That’s two on the bounce for Squirrell as he looks to recapture the Peter Ballard trophy he last won in 2020. Squirrells are certainly not endangered in Burnham as another Squirrell, this time of the Dennis subspecies, was the star player in Division 2 this week.
Squirrell was the stand out player in the Mapledene derby this week as with a 9-dart hat-trick followed by the bonus double point secured with partner Steve Muth. Mapledene B fielded a very strong side with Simon Jacob taking 2 wins over George Reeves and Muth, with everyone else spreading out the remaining victories so no-one went home empty-handed. Cold Norton A and their talisman Duncan Taylor continued their winning start to the season with a close fought 6-4 victory over their own B team. Taylor yet again was the difference with a hat-trick of singles and this week he added the doubles point with Matt Stringer keeping him company for the duration. Stringer added victories over Dave Richardson and Dan Anderson to complete the scoring for the A Team. Sam Lowman was the best of the B team with 2 victories over Stringer and Steve Maltby to kick off his season. Fambridge showed great bouncebackability following last week’s unexpected reverse with a commanding whitewash victory over Woodham B. Fambridge fielded the same trio that had lost out to Cold Norton in the opening week encounter so they were all delighted to register their first clean sheet of the season. Captain John Poysden secured the player of the match accolade with an unblemished 9-0 scorecard, with his ‘toughest’ shootout being a 10,9,7 victory over Eamonn Hall. Keith Adams went to the customary deciding leg with Sanjay Saptarshi but pulled through comfortably in the end – a great battle this one as Adams was constantly surprised with the blocks coming back from his powerful and loaded loops. Hall took a leg off Adams but that was the only other blemish for his first hat-trick of the season. Gary Young completed the rout just dropping 2 sets all night – one apiece to Trevor Collin and Saptarshi – although the Saptarshi encounter was an extremely close affair and probably deserved a deciding fifth leg – final score was 11,11,-10,9.
Division 2 hot favourites Maldon A continue to wreak havoc with a superb 9-1 victory that sees them sit atop the leaderboard and it would be a foolish gambler that would bet against them this season. It was all going swimmingly for the Maldon team as they largely cruised their way through the first 9 matches – whitewash headlines and ‘low blow for Stow’ puns at the ready – but up stood Stow C’s Peter Chastin – the whitewash spoiler with a fine last ditch 5 set face-saving victory over Maldon’s Lloyd Bennett-Smith. Chastin skipped home without a care in the world whereas Maldon were left with that bitter taste of doubt. Well perhaps, but if finished 9-1 to Maldon with hat-tricks for both Colin Napper and Hamish Innes. Cold Norton D followed up last week’s victory with another fine team performance that saw then triumph 6-4 over Blackwater B. Cold Norton’s Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft chipped with a brace of wins each, whilst Blackwater’s Noah Sage emulated the Norton boys with 2 wins of his own. Sage came very close to the perfect night but was pipped at the death in the deciding leg of the opening match versus the tricky Terry Hyland. The Maldon B crew must have been hounded into some practice this week as their results bear no relation to their very poor opening match last week. Hat-trick merchant Steve Aspland finally registered a couple of wins, as did his partner in crime Colin Barrell as Maldon B forced a 5-5 draw with Mapledene C. Aspland and Barrell couldn’t quite muster the guile to defeat Mapledene’s star player Dennis Squirrell who registered his first hat-trick of the season. The final game of the Divisional week saw League Chairman and Woodham D stalwart Alan Dadswell completely hog the table in his team’s tight 6-4 win over the tricky Blackwater A side. Dadswell played the maximum 20 legs possible taking 2 singles victories over Roger Slade and Neil Freeman, and just losing out to the awkward Alan Scammell and his bamboozling rubbers. Dadswell them combined with Adi Kamma to take the extra doubles point with a fifth set 16-14 victory. Gus Heath took 2 points for Woodham, with Freeman and Scammell sharing the points for Blackwater.
There was no messing around in Division 3 this week with 3 very one-sided matches. The newly monikered Blackwater E side kicked off their campaign with a comprehensive 9-1 turnover of the Blackwater F team. The familiar Blackwater trio from the C team days of Phil West, Kath Little and Deb Ginn will yet again be in and around the podium no doubt. West and Ginn both went unbeaten with Little dropping the opening match to the delighted David McHattie in a thrilling 5 setter. Little continued thrilling the large crowd with another 5 setter against Peter Hughes but just about came out on top in this one 12-10 in the decider. Title favourites Maldon C humbled current holders St Lawrence with a thumping 10-0 scoreline, dropping just one leg all evening. What a performance from the Maldon trio of Marty Englander, Chris Ravenhill and the old warhorse Brian Riedling. In the final match Maldon D produced a whitewash performance as they demolished 2 player Woodham E 10-0. 100% performances from James Raymond, Arthur Shadforth and Matthew Copsey.
Pic 1 – John Poysden playing the perfect match versus Woodham B this week
Pic 2 – Action from the deciding leg in the Sanjay Saptarshi versus Keith Adams encounter this week
Pic 3 – Steve Muth serving in his win over David Jacob in the Mapledene Derby
Pic 4 – Alan Scammell from Blackwater A with 2 wins against Woodham D this week.
Pic 5 – The ever young, Gary Young getting ready to launch another loaded topspin against Trevor Collin
The famous Times headline of yesteryear, Small earthquake in Peru: not many dead, has its Braintree Table Tennis League equivalent in the first round of the team and restricted knockout cups. In addition to a number of byes and two concessions, splitting the three divisions into two for the cups produces a number of predictable mismatches when two teams of a different standard face up to each other. Hence Netts A’s 8-0 win over Black Notley D and Notley A’s 8-1 against their own E team in the team knockout – although Paul Nicol deserves credit for stretching James Hicks to 11-9, 9-11, 13-15, 11-9, 11-6 in the first and likewise Lawrence Grantham for overcoming Adam Clift in the second. Rayne A 5 Notley C 4 looks interesting until one consults the scoresheet to find that Rayne had only two players and so had to concede four sets. Paul Lucas and Adi Kamma won the five in straight games. Notley B’s 7-2 win over Sudbury Wanderers was closer even though Wanderers’ successes were both in doubles. Sudbury’s A team, Nomads, featured in the closest match of the round, just getting the better of Liberal C 5-4. The singles were shared 3-3, Aron Jordan unbeaten for Nomads and David Razzell for Liberal, but it was two doubles wins that took Nomads through. The 6-3 win for Rayne E over their own C team appears something of a surprise, but one explained by the fact that Matthew Brown was playing for the E team and that the C team only had two players. In the restricted cup, division three champions Netts D took all nine against Yeldham Whitlocks B, as did Rayne F against Notley H and Notley I declared at 6-0 against Netts E. Netts F took a 2-0 lead against Notley G but got no further. There was still time for James Howard, 2023 cadet singles champion, to score a good win over the experienced Ken Wilding in only his second competitive outing. The one close match was Notley F’s 5-4 win over Sudbury Strollers, decided with a win by Graham Chinnery and Mel Cooch in the final doubles. Earlier Strollers’ Natalie Dodd showed what an important signing she will be by scoring a three-straight win over Chinnery, beaten only twice in the league last season.
Gary Cattermole has very much been an occasional player for Windsor Eagles in recent years in Division One of the Clacton League, having played only ten matches in the past three seasons. However he started off in the Eagles’ line-up in their opening match against Walton B and rewarded his side with a hat-trick. Alas for Cattermole, it was Walton B who took the honours, Jason Gale, Mark Ratcliffe and Paul Meikle all winning twice in the 6-4 victory. Three for Felipe Rodriguez, and two each for John Barton and reserve Scott Campbell, saw Windsor Hawks off to an 8-2 winning start against Walton C. Rodriguez and Barton combined to take an 11-9 in the fifth doubles win against Graham Buxton and John Marshall. Buxton picked up the Walton points. Meanwhile, reigning champions Nomads Panthers began their campaign in fine style, beating Walton A 9-1, John Hatley and Denes Somodi unbeaten. Price took Walton’s consolation point with a win against Gill Locke. In Division Two, Nomads Jaguars were unfortunate to have found themselves in opposition to favourites Windsor Buzzards in their opening fixture, and the Windsor trio of Scott Campbell, Ray Chillingworth and Andy Cawley showed no mercy, winning 10-0. Only Campbell’s 11-7 in the fifth win against Chris Petrou went to a decider. Nomads Tigers got off to a flying start with a 9-1 victory over Windsor Magpies, Bob Jillins and reserve Matt Sage each taking excellent trebles. Windsor’s Dave Sweetland enjoyed a surprise win against Dave Miller and took Jillins the distance before going down 11-5 in the fifth. Brotherhood C chalked up an 8-2 victory over Windsor Penguins, Mark Boyland unbeaten, with Mark Beckham and John Gallagher
each taking two. Paul Woolnough was the Penguins’ points-scorer. Barry Allen began his new life as a Windsor Harrier with a treble in his side’s 7-3 win against fellow-promotees Brotherhood G. Dan Grindrod, Gary Simpson and Danny Still each picked up a point for the losers, although it was a tight 11-6, 11-7, 11-13, 6-11, 11-9 for Still against Jenny Higgins. Windsor Kestrels will feel pleased to have shared the spoils with Brotherhood D, Debra Found and reserve Kelvin Olano each winning a couple. Mark Salter remained undefeated for Brotherhood and shared a doubles win with Paul Alden, 11-7 in the decider against Found and Olano. Alden took the fifth Brotherhood point but went down 11-7 in the decider to Olano and 11-8 in the decider to Found. In Division Three, Brotherhood F made an impressive start to their title challenge by white-washing one of their predicted rivals, Nomads Bobcats. Tom Bryden, Ruby Gallagher and Joe Sherwin all took trebles. Only two matches went the distance, Sherwin defeating Alex Baldock 11-8 in the decider, and Bryden and Gallagher taking the doubles 11-7 in the decider against Baldock and Sam Watling. Six players were making their League debut in the Windsor Falcons v Holland Mosquitos clash. Matt Thomas, Nigel Rolph and Nikki Hayes each won two for the Falcons to give them a narrow 6-4 victory. However, no-one could get the better of Brian Abram who began his League career with an excellent hat-trick for the Mosquitos, plus a shared doubles win with Chris Woods. Nomads Ocelots enjoyed a 7-3 victory over Holland Lancasters, Norman Jacobs, Hazel Blanche and Andrew Cousins all winning two. Jacobs had a tight 11-9 in the fifth win over Frank Wimpress whilst, in another close contest, Cousins went down 11-7 in the fifth to Dave Wright. Wright took all three of the Lancasters’ points. Three for Savindu De Silva, and two each for Tony Woollard and Owen Woollard, gave Brotherhood H an 8-2 victory against Holland Vulcans. Their closest success was an 11-8 in the fifth Tony Woollard win over Derek Foxley. But this wasn’t the closest match of the whole contest, James Horsler’s two for the Vulcans including a 12-10 in the decider success against Owen Woollard. RESULTS
Division 1 Walton B 6 Windsor Eagles 4; Nomads Panthers 9 Walton A 1; Windsor Hawks 8 Walton C 2. Division 2 Windsor Harriers 7 Brotherhood G 3; Windsor Magpies 1 Nomads Tigers 9; Brotherhood C 8 Windsor Penguins 2; Brotherhood D 5 Windsor Kestrels 5; Nomads Jaguars 0 Windsor Buzzards 10. Division 3 Holland Vulcans 2 Brotherhood H 8; Windsor Falcons 6 Hollands Mosquitos 4; Nomads Ocelots 7 Holland Lancasters 3; Nomads Bobcats 0 Brotherhood F 10.
In the last twenty-five Clacton and District League seasons, only four teams have taken the Division One title. Brotherhood B have won it twice and Windsor Condors once but otherwise the title has been dominated by two teams – the legendary Brotherhood A team of Binns, Burgess, Andrews and Stubbings, and the current Nomads Panthers’ side, both of whom have won it eleven times. And it would be a brave pundit who’d bet against the Panthers making it a record twelfth consecutive title, with the Nomads’ star strengthened even further by the addition of Denes Somodi. Gary Young moves from Brotherhood A to Windsor Hawks to replace his son Daniel which will mean the Brotherhood team will do well to repeat last year’s runners-up position. Paul Hume is included in an otherwise unchanged Nomads Lions’ squad and they, together with the new-look Walton A team of Price, James, Foster, Willis and Binns, will all hope to be top-four challengers. John Hobson’s Windsor Eagles had an indifferent season in 2023/24 by their own high standards and they may well be pleased with mid-table respectability. Walton C struggled at the foot of the table last season but their Knock-Out Cup win will surely inspire them to better things, although they may well still feature in a relegation battle with Paul Newbould’s Walton B, weakened by the absence of Gavin Price, and promoted Lawford, this year including Glen Laing. However, all eyes will also be on promoted Brotherhood B who swept aside all before them in Division Two last year. With the two Plummers and two Smith-Dayes supplemented by Daryl Lott, it will be interesting to see how this quintet fare at the highest level.
In Division Two relegated Windsor Buzzards have added Scott Campbell to their squad and they start as strong pre-season favourites. Mark Salter’s Brotherhood D look the best of the rest. Paul Woolnough replaces Scott Campbell in last season’s third- placed team Windsor Penguins who also welcome Paul Stanton back into the League ranks, while John Gallagher’s Brotherhood C, which has developed into an all-round competitive side, is unchanged. It’s good to see Tom Wilkin back in the table tennis fold leading the Nomads Jaguars, whilst the new-look Nomads Tigers comprising Jillins, Shafat, Wellum, Wilkinson and Miller will be relying heavily on skipper Miller to steer them to safety. Kevin Pryor’s addition to promoted Brotherhood E’s squad should be the key to their survival whilst the other promoted side, Windsor Harriers, make a first change to their squad in eleven seasons, Barry Allen replacing Ferdy Rodriguez. But the Harriers, like the unchanged Windsor Kestrels who finished bottom last term, will both need to play well to keep clear of the relegation zone where two promoted teams, Brotherhood G with new signing Adhuna Das, and an unchanged Windsor Magpies, will do well to survive. With a number of new teams and new faces in Division Three, the battle at the top may well develop into a two-horse race between the talented juniors of Brotherhood F and ever-improving Nomads Bobcats. Lynette Sparks’ Walton D is unchanged and they will, as always, be agreeable and competitive opponents whilst Kelvin Olano is a welcome League, playing for Windsor Falcons who, with Ferdy Rodrigues as first reserve, should be a competitive outfit. Dominic Joannou is the only survivor in the Nomads Leopards side, their much-changed side this year led by Ann Bonny, whilst Nomads Ocelots contain five familiar faces in Hazel Blanche, Sue Lee, Norman Jacobs, Andrew Cousins and Arthur Wells-Garrett who will be hoping to avoid finishing bottom for a second year running. And if you’re looking for a team to spring a surprise or two, watch out for the new Brotherhood H team which includes the promising De Silva brothers. Finally, the League bids a warm welcome to four teams from the new Holland Club.
All four teams are led by established players, with Club Secretary leading Holland Lancasters, although it could be the Hurricanes, headed by Ian Gwillim and Gerry Widnell, who prove to be the best of the four Holland teams. James Horsler and Mick Coker are the familiar names for the Vulcans whilst Pam Blakeley’s Mosquitos complete the Holland quartet. So good luck to all competitors, both the long-established players as well those taking their first steps in competitive table tennis but, above all else, enjoy your table tennis.
The Braintree Table Tennis League season opened this week with 33 teams, three more than last year and the most for 23 years.
The league’s two newest clubs, Finchingfield and Great Yeldham (known as Yeldham Whitlocks this season) account for two of the additional teams while the long-established Netts club have added one more team to their roster.
And the new clubs could well be challenging for the division three title alongside Sudbury, who added a third team, Strollers, only last year.
Finchingfield have added two important signings, Dave Punt, out injured last season but a regular division two player with Rayne before that, and Peter Clark, out of action for the last two seasons but runner-up in the division three singles in 2022.
They join John Barrett, beaten only three times last season, and Ray Bradford in what could be a winning combination.
They will have competition from Yeldham B, who have also brought in two class players, Steve Willis, a division two regular with Rayne in recent seasons, and the former Sible Hedingham player Roy Hooper, out for a few years but a division one player until the club’s demise in 2017.
Strollers have Peter Abbott, who spent much of last season in division two but won ten out of 12 in the third division, George Berry, seven out of nine, and Geoff Barrett, 27 out of 45, together with some promised new signings.
Because of the expansion of the league to 11 teams per division, Yeldham’s A team find themselves unexpectedly promoted to division two after finishing second last season, as do Black Notley G, who finished third – in the latter’s case a chance for Graham Chinnery to show that he really belongs in the higher sphere.
Last year’s division two champions Netts B have been promoted but there has been no relegation, leaving the way clear for last season’s other title contenders, Rayne D and Sudbury Wanderers, to have a stab at the title.
Richard Whiteside’s decision to drop down to join his son Scott in the E team means that Rayne D will have less strength in depth whereas Wanderers have signed Colchester League player Colin Moss and look very much the team to beat.
By contrast little has changed at the top of division one where champions Rayne A rely again in Maria Boulton, Adam Buxton and Paul Lucas.
Runners-up Netts A again have Paul Davison, James Hicks and Andy Holmes.
As is often the case, it could be that occasional players will make the difference.
Rayne have Lee McHugh and Mark Mulley again signed as reserves – McHugh played five times last season, Mulley two – while Netts could be strengthened by the addition of leading Colchester League player Gary Young (80 per cent last season), who is expected to make occasional appearances, and possibly 2022 men’s singles champion Michael Andrews.
Rayne C, third last year, keep the same squad of Victor Chan, Oliver Hicks, Steve Pennell and Ian Whiteside, but are promoted one place in the alphabet to acknowledge that they finished well above their B team.
Liberal B, fourth, have lost Harry Chivers, unbeaten in his 12 singles last time out, but welcome back Mike Johnston, plus Gary Copsey, another player returning to the league.
Black Notley B, fifth, will have to do without Kaung Paing and Omar Wasi, who have both moved away. They will be replaced by Sean and Adam Clift, promoted from division two.
Kaung and Wasi won 34 sets between them last season, which could leave the team vulnerable.
They may contest the relegation place with Liberal C, who occupied it last season but were saved by the increase in teams, and promoted Netts B, where Szczepan Ziobro gets a deserved chance to test himself in division one alongside Fred Evans, Jon Hill and Joe Meleschko, all with division one experience behind them.
There were four wins from four week one matches for Chelmsford TTC juniors as the new C&DTTL season got underway. Division 1 Galleywood A started their division one campaign with a 7-3 home win over Chelmsford B as James Hicks and Alistair Hill both hit three wins apiece. Hicks won his first two matches in straight games before having to recover from 2-1 down to beat Waseem Qureshi. Qureshi had earlier fallen victim of a Hill fightback from 2-0 behind – this was after Hill had beaten Wiktor Delimat from 2-1 down. Last year’s runners-up Chelmsford A started their 2024/2025 campaign with a 6-4 home win against the two-person team of Writtle A. Harry Chivers won both of his matches though was well tested in his second match which went the distance. Josh Bickles chipped in with a 3-0 win over Trevor Carter – Carter had earlier got the better of Kim Shead by the same scoreline. The Writtle duo bounced back after comprehensively losing the first game to take the doubles encounter 3-1. Chris Penrose fired a hat-trick as his Danbury A side got the better of clubmates Danbury B by a 7-3 scoreline – teammate Bruce Kettle chipped in with two wins. Penrose beat Neil Want in three, Sam Lowman in four and recovered from 2-1 down to beat Sanjay Saptarshi. Division 2 Newly promoted Buttsbury A started life in division two with a bang as they beat Writtle B 9-1. Jamie Elliott and Harrison Hill won three matches apiece with two 3-0 wins for David Gatheral before he was undone by Trevor Carter. Martin Archie fired a treble as last year’s division two runners-up Hatfield Peverel A started their season with a 7-3 away win at Writtle C. Archie was taken the distance by Writtle’s John Webber while the match between Writtle’s Gary Ward and Peverel’s Paul Mulley also went to five games – Ward recovering from 2-1 down. The fixture between Danbury D and Chelmsford C ended in a 5-5 draw as Chelmsford’s Simon Jarvis won all three matches. Jarvis was taken the distance by Sanjay Saptarshi who himself beat Dusan Doszkoty and Adi Kamma. Kamma had battled back from 2-0 down against David Penrose only to see the Danbury man take the decider. Division 3 In Division 3, Chelmsford D won 9-1 at Hatfield Peverel B thanks to a hat-trick apiece for both Alex Tkachuk and Mike Johnson. Peverel’s Neil Freeman may have felt unfortunate to have been on the losing end of two five gamers – he also lost a close contest with Alex Tkachuk. Peter Mortensen took the scalp of Adi Kamma for Peverel’s sole point but then missed out over five games in the doubles when teaming with Mortensen. Matthew Brown fired a treble as Writtle D earned a close 6-4 home win over Danbury J. Gus Heath and John Tendler won two apiece for the visitors though both players lost out to Brown – Heath having led 2-0. Gary Copsey started his season with a treble as his Galleywood C side got the better of Chelmsford E by a 6-4 scoreline. Chelmsford’s Alesha Ellis-Austin and James Grimston both won twice – Grimston recovered from 2-1 down to beat Bryn Thomas. Three wins for Harry Sawford backed up by two for Dennis Squirrell spurred Buttsbury B to a 6-4 away win at Writtle E. Sawford dropped just one game on the night – the opener in his clash with Dave Moles, while Squirrell came through a tough battle with Malcolm Storey. A good team effort by Danbury G saw them take home a 7-3 win from Chelmsford F despite a hat-trick from Cleon Fernandes. Denis Crapnell and Louis Gunn both saw Fernandes recover from losing positions to earn two of his victories in deciding games. Danbury H and OCA C were embroiled in an entertaining contest which ended in a 6-4 win for the home side after two wins apiece for Scott Perry, Alan Dadswell and Peter Harverson. OCA’s Tom Barker won twice but was undone by a recovery from Perry when leading 2-0 – Barker got a measure of revenge in the doubles contest by teaming with Luke Richardson and edging Perry and Harverson 3-2. Division 4 Hutton A’s 9-1 home win over OCA D was the biggest margin of victory in week one of division four. The father-son duo of Alex and Charlie Ware helped themselves to a treble each while Tina Hutchinson’s only loss of the night was to David Bishop. Marty Englander hit a hat-trick and there were two wins apiece for Chris Ravenhill and Andrea Alleyne as Maldon B beat Danbury M 8-2. Englander dropped just two games in his three victories while Danbury’s Graham Naggs recovered from 2-0 down to beat Ravenhill. Alex Wilson won all three singles matches and he was backed up with braces by Greg Cooper and John Manning as Danbury L claimed a 7-3 away success at Highwood A. Highwood’s Melanie Bonnett won two five-gamers for the hosts but lost out to Wilson in four close games. Nick Rounce dropped just one game enroute to his three victories in Galleywood D’s 7-3 away win at Buttsbury C. Stewart Ireland and Lewis Armstrong both won twice for the visitors – each losing out to Buttsbury’s Kevin Willis. Willis pushed Rounce in their contest but couldn’t quite get a game on the board losing out 10-12, 8-11, 13-15. Dave Powell’s three wins led his Danbury K side to a 6-4 home win over Buttsbury D. Kevin Willis was in action again for Buttsbury and he won twice as did his teammate Phil Shippen – Shippen squeezed past Dave Oxley-Goody in the deciding game. After a successful campaign in division five last season, Mark Nolan fired a hat-trick in his first appearance in division four as his Chelmsford G team drew 5-5 with Hatfield Peverel C. Deb Ginn won twice for the visitors though she was taken to five games by Martin Brunker. Nolan had to recover from 2-1 down against Peverel’s Bob Hillis in the evening’s opener. Division 5 Steve Webster and Charlie Gould won three matches apiece as Hutton B opened their division five campaign with a 9-1 away win at Highwood B. Webster dropped just one game while Gould squeezed past Martin Goddard and Keith Pallett by identical 3-2 score lines. Jenne Seibolt and Lucy Elliott both hit hat-tricks in Buttsbury E’s 8-2 away win at Galleywood E. The closest contest of the evening was Steve Peacock’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Freya Hart. Three wins for James Raymond and two each for Arthur Shadforth and Kym Eames fired Maldon C to an 8-2 away victory at Hatfield Peverel F. Peverel’s David Benstead won twice for the hosts – his victory over Kym Eames being a nail-biting 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 14-12. There were three wins for Writtle F’s Michael Anthony and two for Paul Aarons as the visitors beat Hatfield Peverel D 6-4. Peverel’s Richard Drozd won twice but lost out to Anthony despite leading 2-1. James Grindlay won three in Chelmsford H’s 5-5 home draw with Hatfield Peverel E. The closest match of the night was the first of Jackie Treacy’s two wins whereby she held off a Shengbing Zhu fightback from 2-0 down to take the decider. Zhu later lost to Davina Brazier by the same 3-2 scoreline. Chelmsford Junior League division 1A The all-Hutton clash went in favour of the Hawks as Jago Ware won twice in his side’s 4-1 victory over the Harriers. Ware recovered from going a game down to James Williamson to win six games in a row, while teammate Noah Middleton let a 2-0 lead against Oliver Davies slip before edging out Williamson over five games. The Chelmsford Lions and the Chelmsford Tigers posted identical 3-2 wins against the two teams from Buttsbury who fielded the same two players for both matches. Joshua Freeman won all four of his singles matches dropping just two games in the process – his most competitive match looked to be his 11-9, 14-12, 13-11 win over Amir Chetitah. Chetitah and Callum Walker were involved in a tight contest with the Chelmsford player earning a 3-2 win. Chetitah and Ethan Collins clinched the match victory in the Lions-Bats doubles encounter with a fine recovery from 2-1 down. Chelmsford Junior League division 1B There were two wins for Chelmsford teams in week one of junior league division 1B as the Jaguars beat the Hutton Hyenas 4-1 and the Leopards beat the Buttsbury Bulldogs 5-0. Tianfu Liu and Sean Kwan were undefeated in their singles matches for the Jaguars though Liu was taken the distance by both Hutton players Jacob Fernandez and Shayan Torne. Liu’s recovery against Fernandez was especially impressive having lost the first two games 11-1 and 11-5. Torne and Fernandez staged a fine turnaround of their own as they won the doubles contest 3-11, 3-11, 11-9, 13-11, 16-14. Sai Suresh and Archie Spurrier won twice apiece for the Leopards in their victory at Buttsbury. The closest match of the night was Spurrier’s 3-2 win over Ethan Bird which finished an entertaining 9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9. 13-11 to the Leopards ace.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
There were four wins from four week one matches for Chelmsford TTC juniors as the new C&DTTL season got underway. Division 1 Galleywood A started their division one campaign with a 7-3 home win over Chelmsford B as James Hicks and Alistair Hill both hit three wins apiece. Hicks won his first two matches in straight games before having to recover from 2-1 down to beat Waseem Qureshi. Qureshi had earlier fallen victim of a Hill fightback from 2-0 behind – this was after Hill had beaten Wiktor Delimat from 2-1 down. Last year’s runners-up Chelmsford A started their 2024/2025 campaign with a 6-4 home win against the two-person team of Writtle A. Harry Chivers won both of his matches though was well tested in his second match which went the distance. Josh Bickles chipped in with a 3-0 win over Trevor Carter – Carter had earlier got the better of Kim Shead by the same scoreline. The Writtle duo bounced back after comprehensively losing the first game to take the doubles encounter 3-1. Chris Penrose fired a hat-trick as his Danbury A side got the better of clubmates Danbury B by a 7-3 scoreline – teammate Bruce Kettle chipped in with two wins. Penrose beat Neil Want in three, Sam Lowman in four and recovered from 2-1 down to beat Sanjay Saptarshi. Division 2 Newly promoted Buttsbury A started life in division two with a bang as they beat Writtle B 9-1. Jamie Elliott and Harrison Hill won three matches apiece with two 3-0 wins for David Gatheral before he was undone by Trevor Carter. Martin Archie fired a treble as last year’s division two runners-up Hatfield Peverel A started their season with a 7-3 away win at Writtle C. Archie was taken the distance by Writtle’s John Webber while the match between Writtle’s Gary Ward and Peverel’s Paul Mulley also went to five games – Ward recovering from 2-1 down. The fixture between Danbury D and Chelmsford C ended in a 5-5 draw as Chelmsford’s Simon Jarvis won all three matches. Jarvis was taken the distance by Sanjay Saptarshi who himself beat Dusan Doszkoty and Adi Kamma. Kamma had battled back from 2-0 down against David Penrose only to see the Danbury man take the decider. Division 3 In Division 3, Chelmsford D won 9-1 at Hatfield Peverel B thanks to a hat-trick apiece for both Alex Tkachuk and Mike Johnson. Peverel’s Neil Freeman may have felt unfortunate to have been on the losing end of two five gamers – he also lost a close contest with Alex Tkachuk. Peter Mortensen took the scalp of Adi Kamma for Peverel’s sole point but then missed out over five games in the doubles when teaming with Mortensen. Matthew Brown fired a treble as Writtle D earned a close 6-4 home win over Danbury J. Gus Heath and John Tendler won two apiece for the visitors though both players lost out to Brown – Heath having led 2-0. Gary Copsey started his season with a treble as his Galleywood C side got the better of Chelmsford E by a 6-4 scoreline. Chelmsford’s Alesha Ellis-Austin and James Grimston both won twice – Grimston recovered from 2-1 down to beat Bryn Thomas. Three wins for Harry Sawford backed up by two for Dennis Squirrell spurred Buttsbury B to a 6-4 away win at Writtle E. Sawford dropped just one game on the night – the opener in his clash with Dave Moles, while Squirrell came through a tough battle with Malcolm Storey. A good team effort by Danbury G saw them take home a 7-3 win from Chelmsford F despite a hat-trick from Cleon Fernandes. Denis Crapnell and Louis Gunn both saw Fernandes recover from losing positions to earn two of his victories in deciding games. Danbury H and OCA C were embroiled in an entertaining contest which ended in a 6-4 win for the home side after two wins apiece for Scott Perry, Alan Dadswell and Peter Harverson. OCA’s Tom Barker won twice but was undone by a recovery from Perry when leading 2-0 – Barker got a measure of revenge in the doubles contest by teaming with Luke Richardson and edging Perry and Harverson 3-2. Division 4 Hutton A’s 9-1 home win over OCA D was the biggest margin of victory in week one of division four. The father-son duo of Alex and Charlie Ware helped themselves to a treble each while Tina Hutchinson’s only loss of the night was to David Bishop. Marty Englander hit a hat-trick and there were two wins apiece for Chris Ravenhill and Andrea Alleyne as Maldon B beat Danbury M 8-2. Englander dropped just two games in his three victories while Danbury’s Graham Naggs recovered from 2-0 down to beat Ravenhill. Alex Wilson won all three singles matches and he was backed up with braces by Greg Cooper and John Manning as Danbury L claimed a 7-3 away success at Highwood A. Highwood’s Melanie Bonnett won two five-gamers for the hosts but lost out to Wilson in four close games. Nick Rounce dropped just one game enroute to his three victories in Galleywood D’s 7-3 away win at Buttsbury C. Stewart Ireland and Lewis Armstrong both won twice for the visitors – each losing out to Buttsbury’s Kevin Willis. Willis pushed Rounce in their contest but couldn’t quite get a game on the board losing out 10-12, 8-11, 13-15. Dave Powell’s three wins led his Danbury K side to a 6-4 home win over Buttsbury D. Kevin Willis was in action again for Buttsbury and he won twice as did his teammate Phil Shippen – Shippen squeezed past Dave Oxley-Goody in the deciding game. After a successful campaign in division five last season, Mark Nolan fired a hat-trick in his first appearance in division four as his Chelmsford G team drew 5-5 with Hatfield Peverel C. Deb Ginn won twice for the visitors though she was taken to five games by Martin Brunker. Nolan had to recover from 2-1 down against Peverel’s Bob Hillis in the evening’s opener. Division 5 Steve Webster and Charlie Gould won three matches apiece as Hutton B opened their division five campaign with a 9-1 away win at Highwood B. Webster dropped just one game while Gould squeezed past Martin Goddard and Keith Pallett by identical 3-2 score lines. Jenne Seibolt and Lucy Elliott both hit hat-tricks in Buttsbury E’s 8-2 away win at Galleywood E. The closest contest of the evening was Steve Peacock’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Freya Hart. Three wins for James Raymond and two each for Arthur Shadforth and Kym Eames fired Maldon C to an 8-2 away victory at Hatfield Peverel F. Peverel’s David Benstead won twice for the hosts – his victory over Kym Eames being a nail-biting 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 14-12. There were three wins for Writtle F’s Michael Anthony and two for Paul Aarons as the visitors beat Hatfield Peverel D 6-4. Peverel’s Richard Drozd won twice but lost out to Anthony despite leading 2-1. James Grindlay won three in Chelmsford H’s 5-5 home draw with Hatfield Peverel E. The closest match of the night was the first of Jackie Treacy’s two wins whereby she held off a Shengbing Zhu fightback from 2-0 down to take the decider. Zhu later lost to Davina Brazier by the same 3-2 scoreline. Chelmsford Junior League division 1A The all-Hutton clash went in favour of the Hawks as Jago Ware won twice in his side’s 4-1 victory over the Harriers. Ware recovered from going a game down to James Williamson to win six games in a row, while teammate Noah Middleton let a 2-0 lead against Oliver Davies slip before edging out Williamson over five games. The Chelmsford Lions and the Chelmsford Tigers posted identical 3-2 wins against the two teams from Buttsbury who fielded the same two players for both matches. Joshua Freeman won all four of his singles matches dropping just two games in the process – his most competitive match looked to be his 11-9, 14-12, 13-11 win over Amir Chetitah. Chetitah and Callum Walker were involved in a tight contest with the Chelmsford player earning a 3-2 win. Chetitah and Ethan Collins clinched the match victory in the Lions-Bats doubles encounter with a fine recovery from 2-1 down. Chelmsford Junior League division 1B There were two wins for Chelmsford teams in week one of junior league division 1B as the Jaguars beat the Hutton Hyenas 4-1 and the Leopards beat the Buttsbury Bulldogs 5-0. Tianfu Liu and Sean Kwan were undefeated in their singles matches for the Jaguars though Liu was taken the distance by both Hutton players Jacob Fernandez and Shayan Torne. Liu’s recovery against Fernandez was especially impressive having lost the first two games 11-1 and 11-5. Torne and Fernandez staged a fine turnaround of their own as they won the doubles contest 3-11, 3-11, 11-9, 13-11, 16-14. Sai Suresh and Archie Spurrier won twice apiece for the Leopards in their victory at Buttsbury. The closest match of the night was Spurrier’s 3-2 win over Ethan Bird which finished an entertaining 9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9. 13-11 to the Leopards ace.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
The Burnham & District Table Tennis League is back with a vengeance with 3 highly competitive divisions again this year. Already some of the top players have laid down a challenge with impressive opening week performances.
In Division 1 the League’s top player from last season, Mr Duncan Taylor, continued from where he left off with a commanding hat-trick of victories over a somewhat shell-shocked trio from Fambridge. A match that featured 6 of the counties finest players seeing Taylor overcoming the challenges of Keith Adams, John Poysden and Gary Young, with fantastic support from his partners in crime Kevin Read and Charles Sweeny each chipping in with 2 wins. Taylor and his trusted doubles sidekick Read are usually an odds-on bet in any league doubles encounter but this week they lost out in a marathon battle that went to 14-12 in the fifth set as the Fambridge duo of Adams and Young were equally steadfast and brave in taking the unexpected point. Mapledene A will be looking to go one better than their runner-up spot last season and they kicked off proceedings with a very strong side that whitewashed newly promoted Woodham C. A bit harsh on the new boys as they pushed the Mapledeners very hard taking 4 of the matches to a fifth set. Hat-tricks all round for Liam Squirrell, George Reeves and Steve Muth. In the final division 1 match current champions Woodham A held out for a respectable 7-3 victory over 2 man Mapledene B. For Woodham Lee McHugh was unbeaten, and for Mapledene the irrepressible Keith Willett was on top form taking the scalps of Dan Piglet, and Sanjay Saptarshi.
In Division 2 there was drama on the banks of the Blackwater as the two top Maldon sides met in the opening match of the season. After lots of huffing and puffing and long matches the A team emerged victorious registering an impressive 8-2 scoreline against one of the better teams in the league. The A team’s Dawn Baldry and Hamish Innes both scored hat-tricks, with the B sides Colin Barrell and Garry Eames both picking up a point against Brian Riedling. Cold Norton D outscored Maldon A to take the early league leader title following a comprehensive 9-1 turnover of Stow Maries C. Hat-tricks for both Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft, with the plucky Tim Huxtable taking the only Stow point in his victory over Roy Gandy. Maybe this is the year for the Cold Norton D machine – they have underperformed in recent campaigns and are due a good showing! The last match was a much closer affair as Stow B and Blackwater B traded blows throughout the contest. Stow’s Dave Moles took his hat-trick to square the match up at 4-4 and it was anyone’s game to win from here. Blackwater’s Louis Gunn then blasted his way past Pete Layzell to secure a precocious 5-4 lead going into the final match of the contest. A proper new versus old encounter this as young Noah Sage, beclad in the Blackwater armour, entered the arena to do battle with the Stow stalwart Dave Marsh. Sage took an early 2-0 lead but Marsh was not rolling over for anyone to tickle him and duly fought back to take the 3rd leg. In a tightly contested 4th leg Sage emerged victorious and secured the opening week bragging rights. 6-4 to Blackwater B.
Division 3 is back to a full complement of teams and a regular home and away season. Blackwater D have set the early pace with a stonking 9-1 victory over Maldon E. Blackwater’s Ron Tam and Jason Bush were unbeaten but the usually reliable hat-trick merchant Peter Davenport lost out 12-10 in the deciding leg to the hard-working John Leavett. The individual triumphs were well distributed in the draw betwixt Blackwater C and Maldon D. Only Blackwater’s Noah Sage notched a hat-trick, with Maldon’s young starlet Arthur Shadforth picking up a brace of wins for his team. The final match of the week had plenty of drama before a ball had been pinged or ponged as Woodham lost their captain before the kick-off against St Lawrence. But with the recovering Gus Heath in their team that certainly had a chance of picking up some points despite being a player down. Heath did indeed record a hat-trick but was taken all the way beyond deuce in the fifth by the dogged Mike Pratley. Along with Pratley, Dave Siggins and Roy Hutchins both picked up a win against Diane King – with Hutchins recovering from a 0-2 deficit to flop over the finishing line. Heath and King came from behind in the doubles to keep the scoreline a respectable 6-4 to St Lawrence.
Pic 1 – Duncan Taylor leading the Cold Norton A Charge this week
Pic 2 – Peter Lucraft of Cold Norton D in hat-trick mode this week
Pic 3 – Opening week winners – the St Lawrence Trio of Messrs Siggins, Hutchins and Pratley
Pic 4 – Brian Riedling and Steve Aspland battle it out in the Maldon derby.
