Such has been the dominance of Netts A at the top of the Braintree Table Tennis League this season that even preventing them winning 10-0 counts as some sort of success.
After four consecutive such wins, they were brought down to earth with a bump – well, maybe a slight shudder – when Rayne B restricted them to 8-2.
It was a match with significance on a personal level as well: a victory for Oliver Hicks over his dad James.
That was close, and then not so close: 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3.
Apart from the bragging rights in the Hicks household, it was a notable win in itself as Hicks senior had previously lost only three out of 31 – and had won the first battle with his son 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 in October.
Steve Pennell was responsible for Rayne B’s other point with a straight-games win over Andy Holmes.
It is largely academic, but Rayne A for once bettered the leaders by beating Liberal B 9-1, Ashley Skeggs gaining Liberal’s point with a win over Maria Boulton despite losing the first game 11-1.
Sudbury Nomads also moved a point closer to the top by beating Netts B 9-1.
Jon Hill grabbed Netts B’s point with a win at 11-9 in the fifth against Aron Jordan, but of more interest was the fact that Richard Fifield, all-conquering in division three, remained al-conquering on his division one debut.
At the other end of the table, Liberal C registered their fourth win, 7-3 over Rayne C, but still remain behind their opponents who have yet to post a victory.
In the Black Notley club battle, it was the B team who came out on top, 8-2 against the A team.
Luke Burridge was unbeaten.
There were no wobbles at the top of division two where Sudbury Wanderers had a straightforward 10-0 demolition of Netts D, but below them Rayne D pulled two points closer to second place with an 8-2 win over Notley E while Rayne E were held to 6-4 by Rayne F.
For Rayne D, Dave Moles and Paul Wellington were undefeated while for Notley E, Matt Brooks had the rare distinction of bettering son Jamie by registering his side’s only win at Dave Marsh’s expense. Notley C lost a bit of ground with a 6-4 defeat by Netts C, despite three singles from Rev Matthews, while Doug Sanders was unbeaten in Yeldham Whitlocks’ 6-4 win over Notley F. He beat Graham Chinnery, who had earlier got the better of Roy Hooper.
In division three, leaders Finchingfield A matched their counterparts in the higher divisions with another thumping win, 9-1 over Notley I. Tony Brown pinched the one for Notley with a win over Ray Bradford.
Second-placed Sudbury Strollers were much harder pushed by the juniors of Netts F and needed all the guile of Richard Kemp, in the second division for the past few seasons, to settle a 6-4 win.
The next two teams both lost.
James Dickson remained unbeaten for the first time to lead Yeldham B to a 6-4 win over third-placed Notley G while Finchingfield B succumbed by the same score to Rayne G.
Two of the division’s leading players, Ted Sims and Stewart Grant, were both playing for the first time in more than two months in the latter match, Sims creeping home in the battle between the two 9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9.
Netts E pulled further away from the foot of the table with a 6-4 win over Notley H, with David Montgomery unbeaten.
Second placed Chelmsford A’s 7-3 loss at Danbury B would have given much pleasure to division one leaders Danbury C who look to be odds-on to lift the 2024/2025 title. Danbury’s Sam Lowman was in great form as his three victories along with Dan Anderson’s brace helped the fourth-placed B team close the gap to their opponents to just six points. Chelmsford’s Simon Jarvis earned fine wins over Anderson and Chandler but narrowly lost out to Lowman in the opening contest of the evening by a 3-2 scoreline. Chris Penrose and Dave Richardson won three matches apiece as third placed Danbury A beat sixth placed Galleywood A 8-2. Galleywood’s James Hicks and Gary Brignall fought back from 2-1 down to beat Penrose and Richardson in the doubles.
In division two, Hatfield Peverel A continued their late-season revival with a third straight win having tasted defeat in their previous seven matches. There was a treble from Martin Archie backed up by two wins apiece for Alastair Piper and Julie Johnson as Peverel moved up to fourth position with a 7-3 home victory over the winless Old Chelmsfordians B. Both Piper and Johnson were denied a third win by OC’s Mick Richardson who recovered from 2-1 down to beat Johnson in the last match of the evening. Richardson had earlier raced to a 2-0 lead over Archie only for his opponent to strike back to earn the first of his three wins. Derek Balding made his first league appearance of 2025 and took his record to 18 wins from 18 singles matches this season in an 8-2 Maldon A victory over Writtle C. Balding’s teammates Colin Napper and Chris Hancox won two matches apiece – the latter seeing his 2-1 lead end in a loss against Writtle’s Gary Ward. There were trebles for both Mark Glenister and Gary Brignall as Galleywood B consolidated eighth position with an 8-2 victory over ninth placed Writtle B. Teammate Will Goodchild would have joined them on three victories but for Trevor Collin taking the deciding game of their matchup. Rob Burton dropped just one game from his three victories as leaders Buttsbury A won 8-2 on the road at Danbury D. Burton was joined on three wins by Evie Knaapen who got the better of Daniel Patynski in a very exciting match which ended 14-12, 8-11, 12-10, 22-20 in Knaapen’s favour.
Chelmsford D moved ten points clear at the top of division three with an 8-2 home win over fourth placed Danbury G. Christopher Denyer and Alex Tkachuk did the business for the hosts with Tkachuk’s 3-2 victory over Mervyn Perriman the sole five-gamer over the course of the contest. Galleywood C moved withing four points of second placed Buttsbury B with a 7-3 away win at the two-person team of Hatfield Peverel B – Peverel’s Neil Freeman was the star of the show with three victories. Freeman beat Bryn Thomas in three, Colin Blore in four and managed to overcome a rallying Robin Armstrong in five. Dave Moles was on fire as his bottom of the table Writtle E side beat tenth placed Danbury H 7-3 to move within two points of eleventh placed OCA C. Moles dropped just one game in his three victories – one of which was a 3-1 victory over Danbury’s Gordon Gatheral who saw success in his two other matches.
Peter Harverson won all three as eighth placed Danbury J drew 5-5 with ninth placed Chelmsford F. Harverson won his first two matches of the evening with 3-0 scorelines but was well tested by Chelmsford’s Salih Salim who finally went down 13-11 in the fifth. There was a Tom Barker treble in eleventh placed Old Chelmsfordians C’s 6-4 away win at fifth placed Writtle D. Barker had to recover from 2-1 down against Malcolm Henstock in order to register his second win of the evening while Barker’s teammate Luke Richardson also caused Henstock angst when recovering from 2-0 down for the victory in their encounter.
Division four leaders Hutton A and second placed Maldon B were not in action in week 22 so the focus was on whether third placed Buttsbury C could close the gap when hosting fifth placed Danbury K in one of their two games in hand. Buttsbury were boosted by news that Danbury were only able to field two players for the fixture as Joshua Freeman’s two 3-0 victories fired the hosts to a 8-2 win. Buttsbury D moved above Danbury K into fourth place with a 9-1 away win at Danbury M thanks to trebles from Keith Abbott and Kevin Willis. Danbury’s David Smith scuppered Buttsbury’s Lyndon Bubb’s hopes of a treble when eeking out a 3-2 win (3-11, 11-6, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10). There were two wins apiece for Chelmsford G’s Mark Nolan, David Parker and Atharv Gupta in their 7-3 away win at Danbury L John Manning put the hosts 1-0 up with a five-game win over Nolan before teammates Roy Gandy and Ken Wilding made the score 3-0. Those three matches were the highlights of the evening for Danbury as Chelmsford then took the next seven matches, Nolan and Atharv Gupta recovered from 2-0 down to win the doubles contest and David Parker weathered a Gandy fight back from the same position in a 3-2 win. In two mid-table encounters, Nathan Blore was undefeated for Galleywood D as they ran out 8-2 winners against Hatfield Peverel C, while Farooq Ahmed won all three for OCA D despite a 6-4 away loss at the hands of Highwood A.
There were two wins for Buttsbury E in week 22 who sit 10 points clear at the top of division five though second-placed Hutton B have the advantage of three games in hand. There were three wins for both James Hughes and Chris Hughes in a 9-1 victory over Hatfield Peverel F, while OCA E’s Matthew Porter’s treble couldn’t prevent Buttbury running out 6-4 winners. Michael Anthony hit a hat-trick as third placed Writtle F won 7-3 at Highwood B while Tim Huxtable won all three as fourth placed Maldon C won 7-3 at Hatfield Peverel C. The basement battle between Anglia Ruskin and Hatfield Peverel F ended in a 5-5 stalemate as Peter Hughes took the player of the match honours with two wins from three while James Grindlay and Shengbing Zhu won three apiece as Chelmsford H posted an 8-2 home win over Hatfield Peverel D.
Windsor Buzzards are clear at the top of Division Two of the Clacton League but, with only six matches remaining, just nine points separate the next four teams – Brotherhood C, Brotherhood D, Nomads Tigers and Nomads Jaguars – in the battle for the runners-up spot.
Current second-placed side Brotherhood C beat a Nomads Tigers’ team forced to play with a guest and, despite a hat-trick from Tigers’ skipper Dave Miller, emerged 6-4 winners. The victory leaves the ‘C’ team on 86 points, six ahead of fourth-placed Tigers on 80 points.
Brotherhood D improved their position and are now in third position on 83 points following their 8-2 success over Brotherhood G. Both sides fielded reserves, late call-up Joe Sherwin excelling to stay unbeaten for the winners whilst ‘G’ team reserve Owen Woollard will feel pleased to have picked up a point for the losers.
And Nomads Jaguars are still in with a shout, moving on to 77 points after a 9-1 win against Brotherhood E. Chris Petrou and Jonathan Hockley both stayed unbeaten, with only Fred Gallone’s victory over Tom Wilkin in the final match of the evening preventing the whitewash.
Meanwhile, leaders Windsor Buzzards recorded their fourth 10-0 win of the season, this time beating Windsor Kestrels 10-0, Andy Cawley, Scott Campbell and Ray Chillingworth taking the points. But the final match of the evening might well have earned the Kestrels a consolation point, Cawley getting over the line 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 13-11 against Peter Aumord. The Buzzards now lead the Division by 23 points.
The closest match of the week was the all-Windsor clash between the Penguins and the Harriers where six of the matches went the distance, with no-one staying unbeaten. Neil Chegwidden and Paul Woolnough won two each for the Penguins, as did Barry Allen and Isabel Barton for the Harriers. Barton was involved in three five-setters, beating Sharon Gowlett 14-12 in the fifth and Neil Chegwidden 11-9 in the fifth, whilst the battling Gowlett was also involved in three five-setters but unfortunately failed to get on the score-sheet.
In Division Three, Brotherhood F took the bragging rights in match between the top two teams, defeating Brotherhood H 9-1. Joe Sherwin and Ruby Gallagher took trebles, with Savindu De Silva taking the ‘H’ side’s point with victory against Lucy Carvell. Two of the matches went to five, Gallagher beating Harindu De Silva 11-5 in the fifth and Owen Woollard 11-8 in the fifth. The ‘F’ team have now established a 20-point lead over their ‘H’ team rivals.
The Nomads Ocelots v Windsor Falcons encounter ended with honours even, Ferdy Rodriguez’s treble for the Falcons including an 11-9 in the fifth win over Andrew Cousins. There were two each for Cousins and Arthur Wells-Garrett of the Ocelots, Wells-Garrett having a close tussle with Nigel Rolph before edging it 12-10, 12-10, 14-16, 4-11, 12-10.
Holland Hurricanes defeated Holland Lancasters 7-3. There were three for Gary Stallwood, two for Gerry Widnell, one for John Smith-Daye, plus an 11-6 in the decider doubles win for Widnell and Smith-Daye over Dave Wright and Pam Cousins. Wright picked up a couple for the Lancasters.
In Division One, three each for Paul Hume and Jason Lloyd were the basis of Nomads Lions’ 8-2 success over Walton B. Mark Ratcliffe and Mark Gale picked up a point apiece for Walton, Ratcliffe defeating Martyn Green 11-8 in the decider but going down 11-6 in the decider to Lloyd.
Brotherhood A beat Windsor Hawks 7-3, Kevin Gowlett unbeaten. Martin Edwards won two for the winners, as did Felipe Rodriguez for the Hawks. Dave Martin, acting as a reserve for the Hawks, failed to get on the score-sheet but showed much of his old know-how to test Edwards and Russell Hillier before going down in five to both players.
Finally, Gary Cattermole and John Pattrick took trebles in Windsor Eagles’ 7-3 victory against Brotherhood B. The closest match of the contest saw Pattrick edge out Joe Plummer 11-9 in the fifth. There was a point each for both Sam Plummer and Joe Plummer, the pair sharing an 11-7 in the fifth doubles win against Cattermole and Pattrick.
* A final reminder that there are a number of matches between teams from the same Club which need to be brought forward and played before 4th April. The relevant teams have been notified by e-mail and Team Secretaries are urged to check the League Handbook (page 4) for details of these fixtures. Any such matches not played by this date will be declared void.
* The Windsor Club’s ‘Pig Race Evening’ is on Saturday 8th March at the Brotherhood Hall. Doors open at 7.00 pm with the first race starting at 7.30 pm. Entry is free, bring your own drinks and nibbles. For more details, contact Jenny Higgins (Tel : 07790 240566).
* The Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, take place over the weekend of 12th and 13th April. Entry forms will be sent out shortly, with a closing date of Friday 14th March. The qualification for entry is confirmed as five matches.
The Burnham & District Table Tennis League title race is as tight as an otter’s pocket this season. All 3 contenders were on show this week and they have somehow contrived to narrow the margins yet again. Second placed Cold Norton B defeated Leaders Fambridge in a tight 6-4 win, and third placed Mapledene A gained ground with a hard-fought 8-2 triumph over Woodham B. The bonfire is lit and the sparks are starting to fly!
Cold Norton B travelled the short distance to Fambridge this week for the top of the table clash – both teams fully loaded. A good win by Fambridge would see them take full control of the leadership contest and their odds would surely tighten significantly. But Cold Norton are still on for the double this
season and have the wherewithal to make this happen. It didn’t take long for Cold Norton to impress their credentials upon the Fambridge Galacticos as they won all 3 of the opening salvos – Eric Green beating Mark Stones, Sam Lowman overcoming Gary Young, and Ian Wall triumphing over John Poysden. Wall went on to beat Stones but Green fell to Young and Poysden made up for his early loss by taking the Lowman scalp in 5 tricky sets. So a more respectable 4-2 scoreline at the break and this was improved with a doubles point for Fambridge. Wall completed his impressive treble and Poysden bagged a noteworthy win over Green to make it 5-4 to the Nortonians going into the final battle of the evening. Stones, eager to bother the scoreboard for his side, welcomed the young contender Lowman into the
home side’s Octagon. But that was as scary as it got for Lowman who went about his business with some aplomb for a straight sets victory and the overall 6-4 winning margin – a score that opens up the door for both Cold Norton and Mapledene in the chasing pack to push on and take the challenge to Fambridge. Mapledene A travelled to South Woodham for what should have been a straightforward affair against lowly Woodham B. But despite the final 8-2 scoreline the match was pretty even and you have to feel the pain of Woodham’s Dan Patynski who took all of the Mapledeners to 5 sets but came away without a point to show for his efforts. A truly enjoyable evening was had by all with some phenomenal play from all 6 players. Mapledene’s George Reeves came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders playing like Boris Becker in his finest serve and volley days. A Reeves’ serve is tough to face and tough to read and if an opponent can return the serve it is often high and exactly where Reeves wants it and wham-bam-thank-you-mam the subsequent smash is way past you before you can react. This is exactly what happened in the opening match against Woodham’s Harry Sawford as Reeves won in a blastfest 3 straight sets. In his next game Reeves’ serve and volley style tactics were still in play but his opponent Patynski was able to retrieve more serves and was winning the lion’s share of the longer rallies and this pattern ensued all the way to the bitter end of the fifth set where Reeves’ determination took him through to the victory. Peter Barrett won both his opening singles – but again nothing straightforward as he had to battle past Sawford and Eamonn Hall with the majority of the legs going into deuce shootouts. Mapledene Captain Reece Seddon was nursing an injury but still had his usual range of match winning shots – but again he was tested by both Hall in 4 sets, and then Patynski in a 5 set marathon that saw Patynski turn in the lead at the ends switch dance in the deciding set but he was unable to match the experience of Seddon in this sudden death corridor and fell just at the crucial moment. So Woodham found themselves 0-6 down at the break despite having been competitive in 5 of the opening matches – that’s sport for you! So time for some half-time legendary team talking – well a debate as to who should play the doubles with the untried combo of Hall and Patynski emerging from the fracas. It was indeed
a moment of genius as the new pairing dominated proceedings taking a pretty comfortable 4 set victory with some great combination play and a hatful of outright winning strokes. On the board at last! In the final singles run-in Barrett and Patynski played out a blinder with the differences being thinner than a bees wing. The opening 3 sets went beyond deuce as Patynski pulled back from 0-2 down to even up the contest – but Barrett held his nerve and punched his way to a 5th leg knock-out for his treble and a Player-of-the-Match award. From somewhere deep within Hall kept pace with the early batterings from Reeves and was able to control the Reeves serve to such an extent that the match remained competitive and Hall took the opening leg. Much the same in the second leg although the nets and edges gods and the luck of the Irish all descended at once to help Hall stretch his lead, and then with more open play he was able to take the only singles point of the night for Woodham. So positive hat-tricks for Barrett and Seddon, and a more painful hat-trick for Patynski. At the other end of the Arena, and plodding along at a much quicker pace, was the Woodham derby betwixt A and C. There was a shock in the opening match as the C team’s Hitman Chris Hancox blasted his way past the largely non-existent Dan Piglet defence for the C team to take an unexpected early lead. However things got back to a more alphabetical order as the Penrose brothers rescued the A team from that opening match reverse and by half-time the A team were 4-2 to the good. Chris Penrose was the standout player notching another hat-trick for the A team for the overall 7-3 win, with Hitman Hancox winning 2 points for the C team.
Stow Maries A have extended their lead at the summit of Division 2 following a 7-3 derby victory over Stow B. Their top players Richard Storey and Gary Brignall both fired rapid hat-tricks in the singles, and although third wheel Malcolm Storey was unable to trouble the scoreboard in the singles he did combine with Brignall for a long and hard-fought doubles extra point. The third Stow side in this division, Stow C, brought their run of 12 straight defeats to a stumbling halt as they hosted Woodham D and forced them from the brink of success to the disappointment of a draw as Stow’s Pete Layzell and Tim Huxtable won the final 2 singles matches to even up the match. In fact Stow won 4 of the final 5 matches for a tremendous morale boosting performance. Woodham’s ever improving Peter Harverson was the best player on a show with an unbeaten treble, with Stow’s Pete Layzell taking a brace of wins for his troubled side. The doubles proved crucial and Stow’s pairing of Huxtable and Jean Chasmer held out for a rollercoaster 5 set success. Blackwater A continue to rattle cages, this week with a surprising 8-2 victory over Maldon B – with Captain Alan Scammell the standout performer with his 3rd hat-trick of the season, including the notable scalp of top player Steve Aspland. Noah Sage and Denis Balic both recorded braces but were unable to beat the usually impenetrable Aspland. The Mapledene C trio combined with 2 wins each for their 6-4 win away at Cold Norton D. Dennis Squirrell was the player of the match on countback but it was a close call with his colleagues Sue Body and Dave Woolmer. Neil Want proved the toughest Cold Norton nut to crack as he defeated both Body and Woolmer.
There is an air of alphabetical regularity across Division 3 as the Maldon C, D & E sides and the Blackwater C to F sides all fit into the divisional standings in the correct order with the 2 highest ranked Maldon collaborations holding the top slots. Maldon C maintained their 100% win rate this week but it needed a last gasp come-from-behind final match of the night deciding leg victory by the war horse veteran Shirley Carroll to secure the 6-4 team victory. Carroll had lost her earlier singles battles so she will have been delighted to secure that point for her team. Maldon’s Ella Sach was the player of the match winning 2 singles and combining with Marty Englander for the important doubles point. Englander matched Sach’s stats whilst Dave Benstead and Chris Rolison both won 2 singles for the Blackwater Club. Maldon D slipped into the runner-up position courtesy of a very decent 8-2 winning margin over Blackwater D – hat-tricks for Arthur Shadforth and James Raymond along the way, neither of whom dropped a set in singles or doubles all evening – in fact the match was notable for all 10 matches being won in straight sets with everyone home in time for the 9 o’clock news! John Leavett from Maldon E will feel a little hard done by this week having notched a treble in the singles and partnering Patrick Coyne for the doubles win only to see his dreams of a team win dissipate before his eyes as the regular Blackwater trio of Phil West, Kath Little, and Deb Ginn won the remaining 6 singles to steal the team victory. West almost broke the Leavett winning streak in the final match going 2-1 up in sets before the Leavett comeback got into full swing and the Wild West was tamed and left abandoned at the victory altar.
In the last week of league fixtures before the break for the SDTTL Closed Championships, at the wrong end of the Division 1 table, an encounter between home side Brand Identity B and Wakering TTC was a close run affair that the home side eventually won 5 – 4. The evening was notable for Wakering’s Callum Turner losing for just the second time this season in the very first rubber of the night. Mick Grout was his nemesis. Mick went on to take the Player of the Match award with an unbeaten evening. However, everyone had a part to play in this contest. Dale Gutteridge and Jenny Harrison won one each for Brand, whilst Callum won his two other rubbers and Andy Deadman and Paul England got one each for Wakering.
Basildon A firmed up their hold on the top spot with an emphatic 9 – 0 home win over Hadleigh Forum B. However Forum, and in particular Mick Tappenden, put up considerable resistance. Two of Mick’s encounters went to five sets, eventually losing 11 – 9 in the fifth to
Arun Joy and 11 – 8 in the deciding set to Rob Burton. The home side’s trio of Arun, Rob and Les Hoey look destined to take the title unless Matchpoint A can make up some ground in their remaining fixtures.
This week Matchpoint were away to bottom team Hadleigh Forum C. They won 7 – 2. However, Forum were very unfortunate not to get more out of the match. Two of Mark Everard’s rubbers went to five sets, with him losing them both 10 – 12 in the fifth; first to Alex Deacon, and then to Debbie O’Neil. Paul Fawell got both Forum’s successes, whilst their Graham Farmer also suffered a 10 – 12 defeat in the fifth set of his match-up with Debbie. The visitor’s Stephen Heard was POM with an unbeaten hat trick.
Report by David Barnes
Eyes turned to the bottom of Division 2 this week as bottom club Matchpoint C pulled off something of a surprise win coming back from 4-1 down to beat Rawreth D 5-4. It was an all round team performance by Matchpoint for whom Roger Sherman and Zach Samuels both won two and Alwine Jarvis got a crucial point, coming back from two sets down to beat Amari Al-Soufi 14/12 in the decider. Al – Soufi was denied his hat trick by Jarvis having won his other two games and Jaspreet Singh and Jonathan Allen both won one to ensure every player on the night had at least one win to their name. The result lifts Matchpoint off the bottom of the table and two points clear of Invicta B who have a game in hand.
Fellow strugglers Invicta went down 6-3 to Hockley C but it was a close match, 2-2 at one stage, and three matches went the distance two of them involving Invicta’s Sarah Ball who was pipped in both 12/10 in the final set. Star of the night was Hockley’s Paul Ogden who was unbeaten and dropped only one set all evening. Paul Strutt weighed in with a brace and Tony Molisso a single win to give Hockley the points. Steve Lennox was Invicta’s best with two wins and John Blackman chipped in with one.
At the other end of the table Matchpoint B, who have lost their way a little bit in recent weeks dropping to fourth, took on leaders Stanford B but were edged out 5-4 despite John Lott’s maximum. Matchpoint actually led Stanford 4-3 at one stage but wins from Mark Downey and John Handscombe swung the match in Stanford’s favour. Both sides were missing regulars Dennis Squirrell for Matchpoint and Rob Salvage for Stanford so Handscombe came into Stanford’s side whilst Matchpoint had to call on Richard Sloman from their D team. Sloman pulled off a good win against Adrian Armstrong to get Matchpoint’s fourth point whilst Handscombe’s brace was matched by Mark Downey with Armstrong adding one for Stanford. Matchpoint are now level on points with Canvey B (who didn’t play) but have played two games more.
With just three weeks to go Stanford look certain to finish top currently having a 14 point lead from Hockley C who do have a game in hand, but this is against third placed Canvey B and unlikely to give Hockley what ideally would be a nine point win to put some pressure on Stanford. At the other end of the table, despite having a game in hand on rivals Matchpoint C, Invicta B face the toughest remaining fixtures having to play Stanford B, Matchpoint B and Canvey B. Matchpoint C face Stanford C and Hockley D.
There were three one-sided results in division one of the Chelmsford League this week as leaders Danbury C won 9-1 at Danbury A, second placed Chelmsford A won 9-1 at Chelmsford B and fourth placed Danbury B blasted Writtle A 10-0. Keith Adams and Gary Young won three each in Danbury C’s victory, A team’s Chris Penrose earned the sole point for the hosts with a 3-0 triumph over two-match-winner Paul Davison. None of the matches in the Chelmsford derby went more than four ends with Simon Jarvis and Aidan Lees securing trebles and Josh Bickles winning two. Dan Anderson, Sam Lowman and Ian Wall were all flawless in Danbury B’s 10-0 victory over Writtle A. Anderson was well pushed by Matthew Brown but triumphed 11-8, 9-11, 19-21, 11-5, 11-9.
In division two, leaders Buttsbury A were back to winning ways with a 9-1 home victory over OCA B, Evie Knaapen celebrated receiving an invitation to play in both the U15 and U17 National Championships with three wins with Robert Burton getting in on the act with a treble also. Maldon A are 15 points back from top spot with a game in hand and they earned a good 8-2 home win over Danbury E. Chris Hancox and Colin Napper were both unbeaten for the hosts with Lloyd Bennett-Smith just missing out in a cracking match with Neil Want (11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 12-14). Alastair Piper (3 wins) and Julie Johnson (2 wins) didn’t let the lack of a teammate stop them from boosting Hatfield Peverel A (5th) to a 6-4 win over Chelmsford C (3rd). Chelmsford’s Adi Kamma fought back from 2-0 down to win the opener against Julie Johnson though Johnson held her nerve later in the evening to beat Dusan Doszkoty 11-13, 11-7, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9. Doszkoty had earlier lost out 12-10 in the fifth against Piper. Three wins were not enough for Ian Whiteside’s Danbury F as they fell to a 6-4 loss against Danbury D. Two wins each for David Penrose and Peter Harverson helped the D’s take the evening’s honours. Gary Ward and John Webber did the business again for Writtle C in their 7-3 win at Writtle B. Ward had to fight back from two games down against Richard Storey while Phil Smith won one of B’s three points with a 11-13, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9 victory.
Chelmsford D lead the way by two points in division three with a game in hand over closest rivals Buttsbury B as both teams posted victories in Week 21. Christopher Denyer and Keith Martin fired hat-tricks as the leaders beat Danbury J 9-1 with Danbury’s Peter Harverson winning 3-2 over Alex Tkachuk before pushing Keith Martin to five games. Paul Sturton and Harry Sawford were both undefeated as Buttsbury B earned a nice 7-3 away win over the tricky Danbury G trio Mervyn Perriman, Louis Gunn and Denis Crapnell. Gunn will be disappointed to be on the wrong side of a 15-13 fifth game scoreline in his match with Harry Sawford, while Crapnell beat Jeremy Giffin in five. OCA C (11th) got the better of Writtle E (12th) thanks to doubles from Richard Baxter, Richard Upson and Tom Barker. All three OCA players were denied trebles by losing fifth game deciders to their opponent – Colin Barham doing the damage on two occasions (against Upson and Barker) while Baxter was undone by Dave Moles 19-17, 14-12, 11-13, 9-11, 3-11. There were three 3-0 victories for Hatfield Peverel B’s Neil Freeman as his team won 6-4 on the road at Danbury H. Teammate Gareth Davies was undefeated in his two matches while Freeman teamed with Gary Simmons to recover from 2-1 down to take the doubles encounter against Scott Perry and Gordon Gatheral.
Third placed Buttbury C did themselves and the chasing pack a huge favour by winning 7-3 at division four leaders Hutton A on Friday night. Joshua Freeman led the way for Buttsbury C with three wins with Lucy Elliott backing him up with two. Second placed Maldon B could not take advantage of the Hutton slip up as they fell to a 7-3 away loss to a Russell Hall inspired OCA D, while Danbury K sit fourth following three wins from Dave Powell and two apiece for Richard Allen and Dave Hancox in an 8-2 victory over Chelmsford G. It was a ‘wonderful world’ as Lewis Armstrong trumpeted [sic] his way to three wins in Galleywood D’s 7-3 home win over Danbury L. Armstrong beat Ken Wilding in three, Greg Cooper in four and Paul Thirkettle in a fifth game decider. Neil Wood scored a treble in Hatfield Peverel C’s 6-4 home win over Danbury M. Wood’s toughest contest of the night was against Peverel’s Steve Martin which was not decided until the fifth game, Martin lost a very close match with Samuel White (10-12, 18-16, 11-9, 11-9) who broke the 4-4 tie in the fixture before Wood earned the win for the hosts in the final match of the evening.
Connor Casey went undefeated as division five’s Anglia Ruskin University won their first league fixture of the season in quite unconventional circumstances as they beat Hatfield Peverel D by a rarely seen 5-4. In one of the few fixtures played where both teams fielded a player short, Casey beat Bruce Wickham in three, then teamed with Kingsley Omo-efe for a 3-1 doubles win before holding on for victory over Andy Whiey 3-2 in the crucial final contest of the evening. There was yet another treble for second-placed Buttsbury E’s Lyndon Bubb in the 6-4 home win over Hatfield Peverel E. Bubb beat Philip West over three close games, Kath Little in four before getting the better of Davina Brazier in a see-saw contest which ended 9-11. 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9. Maldon C’s Shirley Carroll fired a hat-trick in her side’s 6-4 loss to seventh placed Highwood B, Maldon remain fourth while Highwood sit seventh. Steve Peacock and Doug Blaber each won three as Galleywood E scuppered Hatfield Peverel F’s hopes of a third league win of the season. Blaber’s three-win evening proved more difficult to achieve than his teammate’s as he was taken all the way by Peter Hughes and David Benstead. Two wins apiece for Paul Aarons and Michael Anthony helped third placed Writtle F beat sixth placed Chelmsford H 6-4 at home to keep themselves in the title race. Chelmsford’s James Grindlay and Shengbing Zhu won two each for the visitors with an entertaining evening on Paradise Road seeing six five-gamers.
While Netts A continue to soar away at the top of division one, Finchingfield A have been almost as dominant in division three of the Braintree Table Tennis League.
They racked up their 13th win in 13 matches last week and have now conceded just 21 sets in that time.
Their latest success was over Netts F and followed the pattern of many of the others – just one defeat plus a couple of close encounters.
John Barrett, with only one defeat behind him this season, was in commanding form as usual. He took his three singles in straight games and was only once stretched beyond 11-7.
Peter Clark, who is quickly rediscovering the form that helped Netts C to the division three title in 2022, was also unbeaten although he dropped two games on the way.
Ray Bradford, who has provided solid back-up all season, was the only one to taste defeat, missing out to JJ Calisin in four games.
Finchingfield’s B team are currently in a creditable fourth place – the club only began competing in the league last season – and shared the points with Netts E, who had David Montgomery to thank for holding them together with three singles and the doubles with Lindsey Dodd.
Yeldham Whitlocks B, in fifth place, were unable to withstand a team effort from seventh-placed Rayne G who won 6-4 despite three wins from Yeldham’s Steve Willis.
In division two, Yeldham’s first team faced the top two teams in the same week.
They managed four sets against Rayne E but only two against leaders Sudbury Wanderers.
Roy Hooper won two singles on both occasions, losing out to Rayne’s Matthew Brown and Wanderers’ Ian Shrubsole.
Rayne D moved three points closer to their E team with a 9-1 win over Netts D. Dave Moles and Paul Wellington were undefeated while Netts’ Jimmy Calisin scored an excellent win over the formidable Dave Marsh.
Jimmy’s son Charles was unbeaten in Netts C’s 7-3 win over Rayne F.
Paul Hume took the honours in the Clacton League’s 2025 Handicap Singles Tournament, beating off competition from thirty-one other players, to lift the Gordon Denton Trophy for the first time.
In the final, the unassuming Hume (-15) took the title by beating thirteen-year-old Owen Woollard (+3) 11-8, 11-9 in a best-of-three set match.
It was a deserved triumph for the likeable twenty-nine-year-old, a beaten semi-finalist in both 2020 and 2022, and who, as the top-ranked player in the tournament, had to claw back significant points differences in all his matches.
But Hume went about his business in a typically quiet and proficient way, never resorting to pure defence, but utilising his deceptively-skilful attacking play to good effect, none more so than in the final where he was pushed all the way by surprise finalist Woollard.
Woollard – playing in his first final, in his first tournament, in his first season of League table tennis – showed little outward signs of nerves, forcing Hume to produce his best play. But the more experienced Hume was able to chip away at the points deficit, winning in fine style in an entertaining final.
In the Group stage, Hume topped his group of Sam Watling, Ian Gwillim and Andy Cawley, the only player to take a set off Hume all day, before overcoming a 26-point difference to beat Anne Bonny, then talented junior Tom Bryden and, in the semi-final, the highly-competitive John Gallagher.
Woollard, whose cool temperament and calm manner impressed many and stood him in good stead throughout the day, had an early baptism of fire, topping a Group comprising experienced campaigners Kevin James, Russell Hillier and Barry Allen before, disposing of Paul Newbould, another old hand, and Joe Sherwin, one of the League’s top junior prospects, in the first two Rounds of the Knock-Out stage.
In his semi-final, Woollard faced Martin Edwards but, once again, he came through this intriguing tie with flying colours, where Edwards, the Clacton League’s Coaching Officer, faced one of his most promising young pupils. But Woollard showed no mercy against a visibly-tiring Edwards who, despite putting in 100% effort and concentration into every point as he had done all day, won 11-7, 11-7, 11-5
It was disappointment for Edwards who, in his long association with the League, had only twice reached the semi-finals, and only once made it to the final, on that occasion in 1995 losing a final set decider 21-19.
An honourable mention should also go to the other semi-finalist, John Gallagher, a vastly-improved player over the past three seasons, who was unfortunate to come across the in-form Hume in his semi-final. On his way to this point, Gallagher (-6) had to face daughter Ruby (+1) in a competitive match for the second time in as many weeks, on this occasion winning the day 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9.
Credit also to one of the League’s less-mentioned players, Anne Bonny, who surprised everyone, including herself, in qualifying from the Group stage for the first time in her short table tennis career, only to go out (on +4) to prospective champion Hume (-22) 11-8, 11-9.
Finally, a word of praise for reigning 2024 champion Matt Sage who put in a determined and courageous effort to retain his title. But having topped his Group, Sage (+1) was thwarted in Round One by 2023 champion, Russell Hillier (-8) who fought back from a disastrous start to win through 0-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5, 19-17 in one of the most exciting and tense matches seen in the Handicap Singles for many years.
Main results – Final : Paul Hume (-15) beat Owen Woollard (+3) 11-8, 11-9; Semi-finals : Hume (-10) beat John Gallagher (+3) 13-11, 11-7, 11-8; Woollard (+2) beat Martin Edwards (-10) 11-7, 11-7, 11-5; Quarter-finals : Hume (-13) beat Tom Bryden (+3) 11-8, 11-9; Woollard (+1) beat Joe Sherwin (-1) 4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8; John Gallagher (-6) beat Ruby Gallagher (+1) 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9; Edwards (0) beat Russell Hillier (0) 13-11, 11-9, 11-8.
For the record, of the thirty-two entrants, eighteen were players from Third Division teams. Of the eight quarter-finalists, seven were from the Brotherhood Club, although the eventual champion was a Nomads Club player. And, once again, a new name has been entered onto the Handicap Singles Roll of Honour. In its 42 years, only one player has won the Handicap Singles three times (back in the early 1990s) while just six players have won it twice, making Paul Hume the 34th different winner in the Tournament’s history.
* In Division One of the League, Nomads Lions defeated Walton C 10-0, all of the matches settled in three-straight, and are now looking favourites to take the runners-up spot.
The Walton C team suffered a second 10-0 defeat, this time to Brotherhood A. There were hat-tricks here for Kevin Gowlett, Russell Hillier and Tim Leung, as there were for John Pattrick and Phil Smith in Windsor Eagles’ 8-2 success against Lawford.
Three from Andy Vincent could not prevent a weakened Windsor Hawks going down 6-4 to Brotherhood B, whilst it was the same score as Walton B took four of the matches which went the distance to edge out Walton A.
In Division Two, leaders Windsor Buzzards beat second-placed Brotherhood C 7-3, Scott Campbell taking his eighth maximum of this campaign, whilst the clash of the third- and fourth-placed sides appropriately ended all-square for a second time this season, Mark Salter staying undefeated as Brotherhood D drew with Nomads Tigers.
An all-Windsor clash ended 7-3 in favour of the Penguins over the Kestrels, Neil Chegwidden remaining unbeaten with Paul Woolnough and Sharon Gowlett each picking up two.
Dan Grindrod took a treble as Brotherhood G kept up their battle against relegation with a 6-4 win over a weakened Nomads Jaguars, but bottom-side Windsor Magpies again tasted defeat, this time 9-1 at the hands of Brotherhood E.
In Division Three, there were wins for the top two sides, Brotherhood F defeating Walton D 10-0 and Brotherhood H beating Holland Hurricanes 7-3. The closest encounter of this latter match was the doubles which saw Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard of Brotherhood edge past Gary Stallwood and John Smith-Daye 11-9 in the fifth.
Meanwhile, Nomads Bobcats kept their outside hopes of promotion alive with an 8-2 win against Holland Lancasters.
Finally, Dominic Joannou was unbeaten as Nomads Leopards defeated Holland Vulcans 7-3, the same score by which Nomads Ocelots beat Holland Mosquitos, Arthur Wells-Garrett and Hazel Blanche recording hat-tricks.
* The draw for Round Two of the Handicap Cup has produced some intriguing ties. Two of the big guns from Division One, Walton B and Nomads Lions, have been drawn against each other but perhaps the most intriguing of all will be the clash of the top two Third Division teams of Brotherhood youngsters. The full draw is : Walton B v Nomads Lions; Windsor Falcons v Brotherhood A; Nomads Bobcats v Windsor Penguins; Brotherhood F v Brotherhood H. Matches are to be played in week beginning 24th February.
* The League is pleased to announce that the Closed Championships this year will once again be sponsored by The Survey Initiative. Our grateful thanks to Gary Cattermole for his continued generosity. Entry forms will be available towards the end of February with a closing date of 14th March. The qualification is likely to be revised to five matches.
* The Windsor Club is organising a Pig Race evening on Saturday 8th March at the Brotherhood Hall. Doors open at 7.00 pm with the first race starting at 7.30 pm. Entry is free, bring your own drinks and nibbles.
* Players and supporters of the League may be interested to read the first issue of ‘Scimitar’, the on-line newsletter of the Essex County Table Tennis Association. Many years ago, County published ‘Scimitar’ as a printed magazine on a regular basis but it has long ceased publication. ‘Scimitar’ can be viewed on the League’s website under ‘County News’.
Stow Maries A have finally loosened their coiled springs and leapt ahead of Maldon A in the race for the Division 2 Title in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. It will now go tit-for-tat until the end of the season with the big clash of the titans scheduled for early March – it could be a winner takes all affair!
In the top Division Fambridge were back in action and their emphatic 8-2 disposal of a very competitive Mapledene B side sends out a strong message to the would be challengers. Fambridge’s Gary Young was in fine fettle with an impeccable evening of sport across both disciplines as he recorded a hat-trick of singles and a doubles bonus point with partner Mark Stones. Young’s most difficult opponent was the tricky Keith Willett who had the nerve to fight back from 0-2 down to not only square the match but take Young deep into post-deuce territory as the two protagonists fought it out for supremacy – with Young just prevailing, eventually at 14-12 in the fifth and deciding set. Willett was duly dispatched back to his own territory but no doubt he will return for another trial by combat. For Mapledene Kieran Skeggs was able to claim the scalps of Stones and John Poysden for his team’s 2 points. Woodham A bounced back from their recent humblings to just about overcome a defiant Cold Norton C trio. Everyone came away with at least a point, and the outcome of this one was no way a foregone conclusion and most of the games went to 4 or 5 sets. Cold Norton’s Kim Shead came away as the player of the match with wins over Daniel Piglet and Tony Bonnici, but he fell to the hard-hitting Chris Hancox in a 5th set winner takes all encounter. Bonnici and Piglet went on win their remaining singles and Hancox and Piglet combined for the crucial doubles point to secure the overall 6-4 victory. Norton’s Tim Cramphorn won the toughest match of the night as he and Hancox battled it out as far as 14-14 into the fifth set before the Hancox defence dwindled and Cramphorn was able to secure the point. So having won and lost a five-setter already it will come as no surprise that Hancox’s final match also went to a deciding set – although after the first 2 sets at 11-4, and 11-3 one might have thought Hancox would stroll to victory, but the man of nets and edges Mr Neil Want had other ideas and one of these was to fight back from this brink of a disastrous defeat. So fight he did, winning the 3rd set with some aplomb before facing several match points in a tremendously even 4th set that he eventually won 17-15, and finally taking down the exhausted Hancox 11-9 for his only point of the evening.
With leaders Maldon A on a break week, Stow Maries took full advantage of their opportunity to not only overtake their championship rivals but to also post a decent gap for them to chase. Blackwater A are a tricky side for sure with a selection of players with varied styles and bats. However this week the somewhat focussed Stow A trio cared very little for variety of rubber or defensive play as they brushed past their opponents – well fought hard and maintained their concentration as it happened. Lots of long matches in this battle with the Stow boys coming out on top in all 4 of the 5-setters – a bit tough on Blackwater that! Gary Brignall won all 4 of his matches, although he needed all 5 sets against the loopy Neil Freeman. Freeman in turn was able to beat both Peter Chastin and Ken Sheard for his team’s points haul for the week, as Chastin and Sheard both came through victorious against Alan Scammell and Roger Slade. The surprise scoreline of the week saw Blackwater B thump Maldon B by an astonishing 8-2 margin. Noah Sage recorded a noteworthy hat-trick including a victory over one of the Division’s top players in Steve Aspland. Sage’s wingmen of Louis Gunn and Simon Quelch each won 2 of their singles both losing out to Aspland. In the final match of the week Mapledene C and Stow B ended in stalemate in another game where everyone took home a win thanks to the differing styles on show. For Mapledene Dennis Squirrell and Sue Body both won 2 matches, as did Peter Hance for Stow. Hance and Dave Marsh combined for the crucial match-saving straight sets doubles victory.
In Division 3 Allan Steel continues his march for the Roy Davis Cup with another hat-trick for his Woodham E side even though they lost out 4-6 to a strong Blackwater D side. Steel’s oddest and most difficult match was a 3-1 victory over Ron Tam – but by the strangest of scores 7-11, 18-16, 11-0, 11-9 – it was like he played a different opponent in each leg. The Blackwater trio of Tam, Jason Bush and David Sage all won 2 singles to secure the team victory. Maldon C stretched their uncatchable lead even further with a commanding 9-1 triumph over Blackwater E. Keith Thompson’s 4 set victory over Shirley Carroll in the penultimate match of the night was just enough to avoid the dreaded whitewash. Maldon’s other players, Marty Englander and Chris Ravenhill, both securing their regular hat-tricks for the leaders. Maldon D displayed some good winning form this week as they took a 7-3 win away from their visit to Blackwater F on the Monday night. Arthur Shadforth was back to his best with a fighting hat-trick, just surviving an almighty comeback from the improving Oscar Wyman. Wyman was the best of the Blackwater players with that close loss to Shadforth plus 2 excellent straight set wins over James Raymond and Luca Riedling.
Galleywood A won the battle of the bottom two teams in division one with a 9-1 home victory over Chelmsford B, the result moved Galleywood off the foot of the table for the first time since Week 10. Peter Barrett and James Hicks went undefeated for the hosts with Kelvin Edeh the sole point scorer for the visitors. All three Galleywood players produced recoveries from losing positions, Gary Brignall from 2-0 down against Waseem Qureshi, James Hicks from 2-1 down against Edeh and Peter Barrett from 2-1 behind Christopher Denyer. This victory was Galleywood’s first league since Week one when the two sides last met. The fearsome duo of Eric Green and Bruce Kettle went unbeaten once more as Danbury A moved up to second place following an 8-2 win over fourth placed Danbury B. Green didn’t drop a game in his three wins while Kettle dropped just two. Neil Want won one for the A team but was undone by a Dan Anderson comeback from 2-1 down.
Week 20 saw division two’s bottom two teams Old Chelmsfordians B and Danbury F go toe-to-toe with neither team getting their noses in front by more than one point during the course of the evening. The OC’s found themselves 3-2 and 4-3 up and were on the verge of their first victory of the season before Danbury took a 5-4 lead with one match remaining. OC’s Mick Richardson managed to get the better of Denis Crapnell in four games to earn his team a 5-5 draw but the OC trio may look back at the David Porter-Ian Whiteside matchup (which finally went to Whiteside 11-5, 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12) as a missed opportunity. Leaders Buttsbury A saw their unbeaten run ended 6-4 by an inspired Hatfield Peverel A side who had lost their previous seven matches – albeit many by narrow 6-4 scorelines. Julie Johnson put in a player of the match performance with three wins though her biggest test came from youngster Joshua Freeman who she managed to see off in the fifth game: 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8. Freeman put on a good show in his loss to Martin Archie and showed no ill effects from the Johnson match when beating Alastair Piper in an epic encounter 9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10. Ninth placed Galleywood B put a spanner in the works of third placed Chelmsford C when restricting them to a 5-5 draw thanks to a treble from Gary Brignall. Brignall’s hat-trick didn’t come easy as both Chrisopher Denyer and Adi Kamma took him to four games with Kelvin Edeh going down in five having led 2-1. Sixth placed Danbury E beat eight placed Writtle B 7-3 thanks to three wins from Tim Cramphorn, two from Tony Forster and one from Dick Wyman. The closeness in league positions was reflected in the matches on the night as six of the nine singles matches went to fifth game deciders with Wyman’s sole win and two losses all going the distance.
It was a busy week for divisionthree’s Chelmsford E who played fixtures on Monday and Friday – gaining 12 points to consolidate 6th position. First, Andy Swales and James Grimston hit trebles in the 8-2 away win at 11th placed Writtle E before they fell 6-4 to a Paul Sturton inspired Buttsbury B. Sturton dropped just one game for his three wins while teammate Harry Sawford’s only defeat was to Chelmsford’s Kuzey Musabak – a two match winner himself. The result means Buttsbury B move level on points with leaders Chelmsford D who were not in action in week 20. Danbury G remain third despite a 7-3 loss to Writtle D who benefited from another hat-trick from Matthew Brown, The result means fourth placed Writtle D are just 3 points behind third placed Danbury G with a fixture in hand. The fixtures between Hatfield Peverel B and Old Chelmsfordian C as well as Danbury J and Galleywood C both resulted in 5-5 draws with trebles from OCA C’s Richard Baxter and Danbury J’s Peter Harverson.
Hutton A sit 18 points clear at the top of division four following three wins by Alex Ware and two apiece by Nick Giles and Oladapo Owolabi in an 8-2 win at Chelmsford G. Third placed Buttsbury C cruised to a 10-0 home win over Old Chelmsfordians D thanks to perfect outings from Lucy Elliott, Frances Hutt and Oscar Hutt. The closest match of the night across the two fixtures was Chelmsford’s Martin Brunker – a two match winner – who recovered from 2-1 down to beat Hutton’s Nick Giles. Both Buttsbury C and Hutton A have won their last eight league matches. A 5-5 home draw with Buttsbury D meant second placed Maldon B not only lost more ground on the leaders but will be looking over their shoulders at a Buttsbury C side who are 14 points behind them with two fixtures in hand. Chris Ravenhill and Brian Riedling won two matches each while Buttsbury’s Jenne Seibolt and Kevin Wills also won two of three. Danbury K moved from fifth to fourth with a 7-3 victory over Danbury L, K’s Dave Powell didn’t drop a game as he fired his second treble in three matches. Stewart Ireland and Nathan Blore were undefeated as Galleywood D cruised to a 9-1 away win over Danbury M while Neil Wood and Bob Hillis won three apiece in Hatfield Peverel C’s 9-1 success at Highwood A.
A sixth treble of the season from Lyndon Bubb fired second-placed Buttsbury E to a hard-fought 6-4 away win at Highwood B in division five. Bubb dropped just one game from his two wins while teammate Ray Horton chipped in with two wins though lost out to Galleywood’s Keith Pallett who won two himself. Buttsbury’s Chris Hughes will feel unfortunate to have not registered a win when taking two of his matches to a deciding game. Having seen both teammates fire trebles last week, Writtle F’s Paul Aarons posted his first hat-trick since week two in an 8-2 away win at ARU. Aarons beat Valentino Marimelli in three, Kingsley Omo-Efe in four and the two-win Connor Casey in five as Writtle move up to third position. Bruce Wichkam won all three as fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel D won 6-4 at ninth-placed Galleywood E. Wickham had to recover from 2-0 down against Steve Peacock while Galleywood’s Darren Wright did likewise in his match with Richard Drozd and David Benstead edged a fifth-game decider 12-10 against Galleywood’s Doug Blaber.
