GREAT WINS FOR LUCY AND SARRA WANG

ECC A were the team to excel this week in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. Maldon B turned up with a side containing both Cris Sladden and Neil Charles and were held to a 5-5 draw. Mother and daughter combination Lucy and Sarra Wang both beat 2008 Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion Neil Charles, two contenders for the "Win of the Season of the Award" in anyone ‘s book. Lucy triumphed 8-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-9 whilst Sarra had to dig even deeper. Sarra won 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 15-13. However, Maldon Captain John Cleasby had forgotten that this fixture was a rearranged game from early in the Season and therefore Sladden, a second-half signing was ineligible. What had already been a fine effort by the ECC team became a 9-1 victory. Relegated Writtle A did well to beat Excalibur A 6-4. Hard-hitting Paul Cuming led the way by winning his three singles, and his hat-trick included an excellent 5- 11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9 success against Gary Young.

Hatfield Peverel A (Dave Carter, John Webber and John Gagg) made light work of ECC B in division two. Webber won his three singles as they won 8-2. Gary Brignall won twice for ECC B.

Kings Road A have made a great effort to avoid relegation from division three but a 7-3 defeat against Danbury C means they have failed to achieve their aim. Danbury’s Nicky Reece-Ford won his three singles and this included a fight- back from 2-0 down where he got the better of Rob Hayne 11-13, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8,11-4. ECC D just came out on top against 6-4 ECC E in a match where no single player stayed undefeated. Alistair Hill and Peter Layzell (ECC D) and Colin Blore and Bryn Thomas (ECC E) all won twice.

Hylands School A have totally dominated division four and they scored their eighteenth won of the season by beating Danbury G 9-1. Terry Dowsett and Brandon Crouchman both stayed undefeated whilst Scott Dowsett won twice, only missing out against David Hancox. The Hylands team delivered an even more impressive result the next week by beating second-placed Bocking B 9-1. Four games were decided in the fifth end and Hylands won all four of them. Bocking’s Richard Jennings felt the full force of the improvement that Brandon Crouchman and Scott Dowsett have made this season. Brandon beat Jennings 11-7, 11-5, 3- 11, 11-9 whilst Scott beat Jennings 13-11, 11-1, 7-11, 7-11, 11-6. Richard Jennings made a determined effort in his third singles to not go home empty- handed but despite winning the first two ends he succumbed to Terry Dowsett 11-2, 11-8, 7-11, 2-11, 4-11. Garry Fryatt was Bocking’s only winner. He beat Scott Dowsett 11-8, 11-5, 2-11, 11-8. Danbury E (Rob Kneale, Ken Sheard and Paul Durrands) made no mistake against bottom-placed Danbury H winning 10-0. Paul Durrands faced the toughest test, but, he managed to pull out all the stops to get the better of Jean Chasmer 12-10, 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7. Elmtree Graphics B have fallen back in recent weeks, and this week they suffered two 6-4 set-backs against Hatfield Peverel D. In the first match newcomer Justin Sander made his mark by winning all three singles which included a 7-11, 4- 11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10 victory over Ev Lucas. In the second fixture Neil Freeman turned on the style against Division Four-Down Champion Phil Smith, racing to a most impressive 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 victory but he missed out against an inspired Rod Maclennan who beat him 11-6, 5-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9. Contrast this to the first fixture where Freeman hammered Maclennan 11-0, 11-2, 11-5. The improving Rawreth B won 7-3 and both Paul Churn and Gordon Swan stayed undefeated as they saw off Danbury E.

Division five Champions ECC F completed their Season in style by beating Danbury K 8-2, their seventeenth win of the Season. Richard Storey and Colin Barham celebrated by staying undefeated. Trevor Palmer and John Knights both scored consolation wins over Mick Storey. Writtle C finished second and they also won 8-2 this week, beating Danbury J. Frank Neill won his three singles and Andy Fox and Tony Lambert both won twice. Writtle won all three games decided in the fifth end.

There was a shock in store for division six Champions Excalibur D who were well beaten 8-2 by third-placed Great Baddow. It was Baddow who called the shots from the off and they dominated with Gary McCarthy remaining undefeated. He was well supported by Tony Hallett and Jim McCarthy who both won twice. Tony Hallett probably set the tone for the evening by beating Craig McGarrigle 11- 9, 4-11, 11-6, 4-11,12-10 in the opening game of the night. Danbury L finished a clear second and they made no mistake as they beat Chelmsford K 9-1. Chris Hancox and John Skuse both won their three singles on this occasion. Owen Jordan dominated the match between Writtle D and Excalibur E and his three wins enabled Writtle to shade the game 6-4. Mike Meah came up trumps in the closest game of the evening beating Craig Hiskey 11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 12-10.

Steve Kerns

Press & Publicity Officer

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League