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

The team responsible were Finchingfield’s own B team.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report by Ron Fosker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RESULTS

Division 1

Nomads Lions 8 Brotherhood B 2;

Walton A 4 Windsor Hawks 6;

Walton B 7 Brotherhood A 3.

Division 2

Brotherhood D 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;

Brotherhood C 10 Windsor Magpies 0;

Nomads Tigers 4 Brotherhood E 6;

Windsor Penguins 6 Brotherhood G 4;

Windsor Kestrels 7 Windsor Harriers 3.

Division 3

Holland Hurricanes 7 Nomads Ocelots 3;

Brotherhood H 6 Windsor Falcons 4;

Holland Lancasters 7 Holland Mosquitos 3;

Walton D 6 Nomads Leopards 4.

Nomads Bobcats 9 Holland Vulcans 1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Team of the Week – Hockley D

Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report by Ron Fosker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Report by Eamonn Hall

Danbury A retained top spot in division one with an 8-2 victory over Danbury B thanks to consecutive league hat-tricks for Chirs Penrose and Dave Richardson.  Both Penrose and Richardson had to recover from 2-0 down in order to get the better of Arron Chandler. Josh Bickles was on fire in Chelmsford A’s 6-4 win over Writtle A, Bickles beat both the higher ranked pair of Duncan Taylor and Mark Mulley over four games.  Having started the season with five straight losses, Chelmsford B tasted a second victory in a row.  Simon Jarvis hit a treble and there were two wins apiece for Waseem Qureshi and Kelvin Edeh in an 8-2 triumph over Galleywood A.  Chelmsford B move off the bottom for the first time this season while Edeh completed the ‘set’ of playing in all five divisions by week nine!

In the battle of two winless division two teams, three victories for Dick Wyman and two apiece for Neil Want and Tony Forster boosted Danbury E to an 8-2 success over bottom of the table OCA B.  Maldon A stay in the hunt at the top end of the table following a 6-4 home win over fellow challengers Chelmsford C, Dawn Baldry found the opportune moment to fire her first hat-trick of the season for Maldon, with the loss being Chelmsford’s first in seven with Maldon yet to taste defeat.  Daniel Piggott made his debut for Danbury E and subsequently fired a treble in a 6-4 home win over Hatfield Peverel A. Piggott dropped just one game in his three victories while Peverel’s Neil Freeman recovered from 2-1 down to beat Eamonn Hall before witnessing a David Penrose fight-back from two down in their clash.  Danbury F and Galleywood B were embroiled in a close battle which saw six five-gamers as Danbury did just enough to earn a 6-4 victory.   Galleywood’s John Holland had a seemingly entertaining evening with all of his matches going the distance and involving fightbacks from 2-0 down – Holland will feel unfortunate to have only seen success in one of the three.  Denis Crapnell scored his second treble in little over a week as Danbury G won 6-4 at Chelmsford E.  Crapnell trailed in all three of his games but found a path to victory while Kelvin Edeh and Rev Matthews won two matches each for the hosts. Buttsbury A cruised to a 10-0 home win over Writtle C to extend their lead at the top to 6 points..

Galleywood C remain in second place in division three and cut the lead to just two points following a 10-0 away win over Writtle D.  Colin Blore and Bryn Thomas fired their second trebles of the season with John Holland adding his first. Buttsbury B stay top with a 9-1 win at Danbury H which saw Grace Liu and Harry Sawford win three each.  Gordon Gatheral earned the only point for the hosts and just missed out in five games to both Liu and Sawford.  A Dave Moles hat-trick wasn’t quite enough to earn his Writtle E side their first victory of the season as ninth-placed Chelmsford F hung on for a 5-5 draw.  Writtle led 5-3 going into the last two matches of the night and both Malcolm Storey and Ian Hockley went 1-0 up in their respective matches only for the Fernandes brothers to hit back for victories.  Mike Johnston and Keith Martin won three apiece to ensure third-placed Chelmsford D remain on the tail of the leaders  There was a fourth treble of the season in Hatfield Peverel B colours for Neil Freeman as his team narrowly beat Danbury J 6-4.  Danbury’s Peter Hance and Dave Marsh both fell to Freeman having won their other two matches.

After tasting defeat last week for the first time in division four this season, Hutton A were back to winning ways with an 8-2 home win over Danbury M, Alex Ware won all three matches while Danbury’s Graham Naggs put the only points on the board for the visitors.  Maldon B moved back up to second position despite being held to a 5-5 draw by 11th placed Chelmsford G.  Buttsbury D slip to third following a 6-4 reversal at the hands of Hatfield Peverel C, Bob Hillis and Samuel White won two each for Peverel. Danbury K tasted victory for the first time in three matches as they edged a competitive looking contest with Highwood A, Danbury’s Dave Powell prevented another Roger Patient treble but he was tripped up by Melanie Bonnett. Galleywood D slipped to the bottom of the table after a 6-4 defeat at OCA D, both of Galleywood’s Nick Rounce’s victories went the distance while OCA’s David Newman, David Bishop and Russell Hall all won two apiece.

The Hutton B bandwagon continues to roll as they registered their eighth consecutive division five victory of the season and move seven points clear with a 9-1 win at Anglia Ruskin.  Peter Moxham fired his first treble of the season, Anthony Barnes his third and Steve Webster chipped in with a double.  Buttsbury E remain Hutton’s closest challengers and they posted an 8-2 success at Maldon C with trebles for Joshua Freeman and Lyndon Bubb.  Writtle F have still not tasted defeat in seven matches and the regular trio of Paul Aarons, Ron Tam and Michael Anthony won twice apiece though all fell to OCE E’s Matthew Porter in a 7-3 victory.  It was a second treble of the season for Chelmsford H’s Shengbing Zhu in a 7-3 away win at Galleywood E.  Zhu’s teammate William Guilloux won twice also but fell to Galleywood’s Doug Blaber (a two game winner himself) in a tight contest. Jackie Treacy was able to go one better than her two victories last week though her Hatfield Peverel E side lost 6-4 at Hatfield Peverel D.  Andy Whiley played in three five-gamers though only tasted success in one.  Nicola Pippen and Martin Goddard won both of their matches as Highwood B beat the two-person team of Hatfield Peverel F 9-1.

Second placed Buttsbury Bees closed the gap on CJL 1A leaders Hutton Hawks with a dominating 5-0 win over the Hutton Harriers thanks to unbeaten outings for Vivaan Babbar and Joshua Freeman.  The Chelmsford Lions edged the Chelmsford Tigers 3-2 which saw an Ethan Collins double.  The Hutton Hyenas remain top of CJL 1B despite a 3-2 loss to the second-placed Buttsbury Bears which saw Zac Berry go undefeated. Sean Kwan and William Guilloux were two more undefeated players as the fourth placed Chelmsford Jaguars beat the Buttsbury Bulldogs 5-0, while a Sai Suresh double enabled the third placed Chelmsford Leopards to edge the Hutton Hammers 3-2.

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

___________________________

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

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

___________________________

Nomads Panthers and Windsor Hawks have occupied the top two spots in Division One of the Clacton League for most of the season so far, but Nomads Lions this week recorded two wins and are emerging as the third challenger for top honours.

Their first victory was a decisive 9-1 success over Brotherhood A, both Paul Hume, making his first appearance of the season, and Ethan Lloyd taking maximum points. Jason Lloyd won a couple but fell foul of Russell Hillier, who won their individual encounter 11-6 in the fifth.

And the Lions followed this up with a 7-3 victory against Walton B, Hume again staying unbeaten, with Jason Lloyd and Adam Wilkin each winning two. Mark Gale and Mark Ratcliffe took a point each for Walton, and also won the doubles.

In their second match, the Walton B side enjoyed a 7-3 win of their own against Brotherhood B, despite having to play with a guest. Gale and Ratcliffe took maximum points and shared an 11-6 in the fifth doubles win against the Plummer brothers.  

Meanwhile, leaders Nomads Panthers had a comfortable 9-1 victory over a below-strength Windsor Eagles, Greg Green and James Denyer taking three each, and Gill Locke two. John Pattrick defeated Locke for the Eagles’ point.

Windsor Hawks maintained their interest at the top with victory over Lawford, Gary Young, Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez all unbeaten in the 10-0 win, in an encounter where only two matches were extended to a fourth set.

Three for Pete Burrows, two for Graham Buxton and a doubles victory for the pair gave Walton C bragging rights over Walton A, winning 6-4. Dave Binns won two for the ‘A’ team, and Andy Foster and Derek Willis one each.

In Division Two, Windsor Buzzards had a good scrap with Brotherhood E before ending as 8-2 winners. Scott Campbell took his maximum, with Dave Martin and Pete Bloomfield each winning two, although it was a mighty close 16-14 in the fifth decider for Bloomfield against Fred Gallone. Kevin Pryor won the two Brotherhood points.

There was a treble for Jonathan Hockley, and two each for John Hockley and Callum Hogg, in Nomads Jaguars’ 8-2 success over Windsor Penguins. For the Penguins, there was one each for Kayley Rodriguez, in her first appearance of the season, and Paul Woolnough. Woolnough was involved in two five-setters, including an interesting-looking encounter with Jonathan Hockley who took the match 8-11, 13-15, 11-7, 19-17, 11-1. 

A Boyland-less Brotherhood C failed to win for the first time this season, held to a draw by Windsor Harriers, mainly thanks to an unbeaten performance from Barry Allen. The Harriers edged both matches which went the distance, Allen beating John Gallagher 12-10 in the decider and Isabel Barton beating Mark Beckham 11-9 in the decider. Gallagher and Paul Metcalf each won two singles, and combined for a doubles success.

Brotherhood D were 9-1 victors over bottom-team Windsor Magpies, Mark Salter and Paul Alden undefeated. Only John Plummer’s win over Tricia Salter prevented the whitewash.   

It was also 9-1 for Nomads Tigers against Brotherhood G, Bob Jillins and Dave Miller both taking trebles, and Zein Shafat two. Brotherhood’s reserve Tom Bryden was their best player on the night, defeating Shafat 11-7 in the fifth and taking Miller all the way before eventually going down 11-8 in the fifth.

In Division Three, leaders Brotherhood F beat Windsor Falcons 7-3 but no-one could get the better of an unbeatable Kelvin Olano. Ruby Gallagher, Tom Bryden and Lucy Carvell all won two, with Gallagher and Joe Sherwin taking the doubles in the closest match of the evening, 11-8 in the fifth against Olano and Nikki Hayes.

Hat-tricks for Andrew Cousins and Arthur-Wells-Garrett saw Nomads Ocelots home 8-2 against Holland Vulcans, although Wells-Garrett needed all five sets to beat both James Horsler and Derek Foxley. There was a point each for Foxley and Horsler, the latter scaping past Hazel Blanche 12-10 in the decider in the closest encounter of the evening.  

And the Vulcans suffered a second 8-2 defeat, this at the hands of Walton D, Maggie Earle and Lynette Sparks unbeaten. Foxley and Horsler again picked up a point apiece for the Vulcans, Horsler beating Deborah Pallett 11-4 in the fifth.

Three for Dominic Joannou, two for Anne Bonny and one for Mark Taylor gave Nomads Leopards a 7-3 victory over Holland Lancasters. For the Lancasters, Dave Wright won two and Ann Peart one, Peart also taking Bonny close before going down 12-10 in the decider.

Finally, Brotherhood H were 10-0 winners against Holland Mosquitoes who were forced to field a guest, whilst it was also 10-0 for the Bobcats in their all-Nomads fixture with the Ocelots.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton C 6 Walton A 4;

Brotherhood A 1 Nomads Lions 9;

Windsor Hawks 10 Lawford 0;

Nomads Panthers 9 Windsor Eagles 1;

Brotherhood B 3 Walton B 7;

Nomads Lions 7 Walton B 3.

Division 2

Brotherhood E 2 Windsor Buzzards 8;

Brotherhood G 1 Nomads Tigers 9;

Windsor Harriers 5 Brotherhood C 5;

Windsor Magpies 1 Brotherhood D 9;

Nomads Jaguars 8 Windsor Penguins 2.

Division 3

Holland Vulcans 2 Walton D 8;

Holland Vulcans 2 Nomads Ocelots 8;

Windsor Falcons 3 Brotherhood F 7;

Nomads Ocelots 0 Nomads Bobcats 10;

Holland Mosquitoes 0 Brotherhood H 10;

Nomads Leopards 7 Holland Lancasters 3.

Report by Tony Oswick

In Division 2 of the Southend League the top of the table clash between leaders Stanford B and second placed Matchpoint B, both unbeaten, failed to live up to expectations this week. Matchpoint could only field two players and it was left to teenagers Max Mayo and Lotte Mills to take on the very experienced Stanford team of Rob Salvage, Russell Bright and Adrian Armstrong. The result was a comprehensive 9-0 win for Stanford who now sit eleven points clear of their rivals and have a game in hand. Favourites beforehand to get promotion they are now clear favourites to win the league outright.

With third placed Canvey B without a game Hockley B moved level with them on points after an 8-1 victory against Invicta B. Mike Worship and Paul Ogden both recorded maximums and there was a brace for Paul Strutt whilst Steve Lennox grabbed the consolation point for Invicta. Just two games went the distance on the night Lennox’s win finishing 11/9 in the decider whilst Ogden got the better of Mike Keeble winning 11/8 in the fifth after Keeble had battled back from 2-0 down. Invicta stay sixth in the table.

Bottom of the table Matchpoint C sprang the surprise of the week with a last ditch 5-4 win against Rawreth Megazone D. Player of the match was Rawreth’s Richard Kidd who was unbeaten on the night albeit he was pushed all the way by Roger Sherman before edging home 4/11 14/12 11/6 10/12 14/12. Sherman however went on to win his other two games and he was supported by Alwine Jarvis who picked up her first two wins of the season. With the scores level at 4-4 it was down to the final game of the evening and captain Ollie Milchard overcame the disappointment of losing his other two games by defeating Steve McQuillan in four sets. Jaspreet Singh had got Rawreth’s other point by beating Milchard in another five set marathon, coming from two sets down to win the decider 13/11. Teenager William Evesham was the star of Hockley D’s 6-3 away win at Runnymede. He won all his games as Hockley recorded only their second win of the season and that included a marathon five set match against Tina Hutchinson where he fought back from a two set deficit before clinching the game 11/8 in the decider. Hockley actually lost the first two games of the evening before rattling off six games on the trot. Last game of the evening saw Hutchinson engaged in another five set match against John George and was again pegged back from a two set lead before, this time, winning the decider 12/10. That gave her two wins on the night with Steve Wisbey adding the other point also beating George. For Hockley Ben Cook recorded a brace with George getting the other point. 

Are Black Notley F going to be the Luton Town of the Braintree Table Tennis League?

Luton gained unexpected promotion to the Premier League in 2023 and then finished above the two teams that had gone up with them – a position Notley F now find themselves in.

They went up only because the league expanded to bring three new teams into division three.  Space had to be made for them and so three teams instead of one were put up to division two.

Notley F (G last season) were the third of those.

They will not of course want to pursue the Luton comparison too far in view of their subsequent relegation but the Braintree Table Tennis League is not so draconian as the Premier League and only relegates one team.

And at the moment that does not look like being Notley F, who currently sit in fourth place, with Yeldham Whitlocks A in seventh and last year’s division three champions Netts D eleventh.

Both have had a tougher set of matches and have been missing significant players, Charles Calisin at Netts and Lorraine Burgess at Yeldham, so it could all change, but Notley will be pleased with the way the season has started.

Their latest win came against a Rayne F team boosted by the inclusion of Steve Buer.

But Graham Chinnery outlasted Buer to win at 11-9 in the fifth game and won his other two singles to lead his team to a 6-4 win.

Netts D meanwhile lost 8-2 to Notley E, where Jim Davy was unbeaten, but Yeldham secured an excellent draw with league leaders Rayne D.

Dave Moles found a way past Roy Hooper but was found wanting by Doug Sanders, who in turn lost to Dave Marsh, who went on to lose to Hooper.

Sudbury Wanderers kept up their 100 per cent record with a 7-3 win over Notley D that moves them up to within two points of Rayne D with a match in hand.

Natalie Dodd lost her unbeaten record to Paul Nicol.

Matthew Brown’s spotless record on the other hand remains intact after he took his three singles in Rayne E’s 6-4 win over Notley C.

In division one there were convincing wins for the top two.  Rayne A beat their own B team 9-1 while Netts A had a 10-0 win over Liberal A.

Victor Chan’s win over Adam Buxton for Rayne B was the only ripple on the pond.

Last year’s bottom team Liberal C kept up their unexpectedly impressive start to the season with another win, 6-4 over Netts B.

All three Netts wins came from Szczepan Ziobro.

Against Sudbury Nomads, Notley B gave a debut to 20-year-old Luke Burridge, who started the evening by beating Ken Lewis, something that never comes easily, but he could not repeat the dose against Karl Baldwin, whose three singles helped his side to a draw.

Report by Ron Fosker