Whitewash wins it for Walton – by a whisker!
Walton A are the runners-up in Division One of the Clacton League – but it was the closest of close-run things.
Needing 18 points from their last two matches to secure second place ahead of Brotherhood A, Walton’s Peter Burrows, John Rice and Colin Dearman achieved their target – but only just – with an 8-2 success against Windsor Hawks and a 10-0 victory over Nomads Lions.
In the match with the Hawks, Burrows stayed unbeaten, although he had to work hard to beat Felipe Rodriguez 11-9 in the decider. Rice and Dearman each won twice.
Only a whitewash win would then be good enough against the Lions and, although they secured it, it was done by the narrowest of margins, with Dearman scraping past John Hatley 3-2 (11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 14-12) and Burrows having an equally nervy 3-2 (11-9, 10-12, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11) win over John Fenton.
Walton A therefore finish a single point ahead of Brotherhood A, the first time in 10 years that a Walton side has featured in the top two of Division One.
So Brotherhood A must settle for third place despite finishing their season with a convincing 10-0 victory over Walton B. Alan Burgess beat Gavin Price 11-7 in the fifth and David Binns defeated Paul Newbould 11-3 in the fifth in the only matches that went the distance. Greg Green’s treble in the match meant he ended his league season undefeated. It was Walton B’s first, and only, 10-0 defeat of the season.
Nomads Panthers, champions for a second year running, ended their campaign with a 7-3 success against Windsor Eagles, newly-crowned Mens Singles champion James Denyer remaining unbeaten. Gary Cattermole’s two for the losers included an 11-9 in the decider success against John Poysden, whilst he shared an excellent doubles victory with Sue Welham over Denyer and John Monk.
At the other end of the table, Brotherhood B lost 6-4 to Windsor Condors, a result that sealed their relegation fate. Martin Edwards won two for the Brotherhood side, with John Owen and David North winning one each. For the Condors, Colin Stallwood took three and Annabelle Rodriguez two.
But it was a makeshift Windsor Condors’ side that faced Nomads Cougars and it was no surprise the Cougars took it 9-1. Paul Hume and Sam Hume stayed unbeaten with Adam Cuthbert winning two. Cuthbert and Paul Hume also combined to beat Annabelle Rodriguez and reserve Jenny Higgins 3-2 (11-7, 8-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-7) in a close doubles.
It has been a magnificent second-half rearguard effort from the Cougars who, having been involved in a survival struggle for most of the season and as late as mid-March were in the bottom two places, now find themselves finishing in the heady heights of eighth position in the final table.
Meanwhile bottom team Brotherhood D ended their brief sojourn in the top flight by losing 10-0 to Walton C. The closest matches saw Paul Meikle beat Lee Harvey 11-5 in the fifth, and Meikle and Derek Willis take the doubles 3-2 (9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-6) against Harvey and Russell Hillier.
The Walton C trio’s second match was another big win, Willis and Meikle taking trebles as they beat Windsor Eagles 9-1. But it was a tight 11-7 in the decider for Meikle against Windsor reserve Graham Bunce and an even tighter 13-11 in the fifth for Jason Gale against the same player. Sue Welham took the Eagles’ point with a 3-2 (11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 13-15, 12-10) victory over Gale.
Nomads Lions, in their second match of the week, drew with Walton D. Both teams have had player-availability problems this season but both have survived through the valiant efforts of their respective team captains, John Fenton and Paul Woolnough. There were two each for Fenton and John Hatley of the Lions, plus a doubles win shared by the two players against Steve Noble and Matthew Horrocks. The closest match of the evening saw Hatley defeat Noble in five (11-13, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 14-12).
In Division Two Brotherhood I are confirmed as the second team to be relegated following defeats at the hands of Nomads Tigers and Windsor Owls.
But the Brotherhood side fought valiantly and, although they lost 9-1 to the Tigers, four of the matches went to a deciding set. Tony Robinson and Darren Bunce stayed unbeaten for the Tigers whilst Allen Denyer defeated Caroline North for the consolation Brotherhood point.
The Brotherhood I side then lost 8-2 to the Owls, John Wrigley’s two points for Brotherhood including a 3-2 (10-12, 8-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-9) win against Tricia Salter. Salter and Sue Watson each won twice for Windsor, whilst Adam Jackson played well to stay unbeaten for the second week running.
Bottom side and already-relegated Windsor Magpies also lost 8-2, this to Brotherhood J. Kelvin Olano and Gracie Edwards took maximum points for the winners although it was a narrow 11-8 in the fifth for Olano against Dave Sweetland. Tom Wilkin’s two for Brotherhood included an 11-7 in the decider victory over Dan Wright. For Windsor, skipper John Plummer had an even closer 16-14 in the fifth success over Wilkin whilst Wright and Sweetland played well to beat Olano and Wilkin in the doubles.
At the top of the table, champions Windsor Kestrels signed off with a 10-0 win over Brotherhood C. Graham Bunce guaranteed the full points for the Kestrels with a 3-2 (12-10, 11-6, 14-16, 9-11, 11-9) win in match 10 against Kevin Pryor – and, in the process, inflicted the only whitewash defeat Brotherhood C have suffered this season.
Lawford defeated Nomads Tigers 9-1, Richard Spence once again unbeaten, a result which means they finish in a highly-creditable third-place, just four points behind runners-up Windsor Ravens.
Brotherhood F’s fine season ended with Elliott Attrill, Barry Allen and Sandie Isaac all taking hat-tricks in their side’s 9-1 victory over Nomads Jaguars. The only consolation for the Jaguars was a 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4) doubles win for Harry Hawkes and Vic Little against Attrill and Allen.
In another last-week nail-biter, Brotherhood H secured promotion from Division Three at the expense of club-mates Brotherhood G by just a single point.
In their final match, the ‘H’ team’s Graham Parkes, Gerald Batt and David Wilkin beat Windsor Ospreys 10-0. But the match wasn’t as straightforward as the scoreline suggests, with only four matches settled in three-straight and Windsor’s Woody Fitzpatrick doing well to take Parkes to five.
This result meant that Brotherhood G’s Pete Bloomfield, Lee Allen and Mark Trayhorn needed all ten points from their last match against Walton E to leap-frog the ‘H’ team into second place. But they were unfortunate to come across a Walton side that included Chris Harris whose two singles’ wins meant that Brotherhood G’s 8-2 victory left them agonisingly a point adrift in third place.
Finally, top-team Brotherhood E completed a highly satisfactory campaign that sees them make a swift return to Division Two as champions, ending with an 8-2 victory over Windsor Penguins. There was a maximum for Tony Edmonds, and two each for Rodney Betts and Gary Bayliss. Ray Chillingworth’s two for the Penguins included an 11-9 in the fifth victory over Betts. The result preserved Brotherhood E’s unbeaten record and means they are the only team in the League to break the 200 points barrier in the 2013/14 season.
* The last match of the season is the Handicap Knock-Out Cup Final between Windsor Hawks and Walton B. This will be played on Thursday 8th May at the Brotherhood Hall, with play starting at 7.30pm. All spectators are encouraged to come and watch what promises to be an entertaining encounter between two evenly matched sides.
* The Windsor Club’s Fun Spring Quiz Night is being held on Saturday 10th May at St James Church Hall, 7pm for a 7.30pm start. A ploughman’s supper with tea and coffee will be provided but other drinks should be provided by those attending. Teams of up to six can take part. The cost is £6 per person. For more details or to book a table ,contact Jenny Higgins on 01255 432397 or 07790 240566.
RESULTS
Division 1
Nomads Lions 0 Walton A 10;
Brotherhood D 0 Walton C 10;
Windsor Condors 6 Brotherhood B 4;
Walton C 9 Windsor Eagles 1;
Brotherhood A 10 Walton B 0;
Windsor Eagles 3 Nomads Panthers 7;
Walton A 8 Windsor Hawks 2;
Nomads Cougars 9 Windsor Condors 1;
Walton D 5 Nomads Lions 5.
Division 2
Lawford 9 Nomads Tigers 1;
Brotherhood I 2 Windsor Owls 8;
Brotherhood C 0 Windsor Kestrels 10.
Brotherhood F 4 Nomads Ocelots 6;
Windsor Magpies 2 Brotherhood J 8.
Nomads Tigers 9 Brotherhood I 1;
Nomads Jaguars 1 Brotherhood F 9.
Division 3
Brotherhood E 8 Windsor Penguins 2;
Walton E 2 Brotherhood G 8;
Windsor Ospreys 0 Brotherhood H 10;
To view the final tables, click here
Tony Ostwick (May 6, 2014)