The best performance of the week came in Division Two of the Clacton & District League where a fine all-round team performance saw Windsor Kestrels emerge surprise 6-4 winners against Brotherhood D.

Captain Graham Bunce won his three whilst Debra Found and Kayley Rodriguez gave top-class support, Rodriguez beating Martin Scarfe 3-1 (14-12, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10), Found excelling to edge past Grant Sharpe 12-10 in the fifth, with the two women sharing a doubles win, 11-4 in the fifth, against Scarfe and Lee Allen.

And the score could have been even more decisive, Allen only beating Rodriguez 11-5 in the decider and Scarfe edging past Found 11-8 in the decider.

Brotherhood E were not far behind in the performance stakes, the team winning four of the five matches which went the distance to record an 8-2 victory over Brotherhood G in what was, even at this early stage of the season, a potential relegation battle.

There were three for Kevin Pryor, and two each for Duncan Dunne and Tony Edmonds, whilst Mark Beckham got the two points for the losers. Paul Metcalf of the ‘G’ team will feel unfortunate not to have picked up at least one point, going down 11-8 in the fifth to Dunne, and 11-6 in the fifth to both Edmonds and Pryor.

By contrast, although the Windsor Buzzards v Nomads Bobcats tie ended all-square, only one match went the distance, with five of the matches settled in three-straight. David North won his three for the Bobcats, and Caroline Page and Mike Wellum one each.

There were two each for John Harvey and Pete Bloomfield of the Buzzards, with Ray Chillingworth, playing only in the doubles, joining with Bloomfield to defeat North and Wellum. The crucial encounter of the evening proved to be North’s 11-6 in the decider win against Bloomfield.

Dave Martin made his first appearance of the season for Windsor Magpies and stayed unbeaten in the drawn match against Windsor Harriers, although it was a tight 11-9 in the fifth against Ferdy Rodriguez. There were a couple each for Rodriguez and Isabel Barton, with Barton and Jenny Higgins guaranteeing the draw with an 11-7 in the fifth doubles win against Martin and John Plummer.

And there was a third draw in the Division when Lawford hosted Brotherhood C. John Colvin was Lawford’s unbeaten hero with Charlie Denholm taking two, although it was a tight 11-8 in the fifth for both Colvin against Russell Hillier, and for Denholm against Mark Salter.

In Division Three Nomads Jaguars were too good for Nomads Ocelots, Harry Hawkes, Kevin Hume and Mike Vilka maintaining their excellent start to the season with a comfortable 10-0 victory.

Maci Harvey and Harley Wood stayed unbeaten, and Zac Coates notched up a debut League success, as Brotherhood F enjoyed an 8-2 victory over a Windsor Merlins side fielding a guest. Sharon Gowlett won a point for the Merlins, took Wood close before going down 11-7 in the fifth and, with Diane Self, recorded a fine 11-6 in the fifth doubles success against Wood and Harvey.

It was also 8-2 for Walton D against Nomads Lynx, Lynette Sparks’ maximum for the winners including a 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 12-10) victory over Dominic Joannou. There were a couple each for Toni Hayhow-Khan and Tony Sharman for Walton, whilst Joannou’s two for the Lynx included a topsy-turvy 3-2 (11-6, 14-12, 0-11, 3-11, 11-5) win against Sharman.

Windsor Robins fielded a guest against Windsor Penguins and so it was little surprise the Penguins were 7-3 winners – although the Robins may feel, with a little luck, they could have scraped a draw. Merlins’ skipper Bob Bales remained undefeated whilst it was 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8) for the Penguins’ Paul Dale against Mick Coker, and also 11-8 in the fifth for Dale and Alan Charman in the doubles against Bales and Coker.

There was another 7-3 win, this time for the Pumas against the Leopards, in an all-Nomads encounter, with five of the matches going the distance. Dave Harris was unbeaten for the winners, beating Stuart Wilkinson 11-7 in the fifth. Lionel Goddard defeated Dave Wright 11-6 in the fifth, and Harris and John Bowers edged the doubles 11-8 in the fifth against Wilkinson and Wright. Wilkinson won two for the Leopards, beating Bowers 11-5 in the decider, with Wright gaining a point by getting the better of the unfortunate Bowers, 11-6 in the decider.

Nomads Panthers continue to look good in Division One, this week defeating club-mates Nomads Lions 10-0. John Hatley, Liam Harris and Gill Locke all remained unbeaten, Locke’s 11-9 in the decider win against Ethan Lloyd the only match which went the distance.

It was also 10-0 in the all-Brotherhood clash, the ‘A’ side beating the ‘B’ team. Martin Edwards, Kevin Gowlett and Andy Warner all recorded hat-tricks although Warner was stretched by John Owen before winning 3-2 (12-10, 11-5, 12-14, 9-11, 11-5).

Windsor Hawks may have expected to beat Walton B but the 10-0 scoreline was certainly unforeseen. Andy Vincent, Roger Hance and Felipe Rodriguez all remained unbeaten whilst Colin Dearman came closest to taking a point for Walton, going down 11-7 in the fifth to Hance and 13-11 in the fifth to Rodriguez.

Walton A won all three matches which went the distance to record a 9-1 victory against Walton C. Daniel Young and Gary Young took maximum points, Gary Young beating Peter Burrows 11-8 in the decider. The ‘A’ team’s Gavin Price edged past John Marshall 11-9 in the decider and Graham Buxton 13-11 in the decider.

Finally, three for Mel Rampton, two for Phil Smith and one for Sue Welham saw Windsor Eagles to their first success of the season, 7-3 against Walton E. Mark Gale was Walton’s best player, taking two, with Mark Ratcliffe taking one. Paul Woolnough failed to get on the scoresheet but played well before losing 11-6 in the fifth to Smith and 11-8 in the fifth to Welham.

RESULTS
Division 1
Walton E 3 Windsor Eagles 7
Brotherhood A 10 Brotherhood B 0
Walton A 9 Walton C 1
Windsor Hawks 10 Walton B 0
Nomads Panthers 10 Nomads Lions 0

Division 2
Windsor Magpies 5 Windsor Harriers 5
Brotherhood E 8 Brotherhood G 2
Windsor Buzzards 5 Nomads Bobcats 5
Windsor Kestrels 6 Brotherhood D 4
Lawford 5 Brotherhood C 5

Division 3
Nomads Pumas 7 Nomads Leopards 3
Windsor Penguins 7 Windsor Robins 3
Walton D 8 Nomads Lynx 2
Brotherhood F 8 Windsor Merlins 2
Nomads Ocelots 0 Nomads Jaguars 10