Chelmsford C and Hatfield Peverel A remain separated by just four points in division two as they posted identical 8-2 victories in week 24, while Buttsbury A closed the gap on division three leaders Galleywood B to five points courtesy of the same scoreline.

Division 1

No change at the top of division one as both leaders OCA A and Chelmsford A were held to away draws.  Paul Lucas fired a hat-trick of wins as the Old Chelmsfordians were well tested by Chelmsford B on Monday night.  Lucas beat Kim Shead and Wiktor Delimat by 3-1 scorelines but had to recover from 2-1 down to beat Omar Wasi.  Shead had earlier come back from 2-1 down to beat Mark Mulley.  Ian Wall’s treble helped ensure fourth-placed Danbury B shared the spoils with unbeaten second-placed Chelmsford A.  Wall beat Nikita Tkachuk and Kaung Htet Paing in straight games but had to rally from 2-1 down to get the better of Gary Young.  Young beat Dan Anderson in a fifth game decider having earlier teamed up with Tkachuk to recover from 2-0 down in the doubles encounter with Wall and Anderson.  Chris Penrose secured three wins as third placed Danbury A won 6-4 on the road at Writtle A, while Sanjay Saptarshi fired a hat-trick as Danbury C edged Galleywood A 6-4.   

Standings div 1: 1: Old Chelmsfordians A 123 points (from 16 matches), 2: Chelmsford A 110 points (16 matches), 3: Danbury A 98 points (17 matches).

Division 2

Chelmsford C’s lead at the top of division two remains four points as both themselves and their closest rivals Hatfield Peverel A posted identical 8-2 results.  Julie Johnson scored a hat-trick in Hatfield Peverel A’s home win over OCA B.  Johnson beat Michael Hayes in three games, David Porter in four and Mick Richardson in five, while teammate Martin Archie was denied a treble of his own as Richardson recovered from 2-0 down to take their match.  Victor Chan and Waseem Qureshi were both undefeated in Chelmsford C’s away win at Danbury E.  Qureshi fought back from 2-0 down to beat Tim Cramphorn while Cramphorn got a measure of revenge in the double match where he and Neil Want came back from the same scoreline to beat Chan and Mark Allaway 3-2. Fourth-placed Danbury D beat third placed Maldon A 6-4 thanks to another Sanjay Saptarshi treble – the two teams are now tied on 86 points though Maldon have a game in hand.  Chelmsford D beat the two-person team of Writtle B by a 7-3 scoreline with Omar Wasi winning both of his matches.

Standings div 2: 1: Chelmsford C 107 points (from 16 matches), 2: Hatfield Peverel A 103 points (from 16 matches), 3: Danbury D 86 points (16 matches)

Division 3

With division three leaders Galleywood B not in action second-placed Buttsbury A were given the opportunity to take a chunk out of their thirteen point gap and they duly obliged with an 8-2 home win over Writtle E on Friday night.  Caroline Cole and Evie Knaapen were both undefeated – Knaapen did not drop a game in her three wins while Cole took five games to beat both Dave Moles and Malcolm Storey.   Third-placed OCA C fell to a 7-3 loss at Danbury H thanks to an Ian Whiteside hat-trick as well as two wins from Alan Scammell, while fifth-placed Writtle D got the better of fourth-placed Hatfield Peverel B through three wins by Bob Garson and a double by Pete Layzell.  A Bob Garson treble boosted fifth-placed Writtle D to a 6-4 home win over Hatfield Peverel B – Garson dropped just one game on the night while teammate Malcolm Henstock’s two losses were both over five games.   Two more 6-4 scorelines as Danbury K beat clubmates Danbury J in a match which saw a treble from Dave Powell while Chelmsford F edged Chelmsford E – Felix Reeve and Sami Osman winning twice for the F side while Alesha Ellis-Austin won twice for the E side. 

Standings div 3: 1: Galleywood B 112 points (from 15 matches), 2: Buttsbury A 107 points (15 matches), 3: OCA C 80 points (from 15 matches).

Division 4

#3 Maldon B v #5 Highwood A

Unbeaten leaders Galleywood C edged closer to the division four title with a comprehensive 9-1 win over ninth-placed Hatfield Peverel E.  Will Goodchild and Colin Blore were the unbeaten players with James Brooks the only point scorer for Hatfield.  Second placed Chelmsford G kept their hopes alive with a 9-1 win at Hatfield Peverel C – Cleon Fernandes and Dion Fernandes both earned trebles for the visitors.  Farooq Ahmed was undefeated as OCA D won 7-3 at Buttsbury B.  Ahmed dropped just one game in his three wins while both of teammate David Bishop’s two wins were earned over five games. 

Standings div 4: 1: Galleywood C 124 points (from 15 matches), 2: Chelmsford G 96 matches (from 14 matches), 3: Maldon B 78 points (from 12 matches)

Division 5

Division five leaders Danbury M extended their lead with a 7-3 win at Galleywood D.  Steve Martin was Danbury’s hat-trick hero while Galleywood’s Nick Rounce got the better of both Graham Naggs and David Smith.   Kelvin Edeh treble helped Anglia Ruskin gain a 6-4 win over second placed Chelmsford J.  Edeh also teamed with Douglas Bawuah in a 3-2 doubles win over Mark Nolan and Elliot Hawthorne – Bawuah had earlier seen five-game action in his come-from-behind win against David Parker.  Buttsbury C moved into third place with a 10-0 home win against sixth placed Writtle F.  Oscar Hutt, Torsten Greenan and Richard Pond did the damage for the hosts – Pond’s three wins were all achieved via a deciding game.  Shirley Carroll won all three of her matches as Maldon C won 7-3 at OCA E.  Carroll beat Stuart Wintle in three games, Mike Morecroft in four and held off a Suzanne Shaw fightback from 2-0 down to win in five. 

Standings div 5: 1: Danbury M 109 points (from 15 matches), 2: Chelmsford J 89 points (15 matches), 3: Buttsbury C 78 points (from 15 matches).

Chelmsford Junior League division 2A

The Buttsbury Bears moved into top spot in division 2A with a 5-0 win at Chelmsford Cougars thanks to two wins apiece for Lewis Woods and Joseph Hutt.   Chelmsford Eagles earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory at Danbury Dragons – Joshua Freeeman’s wins over both Oliver Martin and Peter Harverson went the distance. 

Standings CJL 2A: 1: Buttsbury Bears 11 points (from 3 matches), 2: Hutton Hawks 10 points (3 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2B

Joseph Hutt and Lewis Woods won twice each as the Buttsbury Bulldogs beat the Chelmsford Tigers 5-0 – opponents William Guilloux and Ryan Peiris took a 2-0 lead in the doubles only for the Bulldogs duo to storm back for the win.  Hutton Hyenas beat the one person team of the Chelmsford Leopards 4-1.

Standings CJL 2B: 1: Buttsbury Bulldogs 11 points (from 3 matches), 2: Hutton Harriers 10 points (3 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2C

Chelmsford Jaguars moved to the top of division 2C  with a 5-0 win over the Chelmsford Rhinos – Sean Kwan and Atharv Srivastava with the wins for the Jaguars, while Archie Giles and Spencer Giles were undefeated in the Hutton Hammerheads’ 5-0 win at the Hutton Hornets.

Standings CJL 2C: 1: Chelmsford Jaguars 15 points (from 3 matches), 2: Chelmsford Panthers 15 points (3 matches)

Chelmsford Junior League division 2D

Buttsbury Bats moved to the top of division 2D with a 4-1 win and in doing so handed the Chelmsford Pumas their first loss of the season – Zac Berry won both of his games while teammate Ethan Ferris took the deciding game 11-9 in his clash with Hari Gumbeer.  Amelie Lucas and Georgiana Major both won twice as the Chelmsford Lions beat the Buttsbury Bees 5-0 – Major won the deciding game against Rayhan Sudheer by a nail biting 13-11.  

Standings CJL 2D: 1: Buttsbury Bats 12 points (from 3 matches), 2: Hutton Hares 10 points (3 matches)

Brotherhood D are within a whisker of claiming the Division Two
title in the Clacton League.
This week they faced second-placed Lawford and, after a classic
encounter, ended 6-4 winners. No-one stayed unbeaten, Sam
Plummer, Joe Plummer and Kevin Pryor each winning two for
Brotherhood, as did James Tindle for the losers.
Four matches went the distance, Brotherhood’s Pryor beating
Tindle 11-4 in the fifth, with Lawford’s Tindle and Charlie
Denholm beating Pryor and Sam Plummer 11-7 in the fifth in the
doubles. But the final two matches of the evening were even
closer, both ending 12-10 in the fifth.
In match nine, Joe Plummer kept his composure under pressure
against Denholm, losing the first two sets and having to save
match points before eventually winning 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6,
12-10.
And match ten produced a fitting finale to the evening, Tindle’s
outstanding attacking and Sam Plummer’s equally exceptional
defending producing some stand-out rallies, Tindle finally getting
home 11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 3-11, 12-10.
So Brotherhood D now need just five points from their remaining
two matches to guarantee themselves the title, with Lawford the
odds-on favourites to take the runners-up spot.
Elsewhere, only two points separate Windsor Penguins and
Brotherhood B in the middle of the table and they enjoyed a good
scrap, the match ending with honours even.
Scott Campbell won three for the Penguins, beating Mark Salter
11-6 in the fifth in the closest match of the evening. Neil
Chegwidden won two, as did Salter for Brotherhood. Crucially,
Salter and Barry Allen won the doubles for Brotherhood, who’ve
now only lost three doubles of the thirteen they’ve played all

season, as compared to the Penguins who’ve won a paltry three
doubles.
In their second match of the week, the Penguins did have a rare
doubles win in their 8-2 success against Windsor Kestrels,
Campbell and Chegwidden taking trebles. The two tightest
matches ended 11-6 in the decider, Chegwidden beating Graham
Bunce and Sharon Gowlett beating Jackie Bunce.
The Kestrels are looking isolated at the bottom of the table but,
facing a Nomads Tigers’ side fielding two reserves, they were able
to celebrate a 6-4 win, Graham Bunce and Debra Found each
winning two. Allen Denyer beat Alex Baldock 11-7 in the fifth but
went down 11-5 in the fifth to Matt Sage. Denes Somodi took his
customary hat-trick for the Tigers.
Brotherhood C v Nomads Jaguars ended all-square, a first drawn
match of the season for both teams. Mark Boyland stayed
unbeaten for Brotherhood. Kevin Hogg and Daryl Lott won two
each for the Jaguars, although it was 11-7 in the fifth for Hogg
against John Gallagher and an even narrower 12-10 in the fifth
for Lott against Paul Metcalf.
But Brotherhood C were unable to find any joy against Walton D,
going down 6-4 for a second time this season. Andy Foster and
Clive Allenby each took two but Brotherhood’s Boyland was again
the unbeaten player of the match, edging out Foster 15-13 in the
decider in the only match which went the distance.
Both the top sides in Division Three recorded convincing
victories, and the title battle between Brotherhood E and Windsor
Harriers looks like going down to the final week of the season
when the teams are due to meet.
Tony Edmonds was unbeaten, and Duncan Dunne and Tricia
Salter each won two, in Brotherhood E’s 8-2 win against
Brotherhood F. Joe Sherwin and Ruby Gallagher took a point
apiece for the losers, Gallagher enjoying an unexpected 11-9 in
the decider win over Dunne and but losing 11-3 in the fifth to
Salter.
Skipper Ferdy Rodriguez led the way for Windsor Harriers in their
9-1 win over lowly Nomads Lynx, the losers’ only success a tight
11-7 in the fifth win for Ian Gwillim over Jenny Higgins.
Nomads Leopards maintained their third place in the table with a
7-3 win over Walton E, Stu Wilkinson and Bob Jillins unbeaten.

Lynette Sparks, Adrian Sexton and Deborah Pallett all picked up a
point for the losers, both Sparks and Pallett taking Wilkinson to a
fifth set before going down 11-7 and 11-4 in the decider
respectively.
It was also 7-3 for Windsor Magpies against Nomads Bobcats.
Dave Sweetland, John Plummer and Alan Rutledge all won two
but none of them could get the better of an undefeated Matt
Sage.
It’s also a two-horse race at the top of Division One between
Nomads Panthers and Brotherhood A, with the two teams due to
meet in a crunch match next week.
This week, reigning champions and favourites Nomads Panthers
were 10-0 winners against Walton A, John Hatley, Greg Green
and Gill Locke the successful trio. Two matches finished 11-4 in
the fifth, Hatley beating Derek Willis and, in the doubles, Hatley
and Green edging out Colin Dearman and Dave Binns.
Hat-tricks for Gary Young and Kevin Gowlett were the bedrock of
the 8-2 victory for Brotherhood A over Windsor Eagles, a win
which keeps their side in title contention. Russell Hillier chipped in
with one and, with Gowlett, shared an 11-8 in the fifth doubles
success against Mel Rampton and Phil Smith. Rampton and Smith
each took one for the Eagles, Rampton’s point a narrow 11-9 in
the fifth victory against Hillier.
Windsor Hawks, who are aiming to repeat their best-ever third
position achieved eight years ago, added valuable points to their
tally with a 9-1 success against Windsor Buzzards. Daniel Young
and Felipe Rodriguez stayed unbeaten. The only blemish on the
Hawks’ evening was a notable win for Ray Chillingworth over John
Barton. Alas for the Buzzards, it now confirms they will finish the
season bottom of the table.
Nomads Lions are the other team battling for third place and they
also enjoyed a 9-1 victory, this over Walton C. Adam Wilkin,
Jason Lloyd and Adam Cuthbert all took hat-tricks although Wilkin
had tough battles before beating Mark Gale 13-11 in the fifth and
Walton reserve Paul Woolnough 11-7 in the fifth. Gale and Paul
Meikle took the Walton point with an 11-9 in the decider doubles
win against Wilkin and Cuthbert.

• In the semi-finals of the Knock-Out Cup, the two Division One
  teams have been drawn against lower Division opposition.
  Windsor Hawks will face Nomads Bobcats, whilst Walton C will be

away to Windsor Penguins. The matches are to be played in week
beginning 11th March, with the final taking place on Tuesday 2nd
April.

• Friday 15th March is the closing date for entries for the
  League’s Closed Championships. Entry forms have been sent to
  all players and full details are on the League’s website. Entries
  should be sent on-line to Peter White or by post to Tony Oswick.
  RESULTS
  Division 1
  Brotherhood A 8 Windsor Eagles 2;
  Walton A 0 Nomads Panthers 10;
  Windsor Buzzards 1 Windsor Hawks 9;
  Nomads Lions 9 Walton C 1.
  Division 2
  Walton D 6 Brotherhood C 4;
  Windsor Penguins 5 Brotherhood B 5;
  Windsor Kestrels 6 Nomads Tigers 4;
  Windsor Kestrels 2 Windsor Penguins 8;
  Brotherhood C 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;
  Lawford 4 Brotherhood D 6.
  Division 3
  Nomads Bobcats 3 Windsor Magpies 7;
  Brotherhood F 2 Brotherhood E 8;
  Nomads Lynx 1 Windsor Harriers 9;
  Walton E 3 Nomads Leopards 7.

• 

On the 9^th October last year a young man called Mitchell Jones made his debut for Stanford A in Division 1 of the Southend and District Table Tennis League. Not much was known about him in the local area but he soon made his mark winning all his games and not dropping a set in the process. A good start which soon turned into something special as, 10 games later, he was still unbeaten and still not dropped a set!

Whilst obviously a class above his Division 1 counterparts could he continue this form into the Southend Championships where he would be up against Southend’s top Premier league players? The answer was a resounding yes as he proceeded into the semi – finals and final which were held at Plumberow Primary Academy, the home of Hockley TTC, last week. Needless to say he dismissed his semi -final opponent Liam Squirrell in straight sets and then repeated the feat against Duncan Taylor in the final. A remarkable performance from the young man who added an extra title to his name by teaming up with Jo Hills from Canvey TTC to win the mixed doubles.

Finals night didn’t turn out to be the best night for men’s runner up Taylor as he lost to his doubles partner Kevin Read in the Over 40’s singles and, together, they were beaten in the doubles by Liam Squirrell of Matchpoint and Reece Seddon of Irons. Seddon had lost to Taylor in the semi – final of the men’s singles.

There were new names on the cup in the Ladies Doubles as Hannah Harbour of Hockley and Debbie O’neil of Matchpoint teamed up to beat Caroline Cole of Rawreth Megazone and Lucy Elliot of Matchpoint.

In the under 21’s final Lucy’s brother James beat Alex Bowden both also from the Matchpoint club.

Finally, in the only final which went to five sets, Lin Roff of Mapledene beat Jo Hills to win the Ladies Singles coming back from two sets down.

Apart from the matches played on finals night there were a number of other finals played over the preceding weekend. These are detailed below.

O50s John Poysden                 bt       Sanjay Saptarshi     11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5

O60s John Poysden                 bt       Keith Willett             8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-3

O70s Ian Sangster                  bt       Bill Smith                11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7

080s Douglass Brown              bt       Ken Field                 11-3, 11-6, 11-3

O40s Doubles. Colin Chatfield & Babul McLeod bt  Kevin Read & Duncan Taylor 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7

Over 40s Plate    Richard Kidd            bt       Anthon Ranjit-Singh 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5

Over 50s Plate    Richard Riebold        bt       Peter Moxham 5-11, 11-6, 13-11, 12-10

Over 60s Plate    Trevor Hayes            bt       Steve Kemp 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4

Over 70s Plate    Paul Strutt               bt       Steve Walter 13-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-3

Vets Doubles Plate  Debbie Oneill & Caroline Cole bt Jenne Seibolt & Randy Santiago  11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5

Premier Restricted  Kieran Skeggs       bt    Sanjay Saptarshi 11-8, 11-8, 11-5

Div 1 Restricted      Barrie Delf             bt    Jo Hills 11-9. 8-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7

Div 2 Restricted      Jamie Elliott           bt    Arun Joy 4-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8

Div 3 Restricted      Alex Bowden          bt    Trevor Hayes 11-9, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8

There were defeats for three Brotherhood Clubs, as well as
favourites Nomads Panthers, in this week’s quarter-final matches
in the Clacton League’s Knock-Out Cup.
Current Division Two pace-setters Brotherhood D finally met their
match, suffering their first reverse in any competition this season
5-0 at the hands of the top-flight, on-song ,Windsor Hawks’ trio of
Daniel Young, Felipe Rodriguez and Ian Fielder.
Division One side Walton C were 5-2 winners over Brotherhood F,
Mark Gale, Paul Meikle and reserve Mo Hardy proving a touch too
experienced for their younger Division Three opponents.
In an all-Third Division encounter, Nomads Bobcats’ Matt Sage,
Alex Baldock and Jack Riddleston beat Brotherhood E 5-1,
Brotherhood’s only success Tricia Salter and Rodney Betts’ (-5)
14-12 in the fifth doubles win over Baldock and Riddleston (+1).
In the fourth quarter-final, James Denyer was absent from the
Nomads Panthers’ line-up, but it was still something of a surprise
that Windsor Penguins finished 5-1 victors, Neil Chegwidden,
Annabelle Stallwood and Kayley Rodriguez the winning trio.
The Cup semi-finals take place during week beginning 11th
March. Details of the draw will be circulated by the end of
February.

• Just one result from the League saw Walton E edge out Nomads
  Lynx 6-4 in Division Three. No-one stayed unbeaten in an
  unpredictable, topsy-turvy match in which the Lynx had at one
  time led 3-0.
  Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton both won two for Walton, with
  Deborah Pallett picking up a good win over Dave Wright. Ian
  Gwillim’s two for the Lynx included an 11-8 in the decider win
  over Maggie Earle.
• Entry forms for the League’s Closed Championships on 6th and
  7th April should be returned to either Peter White or Tony Oswick
  by 15th March. Full details have been sent to all players.
  RESULTS
  Knock-Out Cup : Round Two
  Nomads Panthers 1 Windsor Penguins 5;
  Brotherhood F 2 Walton C 5;
  Brotherhood D 0 Windsor Hawks 5;
  Nomads Bobcats 5 Brotherhood E 1.
  League : Division Three
  Nomads Lynx 4 Walton E 6.

• 

The protagonists for this season’s Burnham & District Table Tennis League Handicap Cup Team Final were decided this week in two hotly contested semi-finals.  First up was Cold Norton C from Division 1 against Blackwater A from the second tier of the league.  The initial contests saw Cold Norton take a commanding 3-0 lead with the only real resistance being shown by Blackwater’s Alan Scammell (-5) who took the loopy Neil Want (-11) to 3 long sets.  The 4^th match was the introduction of Blackwater’s handicap joker in the form of David McHattie from the third division with a handicap of +13.  In his first singles match poor Dick Wyman (-10) had to face a 23 point difference against McHattie and clearly used up all his energy in the first leg to edge it 22-20.  McHattie was playing the long game though and went on to win the next two legs pretty comfortably by channelling his inner tortoise against the hare (or lack of) of Wyman.  Inspired by this great victory Blackwater took the next doubles to bring the match back to 3-2 in favour of the Nortonites.  Alas that was the end of the fight for Blackwater as Wyman and Tim Cramphorn (-10) swept up the next two legs for an overall 5-2 victory.  Cramphorn taking no nonsense from McHattie with a very impressive win (18, 18) despite the same 23 point difference at the start. 

The second semi saw a mixed Woodham B and C side take on the current holders and bookies favourite Cold Norton B.  In a match where every player tasted at least one victory it was Cold Norton who started at a canter winning the first 3 matches without dropping a set.  Cold Norton’s Ian Wall (-18) had the most impressive victory by shaking of a -13 starting point against the hard-hitting David Meah (-5).  In the next encounter Dan Anderson (-12) got off to a slow start against Woodham’s Eamonn Hall (-5) but with the benefit of the longer style matches he was able to claw his way back with excellent positional play and selecting winning shots as necessary to win the first leg and then take a commanding 20-16 lead in the second leg.  Things were looking bleak for Hall and his Woodham side but he rattled off 6 points on the bounce – with the help of a net at leg point – to bring the match back from the brink of defeat.  Anderson started much better in the deciding leg but once again Hall fought back and took the point to provide some small hope for the Woodham trio.  Inspired by this new hope the Woodham pairing of Graham Briggs (-9) and Meah somehow stormed the next doubles match against Wall and Eric Green (-16) in 2 comfortable legs that brought the match back to 3-2 and a real contest was developing.  However those losses were merely a flesh wound for the Norton Trio as Green played superbly to beat Hall in straight sets despite the -11 start, and Anderson made up for his earlier loss by beating Meah in 2 sets – the first very comfortable, but the second a rollercoaster 25-23 marathon.  Another 5-2 victory, mirroring the scoreline and timeline of the first semi.  So this year’s final will be an all Cold Norton affair – the Parish Council are still considering whether the village will have a local bank holiday for the occasion. 

There was limited league action due to the cup activities this week but the games that were played were significant in the run in for the top slots in divisions 1 and 2.   Mapledene A bounced back to the top of Division 1 following a 7-3 victory over their B team.  Needing to keep the pressure on their championship rivals the A team seemed to be heading for a much higher score as they went 5-1 up at the break and family combo Gary and Daniel Young took the doubles for an overall 6-1 lead.  The only blot on their copybook being Gary Young’s loss to Simon Jacob in the opening match of the night.  In the final 3 singles the B team’s Keith Willett used all his know how and general wiliness to come back from 2-0 down against Daniel Young to square things up at 2-2, and then to 10-10 in the decider before winning the most unexpected of points.  In the penultimate match Jacob and Peter Barrett went to 5 sets also with Jacob coming through 11-4 in the decider to give the overall score a semblance of equality.  In the final encounter of the evening Gary Young faced the awkward John Monk.  Monk was in this one and had a chance to take the match to a decider when at 2-1 down and deuce in the 4^th set, but Young held strong and won out for his second win of the evening and for the overall 7-3 triumph that takes Mapledene ahead of Woodham A at the top of Division 1.

Current Division 2 champions Mapledene C hosted current Division 2 leaders Woodham C this week in a match where Mapledene needed an extremely good win to stop the party celebrations continuing down Woodham Way.  At the break the match was evenly poised at 3-3 with Mapledene’s Barrie Delf and Woodham’s Adi Kamma the only 2 unbeaten players.  Delf in particular had to work extremely hard in his long 5 set victory over Woodham’s David Meah –  11-8 in the deciding leg but he had lost leg 2 15-17, and then in leg 4 he lost out 19-21 – tough going for the big fella!  Meah must have been enjoying these long 5 setters as he lost out to Lin Roff in his second match including going to deuce in the final 2 legs!   So 3-3 and Woodham needing to display their title credentials.  This they did with some aplomb winning the final 4 matches only dropping a couple of sets along the way.  The pick of the wins being Meah’s redemption point over Tony Jacks, and then Kamma’s excellent 4 set victory over Delf – although Meah was claiming an ‘assist’ due to the earlier marathon he had bestowed upon Delf.  This win leaves Woodham 20 points clear with only 4 games to play – all local bookmakers are already paying out on the win!   In the clash of the Stow teams this week B outwitted D for a 7-3 win.  It was no surprise that Peter Hance was once again the star man for the Stow B side with yet another hat-trick, however it was a surprise that after being spoken about in such glowing terms in last week’s report the D team’s Tim Pulham only won once this week.  Pulham beat Dave Marsh coming from behind in a long 5 setter, and then gave up a lead to lose out to very hard-hitting Nicky Reece-Ford in another long 5 setter.  Reece-Ford also beat Ken Sheard in 5 sets to rack up only his second hat-trick of the campaign.  There was only one catch-up game in Division 3 where Maldon F beat two-player Woodham E to widen the gap at the foot of the table.  A notable evening for Kym Eames as she took her first ‘hat-trick’ and player of the match title for the season in the 7-3 victory.

Pic 1 – Cold Norton’s Eric Green leading his team to victory in the Cup semi-final this week

Pic 2 –  Woodham C, leaders of Division 2 (Adi Kamma, Graham Briggs and David Meah)

Pic 3 – Simon Jacob – the thorn in Mapledene A’s side this week

Pic 4 – Action from the Handicap Cup semi final – Eric Green (Cold Norton B) v Graham Briggs (Woodham)

• 

• 

• 

• 

Despite some recent excellent form shown by Maldon B it looks like the Division 2 Title of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League is heading its way back to South Woodham courtesy of Woodham C.  Details of the open top bus parade are being held back until the mathematicians are content but plans are afoot.

The clash of the top two teams in the second division did not disappoint.  Maldon B started extremely strongly and were 4-2 ahead going into the doubles as Dawn Baldry and Hamish Innes took the unexpected scalps of Woodham C’s top players Graham Briggs and Chris Hancox respectively – both in long 5 set encounters.  With their unbeaten record under threat the Woodham trio regrouped and showed great bouncebackability as they won the doubles and the next 2 singles at a canter to take a 5-4 lead going into the final match of the night.  Maldon’s Innes took a quick 2 set advantage over Woodham’s Dave Meah before being pegged back in the 3^rd leg.  Then in a much tighter 4^th leg Innes held his nerve to take the point and secure a 5-5 draw against the champions-elect.  Woodham’s first draw or loss all season but at least they didn’t drop ground on the chasing Maldon side.   With 3^rd placed Mapledene C losing 6-4 away at Maldon C, and both Maldon B and Woodham C notching 10-0 victories in their second matches the 1-2-3 order now seems locked in for the duration.  Maldon B’s whitewash victims were Stow B with hat-tricks for the regular trio of Colin Napper, Innes & Baldry.  For Woodham C it was the Stow C trio that fell unrewarded for their efforts – hat-tricks for Hancox, Briggs and Gus Heath this time.  Heath has been a busy boy since returning from his recent bout of ill health – 3 matches this period and 3 hat-tricks, I think we all want some of his medicine!  Heath’s Woodham D side had 2 good wins, firstly beating a 2 player Stow C team 9-1 with Malcolm Henstock and Trevor Collin joining Mr Heath on the hat-trick podium, and then a tighter 6-4 away victory over Cold Norton D where the doubles victory by Heath and Alan Dadswell secured the win.  Maldon C were the conquerors over Mapledene C.  A 6-4 loss for Mapledene that probably rules them out of the honours list this season.  In a game where everyone took at least one win it was the trusty twosome from Maldon of Colin Barrell and Steve Aspland that did the most damage with a brace of singles each and a combined doubles triumph to seal the overall victory.  It was a good period for Maldon C as earlier they had beaten Stow D 7-3 in a team effort including 2 wins from Garry Eames but none of them could get the better of the bandana wearing colossus that is Tim Pulham.  Another hat-trick for Pulham that puts him in the 80% win rate category.  Pulham’s Stow D side struggled without their talisman in their other match as they succumbed to the tricky styles of the Blackwater A trio.  No points for Stow as Blackwater ran riot with hat-tricks for Alan Scammell, Denis Balic, and Neil Freeman.  This was Blackwater’s second win of the period as they had earlier seen off the challenge of a resurgent Maldon D side.  The match ended 6-4 to Blackwater with Scammell picking up 2 wins with Freeman the hat-trick hero this time round.   Maldon D are truly experiencing a resurgence at present and picked up only their second win of the season as they travelled the short distance to Blackwater B to record a 7-3 victory and close the gap in the relegation battle.  Led by captain Shirley Carroll all the Maldon players took two singles with Chris Ravenhill and Marty Englander adding the doubles bonus point.  However on the night none of the inspired Maldon trio could lay a glove on the fine form of Simon Quelch – a fine player and a fine hat-trick for the Blackwater Beast.  In their other match Blackwater had to fare without the benefits of Quelch and lost out to the regular trio from Stow B.  The score probably doesn’t reflect the level of competitiveness but one thing’s for sure and that is that Stow’s Peter Hance remains in great form as he laid down yet another hat-trick and this time he combined with Dave Marsh for the extra doubles point too.

In the top division Woodham A opened up a gap this week as they won out 10-0 in their match and then saw their closest rivals all drop points.  The Woodham A trio of Chris Penrose, Lee McHugh and Kaung Htet Paing recorded a straightforward and emphatic 10-0 scoreline over Cold Norton C.  Mapledene A were hoping to keep pace with Woodham as they hosted Maldon A and fielded a strong side.  Maldon were struggling for players through injuries but at the last minute they were able to bring in Harrison Hill despite  his recent kneecap injury and what a good decision that turned out to be for them.  Hill won all his singles for 3 points and this was bolstered by Colin Napper, playing up from the B side, who took an impressive 4 leg win over Babul McLeod.  For Mapledene Gary Young and Steve Muth both won twice and combined for a good doubles victory over Hill and Napper.  Third placed Cold Norton B lost out to a Simon Jacob inspired Mapledene B.  Jacob took a hat-trick to provide a bedrock for his team and this was built upon with Colin Chatfield and Kieran Skeggs both beating Dave Richardson in close encounters before combining for the tightest of doubles victories for the overall 6-4 winning margin.  So Woodham A now have a 4 point cushion plus a game in hand over Mapledene B – but both teams have to face Cold Norton B, and then they meet in the final match of the season for what could be a humdinger of a week.

Elsewhere in Division 1 current champions Fambridge had two draws.  Keith Adams was their star player in their first match where they were only able to field a 2-man team – Adams won all 3 of his matches but Mapledene B’s Simon Jacob and Kieran Skeggs both defeated Mark Stones.  The tables were turned in their next encounter as Fambridge faced a 2-man Cold Norton A side.  This time none of the Fambridge trio could get the better of Cold Norton’s Kevin Read, and Read ended his perfect evening with the extra doubles point with partner Charles Sweeny.  A very different Cold Norton A side had earlier beaten Stow Maries A 6-4 with a hat-trick of wins for the daring play of Matt Stringer.  For Stow it was Richard Storey doing the most damage with 2 wins over Steve Maltby and Rob Harris.  The final match of the week saw a real battle of styles as Woodham B hosted Cold Norton C – shocks galore in this one!  Play got off to an expected start as Woodham’s best player Sanjay Saptarshi stormed to a 2 leg lead over Chris Buer, and at 10-8 and 2 match points in a tighter 3^rd leg it looked over.  But Buer was having none of it and rattled off the next 4 points to peg back the usually ‘awesome’ Saptarshi.  Buer’s consistency and accuracy with the pimples was upsetting the rhythm of the Saptarshi game but we once again arrived at 10-8 and 2 further match points – but these came and went as did the 5^th match point at 11-10 before Buer evened it up at 2-2.  The final leg saw Buer take control and he finished off his prey 11-7 for an amazing and eventful victory.  But this was just a sign of things to come.  In the second match of the evening Cold Norton’s Tim Cramphorn took a comfortable 2-1 lead over Trevor Collin and looked set for victory but Collin fought back and nicked the 4^th leg 12-10.  In the deciding leg Cramphorn seemed to be in control of the early exchanges but wasn’t able to finish off his opponent and Collin kept coming back and eventually won out 11-9 to even out the shock factor from the first match.  How do you follow those two games…  Cold Norton’s hard hitting Arron Chandler seemed to have everything under control as he took a quick 2-0 lead over Eamonn Hall.  Hall changed styles in leg 3 and was starting to win the tactical battles and that saw him peg back the lead to just one leg.  The 4^th leg was much tighter as Chandler adopted a more defensive approach and encouraged Hall to open up – this seemed to be working but at 9-6 down Hall rattled off 4 successive points to upset his opponent’s apple cart and eventually won out the leg 12-10.  With Chandler’s apples all over the place Hall took control of the decider and won out 11-6 for an even bigger shock victory than the earlier turnovers.  So 3 matches in and the clock was already beyond 9pm.  3-3 at the break then Hall and Saptarshi came from behind in the doubles to win in another long 5-setter.  Chandler then did his own comeback trick as he went down 2-0 to the impressive Collin before having a polite word with himself and controlling his play for an eventual 5 set victory.  So 4-4 going into the final games.  Hall then upset the bookies once again with an impressive 4 leg victory over the unbeaten Buer to secure his first ever Division 1 ‘player of the match’ award, and Saptarshi brought home the overall victory in the final match.  Some night!

St Lawrence remain Champions-in-waiting in Division 3 with two solid victories to cement their number one spot.  First off they overwhelmed a Woodham E side with a straightforward 9-1 victory.  Hat-tricks for Steve King and Mike Pratley, with Woodham’s Diane King saving the whitewash with an excellent 3-0 win over Roy Hutchins.  St Lawrence encountered a bit more resistance in their next match when they welcomed Blackwater E into their den.  King racked up his second hat-trick with another royal performance.  Pratley won 2 but just fell short against the excellent stroke play of Peter Davenport.  Davenport also beat Mick Robinson for his 2 point total and Blackwater’s David Sage chipped in with a comeback 5 set victory over Mick Robinson.  That was all the points scoring for Blackwater as St Lawrence ran out 7-3 winners.  Maldon E were unbeaten over the period but couldn’t manage a win either.  Firstly they drew with Blackwater D where both James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth recorded 2 wins apiece plus the doubles.  For Blackwater Chris Rolison was in fine fettle as he went unbeaten throughout the singles play.  Not much changed when Blackwater C came a-knocking later in the week – another stalemate, and yes you guessed it both James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth recorded 2 wins apiece plus combined again for the doubles.  Their nemesis this match was Blackwater’s northern import Mike Burton who scored a hat-trick and was duly ignored for the doubles match.  Maldon F had a couple of tough matches losing to both Blackwater E and then Blackwater D.  That man Peter Davenport was at it again for Blackwater E as he scored a hat-trick for his team and was ably supported by Ron Tam with 2 wins.  To secure the 6-4 victory Tam and Davenport did the doubles dance and came out on top in 4 sets.  Chris Rolison hit his second hat-trick of the week as Blackwater D won 8-2 over Maldon F in a result that makes them favourite for the runner-up spot.  Blackwater’s Dave Smith and Jacquie Treacy both won 2 but neither could match the growing skills of Ross Kirby who took two points for his Maldon side.

 

Pic 1 – Gus Heath (Woodham) – 3 hat-tricks (top of page)

Pic 2 – James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth – the Maldon E stalwarts

Pic 3 – Div 2 table

Pic 4 – Sanjay Saptatshi (Woodham) v Chris Buer (Cold Norton) this week

Pic 5 – Chris Buer (Cold Norton) versus Eamonn Hall (Woodham) this week

• 

It’s been a somewhat underwhelming season to date for Phil
Smith in Division One of the Clacton League, but the veteran
League stalwart showed his true form this week with an excellent
hat-trick in Windsor Eagles’ drawn match with Walton A.
Smith remained unbeaten on the night with victories over Colin
Dearman, Derek Willis and David Binns, the closest win his 11-4
in the fifth success against Binns.
John Hobson and John Pattrick each added a point for the Eagles,
Hobson involved in the closest match of the encounter with a 2-
11, 6-11, 22-20, 11-6, 11-9 win over Willis. Binns and Dearman
won two each for Walton and shared a doubles victory.
Windsor Hawks v Brotherhood A also ended all-square, five of the
matches going the distance. Daniel Young’s maximum for the
Hawks included an 11-3 in the decider win over Kevin Gowlett, as
well as an 11-8 in the decider win over Dad Gary. Gowlett and
Young both won two singles for Brotherhood, but Russell Hillier
narrowly failed to record a victory, going down 11-8 in the fifth to
Felipe Rodriguez and 12-10 in the fifth to John Barton.
The Brotherhood A result means that Nomads Panthers, 10-0
winners over Walton B, move back to the top of the table. John
Hatley, James Denyer and Gracie Edwards proved a formidable
combination, with only Hatley’s 11-8 in the decider win over
Gavin Price extended beyond three sets.
And there was another 10-0 result as Walton C’s Mark Gale, Mark
Ratcliffe and Paul Meikle eased past their Windsor Buzzards’
opponents, with only three of the matches extended to a fourth
set.
In Division Two, Brotherhood D’s inexorable march to the title
continued with a 9-1 victory over Windsor Penguins, Simon
Smith-Daye and Joe Plummer taking trebles. Sam Plummer had a
strenuous evening, beating Sharon Gowlett 11-8 in the fifth and

Neil Chegwidden 14-12 in the fifth, but going down 11-9 in the
fifth to Scott Campbell.
Just eleven points cover the teams from third to eighth places in
the table, and Brotherhood B moved to the top of that group after
their 9-1 victory over Windsor Kestrels. Barry Allen and Mark
Salter each took hat-tricks, Graham Bunce defeating John Owen
11-4 in the decider for the Kestrels’ point.
Nomads Jaguars’ top trio defeated an under-strength Nomads
Tigers, the 8-2 score-line a reverse of their early-season result.
Daryl Lott was the Jaguars’ star player although it was tight 18-
20, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 against Dave Miller. Chris Petrou and
Kevin Hogg both won two for the winners, as did Miller for the
losers.
In Division Three, Brotherhood E beat Nomads Bobcats 6-4,
Tricia Salter unbeaten, Tony Edmonds taking two and Rodney
Betts one. Alex Baldock was the Bobcats’ best player, winning two
and sharing an 11-7 in the fifth doubles win with Matt Sage
against Salter and Edmonds, a first doubles defeat of the season
for Brotherhood.
But it was more comfortable for Brotherhood’s nearest
challengers at the top, Windsor Harriers winning 10-0 against
bottom team Nomads Ocelots, none of the matches extended
beyond three sets.
Windsor Magpies and Nomads Leopards enjoyed an excellent
scrap and the match appropriately ended with honours even.
Magpies’ skipper John Plummer recorded a hat-trick for the
second week running, with Bob Jillins and Stu Wilkinson winning a
couple each for the Leopards.
Finally, the all-Brotherhood clash between the ‘F’ and ‘G’ teams
finished 6-4 in favour of the ‘G’ team. Dan Grindrod, Danny Still
and Gary Simpson all won two for the victors, but none of them
could get the better of Tom Bryden who took an impressive
maximum. The crucial individual match turned out to be
Simpson’s 11-9 in the decider win over Ruby Gallagher.

• Entries for the League’s Closed Championships are now open.
  The tournament, the League’s premier event of the season, takes
  place on 6th and 7th April at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall.
  Entry forms have been sent to all players and full details are also
  on the League’s website. Entries can be sent on-line to Peter
  White or by post to Tony Oswick. The closing date for entry is

15th March.

• The League was sorry to learn recently of the death of Dennis
  Barton at the age of 96 years. Dennis, father of the League’s
  Treasurer John Barton, was a keen table tennis player in his
  younger days and was a regular League player at Thorpe during
  the 1950s. After a break from the sport, he resumed his table
  tennis career again in the 1980s with the Post Office Club in the
  Third and Fourth Divisions. We send our sincere condolences to
  John and his family.
  RESULTS
  Division 1
  Windsor Eagles 5 Walton A 5;
  Windsor Hawks 5 Brotherhood A 5;
  Walton C 10 Windsor Buzzards 0;
  Nomads Panthers 10 Walton B 0.
  Division 2
  Brotherhood B 9 Windsor Kestrels 1;
  Nomads Tigers 2 Nomads Jaguars 8;
  Brotherhood D 9 Windsor Penguins 1.
  Division 3
  Windsor Harriers 10 Nomads Ocelots 0;
  Brotherhood G 6 Brotherhood F 4;
  Windsor Magpies 5 Nomads Leopards 5;
  Brotherhood E 6 Nomads Bobcats

• 

Southend League Division 1

The season-long unbeaten run from Mitchell Jones showed no sign of easing this week. Leaders Stanford Le Hope A’s star player captured his tenth POM award in ten outings in his side’s 7 – 2 home win over Hadleigh Forum B. Furthermore, he hasn’t dropped a single set in this run. Surely, he is an odds on favourite to take the divisional title at the upcoming Closed Championships? Team mates Pat White and Ian Sangster won two each, but were both beaten by Forum’s Paul Fawell.

Canvey’s Andy Murray has been playing in Division 2 for some time, despite having a previous long and successful tenure in Division 1. This week saw him return to the higher level playing for Canvey A away to Lentern. His return couldn’t have gone better, winning all his contests and securing the POM prize. However, his side were unable to capitalise on his good form, going down 5 – 4 to the home side. Paul Sims and John Tendler each won two, and Peter Lucraft one for Lentern, with Ray Wilson picking up Canvey’s other success.

Hockley C’s Joseph Odegbami is another player who was unbeaten, only to see his side lose out. Visitors Brand Identity B were eventual 5 – 4 winners thanks to two wins each for Adam Jackman and Barrie Delf, with Mick Grout chipping in with one. David Chenery got the home team’s other success.

RESSC were only able to field two players for their away match at Mapledene and slumped to an 8 – 1 defeat. The home side’s Anthon Ranjit-Singh was unbeaten as was his colleague Lin Roff. Match of the evening saw the two veterans Bill Smith and Mike Worship come head to head. In a five set thriller, Mike took the last two sets to win the visitor’s only rubber.

Invicta A keep up the pressure on leaders Stanford with a comfortable 8 – 1 away win at the basement side Hadleigh Forum C. Mark Everard got the home side’s only success. Both Lee Marson and Steve Marr were unbeaten for Invicta.

The Division 2 title may well have been decided this week as Matchpoint A emerged victorious in the battle of the titans 7-2 against Basildon A. These two teams have been battling it out at the top all season but now, with just three games to go for both sides, Matchpoint have opened up a five point gap at the top of the table. Looking at their final fixtures Basildon look to have the slightly easier games against Invicta, Runnymede and Hockley whereas Matchpoint face Invicta, Stanford and, interestingly, their own B team in the last match of the season. Five points should just be enough to see them home.

The match itself featured three of the top four performers in the league this season, Les Hoey of Basildon and James Elliot and Evie Knaapen of Matchpoint and after the two matches they have played this season they are level on the number of wins. This time Les Hoey got revenge against Knaapen winning in four sets but lost to Elliot in five who claimed revenge for his defeat earlier in the season. The two wins for Hoey were all Basildon could offer as team mates Arun Joy and Szymon Jarka fell short against Elliot, Knaapen and Harry Sawford. Sawford almost matched his teammates hat tricks but for Hoey who came back from two sets down to claim victory. 

Wakering kept up the pressure on the top two cantering to a 9-0 win against Invicta B, Zac and Paul England and Stewart Mills recording their personal hat tricks. They sit eight points behind Basildon in third place whilst Invicta sit just two places above the bottom spot.

Basildon B, who occupy that bottom spot, found their attempt to pick up a much needed win prevented by having to field just two players against Canvey B. Somewhat ironic this as Canvey, also a man short, were able to call on Trevor Hayes from their C team. That move couldn’t have worked out better for Canvey as he won both his games whilst team mates Des Duffield and Tony Westwell both succumbed to Jenne Seibolt. Canvey ran out 7-2 winners.

Fellow contenders for relegation Rawreth Megazone E didn’t fare any better than Basildon in their quest for points as Matchpoint B  hammered them 8-1. Stephen Heard and Ben Murray both recorded hat tricks for Matchpoint and Debbie O’neil added two more but couldn’t overcome Richard Kidd’s steady play who came back from two sets down to record their consolation point.

There was another big win as Hockley D dismissed Runnymede 8-1 with Ben Cook taking the POTM award whilst Neal Klyman recorded his first hat trick of the season. Tony Molisso won two but eventually succumbed to Tina Hutchinson after a roller coaster five set match. Hockley go above Runnymede with this result now sitting in seventh place.

Team of the Week – Matchpoint A

Player of the Week – James Elliot

Things are hotting up at the top of Division 3 and, after this week’s round of matches, the top 3
teams are separated by a mere 6 points, with a further 4-point gap to the fourth and fifth placed
teams. Stanford ‘D’ have a 5-point lead at the top and look to be favourites to take the title as they
have played a game less than all their rivals. There are still plenty of points to play for though and
anything can happen.
On the table this week, Jan Thorpe was once again the leading light for Rawreth Megazone ‘F’ as
they overcame Stanford ‘C’ in a close match. Jan’s maximum was supplemented by a double from
Graham Back as Rawreth edged this one 5/4. For Stanford there were 2 wins for Randy Santiago and
a win each for Karen Kempster and James Parker.
There was another 5/4 scoreline in the match between Matchpoint ‘C’ and Invicta ‘C’, two of the
teams in contention at the top of the table. Despite a fine hat-trick from Invicta’s Trisha Winter, it
was Matchpoint who came out on top with Roger Sherman getting the better of Keith Baxter in the
5 th set of the last game of the match. Roger also added a win over Brendan Raja and youngsters
Lotte Mills (2 wins) and Max Mayo (1 win) also made important contributions. Keith gained the
other point for Invicta, coming from 2 sets down to beat Max in the final end.
Stanford ‘D’ moved to the top of the table following a comprehensive 9/0 win over the young
Hockley ‘F’ side. The experienced Stanford trio of David Arnett, Vaughan Chambers and Andrew
Jessop were in clinical form and wrapped up the match with the loss of only 3 sets. Vaughan
Chambers took the POTM award here.
The junior Evolve side found things equally as tough in their match against Hockley ‘E’, although they
put up a good fight and the 8/1 scoreline in favour of Hockley was hard on them. Three of the
games that went Hockley’s way were only decided in the 5 th set and, on another night, the final score
could have been a lot closer. For Hockley there were 3 wins each for Keith Denyer and Graham
Gregory, with Richard Coulon adding a double. Evolve’s only point came courtesy of a fighting, 5 th
set win for Teddy Kent over Richard.
Hadleigh Forum ‘D’s Jean Catley, who achieved her first maximum of the season last week, quickly
added another as she led her team to a 7/2 win over Matchpoint ‘D’. Her teammates Douglas Brown
and Todd Barker had two wins each, although neither could overcome Oliver Milchard who was
Matchpoint’s best player on the night.

If it’s tough at the top, it’s even tougher at the bottom, and this
week witnessed a meeting of the two teams at the foot of
Division Three of the Clacton League.
And, in the all-Nomads clash, victory went to the Lynx, who
defeated the Ocelots 9-1. Gerry Widnell and Ian Gwillim both took
hat-tricks, and they combined to share a narrow 7-11, 11-4, 8-
11, 17-15, 12-10 doubles victory over James Horsler and Anne
Bonny.
For the Ocelots, the improving Bonny had an excellent individual
win over Dave Wright, and took Gwillim close before going down
11-5 in the fifth.
At the other end of the table, leaders Brotherhood E were 7-3
victors over Nomads Leopards, taking three of the four matches
which went the distance. Fred Gallone stayed undefeated while
Tony Edmonds took two, as did Bob Jillins for the losers.
Windsor Harriers beat Brotherhood F 8-2, an undefeated Isabel
Barton the player of the match. Brotherhood’s Joe Sherwin and
Tom Bryden each picked up a win over Jenny Higgins.
Dan Grindrod, Danny Still and Gary Simpson recorded trebles for
a second successive week as Brotherhood G defeated Nomads
Bobcats 10-0, a repeat of their early season score. No individual
match went the distance, but seven were extended to a fourth
set.
Three for John Plummer, two for Alan Rutledge and one for
Malcolm Caley saw Windsor Magpies to a 7-3 win against Walton
E. Maggie Earle won two for Walton and Adrian Sexton one, and
although Debrorah Pallett failed to get on the score-sheet for
Walton, her three defeats came in matches which went to five.
In Division One Brotherhood A beat Walton C 10-0, Kevin
Gowlett, Gary Young and Russell Hillier undefeated. The closest of

the two five-setters saw Young and Hillier scrape the doubles 9-
11, 11-8, 11-7, 15-17, 11-7 against Mark Gale and Mark Ratcliffe.
The result puts the Brotherhood side one point ahead of Nomads
Panthers at the top of the table.
Nomads Lions and Windsor Buzzards each fielded a reserve but it
was the Lions who came out 7-3 winners, Ethan Lloyd taking
three, Jason Lloyd two and reserve Dave Miller one. Buzzards’
reserve Scott Campbell played well to take two for the losers.
It was also 7-3 as Walton B defeated a weakened Windsor Eagles.
There were two each for Gavin Price, Graham Buxton and Paul
Newbould but none of them could get the better of Mel Rampton
who secured his hat-trick with an 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7
victory over Price in the final match of the evening.
Finally in Division One, Windsor Hawks were 10-0 winners against
Walton A who fielded a guest player, none of the matches going
the distance.
In the meeting of Division Two’s top and bottom teams,
Brotherhood predictably beat Windsor Kestrels, but the 6-4 score-
line was something of a moral victory for the Kestrels. Windsor
captain Graham Bunce had good wins over Kevin Pryor and James
Smith-Daye, Allen Denyer recorded an unexpected 9-11, 8-11,
14-12, 11-5, 12-10 win over Smith Daye, whilst Bunce and Debra
Found shared an excellent three-straight doubles success. But,
through all this, Simon Smith-Daye notched up yet another treble
for Brotherhood who now look unstoppable at the top.
Lawford are clear of the pack in second spot, this week defeating
Walton D 6-4 in a hard-fought encounter in which six matches
went the distance, Lawford winning two of them. Every player
picked up at least one point but James Tindle remained unbeaten
for Lawford. Clive Allenby won two for Walton.
Chris Petrou took a hat-trick for Nomads Jaguars with fine wins
over John Owen, Barry Allen and Paul Alden, but Brotherhood C
emerged 6-4 winners, Alden and Allen each taking two.
Trebles for Denes Somodi and Dave Miller were good enough to
give Nomads Tigers a 7-3 victory over Brotherhood C. Both
players were involved in tight five-setters, Somodi beating Mark
Boyland 11-6 in the decider and Miller going even closer against
the same player, winning 9-11, 8-11, 15-13, 15-13, 14-12.
RESULTS

Division 1
Brotherhood A 10 Walton C 0;
Windsor Buzzards 3 Nomads Lions 7;
Walton B 7 Windsor Eagles 3;
Walton A 0 Windsor Hawks 10.
Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 4 Brotherhood D 6;
Nomads Jaguars 4 Brotherhood B 6;
Lawford 6 Walton D 4;
Brotherhood C 3 Nomads Tigers 7.
Division 3
Brotherhood F 2 Windsor Harriers 8;
Nomads Bobcats 0 Brotherhood G 10;
Walton E 3 Windsor Magpies 7;
Nomads Leopards 3 Brotherhood E 7;
Nomads Ocelots 1 Nomads Lynx 9.