Nomads Lynx broke their duck for the season in Division Three of the Clacton & District League, chalking up an 8-2 win over Brotherhood J.
Father and son, Dave Harris and Liam Harris, took three each in the victory with Cameron Cini chipping in with one win. Brotherhood’s two points came from the closest matches of the encounter, Georgia Ayton beating Cini 11-4 in the fifth whilst team-mate Oleksandra Klymenko beat the same player by the same score.
At the other end of the table, Walton D beat Nomads Leopards 10-0 to move alongside Nomads Wildcats at the top. Daniel Young, Jane Young and Maggie Earle all stayed unbeaten but the scoreline disguised a much closer contest, with Walton taking all four matches that went the distance. It was 11-8 in the fifth for Earle against both Roger McNaughton and Tom Collins, 11-5 in the fifth for Jane Young against Collins and, in the tightest match of all, 3-2 (16-14, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 15-13) in the doubles for Earle and Daniel Young against McNaughton and Collins.
Nomad Wildcats were 7-3 winners over Windsor Swallows, Doug Green and Mike Wellum recording hat-tricks. Angela Barratt, Paul Dale and Iris Howlett took one each for the Swallows, Howlett defeating Houghton 12-10 in the decider in the only match extended beyond three sets.
Chris Jones emerged unscathed for Nomads Caracals in their drawn match with Windsor Penguins, confirming her hat-trick with a narrow 3-2 (15-17, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8) success against Debra Found. Yasmin Ticquet won one for the Caracals and shared a doubles win with Jones. Found and Alan Charman won a couple each for the Swallows and Jackie Bunce one.
Three for Paul Metcalf, two for Roger Ellis and one for Jo Millar was good enough to see Brotherhood G to a 7-3 victory over Nomads Ocelots, their first win of the season. But it was a tight affair, Ellis beating Martin Cunningham 11-8 in the decider and Millar edging past Barbara Rogers 13-11 in the decider. Dominic Joannou won two for the losers and Cunningham one.
Four of the five results from Division One ended in 9-1 scorelines, the only exception being Brotherhood C’s 6-4 success against Windsor Hawks. Alan Burgess took three and Oli Reynolds two for the winners, whilst Andy Vincent won a couple for the Hawks. Surprisingly for the closest result of the Division, all matches – bar Vincent’s 3-2 (11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 11-13, 11-8) victory over Reynolds – were settled in three straight.
Nomads Panthers’ unstoppable run continued with their 9-1 win over Walton A, the team who, at the start of the week, were in second position in the table. James Denyer and Sam Hume retained their unbeaten records for the Panthers. Peter Burrows, making a first appearance of the season for Walton, took the losers’ consolation point with a win over John Hatley in the first match of the evening.
Hat-tricks for Greg Green and Martin Hogg saw Windsor Condors to a 9-1 win against bottom team Lawford. Paul Hewitt of Lawford showed true grit in defeating Martyn Green.
Windsor Eagles were 9-1 winners against a weakened Nomads Lions although the score might have been much closer. Phil Smith and John Pattrick both stayed undefeated for the Windsor side but it was a close call for Pattrick, beating Adam Wilkin 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 15-13, 11-9) and Roger Hance also in five (11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 14-12, 13-11). Wilkin picked up the Lions’ point in the final match of the contest, defeating Gary Cattermole 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5).
Derek Willis and Paul Meikle took trebles as Walton B out-pointed Windsor Kestrels 9-1. Colin Beaumont beat Jason Gale in five (5-11, 19-17, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7) for the Kestrels’ point.
In Division Two, Nomads Tigers inflicted a first defeat of the season on leaders Brotherhood H. John Hockley, John Marshall and Daryl Lott all won two in the 6-4 victory although it was 11-7 in the fifth for Hockley against Graham Parkes and 11-6 in the fifth against Paul Bellinger. But none of the Tigers could get the better of Grant Sharpe, who stayed unbeaten for Brotherhood.
Brotherhood F were forced to field a guest against Brotherhood D and will feel well pleased to have shared the spoils. Russell Hillier won his two valid matches for the ‘D’ side to retain his unbeaten record for the season whilst Barry Allen and Lee Allen both took two for the ‘F’ team and shared a doubles win.
Brotherhood I took full advantage of these results, chalking up two wins to take them to the top of the table. Three from Scott Campbell, two for Mark Beckham and one for Woody Fitzpatrick were good enough to see the ‘I’ team to a 7-3 success against a Brotherhood E team fielding a reserve. Duncan Dunne won two for the losers whilst Cris Edwards enjoyed a tight 3-2 (3-11, 11-6, 16-18, 11-9, 11-8) victory over Fitzpatrick.
Brotherhood I followed this up with an 8-2 success against Nomads Bobcats. Kris Stefanov and Mark Ratcliffe were included in the ‘I’ team line-up and both took trebles. Jason Lloyd and Ethan Lloyd took a point each for the Bobcats. Ethan Lloyd also had an excellent battle with Stefanov before going down 11-6 in the decider.
The Bobcats returned to winning ways in their second match of the week, beating Walton C 8-2. Both the Lloyds took maximum points with Brian Friday winning one. There was a victory apiece for Walton’s Rivhu Khan and John Long.
Windsor Buzzards won three of the four matches that went the distance as they edged past Nomads Jaguars 7-3. In an encounter where no-one stayed unbeaten, there were a pair each for Windsor’s Alan Rutledge, Pete Bloomfield and Ray Chillingworth. Caroline North’s two for the Jaguars included a 3-2 (7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-13, 13-11) victory over Rutledge, a win that denied the Buzzards’ player his hat-trick.
Jenny Higgins and Isabel Barton both took trebles in Windsor Harriers’ 7-3 win over Windsor Magpies although it was a close 11-7 in the decider for Barton against Dave Sweetland and an even closer 12-10 in the decider for the same player against an unlucky Malcolm Caley. Sweetland and John Plummer took a point each for the Magpies and shared a doubles win.
* Congratulations to League Chairman Peter White and Ladies’ Champion Gracie Edwards on their success at the recent 2016 Sports Personality Awards organised by Tendring District Council. Peter was awarded first place in the Unsung Hero category and Gracie was placed second in the Junior Female Personality section.
* A reminder to all Team Secretaries that details about the first two Rounds of the Knock-Out Cup will be available on Saturday 3rd December. Round One, to be played during week beginning 12th December, will involve ten teams from Division Three whilst the remaining teams in the League will join in Round Two, to be played in week beginning 2nd January.
* A further reminder to all players that the dates for the Closed Championships have been confirmed for the weekend of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd April 2017 at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall.
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Eagles 9 Nomads Lions 1
Windsor Condors 9 Lawford 1
Nomads Panthers 9 Walton A 1
Windsor Kestrels 1 Walton B 9
Brotherhood C 6 Windsor Hawks 4
Division 2
Nomads Bobcats 2 Brotherhood I 8
Walton C 2 Nomads Bobcats 8
Brotherhood I 7 Brotherhood E 3
Nomads Tigers 6 Brotherhood H 4
Windsor Magpies 3 Windsor Harriers 7
Brotherhood D 5 Brotherhood F 5
Nomads Jaguars 3 Windsor Buzzards 7
Division 3
Nomads Wildcats 7 Windsor Swallows 3
Brotherhood G 7 Nomads Ocelots 3
Nomads Lynx 8 Brotherhood J 2
Windsor Penguins 5 Nomads Caracals 5
Walton D 10 Nomads Leopards 0