Press Report

Excalibur B, leaders of division three of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League took a step nearer towards the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League third division title when they took all four points off third placed Baddow Village C. The addition of 2004 Clacton League Mens Singles Champion Gary Young to their line-up strengthened an already strong side and they ran out convincing 8-2 winners. Graham Turner fared best of the Baddow players and his two singles wins included a well crafted 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 victory over Richard Hiskey. Danbury E, wary that they are further down the table than they would want to be at the half-way stage hit back with an excellent 6-4 win over ECC D. Herbie Smith and Norman Smith and the ECC pairing of Simon Webber and Peter Layzell all won twice as Danbury surged into a winning 6-2 position. Baddow Village D who seem to have been playing "catch-up" all season with their opponents have finally got on terms with the teams above them. Indeed their 7-3 win over Excalibur C sees them jump into third place. Gareth Joice won his three singles and "Super-Sub" Mike Johnston turned in a superb performance to follow suit, a real bonus for the Baddow team.

Rawreth A have taken over the lead at the top of the first division after beating Excalibur A 8-2. They turned out two of their "big guns" - George Reeves and Tony Halling at the same time and the victory was never in doubt. Rawreth no. three Steve Maltby only won once, but his success, an excellent 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 victory over Matthew Fasanya was vital in securing all four points for his side. Rawreth face last year's Champions ECC A this week and this result should go a long way towards deciding the destination of the title.

Both of the leading teams in division two won this week. Baddow Village A excelled by beating a very strong Maldon B line-up of John Cleasby, Jenny Harrison and Dave Bassett convincingly 8-2. Waseem Qureshi stayed unbeaten and Maldon can be forgiven for thinking they were facing three no. ones as Neil Gooday and Peter Barrett both won twice. This result gives an excellent indication of just what a good team this Baddow Village side are. Bocking A stay second after beating OCs A 6-4 but the main talking point here was the return to Chelmsford League action of Peter Hayden, five times Brentwood League Mens Singles Champion, who was making his second appearance after a six year lay-off. For his first two matches his infuriating mercurial touch showed glimpses of his former skills as he beat Robbie Burton 3-0 and Steve Northcott 3-1 although he missed out 3-1 against Sundar Balakrishnan in his third singles. However, even with Kevin Gowlett again taking his three singles Bocking A had a tough battle to secure three points and James Mullane's excellent 8-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 victory over Steve Northcott eventually proved vital. Baddow Village B's 7-3 win over ECC C produced another outstanding performance as the often unpredictable Alastair Piper took centre-stage. His three excellent wins over Gary Brignall, Ken James and Alistair Hill left his team in charge. Team-mate Adrian Pitt came close to following suit but just missed out 9-11, 11-7, 14-16, 13-11, 9-11 after a real cliff-hanger against Gary Brignall. Meanwhile ECC B were indebted to Keith Spicer as they beat Danbury C 6-4, as his three timely wins held their challenge together. Bryn Thomas won twice and his mind-boggling 12-14, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 21-23 defeat against Peter Hance also created a record of sorts, the closest deciding set in Chelmsford League History.

Baddow Village E stay third in division four after beating Elmtree Graphics B 6-4. No single player stayed undefeated and Mike Johnston who turned in such a strong performance in divsion three tasted defeat, beaten 3-1 by an inspired Nicola Pippen. Johnston put this defeat behind him and in his last singles his decisive 11-2, 11-4, 11-8 win over Rod Maclennan ensured that his side took the match. Elmtree's Melanie Bonnett also picked up an excellent win with her 11-8, 12-10, 4-11, 7-11, 11-8 victory over Bob Francis.

ECC H, bottom of division five produced by far their best performance of the season as they shocked OCs D by beating them 6-4. Colin Barham who has not enjoyed the best of form this season suddenly found the touch that had deserted him as he took his three singles. ECC G in turn produced a very strong performance as they hammered Baddow Village G 10-0 as Mick Storey, Ricahrd Storey and Ian Rogers ran away with this match. Baddow Village F fared better and they took three points by beating OCs D 6-4. Two wins apiece for Peter Sun, Mike Robinson and David Gatherall just edged out the three wins that David Porter achieved for OCs D.

Baddow Village K's clash with Baddow Village L produced the most evenly contested clash in division six. John Mutch's three wins for the K side were matched by the doubles achieved by Eric Clift and Mick Pitt as the score was tied at 5-5. Writtle D had few problems in beating Baddow Village H 9-1, Wendy Hibbitt's defeat against Chris High being the only game to escape their clutches. Writtle stay third, whilst Baddow Village J retained their top spot after beating Ingatestone/Excalibur 8-2. Baddow's Sam Pitt remained unbeaten whilst Ingatestone's Michael Wood produced some excellent play as he won his two singles and in the process inflicted an 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 defeat on Rykki Vansertima. Baddow Village M impressed as they beat the higher placed OCs E 7-3. Bradley Hudgell took his three singles and Ben Steed also stayed undefeated with Steed's win against Ian Hotchkiss looking to have been every bit as dramatic as Peter Hance's success against Bryn Thomas. The scores of 17-15, 12-10, 12-14, 10-12, 12-10 tell their own story !.