There has been plenty of action in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League this week.

Division two was particularly busy. Writtle Excalibur A produced arguably the most eye-catching performance to beat a strong OCs B side 9-1. Matthew Brown, Lee McHugh and Ryan Pitt won all nine singles with Matthew Brown beating all three OCs opponents- Kevin Worthington, Trevor Carter and Steve Nothcott three straight.

This result moves Writtle into second place with 22 points- the same tally as Danbury C who also won 9-1. Ian Whiteside and Chris Buer were both undefeated in Danbury’s demolition of Liberal C. James Mullane was on target for the Liberal side and he defeated Steve Buer 3-2 (12-10, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7) in the last game of the evening to prevent the whitewash.

Third-placed Danbury D ran out narrow 6-4 winners over Chelmsford C. No single player dominated the evening and Sam Lowman and Dan Anderson both won twice for the Danbury side to give them the edge. Sam Lowman beat Julie Johnson, the best of the Chelmsford players, 3-0 (14-12, 11-8, 11-9).

In another match where no single player stayed undefeated Hatfield Peverel A defeated Danbury B 6-4. Peverel’s John Parodi and Peter Barrett and Danbury’s Neil Want and Tony Forster all won twice. Peter Barrett impressed with his quick-fire 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-8) demolition of Neil Want.

Fourth-placed Chelmsford B scored their second win of the campaign. They were indebted to Robert Shrimpton as they beat OCs C 7-3. Shrimpton scored three 3-0 wins. He beat Tom Barker 11-4, 12-10, 11-4 and followed that up with a hard-fought 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 victory over Ashton Parker and he completed his clean-sweap with a 11-8, 11-8, 14-12 success against Charles Yeung.

Liberal C scored their first win of the campaign by beating Hatfield Peveral A 7-3. Andrew Huckson and Adrian Pitt both scored hat-tricks. Huckson fought back strongly from 2-0 down to get the better of John Gagg 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8).

An impressive win in division one has enabled Liberal B to jump into second place. Adam Buxton was undefeated as they beat OCs A 8-2. Daniel Berry scored two excellent wins for the Old Chelmsfordians team. He beat Steve Pennell 3-0 (12-10, 14-12, 11-6) and Simon Webber 3-1 (11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7).

Maldon B lead the way in division three with 21 points out of a possible 30 and they turned on the style to beat Danbury F 9-1. They look a good bet to win this division. Colin Napper and Ciaran Whelan both carried all before them whilst Dave Marsh impressed for the losers. He took the scalp of Hamish Innes over five ends (4-11, 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8).

Hatfield Peverel B also have 21 points and they also won 9-1. Gareth Davies and Neil Freeman were both on top form against their C team. However, Hatfield Peverel B were less successful against Maldon C and lost 6-4. This was no fault of Neil Freeman who won his three singles in some style a,, 3-0. The in-form Freeman beat Dawn Baldry 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 followed by Ev Lucas 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 and Brian Riedling 11-9, 11-9, 11-4.

Writtle Excalibur B did well to beat Chelmsford D 7-3 – good going as none of their players were able to get the better of Wiktor Delimat. Rod Maclennan, Linda Roff and Phil Smith all won twice. Delimat had to work hard to beat Roff. He fell two games behind before he reasserted himself to win 3-2 (7-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4).

The match between OCs D and Chelmsford E was a 5-5 draw. Keith Martin scored three good wins for the Chelmsford side. He beat League Chairman David Porter 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 13-11) and Mick Hayes also in three (11-8, 11-8, 13-11) and he completed his hat-trick by getting the better of Mick Richardson 3-1 (11-3, 11-6, 5-11, 12-10).

Three sides – Danbury G, Danbury J and Writtle Excalibur D – are tied on 19 points in division four. Writtle Excalibur D were 7-3 winners over Writtle C. Ian Hockley carried all before him. David Meah won twice for the Writtle side and this included a hard-fought 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10) victory over Steve Siggs.

Writtle Excalibur D were also 7-3 winners over a two-player Maldon D side. Mervyn Perriman excelled for the losers with a hat-trick of four-game wins. He saw off Andy Fox 11-8, 11-13, 11-2, 11-9 and David Meah 9-11, 11-6, 11- 8, 11-8 and he sealed an excellent hat-trick with a 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-2 success against Brian Steward.

Maldon D were without Perriman against OCs F and did well to draw 5-5. Terry Dowsett was relatively untroubled in winning his three singles but other encounters were fiercely fought, not least Kelly Yuenyongpknan’s 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10) victory over Russell Hall.

Danbury G are very much in contention for honours and Nicky Ford led the way as they ran out 7-3 winners against OCs G. Tanishq Kotwal was involved in three fiercely fought five-setters. He defeated League President Norman Smith 12-10, 11-6, 12-14, 9-11, 11-7 and missed out to Maurice Hardy by a tantalising 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 7-11, 14-16 margin. If that wasn‘t enough he also lost to the undefeated Nicky Ford 6-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 6-11.

Danbury J shaded the inter-club derby against Danbury H 6-4. Dave Hancox held his side together with three wins. Dave Powell defeated Kevin Willis 3-2 (11-5, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7) in a strangely fluctuating five-ender.

Highwood A, the experienced stalwarts of division five, are making the early running with 22 points out of 30. They impressed greatly by beating OCs H 8-2. Martin Goddard won his three singles and he received excellent support from Francis Whitbread and Russell Downton, who both won twice. Stuart Wintle, so tricky to beat at this level, was left without a win for the OCs side and it was left to Harry Rogers to forge the OCs challenge. Rogers excelled to beat Whitbread 3-2 (3-11, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6) and Downton 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-5).

Highwood A also beat Anglia Ruskin University 8-2. Goddard was again undefeated. Taku Nerutanga was involved in a cliff-hanger against Downton and he finally scraped home 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 15-13).

Chelmsford G did well to defeat Hatfield Peverel D 6-4. Dan Patynski was undefeated for the Hatfield Peverel side and he looks rather strong for this level but Chelmsford picked up some notable wins. John Wickens beat Andrew Simmonds in five (9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9) and Michael Whelpdale sealed the Chelmsford victory with a 3-2 (9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 12-10, 12-10) success against the luckless Simmonds.

Chelmsford H were narrow 6-4 winners against Galleywood B. Ben Jackson dominated proceedings and he received good support from Jamie Penkman. James Higgs won twice for the Galleywood side and this included a last-gasp 3-2 (11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 14-12) victory against Jacqui Smith. Ben Jackson sealed the Chelmsford victory with a well executed 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-8) victory over Steve Peacock.

Highwood B were the division’s big winners this week. Melanie Bonnett and Nicola Pippen were both undefeated as they stormed to a 9-1 victory over Chelmsford J. Jamie Dowsett was on target for the losers with his hard-fought 3-1 (11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10) victory over Keith Fitz-John.

Chelmsford F also impressed. Ian Austin scored a hat-trick in their 8-2 victory over Anglia Ruskin University. Team-mates Amanda Hogger and Jason Clark each won twice.

Galleywood C lead the way in division 1A of the CLICK League. Rio Tiplizki and Aidan Noguchi carried all before them as they beat Black Notley 5-0. They have amassed 13 points out of 15. Buttsbury Bears also won 5-0 to make it 10 points of 10. Toby Kelly and Zach Antoniou both remained undefeated. Galleywood C were also 5-0 winners over West Maldon A. This time Lewis Wilson replaced Noguchi and he was tested by Noah Sage before he edged home 3-2 (11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 9- 11, 11-8). Rio Tiplizki had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Oliver Wylie in five (6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8). The match between Buttsbury Bulldogs and Danbury Dragons was a close one and the Bulldogs won 3-2. Tom Picton was undefeated for the Bulldogs.

There were two 4-1 results in division 1B of the CLICK League. Harry Buckle led Chelmsford Leopards to a 4-1 win over Buttsbury Badgers. He beat Darren Muldal 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-8) and Ben Brown also in three (11-7, 11-6, 11-8). Buttsbury Beavers ran out the winners against Danbury Griffins. Alexei Antoniou was unbeaten for the Beavers whilst Oscar Hutt played his part with a hard-fought 3-2 (8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7) win over William Ratcliffe.