{"id":3677,"date":"2025-03-16T16:01:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T15:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=3677"},"modified":"2025-03-16T16:04:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T15:04:11","slug":"the-barn-door-is-open-for-cold-norton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/2025\/03\/16\/the-barn-door-is-open-for-cold-norton\/","title":{"rendered":"The barn door is open for Cold Norton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Honours were even in the big Division 1 showdown this week at the very top of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League.  A decisive win for either leaders Fambridge or the chasing Mapledene A would have left the victors in charge of their own destiny.  However with both protagonists settling for a draw this has now left the barn door wide open for Cold Norton B to nip in and shoplift the title away from the bookies favourites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in the battle for top spot Fambridge travelled to the Mapledene Arena expecting to face a trio consisting of Reece Seddon, Liam Squirrell, and potentially Mitchell Jones \u2013 a frightening thought for any league encounter across the county let alone the Burnham District.  However Mapledene had resisted this line-up and that made for a much more even encounter.  Seddon was present and he kicked the evening off with a settling 3-0 victory in the battle of the Captains against John Poysden.  Gary Young was up next for Fambridge and quickly found himself 2-0 up against the fiery Jordan Allen.  But Allen was not going down without a fight and following some encouragement from his team-mates he bolstered his defence and squared up the match at 2-2.  Slightly irked at the cheek of this attempted comeback Young upped his game and completed the win to put Fambridge on the board.  Mapledene\u2019s Steve Muth then took an unexpected straight sets point against Bruce Kettle and so the match continued tit-for-tat all the way to the final match where Seddon defeated Young to complete the even stevens affair that helps neither team.  A hat-trick for Seddon that bodes well for his attempt to retain the Singles crown at the upcoming Burnham Closed Tournament.  Mapledene won all their five victories in straight sets, but when the matches were close the experienced heads of Fambridge were able to see out the wins through endeavour and patience winning all three 5 setters on the night.  Fambridge have now completed their season and have to play the waiting game to see if either Mapledene or Cold Norton B can muster the energy to challenge their points haul.  These two meet next week and the fireworks are ready to explode. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mapledene B recorded a very decisive win over Cold Norton C.  Mapledene\u2019s Simon Jacob was the star player with an unbeaten singles treble and he then paired up with Kieran Skeggs for the bonus doubles point.  The in-form Arron Chandler was the only Hot Nortonian as he posted good wins over David Jacob and Skeggs \u2013 again watch out for Chandler in the Mixed Open Singles event this year \u2013 a potential winner for sure.  Cold Norton A had the pleasure of the services of Matt Stringer this week and he was on stupendous form as he bossed his way past the Woodham B trio without so much as a glitch in the 9 legs he limited himself too.  For Woodham Sanjay Saptarshi made a welcome return and after a rusty start he was able to grab a couple of much needed points for Woodham in wins over Steve Maltby and Neil Want.  Want and his partner \u2018nets and edges\u2019 combined for a couple of victories including a long 5-setter against Harry Sawford.  Maltby was on fire early doors against Saptarshi and carried that form into his match with Eamonn Hall to record his only win on the night.  So with Stringer and Maltby in great form the doubles against Saptarshi and Hall should have been a cake-walk for them but they somehow rescued a defeat from the jaws of victory having taking an early 2-0, 7-4 lead before a tactical realignment from the Woodham pair that saw them negate the firepower of Stringer and impose their own authority to take the tight third set and then romp the final two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 10-0 whitewash victory for Leaders Stow Maries A against their bewitched, bothered and bewildered opponents Stow Maries C seems aplenty to secure the Division 2 Title \u2013 although not mathematically certain just yet.  Maldon A can still catch the Stow Express but can\u2019t afford to drop any points in their last 3 matches \u2013 a tall order.  So trebles all round for the Stow trio of Ken Sheard, Peter Chastin and Gary Brignall without much resistance from the opposition.  Jean Chasmer did well to take a leg off Brignall, but she couldn\u2019t do the same in the family battle with son Chastin who showed no mercy in his straight sets victory \u2013 although he has since been de-invited from all family gatherings.  The harsh realities of table tennis in Essex hit hard at times.   Maldon A put on a good display against the tricky Blackwater A trio triumphing 7-3 on the night with Colin Napper and Lloyd Bennett-Smith unbeaten in their singles endeavours.  For Blackwater Roger Slade and Neil Freeman took the long road in 5 set victories over Dawn Baldry, and Freeman and Alan Scammell combined for another 5 set point against Napper and Baldry.   Mapledene C boosted their league standing as they bested Blackwater B in a 7-3 thriller.  Dave Woolmer posted his 4th<\/sup> hat-trick of the season and was the best of the Mapledene crew, with able support from Dennis Squirrell who secured 2 points over the duration of the night\u2019s sport.  Woodham D may have lost out to Maldon B in a 4-6 loss but they had the star attraction in the ever improving youngster Peter Harverson who posted another hat-trick and in doing so laid down a marker for the Dan Richardson Trophy event at the Burnham Closed Tournament \u2013 could a non-seed really take the title?  For the victors Steve Aspland and Garry Eames both won 2 singles \u2013 Eames having a full night of fun playing all 15 legs available to him in his singles encounters.  Cold Norton D bashed out a surprising comfortable 7-3 win over Stow Maries B, but they did have their best players out to play.  The very awkward Pete Lucraft was unstoppable as he pushed and tweaked his way to an excellent treble, and he was ably supported by his wingmen Neil Want and Terry Hyland both with 2 victories and both falling to the trusty backhand of Peter Hance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maldon C have all but claimed the Division 3 Title \u2013 so the real race is amongst the undercard to see who will emerge to share the podium with Maldonites.  Blackwater C are favourites for the coveted runner-up spot and their only real challengers left in the race as we approach the final furlong are Maldon D.  However Maldon D did themselves no favours this week despite a tight 6-4 victory over stablemates Maldon E, they really needed to be posting 9 or 10 points to worry the Blackwateronians.  Blackwater C were victorious themselves in their own derby battle with Blackwater E coming out 7-3 winners thanks to interclub hat-tricks from Peter Davenport and Chris Rolison.  Thridwheel Jacqui Treacy chipped in with a win over Phil \u2018Wild\u2019 West but she was undone by both Kath Little and Deb Ginn as they lay down markers for the upcoming Ladies Singles tournament.  West didn\u2019t stay wild for too long as he combined with Little for a big win in the doubles taking 3 sets after deuce for the victory.  Maldon D\u2019s 6-4 win came courtesy of a treble from James Raymond in the singles and then he had a big hand in the bonus doubles victory when he paired up with Matt Copsey.  Copsey and Luca Riedling both got the better of Patrick Coyne for the final 2 points, and for Maldon E John Leavett and Kym Eames scored a brace of wins each over Copsey and Riedling.  Peter Davenport was a busy man for Blackwater this week as he also made an appearance in the Blackwater D loss to St Lawrence.  The match finished 7-3 to St Lawrence and Davenport was on his knees come the end of the evening.  Dave Bateman takes the credit for being the only player to beat Davenport all week \u2013 but it was his 7th and final match of a very long evening!  In fact Bateman beat all in front of him for his 3 wins and he combined with League stalwart Mike Pratley for a 3 set win over Ron Tam and Davenport (hadn\u2019t had enough table time by now?).  Pratley added 2 extra points from the singles and Dave Siggins rounded off the scoring with a win over Jo Hart.  Blackwater F turned up for their match without Davenport in tow \u2013 he must still have been suffering from his exploits earlier in the week.  Woodham employed the Dusty Bin tactics with a 3-2-1 ratio in the singles and a doubles bonus for a 7-3 victory.  Woodham\u2019s star player Allan Steel remains on 100% win rate after another nine dart treble \u2013 this form has instilled Steel as the only odds-on favourite at the Burnham Championships where he is bound to take the Fambridge Trophy.  Woodham\u2019s Diane King had a good night taking 2 wins both in straight sets, and Reece Arundell completed the Dusty Bin with a single win over Mike Crumpton in 5 tight sets.  David McHattie was the best of the Blackwater bunch with 2 wins to his name across the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pic 1 \u2013 Mapledene A\u2019s Captain and Treblemaker Reece Seddon at the Mapledene Arena this week<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pic 2 \u2013 The brilliant Matt Stringer on hat-trick form for Cold Norton A<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pic 3 \u2013 The Family Affair as Jean Chasmer tries to outdo son Peter Chastin in the Stow Maries Derby this week<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pic 4 \u2013 Woodham\u2019s starlet Peter Harverson with another unbeaten evening under his belt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pic 3 \u2013 Matt Stringer and Sanjay Saptarshi take to the table for their one-sided contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Report by Eamonn Hall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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