SDTTL - 2017/8 - Week 12 Reports
Firstly, aopogies for the late publication of Week 12's Reports due to holidays.
- Premier Division
If the current top three in the premier division are there at the end of the season it will come as no surprise, but it will be interesting who can grab 4th and be the ‘best of the rest’. Although they have played a game more, it is currently Brand Identity A who hold that position as they recorded an 8-1 win over Hadleigh Forum A. Dave Bassett beat Barrie Delf for the sole Hadleigh win, while Simon Jacob and Richard Jackman impressed with three wins each.
Rawreth B managed to hold off the youngsters of Hockley A for a 6-3 win. Matt Spero was the MoM again with a hat-trick. However there should be a special mention for Matt Stringer who picked up two excellent wins against the very experienced pair of Eric Green and Mike Hayes.
A close five set win for Glenn Johnson over Kim Shead was the closest Warehouse A came to picking up a point against a strong Hullbridge B team of Johnson, Gary Young and John Holland, who ran out comfortable 9-0 winners.
Another game that the scoreline suggests was comfortable was the 8-1 win for Rayleigh Mill over Hadleigh Forum B, but that does not tell the whole story. All of Steve Sawyer’s three wins came in five ends, while special mention must go to Tony Jacks who only turned up to watch but found himself having to play with a spare bat when Hadleigh’s third player did not turn up. Not only did Jacks step into the breach for his team but he also recorded their only win of the night, a close five setter against the other Steve (Maltby).
Rawreth A welcomed back Tony Halling to the side and it was fortunate they did as he delivered a masterclass to win his three games against title rivals Hullbridge A. Sam Hulme won two games for the away side over Charles Sweeney and Kevin Read, while Read and Sweeney beat Stuart Gibbs and Reece Seddon respectively to ensure the spoils (just) went to Rawreth.
In the final game this week, Lentern A, as you might expect, beat Stanford-le-Hope A 7-2. Rahul Sharma recorded two wins for the losing side over Ian Wall and Paul Churn but couldn’t get the better of man of the match Keith Adams.
Duncan Taylor DRS Premier Division
- Division 1
Lentern B are back joint top of the Division, and have a game in hand. This week they were involved in a tight game with Warehouse B and came out on top by 6-3. Martin Archie played well to secure all 3 games for Lentern and was ably supported by John Lott with two and Paul Sims with one, to complete a good all round team performance. Mark Rudland Scored two for Warehouse, with Tony Millward adding the final point, Berti unable to get on the scoresheet this week, but taking Martin to 5 sets losing 11-8 in the fifth.
Canvey A move into joint 1st position despite a narrow 5-4 loss to Customs A this week. Roy Thomas was unbeaten for the Customs men with Dale Gutteridge and Brian Rackham adding a point each for the win. Ray Wilson added two for Canvey, only losing to Roy 11-8 in the fifth set. Terry Giddens and Peter Cray added a further point each for Canvey in a match where everyone scored.
Hullbridge E are in 3rd position two points off the lead, but did not have a game this week.
Hockley C stay in 4th position with a good 6-3 win over Rawreth C, and are on a good run only losing one match in their last 6 games. Alex Barnetson returned to form with a hat trick and was backed up by Dan Patynski with two wins and Stuart Adshead with one. For Rawreth, each player managed one win for the team consisting of Gary McCarthy, Colin Clements and Trevor Ward.
Invicta A picked up some valuable points in a 6-3 win over Brand Identity B. Steve Marr picked up three wins for Invicta, back up by Mike Piper with two and Tony Ayliffe, against his former team, picking up the last point. There were good wins for Mick Grout who picked up two points and David Jacob over Tony for the final point. Seam McNabb took all his games to 4 sets but was unable to push it any further.
The two bottom clubs met this week and Hockley B won a close encounter, 5-4 against Lentern C to keep them 1 point ahead and 1 place off the bottom. Dave Colwill did well to earn all three wins for Hockley, with Joe Lock adding two more for the win. Pat White top scored for Lentern with two wins, supported by Mark Jupe and Peter Lucraft with a win each.
Barrie Delf DRS Div 1
- Division 2
RESSC move to the top of the table for the first time since Week 1 with a convincing 8-1 win over Rawreth E who were unable to do their D team any favours. Mike Worship and Bob Skews top scored for RESSC with three points each and Sarah Mapes added two. Botond Mezo stopped the whitewash with a 3-0 win over Sarah to restore some pride to the scoreline. Now with a 3 point gap at the top of the Division, RESSC have earned some respite, and the other teams will need to draw them in during the second half of the season.
Rawreth D are in joint second with the team they beat this week by 6-3, Canvey C. Sam Thompson retained his 100% record Backed up by Colin Barham with two and a good win for 12 year old Olivia Jones over Stuart Curham. Andy Murray was consistent for Canvey and added two, but was not able to beat Sam, losing 3-0 for only his third loss this season. Simon Baker added the other point for the islanders who have now played a game more than the two teams above them.
Stanford Le Hope B move into 4th position and still in touch with the leaders thanks to a 9-0 win over bottom club Runnymede, who were hoping for better things after last week’s win. Martin Winter, Adrian Armstrong and Mark Farley all put in good performances to take the maximum points for Stanford and push them up the table. The unlucky losing team consisted of Barry Edgar, Barbara Shead and Mick Saunders and will need to find some form in the second half of the season if they wish to avoid finishing at the bottom.
Canvey B are in 5th but lost ground and the match 5-4 to Hockley D, mainly due to the fact they were only able to field two players. Harry Sawford and Brian Bissenden for Hockley won a game each which when added to the 3 forfeit points was enough to take the win. Des Duffield and new signing, Jo Hills scored two wins each in a courageous performance that just fell short.
In the final game this week, Hullbridge F won 6-3 against two-man Invicta B. The youngsters were led by an inspired performance from Will Skelt scoring two wins on the night, supported by Sheikh Afzal with one and 3 forfeit points. Barrie Murphy scored two for Invicta with Andy Humphris with the final point.
David Barnes DRS Div 2
- Division 3
Mark Rose of Customs B proved to be the thorn in the side of Canvey D’s Talbot Wiseman as he pulled off probably the biggest surprise of the season so far ending Talbot’s 100% record in the league. Mark showed great fighting qualities as he found himself 2-1 down before winning the fourth and fifth sets 11/6 11/5. Despite this win it did not inspire Customs to greater things as they lost the match 7-2 overall. Geoff Banthorpe took the MOTM honours with a hat trick and Talbot and Ray Baker settled for two each. Amar Al-Soufi got the other point for Customs.
In another surprise result Brand Identity C succumbed to their first defeat in eight matches when they were literally pipped at the post losing 5-4 to Rawreth F. It went down to the last match of the evening with Mike Nunn completing his hat trick with a win against Andy Roff and Mike now tops the averages charts being unbeaten in nine games and taking over from Talbot Wiseman. Jan Thorpe provided the other two points for Rawreth but slumped to his second defeat of the season against John Beddow who came back from 2-0 down against Jan, winning the last three sets 11/9. 11/6, 11/8. John finished with a brace and Andy and Richard Reibold a point each. Brand Identity sit top of the table at the moment but it is likely Hadleigh Forum will resume top spot once their result against Rawreth H has been received.
The youngsters of Hullbridge I were in fine form against Stanford Le Hope C running out 9-1 winners but, having raced to a 3-1 lead, the last five matches all went to five sets so the score could have been a lot closer. Jake Winter and Mark Downey both lost two matches in five sets but it was Peter Handscombe who got the consolation point with a win over Josh Jones. Ben Hoskins and Joseph Buscombe both recorded hat tricks and Josh finished with a brace.
Rawreth G picked up a rare win 5-4 against Hockley F. Despite being 3-2 down they came back to win the next three games with Robert Wood claiming the MOTM honours and Harrison Creak weighing in with two wins. Ben Cook got two for Hockley plus a point each for Alwine Jarvis and Alex Summers.
Contrasting results for the two Warehouse teams. The C team secured a complete whitewash against Rochford C 9-0 but their D team lost by the same score to Hullbridge H. Bill Hoy rolled back the years and got his first hat trick of the season twice coming back from 2-1 deficits against Steve Higgins and Mike Webb to record two five set victories. Tony Molisso and Brian Farmer completed the Hullbridge side who now sit in a respectable third place although the teams immediately below them have games to record in the league.
Team of the Week Rawreth F
Player of the Week Mike Nunn
