Brotherhood G have endured a disjointed first half of the season in Division Three of the Clacton & District League with injury and player unavailability hampering pre-season forecasts of a promotion-chasing campaign.
They have been indebted to Graham Parkes who has kept the team afloat through difficult times and now the Brotherhood side is starting to produce results, as they did this week with an excellent 6-4 win over Nomads Leopards.
Parkes was again Brotherhood’s star player, recording his eleventh hat-trick of the season. But he had to use all his experience to edge it 3-2 (11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-5) against talented Nomads junior Harry Beezer before inflicting a rare defeat on John Bonner in four (9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8).
With John Wrigley adding a couple and Vicki Edwards one, the result leap-frogs Brotherhood above the Leopards to take fourth place in the table.
For the Leopards, Bonner took two singles and Beezer one, whilst Bonner and Tom Collins won the doubles against Wrigley and Edwards.
Elsewhere, Alan Charman and Mike Monschau put in undefeated performances in Windsor Penguins’ 6-4 success against Nomads Pumas. The only match that went to five was the doubles, John Houghton and John Bowers of the Pumas scraping it 12-10 in the decider against Charman and Monschau.
Windsor Ospreys were 8-2 winners against a Walton D side fielding a guest. The two closest matches involved Windsor’s Millie Easton who lost 11-5 in the fifth to both Lynette Sparks and Toni Hayhow-Khan.
Meanwhile the top two teams made no mistakes against lower-table opposition. Windsor Buzzards beat Nomads Wildcats 10-0, with only one of the matches going to four, whilst it was also 10-0 for Nomads Lynx against Windsor Kites, just two of the matches extended to a fourth set.
In Division One second-placed Nomads Lions were 8-2 victors against Brotherhood B. Sam Hume stayed unbeaten, with John Hatley and Adam Wilkin each winning two. The Lions won all three matches that went the distance – Hume’s victory against John Owen, Wilkin’s success over David North, and a 3-2 (11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 12-14, 11-7) doubles win for Hume and Wilkin against Owen and North. Owen and Martin Edwards took a point each for Brotherhood.
James Denyer was the only Nomads Panthers regular in the side that faced Windsor Hawks but John Monk and John Poysden proved more than adequate substitutes, contributing to a comfortable 10-0 victory for the champions-elect.
No-one remained unbeaten in the Windsor Eagles v Brotherhood A clash which ended 6-4 in favour of the Eagles. Gary Cattermole and Sue Welham won two each for the winners, Cattermole defeating Oli Reynolds 11-7 in the fifth and Sue Welham enjoying a fine 11-5 in the decider win over John Andrews – but it was John Hobson’s surprise success in three-straight against Reynolds that tipped the balance in favour of the Windsor side. Andrews and Alan Burgess took a pair apiece for Brotherhood.
Gavin Price chalked up another hat-trick as Walton B defeated lowly Windsor Kestrels 7-3. There were two each for Paul Newbould and John Rankin but both were denied their hat-tricks by the able bat of Bob Sawyer. Sawyer and Dave Martin also had an unexpected doubles victory – only their second doubles win of the season – beating Price and Newbould in three-straight.
In Division Two leaders Brotherhood C recovered from being 3-0 down to take the match 6-4 against Windsor Harriers, no-one staying unbeaten but every player picking up a point. There were two each for Brotherhood’s Kevin Pryor and Laurence Torr, and for Windsor’s Ferdy Rodriguez, Rodriguez taking the notable scalp of Torr in four. Isabel Barton enjoyed a surprise 11-7 in the fifth success against Pryor but Brotherhood’s Fred Gallone recorded the crucial winning point, beating Barton 3-2 (9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 14-12).
Second-placed Brotherhood D kept up the pressure with an 8-2 win over relegation-haunted Nomads Tigers, both Russell Hillier and Paul Alden recording trebles. However, it was a struggle for Alden against Tigers’ reserve Mike Hillier, eventually winning 3-2 (11-6, 11-7, 11-13, 8-11, 11-5), whilst Brotherhood’s Hillier had to battle hard against Darryl Lott before eventually triumphing by an unusual-looking 3-1 (9-11, 11-3, 22-20, 11-4) scoreline.
Brotherhood I fielded a guest player against Windsor Owls but very nearly caused a surprise, just losing 6-4. Tom Wilkin’s pair for Brotherhood included a 3-2 (11-9, 5-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9) win against Tricia Salter, whilst Mark Beckham took two, including a win in five against Sue Watson. And Beckham so nearly secured a share of the spoils for Brotherhood, narrowly losing 12-10 in the decider to Frank Burbidge.
Nomads Jaguars were indebted to a hat-trick from reserve Roger Hance in the drawn match with Brotherhood I, playing their second match of the week. Once again, Wilkin and Beckham took a couple each although Beckham struggled against Andrew North before winning 13-11 in the fifth, whilst Wilkin defeated the same player 11-8 in the fifth. But the Jaguars had the satisfaction of knowing the result lifts them off the bottom of the table – by a point.
Grant Sharpe was on the ball with a treble as Brotherhood H beat Windsor Magpies 6-4 for the second time this season. Dan Wright and David Sweetland won two each for the losers
Brian Parish and Peter Giles were the maximum men for Nomads Ocelots, 9-1 victors over Brotherhood E. Rodney Betts prevented the whitewash by defeating Harry Hawkes 3-2 (11-13, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 12-10). Hawkes was involved in another close match against Tony Edmonds, eventually coming out on top in five (7-11, 11-7, 14-12, 11-13, 11-7).
* The Handicapped Singles Tournament takes place on Saturday February 7 at Windsor’s St James’ Hall venue with play starting at 9.30am. Entries can be made by post to Tony Oswick or e-mail to Peter White. There will be a limit of 40 players. The entry fee is £3 and the closing date is next Monday (February 2). Full details are with team secretaries and are on the league’s website.
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RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Kestrels 3 Walton B 7
Brotherhood B 2 Nomads Lions 8
Windsor Hawks 0 Nomads Panthers 10
Brotherhood A 4 Windsor Eagles 6
Division 2
Brotherhood I 4 Windsor Owls 6
Brotherhood E 1 Nomads Ocelots 9
Windsor Harriers 4 Brotherhood C 6
Nomads Tigers 2 Brotherhood D 8
Nomads Jaguars 5 Brotherhood I 5
Windsor Magpies 4 Brotherhood H 6
Division 3
Brotherhood G 6 Nomads Leopards 4
Windsor Ospreys 8 Walton D 2
Nomads Pumas 4 Windsor Penguins 6
Nomads Wildcats 0 Windsor Buzzards 10
Nomads Lynx 10 Windsor Kites 0
Tony Oswick
January 26, 2015