Lamb takes star billing

Elmtree Excalibur A produced the most stunning performance of the week in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League and it was Nigel Lamb who took the star-billing as he led his side to a superb 8-2 win over OCs A.

Lamb beat Robbie Burton 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-9), Terry Dowsett 3-1 (11-8, 11-2, 11-13, 11-8) and Brandon Crouchman 3-0 (12-10, 13-11,11-8).

It wasn‘t a particularly good night for the Old Chelmsfordians side although the up-and-coming Brandon Crouchman made his mark with a fine 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-9) victory over Gary Young.

Elsewhere, Danbury A did very well to beat ECC B 9-1. Ian Whiteside will remember this match fondly. He not only won his three singles but he did it the hard way.

The ‘never-say-die’ defender beat Alastair Hill 3-2 (11-4, 9-11, 13-11, 10-12, 11-9) and then Ken James 3-2 (5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9). He completed a memorable hat-trick with a 3-2 (11-8, 3-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) success against Simon Webber.

Bocking produced a strong performance to beat Maldon B 8-2. Kevin Gowlett and Paul Davison were both undefeated and Davison pipped Keiran Lally 3-2 (11-6, 3-11, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11) in the closest game of the night.

Writtle A also impressed and they defeated Elmtree Graphics B 8-2. Peter Radford, a recent winner of the Over 60s Singles at Wolverhampton on the Veterans Masters Circuit, won his three singles.

Chelmsford A have moved to the top of Division Two with 55 points out of a possible 80 after drawing with Writtle B. Julie Johnson led the way with three excellent wins, beating Matthew Brown (3-2), Hector Rogers (3-0) and Gary Ward (3-1), her best display of the season.

Danbury D are only one point behind Chelmsford A and they beat ECC C 6-4. 2012 M&G Investments Chelmsford Closed Tournament Two-Down Singles Champion Andrew Halling led the way with a hat-trick of wins.

Elmtree Excalibur D are looking increasingly like the team to beat in Division Three after they saw off Hatfield Peverel C 7-3. An undefeated Scott Dowsett led the way.

A very strong-looking Elmtree Excalibur C beat ECC D 8-2. John Tendler and Glenn Johnson, two players with tons of top-level experience in other leagues were both undefeated. Meanwhile, OCs B and Chelmsford C couldn’t be separated. Dave Parker made his mark with an excellent 13-1 (11-5, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6) win over Robbie Burton.

Chelmsford D picked up their first win of the season in Division Fou with a 6-4 win over Writtle C. Richard Upson played his part with five game wins over Andy Fox and Brian Steward.

EPHQ also recorded their first win of the season – a decisive 9-1 win over Writtle C. Francis Whitbread and Ian Hockley both won their three singles. Meanwhile, Maldon C were well served by Tom Elder and Brian Riedling as they beat Danbury H 8-2. Elder wrapped up the evening with a hard-fought 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-6) victory over Brian Ellis.

Danbury J jumped in to second place in Division Five after beating Hatfield Peverel E 8-2. Roger Tiffin stayed undefeated although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Keith Cullen 3-2 (11-7, 12-14, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9).

The match between Danbury K and Highwood finished tied at 5-5. Danbury’s Kevin Willis led the way with a hat-trick of 3-0 wins. Danbury K in turn added 10 points to their tally with a whitewash of OCs F.

Trevor Palmer, Kevin Willis and Philip Crudgington were all undefeated although Crudgington had to dig deep against Tom Barker before he sneaked home 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 7-11, 13-11, 14-12).

Felsted RBL made it seven wins out of seven in the CLICK League by beating ECC H 4-1. Ashley Butler and Sam Porter were both undefeated in their singles but they failed to press home that superiority in the doubles. The honours went to Jamie Rainbow and Andrew Wood who won 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 18-16, 11-5).

Steve Kerns

Press & Publicity Officer

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League