Maldon A are looking the team most likely to land the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League first division title this season.

They are maintaining a high level of consistency which their rivals just can’t match week in, week out. Alex Abbott and Trevor Lloyd were both undefeated in their 9-1 win over OCs A. Scott Dowsett was on target for the losers with a marathon 3-2 (11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 5-11, 16-14) success over Colin Stallwood.

Not only did Maldon notch up a convincing win but their two closest challengers also slipped up. Third-placed Rawreth A were beaten 7-3 by Chelmsford A, for whom the M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships Veterans’ Singles and Men’s Doubles champion Wale Bada was undefeated.

Chelmsford won both five setters as Bada beat Charles Sweeny 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 whilst Ryan Gooday defeated Simon Neale 9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 12-10.

Second-positioned Liberal A lost 6-4 to OCs A. Brandon Crouchman won his three singles for the Old Chelmsfordians side.

Danbury B climbed into fifth place by beating Liberal A 7-3. Teamwork was the order of the day here with Eric Green, Steve Whiteley and Dave Richardson all winning twice.

Leaders Rawreth B have stamped their authority on division two. Kim Shead and Paul Churn were both undefeated as they raced home 9-1 against Liberal B. Combination bat ace Kim Shead with a record of 93% had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Robin Armstrong 3-2 (11-13, 14-12, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6).

Rawreth B were equally dominant against Writtle Excalibur B and this time Simon Jacob joined Kim Shead in remaining undefeated.

OCs B are looking good for second. Kevin Worthington and Trevor Carter were both undefeated in their 8-2 win over Hatfield Peverel A. Carter clinched his hat-trick with a top-notch 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9) victory over Gary Ward.

Danbury D stay third. Chris Buer was unbeaten in their 7-3 success against Galleywood A.

Writtle Excalibur A ran out 8-2 winners over Danbury C. Matthew Brown (three wins), Lee McHugh (two wins) and Ryan Pitt (two wins) all played a part in that victory. The match between Lee McHugh and Glenn Laing couldn’t have been much closer, McHugh eventually edged home 3-2 (9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 16-14).

The big match in division three saw second-placed Maldon C romp home 7-3 against the leaders Hatfield Peverel B. The hard-hitting Ciaran Whelan was their “king-pin” beating Neil Freeman 3-1 (6-11, 11-3, 11-5, 12-10), Gareth Davies 3-0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-8) and Dave Fiddeman 3-1 (11-3, 11-7, 4-11, 11-1).

Hatfield Peverel B in turn returned to winning ways against OCs D. Neil Freeman and Dave Fiddeman were both unbeaten.

Maldon C closed the gap even more by beating Danbury H 9-1. Ciaran Whelan and Colin Napper were both unbeaten. Danbury H’s Peter Hance suffered two nail-biting losses, missing out 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 5-11, 10-12) to Colin Napper and to Ciaran Whelan (11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 1-11, 10-12).

Chelmsford C were convincing 9-1 winners against OCs E. Mark Allaway and Robert Shrimpton were both undefeated. Nat Ravlic was on target for the losers and he beat Victor Chan by a last gasp 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11) margin.

Danbury H had an undefeated Mo Hardy to thank as they beat Danbury F 7-3 whilst M&G Investments Chelmsford Ladies Champion Dawn Baldry won her three singles to lead Maldon B to a 7-3 win over Danbury G. This included an excellent 3-1 (11-8, 5-11, 15-13, 11-2) win over Simon Lowman – the Division Three champion at the Chelmsford Championships weekend.

Hatfield Peverel C scored their 11th win of the season in division four and they lead Danbury J by a massive margin of 18 points. Dave Carter and Trevor Collin were both undefeated in their 8-2 win over Chelmsford F.

Second-placed Danbury J fell further behind by losing 6-4 to Danbury K. Dave Hancox led the way with a hat-trick of wins.

Danbury L were also 6-4 winners. Roger Tiffin, Norman Hayes and Mick Robinson each won twice to counter the three wins achieved by Roger Hance. The pick of the action here was the epic battle between Robinson and Shirley Carroll with Robinson scraping home 3-2 (11-8, 16-14, 8-11, 9-11, 17-15).

Richard Baxter was unbeaten as Chelmsford E beat OCs D 8-2. Richard Upson won twice and this included a strong fightback from 2-0 down to get the better of David Newman in five (8-11, 10-12, 11-1, 11-6, 12-10).

Anglia Ruskin University are improving rapidly in division five and Mahmoud Abdelmagid, Fadel Azzazi and Pewist Osman  ran out 10-0 winners against Chelmsford H. However without their leading player – the undefeated Osman – they missed out 7-3 against Writtle Excalibur D. Nicola Pippen won her three singles for Writtle and this included a very hard-fought 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) win over Mohammed Abu Sawi.

Galleywood B had Kamil Lentas on top form as they shaded the match 6-4 against Highwood. Francis Whitbread came out on top 3-2 (7-11, 11-2, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9) in a widely fluctuating battle against Nathan Blore.

There was success for Hatfield Peverel A who beat Chelmsford G 7- 3. Pete Mortensen won his three singles.

Galleywood C took a giant step towards winning the CLICK division by beating second-placed Chelmsford J 5-0. Lewis Wilson and Rio Teplizki carried all before them. Wilson beat Harry Buckle 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 11-4) in the pick of the night’s action.

OCs J (Harry Rogers and Adam Chalk) ran out 5-0 winners against Black Notley B whilst in a much closer match Buttsbury C beat Buttsbury A 3-2. Zach Antoniou and Daniel Slaney both won once to counter the two games that Matthew Elliott won for the A side. Slaney’s game with James Green was very tight with Slaney eventually winning in five (9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9).

There was a 5-0 win for Buttsbury C over Black Notley B after Jason Yeh and Toby Kelly had stayed undefeated whilst Harry Hutt won his two singles as Buttsbury A beat Black Notley B 4-1. Rowan Champney was on target for the losers.

Black Notley B in turn edged it 3-2 in their match with Black Notley A. Elliot Game won both of his singles. Elliot Game was also undefeated as Black Notley A beat Buttsbury A 4-1 whilst Harry Hutt won both of his singles in Buttsbury B’s 4-1 win over Black Notley B.