Maldon A – runaway leaders in division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League – took two more steps towards retaining their title.
Alex Abbott, their leading player, was instrumental on both occasions and his record of 39 singles wins out of 39 speaks for itself.
Maldon A beat Liberal 6-4 with the standout win here being Simon Webber’s fine 3-1 (7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5) victory over Trevor Lloyd.
Maldon A also beat Writtle A 9-1. Lee McHugh was on target here for Writtle with a 3-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9) win over John Poysden. McHugh also led Abbott 2-1 before succumbing 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 13-11, 4-11, 8-11).
Danbury B did well to beat Liberal 6-4. Simon Webber was undefeated although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Cameron Gray 3-2 (11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 9-11, 11-9). Webber produced a strong performance to beat Sam Lowman 3-1 (7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-3).
Chelmsford A ran out 6-4 winners against a two-man OCs A team. Paul Lucas won his three singles and this included a win over Casey Cross.
The leaders OCs B turned in a strong performance in division two to beat Hatfield Peverel A 9-1. Even more impressively this win was achieved without David Cole. Kevin Worthington, Stephen Northcott and Trevor Carter were all undefeated in their singles. Northcott fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Gareth Davies 3-2 (4-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-3, 12-10).
Second-placed Writtle B were also on top form and they beat Danbury D 10-0. Paul Sturton, Gary Cattermole and Phil Smith carried all before them. Maldon B came out on top 7-3 in the club derby against Maldon C. Ciaran Whelan was undefeated and this included a 3-2 (11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 6-11, 11-6) victory over Thomas Page – one of the stars of this year’s Chelmsford Closed Championships.
There were three drawn games this week in division three, testimony to the evenly matched nature of the division. Danbury G drew 5-5 with Danbury F. Nicky Reece-Ford won his three singles, downing the challenges of Terry Hyland (11-4, 12-10, 11-6), John Robinson (11-8, 11-4, 11-8) and Keith Flowers (13-11, 11-7, 11-7).
It was honours even between Hatfield Peverel C and Danbury H as well. Martin Archie was unbeaten for Hatfield Peverel whilst newcomer Sanjay Saptarshi and the very promising Jenson Davis both won twice for Danbury. Archie beat Davis 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8). Saptarshi fought back strongly in the last game of the evening to beat Phil Shippen 3-2 (10-12, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 11-3).
Rob Kneale was undefeated as Danbury J shared the points with Danbury H. Kneale beat Jean Chasmer 3-1 (6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5), Dave Hancox 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-4) and Eamon Hall 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-4).
OCs D are second and they beat Writtle D 6-4 – good going as all three OCs players lost to Trevor Collin.
Chelmsford E ran out 7-3 winners over OCs E. Another hugely promising Junior, Harry Buckle, was undefeated for Chelmsford. He beat Richard Baxter, the best of the OCs players 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3).
Galleywood C made it 14 wins out of 14 in division four. They lead the way with 103 points. Andy Hanlon and Charlie Craig – yet another vastly improved Junior were both undefeated in their 7-3 win against Writtle E. Craig scored impressive wins over Neil Thompson 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 4-11, 11-4), Alan Offord 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-6) and Dave Moles 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-6).
OCs F gave nothing away as they beat OCs F 10-0. Farooq Ahmed came out on top 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10) against Robert Boultwood in the closest game of the night.
Galleywood B beat Danbury K 8-2. Bryn Thomas and Colin Blore were both undefeated and in the closest game of the night Nathan Blore fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Roger Tiffin 3-2 (5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10).
Chelmsford H also won 8-2, beating Chelmsford G. Andy Swales and Sarah Austin were both undefeated.
It was honours even when Writtle F met Maldon D. David Meah was undefeated for Writtle whist Shirley Carroll and Tom Elder both won twice for Maldon. Shirley Carroll edged her way past Andy Fox in five (11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9).
Highwood B and Highwood A are neck and neck in division five with 104 points from 15 matches. Highwood A missed out 6-4 to OCs H. No player stayed undefeated and the OC duo of Adrian North and Suzanne Shaw and Highwood’s Nicola Pippen and Keith Fitz-John all won twice. Fitz-John beat North 3-2 (11-5, 10-12, 7-11, 13-11, 13-11) in the closest game of the night and Steve Pratt sealed the win for OCs H by beating Keith Pallett 3-2 (13-15, 5-11, 11-7, 14-12, 11-7) in the last game.
Highwood A also beat ARU Rhinos 9-1. Frank Neill and Fitz-John carried all before them. Douglas Bauwah was on target for the Rhinos with a five game win over Melanie Bonnett (8-11, 12-10, 3-11, 13-11, 11-7).
The match between Hatfield Peverel E and Chelmsford J finished all square. Rajesh Dewani was unbeaten for Chelmsford whilst John Kuhl won twice for Hatfield Peverel. This included a hard fought 3-2 (11-5, 11-9, 1-11, 9-11, 11-9) win over Craig Studley.
Buttsbury edged home 6-4 against Hatfield Peverel E. Max Samuels led the way with a hat-trick which included a really hard fought 3-2 (13-15, 11-5, 12-10, 12-14, 12-10) win over Debbie Ginn.
Maldon E were 6-4 winners against Danbury L. Roger Warren led the way with a hat-trick and he sealed his team’s win by beating Anne Mills 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6) in the last game.
Maldon E added eight points to their tally by beating OCs H 8-2. On this occasion OCs H were only able to field one player and Adrian North did well to beat both Brian Dixon (11-6, 11-9, 11-4) and Kym Eames (11-4, 14-12, 12-10). North missed out against Roger Warren 3-1 (4-11, 11-8, 6-11, 10-12).
Highwood B ran out 9-1 winners against Hatfield Peverel E. Frank Neill and Dave Cockrell were both undefeated whilst Alastair Brown was on target for the losers with a hard-fought 3-2 (11-7, 4-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9) victory against Martin Goddard. Buttsbury in turn produced a polished performance to beat Chelmsford K 10-0. Frances Hutt, Thomas Krowlikowski and Keith Cullen gave nothing away.
Danbury Dragons and Chelmsford Cougar have both scored a maximum 10 points out of 10 in division 2A of the Chelmsford Junior League. Danbury Dragons (Ben Porter and Alex Porter) gave nothing away against Chelmsford Pumas and Chelmsford Cougars (Sudheep Kamma and Josh Bickles) were similarly dominant against Chelmsford Jaguars.
Buttsbury Bats were 3-2 winners over Chelmsford Rhinos in division 2B. No single player stayed undefeated and the Buttsbury duo – Ryan Beresford-Cole and George Hagland – and Chelmsford Nikita Tkachuk and Todd Martin all won once. Tkachuk beat Beresford-Cole in five ends (11-13, 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 11-6).
Danbury Griffins are the early leaders in division 2C. They made it eight points out of 10 by beating Writtle Raccoons 4-1. Will Ratcliffe was undefeated whilst Archie Pummell was on target for the Writtle side. He beat Toby Restall 3-2 (2-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10).
Buttsbury Bulldogs (Harry Hutt and Oscar Hutt) are off to a winning start. They beat Buttsbury Beavers 3-2, good going as Max Samuels won twice for the Beavers.
Chelmsford Owls (Toby Hart and Luv Goel) are the early leaders in division 2D. They made it a perfect 10 points out of 10 by beating Buttsbury Bees 5-0. Danbury Devils are in second place and they beat Chelmsford Elephants 3-2. William Ratcliffe was unbeaten for the Devils in a close match where four games were decided in the fifth end. Lotte Mills lost twice by the closest possible margin. It was 11-9, 11-7, 4-11,9-11, 9-11 against Jesse Epstein and 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 10-12 against Jishant Shah.
The League’s newest division – 2E – is underway and Chelmsford Wildcats are the early leaders. Emilie Guilloux and Georgina Riches ran out 5-0 winners against Chelmsford Kestrels. Chelmsford Eagles also made a winning start. They beat Chelmsford Ospreys 3-2. Ruben Sutherland-Moore was undefeated. Chelmsford Kangaroos conclude this week’s report and they ran out 4-1 winners against Chelmsford Wolves. Jeremy Kammall won both of his singles.