Premier Division
Andrew Cunningham led the way once again for Hockley 'B' in their 6/4 win away at Selbourne. His straight sets maximum was added to with a win each for Dennis Squirrell and Stuart Adshead, with Stuart and Andrew combining at the end to take the doubles. For Selbourne there were 2 wins each for skipper Kim Shead and Charles Sweeny but an unsuccessful outing for Berti Makolli.
Hockley 'A' were hosts to a strong Basildon 'A' side and ended up on the wrong end of a 9/1 score line. Liam Squirrell marked his first appearance of the season for Basildon with an unbeaten performance, with Ian Wall also recording a maximum. Daniel Bronziet added another 2 wins but was beaten for the first time, a straight sets defeat at the hands of Sanjay Saptarshi.
The result of the Northlands 'derby' is yet to be recorded.
Division 1
COYS were only able to field two players for their match away at Stanford 'A'. Despite this handicap, they fought hard and kept the match alive until the final doubles, only for their duo of Ian Cranstone and Paul Sims to go down in the final set of a very close game. In the singles, Ian produced an unbeaten performance and Paul added another point and came very close to another win, but was eventually beaten 11-9 in the final set by Pat White. Ian Sangster was the other winner on the night for Stanford.
There was a close match between Basildon 'C' and Hadleigh Forum, a match in which all 6 players recorded wins for their teams. Forum ran out 6/4 winners on the night, with the win being secured in the final doubles with a fifth set win for Tony Mace and Peter Lucraft over Rob Burton and Caroline Cole. In the singles, there were 2 wins each for Dave Woolmer and Peter Lucraft for Forum and a single win for Tony Mace at 11-9 in the final end against Rob. Rob was successful in his other 2 games, including the closest game of the night in which he was a 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 winner over Peter. Caroline and Trevor Ward each picked up a win for Basildon and the match finished at 11.45pm!
The other match played at Lee Chapel on the same night was anything but close, with League leaders Basildon 'B' in dominant form against Stanford 'B'. 10/0 was the outcome with Les Hoey recording a straight sets maximum to add to hat-tricks from Lin Roff and Robert Kemp. A tough night then for Stanford with 8 of the 10 games won by Basildon in straight sets.
Another match where every player made a contribution was the clash between Grays and Basildon 'D'. A maximum from Basildon skipper Bob Skews earned him the POM award, with Szymon Jarka adding a brace and Ash Sivanandam also chipping in with a win. For Grays, there was a win each for Max Southby, Dmitri Kisil and Mike Trendell. Mike and Dmitri with a doubles win at the end.
Division 2
Another big win for League leaders Canvey. This time it was an 8/2 success over Basildon 'F'. Dan Kellard was unbeaten on the night and there were 2 wins each for Jo Hills and Lee McGonagle. Steve Lennox was the points scorer for Basildon but a blank night for Sarah Ball and Lindsay Johnson-Farge.
Steve Goldstone's fine hat-trick for Wickford Community 'B' proved to be of no avail as his team went down 7/3 to Stanford 'C'. Mark Farley, Vaughan Chambers and David Arnett with 2 wins each for Stanford with David and Vaughan combining to to take the final doubles.
Two man Basildon 'G' were indebted to Tony Millward as they salvaged a 5/5 draw against Basildon 'E'. His hat-trick was achieved in straight sets, and with the minimum of fuss. Team mate Jeremy Giffin added another point and the pair of them then took the doubles at the end to secure the draw.
Wickford Community 'A' took on Stanford 'D' and a close match ensued. Rasheed Olaniyan was the hero for Wickford with an unbeaten performance, with Stephen Chooi and Dave Walton adding a point each. Mark Farley and Tony Papasifakis kept Stanford in the match with 2 wins each and so, with the singles completed, Wickford led 5/4. The final doubles was a topsy turvy affair as Dave and Rasheed took 2 set lead only for Mark and Tony to hit back and level the game. The final set went to the wire with Dave and Rasheed just getting over the line at 12-10 to take the game and the match for their team.
