Press Report

Chelmsford entered two teams into the Eastern Region of the National Cadet (Under 15s) League for the first time. The first round of matches were played at Stowupland with the six competing teams all due to play each other on each weekend of matches. Chelmsford A (16 points) finished fifth whilst Chelmsford B (17 points) excelled by finishing third. The NETTS Club from Earls Colne lead the way with a strong return of 21 points out of a possible 25.

Chelmsford A opened their campaign by fighting back from 3-1 down to secure a 3-3 draw with Bury St Edmunds A. Matthew Davis came through 8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8 to beat George Kizis and Craig Hiskey ensured the scores finished level as he beat Steven Enzinger 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 13-11, 12-10 - a really gutsy effort. In their second match Chelmsford A found themselves held to a draw by Chelmsford B. Adam Pitt held the A team together beating both Kane Lambert and James Austin 3-0. Their third match also ended all-square as Adam, Matthew and Craig all won once against Stowmarket A. Craig's nail-biting 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 12-10, 14-12 victory over William Garrod was vital in securing this result. The team's fouth game saw them lose for the first time, as they succumbed to NETTS 4-2. It was a hard-fought affair and Adam only missed out 11-9 in the fifth end to NETTS number one Philip Lawson, ranked no. two in Essex at Under 13 level. Pitt won his other encounter, another five-ender where he eased home 11-5 in the fifth end against Chris Bragg whilst Matthew beat Luke Tarrant in four ends. Chelmsford completed their fixtures with a 5-1 victory over bottom-side Stowmarket B.

Chelmsford B excelled and they finished their weekend one point ahead of the Chelmsford A side. Like the A side they also lost a close match 4-2 to old rivals NETTS. Brandon Crouchman and Scott Dowsett were both on target with wins over Luke Tarrant whilst James Austin and Brandon both went down in the fifth end to Chris Bragg.

After holding Chelmsford A to a draw they secured a comfortable 6-0 win over Stowmarket B with only Scott's game against Stowmarket number one Yan Crawford going to a fourth end. Chelmsford B, clearly playing very well excelled to beat Stowmarket A 4-2 in their fourth match with James and Kane winning one game each and Brandon securing the victory with a 3-2 win over Martin West, having earlier scraped home 13-11, 12-10, 12-10 against Stowmarket reserve Yan Crawford. The team concluded their weekend by losing 4-2 to Bury St. Edmunds A. James and Scott both picked up wins and Brandon came desperately close to earning his side a draw before succumbing 14-12 in the fifth end to George Kizis.

The records of the Chelmsford players were as follows - Adam Pitt 7/10, Matthew Davis 6/10, Craig Hiskey 3/10, James Austin 3/8, Kane Lambert 4/6, Scott Dowsett 5/8 and Brandon Crouchman 5/8. Josh Broadbent (Stowmarket A) with a perfect record of 10/10 will be the Player everyone will be out to beat in the next round of matches on Saturday 18 November 2006 whilst Philip Lawson (NETTS) with a record of 9/10 also excelled.

Chelmsford Girls team had to travel further afield for their foray into National Competition, all the way to Stoke's massive Fenton Manor Sports Complex to take part in the Junior British League. They were again placed in Division two based on their player's ratings in the ETTA National Rankings and they were seeded sixth of the six teams in that division. Chelmsford's top player, Holly Stubbings who had sensationally won all of ten of her singles in the Women's British League a fortnight before carried on where she had left off. From her first match when she beat Megan Sparrey (ranked marginally below her) and Stacey Furnival (ranked some way above her) she made no mistake and she played magnificently all weekend to win all ten of her singles. In her second match against Redlands Bats she beat another two players ranked only marginally below her. Kerry Mansell and Lucy Davidson were both beaten 3-0 for good measure. By Sunday morning as tiredness was creeping into the girl's play Holly became the only girl in the Division with a 100 % record when she beat both Waterside's Katie Bradford 3-2 and Chloe Thomas 3-1. Holly also excelled by beating Cippenham B's Rachel Pilgrim, a player she had never beaten before. This time she made no mistake running out a 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 11-1 winner.

With Chelmsford's no. two player Laura Pyman having to drop out late in the day following a set-back from the major operation she went through in the Summer the Chelmsford team was understandably not at full strength. Hannah Pitt found herself promoted to the number two position in the side and despite some hard-fought encounters she only managed to pick up one singles win. It was certainly worth waiting for, and Hannah excelled as she got the better of Rebekah March of BATTS Team Peniel B, a player ranked a massive 564 ranking points above her. Hannah ran out an excellent 6-11, 11-6, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9 winner. With Holly winning her two singes this match saw the Chelmsford team pick up their sole point of the weekend. Gemma Butler from Suffolk must be thanked for deputising for Laura Pyman but she failed to pick up any wins at a far higher level than she was accustomed to.

The next round of matches take place at the Aldersley Leisure Centre in Wolverhampton over the weekend of 10/11 February 2007 and the team hope that with Laura Pyman restored to the side they can move up the table swiftly.