A high-class hat-trick from Lee Allen was the cornerstone of Brotherhood D’s 7-3 hard-fought success over Lawford in Division Two of the Clacton & District League, a result which leapfrogs the Brotherhood team over Lawford to the top of the table.
Allen’s trio of victories included an excellent 11-7 in the fifth win over Paul Hewitt, the first reverse of the season for the Lawford number one, and an even closer 13-11 in the fifth win against Charlie Denholm. Martin Scarfe picked up two points for the winners while Barry Allen took one, an 11-4 in the decider victory over Ian Sherwood.
And in the fourth match which Brotherhood won in the final set, Scarfe and Lee Allen beat Denholm and Sherwood 11-7, 15-17, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 in the doubles. For Lawford, Hewitt won two whilst Denholm defeated Barry Allen in another close match, 3-2 (11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4).
Mark Beckham had a good win over Frank Burbidge but that was the only consolation for his side in the all-Brotherhood clash, the ‘C’ team coming out 9-1 winners against the ‘G’ team. Russell Hillier and Mark Salter remained unbeaten with the only match extended to a deciding set being Burbidge’s 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-7) victory against Paul Metcalf.
Windsor Kestrels and Windsor Buzzards are turning into typical mid-table sides, as evidenced this week with both teams winning 6-4.
Graham Bunce was again the Kestrels’ leading light in their victory against Brotherhood E, his unbeaten three including an 11-5 in the decider win against Tony Edmonds. There was one each for Kayley Rodriguez and Debra Found, with Bunce and Rodriguez taking the decisive doubles 11-7 in the fifth against Kevin Pryor and Rodney Betts. For Brotherhood, Pryor won two, and Edmonds and Betts one each.
Two each for John Harvey and Ray Chillingworth, one for Andy Cawley, and an 11-7 in the fifth doubles win for Chillingworth and Cawley against Dave Martin and Dave Sweetland saw the Buzzards home 6-4 against Windsor Magpies. Martin stayed unbeaten for the Magpies in his three singles although it was a mighty tight 15-13 in the decider against Cawley. But, as if to illustrate the unpredictability of table tennis, Sweetland enjoyed a surprise win in four over Cawley.
Nomads Bobcats won three of the four matches which went the distance to edge past Windsor Harriers in another 6-4 scoreline. There were three for David North, two for Mike Wellum and one for Eric Lemke. David North was pushed hard before beating Isabel Barton 3-2 (8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-5), whilst Wellum narrowly defeated the unfortunate Barton 3-2 (13-11, 11-9, 11-13, 5-11, 13-11). Ferdy Rodriguez won two for the Harriers, beating Lemke 11-6 in the fifth, and shared a doubles win with Barton against Wellum and Lemke.
There’s no stopping Nomads Jaguars in Division Three, this week winning 10-0 against lowly Windsor Merlins, the now familiar trio of Harry Hawkes, Kevin Hume and Mike Vilka proving comfortable winners.
Andrew Cousins led the way for Nomads Pumas in their match with Windsor Robins, remaining undefeated in their 8-2 success, although he had to be at his best before getting past Oleksandra Klymenko 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 11-7). There were a couple each for Alan Dockerill and Lionel Goddard for the Pumas, as there were for Bob Bales for the Robins.
An all-Nomads clash saw a 7-3 victory for the Leopards over the Lynx, Bob Jillins, Stuart Wilkinson and Dave Wright each winning a couple. But none of them could get the better of in-form Dominic Joannou whose treble included a hard-fought 13-11 in the decider win over Jillins.
There was a first appearance of the season for Darren Bunce in the colours of Windsor Penguins, and he and Paul Dale recorded hat-tricks in their team’s 9-1 win over Walton D. Tony Sharman took the sole Walton point by beating Jackie Bunce, but they may feel unfortunate not to have picked up at least one more, Sharman losing 11-8 in the fifth to Dale and Toni Hayhow-Khan being edged out 13-11 in the fifth by Jackie Bunce.
Nomads Ocelots will feel pleased with their 6-4 victory over Brotherhood F, three of their points coming from matches which went to a deciding set. There was a hat-trick for Arthur Wells-Garrett, his maximum including an 11-4 in the fifth win over Maci Harvey. Hazel Blanche and Sue Lee supported well, each winning one, Lee narrowly beating Zak Coates 11-8. The Ocelots’ scoring was completed in the doubles when Wells-Garrett and Blanche beat Maci Harvey and Harley Wood 11-9 in the fifth. Wood and Harvey took two singles each for Brotherhood.
In Division One, Brotherhood A won 9-1 against Walton E, despite a battling performance from the losers. Martin Edwards and Kevin Gowlett took trebles for the winners, Gowlett having to fight hard to beat Mark Gale 11-8 in the fifth. Gale was Walton’s best player on the night, picking up their sole point with an unexpected 3-2 (15-13, 3-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7) victory over Alan Burgess.
Having faced Brotherhood A and Walton A in their previous two matches, Walton B’s unkind early fixture list this week saw them facing Nomads Panthers. And it was little surprise they went down 8-2 to the reigning champions, Liam Harris and Greg Green unbeaten for the Panthers. Colin Dearman and Derek Willis took a point apiece for Walton.
Despite a battling performance, Brotherhood B’s luckless start to the season continued with a 10-0 defeat at the hands of Windsor Eagles. Gary Cattermole, making a welcome first start of the season, Mel Rampton and Phil Smith all took trebles for the Eagles. The only match which went the distance was the doubles, Cattermole and Rampton beating Paul Alden and Fred Gallone 11-7 in the fifth.
Nomads Lions drew for a second time in as many weeks, this time against Walton C. Jason Lloyd and Adam Cuthbert each won two, and Ethan Lloyd one. For Walton, Peter Burrows stayed unbeaten whilst Graham Buxton had a win over Ethan Lloyd and shared a doubles victory with Burrows. The closest encounter was Burrows’ 3-2 (11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3) success against Cuthbert, this after Burrows had broken his bat mid-way through the match and had to complete it with a borrowed bat from Buxton.
* Details about the fixtures and draw for the Handicap Doubles Challenge will be available on Wednesday 13th November. The opening Group matches for this new competition take place during weeks beginning 25th November, 16th December and 6th January.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton B 2 Nomads Panthers 8
Walton C 5 Nomads Lions 5
Brotherhood A 9 Walton E 1
Brotherhood B 0 Windsor Eagles 10
Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 6 Brotherhood E 4
Windsor Buzzards 6 Windsor Magpies 4
Brotherhood D 7 Lawford 3
Nomads Bobcats 6 Windsor Harriers 4
Brotherhood G 1 Brotherhood C 9
Division 3
Windsor Robins 2 Nomads Pumas 8
Windsor Penguins 9 Walton D 1
Nomads Ocelots 6 Brotherhood F 4
Nomads Jaguars 10 Windsor Merlins 0
Nomads Lynx 3 Nomads Leopards 7