It was a good week in the Clacton League for Alex Baldock, captain of Division Three side Nomads Bobcats.

The much-improved Baldock kept his cool to remain unbeaten in the Bobcats’ 8-2 victory over Holland Hurricanes, a treble which included hard-fought wins over Ian Gwillim, 11-7 in the fifth, and Pam Cousins, 11-3 in the fifth. It was his third maximum of the season. Sam Watling and Jack Riddleston each won two for the Bobcats, Watling having a narrow 11-7 in the fifth win over John Smith-Daye. Gwillim took the two points for the Hurricanes.

And Baldock followed this up with an impressive performance as a reserve for Nomads Jaguars in Division Two against Windsor Kestrels, enjoying excellent victories over Debra Found and Jackie Bunce, which, together with a Chris Petrou hat-trick, gave the Jaguars a 6-4 win.

Back in Division Three, there were handsome victories for the top two teams.

Long-time pace-setters, Brotherhood F, had a comfortable 10-0 win over Holland Vulcans. Tom Bryden, Lucy Carvell and Joe Sherwin were the successful trio. The win maintains their ten-point cushion over nearest rivals, Brotherhood H.

The ‘H’ team, in their turn, are seven points clear of third-placed Nomads Bobcats, this week beating Nomads Ocelots 10-0, Savindu De Silva, Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard unbeaten.  

The ever-reliable fourth-placed Walton D defeated Holland Mosquitos 9-1, Adrian Sexton and Maggie Earle taking three each, and Deborah Pallett two. Brian Abram picked up the Mosquitos’ point.

In the closest match of the week, Nomads Leopards and Windsor Falcons shared the spoils. Kelvin Olano maintained his 100% record, but it was a close-run thing, defeating Dominic Joannou 11-8 in the decider. Nikki Hayes and Nigel Rolph added a point apiece for the Falcons whilst, for the Leopards, Joannou and Anne Bonny each took a couple, the pair edging past Olano and Hayes 11-7 in the fifth to take the doubles and secure the draw.

In Division One, reigning champions and favourites, Nomads Panthers, end the first half-season with a healthy lead at the top following their 10-0 win against bottom team Lawford. James Denyer, Greg Green and John Hatley all won their three, captain Hatley’s 11-6 in the fifth victory over Glen Laing the closest match of the encounter.

Windsor Eagles defeated Walton C 8-2, but the score-line belies the fact that all five matches which went the distance went to the Eagles.

John Pattrick and Phil Smith both stayed unbeaten, Pattrick defeating John Marshall 11-7 in the fifth and Graham Buxton 11-6 in the fifth, whilst Phil Smith had a nail-biting 13-11 in the fifth win over Buxton. The pair also took the doubles, 11-7 in the fifth against Buxton and Marshall. Windsor skipper John Hobson gained a point with an 11-7 in the decider victory over Marshall, whilst there was a point each for Walton’s Buxton and Clive Allenby.

In Division Two, leaders Windsor Buzzards inflicted a 10-0 defeat on bottom team Windsor Magpies. Scott Campbell, Ray Chillingworth and Pete Bloomfield all took trebles, although Bloomfield was severely tested by Dave Sweetland before coming through 12-10 in the fifth.

So the Buzzards end the first half-season with a thirteen-point lead over second-placed Brotherhood C, who were unable to close the gap after losing 6-4 to third-placed Brotherhood D.

Five of the matches went all the way, the ‘D’ team winning four of them. Mark Salter’s maximum for the winners included an 11-9 in the fifth win over Mark Boyland, whilst Paul Alden beat the same player 11-8 in the fifth and then overcame Paul Metcalf 11-6 in the fifth. Salter and Alden combined to win the doubles 11-9 in the decider. Mark Beckham was the ‘D’ team’s most successful player, winning twice, including an 11-9 in the fifth victory over Alden to deny Alden his hat-trick.

Three teams currently share fourth place, all on fifty-five points.

Nomads Jaguars, 6-4 winners against Windsor Kestrels, are level with Brotherhood E, also 6-4 winners against Windsor Penguins, despite a hat-trick for Penguins’ skipper, Neil Chegwidden. Fred Gallone and Kevin Pryor each won two for the Brotherhood side, with Duncan Dunne pipping Paul Stanton, 11-8 in the decider.

Nomads Tigers are the third team sharing fourth spot, Zein Shafat leading the way this week with a hat-trick in his side’s 7-3 success against Windsor Harriers, a hat-trick which included a  tight 13-11 in the fifth victory over Barry Allen. Bob Jillins won two and reserve Matt Sage one, Shafat and Jillins sharing an 11-8 in the fifth doubles win in the only other match which went the distance. Allen was the Harriers’ best player, winning two.

* Next week sees the start of the Group matches of the Handicap Cup. Winning teams must send the result sheet to Tony Oswick within twenty-four hours of the match being played. Players should note that Holland Lancasters and Holland Mosquitos have withdrawn from the competition, and any matches they were due to play have been awarded as walk-over wins to their opponents. 

RESULTS

Division 1

Windsor Eagles 8 Walton C 2;

Lawford 0 Nomads Panthers 10.

Division 2

Windsor Kestrels 4 Nomads Jaguars 6;

Windsor Penguins 4 Brotherhood E 6;

Windsor Buzzards 10 Windsor Magpies 0;

Nomads Tigers 7 Windsor Harriers 3;

Brotherhood C 4 Brotherhood D 6.

Division 3

Nomads Leopards 5 Windsor Falcons 5;

Walton D 9 Holland Mosquitos 1;

Brotherhood F 10 Holland Vulcans 0;

Brotherhood H 10 Nomads Ocelots 0;

Holland Hurricanes 2 Nomads Bobcats 8.

Report by Tony Oswick

The big news of the week in Southend Division 3 was the first win of the season by the junior Hockley F side.  George Higgins led the way with a hard-fought maximum, well supported by James Evesham and Amelia Taylor, who achieved her first win of the season.  Indeed, it was Taylor who finally secured the 5/4 win over Canvey C.  With the match score locked at 4/4, she held her nerve to overcome David Coverley in 4 sets to get her team over the line.  Well done Hockley!

Elsewhere, league leaders, Basildon B, maintained their unbeaten run courtesy of a narrow 5/4 win away at Matchpoint B.  Richard Sloman was unbeaten for the hosts and Jeff Gritzman added the extra point, but Basildon prevailed with two wins each for Richard Riebold and Anton Kudynuik, and a single win for Michael Elemide.

Second placed, Invicta C, closed the gap at the top to 12 points following their 7/2 win over Hadleigh Forum D.  Trisha Winter was the POM here with a straight sets maximum.  Skipper Keith Baxter was also unbeaten on the night and David Youngman added the extra.

Hockley E have moved into third place after a 7/2 win over Evolve, with a hat-trick from Gary Beck and two wins each for Keith Denyer and George Clark.  Miles Bygrave was the best player on the night for Evolve, with two wins to his name.

Brand Identity’s Adam Jackman’s return from Southend Premier League duties has again upset the Division 1 equilibrium. This week his team were away at leaders Basildon A. Jackman recorded an unbeaten maximum to lead his side to an impressive 7 – 2 victory. His hat trick included a first defeat of the season for the home side’s Arun Joy. Team mates Michael Grout and Dale Gutteridge each added two wins, whilst Joy was responsible for both Basildon’s successes.

Canvey A returned to winning ways. Bob Skews was their hero, winning all three of his rubbers in a 7 – 2 away win at Mapledene. The returning Ray Wilson and stalwart Peter Cray shared their sides other points. The home side’s ladies, Lin Roff and Dawn Baldry, won one contest each.

In a close fought match, Rawreth Megazone C overcame their visitors Hadleigh Forum B 6 – 3. Paul Brown was again Rawreth’s star, taking the POM prize with an unbeaten evening. Gary McCarthy added two and Trevor Ward one win. The Forum team of Dave Woolmer, Tony Jacks and Mick Tappenden each managed one victory. Mick was particularly unfortunate to be on the losing side of a five-set encounter with Ward by 15 – 13 in the fifth.

With the exception of Canvey B the top four teams in Southend League Division 2 all lost points in some hard fought matches this week. The Islanders didn’t have any problems as they cruised past Invicta B 8-1 but Stanford B were held to a 6-3 win at Rawreth Megazone,  Hockley C just edged their own D team 5-4 and Matchpoint B did the same against Runnymede.

Canvey’s scoreline might have been closer as three matches went to five sets but only Steve Lennox managed to convert one into a win for Invicta as Tony Westwell edged out Sarah Ball and Kevin Walsingham got the better of Mike Keeble. Three wins each then for Westwell and Trevor Hayes and a brace for Walsingham which keeps Canvey in fourth place.

Stanford B would have had a far easier victory at Rawreth Megazone if they hadn’t come up against Gus Heath this week. He chalked up another perfect hat trick beating Rob Salvage, Mark Downey and Adrian Armstrong. Rawreth almost added another point but in the final game, and the only one to go the distance, Downey staged a remarkable comeback against Amar Al-Soufi to win 12/10 11/4 2/11 1/11 7/11. Stanford extend their lead at the top to 13 points.

Hockley C were pushed all the way by their own D team and found themselves 4-3 down at one stage before Brian Bissenden and Mike Worship won the last two games to give them the bragging rights at Hockley. Bissenden took the POTM award with a maximum plus two wins for Worship but Neal Klyman fought hard but got no reward on the night. There was a single win each for youngsters William Evesham and Elliot Brackenbury but a brace for Hannah Harbour who had an excellent five set win against the veteran Worship coming back from 2-1 down to win a really close match 11/6 8/11 9/11 13/11 11/9. Hockley C stay second.

Match of the week was at Matchpoint B where they produced a dramatic turnaround to save themselves from a shock defeat against Runnymede, coming back from 4-1 down to win 5-4. With the unbeaten Tony Millward in their side Runnymede were always going to be difficult to beat and they started in fine form Millward and Andy Humphries both winning their opening two games with Alex Bowden beating Anne Adlington in reply. Things then started to go dramatically wrong for Runnymede as Max Mayo beat Adlington and Bowden beat Humphries before Mayo then pulled off the biggest shock beating Millward in four sets to level the scores. Fittingly the deciding game then went to five sets and it was a victory for youth as Lotte Mills beat Adlington 11/7 in the decider. Matchpoint B stay second.

Team of the Week – Matchpoint B

Player of the Week – Gus Heath

Report by Paul Strutt

Brand Identity’s Adam Jackman’s return from Premier League duties has again upset the Division 1 equilibrium. This week his team were away at leaders Basildon A. Adam recorded an unbeaten maximum to lead his side to an impressive 7 – 2 victory. His hat trick included a first defeat of the season for the home side’s Arun Joy. Team mates Michael Grout and Dale Gutteridge each added two wins, whilst Arun was responsible for both Basildon’s successes.

Canvey A returned to winning ways. Bob Skews was their hero, winning all three of his rubbers in a 7 – 2 away win at Mapledene. The returning Ray Wilson and stalwart Peter Cray shared their sides other points. The home side’s ladies, Lin Roff and Dawn Baldry, won one contest each.

In a close fought match, Rawreth Megazone C overcame their visitors Hadleigh Forum B 6 – 3. Paul Brown was again Rawreth’s star, taking the POM prize with an unbeaten evening. Gary McCarthy added two and Trevor Ward one win. The Forum team of Dave Woolmer, Tony Jacks and Mick Tappenden each managed one victory. Mick was particularly unfortunate to be on the losing side of a five-set encounter with Trevor by 15 – 13 in the fifth.

Div 1 report by David Barnes

Excitement mounts as just one point currently separates Chelmsford A, Danbury A and Danbury C at the top end of division one though the latter hold a game in hand advantage.  Writtle A’s Ryan Pitt went solo for the second time this season in a 10-0 loss to Danbury C, Chris Penrose and Bruce Kettle won three each as Danbury A beat the two-person team of Galleywood A 7-3, and Josh Bickles fired another treble in Chelmsford A’s 6-4 home win over Danbury B. 

Rob Burton, David Gatheral and Evie Knaapen all went undefeated as Buttsbury A increased their lead at the top of division two with a 10-0 home win over Chelmsford C.  Undefeated Maldon A lost ground though remain second in the table following a tough 6-4 win over Writtle B, Dawn Baldry and Lloyd Bennett-Smith won two matches apiece for the hosts while Phil Smith and Richard Storey did likewise for the visitors.  There was a fourth division two treble of the season for Sanjay Saptarshi in Danbury D’s 5-5 draw with Writtle C, Gary Ward and John Webber won two each for Writtle in a fixture which saw five five-gamers.  Neil Want fired his first treble for Danbury E this season but his team were pegged back by a pair of wins from Hatfield Peverel A’s Martin Archie and Julie Johnson in a 5-5 draw, with the Old Chelmsfordians B-Galleywood B fixture also throwing up the same scoreline with no player unbeaten among a fabulous seven five-gamers.

The top three teams in division three are separated by just five points though third-placed Buttsbury B hold a game in hand over leaders Chelmsford D and second-placed Danbury G.  The father-daughter combo of Wudong and Grace Liu went unbeaten in singles competition as Buttsbury B narrowly beat Chelmsford F 6-4 on Monday night.  Alex Tkachuk and Christopher Denyer fired trebles as Chelmsford D stayed in the hunt with an 8-2 win at Galleywood C who tasted defeat for the first time since week three. Denis Balic and Merv Perriman also went undefeated as Danbury G moved to no loss in six fixtures with an 8-2 win over Danbury H who have now been defeated in their last four.  Writtle D’s Matthew Brown was yet again unbeaten as his side beat the two-person team from Hatfield Peverel B 6-4, while OCA C remain winless as a James Grimston treble saw Chelmsford E back to winning ways with an 8-2 away victory.  There was a second treble of the season for Dave Moles as Writtle E tasted success for the first time this season in a 6-4 home win over Danbury J who have now lost their last four fixtures.

Division four leaders Hutton A took maximum points as they cruised to a 10-0 home win against Hatfield Peverel C who slip from eighth to tenth, Maldon B stayed in touch with an identical scoreline over seventh placed Danbury L, and third placed Buttsbury D lost ground on the top two as they were held to a 5-5 draw with ninth placed OCA D in a match which saw a first treble of the season for OC’s Russell Hall.  Elsewhere, Dave Hancock won three and Dave Powell two as Danbury K made it three wins in a row as they beat Galleywood D 7-3 – Galleywood have now lost their last five fixtures. Doubles for Martin Brunker, Atharv Gupta and Mark Nolan gave Chelmsford G a 7-3 home win over rock-bottom Danbury M, and three wins for Oscar Hutt and two apiece for Frances Hutt and Caroline Cole made it four successive victories for fifth-placed Buttsbury C with a 8-2 triumph over Highwood A who have now lost three in a row.  Hutt junior now has three trebles in his last five matches while Highwood’s Roger Patient failed to score two or more points for the first time this season.

Hutton B remain top of division five following a 7-3 away win at Chelmsford H, Hutton’s Gheorge Nita was the sole undefeated player though he needed to successfully navigate a fifth game decider to get past James Grindlay.  Trebles from Torsten Greenan and Lyndon Bubb ensured second-placed Buttsbury E were back to winning ways as they closed the gap on the leaders with a 9-1 victory at Hatfield Peverel E, Bruce Wickham posed the most problems for Greenan when taking a 2-1 lead only for Greenan to ease through games four and five. Tim Huxtable won all three on debut for Maldon C as they inflicted a first loss of the season on Writtle F by a 7-3 scoreline.  The legend who is Steve Peacock chipped in with his fourth treble of the season for Galleywood E in their 8-2 home win over Hatfield Peverel E.  Darren Wright and Tomas Ratinas won two matches each for the hosts though Galleywood stay in seventh position.  David Cockrelll and Martin Goddard won three matches each as Highwood B inflicted more pain on bottom of the table Anglia Ruskin with a 9-1 victory.  Eight-placed Highwood are now unbeaten in three following a run of five straight defeats.

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

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

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

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Currently on a winter training camp in Miami, the Fambridge team were the benefactors of the drama that unfolded at the top end of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League this week.   The unbeaten pre-season favourites Mapledene A were toppled for the first time in a fiery encounter with Cold Norton B.  This close result edges Cold Norton B into second place behind Fambridge but more importantly dampens the spirits and odds on Mapledene catching the league leaders. 

The action in Division 1 this was dominated by some excellent individual performances and eye-catching results.  In the box-office clash of the week it was Cold Norton B’s Ian Wall that took top billing with a cracking hat-trick of wins including a 4 sets victory over current League Singles Champion Reece Seddon.  Seddon had a busy night all round pipping Dan Anderson 14-12 in the 4^th set, and then going the full monty in a comeback 5-setter against Dave Richardson.  Richardson maintained his form with good wins over Steve Muth and George Reeves, and Anderson completed the 6-4 overall victory with a straight sets triumph over George Reeves.  In the other top half clash current Champions Woodham A were hesitant on their journey to Cold Norton A, having seen the calibre of the Cold Norton team that destroyed the fighting Woodham B side the previous week.  But taking a leaf out of the Eric and Ernie playbook it seemed the Nortonian Management had picked all the right teams but for all the wrong weeks.   Woodham A picked up a straightforward 8-2 points haul with only Duncan Taylor picking up points for Cold Norton.  In another eye-catching result Woodham’s Harry Chivers bested the legendary Taylor in a professional straight sets victory that will be reverberating around all the top contenders for the Singles crown this season.  Chivers completed his hat-trick and was well supported by Chris Penrose and Daniel Piglet who both beat Steve Maltby and Neil Want to complete the rout.  As the embers died down from the A teams’ encounter come the Thursday it was time for the C teams to do battle.  Cold Norton C arrived at Woodham with a strong side and were looking to pick up some good points to secure their mid-table position.  The Cold Norton hitman, Arron Chandler, was up first and set off at a great pace to impress the supporters he had brought along.  Chandler has been in phenomenal form this season so his opening straight sets victory over the hard-hitting Chris Hancox was no surprise but set the tone for the evening.  Cold Norton raced through the singles card with the only blip being Graham Briggs rollercoaster 5 set victory over Cold Norton’s skipper Dick Wyman.  Wyman and Hitman Chandler then plucked defeat from the jaws of victory in the doubles giving Woodham’s Hancox and Peter Harverson a bonus doubles boost for the journey home.  At the other end of the arena Woodham B and Mapledene B were having lots of enjoyment playing out a hard-fought and lengthy 5-5 draw.   Mapledene’s David Jacob provided an opening match shock with a long 5 set victory over Sanjay Saptarshi.  Jacob was machine-like with the focus of a deadly sniper as he kept the Saptarshi forehand under control and forced his opponent into ambitious attacks that didn’t always work out – a cracking battle of tactics and patience, with Jacob coming through as a worthy winner.  The match ebbed and flowed as the teams went into the break at 3-3 with Jacob involved in a further dramatic 5-setter, this time losing out to Woodham’s Daniel Patynski after having got back to deuce in the decider.  A much more open encounter that saw a barrel load of exciting rallies between these two players on top of their game.  Mapledene took the doubles so now it came down to the singles run-in.  Patynski struggled against a resurgent Anthon Ranjit-Singh but emerged victorious, Jacob came through a tricky encounter with Eamonn Hall, so it all came down to the final match and the one the punters had paid to see – Saptarshi v Keith Willett.  Willett came in full of confidence having won all his matches that night, whereas Saptarshi was having a focus dilemma.  Having set the scene the match didn’t pan out as expected as Saptarshi smashed his way through the Willett defence for a surprisingly swift 3 set victory that ensured the spoils were shared.

Division 2 is now a two horse race between leaders Maldon A and the thoroughbreds from Stow Maries A.  Its taken a while for Stow A to get their campaign in full swing but they are now definitely at the races.  This week the Stow A side welcomed the Blackwater B trio to their stables but that was as hospitable as it got as the Stow trio went about their business with gusto and quickly demolished the Blackwater defence for a 10-0 whitewash win.  Stow’s Richard Storey and Ken Sheard both hit virtually unscathed hat-tricks, whereas the Stow third player, Peter Chastin, had a much more difficult time collecting his spoils with two 5 set victories over Gary Smith, and Louis Gunn.  Rivals Maldon A were held back this week by Stow B who did their A team a favour by taking 3 points off the league leaders.  For Maldon Lloyd Bennett-Smith, and Hamish Innes both hit hat-tricks and combined for the doubles.  Innes had a very busy evening involving himself in three 5 setters including a remarkable comeback against the lovable Dave Goody who had the cheek to take the first 2 sets in their singles encounter.  Goody did redeem himself though as he reversed his 5 set fortune with a 12-10 deciding set win over Brain Riedling.  These results see Maldon A and Stow A just a point apart at the top of the table with a considerable gap back to the chasing pack.  Steve Aspland was back on form for his Maldon B side this week as he produced another hat-trick, but this wasn’t enough to overcome the battling Cold Norton D side.  The match ended in a draw with both Terry Hyland and Peter Lucraft winning two for the Cold Norton club, with Hyland and Aspland battling out the final match for the evenings bragging rights which Aspland won 11-6 in the decider.  Blackwater A strengthened their top 3 aspirations with an unexpected 10-0 victory over Stow C.  The Stow crew certainly didn’t roll over and have their bellies tickled as 4 of the matches went to 5^th set deciding legs – but Blackwater prevailed in each and every one.  Hat-tricks all round then for Blackwater’s Alan Scammell, Roger Slade, and Neil Freeman, with Stow’s Tim Huxtable losing out in 5 sets to both Slade and Freeman, and Jean Chasmer doing the same against Scammell and Slade.

Maldon C’s assault of the Division 3 title continues at an alarming speed with another 9-1 victory this week leaving them with significant clear water between themselves and the forgotten chasing pack.  This week’s victims were Blackwater F and they had Mike Crumpton to thank for avoiding the whitewash humiliation as he overturned Maldon’s Matt Copsey in 4 sets.  It was business-as-usual for Maldon’s top two players, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill, who each registered their 3^rd hat-trick of the season – and this time neither dropped a set so they were all home in time for the nine o’clock news.  Blackwater C pulled off a noteworthy conquest as they beat St Lawrence 6-4 to claim second place.  Chris Rolison (3 wins) and Colin Barham (2 wins) doing all the damage, including a good doubles win over the Mike Pratley and Mike Burton tricky pairing.  Burton was the best of the St Lawrence squad with 2 wins including an excellent 4 set triumph over Barham.  Woodham E’s Allan Steel continues to dominate the statistics in Division 3, and this week he rattled off his 5^th hat-trick on the bounce to maintain his 100% win rate and looks an odds-on bet for the Roy Davis Cup this year – which is awarded to the player in Division 3 with the best win rate having played at least 50% of the matches.  Steel was untroubled in his singles with a straightforward 9-dart finish but his 3 personal wins couldn’t produce an overall win for Woodham E as they drew with Blackwater E.  Woodham’s Chris Crooks won his first two singles so the match result came down to the final game as Crooks took on Blackwater’s Keith Thompson.  Thompson went 2-1 up before the pair of them couldn’t decide who should win the 4^th set – eventually at 17-17 Crooks went for some big hits that didn’t connect and Thompson was able to take the leg 19-17 securing the draw for Blackwater.

Pic 1 – The Hitman – Arron Chandler of Cold Norton C

Pic 2 – Ian Wall the star player in the top of the table crunch

Pic 3 – Graham Briggs (Woodham C) versus Dick Wyman (Cold Norton C) this week

Pic 4 – Ken Sheard – Stow A’s top player this week

Pic 5  – Chris Crooks in action for Woodham E this week

Report by Eamonn Hall

While leaders Rayne A were without a match, former champions Netts A jumped to the top of the Braintree Table Tennis League with a cruising 9-1 win over a two-person Liberal C.

It gave them a three-point lead over their rivals, both having played six matches.

Richard Jennings gave both Andy Holmes (11-6, 3-11, 12-10, 12-10) and James Hicks (8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9) something to think about but Liberal’s only success came from an excellent win for Robin Armstrong over Holmes.

Sudbury Nomads held on to third place with a 6-4 win over Liberal’s A team, where Scott Dowsett was unbeaten, while a stronger than usual Liberal B crept closer by beating Black Notley B 9-1.

Ashley Skeggs and Adam Cuthbert were unbeaten while David Gatheral, in his first match of the season, won twice.

Notley A scored a Parr 3 (Chris of that ilk remaining unbeaten) in a draw against Rayne C

while Rayne’s B team overcame a two-man Netts B 8-2.

Not much has gone Netts B’s way this season, but wins for Joe Meleschko over Steve Pennell and Fred Evans over Victor Chan were worthy of celebration.

In division two, leaders Sudbury Wanderers kept up the momentum with an 8-2 win over Notley F while Rayne E continued their good run, beating Notley D 7-3.

In an intra-club battle, Notley E’s Jamie Brooks did all he could – three singles and the doubles with Lawrence Grantham – but the club’s C team took the rest.

The other two matches ended in a draw, which was nothing new for Rayne F and Yeldham Whitlocks A, who had finished level on three and two previous occasions respectively before they shared the points with each other.

Netts C and D teams played out the other draw, including a commendable performance from 16-year-old JJ Calisin.

In his first season of league table tennis, he stepped up from his normal berth in division three to win twice for the D team.

While division three leaders Finchingfield A were without a match, Sudbury Strollers took advantage to move a bit closer with an 8-2 win over Notley H.  George Berry was unbeaten.

Notley I, beaten only once before, suffered from the absence of Ben Southgate and tumbled 9-1 to their own G team.

The next two teams, Rayne H and Finchingfield B, shared the points while David Montgomery took his three singles for Netts E but Rayne G won the rest.

Report by RonFosker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RESULTS

Division 1

Nomads Panthers 8 Walton B 2;

Brotherhood B 4 Walton A 6:

Brotherhood A 10 Lawford 0;

Windsor Hawks 3 Nomads Lions 7.

Division 2

Brotherhood E 7 Brotherhood G 3;

Windsor Harriers 4 Windsor Buzzards 6;

Brotherhood C 4 Windsor Buzzards 6;

Brotherhood D 6 Windsor Penguins 4;

Nomads Jaguars 5 Brotherhood C 5;

Windsor Magpies 2 Windsor Kestrels 8.

Division 3

Holland Vulcans 1 Holland Hurricanes 9;

Windsor Falcons 8 Holland Lancasters 2;

Nomads Bobcats 8 Walton D 2;

Nomads Ocelots 0 Brotherhood F 10;

Holland Mosquitos 2 Nomads Leopards 8.

Report by Tony Oswick

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report by David Barnes

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

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

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

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

Player of the Week – Ollie Milchard

Team of the Week – Matchpoint B

Report by Paul Strutt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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