PRESS REPORTS - WINTER SEASON 2023-24
Week Ending Fri 26 April 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Better Than Average
As the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League draws to its natural conclusion we now get to reward the most consistent and successful players across the 3 Divisions. The Burnham ‘MVP’ trophies are awarded to the players with the highest win rates across the season in each division provided they have played in at least half of their teams’ matches.
Duncan Taylor is this year’s winner of the Division 1 Peter Ballard Cup with a 92% win rate only losing 2 individual matches all season. Taylor is a well known figure across the Essex table tennis circuit and a perennial Finals Night competitor in every league he plays in. But Taylor also plays for many of his teams on a regular basis – all those wet Wednesdays in Maldon or icy Mondays in Mundon – and in Burnham he regular turns out for the Cold Norton A side and that usually guarantees them a healthy points return. Taylor is a notable and very welcome addition to the list of previous winners. Runner-up was Chris Penrose of Woodham A with 90% and Ian Wall of Cold Norton B was third placed on 82%.
The Division 2 title and Brian Ellis Cup is awarded back to big Barrie Delf of Mapledene C. Delf is a previous hogger of this trophy and clearly has an empty spot on his mantlepiece that needs replenishing. With just 2 losses all season Delf was significantly clear of the chasing pack. A very difficult player to beat as the ball just keeps coming back and back and back – its relentless! Runner-up was Graham Briggs from Woodham C on 89%, and just a tadge behind him on the same percentage was Woodham D’s Gus Heath.
The Division 3 race for supremacy was very tight until the last few rounds of matches when the St Lawrence duo of Steve King and Mike Pratley dropped some unexpected points – and in particular they both lost to the eventual stand out winner of the Roy Davis Cup, take a bow Peter Davenport from Blackwater E. Davenport finished on a very impressive 88% win rate for the season with King on 78% and Pratley on 76%. Tough league this one as they all play each other 3 times so there is no hiding for the top players.
The league season came to a full conclusion this week with the final match between Maldon A and Woodham B in Division 1. Woodham B needed 6 points to leapfrog Cold Norton C and avoid the relegation discussions, and 9 points to jump above their opponents Maldon A. Despite dropping the doubles the Woodham duo of Sanjay Saptarshi and Dan Patynski won all of their singles to secure the 6 points needed for the win and the relegation avoidance. Patynski just edging past Lloyd Bennet-Smith in a deciding set. Woodham’s third player Eamonn Hall was unlucky to have lost his first two singles matches to Jon Stokes and Colin Napper both in long 5 setters, so it seemed fitting that the final match of the whole season duly went to 5 sets as Hall came from behind to beat Bennett-Smith in a tantalising 5th leg. 7-3 to Woodham and the season is done.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 19 April 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Blackwater’s Tidal Wave Peters out in Final Fling
The tsunami approach of Blackwater D fell short in their final match of the season gifting the Division 3 title of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League to long standing favourites St Lawrence. The two horse race between the rival river dwellers of the Dengie went all the way to the final match of the season. The fate of the championship lay with Blackwater but they collapsed under the pressure losing out to bottom-of-the-table Woodham E. Dreams were dashed and the dazed Blackwater trio and their travelling entourage will need to lift their spirits ready for next year’s campaign.
Blackwater D travelled to Woodham E needing 9 points or better to secure the league title – with Woodham struggling of late this tally was a distinct possibility and the St Lawrence celebrations have been on hold knowing their victory was in the balance. However the dream was over after just 3 games as Woodham took an unexpected 2-1 lead with victories from Diane King over Norman Hayes, and Peter Harverson over Anne Brewer. At this point fireworks could be seen across the bay to the St Lawrence HQ. Woodham continued their dominance and won out 7-3 for the most unexpected scoreline of the evening. Peter Harverson continued his recent form with 4 wins on the night. So St Lawrence are crowned champions with a 6 point gap – much closer than expected but it made for an exciting final few weeks.
Division 2 was wrapped up as Maldon B confirmed their runner-up status with a healthy 7-3 victory over Stow Maries D. Teamwork makes the dream work as all 3 Maldon players took a brace of wins and Colin Napper and Hamish Innes combined for a straightforward doubles triumph. For Stow the bandana-clad Tim Pulham excelled with 2 deciding set victories against Dawn Baldry and Innes. So Woodham C are champions and Maldon B are deserved runners-up in this strongest of divisions.
In Division 1 Cold Norton B romped home 10-0 against their very own C team to set out a marker for the upcoming Team Handicap Final. Cold Norton C have already requested that the B team handicaps are doubled for the Final and this is under consideration by the Competitions Secretary. However hope remains strong for the C team as, despite the horrendous scoreline, they did put up a good fight with 4 of the matches going deep into a deciding leg. You have to feel for the C team’s Arron Chandler as 3 of those 5 set losses fell to him as he played the maximum 15 sets of singles to come away empty-handed. So hat-tricks for the B team’s Eric Green, Ian Wall, and Sam Lowman. A result that sees Cold Norton B finish in a noteworthy third place, but alas puts the C team in danger of slipping into the relegation zone. The other top division match this week saw Woodham B and Mapledene B play out an enjoyable 5-5 score-draw. Woodham’s Sanjay Saptarshi was the standout player winning all his singles and combining with Eamonn Hall for the bonus doubles point. Saptarshi did have a scare against Anthon Ranjit-Singh when at 2-0 up the wheels came off and Ranjit-Singh began to dominate the rallies taking the third leg and really should’ve/could’ve taken the 4th set but Saptarshi just squeezed through 12-10 for the victory dance. For Mapledene Paul Brown and Andy Seaman both took a brace. With just one game to go this points haul gives the Woodham B team a fighting chance of escaping the relegation zone. Mapledene B finish in a comfortable mid-table position.
Week Ending Fri 12 April 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Division 3 Title goes to the Wire
With the top two divisional winners already crowned all eyes are on the bunfight that has developed at the top of Division 3 in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. The battle betwixt bookies favourites St Lawrence and the tortoise like Blackwater D is set to go to the final match of the season with Blackwater D needing a convincing win to secure the most unexpected of titles.
Runaway Division 3 leaders St Lawrence have faltered of late dropping points willy nilly when least expected and this has left a window of opportunity for the chasing pack. With the 3 Blackwater teams continually taking points off each other it was hard to see if anyone was going to take advantage of the little chink that St Lawrence were leaving. Eventually Blackwater D found their game face and with 4 decent wins on the bounce have now put themselves in with a shot at the title. St Lawrence travelled to Blackwater E this week needing a minimum of 6 points to secure the title, but even with their strongest team out they failed to complete the task at hand and must now wait for Blackwater D’s final match against bottom of the table Woodham E. For Blackwater E the mighty Peter Davenport was in unstoppable form as he clinched a remarkable hat-trick of wins and was ably supported by the rarely seen Jason Bush who was able to take 2 points against Mick Robinson and Steve King, but lost out in 5 sets to St Lawrence’s best player on the night Mick Pratley. These points and an extra one for David Sage against Robinson were enough to record a 6-4 win for Blackwater E and send the Baysiders home quaking at the thought of clutching defeat from the arms of victory. So Blackwater D now need a hefty 9 points or above against Woodham E next week should they wish to confound the bookies and so-called experts and clinch the title. ‘Baited breath’ doesn’t do it justice!
In a busy week for Division 1 the big story was Mapledene A beating champions Woodham A to secure the runner-up slot but more importantly for them breaking Woodham A’s 100% win rate. Have you ever seen a squirrel smile? Well if you were part of the crowd at the Mapledene Arena this week that is exactly what happened as Mapledene’s Liam Squirrell blasted his way past all 3 of the Woodham stars for a stunning hat-trick – although he did need all 5 sets against Harry Chivers and Daniel Piglet. Squirrell was ably wingmanned by Daniel Young who had victories over Piglet and Lee McHugh. The final score was 6-4 to Mapledene with Chivers and McHugh just squeezing through the doubles 15-13 in the decider to keep the score respectable. Cold Norton C did a job on their A team winning 6-4 on the night but of course none of them were able to get the better of hat-trick merchant Duncan Taylor. Fambridge closed out their rollercoaster season with a comfortable 9-1 victory against Maldon A. Hat-tricks for John Poysden and Keith Adams with Maldon’s Harrison Hill taking their sole point against Mark Stones. Cold Norton B look certain to take 3rd place this season and their latest 9-1 triumph over Stow Maries A went a long way to secure that position. Cold Norton’s Eric Green and Ian Wall went unbeaten throughout and it was left to Stow’s Richard Storey to save the whitewash blushes as he came from behind to beat the in-form Dan Anderson in 5 sets.
In Division 2 Champions Woodham C finished off their season with a tricky encounter against a stacked Woodham D side. Much banter about this one before a ball was served but the Woodham C boys held firm for a 7-3 victory that sees them through the season unbeaten – and with the A team losing their final game this makes the Woodham C team the only unbeaten side across the whole league – that is some achievement giving the competitiveness of this division. For the C team both Adi Kamma and the fast and furious Chris Hancox notched hat-tricks whilst the D team’s Trevor Collin and Gus Heath both defeated Graham Briggs in 5 sets. Collin and Heath combined for the doubles to complete the D sides scoring and Briggs beat Malcolm Henstock in 4 sets for the final point. Mapledene C finished off their season with a good 6-4 win over Stow Maries B to secure 3rd place. Lin Roff starred with a hat-trick including a fine victory over Peter Hance. Blackwater A ended their season with an 8-2 triumph over Cold Norton D. Hat-tricks for Blackwater’s Denis Balic and Neil Freeman with Cold Norton’s Pete Lucraft picking up a point against Alan Scammell. Two man Maldon C went unbeaten through the card against Maldon D for a 7-3 victory with hat-tricks for Colin Barrell and Steve Aspland. They didn’t have it all their own way though as Barrell needed to come from behind to beat Chris Ravenhill in 5 tense sets with the final two going his way 13-11, and the usually prolific Aspland struggled against Ella Sach as he too needed to come from behind to win this one in the deciding set. Stow C bowed out with a 7-3 victory over Blackwater B. The lovable Dave Goody was the star of the show with an impeccable performance for 4 wins across singles and doubles, with Blackwater’s Noah Sage putting up the most resistance with 2 wins of his own.
Week Ending Fri 5 April 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Taylor at the Double
Some more winners from the recent Burnham and District Table Tennis Annual Championships.
In a battle of friendship and styles the Finals Night specialist Duncan Taylor recaptured the Veterans (over 40s) Singles title from current holder Kevin Read. The pair of finalists then joined forces to take the Veterans Doubles title with a hard fought 3-1 victory against top pairing Keith Adams and Gary Young.
The Mixed Open Singles competition produced some quality matches and several upsets. None more so than Dan Anderson putting one of the favourites Harry Chivers to the sword. That opened up the field somewhat before we arrived at a mouth watering final between Daniel Young and Lee McHugh. The Final itself was a rollercoaster contest that fittingly went to a deciding fifth leg before Young squeezed past McHugh for the bragging rights.
The Divisional events were well supported as usual. In the Division 3 singles the seedings were disregarded as we reached a Ross Kirby (seed 1) v Peter Haverson (unseeded) Final. In a right kick-in-the-face to the seedings committee young Mr Harverson came through for his first Burnham Title as he lifted the Fambridge Trophy to the roar of the baying crowd The Division 2 championship (The Dan Richardson Trophy) saw the top seed Barrie Delf falling at the quarter-final stage leaving the field wide open for the rest of the Division 2 stars. Predicted winner Colin Napper succumbed at the semi-final stage to eventual winner Chris Hancox. Hancox faced Dawn Baldry in the final after she had beaten Lin Roff in the other semi.
Congratulations to all winners and finalists and as ever a massive thank you goes to event organiser Tim Huxtable and his team of helpers.
Week Ending Fri 29 March 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Final Nights Delights
This week saw the culmination of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Annual Championships and the Finals were a concoction of sporting bravery, skill, and drama as both the men’s and singles crowns went to rollercoaster deciding legs.
The Men’s Final was between the current holder and top seed Reece Seddon and the young pretender Daniel Young - himself a previous winner of this event. What a battle it was as both players gave their all to eventually arrive at 10-10 in the deciding fifth leg. Then in a cat and mouse marathon they exchanged Championship points for fun before Seddon arose from the stalemate quagmire to win 16-14 and then immediately collapsed from a combination of exhilaration and exhaustion. What a match and what a champion we have.
The Women’s Final was a similar tale as Dawn Baldry and Lin Roff went point for point and toe to toe. Similar to the Men’s Final this one couldn’t be sorted in normal time so the match had to go into extra-time at 10-10 in the fifth set. Again both players had Championship points but this one went to Dawn Baldry 13-11 to win back her title she last held in 2022.
This year’s junior Final (U18) could easily be the Men’s Final for many years to come as Harry Chivers took on the immensely talented Harrison Hill. Chivers held his nerve to thwart the young pretender in a 3-1 victory. Like many other players in the Essex Leagues Chivers was pleased to pocket this one as there may be very few opportunities in future years.
Lin Roff didn’t have to dwell on the Women’s Final defeat for too long as she and partner Lee McHugh took the Mixed Doubles Title against favourites and holders Andrea Alleyne and Duncan Taylor.
The eagerly awaited Men’s Doubles Final didn’t disappoint as Reece Seddon and Liam Squirrell put on a fine show against Lee McHugh and Keith Adams. A Final line-up that would grace any Essex tournament. This one went the way of youth rather than beauty as Seddon and Squirrell won out against their hard working opponents.
Eamonn Hall
Press Officer BDTTL
Week Ending Fri 22 March 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Woodham A Overcome 60 Years of Hurt to Clinch Division 1 Title
After 60 years of hurt Woodham A are finally crowned league champions of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 1. The Woodham A team are both fearless and unstoppable, with an amazing 100% win rate all season with just their nearest rivals to play in what many might think as a dead rubber – but actually could really matter to both sides as they set their stalls out for the next campaign.
As we approach the annual Burnham Closed tournament there was limited league action this week but there was one crucial match as league leaders Woodham A hosted their B side needing just a single point to secure their inaugural league championship. That task was given to captain Dan Piglet who survived the huffing and puffing of rival captain Eamonn Hall to keep his house intact and open the champagne before his team-mates had even arrived. So with the job done in the very first encounter both teams settled down for a relaxed evening of sport. A repeat whitewash of 10-0 to the A team was a bit harsh on the hard-working B team who took 4 games to 5 sets and most of the others went to 4 legs. The B team’s Sanjay Saptarshi went the distance with both Piglet and Lee McHugh, and Hall repeated the 5 set drama with McHugh, and the B team duo paired up for doubles that also went to 5 sets. But alas it was a night for celebration for the A team with Kaung Htet Paing in great form for a player of the match hat-trick, and of course hat-tricks for Piglet and McHugh. With the addition of the other core squad members of Harry Chivers and Chris Penrose it has been an amazing journey for the A-Team this season – Captain Piglet mused ‘I love it when a plan comes together’.
In Division 2 this week there were very strong performances from Maldon’s Steve Aspland and Stow Maries’ Peter Chastin. Aspland led his Maldon C team to a 6-4 victory over higher placed Blackwater A with an impeccable display in both singles and doubles. Aspland’s 4 points overall formed the bedrock of the victory with the extra 2 points coming from trusty wingman Colin Barrell. For Blackwater plucky captain Alan Scammell had 2 wins on the night. Later in the week Chastin also scored a hat-trick against the busy Blackwater A side but unfortunately his wingpeople weren’t able to chip in to help the cause as Blackwater ran out 7-3 winners with a brace apiece for Scammell, Neil Thompson and Neil Freeman. In Division 3 Maldon F signed off with a 6-4 win against Blackwater C. A hat-trick for star player John Leavett did the most damage on the night with Blackwater’s Norman Hayes and Phil West able to pick up two wins each.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 15 March 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Woodham C Clinch Division 2 Title
Woodham C clinched the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 2 title early in the week without playing a rally as Maldon B relaxed too soon and dropped a single point against Blackwater B. Woodham then went onto to record a 7-3 victory against pre-season favourites Mapledene C for an anti-climatical victory party. In Divisions 1 and 3 the title races were clarified and muddied in equal measures.
Woodham C have been the most consistent team in Division 2 all season. They remain unbeaten with one game to go and have now clinched the championship early allowing them to relax in their final match against an ‘up-for-it’ resurgent Woodham D side – sparks will fly for sure in that one. The week started well for Woodham when Blackwater’s Neil Thompson looped his way to victory over Dawn Baldry of Maldon B – that was the single point Blackwater achieved but it was enough to mathematically crown the Woodham C team. So a 9-1 victory to Maldon B with hat-tricks for Colin Napper and a notable performance from Chris Ravenhill playing up from the D side for his first Division 2 hat-trick of the season. So come Thursday and what had been billed as the crunch tie of the run-in, Woodham were champions and then Mapledene C only had 2 players so it was all a bit of an anti-climax for the crowds that had paid to see this one. Woodham ran out 7-3 winners with Bill Smith and Sue Body putting up more than a spirited fight for Mapledene. Woodham’s hard hitting Chris Hancox won all of his matches and Dave Meah edged a 5 setter against Body, but it was the tricky play of Bill Smith and his spinny serves that caused the most problems as he scored wins over Meah and Adi Kamma. In the other Division 2 matches Blackwater A beat Stow C 7-3 with everyone getting a win, but no-one could beat Blackwater’s defensive master Denis Balic as he picked up a hat-trick and player of the match bragging rights. Choice of bats and rubbers are very important in table tennis and even more so when you play with specific rubbers designed to confuse and disrupt your opponents play. Cold Norton’s Gordon Gatheral is one of those players with a unique style and personalised rubbers so best he doesn’t misplace his bats on the day of a match and have to play with someone else’s bat with normal rubbers – but that is what happened this week and the Maldon D trio took full advantage of the confusion bestowed upon Gatheral to take 3 unexpected points. That was their total haul in a 3-7 loss with Cold Norton’s Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft picking up the remaining 7 points. Woodham D continued their run of form with a 6-4 win over the tricky Stow D side. For Woodham Gus Heath won all 3 with the cyclonic Malcolm Henstock taking 2 in support. For Stow Tim Pulham won 2 but couldn’t get past the Heath machine.
In a wholly unexpected twist Division 3 will now go all the way to the final matches of the season. A few weeks ago St Lawrence were firing on all cylinders and held a clear and unchallenged lead that seemed unassailable. But a combination of poor form on the St Lawrence side and an upturn in form for Blackwater D we now find ourselves in a nervy end of season drama that Hollywood can only dream about. Last week both the protagonists had 7-3 wins that keeps the gap at 5 points with one each to go. Blackwater D on paper have the easier game as they face bottom side Woodham E, whereas St Lawrence will face a Blackwater E side hoping to help out their colleagues with a good performance. With an extra win across the season Blackwater D also become champions if the scores are level. Blackwater D overcame Blackwater E this week with David Smith taking a hat-trick for the D team, and Peter Davenport taking 2 points for the E team. St Lawrence were victorious over Maldon E but the star of the evening was the young and rapidly improving Arthur Shadforth who scored all 3 of the Maldon points leaving the Bayside trio of Mike Pratley, Steve King and Mick Robinson with a brace of wins apiece.
Division 1 remains a 2 horse race by the absolute minimum amount of mathematical contrivance. Leaders and champions elect Woodham A destroyed their B team in a cut-throat whitewash to take them to the edge of glory and leaving the B team feeling all ga-ga. Hat-tricks for player of the match Dan Piglet, Lee McHugh and Harry Chivers. The B team’s Dan Patynski took McHugh to a fifth end in the opening salvo, and then combined with Trevor Collin to force a match point in the doubles but eventually succumbed to the Chivers & McHugh partnership. This win leaves Woodham A just a single point from glory with 2 games to play, and they face their Woodham B team in the return fixture next week.
The remaining contender Mapledene A took a good 7-3 win over 3rd placed Cold Norton B with Gary Young racking up a fine hat-trick. Sam Lowman won two matches for Cold Norton including the scalp of current Men’s Singles Champion Reece Seddon – a good marker to put down just a week before this year’s championships! A 2-man Fambridge side swept all in front of them against Cold Norton C with hat-tricks for Bruce Kettle and Mark Stones in their 7-3 win, and Cold Norton A and Maldon A drew 5-5 with Cold Norton’s Charles Sweeny in fine fettle for his unbeaten hat-trick.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 8 March 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Close but No Cigars Yet for Woodham Teams
The Woodham club continued its glory pilgrimage this week as both the A and C teams strengthened their grips on their respective Divisions in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Whilst Blackwater D have crept up to within 5 points of leaders St Lawrence A in Division 3 and will be looking to cause an upset over the course of the final two matches – watch this space.
Woodham A hosted a strong Mapledene B side hoping to cause a dent in the Woodham title drive to allow their Mapledene A clubmates to close the gap a little. Try as they may the Mapledeners couldn’t trouble the scoreboard on an evening with plenty of drama and close games. Mapledene stalwart John Monk is in fine form and proved the most difficult opponent all evening. In the opening match Monk took a 2-1 lead over the rarely beaten Chris Penrose but Penrose dug deep to eventually take the last two sets 11-7 – and that set the tone for the evening, a Woodham victory but a battling performance from the Mapledene team. Penrose found himself 2-1 behind again in his next match against the penhold perfection of Colin Chatfield but again overcame his inner demons to win out 11-8 in the fifth. Even at 8-0 down Mapledene weren’t dejected and Monk thought he had won the battle of the ages against Harry Chivers – what a battle this one was. Monk went 2-1 up but Chivers battled back to square up at 2-2 before a momentous roller-coaster of a final leg that saw the lead and momentum swing from player to player. Monk wearing down his lively opponent with some amazing control and attacking play. At 9-8 everything pointed to a Monk win but Chivers stayed in the next rally and hit a wonderful winner to draw the wind out of the Monk sails. Tense and exciting in equal measures. Chivers served for the match and won out 11-9 – albeit cruelly with a couple of nets and edges that no-one wanted to see given the quality of the battle that preceded the finish. It happens to us all! A final score of 10-0 to Woodham that surely seals the title for them now but as oft is the case the score doesn’t tell the full story. Lee McHugh was the player of the match with a less dramatic hat-trick than his team-mates.
The Woodham B side were playing opposite the A team but couldn’t match their winning ways against a strong Cold Norton B trio. Things got off to a good start for Woodham B as Sanjay Saptarshi beat Dan Anderson in 4 tight sets breaking his duck against the defensive specialist. Anderson controlled much of the play but missed vital winners at key times in each of the legs he lost. And that was it for the Woodham side as the Ice Cold Nortonians rattled up a 9-1 victory with the only other wobble coming in the match between Ian Wall and Woodham’s captain Eamonn Hall. Hall troubled Wall throughout and had several game points in the first two legs but lost out 12-10, and then 15-13 before taking the third leg to make a proper game of it. Wall took the 4th leg with some aplomb though as hit took out his frustration on the poor ball and smashed his way to victory and then went on without dropping another set all evening. So a hat-trick for Wall, and a 9-dart hat-trick for star player Eric Green.
In the final division 1 match Cold Norton C pulled away from the relegation zone with an Arron Chandler inspired 8-2 win over bottom-placed Stow Maries A. Stow’s Gary Brignall had good wins over Tim Cramphorn and Kim Shead for his teams points. A hat-trick for Chandler, and a brace each for Shead and Cramphorn.
In Division 2 the dominant Woodham C just missed out on securing the title with 2 games to go. Second-placed Maldon B had an early tight 6-4 victory over Blackwater A which left Woodham C with a target of 7 points or more for the Title when they travelled to Maldon C later on in the week. But Maldon C were fresh from the disappointing shock loss to Woodham D and were in no mood to roll over and get tickled by the champions-elect. In the early skirmishes Maldon’s Colin Barrell took the scalps of Dave Meah and then Graham Briggs in a comeback 5 setter. Woodham’s Chris ‘slowhand’ Hancox also won both his matches to set up a player of the match finale with Barrell. In between, Maldon’s top doubles duo of Barrell and Steve Aspland creamed the doubles in a very straightforward straight sets victory against Hancox and Briggs. So 4-3 to Woodham and they needed the final run of singles for the title. Briggs defeats Garry Eames in 3 but then Aspland spoils the party with his own 3 set victory over Meah. Would Woodham’s Hancox be able to bring himself to the party for the final showdown given the disappointment of not being able to secure the title this week. A gut-busting 11-3 in the first leg to the Woodham Whacker but this was no laughing matter for Mr Barrell who would not roll over for anyone and it was he who took the next 2 tight legs for a slender lead. With pride at stake and his doe-eyed team-mates aghast Ol' Slowhand hit the gas and blasted his way back to 2-2. But this one was set to go the distance and after the combatants swapped match points it was the Woodham warrior that prevailed 12-10 with the last point of the night for the overall 6-4 victory that leaves Woodham C on the precipice with just a point required for glory. Secure in the runner-up spot Maldon B had Colin Napper and Dawn Baldry to thank for their 6-4 win over Blackwater A. Napper continued his fine vein of form with another hard-fought hat-trick that took two 5 setters to complete. Baldry added a brace of wins and the dynamic duo coupled up for the doubles point. It was a good week for the Stow Club as their 3 teams took the remaining victories over the week. The Stow B boys coming out 6-4 victors over Cold Norton D with braces for Peter Hance and Nicky Reece-Ford. Stow C welcomed Maldon D to Smythe Hall but then showed no mercy in a 7-3 mauling with Pete Layzell the outstanding player with 3 singles and the doubles win with Jean Chasmer. A notable victory for Maldon’s Ella Sach with a 4 set triumph over the lovable Dave Goody that included a marathon 3rd leg that Sach won 20-18. That man Tim Pulham was at it again this week as he recorded yet another hat-trick for his Stow D side to help secure a 6-4 win over Blackwater B. Pulham was wingmanned by Ken Sheard who took a brace of singles and the pair partnered up for the crucial doubles victory.
With leaders St Lawrence experiencing a dip in form, Division 3 has opened up somewhat and the Blackwater Club has an unexpected opportunity to take this one to the wire. The trouble is the 3 Blackwater teams keep taking points off each other and can’t really decide between them which team should mount the challenge. However this week, for once, there were no Blackwater derbies to muddy the mathematics and it was Blackwater D that emerged as true contenders with a commanding 8-2 victory over Woodham E. The Blackwater C and E teams seemingly giving up the ghost with 2 defeats just when they least needed them! For the phoenix-like D side it was the youthful Norman Hayes that did the most damage with an inspiring hat-trick that included a very hard earned 5 set victory over the even more youthful and up-and-coming Peter Harverson. The rest of the points were collected by Jacquie Treacy and Chris Rolison with 2 singles and the doubles in the credit column with both players losing out to Harverson. Blackwater C chose the wrong week to play the resurgent Maldon F side who fielded John Leavett and Ross Kirby who have both been in scintillating form of late. The form book doesn’t lie and both Leavett and Kirby took no prisoners as they swept aside the Blackwater triers for a pair of hat-tricks and with that kind of form of course they won the doubles bonus point too for the overall 7-3 scoreline. Blackwater E travelled to Maldon E for the Friday Night special but came away with less than what they hoped for. Maldon E’s Arthur Shadforth has been unplayable of late and he continued this run with another hat-trick on a night when every player won at least one point. For Blackwater David Sage won 2 and with everyone else swapping a point each the result came down to the doubles which fell to Shadforth and Matthew Copsey for the final 6-4 win of the week for the Maldon Club.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Divisional Averages 2023/24
As we approach the final hurdle and the 2 furlong laboured sprint for the finish line we can now assess the likely contenders for the season’s best averages awards. A player needs to have played 50% of their team’s league matches to be considered – so for Divs 1 & 3 that’s 9 matches and for Div 2 that’s 11 matches by the end of the season.
Division 1 – The Peter Ballard Cup
A new winner is guaranteed for this season as 3 thoroughbreds battle it out with the chasing pack too far back at this stage. Woodham A’s quiet assassin Chris Penrose is currently sitting in third place on 90% but has already played enough games to qualify so that gives him an edge over the top two who need a few more games before the race is done. Chris hasn’t always had it easy – even last night he had to come from behind in 2 of his matches for hard earned 5 set victories. It’s never over ‘til the tall fella sings! Another Woodham new signing is currently occupying second spot – Kaung Htet Paing on 90.5% with just 2 losses all season. Representing Myanmar and a great addition to the Woodham ranks he plays with speed and guile – but as exam time approaches will he be able to rest the grey matter and rack up the extra 2 games he needs. In top spot, and our perennial trophy gatherer, is Cold Norton’s talisman Duncan Taylor – a man who needs no introduction other than to say it would be a pleasure to see his name on this trophy. Needing just one more appearance to qualify he currently leads the running with a whopping 91.3% with a measly 2 losses all season.
Division 2 – The Brian Ellis Cup
Division 2 has been swamped with hat-trick merchants this year and the statistics show just how many players have amazing records. Big Barrie Delf is set to reclaim the Cup he last won in 2020 just as covid hit! With just 2 losses all season his record of a 94.4% win rate with such a range of good teams is exceptional – imagine what he would be like if he could move a little bit! Even in a medically ravaged season Gus Heath is still in fine fettle when it comes to his sporting achievements – currently on 93.1% again only having lost twice all year. The much loved Graham Briggs sits in 3rd place on 92% on his return to ping pong and the Burnham league – how great is it to see him back (unless he keeps beating you of course!). The final contender as we hit the squeaky bum period is Stow B’s man for all seasons Peter Hance on 90.2% - I know for sure Brian Ellis will be heavenly rooting for Peter in this one.
Division 3 – The Roy Davis Cup
St Lawrence’s Steve King (83.9%) seemed to be on course to reclaim his crown from the 21/22 season until he dropped 2 matches just last week which dropped him into the runner-up slot behind the giant of Blackwater E, Mr Peter Davenport (88.5%) – a very tricky man to beat as you have to get the ball past his block and his long arms! Dave Benstead and Mike Pratley fill the next slots but will not be able to catch the top two unless every clanger is dropped!
Week Ending Fri 1 March 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Woodham Double Down on Title Challenges
The battle for supremacy intensified this week as the top two teams in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League laid down strong victories to ensure the the title dog fight will go all the way to the final weeks of the campaign.
Pre-season favourites Mapledene A emerged 8-2 victors against a dogged Cold Norton C trio, but the result belies the evenness of the competition with 5 matches going to a deciding leg with Mapledene winning 3 of these lengthy battles. A 9-dart hat-trick for Mapledene’s star signing Liam Squirrell which was matched in points tally by Babul McLeod but via a much more long and winding road as he just beat both Tim Cramphorn and Chris Buer in 5 sets and each time having to come from behind to steal the points. Mapledene would have been hoping that unbeaten leaders Woodham A would struggle against 3rd place Cold Norton B in the most mouthwatering contest of the week. However after the first rounds of singles Cold Norton found themselves 0-6 down and facing the prospect of an unpalatable whitewash. Cold Norton’s Eric Green and Dave Richardson rallied in the doubles to eventually take the first point for the beleaguered Norton trio. The second point followed soon after when Sam Lowman edged passed Chris Penrose 13-11 in the fifth leg having faced match point against just a few points earlier. That was it for Cold Norton as Woodham recorded a brilliant 8-2 overall victory with hat-tricks for Lee McHugh and Harry Chivers and a brace for Penrose. The title drive and 100% win rate is preserved for the dominant Woodham A.
Cold Norton A beat Mapledene B 8-2 with Duncan Taylor in unbeatable form. For Mapledene B it was the tricky pen-holder Colin Chatfield who demonstrated great form to win his teams 2 points with notable singles victories over Charles Sweeny and Sam Lowman. Lloyd Bennett-Smith was the start of the show as his Maldon A side emerged victorious over bottom placed Stow A. Bennett-Smith won all his singles in the 6-4 win and was well supported by lefty Jon Stokes with 2 wins and the two of them combined for the doubles bonus point.
The top 3 slots in Division 2 appear to be settled and all 3 contenders had wins this week to maintain the status quo. Leaders Woodham C ran out 8-2 winners over Cold Norton D. David Meah starred for the Woodham side with a confidence boosting hat-trick. Team-mates Adi Kamma and Chris Hancox both won 2 a-piece including the tense victory in the Hancox family derby where youth prevailed.
Maldon B, secure in the runner-up spot, won 9-1 against Maldon D. Maldon’s Chris Ravenhill did exceptionally well to defeat Dawn Baldry to avoid the whitewash. Maldon’s Colin Napper and Hamish Innes were unbeaten in all formats over the course of the evening to dominate the scoring. Mapledene C had a tougher week of it as they scraped through 6-4 against Stow D having been held to 3-3 at the break in proceedings. Big Barrie Delf won all his singles for Mapledene and added the doubles to ensure his Mapledene side actually won the match. Stow’s Graham Naggs repeated his early season victory over Sue Body for another notable success and team point.
The most surprising scoreline of the week saw Woodham D trounce the strong Maldon C outfit. A shocking 9-1 victory where both Trevor Collin and Gus Heath went unbeaten in singles and combined for the doubles against top pairing Colin Barrell and Steve Aspland. Barrell’s sole victory over Alan Dadswell avoided the dreaded whitewash for Maldon. The last pair of matches in the division were both local derbies as Blackwater A beat Blackwater B 8-2 with Merv Perriman the star act with an excellent hat-trick of wins, and Stow B repeating that 8-2 winning margin against two player stablemates Stow D For the Stow B team both Peter Hance and Nicky Reece-Ford recorded ‘hat-tricks’ to secure the victory and local bragging rights.
Division 3 has unexpectedly opened up again following the shock loss by leaders St Lawrence A this week. Lowly Maldon F stunned the leaders with a comprehensive 8-2 victory that opens up the leaders to a final furlong challenge from the Blackwater Club thoroughbreds. For Maldon both John Leavett and Ross Kirby won all their singles and of course they combined for the extra doubles point. It was teamwork for Blackwater D as they just squeezed past club mates Blackwater C with a 6-4 scoreline courtesy of the 5 sets double victory from Chris Robison and Jacqui Treacy. Rolison and the spritely Norman Hayes won 2 singles each for the victorious D side. Struggling Woodham E fell to the recent good form merchants Maldon E. It was no surprise that the bulk of the Maldon spoils came from the trusty paddles of James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth in the 8-2 victory.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 23 February 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Cup Cheer for Cold Norton
The protagonists for this season’s Burnham & District Table Tennis League Handicap Cup Team Final were decided this week in two hotly contested semi-finals. First up was Cold Norton C from Division 1 against Blackwater A from the second tier of the league. The initial contests saw Cold Norton take a commanding 3-0 lead with the only real resistance being shown by Blackwater’s Alan Scammell (-5) who took the loopy Neil Want (-11) to 3 long sets. The 4th match saw the introduction of Blackwater’s handicap joker in the form of David McHattie from the third division with a handicap of +13. In his first singles match poor Dick Wyman (-10) had to face a 23 point difference against McHattie and clearly used up all his energy in the first leg to edge it 22-20. McHattie was playing the long game though and went on to win the next two legs pretty comfortably by channelling his inner tortoise against the hare (or lack of) of Wyman. Inspired by this great victory Blackwater took the next doubles to bring the match back to 3-2 in favour of the Nortonites. Alas that was the end of the fight for Blackwater as Wyman and Tim Cramphorn (-10) swept up the next two legs for an overall 5-2 victory. Cramphorn taking no nonsense from McHattie with a very impressive win (18, 18) despite the same 23 point difference at the start.
The second semi saw a mixed Woodham B and C side take on the current holders and bookies favourite Cold Norton B. In a match where every player tasted at least one victory it was Cold Norton who started at a canter winning the first 3 matches without dropping a set. Cold Norton’s Ian Wall (-18) had the most impressive victory by shaking of a -13 starting point against the hard-hitting David Meah (-5). In the next encounter Dan Anderson (-12) got off to a slow start against Woodham’s Eamonn Hall (-5) but with the benefit of the longer style matches he was able to claw his way back with excellent positional play and by selecting winning shots as necessary to come out victorious in the first leg and then take a commanding 20-16 lead in the second leg. Things were looking bleak for Hall and his Woodham side but he rattled off 6 points on the bounce – with the help of a net at leg point – to bring the match back from the jaws of defeat. Anderson started much better in the deciding leg but once again Hall fought back and took the point to provide some small hope for the Woodham trio. Inspired by this new hope the Woodham pairing of Graham Briggs (-9) and Meah somehow stormed the next doubles match against Wall and Eric Green (-16) in 2 comfortable legs that brough the match back to 3-2 and a real contest was developing. However those losses were merely a flesh wound for the Norton trio as Green played superbly to beat Hall in straight sets despite the -11 start, and Anderson made up for his earlier loss by beating Meah in 2 sets – the first very comfortable, but the second a rollercoaster 25-23 marathon. Another 5-2 victory, mirroring the scoreline and timeline of the first semi. So this year’s final will be an all Cold Norton affair – the Parish Council are still considering whether the village will have a local bank holiday for the occasion.
There was limited league action due to the cup activities this week but the games that were played were significant in the run in for the top slots in divisions 1 and 2. Mapledene A bounced back to the top of Division 1 following a 7-3 victory over their B team. Needing to keep the pressure on their championship rivals the A team seemed to be heading for a much higher score as they went 5-1 up at the break and family combo Gary and Daniel Young took the doubles for an overall 6-1 lead. The only blot on their copybook being Gary Young’s loss to Simon Jacob in the opening match of the night. In the final 3 singles the B team’s Keith Willett used all his know how and general wiliness to come back from 2-0 down against Daniel Young to square things up at 2-2, and then to 10-10 in the decider before winning the most unexpected of points. In the penultimate match Jacob and Peter Barrett followed suit with another 5 set thriller with Jacob coming through 11-4 in the decider to give the overall score a semblance of equality. In the final encounter of the evening Gary Young faced the awkward John Monk. Monk was in this one and had a chance to take the match to a decider when at 2-1 down and deuce in the 4th set, but Young held strong and won out for his second win of the evening and for the overall 7-3 triumph that takes Mapledene A ahead of Woodham A at the top of Division 1.
Current Division 2 champions Mapledene C hosted current Division 2 leaders Woodham C this week in a match where Mapledene needed an extremely good win to stop the party celebrations continuing down Woodham Way. At the break the match was evenly poised at 3-3 with Mapledene’s Barrie Delf and Woodham’s Adi Kamma the only 2 unbeaten players. Delf in particular had to work extremely hard in his long 5 set victory over Woodham’s David Meah - 11-8 in the deciding leg but he had lost leg 2 15-17, and then in leg 4 he lost out 19-21 – tough going for the big fella! Meah must have been enjoying these long 5 setters as he lost out to Lin Roff in his second match including going to deuce in the final 2 legs! So 3-3 and Woodham needing to display their title credentials. This they did with some aplomb winning the final 4 matches only dropping a couple of sets along the way. The pick of the wins being Meah’s redemption point over Tony Jacks, and then Kamma’s excellent 4 set victory over Delf – although Meah was claiming an ‘assist’ due to the earlier marathon he had bestowed upon Delf. This win leaves Woodham 20 points clear with only 4 games to play – all local bookmakers are already paying out on the win!
In the clash of the Stow teams this week B outwitted D for a 7-3 win. It was no surprise that Peter Hance was once again the star man for the Stow B side with yet another hat-trick. However, it was a surprise that, after being spoken about in such glowing terms in last week’s report, the D team’s Tim Pulham only won once this week. Pulham beat Dave Marsh coming from behind in a long 5 setter, and then gave up a lead to lose out to very hard-hitting Nicky Reece-Ford in another long 5 setter. Reece-Ford also beat Ken Sheard in 5 sets to rack up only his second hat-trick of the campaign. There was only one catch-up game in Division 3 where Maldon F beat two-player Woodham E to widen the gap at the foot of the table. A notable evening for Kym Eames as she took her first ‘hat-trick’ and player of the match title for the season in the 7-3 victory.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Fortnight Ending Fri 15 February 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Triumphant Week for Woodham Club
Despite some recent excellent form shown by Maldon B it looks like the Division 2 Title of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League is heading its way back to South Woodham courtesy of Woodham C. Details of the open top bus parade are being held back until the mathematicians are content but plans are afoot.
The clash of the top two teams in the second division did not disappoint. Maldon B started extremely strongly and were 4-2 ahead going into the doubles as Dawn Baldry and Hamish Innes took the unexpected scalps of Woodham C’s top players Graham Briggs and Chris Hancox respectively – both in long 5 set encounters. With their unbeaten record under threat the Woodham trio regrouped and showed great bouncebackability as they won the doubles and the next 2 singles at a canter to take a 5-4 lead going into the final match of the night. Maldon’s Innes took a quick 2 set advantage over Woodham’s Dave Meah before being pegged back in the 3rd leg. Then in a much tighter 4th leg Innes held his nerve to take the point and secure a 5-5 draw against the champions-elect. Woodham’s first draw or loss all season but at least they didn’t drop ground on the chasing Maldon side. With 3rd placed Mapledene C losing 6-4 away at Maldon C, and both Maldon B and Woodham C notching 10-0 victories in their second matches the 1-2-3 order now seems locked in for the duration. Maldon B’s whitewash victims were Stow B with hat-tricks for the regular trio of Colin Napper, Innes & Baldry. For Woodham C it was the Stow C trio that fell unrewarded for their efforts – hat-tricks for Hancox, Briggs and Gus Heath this time. Heath has been a busy boy since returning from his recent bout of ill health – 3 matches this period and 3 hat-tricks, I think we all want some of his medicine! Heath’s Woodham D side had 2 good wins, firstly beating a 2 player Stow C team 9-1 with Malcolm Henstock and Trevor Collin joining Mr Heath on the hat-trick podium, and then a tighter 6-4 away victory over Cold Norton D where the doubles victory by Heath and Alan Dadswell secured the win. Maldon C were the conquerors over Mapledene C. A 6-4 loss for Mapledene that probably rules them out of the honours list this season. In a game where everyone took at least one win it was the trusty twosome from Maldon of Colin Barrell and Steve Aspland that did the most damage with a brace of singles each and a combined doubles triumph to seal the overall victory. It was a good period for Maldon C as earlier they had beaten Stow D 7-3 in a team effort including 2 wins from Garry Eames but none of them could get the better of the bandana wearing colossus that is Tim Pulham. Another hat-trick for Pulham that puts him in the 80% win rate category. Pulham’s Stow D side struggled without their talisman in their other match as they succumbed to the tricky styles of the Blackwater A trio. No points for Stow as Blackwater ran riot with hat-tricks for Alan Scammell, Denis Balic, and Neil Freeman. This was Blackwater’s second win of the period as they had earlier seen off the challenge of a resurgent Maldon D side. The match ended 6-4 to Blackwater with Scammell picking up 2 wins with Freeman the hat-trick hero this time round. Maldon D are truly experiencing a resurgence at present and picked up only their second win of the season as they travelled the short distance to Blackwater B to record a 7-3 victory and close the gap in the relegation battle. Led by captain Shirley Carroll all the Maldon players took two singles with Chris Ravenhill and Marty Englander adding the doubles bonus point. However on the night none of the inspired Maldon trio could lay a glove on the fine form of Simon Quelch – a fine player and a fine hat-trick for the Blackwater Beast. In their other match Blackwater had to fare without the benefits of Quelch and lost out to the regular trio from Stow B. The score probably doesn’t reflect the level of competitiveness but one thing’s for sure and that is that Stow’s Peter Hance remains in great form as he laid down yet another hat-trick and this time he combined with Dave Marsh for the extra doubles point too.
In the top division Woodham A opened up a gap this week as they won out 10-0 in their match and then saw their closest rivals all drop points. The Woodham A trio of Chris Penrose, Lee McHugh and Kaung Htet Paing recorded a straightforward and emphatic 10-0 scoreline over Cold Norton C. Mapledene A were hoping to keep pace with Woodham as they hosted Maldon A and fielded a strong side. Maldon were struggling for players through injuries but at the last minute they were able to bring in Harrison Hill despite his recent kneecap injury and what a good decision that turned out to be for them. Hill won all his singles for 3 points and this was bolstered by Colin Napper, playing up from the B side, who took an impressive 4 leg win over Babul McLeod. For Mapledene Gary Young and Steve Muth both won twice and combined for a good doubles victory over Hill and Napper. Third placed Cold Norton B lost out to a Simon Jacob inspired Mapledene B. Jacob took a hat-trick to provide a bedrock for his team and this was built upon with Colin Chatfield and Kieran Skeggs both beating Dave Richardson in close encounters before combining for the tightest of doubles victories for the overall 6-4 winning margin. So Woodham A now have a 4 point cushion plus a game in hand over Mapledene B – but both teams have to face Cold Norton B, and then they meet in the final match of the season for what could be a humdinger of a week.
Elsewhere in Division 1 current champions Fambridge had two draws. Keith Adams was their star player in their first match where they were only able to field a 2-man team – Adams won all 3 of his matches but Mapledene B’s Simon Jacob and Kieran Skeggs both defeated Mark Stones. The tables were turned in their next encounter as Fambridge faced a 2-man Cold Norton A side. This time none of the Fambridge trio could get the better of Cold Norton’s Kevin Read, and Read ended his perfect evening with the extra doubles point with partner Charles Sweeny. A very different Cold Norton A side had earlier beaten Stow Maries A 6-4 with a hat-trick of wins for the daring play of Matt Stringer. For Stow it was Richard Storey doing the most damage with 2 wins over Steve Maltby and Rob Harris. The final match of the week saw a real battle of styles as Woodham B hosted Cold Norton C – shocks galore in this one! Play got off to an expected start as Woodham’s best player Sanjay Saptarshi stormed to a 2 leg lead over Chris Buer, and at 10-8 and 2 match points in a tighter 3rd leg it looked over. But Buer was having none of it and rattled off the next 4 points to peg back the usually ‘awesome’ Saptarshi. Buer’s consistency and accuracy with the pimples was upsetting the rhythm of the Saptarshi game but we once again arrived at 10-8 and 2 further match points – but these came and went as did the 5th match point at 11-10 before Buer evened it up at 2-2. The final leg saw Buer take control and he finished off his prey 11-7 for an amazing and eventful victory. But this was just a sign of things to come. In the second match of the evening Cold Norton’s Tim Cramphorn took a comfortable 2-1 lead over Trevor Collin and looked set for victory but Collin fought back and nicked the 4th leg 12-10. In the deciding leg Cramphorn seemed to be in control of the early exchanges but wasn’t able to finish off his opponent and Collin kept coming back and eventually won out 11-9 to even out the shock factor from the first match. How do you follow those two games… Cold Norton’s hard hitting Arron Chandler seem to have everything under control as he took a quick 2-0 lead over Eamonn Hall. Hall changed styles in leg 3 and was starting to win the tactical battles and that saw him peg back the lead to just one leg. The 4th leg was much tighter as Chandler adopted a more defensive approach and encouraged Hall to open up – this seemed to be working but at 9-6 down Hall rattled off 4 successive points to upset his opponent’s apple cart and eventually won out the leg 12-10. With Chandler’s apples all over the place Hall took control of the decider and won out 11-6 for an even bigger shock victory than the earlier turnovers. So 3 matches in and the clock was already beyond 9pm. 3-3 at the break then Hall and Saptarshi came from behind in the doubles to win in another long 5-setter. Chandler then did his own comeback trick as he went down 2-0 to the impressive Collin before having a polite word with himself and controlling his play for an eventual 5 set victory. So 4-4 going into the final games. Hall then upset the bookies once again with an impressive 4 leg victory over the unbeaten Buer to secure his first ever Division 1 ‘player of the match’ award, and Saptarshi brought home the overall victory in the final match. Some night!
St Lawrence remain Champions-in-waiting in Division 3 with two solid victories to cement their number one spot. First off they overwhelmed a Woodham E side with a straightforward 9-1 victory. Hat-tricks for Steve King and Mike Pratley, with Woodham’s Diane King saving the whitewash with an excellent 3-0 win over Roy Hutchins. St Lawrence encountered a bit more resistance in their next match when they welcomed Blackwater E into their den. King racked up his second hat-trick with another royal performance. Pratley won 2 but just fell short against the excellent stroke play of Peter Davenport. Davenport also beat Mick Robinson for his 2 point total and Blackwater’s David Sage chipped in with a comeback 5 set victory over Mick Robinson. That was all the points scoring for Blackwater as St Lawrence ran out 7-3 winners. Maldon E were unbeaten over the period but couldn’t manage a win either. Firstly they drew with Blackwater D where both James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth recorded 2 wins apiece plus the doubles. For Blackwater Chris Rolison was in fine fettle as he went unbeaten throughout the singles play. Not much changed when Blackwater C came a-knocking later in the week – another stalemate, and yes you guessed it both James Raymond and Arthur Shadforth recorded 2 wins apiece plus combined again for the doubles. Their nemesis this match was Blackwater’s northern import Mike Burton who scored a hat-trick and was duly ignored for the doubles match. Maldon F had a couple of tough matches losing to both Blackwater E and then Blackwater D. That man Peter Davenport was at it again for Blackater E as he scored a hat-trick for his team and was ably supported by Ron Tam with 2 wins. To secure the 6-4 victory Tam and Davenport did the doubles dance and came out on top in 4 sets. Chris Rolison hit his second hat-trick of the week as Blackwater D won 8-2 over Maldon F in a result that makes them favourite for the runner-up spot. Blackwater’s Dave Smith and Jacquie Treacy both won 2 but neither could match the growing skills of Ross Kirby who took two points for his Maldon side.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 2 February 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Squirrell Driven Nuts
Woodham A had the Taylor Pest Control company from Cold Norton to thank for their recapture of pole position in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League this week.
Woodham A crushed the resistance of Maldon A this week with a dominant 9-1 victory that sees them back atop of the Division 1 table with a game in hand over joint leaders Mapledene A. Woodham’s Chris Penrose and Lee McHugh went unbeaten all evening whilst third wheel Kaung Htet Paing won 2 of his 3 singles losing out to the leftie genius of Maldon’s Jon Stokes.
However the real drama came in the Mapledene A versus Cold Norton A encounter where so many of the individual encounters could be a forerunner to this year’s League Singles Final. Mapledene fielded a very strong trio of Gary Young, Liam Squirrell and Reece Seddon but none of them could ‘topple the Taylor’ as Cold Norton’s top player Duncan Taylor laid down his own marker for the upcoming tournament when he destroyed the Mapledene Galacticos. ‘Destroyed’ might be a bit harsh as the Taylor versus Seddon battle went to a deciding leg, and when disposing of the Squirrell it look 4 long legs before the deed was done. The Mapledene trio won the rest of the singles including three 5 setters where Young beat Sam Lowman and Charles Sweeny, and Seddon just edged it against Lowman. Lowman did pair up with the pest control supremo Taylor to flush out and humanely destroy a Young Squirrell combo in the doubles. A long and eventful evening that finished up with Mapledene as 6-4 winners, and more importantly no rodents were injured or killed during the event.
In the final Division 1 match of the week Fambridge had to forfeit 3 points as they were a player short. However that was all they gave up during the short and sweet evening’s sport as both John Poysden and Keith Adams won all their matches including the doubles with the only real trouble coming from Stow’s in form Gary Brignall who took Adams to 5 sets. 7-3 to Fambridge.
A full set of fixtures in Division 2 with no real upsets other than Mapledene C unable to win at Stow C. Woodham C continue to dominate this Division with yet another high scoring victory as they waltzed passed Blackwater B 8-2 to maintain their 100% win rate. For Woodham Chris Hancox and Graham Briggs both hit home runs with a hat-trick a-piece plus the doubles. For Blackwater a notable win for Tina Hutchinson as she picked up a valuable point in a 4 leg victory over Dave Meah.
The less fancied Woodham D side had a great start to their match with second placed Maldon B when Eamonn Hall took the opening match in 5 sets against Dawn Baldry. But despite another three 5 setters and a very long evening that was all Woodham could muster as Maldon B won out 9-1 in a match where the score belied the competitive nature of the match. Hat-tricks for Colin Napper and Hamish Innes but only just. Napper hadn’t dropped a set all night until his final match-up, but then the unique and awkward style of Woodham’s Malcolm Henstock caused him to wobble until the very end of the deciding leg where he finished with aplomb to secure his hat-trick and the player of the match tag. Innes also struggled against Henstock and again had to go to 5 sets to get the job done but this was just a precursor to his main event when in the penultimate match of the night he had a marathon battle with Hall which included Hall saving 10 match points and having 2 match points of his own. Eventually Innes won out 16-14 in the titanic deciding leg, and as the two athletes fell to the floor the crowd rose in unison to applaud the sport they had witnessed.
Peter Hance was in great form for his Stow B side winning all his singles in a 5-5 draw with Blackwater A. Despite this form Hance didn’t make the cut for the doubles which Blackwater won and this secured the draw on the night. Nicky Reece-Ford won the other points for Stow and was on for his own hat-trick until the final leg of the final match of the evening where he succumbed to the trickery of Alan Scammell. The Stow D team didn’t make the same selection mistake as their B team. Tim Pulham scored another hat-trick and paired up with Graham Naggs for the doubles point that saw Stow D beat Maldon D 6-4. Despite the loss there were some good individual performances for Maldon D and especially Ella Sach’s 3 leg victory over the dogged Tim Huxtable. Maldon C also selected their high scoring players for the doubles and this ensured a 6-4 victory in their match with Cold Norton D. Maldon’s talismanic Steve Aspland won all of his singles but was pushed hard by the Nortonians. He was ably supported by Colin Barrell who won twice and of course teamed up with Aspland for the bonus doubles point. For Cold Norton Dave Hancox was on good form as he took two wins including the Barrell scalp. In the final match of the week Mapledene C travelled to Stow C hoping for a good win to keep up their podium ambitions. In a long and tough encounter the result came down to the final match of the night as the two unbeaten top seeds took to the cauldron for a winner takes all skirmish. With Mapledene 5-4 ahead, the task of redemption fell upon Stow’s Peter Chastin as he faced Mapledene’s Richard Gill. Before we got to this point both Chastin and Pete Layzell had won 2 points for Stow, including two 5 setters against Mapledene’s Sue Body. Layzell had beaten Mike Johnston in 5, and then Body atoned for her defeats with her own 5 set victory over Jean Chasmer. So it had been a tough night all round and the morning was drawing close so naturally the final encounter went into a deciding 5th set. As their bodies crumbled Chastin just held on for an 11-4 final set victory and secured the overall draw that stifles the Mapledene top two challenge.
St Lawrence A put their recent mixed form behind them this week when they overpowered highly placed Blackwater C in a 7-3 victory that sees them solidify their top-of-the-division placement. Steve King showed his class and determination with 3 fine wins in his singles matches and then teamed up with the vastly experienced Mike Pratley to secure the doubles. Pratley took 2 singles for himself but wasn’t able to overpower the confident play of Blackwater’s pocket rocket Phil ‘Wild’ West. West took 4 legs to get passed Pratley but then came from behind to beat Mick Robinson in 5 – two great wins for the Blackwater Buccaneer. Blackwater E have now eased their way into the runner-up spot following a 10-0 whitewash over a 2-player Woodham E side. A full house for all the Blackwater trio of David Sage, Peter Davenport and the ever-improving Jo Hart. In the Maldon derby this week E defeated F with the youngsters dominating the match. The E team's Arthur Shadforth was the strongest player winning all his singles and teaming up with Matthew Copsey for the extra doubles point in their 8-2 triumph. Copsey and the more experienced Ross Wheeler both won two singles each to complete the scoring. Kym Eames took the 2 points for the Maldon F team.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table Tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 26 January 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Majestic Mapledene
Mapledene A fielded possibly the strongest team of the whole season to date for their resounding win over Fambridge this week to storm back to the top of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. What a showdown this season is becoming with the potential for a winner takes all finale as the top two sides are scheduled to meet in the final week of the season.
Fambridge welcomed Mapledene A to their manor this week and were fielding a strong and experienced side of Mark Stones, Keith Adams, and Bruce Kettle. In a classic game of table tennis trumps Mapledene A, desperate to close the gap on Woodham A, played a blinder in the younger, but still experienced, trio of Daniel Young, Reece Seddon and Liam Squirrell. Adams had a great start to the night where in match 2 he took a surprisingly comfortable straight sets win over Young to even up the match at 1-1. Unfortunately that was the end of the scoring for Adams, and Fambridge, as the younger holy trinity of Mapledene brushed aside all further attempts to halt their progress. So hat-tricks for Squirrell and Seddon with the only real scare coming from Adams when he took Seddon all the way to a fifth and deciding set. Cold Norton B look to have secured third spot this season and were just far too good for Maldon A this week. The Nortonites ran out 10-0 winners on the night although Maldon’s superb lefty Jon Stokes made them work for it with 5 setters against Ian Wall and Eric Green, and then doing the same again with partner Lloyd Bennett-Smith in the doubles. No cigar for Stokes though but hat-tricks all round for Wall, Green and Sam Lowman.
Woodham B were delighted to be told that their opponents had a player drop out very late on – an extra 3 points but more importantly some extra post-match valuable team bonding time at a local hostelry beckoned. Imagine their bewilderment on arrival when told Cold Norton A had a) sorted out a replacement, and b) it was Duncan Taylor. Taylor secured a 9 dart finish across his 3 matches (he didn’t drop a set), although he was at least troubled by Woodham’s hard-hitting Chris Hancox who probably should have nicked at least one leg. Matching Taylor was Matt Stringer who also recorded a hat-trick including a comeback 5 leg win over Sanjay Saptarshi. So an 8-2 victory for 3 man Cold Norton A and no extra-curricular fun time for Woodham B. In the final top division match this week there was no repeat performance from last week’s Stow Maries hero Gary Brignall. Mapledene B took down Brignall and his Stowmate Matthew Brown for a 9-1 inflated victory despite all the games going to 4 or 5 legs. Hat-tricks for Mapledene’s rarely seen Keith Willett, and Kieran Skeggs, with Matthew Brown taking his team’s sole point with a 5 leg triumph over Basildon’s finest Mr Paul Brown.
Division 2 had a full fixture list this week with the vast majority of the games being very tight. Stow D and Cold Norton D saw out a 5-5 draw with Tim Pulham notching another hat-trick in his amazing season to date. Team-mate Tim Huxtable took 2 excellent wins, and for Cold Norton Terry Hylands had 2 wins of his own. Then came three 6-4 home wins for Mapledene C, Maldon C, and Stow Maries B. Mapledene C defeated closest rivals Maldon B but probably needed a bigger scoreline if they wanted to trouble leaders Woodham C. Barrie Delf was once again the top player of the evening with 4 wins including the doubles. Maldon C came out on top against Stow Maries C. Not surprisingly Steve Aspland was yet again the main man for Maldon with 4 wins over the course of the evening. Maldon’s Garry Eames took a good 5 set victory over the lovable Dave Goody, and Peters Chastin and Layzell took 2 wins a piece for their Stow team. Stow B had to work harder than expected against Maldon D for their 6-4 win this week. No problems for the very in-form Peter Hance as he rattled off his 6th hat-trick of the season. The Maldon trio all took a win home with them and the doubles, but the pick of the victories goes to Marty Englander who somehow got passed the ferocious hitting of Nicky Reece-Ford for a noteworthy 5 set triumph.
In a tense and noisy encounter leaders Woodham C held on for a decent 7-3 win over the very tricky Blackwater A. The match was not without its drama as the Blackwater trio seemed to get under the skin of the leaders – especially when the away side won an edgy doubles match to bring the match score back to 4-3. Woodham regrouped and managed to focus to bring home the final 3 singles to maintain their 100% record. Another hat-trick for Graham Briggs despite being taken to late in the decider by Alan Scammell, and 2 wins each for Chris Hancox and David Meah. Despite being very short of match-fit or available players Woodham D put out a strong team and duly recorded the biggest win of the week. 8-2 against Blackwater B, and this could have been worse for Blackwater but for some amazing play by Noah Sage and then Gary Smith at crucial times. For Woodham Eamonn Hall was unbeaten with 3 straight set wins, and Gus Heath matched this hat-trick. Woodham’s third player Peter Mortensen was also on for a hat-trick and despite a tricky encounter with Sage he seemed to have wrapped up the deciding set when 10-7 up with 3 match points to play – but Sage was far from done as he won the next 5 points to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat, or did Mortensen pluck defeat from the wide open jaws of victory? Then in the doubles a new and rejuvenated Gary Smith emerged – fearless and attacking. Hitting winner after winner he guided his duo to a very unlikely doubles bonus point and very well deserved it was too.
After this week’s defeat Division 3 leaders St Lawrence now have no wins in their last 3 matches and the gap back to the peloton is narrowing. However it remains unlikely that any of the Blackwater teams will catch the leaders as yet again they continue to take crucial points off each other. It was Blackwater D that rocked St Lawrence this week with a 6-4 turnover. All the damage was done by the very reliable Dave Benstead and Jacquie Treacy. Benstead won all his singles including a notable 5 setter over the legend that is Mike Pratley, and Treacy, despite losing to Pratley, won her other 2 singles and then combined with Benstead for the doubles. Blackwaters C and E teams fought out a 5-5 draw. The C team’s Andy Simmonds was in fine fettle with a personal hat-trick, and he was well supported by Deb Ginn with 2 wins – although Ginn did fall to Jo Hart in 4 legs for Hart’s best win of the season by far, and her first brace of wins to boot. In the final match of the week Woodham E hosted Maldon F. The match ended in a draw, but only just as Woodham’s Chris Crooks almost took off his hat when he was faced with deuce in the fifth leg against John Leavett in the final match of the evening – but the stoic Crooks held firm for the match-saving win. Before that moment Maldon’s Ross Kirby had been the main talking point as he rattled his way through the very different playing styles of the Woodham trio for an outstanding hat-trick.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 19 January 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Brignall is on Fire
As we pass the halfway mark of the season the title likelies are becoming ever more apparent in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. St Lawrence are firm favourites in Division 3 as the Blackwater teams continuing to scupper each other. Woodham C have a stranglehold in Division 2, and it’s now looking like a 2 horse race to the finish in Division 1 betwixt the Galacticos of Mapledene A and the surprise package that is Woodham A. Let the fun begin!
Leaders Woodham A continued their amazing streak of form with a convincing 10-0 whitewash victory over the usually competitive Cold Norton A. Hat-tricks for the recent steady trio of Chris Penrose, Harry Chivers and Lee McHugh in a result that solidifies Woodham’s title credentials and condemns Cold Norton to a mid-table finish.
Fambridge bounced back after their recent unexpected losses with a 2-man 7-3 win over the resurgent Woodham B. Fambridge’s John Poysden and Mark Stones went through the card without dropping a set, a much needed fillip for the team. Mapledene A hosted the bottom team Stow A and were looking to keep in touch with Woodham A. However they hadn’t allowed for the Stow pocket rocket that is Gary Brignall. Brignall was on literally on fire – he saw off Peter Barrett 12-10 in the fifth set, then did the same to Babul McLeod, and finished off with a 4 set victory over Steve Muth. That is right up there with the performance of the season! Unfortunately Brignall was dropped for the doubles so that was the end of the scoring for Stow as Mapledene cleaned up the rest of the matches for a 7-3 victory. This would normally be seen as a good points tally but with Woodham racing away the gap is widening each game. The wily John Monk was the star turn in the final Division 1 match this week. His hat-trick helped Mapledene B secure an away draw against Cold Norton C. For Cold Norton both Arron Chandler and Kim Shead picked up a couple of wins.
A full schedule of matches this week in Division 2 with the leading teams all picking up big wins. Runaway leaders and the still unbeaten Woodham C took a straightforward 10-0 win over the bottom placed team Maldon D. The singles were all straightforward as Woodham’s trio of Malcolm Henstock, Dave Meah and Graham Briggs all recorded hat-tricks. However, the doubles was far from straightforward as Maldon’s Ella Sach and Chris Ravenhill put up a proper fight and took Meah and Henstock all the way to a deciding leg. In a freezing cold venue Mapledene C almost matched the leaders but just fell short of the whitewash against Blackwater B as Neil Thompson managed to beat Richard Gill to register a point for his Blackwater team. For Mapledene Barrie Delf and Lin Roff went unbeaten in singles and doubles. Blackwater’s Noah Sage put in a good shift losing out to Gill and Roff in 5 sets, and then going all the way in doubles with partner Thompson. In the Maldon derby this week the podium hopefuls Maldon B faced their own C team. In a very competitive match the B side emerged victorious but the C team boasted the player of the match as C team stalwart Steve Aspland won all his singles including two long 5-setters against Colin Napper and Hamish Innes. That completes Aspland’s ninth player of the match award for the season so far, but for once the dynamic duo of Aspland and partner Colin Barrell fell short in the doubles in another tight 5-setter as Napper and Dawn Baldry won out 11-8 in the deciding set. Elsewhere in the Division Blackwater A picked up a fine 7-3 victory over Woodham D with the loopy Neil Freeman unbeaten all evening and ably supported by the tricky Alan Scammell with 2 wins of his own. Peter Mortensen put up the most resistance from the Woodham trio with 2 wins on the night including a topsy turvy 5-setter with Scammell. Stow C had the busy Peter Chastin to thank for securing their 6-4 win over Cold Norton D. Chastin won all his singles and combined with his mother Jean Chasmer for the all-important doubles bonus point. The stow B and D teams fought out an honourable draw in the final match of the week. With their top player Peter Hance unavailable Stow B brought in Tony Forster and what a great replacement he turned out to be. Forster won all 3 of his matches and even came from behind against the tricky Graham Naggs for a 5 set victory. For the D team Tim Pulham and Ken Sheard won 2 matches each and then combined for the match-saving doubles win.
St Lawrence remain comfortable leaders at the top of Division 3 despite being held to a draw this week at Maldon E. However, some might say the Blackwater Club is doing itself a misjustice as their teams keep taking points off each other so that the 3 Blackwater teams in the Division continue to fight it our for the runner-up slot. This week Blackwater D faced Blackwater E and despite the artic conditions inside the venue managed to run out 7-3 winners. Davids Smith and Benstead racked up all their points as they went unbeaten in singles and combined for the doubles with the only real hiccup being the E team’s Ron Tam’s resistance in his encounter with Smith, forcing him to go all the way to 5 long sets. For St Lawrence Mike Pratley was back to his usual winning ways registering another hat-trick. For Maldon E Arthur Shadforth and James Raymond both won their other singles and then combined to get one back on Pratley as they won out in the doubles after 5 long sets.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 12 January 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
A week of Shocks and Crocks
In a week blighted by injuries Woodham A solidified their ‘New Kidz on the Block’ reputation in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League with a thunderous victory against current champions Fambridge. They are now firm favourites for the title as all concerns about fleeting glory and lack of depth have been dashed with impressive result after impressive result.
After last week’s defeat to Woodham A Fambridge were probably not relishing such a quick return visit and rightly so. Fambridge juggled their squad but Woodham stuck to the old adage of never change a winning team – and boy did it pay off. Fambridge found themselves 8-0 down before they troubled the scoreboard – a position they may never have been in before. Both Harry Chivers and Chris Penrose won all their matches – Penrose needed to go beyond deuce in the fifth set to eventually taste victory over Keith Adams, and Adams was injured late on in proceedings so unfortunately had to concede his match with Chivers. Lee McHugh was the third leg of the Woodham Holy Trinity and he had beaten both Adams and Bruce Kettle in straight sets before succumbing to the experience of Fambridge Captain John Poysden in the penultimate match of the evening. A final result of 9-1 to Woodham and a sporting shockwave that troubled the local Richter scale.
The second injury of the week occurred in the Cold Norton derby where the A team hosted the B team, and this one may have impacted the final result. Cold Norton B came through with a 6-4 scoreline in their favour courtesy of some excellent wins from Sam Lowman and Ian Wall. Dave Richardson had already beaten Charles Sweeny for one point and then received a walkover point for his final match with Duncan Taylor that had to be scratched for an injury scare. It was this point that secured the overall victory that keeps Cold Norton B secure in 3rd spot. Maldon A picked up a good haul of points against Cold Norton C as both Derek Balding and Lloyd Bennett-Smith picked up hat-tricks. Balding has only lost once this season and is in the reckoning for the coveted most valuable player trophy if he can continue to rack up enough matches. Despite their incredible singles form, Balding and Bennett-Smith are clearly less adept in the doubles department as they got swept aside in 3 quick legs by Cold Norton’s Dick Wyman and Tim Cramphorn. Maldon’s Colin Napper edged his match with Wyman to complete the scoring for Maldon in the final 7-3 victory.
At the bottom of the table there was another repeat fixture from last week as Stow A hosted Woodham B. It is not clear what was said to the Woodham players that evening but they clearly took inspiration from their A team victory earlier in the week and managed to repeat the 9-1 scoreline – surely the best two results of the season for the Woodham Club. For Woodham Dan Patynski was on fire with 3 comprehensive singles victories that gave him his third player of the match award for the season. His partner in crime Sanjay Saptarshi was equally successful with 3 singles victories but he was made to work hard for this as Stow’s Gary Brignall took him all the way to a fifth set in the opening match of the night with some excellent aggressive play. Despite an awful doubles performance the week before Woodham persevered with the Patynski / Saptarshi doubles pairing and this week they were unstoppable and the faith in them was restored with a quickfire straight sets win. Often for Woodham B that’s where the scoring stops but this week saw Eamonn Hall rack up a could of wins for his team for his first brace of the season in Division 1. Hall seemed to find all the right answers in the battle of the mathematicians with Stow’s Peter Chastin – well only in the fifth set, it had been very cat-and-mouse up until then as both players measured and assessed each other’s strengths and weaknesses. For Stow Brignall stopped the whitewash coming from behind to beat Hall in a testing 4-setter.
Woodham C continue to set the pace in Division 2 and it would be easy to dismiss their 8-2 victory over Stow B this week as a straightforward win. It was anything but! Five of the individual matches went to a deciding fifth leg, and only one match all evening was settled in straight sets. Woodham’s David Meah put in a star turn for his team with a hard-fought hat-trick of singles and a bonus doubles point with partner Chris Hancox. In a rollercoaster 5 setter with Stow’s Peter Hance Meah faced several match points as the fifth set went all the way to 14-14 before Meah somehow mustered the will to win. In fact that was Hance’s only defeat of the evening as he was able to squeeze passed Hancox in 5, and Adi Kamma in 4 sets. The real story though has to be the incredible fighting spirit of Stow’s Nicky Reece-Ford. He lost out to Meah in 5 sets having led 2-1, then fought back against Kamma to square up at 2-2 before succumbing 11-9 in the final set, and then in the very last match of the evening against Hancox he again fought back to even up proceedings at 2-2, and then took a 10-1 lead and was evidently on his way to a much deserved point. But hold onto your horses and stop counting those chickens. Hancox, staring at defeat down both barrels, relaxed and just started hitting everything – boom, boom, boom. 11 points on the bounce for the most incredible recovery since Lazarus opened his eyes and asked if Spurs had won anything yet. With a perfect win record and such gumption within the squad it is hard to see Woodham being caught this season. Maldon B continue to fight to close the gap on Woodham and this week they were able to beat Cold Norton D 7-3 with a Colin Napper hat-trick. Dawn Baldry chipped in with 2 good wins and Shirley Carroll playing up for the B team scored an excellent 5 set win over the dogged Gordon Gatheral. Maldon C recorded the same result against Blackwater B with all their points coming from an unbeaten night for Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell for all their 7 points. Stow D upset the alphabetical apple cart as they overturned their own C team with a fine 7-3 triumph. The D team’s Tim Pulham continued his great vein of form as he went through the card unbeaten and untouched with 3 straight sets victories. Pulham was ably wingmanned by Ken Sheard with 2 wins and Graham Naggs chipping in with a decent 5 set win over Jean Chasmer. For Stow C Pete Layzell was on good form as he defeated both Naggs and Sheard for a worthy brace. The Woodham D versus Maldon D encounter was the most dramatic of the week as the Woodham starlet Alex Wilson was badly injured in the middle of his opening game against Ella Sach and had to be rushed off to A&E. We all wish Alex a speedy recovery and hope to see him back playing once his body has healed. So with Wilson incapacitated Woodham found themselves 4-1 down after just 2 games. Maldon’s Marty Englander and Shirley Carroll were both able to get the better of Peter Mortensen so were able to take a 5-2 lead with just 3 games to go. Mortensen and Alan Dadswell came from behind in the doubles against Englander and Sach to win the final 2 legs both 11-9 to keep the match alive. Continuing the theme Mortensen came from behind against Sach to make it 4-5 going into the final match. Carroll took a 2-1 lead against Dadswell and looked like she had wrapped up the victory, but Dadswell wasn’t quite done and clawed his way back into contention before seeing out the deciding leg 11-7 to secure a share of the spoils. When interviewed after the match an emotional Dadswell dedicated that victory to his injured team-mate.
It was a busy week for the Woodham Club as their E team turned out twice in Division 3 this week but unfortunately had missed the rousing team talk and failed to register a win. First up, the delightful Blackwater C trio dispatched them with a convincing 8-2 victory and another player of the match trophy for Kath Little. Little came from behind to eventually beat Woodham’s best player Peter Harverson in 5 sets. Harverson won his other matches to record his teams 2 points, with Blackwater’s Deb Ginn and Phil West both scoring a couple of points a-piece. Later in the week the same Woodham trio travelled to Maldon E and whilst statistically they fared a little better this was wholly down to Maldon fielding a 2 player side. But if you are a player down then its good to have two of your best and this is what they had in Arthur Shadforth and James Raymond – both recording excellent hat-tricks and of course combining for the doubles – an excellent nights work as they won 7-3! Blackwater E maintained their push for a podium finish this year with a tight 6-4 victory over the Maldon E side. For Blackwater the under-utilised Jason Bush was the clear star as he went unbeaten in singles and doubles, including a tight 5 set victory over Arthur Shadforth.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 5 January 2024
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Chivers delivers Shivers
Harry Chivers and his Woodham A side are finally catching up on their postponed matches and following this week’s result are now joint favourites for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 1 title alongside the Galacticos of Mapledene A.
The majority of the league action this week took place on a cold and very wet evening at Champions Manor Hall in South Woodham – it’s on days like these that you really appreciate playing an indoor winter sport. The two top division encounters saw two of the top contenders fight it out and the two bottom placed teams doing battle for that wooden spoon. It’s fair to say there was a lot more tension in the top of the table clash and a lot more frivolity at the other end of the hall. Woodham A have been the surprise package this year and continue to recruit well. They remain the only top side with a 100% win rate and are looking like real contenders. This week they welcomed current champions Fambridge into their manor – with both sides introducing their latest signings. Woodham welcome back Harry Chivers and Fambridge revealed Reuben Okai as their latest marquee signing. The two debutants met in game 3 with the match even at 1-1, and Chivers clearly won the battle of nerves as he came out all guns-a-blazing for a quick fire 3-0 victory. 4-2 at the break and Okai had notched his first point in a comeback 5-setter against Lee McHugh. He went on to take another good scalp in the form of the unbeaten Chris Penrose but his team-mates could not cope with the continued pressure from the Woodham trio eventually losing out 7-3 with McHugh beating Mark Stones in the final match of the evening, and Chivers delivering the goods with a season debut hat-trick. So Woodham maintain their unbeaten run and are now just 6 points behind leaders Mapledene A with a game in hand – let’s see how Fambridge react to this defeat in the return fixture next week.
Woodham B took on bottom placed Stow Maries A in the Wooden Spoon Cup and got off to a flier as they took an early 3-0 lead before Stow’s Richard Storey came from behind to take the final two legs 12-10 against the hard-hitting Chris Hancox to finally trouble the scoreboard. It was 4-2 at the break as Sanjay Saptarshi won his second match against Peter Chastin, and Gary Brignall scored Stow’s second point in an excellent straight sets victory over Dan Patynski – although one leg did go to 17-15. Brignall and Storey absolutely stormed through the doubles to close the gap even further and then in the first of the run in matches Chastin outlasted Hancox in a 5 set clash of styles thriller to even things up at 4-4. All to play for in the last two matches and Storey soon found himself 2-1 up against Patynski and looking for his team to sneak into an overall lead. To his credit Patynski persevered with his rolling technique and it all finally clicked into gear and he was able to dominate the final 2 legs to put Woodham back in the ascendency. In the final match Brignall got off to a great start and took a surprise first leg lead before Saptarshi tweaked his concentration and got his block working correctly – once this was under control Brignall had lost his first set advantage and Saptarshi finished out the match for his hat-trick and to secure the overall victory for Woodham.
In Division 2 the Stow B side also travelled to Woodham and left with a decent 6-4 victory with Peter Hance unbeaten. The opening game for Hance was the toughest of the night as he and Trevor Collin went toe-to-toe for the first 4 legs before finding themselves at deuce in the deciding 5th leg. Hance had 6 match points on the trot – and if you believe Collin all of these resulted from nets and edges, whereas in truth it was only 5. Eventually Hance had enough of the games and won out 18-16. Collin showed great fitness levels playing a full 15 legs in the singles with 2 victories in his remaining games and then teaming up with Alex Wilson for a 4 set doubles. The only other point for Woodham came from Alan Dadswell’s triumph over Dave Marsh. With Hance picking up a hat-trick he needed the support of Nicky Reece-Ford with 2 wins and Marsh picking up a point against Wilson for the overall victory. The only other league match over Xmas saw Maldon B victorious in the Maldon derby with their D side. Comfortable hat-tricks for B team regulars Dawn Baldry and Colin Napper and they wrapped up the points with a doubles bonus point for the overall 7-3 result. In the toughest match of the evening the D team’s Ella Sach looked like she had thrown away a 2-0 lead against James Raymond only to shake off the cobwebs and take the decider with a comfortable margin.
On a sadder note, the Burnham & District Table Tennis League would like to share their condolences with the Knights family for the recent loss of long term Treasurer and Committee member Martin Knights. He was a great friend to many, and a great servant to our league – he will be sorely missed.
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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer
Burnham & District Table tennis League
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Week Ending Fri 22 December
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
The Cup Runneth Over for Cold Norton
Holders Cold Norton B stormed into the semi-finals of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Handicap Cup – can anyone wrestle their crown away from them?.
With a break in league action for the Xmas Party season it was down to the serious action of the Handicap Cup quarter-finals. A different format and new players to face as competitors are penalised or awarded points depending on their ability with the aim of levelling the playing field – or in our case 15 year old wobbly tables! First up were the holders and bookies favourite Cold Norton B. In the opposing corner was a solid Division 3 trio from Blackwater D hoping their headstarts would somehow discombobulate their Division 1 opponents. Alas that hope soon dwindled as the Cold Norton trio of Ian Wall (-18 handicap), Eric Green (-16), and Dan Anderson (-12) got to work with patience and consistency and ate away at the considerable gaps in what can only be described as a professional deconstruction. The starting positions ranged from -16 points to -26 points each game in favour of Blackwater. Green in particular did well to contend with a 16 point deficit and the attacking play of Noah Sage to squeeze through in 2 close sets. In fact Cold Norton only dropped a single set all evening as Jacqui Treacy (+9) edged her first set against Anderson but couldn’t go on to repeat that effort as Anderson literally dug in and wore down his opponent albeit in two more close sets. A fine effort form Cold Norton and one that sees them odds on favourites to repeat last year’s victory.
The next quarter-final saw the Cold Norton C and D teams meet in the ‘Battle of Latchingdon Hall’. A much closer affair all round with the handicaps working well such that 4 of the 7 matches went into the final leg, and 2 of those went to 20-20 in those final legs before a winner emerged. For the C team Tim Cramphorn (-10) and Neil Want (-11) went unbeaten all evening and this provided the bedrock for their 5-2 victory. Cramphorn in particular was in fine fettle as he won both his singles and both his doubles including a tense 3rd set singles deuce encounter with Peter Lucraft (-5). Want went through similar emotions in his singles encounter with Terry Hylands (-2). At 1-1 and 20-20 it could go anyway and ‘where there’s a will there’s a Want’ – probably finishing with 2 nets if history and reputation are anything to go by. These two early very close victories for the C team were enough to turn the tide heavily in their favour. For the D team Roy Gandy (+1) was able to outlast Dick Wyman (-10) in 3 long sets, and Hylands repeated this scoreline in his later encounter with the unfortunate Wyman.
Maldon C hosted a Woodham B side made up of players from their C team so for this encounter the handicaps were relatively even throughout as both teams are in the top half of Division 2. Another 5-2 victory but a very long and tiring night for all involved as the first 6 matches all went to a deciding 3rd set. For Woodham Graham Briggs (-9) and Adi Kamma (-4) opened up with a tight 21-17 third set doubles victory over Colin Barrell (-7) and Tony Stonell (-3). Then Barrell and Steve Aspland (-9) both won their next singles again in very tight deciding sets. But that was the last time Maldon troubled the scoreboard as Woodham got into their stride and won the next 4 straight. Kamma won both his singles and Stonell fell to David Meah (-5). The second round of doubles couldn’t have been any closer as Briggs and Meah held on for a third set 24-22 victory over Aspland and Barrell that probably swung the game. And for all this effort Woodham’s prize is a semi-final against the ‘unbeatables’ from Cold Norton B!
In the final match of the quartet last year’s runners up Woodham D hosted Blackwater A and very quickly found themselves 3 matches down in a first to 5 knockout. Blackwater’s Denis Balic (-5) and David McHattie (+13) took their time to gel but came back from a Ist set loss to take the opening point. Balic and Alan Scammell (-5) then won the next 2 matches to extend the lead before Woodham decided to play. Woodham’s heavily cut Alex Wilson at +2 handicap was 13 points worse off than the previous year – a true reflection of his improvement in that time. Despite this reduced handicap Wilson still managed to get the better of McHattie in two close sets. So on the board and raring to go Woodham’s dynamic duo of Alan Dadswell (-1) and Gus Heath (-7) powered their way to a doubles victory over Balic and Scammell that saw the overall gaps close to 1 point. Could Woodham kick on and try and go one better than last year and lift the coveted trophy? Well in a word – ‘No’. Their recovery was rudely interrupted by Scammell who took the next singles against Wilson and Blackwater now had 3 attempts to wrap up the victory. The first attempt was a tremendous effort as McHattie used his wholesome headstart against Dadswell to great effect only to be pipped 22-20 in both legs – close but no cigar. So onto the eighth match and Woodham’s Heath took a comfortable first leg 21-12 against Balic. But Balic is a fighter and he soon began to familiarise himself with the uniqueness of the Heath style of play. So at 20-20 in the important second leg could Heath use his experience and see his team through to a final match winner-takes-all showdown. Balic held strong and denied Woodham that opportunity and won out 22-20, but then unfortunately Heath was unable to continue given his momentous exertions over the course of the evening and had to concede the frame and the match. Never a great way to finish a match – win or lose – but it had been a very competitive and intense evening of table tennis. So Blackwater edge into the semis.
Semi-Final Draw – to be played week of 19 February
Woodham B v Cold Norton B
Cold Norton C v Blackwater A
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 15 December
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Pulham Pushes The Leaders
Tim Pulham was the star turn this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as he took on the two top teams in Division 2 with his Stow Maries comrades and came out unscathed against the best players the Division could throw at him.
At the top end of Division 2 Mapledene C had a very busy week fitting in 3 fixtures and hoping they could steal a march on leaders Woodham C. In a full gamut of emotions the Mapledene C team managed a win, a draw, and a loss across the week but failed to impose themselves at the top of the league. In their first match they faced up to Stow Maries D and were truly Pulhamed as they limped away with a draw as Stow’s Tim Pulham went through the card without dropping a set including the doubles where he paired up with the tricky Graham Naggs. Naggs also bagged a singles point with an excellent 5 set comeback victory over Sue Body winning the final three legs all 11-9. For Mapledene both Mick Tappenden and Lin Roff won 2 singles. In their second encounter the Mapledene Club had 3 new competitors and this trio fared much better as they produced a whitewash 10-0 victory over bottom team Maldon D – hat-tricks all round for Barrie Delf, Dave Woolmer, and Bill Smith. If Monday and Tuesday had been hard Mapledene next hosted Blackwater A on the Wednesday – and they were in for a tough time as Blackwater A are an accomplished side, all with their unique and disruptive styles. Mapledene were 4-2 up at the interval and looking cushty for another victory but in the key games Neil Freeman beat David Woolmer, Denis Balic got the better of Barrie Delf over 5 sets, and in the key doubles encounter Freeman and Scammell just pipped Delf and Woolmer to secure the final 4 points for Blackwater and to register a shock of a win at 6-4. Meanwhile back at Stow Maries Tim Pulham carried on his galactico destroying streak as his team invited leaders Woodham C into their arena and the chance to face the mighty Pulham. Ok it might have been a bit tougher this time but the Pulham Tornado was in full destructive mode with another fine hat-trick of singles wins and of course he bagged the doubles bonus point with partner Tim Huxtable. So 4 points to Sir Pulham, but the other 6 went to Woodham as they maintained their 100% win rate with 2 wins each, all in straight sets, for Chris Hancox, Dave Meah, and Adi Kamma. Maldon B had a good week as they were on the right end of the 8-2 scoreline against Stow C with Colin Napper chopping his way to a fine hat-trick including a 5 set victory over Stow’s best player on the night Pete Layzell who won his team’s two consolation points with noteworthy wins over Dawn Baldry and Hamish Innes. With so much action early in the week we almost forgot there was still one game to play on Thursday and Stow B used their home advantage to good effect as they beat Woodham D in a close 6-4 battle. Stow’s Mr Reliable Peter Hance was at it again with a hat-trick of wins, although he only squeezed passed Malcolm Henstock right at the death. Hance paired up with Dave Marsh for a professional doubles win that ensured the spoils would stay with Stow. For Woodham both Alex Wilson and Henstock won their remaining singles.
Division 1 remains as open as it has been for many a year with 4, possibly 5, teams still in the running. Each week we expect Fambridge to storm to the top, and the unbeaten Woodham to drop a clanger. But, as we hit the half-way mark of the season, neither has happened and Fambridge have it all to do and Woodham A are genuine contenders with the only 100% win rate intact. Fambridge sidled up the hill to Cold Norton B this week but they were unable to conquer their foes as the Cold Norton defence held firm and they sent the Fambridge boys home nursing a 6-4 loss. Lots of long and tough games in this one – a real top-of-the-table clash – and a very late finish. 3-3 at the break, then a run of 3 wins for Cold Norton before Fambridge’s Mark Stones came from behind to beat Eric Green in 5 for the final point and a semblance of pride restored. For Cold Norton there were braces for Ian Wall and Sam Lowman, which were matched by Fambridge’s Bruce Kettle and Stones. Green and Lowman won out in the momentous 5 set doubles against Kettle and Stones, and Green added another 5 set point in his victory over John Poysden. Green was asked to pay double the weekly match fee as he had hogged the table all evening playing in the maximum 20 legs.
Top met bottom twice at the Woodham venue this week as the two bottom teams took on the top 2 – would either team be able to dent or leave any impression against their higher rated opponents. The simple answer is no, as both Woodham A and Mapledene A ran out comfortable 10 victors against Stow Maries A and Woodham B respectively. In the Woodham A match captain Dan Piglet led the way with a 9 leg hat-trick and was barely troubled throughout – he was matched by team-mates Chris Penrose and Kaung Htet Paing but without the 9 leg stardust. In fact Htet Paing had to come from 2-0 down in his match with the spinny Keith Martin to preserve his unbeaten evening, and Piglet and Penrose almost slipped up in the doubles against Gary Brignall and Martin but came back from match point in leg 4 to win out 11-9 in the decider. On the other side of the hall Mapledene A arrived bruised from their loss to Woodham A the previous week and fielded a much younger side – with both Gary Young and Daniel Young in attendance. Daniel Young was on fire and blasted through the card with ease – 4 points in 12 short legs. The rest of the match was at least a bit closer despite the 10-0 outcome. Woodham’s Eamonn Hall took a shock 2-1 lead against Babul McLeod and went all the way to 6-6 in the fifth with some uncharacteristic attacking verve before his luck run out, and that was as close as Woodham B got to troubling the scorecard. Derek Balding continued his fine start in the Burnham League with another hat-trick for Maldon A – this week his victims were Mapledene B. Those 3 points were enough to help secure the draw with Mapledene’s David Jacob and Colin Chatfield each scoring 2 points and combining for the doubles.
Drama in Division 3 this week as leaders St Lawrence fell to their first loss of the season. Who could have inflicted such pain on the Baysiders? Well take a bow Maldon F. Talisman and main points scorer John Leavett was in fine fettle with 2 good wins but it was debutant Ross Kirby – the secret weapon – that did the majority of the damage with an unexpected hat-trick of wins against the leaders. St Lawrence captain David Siggins was his trickiest opponent but Kirby kept his nerve and held on in 5 sets. Kirby and Leavett teamed up for the important doubles point that ultimately earned the victory. Blackwater D took home the bragging rights this week having defeated the lovable Blackwater C team 6-4. Jacqui Treacy was on top form for her personal hat-trick and was ably supported by David Smith with 2 wins and Chris Rolison with a point. For the C team Phil West gave it his all including two 5 set victories including a 15-13 final leg triumph over Rolison.
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Week Ending Fri 8 December
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Woodham Wow the Doubters
Woodham A firmly and formally entered the battle for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Division 1 title this week as they welcomed leaders Mapledene A to their patch and sent them home with defeat ringing in their ears.
Woodham A remain the only Division 1 side with a 100% record but having played less games than the top teams have only been on the periphery of championship discussions so far this season. So this was a key week for the Woodham squad to see if they could rise to the challenge against a truly talented side from current leaders Mapledene A. As always at this level it comes down to selection and availability as the big boys battle it out across a range of leagues – would Woodham be able to sustain their incredible start? Woodham came out strong for this one fielding Chris Penrose, Lee McHugh and Kaung Htet Paing, against a Mapledene trio of Reece Seddon, Babul McLeod and Steve Muth – not everyone was going to go home happy! Seddon kicked things off in style with an excellent 4 set victory against Penrose, and after 4 matches Mapledene had a 3-1 lead and were looking comfortable – this included an amazing ‘Battle of the Mc’s’ turnaround victory for McLeod coming from 2-0 down against McHugh to beast his way through the final two legs for a legendary triumph. By the break Woodham had clawed it back to 3-3 and then came another phenomenal swing in momentum. Mapledene’s doubles pairing of Seddon and Muth seemed to have the bonus point wrapped up in the doubles as they led 2-0 and 10-6 up with 4 straight match points to close out the game. But, and what a ‘but’, the Woodham dynamic duo of McHugh and Paing dug deep, then went a little deeper still, and somehow pulled a rabbit out of the hat for a truly incredible point especially given the calibre of their opponents – sometimes matches, leagues and championships turn on a single event, could this be the moment for Woodham this year? Seddon followed up this disappointment with a battle weary 5 set victory over McHugh for a fine hat-trick, but Paing and Penrose won their final matches with McLeod and Muth respectively for an overall 6-4 win that maintains their 100% win rate but bolsters their belief by a huge multiple.
In a slightly different part of the league table, the Woodham and Mapledene B sides fought out a marathon of a battle at the Mapledene Arena. Mapledene B came out on top with a 7-3 scoreline as Woodham had match points in two of the legs that they ultimately conceded. Mapledene’s slimline Kieran Skeggs won all his singles comfortably only dropping 1 set across all 3 games – Skeggs may have dropped some timber but his power remains immense as he blasted his way through his opponents. For Woodham Adi Kamma was the surprise package with victories over Paul Brown and Andy Seaman - intelligent play, determination and some fierce hitting served him well. Woodham debutant Dave Colwill had a great start with a testing 5 set opening victory over Seaman – but then suffered a very frustrating remainder of the long evening. In the doubles Kamma and Colwill took a deserved but surprising lead at 2-1 against the Mapledene pairing of Brown and Skeggs. Colwill was solid and controlled throughout but is was Kamma making all the difference with some fine attacking play. In the 4th leg the Woodham twosome got to 10-8 and 2 match points but just failed to get that winning shot as the Mapledene duo played some brave shots given the scoreline. Mapledene capitalised on their survival bounce and went on to take the final leg 11-7. But it was very much the case of ‘what might have been’ for Woodham.
The final match of the evening saw Brown take on Colwill in what was billed as a chess match with both players able to push and hit to suit the moment. Brown took the first leg comfortably with the aid of a few nets and this pattern continued throughout the match as the nets and edges count gathered pace and the frustration levels boiled – it happens, we’ve all been there! Colwill somehow kept himself in the second leg and eventually won out 14-12 and took a feisty 3rd leg to take the lead. After a pep talk from Mr Skeggs Brown came out replenished for the 4th leg and devoured everything that came his way to tie things up at 2-2. So at an ungodly hour we approached the final leg. The balance of luck did not change but the game remained tight, and at 10-9 to Brown the whole crowd were undecided as to whether a net or edge winner would sum up the match, or create world war 3. Luckily the point was a good one and Colwill evened up at deuce. We then swapped match points until at 15-14 up Brown got his winner. A match that had everything – some amazing play and intelligent blocking from Colwill, the drama of luck in sport, tension galore, and the coolness and determination of the ‘most famous man in Basildon’ and your eventual winner Mr Paul Brown. On another day…..
It wasn’t all about Mapledene and Woodham this week in the top division as the top Cold Norton sides had a very good time of it too. Cold Norton B kicked off the week with a comprehensive 9-1 demolition of two man Stow Maries A. Hat-tricks for Eric Green and Dave Richardson, with Stow’s Gary Brignall securing his team’s single point. Great result for Cold Norton which closes the gap considerably on leaders Mapledene A. Next came the battle of Latchingdon as Cold Norton C hosted Cold Norton A at the Gandy Arena. A seemingly straightforward 7-3 win for the A team but actually it was a bit harder than it sounds as the A team’s Matt Stringer needed the full 10 legs to dispatch the C team’s Chris Buer and Arron Chandler – both of whom are in great form at present. So a sweaty hat-trick for Stringer whereas Duncan Taylor was a bit more relaxed for his 3 wins.
Woodham C were the only one of the top 3 teams to win in Division 2 this week and have therefore extended their seemingly unassailable lead. Woodham’s 8-2 victory came against their own D team with regular hat-tricks for the impressive Graham Briggs and Gus Heath. The D team’s up and coming Alex Wilson did his utmost to make the C team work for their victory as he took both the hat-trick merchants to long 5 setters. His evening did not go unrewarded as in yet another 5 set marathon he was able to just pip Dave Meah for one of his team’s points. Mapledene C came a cropper at the hands and paddles of the experienced Stow Maries B trio. Mapledene’s Big Barrie Delf was unvexed though as he hit a ferocious 9-dart hat-trick to maintain his personal 100% win rate this season with 18 wins on the bounce. Despite Delf’s dominance the Stow team were not overawed as they rallied to win the majority of the other matches for a healthy 6-4 margin in their favour. Nicky Reece-Ford held on for a 12-10 victory in his deciding leg with Mike Johnston, and then exactly the same thing happened again to Johnston in the doubles having been 2-0 up with partner Delf. Maldon B were held to a 5-5 draw at Stow Maries D and they had Hamish Innes to thank for that as he went unbeaten in his singles. For Stow both Ken Sheard and Tim Pulham were able to take a brace of wins apiece and then paired up for a 17-15 final leg doubles bonus point to ensure the match was halved. The remaining matches were all quite tight as Blackwater A and Cold Norton D drew their encounter with Denis Balic starring for Blackwater with a decent hat-trick. Blackwater B went one better and sneaked a 6-4 turnover against Stow Maries C with the excellent Simon Quelch finally getting his hands on a Div 2 hat-trick and player of the match award. In the Maldon Derby the Maldon D side were shown little mercy from their own C team as they capitulated for a 7-3 loss. Maldon C opted for the Dusty Bin 3-2-1 approach with Steve Aspland taking the 3 wins, Garry Eames twice a winner, and Colin Barrell scraping through with 1 victory – and no surprise that Aspland and Barrell combined for the extra doubles point.
Minimal action in Division 3 this week but nonetheless a great week for the Blackwater Club as both their C and D teams recorded strong wins to keep them firmly embedded in the race for the silver medals. Phil West led his Blackwater C team to a powerful 8-2 win over Maldon E with his first hat-trick since the opening day of the season. West was ably supported by his rarely spotted wingman Andy Simmonds who was also able to go unbeaten over the evening and even combined with Kath Little for an extra doubles point. Blackwater D travelled across town to face Maldon F and left with their bags full with a 7-3 victory. Blackwater’s David Benstead was back to his early season form with a very straightforward nine leg hat-trick and this was the bedrock for his team as both his team-mates Jacquie Treacy and Norman Hayes contributed in the singles and doubles to amass the points for a comfortable victory.
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Week Ending Fri 1 December
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Mapledene Desperately Cling on to Top Spot
The top two teams in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League clashed this week in a tense and tight encounter at the Mapledene arena – Mapledene A held on for the win thanks to the bonus double victory and remain ensconced at the summit, but watch out as here come Fambridge.
Daniel Young was the less than secret weapon deployed by Mapledene A as they hosted their nearest rivals Cold Norton B this week. Young was able to record a fine hat-trick of wins that included a clash of styles 5 set victory over Eric Green. Despite his flawless record young Young was cruelly dropped for the vital doubles encounter in which his team-mates Gary Young and Steve Muth mercilessly destroyed their opponents and thus facilitated the overall victory – with the remaining points coming from the 2 singles wins by the elder Young. For Cold Norton B Sam Lowman had two good wins including his own deuce+ 5 setter against the hard working Steve Muth. The 6-4 victory keeps Mapledene atop the table, for now. With the top two teams in action and sharing the spoils Fambridge took it upon themselves to record a near perfect 10-0 scoreline against Cold Norton C that sees them leapfrog Cold Norton B into the runner-up slot. The strong Fambridge trio od Mark Stones, Keith Adams and captain John Poysden all scored hat-tricks with Adams and Poysden unwilling to drop a set between them. Cold Norton’s Chris Buer got the closest to breaking the duck when he took Stones to deuce in the fifth but just ran out of gas at the vital moment as Stones finished off the leg 12-10.
Cold Norton A remain in the running for a top 3 place altho’ they haven’t been able to field their strongest line-up regularly enough to really trouble the top spot. This week they rolled over a 2 man Maldon A side and came out 8-2 to the good with Kevin Read taking the player of the match plaudits with a 9 dart treble for his singles. Maldon’s Lloyd Bennett-Smith gave a good account of himself as he came from behind in both his 5 set victories against Charles Sweeny and Steve Maltby.
With the two top teams in Division 2 away on a warm weather training camp Maldon B embraced the opportunity presented to them and steamed passed Blackwater B in a 10-0 victory that sees them split the top two and sends out a reminder that the Maldonians are still here and still in contention. The Maldon war cry was led by Captain Colin Napper who won 4 points on the night in a measly 12 sets of ping pong. His trusted lieutenants were Dawn Baldry and Hamish Innes both racking up more hat-tricks for their impressive seasons. Blackwater’s Neil Thompson top span his way into contention against Innes – taking that match all the way to deuce in the deciding set but Innes held on for the tightest of victories. Maldon C and their talismanic leader Steve Aspland were both back to winning ways this week. Aspland led from the front with a barely troubled hat-trick and as is the norm for this team he paired up with Colin Barrell for the extra doubles point that led to the overall 7-3 winning margin. Barrell took two wins, and their third player Garry Eames chipped in with a notable 4 set victory over Dave Marsh. Maldon D couldn’t emulate their stablemates achievements this week as they fell to the combined skills and efforts of Cold Norton D in a 7-3 loss. This was Cold Norton D’s first win since the opening fixture of the season and keeps them 6 points clear of their fallen victim at the bottom of the division. Despite the loss Maldon’s Shirley Carroll should be very pleased with her two wins for her team – her first double of the season. In the final game in this division Woodham D and Stow Maries D played out an even stevens draw with Stow’s Tim Pulham the stand out player as he defeated the Woodham trio without the need for any deciding sets. Woodham’s Gus Heath and Alan Dadswell each scored a brace of singles wins to keep their side in contention.
Plucky St Lawrence maintained their grip on the Division 3 title as they romped through Woodham E this week. The St Lawrence Galacticos were pretty dominant all evening with the only real sticking point being the forceful play of Woodham’s Peter Harverson. He lost out 12-10 in the fifth set to the wily Mike Pratley and took his team’s only point against Steve King. Pratley and Mick Robinson recorded their hat-tricks with Robinson doing so without dropping a set – in fact he never really got close to dropping one. The Blackwater teams continue to fight it out for the silver medals with the E and D teams both securing good wins this week. Blackwater E were the 8-2 victors in the match with Maldon F, with David Sage taking the headlines for his second hat-trick of the season. Blackwater D had a closer encounter with Maldon E as they emerged 6-4 winners on the night. All of the Blackwater players took wins during the match but none of them could get passed the emerging star of this Maldon team Arthur Shadforth. This was Shadforth’s first hat-trick and he had to work hard for it as his rollercoaster matches with the more experienced Dave Benstead and Jaqui Treacy went deep into 5 sets – great to see such application and determination from a young player.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 24 November
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Wonderful Woodham teams maintain their Perfect Records
Cold Norton B and Woodham A continue to bear down on Mapledene A who currently top the leader board of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League, whereas perennial champions Fambridge slip back as they drop points at Maldon. The title this season is really shaping up to be a proper sporting bunfight and long may it continue.
Woodham A delivered another stoic performance to lay down an 8-2 victory away to Mapledene B – but with 6 of the 10 matches going to 5 sets it could easily have been a much closer scoreline. Kaung Htet Paing was unbeaten for Woodham but 3 of his 4 victories came in 5 sets including the doubles where he paired up with Lee McHugh. For Mapledene you have to feel for their strongest two players – John Monk played a full 20 individual legs for 3 losses and just 1 win over Dan Piglet. That’s a tough evening for Monk, but Mapledene’s pen-hold legend Colin Chatfield had it worse as he played just one less leg than Monk but went home empty-handed. A proper battle that one and a result that maintains Woodham’s 100% win rate and keeps them significantly in contention for a podium finish.
Woodham’s other top division side didn’t fare so well as they fell 9-1 to a strong Cold Norton B side. Eric Green and Dave Richardson were in fine fettle and went unbeaten all evening across both the singles and doubles formats. Captain Dan Anderson added the further 2 wins, with his only loss coming via a rollercoaster 5 setter against Dan Patynski. Fambridge arrived at the Maldon arena a player down this week and despite winning 6-4 will know those lost points may come back to haunt them come the reckoning day. Fambridge captain John Poysden was able to put down a comfortable hat-trick of singles to be named star baker of the week. Poysden’s wingman on the night was Mark Stones and his only loss came courtesy of the trusty left hand of Maldon’s Jon Stokes.
Cold Norton C recorded their second win of the season thanks to the singles form of Kim Shead and Arron Chandler both hitting excellent hat-tricks. Despite their seemingly unbeatable form this didn’t translate into their doubles play where they were duly trounced by Gary Brignall and Richard Storey as Stow were grateful for the extra bonus point.
Woodham C appear unstoppable in Division 2 as they blasted their way to a ninth consecutive victory to maintain their 100% win rate. Not only do they win every week but they win heavily and this week was no exception as they wrapped up they fifth 9-1 mauling of the season. This week the Woodham victims were the very competitive Maldon C regular trio. Maldon’s Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell saved the whitewash with an unexpected doubles victory, otherwise it was hat-tricks all round for Woodham’s Chris Hancox, Graham Briggs and David Meah. Woodham D were hoping to help their C team by putting a dent in second placed Mapledene C’s campaign. An ‘A’ for the intention but probably only an ‘E’ for achievement as they fell 10-0 to the Mapledene crew of Barrie Delf, Sue Body and Lin Roff. Woodham Captain Alan Dadswell gave it a good go with two 5 set defeats that included one specific leg with Roff going to 21-19, but that was as close as they got to helping out their stablemates. Maldon B continue to strive for a top three finish and were able to win out 7-3 against Blackwater A with all their points coming from Dawn Baldry and Colin Napper who were unbeaten. In Napper’s case that was almost undone by Blackwater’s Denis Balic who took the game to a couple of deuces in the fifth set before folding at 11-13. The lovable Dave Goody was on sparkling form for his Stow C team this week – having discarded his pimples he has found some great form of late and this week’s hat-trick is testament to that. Goody’s points were the bedrock of his team’s 7-3 victory over Maldon D. For Maldon the effervescent Brian Riedling won 2 of his singles including a long 5-setter with Pete Layzell. Stow D managed the same scoreline against Blackwater B with Tim Pulham back in great form with 4 wins on the night including the doubles with partner Ken Sheard. Sheard won 2 for Stow and Blackwater’s Louis Gunn matched that with 2 of his own. Cold Norton D curtailed their losing streak with a hard-earned draw against Stow B. Stow’s Nicky Reece-Ford blasted his way to winning all his singles matches with that booming forehand of his and that put Cold Norton in all sorts of trouble. With such a variety of styles on display every player managed to win at least one game so the result came down to the doubles. Stow’s Dave Marsh and the unbeaten Reece-Ford stormed to a 2-0 lead which must have irked Cold Norton’s pairing of Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft as some kind of mettle was stirred as they fought back and took the final two legs 11-9 to secure the bonus point which facilitated the overall draw.
In Division 3 Leaders St Lawrence maintained their undefeated status despite losing a player due to illness after just the first match of the evening’s entertainment against the delightful Blackwater C trio. For St Lawrence Mike Pratley won all his singles including a 5 set marathon against Deb Ginn that went passed deuce in that deciding leg, and Roy Hutchins won 2 of his singles including another post-deuce 5th set victory over the unlucky Ginn. Hutchins did fall to the capable play of Kath Little – again in 5 sets. So to complete the theme Hutchins won his remaining singles against Phil West in 5 sets, and then paired up with Pratley for the doubles, and yes that was in 5 sets too. If, over the next few days, anyone spots Hutchins hobbling around the streets of the Dengie, looking like John Wayne after a 4 hour horse ride, then you’ll know why! Blackwater E travelled to Woodham and came home with the spoils following a 6-4 win led by a Peter Davenport hat-trick and 2 wins for David Sage. For Woodham the ever improving Peter Harverson scored two impressive victories to bolster his confidence and reputation. The final game of the week was a much anticipated Maldon Derby – a youth versus experience encounter with an average age/experience gap of 50+ years. After the first rounds of the singles the match was even at 3-3. Then the youth of Maldon E Jude Mayet and Arthur Shadforth outshone the experienced F team pairing of Brian Dixon and Roger Warren to take a 4-3 lead. The F team’s Dennis Eraut evened up the match again with a 4 set victory over Matthew Copsey. So going into the final two games and late into the evening would the strength and vitality of the youth overcome the tiring limbs and concentration of their experienced foes. Well yes it did and rather emphatically too as Shadforth and Mayet wrapped things up with 2 quickfire straight sets victories to once and for all confirm that youth trumps experience. 6-4 to the youthful Maldon E trio.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 17 November
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Sage & Bush – a Recipe for Success
Woodham C continue to dominate proceedings in the second division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as they remain the only team across the whole league with a 100% win rate. Whilst in Division 3 David Sage and Jason Bush cooked up a fine win for Blackwater E as they ‘got one up’ on their very own C Team.
The developing story of Division 2 this season is whether any opponent will be able to beat the dynamic Woodham C team. Woodham C are firmly lodged at the top of the table with an impeccable 8 wins from 8 matches – and only one of those has been anywhere near a close encounter. This week they travelled the short distance to Cold Norton D and came away with another 9-1 victory. Adi Kamma was the player of the match with his hat-trick but was ably supported by Graham Briggs who was also unbeaten, and David Meah with 2 wins as he just lost out to the wily and unconventional style of Gordon Gatheral. Woodham D didn’t fare so well despite Gus Heath’s phenomenal hat-trick against Maldon C – alas they were his team’s only points as the Maldon trio of Colin Barrell, Steve Aspland and Garry Eames each won their remaining singles and as per norm Aspland and Barrell won the doubles.
The remaining Division 2 matches were closely fought derbies. Blackwater A and Blackwater B fought out a tight draw with the B team’s Louis Gunn and Noah Sage winning the last 2 singles of the night to come back from 3-5 down to square things up and frustrate the A Team. Neil Freeman was on fine form for the A Team as he won all his matches including a hard-fought 5 setter with Gunn. In the Stow derby the C team hosted the B team, but it seems the C team had given up before they started as they were a player short. Invigorated by the underdog status the C Team’s Pete Layzell was inspired to a superb hat-trick of wins to keep the score more than respectable as they finally went down 4-6.
Division 3 saw all 3 Blackwater teams in action as they compete for the runner-up position – by the end of the week’s competition only 2 points separate the 3 teams with the D Team in the ascendency. Blackwater C will rue their missed opportunity as they were humbled by their very own E team in a humiliating 8-2 reverse. This one will be talked about for years to come down at the West Maldon Community Centre. The C team lost out in three 5 setters as the E Team’s Jason Bush and David Sage completed their hat-tricks. The E team’s third player was the fabled and much respected Norman Hayes who somehow defied human and medical logic to play out all of his matches to deciding fifth sets and two of those went to deuce and beyond – with one win and two defeats, but what an effort. Hayes benevolently left the doubles to Messrs Sage and Bush (if only they ran a local horticultural business!) to complete the 8-2 landslide. Meanwhile Blackwater D travelled to the depths of Mayland to take on the runaway league Leaders St Lawrence. The Blackwater trio all came away with points as they secured an unexpected but very welcome draw, with David Benstead winning the final match of the night for Blackwater. For St Lawrence the experienced duo of David Siggins and Mick Robinson each won two singles and combined to just about take the doubles 14-12 in the decider against Benstead and Jacqui Treacy. Treacy and Chris Rolison took two singles each for the delighted Blackwater team.
In Division 1 Cold Norton A’s streak of good form was halted in dramatic fashion as they succumbed to a very strong Mapledene B side. Cold Norton’s Duncan Taylor was unstoppable as he dominated all of his matches – but unfortunately that was it for Cold Norton on the night as they failed to win another single set as Mapledene ran out 6-4 winners with 2 wins a piece for David and Simon Jacob and Kieran Skeggs. Whilst the Mapledene B side were admirably thwarting the Cold Norton A advance their A team took full advantage to strengthen their position at the head of the table with a comfortable 8-2 victory at home to Cold Norton C. Mapledene’s captain Reece Seddon doing the most damage with a hat-trick of wins with Cold Norton’s in form Kim Shead providing the most resistance as he was able to record excellent wins over Steve Muth and Peter Barrett. In the final match of the week Maldon A were able to muster some decent pointage from their 7-3 win over Stow Maries A which will undoubtedly help their cause come the relegation reckoning. Both Harrison Hill and Derek Balding won all their singles to ensure the healthy winning margin.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 10 November
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Cold Norton A Team ‘Love it when a plan comes together!’
There were plenty of fireworks in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League this week as Mapledene A reclaimed top spot and all 3 division 1 Cold Norton teams recorded banging wins including a memorable evening for the Cold Norton A Team who blasted and whizzed their way passed perennial champions Fambridge.
With Leaders Woodham on a mid-season break it was up to the peloton members to decide who would make the break this week. Up stood early season leaders Mapledene A who put down a vey strong 9-1 winning margin against a competent Maldon A trio. Mapledene’s starlets Daniel Young and Reece Seddon won all their matches including the doubles. Steve Muth won 2 of his singles and was just pipped late on in the deciding set of his encounter with superb Maldon leftie Jon Stokes. Cold Norton A fielded their holy trinity of players this week leaving Fambridge without a prayer. The Cold Norton trio of Duncan Taylor, Charles Sweeny and Kevin Read all won 2 a piece, but none of them could conquer the Fambridge archangel Keith Adams. Adams must have stood in something en route to the venue or it really was divine intervention as he held on and overcame the challenge of both Read and Taylor despite being drawn into a 5th set shootout in both ties. Read & Taylor did get their revenge in the doubles though, securing the extra bonus point for the overall 7-3 victory. With Cold Norton A of late fielding stronger sides they have pushed themselves back into contention as the league splits down the middle into a championship race, and a race for survival. Cold Norton B are firmly in that championship race and this week’s whitewash against Mapledene B has really pushed them back into the melee. A largely straightforward set of hat-tricks for the Cold Norton B boys Eric Green, Sam Lowman and Ian Wall – although Mapledene’s David Jacob threatened to spoil the party when in the final game of the night he came back from 0-2 down to force Green into a final deciding set he wasn’t expecting. Green recovered his composure and won out 11-8.
In the survival race Woodham B lost out to Cold Norton C despite having the unbeaten player of the match in their ranks. Cold Norton triumphed 6-4 with Kim Shead and Arron Chandler taking 2 wins each and then crucially combining for an excellent doubles victory over Sanjay Saptarshi and Dan Patynski. Saptarshi was the star turn winning all his singles for the majority of the Woodham haul.
In Division 2 Woodham C continue to pull away from the chasing pack, and at this stage it looks like their only title challengers will be Mapledene C and Maldon B – but of course this can all change in the bat of an eye. Both Woodham teams recorded good wins this week. Leaders Woodham C welcomed the Stow C trio to their manor, and to be honest were poor hosts as they only allowed Stow to go home with a single point courtesy of Pete Layzell’s 5 set win over the previously undefeated Graham Briggs. Kudos to Layzell, but that didn’t help his cause too much as the Woodham trio of Briggs, Chris Hancox and David Meah swept away every other challenge for an emphatic 9-1 victory. Gus Heath was in impeccable form for Woodham D this week, 4 wins in 12 sets which formed the bedrock of his team’s 8-2 winning margin over Cold Norton D. Heath was ably supported by wingmen Mal Henstock and Alan Dadswell. Maldon B continued their efforts to keep in touch with the leaders as they overcame the challenge of Stow B for a 7-3 victory. It was all about team work for the Maldonians as they each won 2 games but none of them had the wit or the guile to defeat the master of the backhand Peter Hance. Hance has now played 9 and won them all – perhaps he should be picked every week! Mapledene C lost some ground on the leaders this week as they were held to a 5-5 draw at the Mapledene Arena by Maldon C. No hat-trick this week for the Maldon Talisman Steve Aspland just the bare minimum 2 wins as he was outfought and outlasted by the gutsy Lin Roff in a tense 5-setter. Roff completed her hat-trick with wins over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames, whereas Barrell and Aspland recovered to grab the match-saving doubles win. In the remaining division 2 matches there were conflicting emotions for the two Blackwater teams. The A-Team ran out 7-3 winners over Stow D with hat-tricks for Neil Freeman and Denis Balic, whereas the B-Team succumbed to a 6-4 defeat against a resurgent Maldon D side despite Blackwater’s Louis Gunn recording the only hat-trick of the evening. Two wins each for Maldon’s youth and experience combination of Brian Riedling and Marty Englander plus a doubles victory to secure the result. That win lifts Maldon D off the bottom of the table at the expense of Cold Norton D.
In Division 3 St Lawrence continue to dominate the leaderboard and this week’s victims were Maldon E. St Lawrence ran out 9-1 winners to keep a stranglehold on the top spot. Hat-tricks for the ever reliable Mick Robinson and Steve King, with Mick Pratley chipping in with 2 wins but just losing out to Maldon starlet Arthur Shadforth. Blackwater D and E fought out an in-house battle for the local bragging rights – but both teams failed as they settled on a draw, shook hands and agreed to return to fight on another day. Blackwater E had Peter Davenport to thank for 4 of their points whereas the E Team shared their successes a bit more evenly with 2 wins for both Jacqui Treacy and Chris Rolison. Blackwater C were much more clinical as they dispatched a 2 man Maldon F team 7-3, with all 3 Maldon points courtesy of the paddle of John Leavett. This fine form deserted the Blackwater C squad as they played their second match of the week losing out in a 6-4 battle with Woodham E. A battle it truly was as 5 of the matches went deep into 5th sets with Woodham cruelly winning 4 out of these 5 ‘could go anyway’ encounters. For Woodham Chris Crooks won all his singles and paired up with dark horse Mitch Davies for the doubles victory, and for Blackwater both Andy Simmonds and Phil West took 2 wins. Those extra points push Blackwater C into second place but really the whole of the division is in the running for runner-up slot this season.
Week Ending Fri 3 November
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
Halloween Heaven for the Ping Pong Wizards of Woodham
This Halloween week was all about the Woodham teams in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as unbeaten Woodham A took over the top spot in Division 1, Woodham B climbed off the bottom of Division 1 and Woodham C continued their winning streak to remain firmly in control of Division 2. What curses have the Woodham witches put on all the other teams?
Unbeaten Woodham A conquered the challenge of a strong Cold Norton C squad with an emphatic 8-2 victory. As with previous champions it is often down to the number of deciding sets you can get through unscathed, and in this match Woodham managed to win all 3 matches that went the distance. Good form indeed. Kaung Htet Paing led the way with his singles hat-trick and paired up with Dan Piglet for the doubles, and Piglet and Chris Hancox each took a brace of wins. For the Cold Nortonians Tim Cramphorn blasted his way passed Piglet for his point and Kim Shead was able to take a comfortable win over Hancox.
It took Woodham B until March last season to get their first win so they are way ahead of schedule this season with a 7-3 turnover of Maldon A. For Woodham it was Dan Patynski who led the charge especially in his battle with Derek Balding, coming back from 0-2 down and deuce in the third set to finally win out 11-9 in the 5th – a great battle of styles. Patynski’s stablemates couldn’t cope with Balding’s mixed style of play that proved so effective and this led to a Dusty Bin set of results for Woodham B as Patynski won 3, Sanjay Saptarshi took 2 points, and Eamonn Hall chipped in with 1 win over Steve Whiteley. Due to the inclement weather and a fear of puddles the fixture betwixt Stow Maries A and Cold Norton A was abandoned before it could get underway, and in the only other Ist division encounter Fambridge recorded a solid 8-2 scoreline against Mapledene B with hat-tricks for both Bruce Kettle and John Poysden. Mapledene’s John Monk came out on top in the most contested match as he took the notable scalp of Mark Stones in a rollercoaster 5-setter. That result pushes Fambridge back into contention just a point behind the leading two teams.
A full programme of fixtures in Division 2 facilitated a top two showdown at the Maldon Arena. The wizards of Woodham C arrived in great form and Halloween spirit only to meet a steely eyed and determined Maldon trio. After the traditional greetings and hakas it was down to the action and Maldon got a flier as Dawn Baldry took the opening game against Alex Wilson. For Woodham Graham Briggs won both his openers and this helped to square things up at 3-3 going into the doubles. The statistical gods were on Woodham’s side as their 100% doubles win rate pairing of Hancox and Briggs continued their fine form and shimmied their team into a 4-3 lead going into the final singles. Briggs just about beat Colin Napper going deep into the deciding set. Hamish Innes then repaid that fate on Alex Wilson as the night got longer and longer. So Woodham were 5-4 up going into the final countdown which featured Baldry versus Hancox – a hittingfest in the making. Well the rallies were short as was the match as Hancox won through in straight sets to maintain the 100% win rate for the leaders Woodham C, but they knew they had been in a battle.
Third placed Mapledene C took great advantage of the top two clash by putting down a whitewash 10-0 result against Cold Norton D – hat-tricks all round for Barrie Delf, Dave Woolmer, and Richard Gill. That result pushes Mapledene into second place between our earlier protagonists. Looks like this one will go all the way. Elsewhere in the division Blackwater A excelled with a surprising 10-0 clear-out against Maldon D. It was largely plain sailing for a very strong Blackwater team of Denis Balic, Merv Perriman and Neil Freeman, although Maldon’s Marty Englander did take Perriman for a little stroll into a fifth set tie-break but couldn’t quite get through the resolve of the seasoned campaigner. Blackwater B also registered a healthy scoreline with an 8-2 win over 2-man Stow Maries B with Simon Quelch managing the only hat-trick of the shorter-than-usual evening. Woodham D got themselves back to winning ways this week and remain in contention with the peloton. Woodham’s Gus Heath was untroubled throughout his singles campaign with a 9 dart finish for his perfect hat-trick. Heath was very ably supported by wingman Trevor Collin who continues to impress on his journey to full recovery on this occasion matching his talisman with 3 wins of his own. Steve ‘hat-trick’ Aspland was up to his usual Tuesday evening trick or treats for his Maldon C side against Stow Maries D with, yes you’ve guessed it, another fine faultless evening of exhibition singles. The man is a machine. For Maldon Tim Pulham put up the most resistance with good wins over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames.
The third division is proving very tight this season. St Lawrence have a healthy lead and are the bookies favourite for the championship but under them there is not much to separate all of the other competitors. So any decent wins can really make a difference in league standings and always provide a confidence boost. A perfect illustration being Blackwater D’s most welcome 7-3 triumph over nearest rivals Woodham E. A result that propels the Blackwaterites into the runner-up slot just ahead of the slain Woodham E. Blackwater’s Dave Benstead was in fine fettle with 3 wins to maintain his 100% win rate for the D team. Benstead’s team-mates Jacqui Treacy and the legend that is Norman Hayes both won 2 of their matches to ramp up the score. For Woodham it was the up and coming Peter Harverson who kept the score somewhat respectable with great wins over Treacy and Hayes, plus combining with Reece Arundell for a very important doubles point that went to deuce and beyond in the fifth leg of an almighty battle. The final match of the week was a typical encounter in this years third tier as the E teams from Maldon and Blackwater went toe-to-toe until the Blackwater trio emerged triumphant in a tight 6-4 awayday victory. Peter Davenport of Blackwater fame was the main reason for the victory with 3 solid singles points that were the bedrock of the winning margin.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 27 Oct
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Press Report
‘Ice’ Cold Norton Topple Mapledene
The cream of Essex table tennis was on show this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League as Cold Norton A threw everything they have at the Galacticos of league leaders Mapledene A. Four recent men’s Singles Champions were on show in what could have been a preview of this year’s tournament semi-final line up. Mapledene arrived at the Latchingdon arena boasting a squad of Reece Seddon, Daniel Young and Burnham debutant Peter Barrett. Some line-up you would admit and a sure fire winning team – but by how much. Just as the Mapledene boys were getting acquainted with the playing surface Cold Norton unveiled their team response and it was as impressive as it could have been – Duncan Taylor, Kevin Read, and Charles Sweeney. “Gladiators are you Ready….” Young took an early scalp with a 4 sets opening victory over Sweeny, but this lead was quickly erased as Taylor and Read got to work winning all their opening matches to see the Nortonians take a 4-2 lead into the half-time break. Not as easy as it sounds as Young took Taylor to 5 sets, and Seddon replicated this in his showdown with Read. Not sure what was said by the psychologists and coaches during the interval but the one ‘banker’ was surely Taylor and Read in the Doubles – well that didn’t go so well for them as Seddon and Young blasted their way to a very impressive 4 set bonus point. With the match evenly poised at 4-3 to Cold Norton it was now time to see if the Mapledeners were up for the fight. Well three 4-set losses in succession suggests a fight but not quite that dedication that Roy Castle used to sing about back in the day. Final Score 7-3 to Cold Norton A but Mapledene A remain top of the tree.
In other news, Fambridge were back to their normal winning ways with a tighter than expected 6-4 turnover of Stow A with hat-tricks for Messrs Poysden and Kettle. A point a-piece for the Stow clan, and an exceptional 5 set Brucie bonus doubles win for Keith Martin and Gary Brignall as they defeated Kettle and Poysden. In the Battle of Cold Norton this week the B team outshone and outfought their own C team to lay down an 8-2 score. The B team were led by Sir Eric of Green, who went undefeated throughout the course of the evening, with the C team’s only real threat coming from their shaven headed assassin Chris Buer who on the night took two scalps home with him. In the final match of the week Woodham A maintained their 100% win rate despite fielding no regular A team players. In the 6-4 win away at Maldon A Sanjay Saptarshi was dominant with 3 wins in his singles and then combining with Dan Patynski for the extra doubles point. Patynski recorded the remaining 2 points and then just lost out on his own hat-trick with a close 5 set loss to Harrison Hill. That win pushes Woodham A into second place with a game in hand over wounded leaders Mapledene A.
Like their A Team in the top Division, Woodham C are the only Division 2 side with a 100% record this season, and in Graham Briggs and Chris Hancox they have two of the high flying candidates for the divisional player of the season. Both of these fine paddle bashers were in top form again this week as they both recorded untouched hat-tricks in the 8-2 win against Blackwater B, although their doubles victory was a bit tougher as they were taken to 11-8 in the fifth by Blackwater’s Louis Gunn and Gary Smith. Mapledene C continue to put down big results, and their big talisman continues to dominate their matches. An 8-2 victory over Blackwater B and yet another Barrie Delf 9-set hat-trick. It was the same winning margin for Stow D as they took on Maldon D – with hat-tricks for Ken Sheard and Tim Huxtable. This one was much closer than it sounds as half of the contests went to 5 sets and the Stow boys won 4 of those. But even the 4 set matches were long affairs with the winning leg in the Huxtable versus Chris Ravenhill marathon going to 22-20. Maldon B continued the theme with their own 8-2 turnover of Woodham D with Hamish Innes chopping and pushing his way to a very well deserved hat-trick. He was ably supported by team-mates Brian Riedling and Dawn Baldry who both won 2 of their singles. The Woodham thorn was Trevor Collin who took good wins over Riedling and Baldry as he plays his way back to fitness and form after his recent knee replacement surgery. Peter Hance was the steady star of the drawn match betwixt Stow B and Blackwater A with 4 wins across the night. These teams know each other very well and this showed in the scoring as half of the matches went deep into fifth sets and the overall contest went on long into the night. For Blackwater Alan Scammell and Merv Perriman each took a brace of wins but the game that swung the result was Dave Marsh’s unexpected victory over Neil Freeman. Given recent form you might have thought that the big news coming from the Maldon C versus Cold Norton D match was that Steve ‘hat-trick’ Aspland failed to win all of his games but this was only a subheading – the real story was that Gordon ‘flatbat’ Gatheral lost to Garry Eames in his opening match but then went on to win against both Aspland and Colin Barrell. A combination no-one else has achieved this year. Great concentration and determination shown by Eames to hang on until late in the 5th set to get the better of the gutsy Gatheral, and he followed this up with another win over Peter Lucraft for his first wins of the season. Aspland and Barrell did recover from their Gatheralling to win their other matches and the doubles for an overall 7-3 win for Maldon C. Mr Barrell had some night of it as he played the maximum 20 matches across a very long evening of ping pong.
Division 3 leaders St Lawrence just about held onto their unbeaten record as Roy Hutchins defeated Maldon F’s Roger Warren in the final match of the week to secure a draw and hold onto the coveted top spot. Maldonian John Leavett was on fire for the salt growers as he brushed aside all his opponents with some aplomb. Hutchins picked up 2 wins was but was somehow discarded for the doubles – but St Lawrence first officer David Siggins knows a thing or two as his chosen pairing of himself and Mick Robinson had enough in the tank to overturn Leavett and Roger Warren for the vital doubles point. Kath Little was the star player in her Blackwater C teams 6-4 triumph over stablemates Blackwater D – and like modern day school sports days it was a true club affair as every player went home with at least one win. The C team edged it with 2 wins each for Little and Mike Burton, and by taking the all-important doubles. Woodham E and Maldon E battled out a hard-fought draw with Woodham’s Chris Crooks taking out all the opposition in both singles and doubles.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Fortnight Ending Fri 20 Oct 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Shake-up in Division 1
The top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League is already far better contested this season than it has been for many years as both Mapledene A and Woodham A throw their respective hats into the podium cauldron with decisive victories over last season’s top two teams. First up, and current League leaders, Mapledene A delivered a crushing blow to perennial champions Fambridge with a convincing 7-3 triumph, something Fambridge didn’t experience for the whole of last season. For Mapledene Liam Squirrell buried his opponents for a stunning hat-trick, with the Young family adding 2 wins a piece for Dad Gary and son Daniel. For Fambridge Keith Adams was on form with two wins over the Young clan and he combined with Paul Sayer for an important doubles victory. Podium hopefuls and last year’s runners-up Cold Norton B would be looking to make up some ground as the top two teams fought it out. With two matches in quick succession they could easily have ended the week in pole position especially after their opening 10-0 whitewash against a seasoned Maldon A side. Hat-tricks all round for the Cold Norton boys – Sam Lowman, Eric Green and Ian Wall – although it wasn’t without drama as 3 of the singles contests went all the way to deciding sets and Green just about squeezed through against the wily Steve Whiteley 15-13 in one of those fifth setters. So going into their second match of the period the Cold Norton tails were up and they were looking to consolidate their position in the top three – however the newly invigorated Woodham A team had other ideas and in the most surprising result of the week registered a very unexpected but welcome 9-1 result – and yes that was in their favour! Hat-tricks for the modern defender Lee McHugh, and for recent signing Kaung Htet Paing, and a brace of victories for Captain Dan Piglet including his first ever win over the usually impenetrable Eric Green. For the shell-shocked Cold Norton team Dave Richardson spared the whitewash blushes with a 4 set victory over Piglet. The rest of the matches were close encounters as Woodham B earned a draw with Cold Norton A that included a much sought after hat-trick for Dan Patynski including a revenge victory over his Hockley nemesis Matt Stringer. Stow A and Mapledene B slugged out their match with no player remaining unbeaten and Mapledene’s Anthon Ranjit-Singh and David Jacob taking the doubles to seal a 6-4 victory.
The Woodham Club seem to have got something special going on this season as both their Division 2 teams have a 100% record so far this season and are looking to push seasoned favourites Mapledene C and Maldon B all the way. The Woodham C trio racked up a 9-1 win over Blackwater A with only Neil Freeman able to score a point against Chris Hancox after a tremendous 5 set duel, with Adi Kamma and Graham Briggs unbeaten all evening for Woodham. Meanwhile Woodham D made it 4 wins on the bounce with an emphatic 8-2 result against Blackwater B with Gus Heath the standout player with an evening of undefeated singles and doubles play. Mapledene C squeezed out a 6-4 win over their closest rivals Maldon B with Barrie Delf in fine fettle and registering a hat-trick of wins. Later on in the period Mapledene went one better against Stow C with a hard fought 7-3 turnover – but another hat-trick for Delf, laying down a marker for the coveted most valuable player trophy. Stow C fared slightly better in their earlier encounter with Maldon C – albeit just one point better, as they succumbed 6-4 to Steve Aspland and his merry men of Maldon. Aspland register yet another hat-trick which puts him right up there in battle with Delf for the best win average. It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Stow club this week though as their B team notched an 8-2 victory over the young Maldon D team. For Stow the experienced Peter Hance was untouchable, but the youth of the Maldon side shone through with a point for Marty Englander and an inaugural division 2 win for Ella Sach – we expect more victories for this pair as they grow into the season. In particular Sach was very unlucky not to register more points as both her losses came in tight 5 setters.
St Lawrence continue their quest for the title in Division 3 with their 4th straight victory. This time it was Blackwater E that were slain at the paddles of the St Lawrence Trio – this is a sports team not a folk band despite the catchy name. St Lawrence applied the trusted Dusty Bin 3-2-1 singles victories with Mike Pratley at the top of the tree with a hard-earned threesome that included two 5 set victories both coming from 0-2 down. Pratley and Steve King combined for the extra doubles point to wrap up the 7-3 win. It was a similar scoreline as Blackwater D defeated Maldon F with both Dave Benstead and Chris Rolison leaving with 100% records. The final match went all the way to the fifth end of the doubles to separate the Maldon E and Blackwater C teams – with Maldon’s James Raymond and Ross Wheeler coming through 11-9 to secure the doubles bonus point as well as the overall 6-4 victory.
In the opening round of the team Handicap Cup there were a few notable turnovers where David was able to slay Goliath. Most notable was Blackwater A of the second division who were able to bring down the stars of Cold Norton A – Top handicapper Duncan Taylor’s -20 points starting penalty may have seemed harsh but he was still able to claim his team’s 2 points in their 5-2 loss. For Blackwater David McHattie was the joker in the pack with 3 from 3 wins as his ample handicap bonus of +13 really made it tough for the Nortonians. In the other ‘shock’, Woodham D, currently flying high in Division 2, toppled the Division 1 Maldon A side. This was a real battle of a cup tie that went all the way to the final whistle with half of the matches going to climatic deciding sets. Woodham were kings of the singles winning 4 from 6 with Peter Mortensen on a flat handicap winning both his matches, whereas Maldon with the more experienced heads were able to squeeze out both of the early doubles in thrilling 3 setters. The final doubles saw Derek Balding and Steve Whiteley (handicap -15) pitted against Mortensen and Alex Wilson (handicap of +3) – and although the Maldonites closed the gap they couldn’t do it quickly enough and Woodham prevailed for the hardest fought cup victory of the week.
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BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 6 Oct 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Marauding Mapledene take top Spot
Mapledene A have taken the Burnham & District Table Tennis League by storm these last few weeks setting out a stall that has instilled them as title favourites at all the local bookmakers. This week was their best yet as they blew away the opposition from Stow Maries with a comprehensive 10-0 turnover. Not overly surprising though given the trio of Reece Seddon, George Reeves and Babul Mcleod. Woodham A racked up an impressive 6-4 victory over Cold Norton A to maintain their unbeaten season so far. Fielding new signing Chris Penrose certainly helped the cause as he recorded a very straightforward debut hat-trick and then combined with captain Dan Piglet for a tight doubles point. These 4 Penrose points and Piglets brace of wins was enough to get the revitalised Woodham A over the winning line. Not so much luck for the Woodham B side who travelled to Champions Fambridge with a depleted side following a very late withdrawal. Fambridge were just far too strong and won all 7 matches to add to the forfeited singles for a comprehensive 10-0 win that helps them on their march towards a championship showdown. The evening started ok for Woodham as David Penrose took Paul Sayer to deuce in the opening leg of the first match – but that was about as good as it got for the Woodham duo. Hard-hitting Gurj Bhambra was the evening’s player of the match on countback – but well deserved for his all-round attacking masterclass. Mapledene B were surprisingly held to a draw against Cold Norton C. Simon Jacob took all his singles for Mapledene, whereas his wingmen Colin Chatfield and Keith Willett couldn’t quite display the form of last season as they could only chip in with a single win each. Perhaps Jacob should have been allowed to play in the doubles as his non-selection seems to have been an expensive oversight as the Cold Norton pairing of Kim Shead and Arron Chadler won that one very comprehensively to effectively secure the draw. Shead was the best of the Cold Norton boys with two excellent wins over Willett and Chatfield.
Maldon B’s ascent to the pinnacle of Division 2 was thwarted this week by their very own C team as the teams played out a tight 5-5 draw where half the matches went to 5 sets. This one went to the very last games in which the C team’s talisman Steve Aspland beat Ciaran Whelan in 4 sets to take a 5-4 lead going into the final match. In the ‘Battle of the Colins’’, the B team’s Colin Napper took a decisive 2-0 lead against the C team’s Colin Barrell. But fortune favours the brave and Barrell came out fighting for the next two legs to even up the match and silence the B team’s travelling supporters. In what should have been a tense deciding leg Napper rolled over the Barrell for a quick 11-2 leg and squared the overall match. Aspland’s victory gave him his second hat-trick on the bounce as he plays his way back to last season’s incredible form. This stumble allowed the rejuvenated Woodham C to take the hot seat as they overcame the challenge of Maldon D to record an 8-2 victory. The returnees were out in force as both Graham Briggs and Chris Hancox laid down relatively unchallenged hat-tricks to set up the win. For Maldon both Chris Ravenhill and Shirley Carroll came away with the prized scalp of Adi Kamma for their two points. Cold Norton D were looking to bounce back from last week’s whitewash defeat but it looks like the memo only reached Dave Hancox – perhaps he forgot to pass it on – as Dave racked up all 4 of his teams points on the night with the help of Terry Hylands in the doubles. Stow Maries C relied on teamwork for their 6-4 victory as each of their players was able to record 2 singles wins with only the bubbly Rod Maclennan getting close to hard-hitting Hancox as he took their match to a deciding 5th leg. In the final Division 2 match of the week Woodham D scored a surprise win over podium hopefuls Blackwater A. New recruit Mal Henstock provided a debut hat-trick to help lead the team to a Dusty Bin 3-2-1 victory, with Gus Heath winning 2, and Alex Wilson chipping in with a fine singles triumph over the very tricky Merv Perriman.
St Lawrence kept up their charge for the Division 3 title with a tight 6-4 win over nearest rivals Woodham E. St Lawrence’s Steve King maintained his fine form to see his team over the line with his third hat-trick of the season. King’s unbeaten run leaves him the only player in Division 3 on a 100% win rate. For Woodham E it was the sartorially elegant Chris Crooks that caused most problems with 2 good singles wins, and there was a welcome return to competitive sport for the Dark Horse that is Mitch Davies. Davies got off to a flying start but faltered at the second match and then tailed off towards the end of the evening as the pace got too much for him. Blackwater D showed great bouncebackability after a crushing opening week defeat. Teamwork was the key as their trio of Jacqui Treacy, Chris Rolison and David Smith all won 2 singles apiece, and Rolison and Treacy combined for the doubles for a 7-3 triumph in the match versus Maldon E.
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BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 29 Sept 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Blowing the Muth off
Mapledene A have stormed into an early lead in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League and this is largely down to the form of Steve Muth – only recently awarded the moniker of ‘The Muthinator’ – who destroyed allcomers this week in the Mapledene derby to maintain his 100% record for the season. Muth was ably supported by Gary and Daniel Young in the 8-2 win, with each notching a brace of wins on their welcome return to the Burnham League. David Jacobs’ straight sets victory over Daniel Young being the pick of the Mapledene B points. Maldon A breathed some life into their campaign with a decent 7-3 win over Cold Norton C. For Maldon Derek Balding was the star turn winning all his matches on the night including the doubles and only dropping a single set along the way. In the other Derby, honours were more evenly spread as Cold Norton’s A and B sides took to the Latchingdon battlefield to see out a 5-5 draw. Star of this show was Ian Wall with 3 singles wins all in 4 sets, including a notable victory over Finals Night perennial Kevin Read.
There is an early two horse race in Division 2 as both Maldon B and Woodham C have hit the ground running both taking 19 points out of a possible 20. It looks like these two thoroughbreds will be neck and neck all the way to the winning post. Maldon B ran out 10-0 winners against Cold Norton D with Cold Norton’s Dave Hancox putting up the most resistance with two 5-set defeats. But hat-tricks all round for the Maldon trio of Colin Napper, Hamish Innes & Ciaran Whelan. So as not to be outdone Woodham C matched that scoreline against 2 man Stow B with welcome returnee Graham Briggs getting player of the match for his undefeated evening. Woodham D kicked off their season with an impressive 7-3 win over Maldon D as League Chairman Alan Dadswell showed his form with a hat-trick, and young Alex Wilson proved his worth with 2 wins as he moves up to this higher division. The remaining matches were all tight affairs as Blackwater A and Mapledene C, and Stow D and Stow C locked horns in 5-all draws with no player dominant in either match. The most notable victory was Jean Chasmer’s 5 set marathon against Tim Pulham, although Pulham hadn’t helped himself with two previous 5 setters in the first half of proceedings. In the final match Maldon C’s talisman Steve Aspland was back to his best knocking out his first hat-trick of the season in his teams tight 6-4 victory over Blackwater B. As is often the case the victory came down to the doubles dance and the Maldon duo of Aspland and Colin Barrell are masters of this discipline and rattled out a very comfortable bonus point win to secure the victory.
Not surprisingly it is St Lawrence A that have taken the early headlines and lead in Division 3. Another 8-2 victory this week, and another hat-trick for Steve King, against the plucky Blackwater C. Ron Tam was on dynamic form for his Blackwater E side as he took a trio of wins in the 6-4 encounter with Woodham E. The final match of the week saw the much anticipated Maldon Derby as F took on E in the bragging rights play-off. It was a tight affair throughout as alternate blows were traded. It was all square at the break and as the teams entered the final singles Jude Mayet of the E team evened the match at 4-4. The final two matches were both rollercoaster epics, both going to 5 sets. John Leavett squeezed passed James Raymond for his hat-trick, and in the final showdown the wily Roger Warren came from behind to edge out Ross Wheeler 11-9 in the deciding set to secure the 6-4 victory for Maldon F.
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Week Ending Fri 22 Sept 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Fambridge are Massive
It was the opening week of the new Winter league season in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League and the teams old and new did not disappoint. The Fixture Gods had pitted the two top teams from recent years together for an early showdown and boy was it a humdinger. Supreme Champions Fambridge welcomed their nearest rivals Cold Norton B in the opening salvo in the top division. Both teams elected to go full-Galactico as 6 of the best from across the County when toe-to-toe and paddle-to-paddle in an encounter that went on into the following morning. Four of the matches went to a deciding 5th leg, and all of those final matches were extremely close with 2 going to deuce and beyond. So how on earth did Fambridge come away with an emphatic 8-2 victory – well that’s just what they do. Fambridge took all 4 of those 5-setters and that’s what sets this awesome Club apart. Fambridge’s Paul Sayer and Keith Adams both recorded hat-tricks on the night, with Cold Norton's whipper snapper Sam Lowman edging out John Poysden for a notable singles win in an incredibly tight match (-11, 13, 11, 10). Lowman was on tip top form throughout as he was on the wrong side of those two ‘deuce and beyond’ 5 set defeats. He did manage to add the doubles point as he and partner Eric Green took a straight sets victory over Poysden and Sayer. Elsewhere in the top division it was a good week for the lefties as both Mapledene’s Steve Muth and Colin Chatfield ploughed through their opposition in their respective matches, and Dan Piglet for Woodham also notched an opening day trio of wins. The Muthinator took his hat-trick against Woodham B including a notable win over Sanjay Saptarshi with a display of fierce hitting and electric serves. Saptarshi himself took his sides only 2 points in the 8-2 win for Mapledene A. Chatfield’s hat-trick came in Mapledene B’s 6-4 defeat of a strong Maldon A side. The clean sweep was only secured in the final match as Chatfield and Harrison Hill went into the match both undefeated and even at 13-13 in the deciding leg it was hard to separate these protagonists – such different styles – but in this instance experience triumphed over youth and Chatfield took the honours. In the final match of the week Woodham A took a 7-3 victory away from Stow A with both Dan Piglet and Lee McHugh recording hat-tricks – Piglet just coming through in 5 sets against the loopy Keith Martin.
Blackwater A surprised everyone in Division 2 with a surprising comfortable 7-3 turnover of the usually combative Maldon C trio. It was wily ol’ Merv Perriman who caused the most trouble as he went unbeaten all evening and only dropping a single set en route. Perriman’s sidekicks of Alan Scammell and Roger Slade chipped in with a brace of wins a piece – but they couldn’t contain the doubles expertise of Maldon’s Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell who took the consolation doubles point. It was a welcome return for two former Woodham players as both Graham Briggs and Chris Hancox notched familiar hat-tricks back at their old stomping ground as Woodham C scored an impressive 9-1 victory over a beleaguered Stow D side. Stow’s Tim Pulham saved the whitewash with a 5 set victory over the tricky David Meah. Cold Norton D will be looking for a more consistent run of form this year which should see them fighting for a podium finish and they kicked off with a solid 7-3 triumph over Blackwater B with awkward lefty Peter Lucraft doing the damage with a fine hat-trick of wins. Perennial podium chasers Maldon B fielded a very strong side as they blasted their way through the challenge from Stow C. The match ended up at 9-1 with Maldon’s Colin Napper and Dawn Baldry going unbeaten in singles and doubles. Stow’s most difficult player was Peter Chastin and he at least saved the whitewash with a long and hard fought 5 set victory over Hamish Innes (rumours of expedite being called after the first ½ hour cannot yet be verified). Last year’s champs Mapledene C kicked off their campaign with a comprehensive 8-2 victory over the newly promoted Maldon D. Lin Roff and Bill Smith went unbeaten for Mapledene, and Maldon’s Marty Englander registered an excellent singles point in a 4 setter with Sue Body.
It was mixed fortunes for the Blackwater teams in Division 3 this week as Blackwater C stormed to the top of the leader board with a stunning 10-0 whitewash – unfortunately against their very own Blackwater E side. The regular Blackwater C trio of Kath Little, Deb Ginn and Phil West all registering opening day hat-tricks – its like they had been playing all summer! The match wasn’t without its drama though as Little had to make two amazing comebacks from the ‘dead’. Against Peter Hughes, Little was 0-2 down and the 6-10 down in the match before she went on a run of 6 winning points to nick the 3rd leg and then take the final two legs for the most unlikely of victories. Then in her final match Little found herself 0-2 down again against Ron Tam. As the 3rd leg got underway there was some disturbance in the other match and the leg had to be restarted and this short delay appeared to break Tam’s concentration as fortunes changed and Little took the final 3 legs for her hard-earned hat-trick. Woodham E fielded 2 debutants and 2 players with a bit more experience as they secured an 8-2 home win over the knowledgeable trio from Maldon F. Debutants Reece Arundell and Peter Harverson both notched a brace of wins but it was the wily old Chris Crooks that took the plaudits with an impressive hat-trick of wins including a 5 setter against Maldon’s best player John Leavett. Crooks was joined by Val Board for their Brucie Bonus doubles point against Leavett and Roger Warren.
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