Press Report

Excalibur B gave themselves a great chance of winning the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League third division title after securing a draw with second placed Baddow Village D in a top-class match. Both sides turned out players well capable of hitting the heights at a much higher level and Baddow's excellent new signing Steve Muth came through a real tussle against Excalibur's top player Gary Young. The scores say it all with Muth triumphing 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10. Young put this defeat behind him to secure a vital 11-3, 13-11 8-11, 11-7 victory over Gareth Joice in the last match of the night to secure his side a share of the points. Excalibur's ever-reliable Richard Hiskey also fared well winning twice with successes against Joice and Stuart Skippings. Third-placed Bocking B stayed firmly in contention with an 8-2 victory over a two-man Danbury E. Garry Fryatt excelled by scoring excellent wins over Norman Smith and Malcolm Jacobs, a very impressive performance indeed. The match between Excalibur C and Baddow Village C took on a high priority with relegation threatening both teams. After the match had finished all square the issue is still no clearer. Kevin Smart with three comfortable wins never seemed in trouble on this occasion.

Writtle A who made a disastrous start to their season by suffering four straight 10-0 defeats have impressed everyone with their determination in recent weeks. They may well avoid relegation from division one. They looked set to secure a draw against Maldon A after leading 4-3 but a determined Maldon hit back strongly to win the last three singles 3-0. Hamish Innes who stayed undefeated was the difference between the two teams whilst Writtle's leading player Gary Ward won twice, which included a marathon 11-9, 11-2, 18-20, 9-11, 11-8 success over Babul Mcleod. Leaders ECC A took a step closer to retaining their first division title when they beat a two-man Danbury B 9-1. Danbury's ace defender Ian Whiteside impressed by beating former Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion Steve Joslin 3-1 and he came close to beating the hard-hitting Paul Davison as well, just succumbing 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-1, 12-14 after a rather unusual scoring encounter.

Long-time division two leaders Baddow Village A put their two recent defeats firmly behind them in no uncertain teams. Neil Gooday and Waseem Qureshi were joined by Gareth Joice as they brushed aside ECC B 10-0. Joice proved to be a revelation and his excellent 11-9, 15-13, 9-11, 13-11 victory over Gary Brignall represented the outstanding performance of the evening. Baddow Village B's improved form continued and they impressed greatly with a 6-4 victory over Maldon B. Alastair Piper excelled by taking his three singles which included top-class wins over John Cleasby and Dave Bassett. OCs A slid further down the table and their 8-2 defeat against Danbury C was not what they wanted at this late stage of the season. Danbury's Dave Finlayson and Peter Hance were both undefeated.

Writtle B took a step closer to the fourth division title as they came out on top 6-4 against Elmtree Graphics B. Elmtree were bolstered by the inclusion of Colchester first division player Phil Smith and he duly took his three singles. However, Writtle had enough in hand to win as Matthew Brown and Hector Rogers both won twice. Rogers' narrow victory over Melanie Bonnett by a 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-8 margin eventually proved vital. At the other end of the table ECC F's unexpected 6-4 victory over Danbury G has thrown them a lifeline to avoid demotion. Allan Thompson and Jeff Lewington both hit form at the same time and Danbury didn't know what hit them. As hard as they have fought EPHQ look unlikely to avoid being relegated. Their 6-4 defeat against Baddow Village E almost certainly leaves them with too much to do. Mike Johnston captained the Baddow Village side to victory and his three wins included a vital 11-8, 7-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-2 victory over Ian Hockley in the last match of the night, the game which ultimately sealed the Baddow Village victory.

Writtle C's hopes of finishing amongst the honours in division five were dashed as they lost 7-3 to ECC G. Ian Rogers was on top form and team-mate Mick Storey won twice as the ECC side dominated. Danbury J meanwhile gave themselves ever chance of finishing as runners-up as they beat Hatfield Peverel E 9-1 with a great display of allround strength. Tim Pulham and Mark Wheeler were both undefeated whilst Kevin Willis only missed out against Andy Simmonds. It appears as if both Baddow Village G and ECC H are destined to be relegated. Baddow however displayed far better form this week as they beat ECC H 7-3. All three Baddow players shone with Steve Clift leading the way by staying undefeated. Laura Pyman avenged her defeat against Lorna Staff in the M&G Chelmsford Closed Junior Girls Singles by beating Lorna 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3 this time, whilst Ian Austin picked up two wins.

Baddow Village J produced the result of the season in division six by beating the favourites Excalibur D 10-0, a result that enables the young Baddow Village J side to hang on to their lead for at least another week. Excalibur weren't at full strength but the performance of the Baddow side was still exceptional. Rykki Vansertima, Haydn Upson and Sam Pitt all played superbly. Writtle D who have a game in hand stayed second after hammering Baddow Village L 9-1. The very strong trio of Ann Lockhart, Martin Goddard and Kevin Barber were always in control although Barber missed out 11-9 in the fifth end against an inspired Eric Clift. In a week of clear-cut division six results Baddow Village H and Baddow Village I also won decisively. The experienced H side of Ron Arthur, Chris High and Fred Henwood gave nothing away as they romped home 10-0 against Baddow Village K whilst the I side ran out 8-2 winners against Ingatestone/Excalibur Combined. Matthew Skeoch and Adam Pitt were undefeated on this occasion.

The battle for the CLICK title is still very much in the balance. Second-placed Danbury L trail ECC J by seven points but have two games in hand and on this basis every single point is vital. Danbury led by an undefeated Matt Standen were 4-1 winners this week against Excalibur as only Chris Butler's 3-2 victory over Ben Bailey escaped them. Further down the table Ingatestone Boys Club A scored their fifth win of the season, a narrow 3-2 success over Baddow Village P. Lee Cranmer impressed with 3-1 wins over Aled Upson and Tom Lee.