The first issue of the Clacton and District League season was settled as Brotherhood D lost 8-2 to club-mates Brotherhood C, a result which confirms the ‘D’ side will certainly finish in the bottom two places in Division One.
But Brotherhood D did not go down without a fight, Lee Harvey winning two singles that included a fighting 3-2 (13-11, 9-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-7) win over Oli Reynolds. Paul Alden also played well for the losers but twice fell at the final hurdle, 11-6 in the decider to Reynolds and 11-5 in the decider to Kevin Pryor.
The ‘C’ team’s Alan Burgess was the only player to emerge unscathed on the night, whilst Reynolds and Pryor each took a couple.
Windsor Hawks’ deadly duo, Felipe Rodriguez and Andy Vincent, were again on-song, taking trebles as the Hawks defeated Brotherhood B 9-1 to move into second-place. But it was not all plain-sailing, Vincent beating David North 11-8 in the fifth while John Barton’s two for the Hawks included a nail-biting 3-2 (8-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10) victory over John Owen. Gracie Edwards picked up the losers’ sole point.
In Division Two third-placed Lawford moved to within five points of second-placed Nomads Tigers after their 9-1 win over lowly Brotherhood E. Paul Hewitt, Richard Spence and Ian Sherwood all stayed unbeaten but Brotherhood had the satisfaction of an unexpected doubles victory, Rodney Betts and Duncan Dunne beating Spence and Sherwood in five (8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-7).
The all-Windsor clash between the Harriers and Buzzards ended in a 7-3 victory for the Harriers, Isabel Barton taking a hat-trick for the winners. Ray Chillingworth, with an 11-6 in the fifth success over Jenny Higgins, and Alan Rutledge took two singles points for the losers and shared a doubles’ success against Barton and Higgins.
The Brotherhood H v Nomads Bobcats fixture ended all-square. Brotherhood’s Grant Sharpe took the individual honours, remaining unbeaten, whilst there were a couple each for Nomads’ Tony Beezer and Tony Robinson. Surprisingly for a drawn match, only one individual encounter went the distance, Beezer beating Graham Parkes 3-2 (3-11, 13-15, 11-9, 13-11, 11-5).
Just one match in Division Three saw Walton D regain second place with a 7-3 success over Nomads Ocelots. Rivhu Khan and John Long took trebles for Walton whilst there was a point apiece for Ocelots’ players Tom Collins, Dave Wright and Scott Campbell.
* The League’s 2016 Closed Championships take place on April 16 and 17 at the Clacton Coastal Academy Sports Hall. All entrants will receive more information and details of check-in times by Friday April 8. Any player who has not received details by this date should contact either Peter White or Tony Oswick.
* The Windsor Club Quiz Evening will be held on Saturday April 23 at St James’ Hall, Clacton-on-Sea, 7.30pm for 8pm. The cost is £5 per person for teams of up to six people. For more details, contact Jenny Higgins on 01255 432397 or 07790 240566, or e-mail [email protected].
RESULTS
Division 1
Brotherhood B 1 Windsor Hawks 9
Brotherhood D 2 Brotherhood C 8
Division 2
Windsor Buzzards 3 Windsor Harriers 7
Brotherhood E 1 Lawford 9
Brotherhood H 5 Nomads Bobcats 5
Division 3
Walton D 7 Nomads Ocelots 3