Nomads Panthers are the champions of Division One of the Clacton & District League.
The Nomads’ trio recorded a straightforward 10-0 victory over Windsor Kestrels to confirm their champion status, something that has looked inevitable since the turn of the year. The Panthers have consistently been the best team in the League over the season – so congratulations to James Denyer, Gill Locke, Colin Webber and John Monk on their success, their third Division One title in a row.
Alas for the Kestrels, it means they will finish in the relegation places, ahead of Windsor Ravens who now, even with one match to play, will definitely finish bottom. This week, the Ravens went down 8-2 to club-mates Windsor Hawks. Felipe Rodriguez was unbeaten for the Hawks but John Harvey of the Ravens recorded good wins over Andy Vincent and John Barton. John Long failed to get on the scoresheet but he gave Vincent a scare before Vincent eventually took their match 3-2 (11-6, 6-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6).
Nomads Lions defeated Walton B 7-3 for a second time this season. Sam Hume won three, John Hatley two and Adam Wilkin one for the Lions. All three Walton points came from close victories, Gavin Price beating both Hatley and Wilkin 11-8 in the fifth, whilst it was 11-7 in the fifth for John Rankin against Wilkin.
Walton A drew with Walton C. Gary Young was the ‘C’ team’s star player, staying unbeaten with wins over Kevin Gowlett, Peter Burrows and Colin Dearman whilst his team-mate, Derek Willis, had victories over Burrows and Dearman. Of the three of the matches that went the distance, the closest was Dearman’s 11-9 in the decider victory over Paul Meikle.
These two results mean Walton A cannot now mathematically overtake Nomad Lions, who are confirmed as Division One runners-up.
Windsor Condors beat Brotherhood B 8-2, Colin Stallwood undefeated, with Paul Woolnough and Annabelle Rodriguez each contributing a couple. Rodriguez’s two included a 3-1 (9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-4) victory over Gracie Edwards, a win she was unable to repeat five days later in the Ladies’ Singles final of the Closed Championships.
In Division Two, Brotherhood D’s last match of the season was a convincing 10-0 victory over Brotherhood I, a victory that takes them, temporarily at least, to the top of the table.
Third-placed Nomads Ocelots were 8-2 winners over lowly Nomads Jaguars, Peter Giles and Brian Parish taking hat-tricks. Andrew North had an unforeseen win against Harry Hawkes and, with daughter Caroline North, also enjoyed unexpected doubles success, beating Giles and Hawkes 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7).
Every player picked up a point but no-one stayed unbeaten in the Ocelots’ second match which saw them scrape home 6-4 against Windsor Owls, the Ocelots winning all three matches that went close in five. Peter Giles’ couple included an 11-8 in the fifth victory over Adam Jackson, Hockley had an 11-9 in the fifth win against Tricia Salter, whilst Giles and Hockley took the doubles 11-9 in the fifth against Jackson and Frank Burbidge. But it was Nomads’ Harry Hawkes who produced the shock result of the night, defeating Frank Burbidge 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 14-12).
These two results means that Brotherhood D sit on 175 points having completed their programme, Brotherhood C have 173 points with one match to play – a tough encounter away to Lawford – whilst the Ocelots on 161 points have two matches to play against teams in the lower half of the table, Brotherhood I and Windsor Magpies.
Having lost 8-2 to the Ocelots, Nomads Jaguars also went down by the same score to Brotherhood H. Grant Sharpe won three, and James Smith-Daye and reserve John Wrigley two each for Brotherhood, whilst Andrew North took the two points for the losers. But the Jaguars will feel unfortunate to have lost three matches with the score at 11-9 in the fifth, Caroline North to both Smith-Daye and Wrigley, and Kevin Hume to Wrigley.
Brotherhood F signed off their season with a 9-1 success against bottom side Windsor Magpies. Barry Allen and Sandie Isaac stayed undefeated for the winners. John Plummer picked up a consolation point for the Magpies with a win over Gerald Batt whilst, in the only match that went to five, Batt edged out Malcolm Caley 14-12, 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7.
The result for the Magpies means they will definitely finish in the relegation places – and only a minor miracle will prevent Nomads Jaguars joining them.
Lawford defeated a two-player Nomads Tigers 6-4. John Marshall’s couple for the losers included an 11-4 in the decider win over Ian Sherwood, and he shared an unexpected doubles victory with Eric Lemke over Sherwood and Paul Hewitt.
Isabel Barton chalked up her first hat-trick of the season as Windsor Harriers beat Brotherhood E 7-3. Rodney Betts, Tony Edmonds and Gary Bayliss each picked up a point for Brotherhood, Bayliss involved in the closest of the 10 matches when he defeated Jenny Higgins 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8).
In Division Three, the plaudits go to Windsor Buzzards who are the new divisional champions. They crowned their success in fine style with an 8-2 win over nearest rivals Nomads Lynx, who must thus settle for the runners-up spot. But it was not an easy victory, with four of the five matches going the distance.
There were hat-tricks for Ray Chillingworth and Pete Bloomfield, although it was 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5) for Chillingworth against Peter Miller and 3-2 (11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 12-14, 11-7) for Bloomfield against Mike Hillier. For the Lynx, Brian Friday defeated Alan Rutledge in three-straight but Hillier struggled before beating the same player in five (15-13, 10-12, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8).
Nomads Pumas were 9-1 winners against Windsor Swallows but Windsor’s Kayley Lamb demonstrated her improvement over the season with a nerve-jangling 3-2 (7-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 16-14) win against old-hand John Houghton.
There was a similar individual score in the Walton D v Windsor Penguins encounter which Walton won 7-3, Rivhu Khan beating Windsor’s Mike Monschau 3-2 (11-13, 11-8, 6-11, 11-1, 16-14) in the battle of the big guns. Monschau and Zoe Strange notched up a good doubles win in three-straight against Lynette Sparks and Toni Hayhow-Khan.
The scorebook will forever show the match between Windsor Ospreys and Nomads Bobcats ending all-square. But the scoreline belies the fact that, with all five Bobcats’ points coming from matches that ended close in five, the Ospreys might easily have been celebrating a whitewash win.
The battling Vic Little, who remained unbeaten for the Bobcats, was involved in three tight matches, defeating Woody Fitzpatrick 11-9 in the decider, and both Debra Found and Millie Easton 11-8 in the decider. It was also 11-8 in the decider for Stuart Wilkinson against Easton whilst the Bobcats’ “easiest” victory of the night came in the doubles where Doug Green, who played in the doubles only, partnered Little to an 11-7 in the fifth win against Found and Fitzpatrick. Found and Fitzpatrick both won two singles, and Easton one, all five points coming from matches settled in three-straight.
Finally, Nomads Leopards were 7-3 winners against Windsor Kites, John Bonner winning three, Tom Collins two and Norman Jacobs one. Chris Simson picked up two good points for the Kites whilst Rachel Simson will feel pleased with her 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8) victory over Norman Jacobs.
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* The Knock-Out Handicap Cup Final between Brotherhood B and Walton C will be played on Tuesday May 5 at the Brotherhood Hall. Play starts at 7.30pm. All spectators are invited to watch what promises to be an entertaining, intriguing and evenly-matched encounter.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton C 5 Walton A 5
Windsor Kestrels 0 Nomads Panthers 10
Windsor Ravens 2 Windsor Hawks 8
Walton B 3 Nomads Lions 7
Brotherhood B 2 Windsor Condors 8
Division 2
Nomads Jaguars 2 Brotherhood H 8
Lawford 6 Nomads Tigers 4
Windsor Magpies 1 Brotherhood F 9
Nomads Ocelots 8 Nomads Jaguars 2
Brotherhood I 0 Brotherhood D 10
Windsor Owls 4 Nomads Ocelots 6
Brotherhood E 3 Windsor Harriers 7
Division 3
Windsor Ospreys 5 Nomads Bobcats 5
Windsor Penguins 3 Walton D 7
Nomads Pumas 9 Windsor Swallows 1
Nomads Lynx 2 Windsor Buzzards 8
Nomads Leopards 7 Windsor Kites 3
Tony Oswick
April 21, 2015