Chelmsford A have taken a firm grip on the first division of the Central Essex Summer Table Tennis League and with three wins from their three matches they look to be the team to beat.

They have fielded the same side – Edward Ogbebor and Casey Cross – on all three occasions and they romped to a 5-0 win over Writtle A. Cross was fully extended as he beat Lee McHugh 3-2 (15-17, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6) and Matthew Brown also in five (11-3, 13-11, 9-11,7-11, 11-9). Ogbebor was a class apart. He beat Brown 11-2, 11-8, 11-2 and McHugh 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.

Chelmsford also ran out 4-1 winners against Rayne. Adam Buxton was on target for the Braintree League side and he defeated Cross 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8).

Writtle A were also on the wrong end of a 5-0 defeat against Danbury A. It was a night where little went right for them and they lost all three five setters. David Gatheral and Chris Buer both beat McHugh over five gruelling ends. Gatheral won 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9 whilst Buer triumphed 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 4-11, 11-9.

Ramsden A ran out 3-2 winners against Liberal. Gary Ward was on top form. He beat Mike Johnston 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-8) and Hector Rogers 3-2 (3-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9).

Cold Norton A impressed in division two, and they picked up two more victories. Dick Wyman led the way with two wins as they beat Ramsden C 4-1. Wyman defeated John Gagg 3-1 (11-13, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8) and John Parodi 3-2 (11-0, 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8).

Cold Norton also beat OCs B 4-1. Tim Cramphorn won both singles this time. He defeated Charles Yeung 3-2 (12-14, 11-9, 16-14, 6-11, 11-9) in what looks to have been the pick of the action.

Ramsden C were also on the wrong end of a 4-1 result against OCs B. Robbie Burton won twice. He beat Dave Carter 3-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4) and John Gagg 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10). Gagg came through in five rather fluctuating ends to defeat Charles Yeung 8-11, 14-12, 11-3, 11-13, 11-3.

OCs B emerged as 3-2 winners against OCs C despite the fact that Frank Hodge scored two wins for the C team. This included an excellent 3-2 (11-6, 5-11, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11) win over Robbie Burton.

OCs E – 5-0 winners in the first week of the season in a match where all five games were decided in the fifth end – may have felt short-changed this week in division three. Only one game went the distance in their clash against OCs D. Tom Barker won twice for OCs D and he got the better of Dave Newman 3-2 (5-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8) and Nat Ravlic 3-1 (11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7) but it was OCs E who shaded the match 3-2.

Chelmsford C beat Chelmsford D 3-2 although Ryan Gooday was unbeaten for the D side. He showed his class as he beat Gordon Fairchild 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 and Dave Parker 11-9, 12-10, 11-5.

In yet another match that was decided 3-2 Keith Flowers won twice as Danbury C defeated Writtle C. Dave Moles impressed for Writtle with a fine 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 11-2) victory against Dave Marsh.

It was 3-2 again when Danbury B beat OCs D. Tim Pulham won twice for the Danbury side over five ends. He defeated Tom Barker 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8 and Mick Hayes 4-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9.

Finally a game which wasn’t decided 3-2 and Writtle C ran out 5-0 winners against Chelmsford D. Dave Moles and Steve Siggs were both undefeated although they will be the first to acknowledge the fact that the score might have been different if Ryan Gooday had been playing for Chelmsford D..

Ramsden D won their second match 5-0 to give themselves the perfect start (10 points out of 10) in division four. Tony Ayliffe and Colin Barham were both unbeaten. Barham fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Farooq Ahmed 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12,11-8 in the closest game of the night.

Danbury D (Richard Gardiner and Eamon Hall) ran out 4-1 winners against Writtle D after Richard Gardiner had won both of his singles.

Ben Jackson won twice to ensure that Chelmsford E ran out 3-2 winners against Chelmsford F although Martin Hiskey excelled here. He beat Dusan Doszkoty 3-1 (11-7, 3-11, 14-12, 11-7).

However, Chelmsford E were on the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat against Cold Norton B. Harry Buckle was on target for the Chelmsford side and he prevailed 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 12-10) after a really hard-fought clash with Roy Gandy.

Division five produced a statistic which is well worth noting. Danbury E (Ben Porter and Sam Ford) beat Maldon 5-0 (Rob Sach and Ross Wheeler) in a match where the combined age differential of the two sides was 142 years. Porter raced through his two singles in convincing fashion.

Chelmsford G, led by Vineeth Kamma, were 4-1 winners against Galleywood and they went one better against Chelmsford H. Adi Kamma and Vineeth Kamma won 5-0 this time. Adi Kamma opened proceedings with a five-set win over Jacqui Smith (10-12, 11-8, 11-2, 10-12, 11-4) and they never looked back after that.

Chelmsford H fared better against Chelmsford Pumas. Jacqui Smith won twice with wins over Joachim Mapes and Saul Chivers bit it wasn’t enough to prevent them losing 3-2. Chelmsford Pumas also lost 3-2 to Danbury E. Ben Porter won his two singles to give the Danbury side the ascendancy.
Chelmsford Leopards (James Donald and Leon Fernandez) made an impressive start in division six. They beat Danbury 5-0. James Donald had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Callum Caldwell 3-1 (15-17, 11-8, 11-7, 16-14).

Chelmsford Tigers won 5-0 against Chelmsford Wildcats. Josh Bickles and Elliot Gardiner called the shots here. The Tigers added another four points to their tally with a 4-1 win over Chelmsford Rhinos. Louis Burnett came through in five games against Ji Xuan 3-2 (11-9, 10-12, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6).

Chelmsford Jaguars beat OCs Lions 4-1 as Nyree Marsh won her two singles for the Jaguars side.

Alex Porter led Danbury F to a 3-2 win over Chelmsford Tigers. He opened proceedings with a 3-2 (11-6, 11-7, 5-11, 6-11, 11-5) victory against Josh Bickles.

Danbury scored their first win of the Summer with a 4-1 success against OCs Lions. Ewan Hynd led the way with two wins whilst Tom Bird was on target for the OCs team. He beat William Ratcliffe 3-2 (8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9).