Brotherhood F have now played 15 matches this season in Division Two of the Clacton & District League and, in all 15 matches, they’ve fielded the same three players, Lee Allen, Barry Allen and Shaun Beckham.
This week, the Brotherhood F ever-present trio turned up trumps in their match against Windsor Magpies, all three players recording hat-tricks in their 9-1 win, a result which moves them up to third place in the table.
The Magpies’ consolation point was a doubles victory for Dave Sweetland and John Plummer, 11-6 in the decider, against Beckham and Lee Allen.
Elsewhere, leaders Brotherhood I beat Nomads Bobcats 6-4, although the Bobcats’ young starlet, Liam Harris, again recorded an impressive treble, defeating John Owen, Graham Parkes and Fred Gallone. Harris and Eric Lemke also took the doubles whilst Lemke nearly secured the draw for the Bobcats, just losing 12-10 in the fifth to Parkes.
Hat-tricks for Woody Fitzpatrick and Mark Salter were the basis for Brotherhood H’s 8-2 win over Windsor Kestrels. Salter recorded a close 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 17-19, 11-9, 11-7) win over Graham Bunce whilst Fitzpatrick was taken to 11-4 in the fifth by the Kestrels’ reserve, Kayley Rodriguez. For the Kestrels, there was one each for Bunce and Debra Found, Found having a good win against Tricia Salter.
The battle at the bottom of the table was thrown wide open when Walton E failed to muster a team for their scheduled fixture against Nomads Jaguars, thus conceding the 10 points to their opponents, a result which gives the Jaguars an unexpected lifeline.
Meanwhile, the other two teams in the relegation mix, Brotherhood G and Windsor Harriers, were in opposition, the match ending all-square. Paul Metcalf took an excellent three for Brotherhood and Mark Beckham a couple. Both enjoyed narrow victories over Harriers’ skipper Ferdy Rodriguez, Metcalf winning 11-9 in the decider and Beckham 11-8 in the decider. Crucially the Harriers took the doubles, Rodriguez and Jenny Higgins defeating the Brotherhood pair in four sets.
In Division Three leaders Brotherhood E won 8-2 against Windsor Merlins. Tony Edmonds was again their best player, staying undefeated. Sharon Gowlett won two good points for the losers with wins against Duncan Dunne and Rodney Betts, the latter an 11-8 in the fifth victory.
Windsor Penguins have started to open up a small gap over their rivals in the race for the runners-up spot. This week, they beat Brotherhood J 7-3, despite losing the first three matches of the evening. No-one stayed unbeaten but every player picked up a point, Jackie Bunce, Paul Dale and Darren Bunce each winning two for the winners. For Brotherhood, Harley Wood defeated Jackie Bunce, Maci Harvey defeated Darren Bunce, whilst Dan Still beat Paul Dale 11-5 in the fifth in the only match which went the distance.
The all-Nomads clash between the Leopards and an Ocelots’ side fielding a guest player ended 9-1 in favour of the Leopards, Dave Wright and Stewart Wilkinson unbeaten. Hazel Blanche took the Ocelot’s point with a narrow 13-11 in the decider success against John Wrigley.
A second all-Nomads fixture, between the Lynx and the Pumas, ended all-square. For the Lynx, Mike Vilka won three, Dominic Joannou one, with the pair sharing a doubles win. Andrew Cousins and John Bowers each took two for the Pumas, and Lionel Goddard one.
Windsor Falcons beat a two-player Walton D 6-4. Kayley Rodriguez and Sandy Lamb combined to take a match-winning 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-5) doubles win over Lynette Sparks and Toni Hayhow-Khan, only the Falcons’ third doubles’ success of the season.
Nomads Panthers consolidated their position at the top of Division One with an 8-2 win over Brotherhood D, James Denyer remaining unbeaten. There were two each for John Hatley and Gill Locke but both went down to Brotherhood’s John Andrews, although it was a tight 14-12 in the fifth for Andrews against Locke.
There were hat-tricks for Greg Green and Mel Rampton as Windsor Condors defeated Walton A 8-2. Kevin James and Gavin Price got a point each for Walton, James edging out Martin Hogg 11-6 in the decider.
Three for Kevin Gowlett, two for Alan Burgess and a shared doubles victory were good enough to give Brotherhood C a 6-4 success over Nomads Lions. Ethan Lloyd won two for the Lions, and Jason Lloyd and reserve Liam Harris one apiece.
It was also 6-4 for Walton C against Windsor Eagles. Peter Burrows remained unbeaten for the winners although it was a tight 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9) against Gary Cattermole. Walton reserve Mark Gale played well to take a couple, defeating both Phil Smith and Sue Welham. Cattermole won twice for the losers.
Finally, Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez recorded hat-tricks as Windsor Hawks defeated Nomads Tigers 7-3 for a second time this season. Rodriguez beat John Marshall 11-9 in the decider in the closest match of the evening. His Hawks’ team-mate, John Barton, failed to get on the score-sheet but he will feel unfortunate to have lost 11-8 in the fifth to Pawel Szemro and then 11-7 in the fifth to John Hockley.
* The Closed Championships, sponsored for a 26th year by Paul Newbould Planning and Building Design Services, takes place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th April at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall. Entry forms will be available and circulated to all players during the first week in March. The closing date for entry is Saturday 23rd March.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton C 6 Windsor Eagles 4
Brotherhood C 6 Nomads Lions 4
Windsor Condors 8 Walton A 2
Nomads Tigers 3 Windsor Hawks 7
Nomads Panthers 8 Brotherhood D 2
Division 2
Brotherhood F 9 Windsor Magpies 1
Brotherhood G 5 Windsor Harriers 5
Nomads Bobcats 4 Brotherhood I 6
Windsor Kestrels 2 Brotherhood H 8
Nomads Jaguars 10 v Walton E (walk-over)
Division 3
Nomads Lynx 5 Nomads Pumas 5
Windsor Falcons 6 Walton D 4
Brotherhood E 8 Windsor Merlins 2
Nomads Ocelots 1 Nomads Leopards 9
Windsor Penguins 7 Brotherhood J 3