Press Reports - Winter Season 2022-23
Burnham Table Tennis League – Honours List 2022/23
LEAGUE AWARDS
DIVISION 1 SHIELD
Winners – Fambridge
Runners-Up - Cold Norton B
DIVISION 1 POY – Peter Ballard Cup
Winner – John Poysden (90% win rate)
Runner-Up - Mark Stones (79%)
DIVISION 2 SHIELD
Winners – Mapledene C
Runners-Up - Maldon B
DIVISION 2 POY – Brian Ellis Cup
Winner – Andy Seaman (92% win rate)
Runner-Up - Steve Aspland (85%)
DIVISION 3 SHIELD
Winners – Stow Maries D
Runners-Up - Woodham D
DIVISION 3 POY – Roy Davis Cup
Winner – Tim Pulham (97% win rate)
Runner-Up - Mike Burton (86%)
TEAM HANDICAP KNOCKOUT CUP
Winners – Cold Norton B
Runners-Up - Woodham D
TOURNAMENT TROPHIES
MENS SINGLES
Winner – Reece Seddon
Runner-Up - Keith Adams
LADIES SINGLES
Winner – Lin Roff
Runner-Up - Dawn Baldry
MENS DOUBLES
Winners - Keith Adams & Lee McHugh
Runners-Up - Duncan Taylor & Kevin Read
VETERANS SINGLES
Winner – Kevin Read
Runner-Up - Duncan Taylor
MIXED DOUBLES
Winners - Duncan Taylor & Andrea Alleyne
Runners-Up - Lee McHugh & Lin Roff
MIXED OPEN SINGLES
Winner - Sam Lowman
Runner-Up – Eric Green
VETERANS DOUBLES
Winners - Duncan Taylor & Kevin Read
Runners-Up - George Reeves & Steve Muth
OVER-70s SINGLES
Winner - Steve Whiteley
Runner-Up – Dave Goody
Over-60s SINGLES
Winner - Eric Green
Runner-Up – John Monk
LADIES DOUBLES
Winner - Dawn Baldry & Andrea Alleyne
Runner-Up - Lin Roff & Tina Hutchinson
HANDICAP SINGLES
Winner - Eric Green
Runner-Up - Joerg Poeschus
DAN RICHARDSON TROPHY (Restricted Singles)
Winner - Harrison Hill
Runner-Up - Colin Napper
FAMBRIDGE TROPHY
Winner - Tim Huxtable
Runner-Up - Mike Burton
JUNIOR SINGLES
Winner - Harrison Hill
Runner-Up – Alex Wilson
CADET SINGLES
Winner - Harrison Hill
Runner-Up - Jude Mayet
PLATE COMPETITION
Winner - Charles Sweeny
Runner-Up - David Meah
AWARDED TROPHIES
BOB PARTRIDGE TROPHY
Winner - Harrison Hill
MOST IMPROVED JUNIOR
Winner – Alex Wilson
PRESIDENTS TROPHY
Winner – Colin Napper
Week Ending Fri 19 May
Burnham & District Table Tennis League – Annual Presentation Evening 2023
The 'Napper in the Crapper' One!
This week saw the players and officials from the Burnham & District Table Tennis League bedecked in their sartorial elegance as they descended upon the League’s Annual Awards Presentation Evening. “ I don’t recognise you with your clothes on” seemed to be the most common phrase as friends and foes united to support this year’s winners and runners up in both the league and tournament events. Big winners on the night were Maldon's Harrison Hill who bagged 4 winners trophies, Eric Green (Cold Norton) who won 3 winners trophies and 2 runners up, for the biggest haul of the evening. Lin Roff (Mapledene) and Duncan Taylor (Cold Norton) both won 4 trophies with a nice even split on winners and runners-up. Alex Wilson (Woodham) chipped in with 4 awards including 1 winner. Some of us got nothing and we were happy with that!
Reece Seddon was presented with the coveted Men's Singles Cup by League President Peter Ballard, and an unexpecting and unprepared Colin Napper was awarded the President's Trophy for his services to the League once he had endured the slow handclap as he was plucked from the facilities. No handshake ensued!
Big thank yous to organisers Kath Little and Dawn Baldry, to Alan Dadswell for his compere stint and history lesson on the origin of each Cup, and Eamonn Hall for sourcing and managing the trophies and press duties. We were also delighted to have Wendy Richardson to present the Dan Richardson Trophy named in honour of her son who was taken from us way too early, Marina Partridge who was able to present the Bob Partridge Trophy awarded to the best junior at the tournament, and Dave Goody for presenting the Brian Ellis award for the best player in Division 2. The remaining trophies and awards, including the Peter Ballard Cup, were presented by League President Peter Ballard.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 5 May
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Road to Stow - Team Handicap Cup Final Special
All roads lead to Stow Maries for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Team Handicap Cup Final 2023. An auspicious venue for an eagerly awaited Final. Players are handicapped according to ability and ranking at the start of the season to try and provide a level playing field for teams across all divisions to compete. The higher ranked players are heavily penalised and have to win a significant number of extra points, whereas the lower ranked players are given a tasty headstart so they can relax and try and out hit or outsmart their opponents knowing they have a healthy lead and a few nets or edges will change the face of the game.
Our two Final protagonists come from different ends of the league spectrum so the points differentials were going to be massive – just what the baying crowds wanted to see. Cold Norton B have a wonderful selection of tried and tested top division players who play competitively every day of the week across the County and have recently achieved runners-up slot in the Ist Division. By comparison Woodham D play in the lowest division of the Burnham League and rotate their squad amongst a group of 5 or so players – however they had a very good finish to the season and come into the final on good form, and of course with those healthy handicaps. The Cold Norton trio have come through all the previous rounds pretty comfortably despite their heavy handicaps with the closest encounter being a 5-2 victory in the semi-final against Stow Maries A. Woodham D had a tough quarter-final against their own B team, winning through in the deciding leg of the deciding match, but were then comfortable 5-1 winners over Mapledene C in their semi-final where they used their handicaps to great effect.
The Final was hosted at the Stow Maries Arena in Smythe Hall – Cold Norton came out strong with a heavily handicapped trio of Ian Wall (-18), Eric Green (-16), and Captain Dan Anderson (-12). Woodham D in return fielded their semi-final winning trio of Joe Cooke (+6), Valerie Board (+6), and Alex Wilson (+15). It doesn’t take Einstein to work out that some of the points differentials were going to be huge with a maximum of 31 points in favour of Wilson should we get as far as match 7 when he is scheduled to take-on the Mighty Green.
So best of 9 matches, a mixture of 6 singles and 3 doubles interspersed across the evening’s entertainment. Up first Green and Anderson (-14) versus the dynamic duo of Wilson and Cooke (+10). Two very long ends ensued and the first went to deuce at 20-20 and then took another 6 points to eek out a winner as the underdogs from Cold Norton edged the very first leg to put the frighteners up Woodham, and a declaration that they meant business. The second leg was another close call but again the Cold Norton duo pulled back the deficit with some determined and patient play and won out 21-18. Next up was Wall (-18) against the lovable Val Board (+6). Board had a flyer and comprehensively won the first leg 21-5 but this only angered her opponent who showed there were no chinks in his wall as he tightened up the error count in leg 2 and eventually caught up the handicap at deuce and then went on to brake Board’s resolve with a 23-21 win and then took the final leg comfortably 21-12 for an overall 2-0 lead – but that could have gone the other way for sure. In the next leg Green (-16) had too much control and retrievability for the hard hitting Cooke (+6) and won out in 2 legs.
So at 0-3 down who you gonna call – HandicapBuster Alex Wilson and his enormously flattering +15 starting point. A young player who has markedly improved across the season and needs to make the most of his early season handicap as he will never see the likes of it again! So Wilson (+15) is up against Cold Norton captain Anderson (-12). With family pride at stake the players face each other for the first time ever in a competitive environment. Anderson’s cagey and defensive style with the use of his favoured pimpled bat will not suit Wilson at all – this could be very close. Well that was the pre-match thoughts but Wilson paid no attention to that and battered his way to a very quick straight sets victory 21-0, 21-4 – family BBQ’s may be a bit awkward this Summer! So Woodham trouble the scoreboard at last but can they springboard on from here.
In the next doubles encounter Wall and Green (-17) take on Cooke and Board (+6) and have a lot of work to do to chase down the lead. Again hard work and patience pays off as they force another victory to take the team closer to the edge of glory. In the sixth match-up we have Anderson on a -12 handicap, and with his tail firmly between his legs, against the plucky Board (+6). As in her previous singles match Board comes out all guns a-blazing and secures the first leg with some room to spare. Anderson is nothing if not determined so after a tete-a-tete with himself he knuckles down and as Board tires from all the exertion he starts to take control with thoughtful movement and variety of shots that flummox his opponent, and eventually takes the final two sets 12 & 17 for his redemption victory and more importantly the fifth win required to take the title and bring the Cup home to Cold Norton.
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see Eric Green trying to overcome that 31 point differential that was scheduled for the next match – that would have been a fun one! Congratulations to both teams for all their efforts in getting to this Final, and of course to the Cold Norton trio who have shown incredible patience and resolve throughout this tournament.
COLD NORTON B – HANDICAP CUP WINNERS 2023
Thanks go to Stow Maries for hosting the Final, and to Alan Scammell for his efforts in running this years Cup competition. Trophies will be awarded at the Presentation Dinner.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 28 April
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Burnham Great Escape
The battle to avoid relegation from the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League really hotted up in April culminating in a final match of the season do-or-die escape to victory-esque thriller for Woodham B.
Woodham B have been propping up Division 1 all season and have looked firm favourites to yoyo back down to Division 2 following their experimental year mixing it with the big boys. They started off the month with a 7-3 loss to runners-up Cold Norton B and came away having played very well but thinking the 3 points might not be enough as they were still 5 points adrift of second bottom Stow Maries A and 12 points behind the next team Maldon A. With all 3 teams in action across the final 3 matches of the season mathematically any of the 3 teams could still be relegated and the fat non-binary person still hadn’t sung their song! So to the action – first up the ‘Live at the Smythe’ special as the bottom two teams met at Smythe Hall for a relegation six pointer. Some of the table tennis on the night was of a tip top standard as Stow’s Gary Brignall and Woodham’s Sanjay Saptarshi battled for supremacy. Brignall was on fire like you had never seen before – rumoured to have had not 3 but 4 Weetabix* that morning (*other breakfast cereals are available). He dispatched the other Woodham players Trevor Collin and Eamonn Hall and saved Saptarshi for last. Then overall match score was evenly poised at 3-3 after the first round of singles and the Stow pairing of Brignall and Ryan Pitt looked to have the better of Saptarshi & Hall in the early knockings of the key doubles match. The order of play was key in this one and the match eventually went to 2-2 only for Hall & Saptarshi to finally get their noses in front and then finished off in style for the oh-so-important doubles bonus point. In the final run-in Collin overcame Pete Layzell for a 5-3 lead to Woodham and then the sparks flew as Brignall and Saptarshi took to the Octagon for an all-out table tennis smashfest of the absolute highest order. No initial nerves or cautiousness – just straight into it from the start. The heat coming from the Brignall camp was evident as he blasted his way to an opening set 11-2 but then felt some of that backdraft as Saptarshi fought back for an 11-3 second set. Brignall took a cagey 3rd set and then steamed ahead in the 4th and had at least 3 match points before finally succumbing 14-16 as Saptarshi somehow recovered from the precipice of defeat. That effort and disappointment knocked the stuffing out of Brignall and a buoyed Saptarshi rattled off the final set for an overall commanding 6-3 lead for the Woodham boys. Standing ovations around for both of these fighters! Pitt overcame the dogged Hall for the final point of the match for an overall 6-4 victory to Woodham B.
The previous result probably saved Maldon A any final match concerns as they took on Mapledene A at the Maldon Arena. Mapledene A arrived with a slightly weaker than normal side but still had plenty in their locker to dispatch Maldon. For Mapledene both John Monk and David Jacob won all their singles without much trouble, and Maldon’s only singles victory came courtesy of the returning lefty Jon Stokes who outlasted Keith Willet in a hard fought 5 setter. However Maldon pair Steve Whiteley and Stokes were far too good for their opponents as they eased their way to a straight sets victory in the doubles giving them 2 points on the night and surely enough to ensure they were now safe.
So going into the final match of whole league season Woodham B found themselves 3 points adrift from Stow Maries A and 8 points adrift from Maldon A, and up against tough opponents Mapledene B who themselves could finish in 4th place. With a large crowd in attendance the final match got underway and Woodham captain Eamonn Hall kicked things off with an opening victory against an in-form Anthon Ranjit-Singh, and this was swiftly followed up when Woodham talisman Sanjay Saptarshi overcame the unique style of Colin Chatfield in a match that saw some tremendous rallies. Mapledene fought back as the fearsome Keith Willett took a lively 5 setter against Dan Patynski, and Chatfield made amends for his earlier loss with a victory over Hall. Patynski endured another 5 setter against the hard-hitting Ranjit-Singh but just pipped it at the death and then Willett smashed his way through the Saptarshi defence to level the match up at 3-3. All very nail-biting for the Woodham crowd assembled behind the barriers. Mapledene’s dynamic doubles duo of Chatfield and Willett were a class above the Woodham pair and won out comfortably to take a 4-3 lead going into the final stretch of matches.
Chatfield completed his excellent nights play with a tricky 5 set victory over Patynski and Willett triumphed in 4 sets against Hall to secure Mapledene’s victory on the night and 4th place in the league overall. So for Woodham B it all came down to the final game of the final match of the season. By all accounts traffic had come to a standstill in both South Woodham and Stow Maries as the residents waited with baited breath for the outcome of this most anticipated encounter. In the Blue corner Saptarshi – weighing in at 12 Stone 4lbs, ranked #24, and his opponent from the Mapledene Academy in the red corner Anthon Ranjit-Singh – weighing in at 14 stone 6lbs, ranked #92 but with a far bigger reach! Round 1 and Ranjit-Singh was off to a flier but Saptarshi came back and edged the opening round 11-9. Ranjit-Singh fought back and took a comfortable 2nd leg 11-7. The third leg was cagey and at 8-8 could have gone either way. Advantage Ranjit-Singh at 9-8 but then a couple of errors allowed Saptarshi back in and he took the 3rd for a 2-1 lead. With lots of fluids and biscuits being taken on board and the corners working hard on tactical changes the 4th set started of a bit cagey but Saptarshi edged ahead with some trademark smashes at the end of some wonderful exchanges between these two warriors. As we entered the business end of the leg Saptarshi pulled away and as he won out 11-6 the crowds erupted with a mixed sense of relief and joy. So 6-4 to Mapledene B on the night, and a thoroughly deserved victory. Mapledene B secure 4th place in the league and Woodham B leapfrog Stow Maries A by a single point to come off the bottom of the table for the very first time all season and get to do it all again next season!
The rumour that Stow Maries Village has cancelled all Coronation events following this relegation saga can neither be confirmed nor denied.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 14 April
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
It’s The Final Countdown
This week was all about the Team Handicap Cup in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Semi-final stage and the drama, tears and cheers all came in abundance. After the sporting action was completed we can reveal that this year’s Final will be between two very in form teams from different ends of the league spectrum which means plenty of fun and games with the handicap scoring sure to play a major role in the outcome.
Woodham D were recently crowned Division 3 runners-up following a great run of form in the final couple of months of the season and they can now add a cup final to their season’s achievements as they confidently defeated Mapledene C the Division 2 Champions. Aptly it was Woodham’s Alex Wilson who won the important 5th match against Richard Gill (-8) in their 5-1 victory - close your eyes now Richard, as the game was over before he could even register a positive point in either leg!. Wilson won all his 3 matches on the night and made full use of his +15 handicap that no way reflects his current form but is set from earlier in the season. Wilson was ably supported by Val Board (+6) and Joe Cooke (+6), with Mapledene’s single point coming from Andy Seaman (-8) who manged to peg back Cooke’s 14 point advantage to win in straight sets.
The second semi-final was an all Division 1 affair between Stow Maries A and confirmed league runners-up Cold Norton B. With a heavier handicap to manage the Cold Norton trio needed patient and perseverance if they were to win this one. It didn’t start that well as their opponents Stow Maries shocked the two top players from Cold Norton by taking the opening two singles in tight matches. Firstly Richard Storey (-12) beat Eric Green (-16) in a tight one that went to 20-20 in the deciding third leg before Storey left Green feeling blue. It was then the turn of the fast and furious Sam Phillips (-9) who squeezed passed Cold Norton’s top player Ian Wall (-18) 21-19 in both legs. So when unexpectedly 2-1 down in a semi-final you look to your captain for inspiration and leadership, and boy did he deliver. Stow’s Malcolm Storey (-1) had no answer to the defensive prowess of Cold Norton’s Dan Anderson (-12) as he comfortably evened up the match at 2-2. Following the lead of their captain and talisman Cold Norton then dominated the rest of the match and it was left to Captain Fantastic Anderson to seal the victory with a comfortable straight sets win over Phillips.
So the final is Woodham D versus Cold Norton B – two very in form teams with significantly diverse handicaps. Some of the matches will see a 30 point differential starting point in favour of the Division 3 side and this changes the psyche of the match. Will the Cold Norton B trio continue to show the determination that has got them to the Final or will this be a handicap step too far?
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 7 April
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Seaman Wins Brian Ellis Cup
As we complete the final fixtures in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League we are able to confirm some of the remaining issues and awards.
The final fixture in Division 2 was a classic top v bottom affair as Champions Mapledene C extended their winning margin to 16 points over Maldon B with a fine 9-1 victory over bottom side St Lawrence A. Whilst Maldon B floundered in recent weeks Mapledene C recorded a 10-0 and then a 9-1 victory to really demonstrate their title worthiness. For Mapledene both Andy Seaman and Barrie Delf recorded hat-tricks and St Lawrence’s season-weary captain Steve King did manage a final day win of his own in 4 sets over Ladies Singles Champion Lin Roff. Mapledene C made good use of their large squad over the season with 12 different players taking to the table in the classic Mapledene red shirts. However with that final match appearance Andy Seaman was able to secure the divisional trophy for the most valuable player. The Brian Ellis Cup is awarded to the player with the highest win percentage having played at least 50% of his team’s matches. With a win percentage of 92% Seaman is this year’s clear recipient and will be awarded his trophy at the upcoming Presentation Evening. Runner-up was Maldon C’s stalwart Steve Aspland with a win rate of 85%, and he was closely followed by ace chopper Colin Napper with a win rate of 82% for his beloved Maldon B side. Aspland was one of two players who were ever present for their Division 2 sides this year, the other being the hard-hitting Nicky Reece-Ford for Stow B. Good show one and all!
The battle to avoid relegation continues in Division 1 as Woodham B attempt to close the gap on Stow Maries A. This week they travelled to League Runners-Up Cold Norton B for a fun packed evening of sport. They came away with 3 hard-earned points but probably needed an extra 1 or 2 if they are to catch Stow. Cold Norton’s Eric Green was the star of the evening winning all 4 of his matches, blasting passed Woodham’s two best players with ease but struggling to a tight 4 set victory over the lower ranked Eamonn Hall. Green’s trusty wingman Dave Richardson was having trouble with the home net all evening but he still managed to complete a brace of wins including a fine win over Woodham’s Dan Patynski. For Woodham Sanjay Saptarshi racked up another couple of wins to keep the dream of division 1 ping pong flickering away for now. The gap is now 5 points and the two protagonists meet next week in the sold-out relegation 6-pointer at Smythe Hall.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 31 March
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Champions Edition
We are drawing to the close of the Winter season for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League and we finally have the winners and runners-up in each division confirmed.
The runaway Ist Division champions are Fambridge TTC but it took until this week to confirm Cold Norton B as runners-up for this season. Cold Norton weren’t at the table this week but Mapledene A failed to return the 8 or more points required to keep the race alive going into the final games. In fact Mapledene A only managed a draw away to Woodham A and even that took last gap victories in the final 3 matches as both David Jacob and Barrie Delf recovered from 5th set match points against to eek out 2 last gasp victories to secure the draw. Delf’s victory over Lee McHugh being the most noteworthy victory of the fun-filled evening. Elsewhere in the top division Stow Maries A bagged 4 points against Maldon A which they hope will secure them top flight table tennis next season. However the real developing story of that match was the inaugural Division 1 hat-trick for Maldon’s Harrison Hill. Following Hill’s epic display at the recent Burnham Tournament it will surprise no-one within the sport but it does mark the first of what we expect to be many hat-tricks for this prodigious talent. In the final encounter this week Duncan Taylor shone brightly with an unblemished hat-trick for his Cold Norton A side but this was not enough to stave off defeat as opponents Mapledene B took home the spoils 6-4, with 2 wins a piece for Keith Willett and Colin Chatfield, and a final match of the night victory for Anthon Ranjit-Singh over Steve Maltby despite having lost to him twice in recent weeks.
In the two horse race for the Division 2 title things couldn’t have gone more tangential for our two runners. Top seeds Mapledene C showed no nerves as they approached the final furlong as they completely dispatched Cold Norton D to the cleaners in an emphatic 10-0 trouncing. Hat-tricks all round for Mapledene trio Andy Seaman, Mick Tappenden and Barrie Delf. Maldon B needed to match or better Mapledene’s result to stay in the running but succumbed heavily in an 8-2 loss away to Stow Maries B. Stow’s power house Nicky Reece-Ford blasted all before him for a superb hat-trick and was ably supported by his trusty wingmen Peter Hance and Tony Forster who both won 2 singles. For Maldon only Colin Napper appeared on the scoresheet with wins over both Forster and Hance. In the Blackwater A v B derby nether team secured the bragging rights as they played out an honourable draw, although the B team’s Neil Thompson was seen skipping home clutching his well-earned first hat-trick of the season. Maldon C’s talisman Steve Aspland was at it again this week as he raced through the Woodham C card to secure his 6th hat-trick on the bounce – what a season he has had. Unfortunately for Maldon C they were a man down and Woodham were able to secure all the remaining points for a comfortable 7-3 victory to finish off their season.
Division 3 is now complete and with Stow Maries D already confirmed as champions it came down to the final matches to sort out the runner-up spot. Coincidentally both of the key matches were taking place on courts next to each other at West Maldon Community Centre so with each game completed the league abacus was adjusted to show the real-time situation. Woodham D started the night a point behind Blackwater D so were eager to make a good start to erase that gap. No nerves on display as they raced to a 5-0 lead over opponents Blackwater E. On the other table Blackwater D had a more tricky time of it as they took on the plucky Blackwater C trio. A reasonable start but they were only 3-2 up after 5 games and were now trailing Woodham D. Both teams lost the 6th match so it was now down to the final 3 matches of the season and the odds were now stacked in favour of Woodham. For Blackwater D they won 2 of the last 3 with none of their players able to get passed the impressive James Brooks from the C team, but Woodham casually strolled through their final matches, winning all 3 for a 9-1 victory and the coveted runner-up spot. Hat-tricks for the Woodham dynamic duo of Joe Cooke and Alex Wilson. Blackwater D won out 6-4 for third spot but the win did mean they had more victories than Woodham D over the season – possibly scant consolation as your rivals celebrate across the barriers.
Week Ending Fri 24 March
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Finals Night Review
What an evening of sport we witnessed this week as the Burnham Table Tennis Championships came to a dramatic conclusion at Champions Manor Hall in South Woodham. With 11 of the Championship events already decided over the preceding weekend it was down to the final 5 prestigious events. 7 extremely close encounters with such a variety of styles on show, with no straight sets victories and 4 of the matches going all the way to a deciding 5th set. The seeding committee had done an excellent job so far as barring the Veterans Final all the top seeds had made it through to the final stages – but would they successfully predict the winners, and if so would there be a need for future tournaments to establish who really are the best of the best?
The Mens singles semi-finals opened the show and in the first shock of the night top seed Duncan Taylor was eliminated by the excellent and patient Reece Seddon. Taylor took the first cagey leg but then was unable to dominate the match from behind the table as Seddon controlled everything thrown at him and whipped in plenty of winners to upset the seedings apple cart. Up next was second seed Keith Adams and he got off to an horrendous start as opponent Kevin Read quickly established a 2-0 lead with a series of rolling loops that Adams struggled to control. Adams had a polite word with himself and came out seemingly much more focussed in leg 3. This added steel cut out some of his lazier errors from the opening legs and he began to wear down the Read offence. This pattern continued for the final 3 legs as Adams took control of the match and finished out 6,7,6 to secure his place in the Final.
And so to the first final of the evening – the Mixed Doubles featuring the two top seeded pairings of the holders Duncan Taylor & Andrea Alleyne, and the new kids on the block Lee McHugh & Lin Roff. In a cagey opening both pairs took a leg each and then the fireworks happened as the 4 players started to open up with forehand and backhand smashes that created a much faster game. In the third game it was nip and tuck all the way and despite McHugh & Roff having game point as McHugh hit several forehand winners, it was Taylor & Alleyne that eventually won out 13-11. McHugh & Roff took control of the 4th leg and had a mid-match 3 point cushion that should have seen them take the match to a concluding set. Unfortunately for them a few errors crept in and the top seeds squared up and then had match point at 10-9, before McHugh & Roff had game point at 11-10. 3 points later and Taylor & Alleyne had retained their crown. Worthy Champions.
Next up was the Veterans Singles Final (players over 40) and was featuring top seed Duncan Taylor and his doubles partner Kevin Read who was seeded 3 and had knocked out 2nd seed Keith Adams in the semi-final. This was a really strange match where the power switched from player to player several times. Of course they know each other’s game inside out so we had lots of long technical rallies where each of the apex predators were just waiting to pounce on the slightest error. The Ist leg saw Read leading all the way until crunch time when Taylor dragged his way back into contention and surprisingly took the first leg 11-9. The rollercoaster 2nd leg saw Read take an early 5-1 lead only to see Taylor switch back on and take it to game point at 10-9. Taylor couldn’t kill the game and Read fought back to win out 13-11. The dramatic 3rd set saw Read collapse and Taylor storm into an 8-0 lead that anyone watching thought would be the start of the finish. But oh no, Read fought back and it was time for the Taylor game to fall apart to such a state that Read got to match point at 10-9 and then finished off at 12-10 – a remarkable end of table tennis. That loss seemed to empty the Taylor tank and spur on Read and the 4th set was over pretty quickly with Read taking it 11-5 to secure the Keith Pitt Cup.
After a short interval we were back on court for the Ladies Singles Final. The two top seeds had emerged from the pack and were ready to do battle. Top seed Dawn Baldry was looking a bit nervy but got off to a good start and was ahead throughout the first leg until at 9-8 down second seed Lin Roff won a string of points and took the Ist leg at the death. The next two legs went one a-piece for Roff to take a 2-1 lead into the 4th leg. Roff stormed to an early lead giving herself a 5pt advantage that should have been enough to secure the title but Baldry kept going and was forcing some errors but still faced her first match point against at 9-10 down. What should have been the crowning moment was delayed as Roff hit 3 errors on the bounce to take the game into a deciding set. The 5th set was a cagey affair as no-one opened up a lead and the players traded shots. We got to 2-2 and 9-9 in the match with Roff serving to take back her title. The next point saw an exchange of smashes before Baldry hit a forehand cross court winner…. Well normally a ‘winner’ but Roff had taken up a perfect position and hit back using the pace created by Baldry’s smash to counterblock passed her flailing opponent. Appreciative applause all round. Roff took the final point to secure the Ladies Title. What a battle it was.
Our penultimate final this year was the eagerly anticipated Mens Doubles Final featuring top seeds Kevin Read & Duncan Taylor taking on the challenge of second seeds Keith Adams & Lee McHugh. All have featured so far so were warmed up nicely for this hotly contested war of attrition. The first four sets came out at 2-2 and went in sequence per the face off positions. Adams & McHugh were ahead both times but struggled to get anywhere near their opponents in the intervening matches which went 2 & 3. So the final set and the score at the changing point were all important. Adams & McHugh turned at 5-3, perhaps not as big a gap as they wanted but an excellent restart quickly pushed that up to 7-3 with McHugh blasting the last one passed Read. After that it was a cagey pushy affair as Adams & McHugh maintained a lead 8-5, then 10-6, until at 10-8 Read pushed into the net for an Adams & McHugh inaugural victory.
And so to the main event – the Mens Singles Final 2023 betwixt Reece Seddon and Keith Adams – a match up that would grace any Essex Singles tournament final. Boy this one did not disappoint with Adams edging a cagey opening set and then Seddon fighting back in an extraordinary second leg where he raced into a 6-0 lead with some aggressive and accurate loops and punchy backhands but was pegged back again and again by a defiant under the cosh Adams who saved 5 game points before succumbing at the 6th attempt for a Seddon 14-12 leg. Time for Seddon to push on you would think but that proved difficult as he found himself down 0-8 in very quick time and eventually lost out 1-11 to a very determined and more aggressive Adams – and even the 1 Seddon point came from an Adams foul serve! Time to regroup. The 4th leg had Seddon ahead all the way as he played much deeper and forced the tiring Adams, who was playing close to the table, into some uncharacteristic errors. Seddon had 2 game points at 10-8 but it took until 12-10 to tie up the match at 2-2. So into a final set of what had been an enthralling rollercoaster of a Final so far. Adams started off the better establishing a 2 point lead early doors only for Seddon and his oh-so-accurate backhand to fight back and actually turn ends at 5-4 up. After that Seddon was never behind although we did get to 7-7 but then he had 3 Championship points at 10-7 and secured the title at the second attempt for a 3-2 victory (-8,12,-1,10,8). A truly excellent final, and a very worthy winner.
League Chairman and Tournament Organiser Alan Dadswell deserves great credit for all his efforts in putting together both the weekend tournament and the Finals Night.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 17 March
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Handicap Cup Quarter-Finals
Things are heating up in the Handicap Cup team competition of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. We have reached the quarter-finals with teams from each of the divisions still represented, providing some fun and games as the handicap differentials really kick in. Each of the remaining four Division 3 sides were matched with Ist and 2nd Division opposition – could they cope with the increased class and make the most of their headstarts?
Ist division Stow Maries A hosted a mixed St Lawrence team and had to work extra hard to recover the handicap gaps. For St Lawrence Jacqui Treacy made the most of her +10 starting point and scored good wins over Malcolm Storey (-1) and Sam Phillips (-9) but alas that was it for the current holders as Stow won out comfortable 5-2 winners. High flying Cold Norton B hosted the league’s friendliest team from Blackwater C – but what lies behind those pearly white smiles? As it turns out the Blackwater C trio needed a lot more help from the handicaps despite every match having more than a 20 point gap at start of play. The Cold Norton trio of Ian Wall (-18), Eric Green (-16), and ace defender Dan Anderson (-12) won all their matches for a comfortable 5-0 win with only the delightful Kath Little (+10) getting anywhere close to victory as she took Anderson to a deciding 3rd set but lost out 21-18 to the dark arts employed by her opponent. Division 2 leaders Mapledene C rode out a 5-1 victory over Division 3 leaders Stow D – but it wasn’t all plain sailing as 3 of their 5 victories came in 3 sets and in each of those the final score was 21-18 showing how close this match really was. For Stow D Steve Martin (+5) was able to overcome the threat of Lin Roff (-7) in straight sets for some Stow joy. But no such luck for the hardest working Stowmobile Graham Naggs as he lost out in all 3 of his matches each time in 3 long sets including singles losses to the unbeaten pair of Mick Tappenden (-8) and Bill Smith (-7).
So 3 relatively straightforward victories for the higher placed teams – but for the final encounter we head to the darkest corners of South Woodham Ferrers for the crunch derby duel betwixt Woodham D of Division 3, and Woodham B clinging on for life in Division 1. The bookies had the Div 3 side as firm favourites given their home advantage and pretty generous handicaps including a +15 start for the recent starlet of Division 3 Alex Wilson. So a tough night in store for the Woodham B boys, and that’s just how it started as the D team won the opening doubles in 3 sets and then Valerie Board (+6) edged passed the impatient Trevor Collin (-7) [20,17]. But then the fightback started! The D team’s Joe Cooke (+6) started well against Sanjay Saptarshi (-12), the highest ranked player on the B side, and took the opening leg only to be pegged back by some intelligent play by Saptarshi who took the next two legs. Then Wilson (+15) destroyed Eamonn Hall (-5) in their first leg before Hall bunkered down the hatches and cut out all the mistakes and loose play to force Wilson into playing shots he couldn’t make. Amazingly Hall won leg 2 21-17 winning the final 20 points on the bounce. The crucial deciding leg was much closer as Wilson hit a few winners of his own and had 2 match points at 20-18 before Hall ground him down and won out 23-21 – a bit cruel really! The B team took the middle doubles for a surprising 3-2 lead. Eventually we made it to 4-4 going into the final doubles - Board & Wilson (+10) versus Collin & Hall (-6), and of course it went to a final deciding set, why wouldn’t it? It was a battle but Collin & Hall were just about doing enough to catch the handicap around the 18-19 mark when at 16-18 Wilson hit a tremendous backhand down the line for a 19-16 lead and then the D team pairing cleaned up 21-17 for the leg, that match, the overall result, the bragging rights and the keys to South Woodham. The pubs were closed already so the B team couldn’t even drown their sorrows. So Woodham D remain the sole Division 3 representatives and remain hopeful they can reach this year’s Showcase Final – rumoured to being staged at Alexandra Palace but most likely to be in a local village hall.
Week Ending Fri 10 March
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Battle for Survival
With the Division 1 title already secured by the awesome Fambridge team the focus is now on the battle for survival to stay in the top echelons of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Bottom placed Woodham B have found some form of late and following their first win of the season only last week they pushed Mapledene B all the way this week but only came out with a draw – enough to temporarily bounce of the bottom but only for a matter of hours but screenshots were taken and it provided some light relief to the Woodham camp. Sanjay Saptarshi came away with another fine and hard fought hat-trick but he had two tremendous battles coming from behind to beat Keith Willett in 4 sets, and then from 2 sets down to finally overcome Paul Brown 18-16 in a deciding set where Brown himself had 3 match points – a truly brilliant encounter which led to a standing ovation for both of the ping pong gladiators. Woodham’s Trevor Collin chipped in with a 5 set victory over Anthon Ranjit-Singh, and third player Eamonn Hall also beat Ranjit-Singh and then came mightily close to a major upset when he held match point at 10-9 in the 5th set against Willett – but experience pulled through and Mapledene took that one! Stow Maries A garnered the most unexpected result of the week as they held runner-up hopefuls Cold Norton B to a draw – a great result for them that keeps a small gap between themselves and bottom placed Woodham B. Stow’s Richard Storey pulled off a great win over top player Eric Green, and his team-mate Gary Brignall held on for a 4 set triumph over ace defender Dan Anderson. Cold Norton’s Neil Want was unlucky to come away empty handed as he took both Storey and Sam Phillips to long 5 set matches. Champions Fambridge demolished Cold Norton C by featuring their very own A team of John Poysden, Keith Adams, and Mark Stones in the only top division whitewash of the week. Cold Norton A were back in form and ran out 9-1 winners over a depleted Woodham A. Charles Sweeny was in great form for his hat-trick and this was emulated by Sam Lowman, although his battle with Eamonn Hall continues as he needed another 5 set marathon to get passed the Woodham player. The only success for Woodham came from Sanjay Saptarshi’s fine win over Kevin Read.
The title race for the Division 2 crown is still in full swing. Maldon B’s tight 6-4 win over Blackwater A was enough to leapfrog Mapledene C and claim back top spot for now, but it might not be enough to stay there. Of course only fielding a 2 man team doesn’t help the cause but between them Ciaran Whelan and Brian Riedling only lost one match so at least they secured the victory on the night. For Blackwater A Denis Balic scored a good win over Riedling with a very consistent 11-6 11-6 11-6 scoreline. Not a great week for the Blackwater Club in this division as the B team succumbed to a 10-0 drubbing from the Cold Norton D trio of Dave Hancox, Peter Lucraft and Terry Hyland. Not surprising to report that in the final game of the week it was Maldon C’s talisman Steve Aspland with yet another hat-trick that secured the 6-4 win over Stow Maries B. As ever Aspland’s reliable wingman Colin Barrell chipped in with a brace of wins having lost out to Stow’s tricky Ken Sheard.
Stow Maries D are the Division 3 Champions, with the runner-up spot being battled out between Woodham D and Blackwater D. This week Stow finished their campaign with a solid 7-3 winning performance against Maldon E. A Dusty Bin 3-2-1 scorecard shows Tim Pulham with a hat-trick of wins, supported by 2 wins for Steve Martin, and a single point for Graham Naggs. Maldon’s John Leavett did exceptionally well to hang on for the win over Martin 11-9 in the 5th set. In the final match of the week Maldon D’s Marty Englander was unlucky to find himself on the losing side in his team’s match up with Blackwater E. Englander did his part with 3 4-set victories for his hat-trick but it was the teamwork of the Blackwater trio that led to the overall 6-4 success. 2 wins a piece for Blackwater’s David Sage and Peter Davenport and they combined for the crucial doubles victory – with Jo Hart’s win over Ross Wheeler sealing the deal for Blackwater.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 3 March
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Underdogs Overachieve
Upsets galore this week as the both the bottom teams in Division 2 and Division 1 of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League broke rank and won their first matches of the season. Unfortunately the perfect underdog week could not be completed by the Division 3 anti-pace makers who lost out to the best statistical performance of the season where they struggled to win a single game let alone the overall match.
Woodham B were comfortable winners of Division 2 last season but have struggled all year to turn their performances into points in the top division and have languished at the foot of the table since the opening week. However their talisman Sanjay Saptarshi has proved himself a worthy Division 1 player with a very creditable 60%+ win rate, and it was no surprise when Saptarshi shone this week in Woodham’s inaugural victory as they overcame Cold Norton A 6-4 with a fine hat-trick for Saptarshi with only Cold Norton’s Steve Maltby taking a leg off him. Wingmen Eamonn Hall and Trevor Collin both beat Maltby, and Hall and Saptarshi won the doubles in straight sets over the fine pairing of Sam Lowman and Neil Want. It could have been worse for Cold Norton but Lowman plucked victory from the jaws of defeat coming form 2 sets down to eventually beat Hall 11-9 in the deciding set of a very long match. Mapledene B scored a fine 9-1 win over Stow Maries A with both David Jacob and Colin Chatfield on fire, and Anthon Ranjit-Singh adding the extra two points and just losing out to Pete Layzell 10-12 in the deciding set for his own hat-trick. Earlier in the week Cold Norton C notched up an impressive 7-3 triumph against a fully loaded Maldon A side. Cold Norton’s Chris Buer powered his way to an excellent hat-trick and he was ably supported by team-mates Dick Wyman and Tim Cramphorn with two wins a-piece.
Steve King and his St Lawrence A side were surprise but deserved winners of Division 4 last season and unfortunately the jump up to a combined Division 2 has been a difficult ask for them. Having lost all 16 of their matches so far this season the bookies were offering very long odds on a St Lawrence victory. However Ivan Toney managed to get a £20 bet at 60-1 so was delighted when St Lawrence defied the odds and excelled in their 6-4 demolition of Blackwater B this week – ok it was quite close and Blackwater B had the player of the match in Neil Freeman (3 wins) but we need to up the ante on the superlatives for St Lawrence as they have missed out all season! St Lawrence’s King won 2 of his singles, as did Rob Salvage, and Jason Bush won the crucial sixth point. King and Salvage then stormed ahead in the doubles but were pegged back to 2-2 by the Blackwater duo of Freeman and Andrea Alleyne, but then kicked on in the decider to ensure they had the extra point that would set up the overall win. The Bayside was rocking this week! Elsewhere in the Division Maldon B lost touch with the leaders Mapledene C as they could only field a 2 man team and lost out 6-4 to Cold Norton D. Maldon’s Colin Napper did his bit with a steady hat-trick, but Cold Norton’s Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft were able to beat Brain Riedling and then combine for the doubles win to seal the victory. So with Maldon B dropping points Mapledene C stormed through Stow Maries C to widen the gap at the top of the table. Stow’s Peter Chastin managed to win all his matches but the Mapledene trio of Lin Roff, Andy Seaman and Mike Johnston cleaned up in the remaining games for the overall scoreline of 7-3. Maldon C have hit another purple patch and Steve Aspland just cannot stop winning. Another hat-trick this week as his Maldon C crew raced to an 8-2 win over the Blackwater A side with their various forms of pimples and anti-spin rubbers. In the final Division 2 match this week the reliable Stow Maries B came out 6-4 to the good in their encounter with Woodham C. Hard-Hitting Nicky Reece-Ford was unbeaten in the singles coming from behind in all his matches to outlast and outhit his Woodham opponents. Loopy Tony Forster pitched in with 2 wins for Stow, with David Meah being the main points winner for Woodham with victories against Forster, and Dave Marsh and a tight 5 set doubles win with partner Adi Kamma.
Our feature of the bottom teams continues this week with Burnham A who were propping up the whole league going into their final match of the season, with 3 creditable draws but still without a win to their name. Would their opponents Woodham D be gracious or would they continue with their own pursuit of a podium finish in the division? Well the Woodham trio of Mike Burton and youngsters Alex Wilson and Val Board gave no quarter and dispatched the hard-working Burnham trio without so much as a single match dropped – only the second time this has happened across the whole league this season. It just wasn’t to be for Burnham but congratulations to the Woodham team on a fine win, and especially to Alex Wilson who now has two hat-tricks to his name, great form to be taking into the upcoming tournament! A heavily loaded Stow Maries D side demolished the efforts of the Blackwater C opponents for another whitewash 10-0 victory – excellent consistency from the Stow boys David Porter, Rod Maclennan and Tim Huxtable. Unusually the final match in this division also ended up at 10-0, definitely something in the local waters this week! Blackwater D outsmarted their Blackwater E opponents with hat-tricks all round for Blackwater’s James Brooks, David Benstead and Chris Rolison who just pipped Peter Hughes in the tightest game 11-9 in the fifth set.
Week Ending Fri 24 Feb 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Fambridge Secure Division 1 Title
The youth element of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League shone through this week with 2 outstanding performances at different ends of the league. Our youngest competitor Harrison Hill recorded a brace of wins for Maldon A against Mapledene A in the top division and teenager Alex Wilson recorded his first ever hat-trick playing for Woodham D in their Division 3 shoot-out with Maldon D. Great achievements and memories for both players.
Fambridge have secured the Division 1 title following their hard fought 7-3 victory over a fully loaded Woodham A side this week. Only no-shows and points deducted can deny them their rightful crown – but this won’t happen of course. Paul Sayer led the way for Fambridge with a personal hat-trick of wins, including 2 long and eventful 5-setters against Lee McHugh and Daniel Piglet. El Capitano John Poysden had a more straightforward time against Piglet and McHugh winning both in straight sets but then came undone against Jordan Alan for a rare loss. With no player going home without a win it was Fambridge’s determination that won through winning 4 out of the 6 matches that went to a deciding set. Cold Norton B continue to push for the coveted runner-up spot and a comprehensive 9-1 dismantling of their own C team has gone a long way to securing their goal. Dave Richardson continues his good run of form with another hat-trick of wins and was ably wingmanned by Eric Green, back to winning ways, with a hat-trick of his own to help drown out the lingering memory last week’s blank. The C team’s Tim Cramphorn spared the blushes with a fine straight sets victory over erstwhile team-mate Neil Want. In the final match it may have been Mapledene A’s Steve Muth, with a quadruple of wins, that would normally get the headline but this week that honour must go to the youngest player in our league Harrison Hill who won his other two singles to help secure a draw for his Maldon A side. With a tricky serve and ability to hit decent attacking shots this young man can go as far as he wants in this sport.
Division 2 remains the closest battle in the whole league as Mapledene C and Maldon B fight it out to the death. With Mapledene having a rest week, Maldon B took the opportunity to pile on the pressure with a 10-0 whitewash of St Lawrence A which closes the gap to just 2 points. Hat-tricks all round for the Maldonites – Colin Napper, Brian Riedling & Denis Crapnell. Elsewhere the scorelines were much closer as Blackwater B and Stow Maries C, and Woodham C and Blackwater A both played out 5-5 draws. Stow Maries C stalwart the lovable Dave Goody was the surprise player of the match in the first encounter. Goody recorded a stunning hat-trick of wins including the notable scalp of Neil Freeman. In the second stalemate of the week it was Woodham’s Dave Meah who took the plaudits with a fine display of attacking table tennis that meant he went unbeaten all night in singles and doubles against a very talented Blackwater A side. Steve Aspland led his Maldon C side to a tight 6-4 win over Cold Norton D as he also went unbeaten throughout the evening. For Cold Norton, veteran anti-spin bandit Gordon Gatheral was in fine fettle with 2 wins including an unexpected triumph over Colin Barrell. Dave Goody’s luck run out in his second match of the week as his Stow Maries C team came unstuck as they lost out 7-3 to a solid Stow B side that displayed both mettle and experience winning all 3 matches that went to a deciding fifth set. Stow’s Pete Chastin won 2 matches and this was matched by all the Stow boys – Nicky Reece-Ford, Dave Marsh & Tony Forster.
Stow Maries D are the runaway leaders in Division 3 this year and this position was consolidated with a solid 9-1 victory this week in their match against St Lawrence B. A minimum effort hat-trick for the divisional star Tim Pulham, which was repeated by the unorthodox Tim Huxtable. Graham Naggs had to work a bit harder for his 2 points and just lost out to Jackie Treacy for St Lawrence’s consolation point. The battle for runner up spot is heating up though with both the Blackwater C and D teams in the mix, alongside a resurgent Woodham D, with just a couple of points separating them with only 2 matches left to play. So with every point being crucial, Woodham D were cock-a-hoop with their 9-1 triumph away at Maldon D. Cracking hat-tricks for the young pair of Joe Cooke and Alex Wilson including victories over Marty Englander who has been in terrific form of late. Wilson showing amazing nerve at 10-10 in the deciding set to remain calm and take the win as part of his maiden hat-trick in table tennis. The old codger of the team Mike Burton added 2 extra wins only losing out to the wily old campaigner Ross Wheeler, and of course the youngsters combined for the extra doubles point. The Maldon E trio of Brian Dixon, Roger Warren and Kym Eames all won 2 matches a piece for their 6-4 win over Burnham – none of them could cope with Burnham’s Mr Reliable Dave Bateman who somehow ended up on the losing side despite winning all his singles and the doubles.
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BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
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Week Ending Fri 17 Feb 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Knights of the Ping Pong Table
Back to league action this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League and there were some stand out hat-tricks across the divisions each with their own unique narrative.
In the top Division Cold Norton B squeezed a tight 6-4 win over podium rivals Mapledene A courtesy of 3 wins a piece for Dave Richardson and Ian Wall. However the unexpected hat-trick was the empty net of the team’s talisman Eric Green who lost all his singles matches – a rare occurrence indeed – and this included a tough 5 set loss to the 2013 Men’s Singles Champion John Monk in the final encounter of the evening that made for a frustrating journey home. Cold Norton kept up their top 3 finishing chances with a convincing 9-1 destruction of Stow Maries A. Comfortable hat-tricks for Kevin Read and Matt Stringer, with third wheel Charles Sweeny succumbing to the effervescent Sam Phillips in the very final match to save the ignominy of a total whitewash. Woodham A enlisted the services of their B team star Sanjay Saptarshi for their match with Maldon A – and what a great loan signing he proved to be, winning all his matches to lead the A-Team to a 7-3 victory. Dan Piglet, captain of the A-Team, was quoted as saying that he “loves it when a plan comes together”! Piglet and Alan Burgess provided the additional points with a couple of wins each. Cold Norton C travelled to the Mapledene Arena for their match-up with Mapledene B and can only have been shocked at the quality put out by the home side. Mapledene fielded a trio of Kieran Skeggs (3 wins), Colin Chatfield (2 wins), and Simon Jacob (3 wins) and it is no surprise they turned over the Cold Norton side with an 8-2 scoreline. Cold Norton’s Kim Shead managed to beat Chatfield with a last gasp 12-10 victory in the deciding set to at least give Mapledene something to think about.
In the two horse race that is Division 2 Maldon B kept up the pressure on bookies favourite Mapledene C with a thumping 10-0 victory over the hapless Stow Maries C who felt they had been robbed. Decent hat-tricks for all the Maldon trio of Brian Riedling, Colin Napper and Dawn Baldry – with the only close game being Baldry’s 5 setter against the lovable Dave Goody. Blackwater A enlisted the help of Dusty Bin for their win over a strong Stow Maries B side – the old 3-2-1 set of victories was enough to secure the match with the doubles as an added bonus. The match was notable for the hat-trick of wins for Merv ‘the Swerv’ Perriman who delivered a masterclass of pimple tactics and performance against 3 players who are well used to playing against the dark side of table tennis. For Stow, Richard Whiteside took two good 5 setter wins including the notable scalp of Neil Freeman. Maldon C recorded a very creditable 9-1 triumph over St Lawrence A – Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell both scored expected hat-tricks, and Garry Eames chipped in with 2 wins only losing out to the talented Steve King. Woodham C may well have usurped the resurgence of Cold Norton D as they cam away from this encounter with a solid and unexpected 8-2 win. Wunderkind Joerg Poeschus was the star for Woodham as he won all his singles matches, each in 4 sets, and he was ably backed up by Skipper Alan Dadswell and new kid on the block David Meah both with 2 wins. For Cold Norton only the wily old blocker Gordon Gatheral was able to dent the Woodham scoreline as beat both Dadswell and Meah undoubtedly forcing them into shots they didn’t want to take and bamboozling them with his anti-spin rubbers.
They story of the week in Division 3 has to be the incredible hat-trick from Stow D’s John Knights and the manner in which it was taken. Knights has recently taken on the pressure of captaincy of the league leaders and he believed his team was all sorted for the clash with Blackwater E – but as captain’s know things can always go awry and so Knights found himself a player down to illness on the day, a complete no-show, and a replacement that was going to be 45 mins late for the start. So with the good grace of the opposition (already 3-0 up of course) they agreed to allow Knights to play his 3 singles on the bounce and lo and behold he won all 3 to notch his first hat-trick in over 5 years. Knights’ sidekick Tim Huxtable duly arrived as advertised and then he had the pleasure of having to play all his singles in a row and he somehow emulated the feats of his new capitano to give the 2-man (1 man and a Knight) team an unassailable lead going into the doubles. Well Knights and Huxtable survived their cramps and aching bodies to secure the extra point for the overall incredible 7-3 victory. Two of the most in form players in the Division met this week in the Maldon derby, an event second only to the Mud Race in the sporting calendar of this famous old town. Experience so often the slayer of youth failed to materialise this week as the young and talented Harrison Hill of the Maldon E team came away with all the spoils – a hat-trick for himself and a 7-3 team victory that defied the alphabetical logic as the E team defeated the D team. For Maldon D Marty Englander was able to win his other 2 matches that keeps his averages around the 75% win rate, just a per cent or two below Hill’s. Later in the week, Blackwater C continued their solid season with a resounding 8-2 triumph over a Hill-less Maldon E. Deb Ginn posted another hat-trick with both Kath Little and Phil West winning a brace of victories each for the points. Maldon’s John Leavett proved their stumbling block as he was able to find a way to beat them both. Maldon E fared better in their second outing as they reverted to winning ways with a comprehensive 8-2 winning margin over Burnham A. Maldon’s Marty Englander was again in great form with an unbeaten night. Although the final game was a showdown with Burnham’s biggest threat Dave Bateman, himself unbeaten so far that evening – in the gunfight at the Maldon Corral at 10-10 in the fifth set of the final match things could have gone either way, and after a few edgy shots that brought us to 12-12 Englander found that extra bullet and pinged his way to victory 14-12, Yeeha. Woodham D continued their fine run of results with a solid 8-2 win over Blackwater D. Valerie Board was on her best behaviour and best form to record her second hat-trick of the calendar year and this was the springboard as her team-mates, Joe Cooke and Diane King, also found the form to win 2 of their 3 singles each, both coming unstuck against Blackwater’s tricky serving David Sage.
Week Ending Fri 10 Feb 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Handicap Cup Week - Round of 16
It was the Handicap Cup this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Teams compete across all divisions with handicaps depending on the ratings and quality of each player - this hopefully evens up the playing table.
In the battle with the largest handicap differentials top division 1 side Cold Norton A couldn’t bridge the extensive gap and succumbed with not so much as a whimper to a solid St Lawrence B trio from the depths of Division 3. Jackie Treacy (+10) won all 3 of her matches including straight sets victories over top players Charles Sweeny (-18), and Sam Lowman (-17). Blackwater C, also from Division 3, remain the bookies favourites with a steady team and a generous helping of handicaps. In this round of 16 they dispatched Division 1 Cold Norton C 5-2 with a good team performance. Phil West (+10) triumphed in the final match as he defeated the tricky Dick Wyman (-10) to secure the overall victory.
In an all Division 3 clash Stow Maries D edged through to the quarter-finals with a last gasp doubles victory for John Knights (+5) and Graham Naggs (+5) over their Blackwater D opponents to secure an overall 5-4 win. Before the final encounter the win had been set up by two singles win a piece for both Knights and the ever improving Naggs (+5). Despite playing extremely well the resurgent Cold Norton D were unable to budge their fellow Division 2 competitors Mapledene C. The Mapledene side came through 5-2largely courtesy of Lin Roff (-7) who successfully defeated Terry Hyland (-2) and then Dave Hancox (-3), although that took all 3 sets to finish! In a mixed night of fortunes for the Mapledene club their B side were eliminated by a sprightly Stow Maries A trio. The final score of 5-2 was finished off by Stow’s player of the match Sam Phillips (-9) as he steamed passed the tricky Tony Jacks (-8) in straight sets.
Woodham B may be struggling for league form but the cup format seems to suit them. For this round they had fill-in Dan Piglet (-12) to thank for their 5-2 win over Mapledene A. A nice reversal of the recent league trouncing. Piglet won all 4 of his matches including singles victories over Steve Muth (-13) and Paul Brown (-11). Not as much luck across the barriers at Champions Manor Hall for Woodham C as they succumbed 5-1 to a strong Cold Norton B who had large handicaps to contend with. Dave Richardson (-14) finished off the nights play with a comprehensive straight sets demolition of the nattily dressed Chris Crooks (0). Cold Norton B are the Division 1 team to watch in this Cup as they are possibly the most disciplined team left in the draw.
The draw for the quarter-finals will take place shortly and the matches will take place the week of 13th March.
Week Ending Fri 3 Feb 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
This week saw some very competitive games in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Runaway leaders Fambridge triumphed in their battle with Cold Norton A – both teams were fully loaded with their star players, and the match took 4 ½ hours to complete, and Fambridge sneakily won all 4 of the matches that went all the way to a deciding set! That’s Championship form for sure. Paul Sayer was a last minute replacement for the injured Fambridge captain John Poysden, and he may have ousted Poysden as he won all of his singles and then paired up with the reliable Mark Stones for the bonus doubles point. Duncan Taylor was the most successful of the Cold Norton trio as he beat both Stones and Keith Adams. Lots of markers being put down in this one for the upcoming Burnham Tournament. Cold Norton B were surprisingly held to a draw by Woodham A, well that is until you see the team Woodham A were able to put out this week. Captain Dan Piglet was accompanied by Lee McHugh and new signing Jordan Alan. Alan excelled in his first Burnham outing beating both Dave Richardson and Eric Green as well as doubling up with McHugh for the doubles win. Cold Norton’s Dave Richardson earned the player of the match moniker with 2 good singles wins of his own including a 5 set victory over the impressive McHugh. In the Mapledene derby it was team work for the A team hat overcame the B team in their 6-4 win. Two wins a-piece for the A team’s trio of David Jacob, Steve Muth and Babul Mcleod but none of them could stop David’s brother Simon Jacob who notched a hat-trick in the singles including a 4 set sibling victory for family bragging rights. At the bottom of the table Woodham B are still fighting for their first win, and they got off to a great start in their contest with Cold Norton C this week, as Eamonn Hall and Sanjay Saptarshi won the opening encounters for a 2-0 headstart. Would this be the night? In the third match Cold Norton’s Tim Cramphorn got off to a flying start for a 2-0 lead but Woodham’s David Penrose fought back to 2-2 and was looking odds-on for the victory, but at 10-10 in the fifth Cramphorn hit a decisive winner and finished off 12-10 to break the Woodham run. 3-3 at the break and then in a tense doubles 5 setter the Woodham duo of Saptarshi and Penrose had match point at 10-9 to take the overall lead. But alas it was not to be and Cramphorn and Dick Wyman came through 13-11. The only other points for Woodham fell to Saptarshi who completed his straight sets hat-trick, but the unluckiest player of the week must surely be Woodham’s Penrose as he competed in the maximum 20 individual matches across singles and doubles and all he had to show was a bucket of sweat and a single match point! In fact across the match there were a total of 5 matches that went to a deciding set and Cold Norton won them all – and that’s the difference.
In Division 2 Mapledene C continue to rack up the wins and the points that make them clear favourites for the crown. This week they travelled to Blackwater B and came away with a decent 7-3 victory. Andy Seaman was the clear star of the night, unbeaten in singles and pairing with Bill Smith for the doubles. Sue Body scored 2 wins for Mapledene and the ever improving Andrea Alleyne matched that tally as she was the best of the Blackwater team on the night. Stow B had a surprising defeat at the hands of a resurgent Cold Norton D trio. The match was tight and long with 2 wins each for Cold Norton’s player-of-the-match Dave Hancox and Peter Lucraft, which was mirrored by Stow’s Peter Hance and Nicky Reece-Ford. For Cold Norton Terry Hyland took a crucial win, and also combined with Lucraft for the doubles victory for the overall 6-4 victory. A defeat that may well have seen off Stow’s chances for a podium finish. Woodham C had a commanding 9-1 victory over St Lawrence A with hat-tricks for David Meah and Alan Dadswell, with just the single win for St Lawrence as Robert Salvage edged passed the returning Pete Mortensen – I’m sure there is a pun in there somewhere! Maldon C were back in the black for their first win of the calendar year as they beat Stow Maries C 7-3. The hard-working Steve Aspland recorded a fantastic straight sets hat-trick and added the doubles point with a little help from regular partner Colin Barrell. Barrell took a brace of singles for himself and third player Garry Eames bagged a welcome singles victory over Mick Robinson. For Stow the lovable Dave Goody had 2 good wins, with a notable 4 set victory over Barrell.
The race for the Division 3 title is tightening up as we enter the last few furlongs. With leaders Stow Maries D having a rest week the two chasing Blackwater sides made the most of their opportunities to close the gap and pile on some pressure on the Stow Boys. Blackwater C were in defiant mood as they trounced Burnham 9-1. Phil West was in devastating form as he repeated his hat-trick from the reverse fixture and picked up his first player-of-the-match award of this season. West was ably supported by Deb Ginn with 3 wins and Kath Little with 2. Burnham’s Terry Frost put up good resistance all evening and got his reward with a whitewash avoiding win over Little. That win closes the gap to just 6 points with just 4 games to play. Blackwater D came up against Maldon D’s brick wall that is Marty Englander. There was no way round Englander but the Blackwater trio of David Benstead, Peter Davenport and Chris Rolison won all the remaining matches for a solid 7-3 victory that keep them in the hunt. In the final match of the week Maldon E succumbed to the overall strength of St Lawrence B despite benefitting from the services of regular hat-trick scorer John Leavett. Leavett did indeed record another hat-trick but it was the determination of the St Lawrence crew that won through, especially after the break where the match score was 3-3. St Lawrence won the doubles in 5 sets and followed that up with two hard fought singles wins in 9 sets for David Siggins and Roy Hutchins to take an unassailable 6-3 lead. The final encounter saw the two unbeaten players, Leavett and Jackie Treacy come head to head – with Leavett winning in straight sets to end the match at 6-4 for St Lawrence.
Week Ending Fri 27 Jan 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Lots of hard fought matches this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. None more so than in the top of the table clash in Division 3 between leaders Stow Maries D and the chasing Woodham D. Half of the matches went to 5 sets and if I tell you that were all won by Stow that probably gives away the overall result. Stow’s Steve Martin and Tim Pulham both recorded hat-tricks on the night in their 8-2 triumph, although Martin required the full 15 matches to achieve this goal. Martin was 10-6 down in the 4th set to Woodham’s ever improving Joe Cooke and someone recovered those 4 match points and then some more to level 16-14 before clinching the match in the 5th. Poor Cooke had an animated evening as he also had a confident start against Pulham, pulling ahead 2-0 before the bandana worked its magic and Pulham rather cruelly took the next 3 sets to crush the dreams of young Cooke. This result has provided a decent cushion for the Stow team at the top of the league ladder. Blackwater D and C both leapfrogged Woodham D with large wins of their own. The Blackwater D trio of Norman Hayes, Dave Benstead and Chris Rolison recorded an impeccable 10-0 victory over Burnham A, whilst Blackwater C ran out 8-2 winners against St Lawrence B with another hat-trick for Rolison. Blackwater’s Peter Davenport was also unbeaten only dropping a single set all evening, and Kath Little chipped in with two solid points of her own. Maldon E had John Leavett to thank for their 5-5 draw with Blackwater E as he won all his singles and partnered up with Brian Dixon for the doubles. For Blackwater the defensive Ron Tam and Peter Hughes both won 2 out of their 3 singles only losing out to the unplayable Leavett.
In Division 1 the Fambridge Express has turned into a bullet train as they recorded their fifth whitewash of the season. This week’s unwitting victims were a fully loaded Maldon A. Maldon’s Steve Whiteley got the closest to any of the Fambridge Galacticos as he took Gurj Bhambra to 5 sets having cheekily taken a 2-1 lead! Bhambra and his team-mates, John Poysden and Keith Adams all racked up hat-tricks, and for Poysden a personal milestone as he hit his tenth unbeaten evening of the season. Cold Norton C took a well earned 8-2 victory over Stow Maries A including winning 4 of the 5 matches that went to 5 sets. Arron Chandler blasted his way to 3 wins and the player of the match award, and he was well supported by Dick Wyman and Kim Shead who both notched 2 wins, with Shead just losing out 14-16 in the fifth set to Gary Brignall. Shead had come from behind in both his other matches to win in 5 so it seemed only fair to let Stow win one of them! Not a great week for the Woodham teams as they both lost out to Mapledene. Woodham A succumbed 6-4 to Mapledene B who had Keith Willett in tremendous form. Willett only dropped a solitary set all evening for an awesome hat-trick. It was also a magical night for Mapledene Captain Anthon Ranjit-Singh who finally recorded a win for the B Team after 30 matches this season. Woodham B hosted Mapledene A and were blasted 9-1 for their troubles. There were a couple of exceptional encounters though that top and tailed this match. The opening foray saw Woodham’s Sanjay Saptarshi take on former Singles champion Reece Seddon. Seddon played the role of the irresistible force with smash after smash after smash, whilst Saptarshi took on the guise of the immoveable object as he blocked everything that came his way no matter what the speed or angle. 45 minutes of electrifying ping pong came down to a fifth and final set with both players perspiring and panting. Seddon was the more controlled in this final set and eventually won out 11-8. Going into the final match of the night Mapledene’s Steve Muth was clearly up for it as he set out to avenge a previous defeat from Saptarshi. Right from the off Muth’s determination and concentration were evident as he cajoled as much concentration and skill as he could out of himself. Muth took a quick 2-0 lead but Saptarshi fought back and took the 3rd set – how would this play on Muth’s confidence? The 4th set was cagey with both players looking a bit nervous and mistakes were happening – at 10-10 the crowd were hoping for a 5th set decider but Muth was having none of it and wrapped things up 12-10 to take his hat-trick and the deserved man-of-the-match champagne.
There was also a top of the table clash in Division 2 this week as Mapledene C avenged their only defeat of the season with a close 6-4 win over Maldon B. No player went home empty-handed as the wins were shared around evenly. For Mapledene C David Jacob and Tony Jacks had two wins a piece and this was matched by Maldon’s Colin Napper. Cold Norton D and Blackwater A played out a marathon 5-5 draw with 6 matches going all the way to 5 sets. Luckily breakfast was being served at Latchingdon Manor just as the final game concluded. Cold Norton’s Peter Lucraft was the only Hat-trick merchant but rather selfishly he did take all 15 sets to achieve this. For Blackwater, dodgy bat peddlers Alan Scammell and Big Merv Perriman both won 2 singles each to keep their team in the mix. Woodham C laid down an unexpected high scoring win over Stow C. Woodham were very comfortable 9-1 victors with both Joerg Poeschus and David Meah unbeaten in both singles and doubles. Captain Alan Dadswell just missed out as he was defeated by Stow’s Peter Chastin for Stow’s sole and lonely point. The final encounter was a mis-match in quality as St Lawrence A were again defeated 10-0. This time the slayers were the very strong Stow Maries B trio of Nicky Reece-Ford, Peter Hance and Dave Marsh. Marsh needed all his staying power for his hat-trick as he went to 5 sets with Steve King and Jason Bush, and 4 sets with Karen Braney. The King v Marsh duel was a proper roller-coaster (5-11, 14-12, 4-11, 20-18, 10-12) and both players had match points but it was the experienced Marsh that came through by the skin of his teeth.
Week Ending Fri 20 Jan 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Green with Envy
The two top clubs in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League met this week for what was expected to be a fiery encounter. Both teams put up their top players and the battle commenced. The final score of 7-3 in Fambridge’s favour does not really provide the full story of the nights events. With only 2 matches being settled in straight sets and 10 individual games going to deuce (10-10), the match couldn’t have been much tighter. For Fambridge, their Supreme Leader was at it again as John Poysden racked up yet another hat-trick of wins. However the real story was with Cold Norton B’s Eric Green, fresh from his recent double hat-trick, who played the maximum 15 singles matches in his 3 encounters and was really unlucky not to come away with more than just a single victory. Green lost out to Mark Stones 11-7 in his first deciding set having led 2-1, and then somehow held on to beat recent Chelmsford Singles Champion Keith Adams with the last 3 sets scoring 13-11, 12-14, 16-14! Then in his final match he quickly trailed 2-0 to Poysden before adjusting his mindset and levelled up at 2-2, but then lost out 11-7 in the deciding set – well he certainly got his money worth that evening. Mapledene A have started to close the gap on the top 3 teams and this week’s destruction of the Stow Maries A team has helped their cause no end. Mapledene’s trio of John Monk, Babul McLeod and Reece Seddon all went unbeaten in the 10-0 whitewash. Down in South Woodham this week the local law enforcement were on full alert for the all Woodham clash. Another close encounter with the A team just pipping the B team 6-4, although as often has been the case this season Woodham B had the man of the match in the guise of the sensational Sanjay Saptarshi – another straight sets hat-trick to add to the list. The closest match of the night saw the A team’s Alan Burgess recover from 2 match points down in set 4 against Gary Copsey to eventually win out in the 5th set decider – ultimately the point that won the match and bragging rights for the A team. Earlier in the week Cold Norton A and Maldon A had played out an honourable draw. Maldon’s top player Jon Stokes returned to action and his trusty left handed tactics did not let him down as he powered his way to 3 singles wins and paired up with Lloyd Bennett-Smith for a 5 set doubles victory – not a bad way to return after injury.
In Division 2 Mapledene C extended their lead at the top with a strong performance against Maldon C. Mapledene’s Barrie Delf and David Jacob both went unbeaten in both doubles and singles, although Jacob went to deuce in the final set against both Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell before closing out the matches. Maldon’s Barrell had a long evening as he played the maximum no of individual matches possible losing out to both Delf and Jacob having been ahead 2-1 in both matches. He did however manage to hold out against Bill Smith for a 5 set victory as a reward for all his efforts. A 2-man Maldon B won all their matches for a 7-3 victory over Blackwater B – a full set of victories for both Colin Napper and super lefty Ciaran Whelan. St Lawrence A are having a tough season having been promoted and succumbed to another 10-0 defeat, this time at the paddles of Blackwater A. For the Blackwater team Nicky Duce won all his matches in straight sets for the player of the match award, and he was very ably supported by Denis Balic and Roger Slade.
A shock defeat for Division 3 leaders Stow Maries D hasn’t really dented their commanding lead in the table. Stow fell 4-6 to a sprightly Maldon D side who had 11 year old Harrison Hill in their ranks. However despite his young years Hill was not there to make up the numbers, anything but, as he took on and defeated allcomers for a deserved hat-trick including coming back from the 0-2 against the Bandana’d Tim Pulham. Blackwater C prevailed against their own E team despite the resistance from the larger than life Peter Davenport. Davenport won 2 of his singles for the E team and again paired up with Jo Hart for another doubles victory. For the C team Deb Ginn starred with 3 wins, including a 5 set victory over Davenport, and was well supported by her usual compatriots Kath Little and Phil West who both won 2 singles to complete the 7-3 victory. Honours were even in the bottom of the table clash as both St Lawrence B and Burnham were grateful for a few points. No player won all their matches as the points were spread around. For Burnham Dave Bateman and Terry Frost both won twice, as did St Lawrence’s David Siggins and the returning Lotte Mills.
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Week Ending Fri 13 Jan 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
With Maldon B having a rest week Mapledene C jumped at their chance to extend their lead in the 2nd Division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Mapledene dispatched a strong Woodham C team 7-3 with top players Andy Seaman and Richard Gill combining for an unbeaten evening and all 7 points – although they didn’t have it all their own way as Seaman was looking dead and buried in the final match of the evening against League Supremo Alan Dadswell but had a word with himself and took the final 2 legs to complete his hat-trick and leaving Dadswell contemplating what might have been. Blackwater B and Maldon C played out a 5-5 draw with Blackwater’s David Gatheral proving to be the ace in the pack as he won all his matches to thwart the Maldonites. Blackwater A fared better as they recorded a 7-3 victory over Stow Maries C. The Blackwater trio of Neil Freeman, Alan Scammell and Denis Balic all recorded 2 wins a piece but none of them had the guile or spirit to defeat the defensive maestro that is Peter Chastin who busied himself with his 6th hat-trick of the season to date. The bottom of the table clash turned out very one-sided as Cold Norton D, who have no business being near the bottom, thrashed St Lawrence A 10-0 to open up a significant gap on their rivals. Hat-tricks all round for the Cold Norton team of Dave Hancox, Terry Hyland, and Peter Lucraft – although St Lawrence mustered some form towards the end of the match as the final two encounters went all the way to 5 sets as Big Jason Bush went 2 love up and watched in disbelief as Hyland recovered his form to level things up and then in the final leg it went all the way to deuce before St Lawrence's Bush was burnt to a crisp and Hyland prevailed. Then the St Lawrence captain Steve King took on Hancox and it looked to be going in favour of the King at 1-0 and 10-4 but court jester Hancox somehow retrieved that deficit with a run of 8 points to even up the score at 1-1. After this the match ebbed and flowed until Jester Hancox secured the 10-0 scoreline in the deciding set of the final match.
Cold Norton B were the undeniable stars in Division 1 this week as they took two well earned 9-1 victories which puts them in pole position for the runner-up slot this season. On the Monday they hosted Maldon A with Eric Green and Dave Richardson unbeaten, and the only blot on their copy book being a defeat for skipper Dan Anderson to the enthusiastic Steve Whiteley. On the Thursday they travelled to bottom placed Woodham B and despite a slightly tougher encounter still won out 9-1, with Green in epic form for another hat-trick. Whilst none of the Woodham players got near to Green some of the other matches were much closer. Joerg Poeschus spoilt Dave Richardson’s perfect week with an 11-9 5th set triumph, and then Anderson was looking down the barrel of defeat as he trailed 6-10 in the decider against Sanjay Saptarshi but rallied stoically and chopped his way back to deuce and eventually a 15-13 win to add another hat-trick to his locker. The Fambridge Express continued along its championship course as they defeated a strong Mapledene B 8-2. Mark Stones was the rock for Fambridge as he won all of his singles, and he was ably supported by wingmen Gurj Bhambra and Bruce Kettle who both pitched in with 2 wins. For Mapledene Simon Jacob was the strongest player with an excellent straight sets win over Kettle, and he took Stones all the way to deuce in the 5th set before losing out to the Rock! Perhaps the most surprising result of the week was Woodham A’s 9-1 turnover of close rival Stow Maries A. Both Mick Rigg and Tony Bonnici won all their singles and combined for the doubles Brucie bonus and Dan Piglet added a further 2 points despite losing out to the tricky Ryan Pitt in a tense 5 setter. That result pushes Woodham A 3 places up the table into a much healthier position.
There were some high scoring encounters in Division 3 as Stow Maries D extended their lead following a 9-1 rollover against title challengers Blackwater D. For Stow both Graham Naggs and Tim Huxtable out-patiented their opponents for a pair of hat-tricks with Steve Martin chipping in with 2 solid wins and just the one loss to the very steady David Smith. Woodham D leapfrogged into second place courtesy of an emphatic 10-0 win over Maldon E. Both Joe Cooke and Mike Burton went all evening without dropping a set, whereas the delightful Val Board had to work a bit harder but still recorded an unblemished evening. Given the singles results you would have expected a straightforward doubles victory but oh no – the Maldon pairing of Kym Eames and Roger Warren had other ideas and took the Burton/Cooke pairing all the way to 11-11 in the fifth before finally giving up the ghost. In their second match of the week Blackwater D welcomed back one of the league’s finest and he did not disappoint. Yes League legend Norman Hayes was in for his first match of the campaign against St Lawrence B – he started off with 2 tricky 5 setters but came through those before capping off his return with a straight sets victory for his hat-trick – the 100% man! Hayes was well supported by team mates Dave Benstead and Chris Rolison who both went unbeaten in the 10-0 victory. Earlier in the week Blackwater E and St Lawrence B fought out a close encounter where every player won at least one match and the victory came down to the all important doubles. Blackwater put up the little and large combination of Jo Hart and Peter Davenport, whilst St Lawrence fielded David Siggins and Roy Hutchins – on paper the St Lawrence duo were perhaps more stable and possibly the favourites, but this did not stop the Hart & Davenport tornado as they rushed to a straight sets victory that essentially sealed the victory 6-4 for Blackwater.
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
Week Ending Fri 6 Jan 2023
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Fambridge continued their assault on the Burnham & District Table Tennis League title with another thumping victory against bottom team Woodham B. Strangely a 9-1 defeat has some good within as Woodham’s erstwhile talisman Sanjay Saptarshi managed his side’s sole victory over Gurj Bhambra, with Fambridge’s other galacticos, John Poysden and Mark Stones, remaining unbeaten all evening. With a similar decisive scoreline Mapledene A reignited their campaign to challenge for the No 2 spot against a beleaguered Cold Norton C trio. In this match it was the in-form Tim Cramphorn who spared the whitewash blushes for Cold Norton with a cracking straight sets victory over Babul McLeod. Mapledene’s Steve Muth and Reece Seddon went home with bulging pockets and maximum points.
Division 2 remains a two horse race with both fillies coming up against tough opposition this week. Leaders Mapledene C travelled to Stow Maries to record a very hard earned 6-4 victory. With six of the matches going to a deciding fifth end it was clearly a battle of epic proportions. Mapledene’s Andy Seaman was awarded the player of the match with 2 wins, and then just losing out on his hat-trick in the final end of the night when he lost out to the best of the Stow players Peter Hance. So with a chance to close the gap Maldon B travelled all the way to Maldon C and came up against the tricky Steve Aspland in fine fettle. Aspland was in no mood for defeat and played his way through all his singles and the doubles with Colin Barrell for 4 solid victories that dented the B team’s hopes of catching the leaders. For the B team both Colin Napper and Denis Crapnell recorded two wins to help secure the draw but both were heard berating the C team starlet on the way home. A 2 man Stow C side somehow held Cold Norton D to a draw. Star player Peter Chastin was in his usual unforgiving form and blasted through the oppo for another hat-trick. Chastin’s wingman was Dave Goody and he was clearly inspired by his partners form as he rushed out with 2 fine straight set victories of his own only then to come up against the tricky and spinney Peter Lucraft. A game of chess ensued as Lucraft switched from attack to defence to eventually outwit the flagging Goody and take his side’s sole singles victory. That and an amazing doubles victory was enough to secure the stalemate. In the final game in the division Blackwater B combined to overpower Woodham C for a 7-3 triumph. Blackwater’s Louis Gunn won all his four matches to provide the back bone for the victory with able support from team-mates Andrea Alleyne and Gary Smith.
The only match in Division 3 was a Maldon derby encounter as the Maldon E trio hosted the Maldon D team. Unsurprisingly it was the man in form who took the plaudits as the D team’s Marty Englander swept all before him for a comprehensive set of singles victories. For the E team both Roger Warren and John Leavett dug deep and were able to record a couple of victories a-piece which all added up to a creditable draw. Rumours of a late night Mud Race to decide the winner are just rumours, there are no actual photographs…..
BDTTL PRESS OFFICE
Week Ending Fri 16 Dec
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
There were some strong performances this week from the leading teams in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Fambridge continued their mission for greatness with a commanding 9-1 victory over a beleaguered Stow Maries A side. Hat-tricks for their top players Mark Stones and John Poysden, with the consolation Stow victory for the tricky Ryan Pitt over the in-form Gurj Bhambra. Cold Norton B regained the runner-up spot with a hard fought 7-3 victory over Mapledene B. It could have been a much higher score if it hadn’t of been for Mapledene’s Keith Willett who played 3 tough matches and came through them all on the winning side to record his 3rd hat-trick on the bounce. Cold Norton C popped up with the surprise score of the week as they thrashed higher placed Woodham A 9-1 to jump up the league standings. Hat-tricks apiece for the little and large pairing of Tim Cramphorn and Chris Buer, with Woodham’s sole point coming from the paddle of Alan Burgess as he beat Arron Chandler in 4 sets. The wooden spoon match between Maldon A and Woodham B ended in a creditable draw, although Woodham were looking odds-on for their first win going in 4-2 at the break, with Maldon Captain Lloyd Bennett-Smith breaking their hearts with a final match victory over Gary Copsey to secure both his hat-trick and the overall draw. This match was noticeable for the debut of Maldon’s 11 year old Harrison Hill in the top division – what a prospect he is! No points on the night but some fine serving and match play saw him being competitive in all his games and he was unlucky not to complete his first victory when he was 7-2 up in the deciding set against Joerg Poeschus. Poeschus dug deep and completed the victory but the cheers were all for the fight put up by young Hill.
Two shocking results in Division 2 have opened up the title race once again. Leaders and the most in-form team across the whole league Maldon B succumbed to Woodham C for their first loss of the season. Woodham C ran out 6-4 winners even though none of the Woodham trio could defeat Maldon’s leftie genius Ciaran Whelan. That is until the all-important doubles confrontation when Woodham’s dynamic duo of Chris Crooks and Joerg Poeschus outwitted Whelan and Colin Napper on the Maldon side of the table. This defeat for the leaders was confounded by a strong 9-1 victory for their nearest rivals Mapledene C which has closed the gap considerably. Mapledene’s opponents were the very awkward but reliable Blackwater A trio – Blackwater’s Denis Balic edged a five set victory over Mick Tappenden for his team’s sole point, and other than that Mapledene were comfortable winners. Hat-tricks and the doubles victory went to Mike Johnston and Tony Jacks. Not a good week for the Blackwater Camp as their B side fell 7-3 to Stow Maries B with Nicky Reece-Ford and Peter Hance both unbeaten during the evening’s entertainment. Stow Maries C also recorded a win this week as they won out 6-4 in a tight encounter with St Lawrence A. Stow’s talisman Peter Chastin was back to winning ways with another hat-trick and was supported with 2 wins by his wingman Dave Goody. The St Lawrence trio of Steve King, Tina Hutchison and Jason Bush have found wins hard to come by since their promotion this year so it was great to see them all win at least one match and kudos to Bush for his first brace of the season as he defeated both Goody and Richard Allen.
Division 3 leaders Stow Maries D extended their lead with a comfortable 7-3 victory over Burnham. The recovering Tim Pulham flexing his bandana and his muscles to register another unbeaten evening. For Burnham Dave Bateman was on good form with 2 victories to his name. Blackwater C were held to a 5-5 draw by a John Leavett inspired Maldon D trio. Leavett was in exceptional form to win all his singles that included a 3 set victory over Phil West that went 21-19 in the final leg – the highest scoring individual game of the season so far. On the nigh Blackwater’s best player was Deb Ginn who managed two singles victories and partnered up with West for a long 5 set victory in the doubles. Blackwater’s D side fared better with a consummate 7-3 undoing of the Maldon E team. Blackwater’s Dave Benstead was the star of the show with a fine hat-trick of wins. In the final match of the week Woodham D saw-off 2 man St Lawrence B in quick time with an 8-2 victory. Woodham’s Mike Burton won all his singles and St Lawrence’s Roy Hutchins powered his way to 2 out of 3 wins to keep the Woodham team on their toes. The most impressive victory saw young Alex Wilson come through a remarkable 5 setter against the experienced David Siggins – Wilson took an early 2-0 lead only for Siggins to peg him back to 2-2 and gain the momentum – so for the inexperienced Wilson to hold his nerve and play his game was most impressive.
Week Ending Fri 2 Dec
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
There were some stand out strong performances this week in the second division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Both top teams recorded 10-0 victories to open up a gap on the rest of the league. Mapledene C were very comfortable winners against bottom-placed St Lawrence A with Andy Seaman taking the match ball home as player-of-the-match with 4 straight set victories. Maldon B however were up against much stronger opposition in the guise of the awkward trio form Blackwater A. In this match only one individual game was settled in straight sets without a deuce match. The 10-0 scoreline certainly does not do justice to the efforts and sweat of the Blackwater team, but this Maldon Team have something about them, and of course having the division’s leading player helps too. Maldon’s taliswoman Dawn Baldry remains on a 100% win rate after 15 matches, and now has another player-of-the-match champagne bottle to add to her burgeoning collection from this year. Blackwater B continued their recent good form with an impressive 7-3 triumph over Cold Norton D. Blackwater’s Andrea Alleyne was in fine fettle with a hat-trick of wins in an unbeaten evening for her, and she was ably supported by wingmen Noah Sage and Colin Barham with two wins each. In the final divisional match the reliable Stow Maries B team ran out 7-3 victors over Maldon C. Teamwork made the dream work for Stow as their trio all won twice, but none of them could find a way passed the ever impressive and hard-working Maldonite Steve Aspland.
In Division 1 this week we had a series of top versus bottom encounters – no Japan like upsets in our league as the top 3 teams all impressed against lower opposition to widen the gap between the halves of the table. Leaders Fambridge were back on song with a 10-0 turnover of Cold Norton C. Paul Sayer was the best player on the night just dropping one set along the way to his hat-trick – although his form wasn’t enough to earn a place in the doubles coupling. That went to John Poysden and Gurj Bhambra who both completed their unbeaten evening’s entertainment. Second placed Cold Norton A racked up a healthy 8-2 win over Woodham A. Hat-tricks for Cold Norton’s top players Sam Lowman and Duncan Taylor, who rather selfishly then paired up for the bonus doubles point – so 7 points between them and only one set dropped along the way. Strong stuff from the hot Nortonians! Not to be outdone Cold Norton B amassed a very impressive 9-1 win over Stow Maries A to kick themselves in the mix. Hat-tricks from Eric Green and Ian Wall did all the damage, with only a single consolation win for Stow’s Gary Brignall.
Having sneaked into top spot last week Division 3 leaders Stow Maries D continued their winning ways with a very tight 6-4 victory over Maldon E. The defensive maestro Tim Huxtable was on tip top form with a hat-trick of wins and was ably supported by the Knights of Stow, as senior Knight (Martin) won twice and junior Knight (John) cut down one of his opponents to round off the victory. In the other match Maldon E fared better than their D team as they were comfortable winners over Blackwater E. For Maldon E both Marty Englander and Roger Warren were unbeaten all night to lead the way in their team’s 9-1 win.
Week Ending Fri 25 Nov
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report - Captain Sam takes no Prisoners!
Despite his tender years, young Sam Lowman was elected Captain for the night for his Cold Norton A side and delivered an exceptional and barely blemished performance in his side’s 8-2 demolition of lowly Woodham B this week in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Lowman won all his matches in straight sets with only Eamonn Hall bothering him in any way as he cheekily took Lowman to deuce in the second set to at least give him a temporary scare. Lowman was ably backed by Charles Sweeny who also recorded his own hat-trick but in each match he started off a bit slow before winning twice in a fifth set decider. Whilst Cold Norton A’s victory was expected Mapledene A scored the biggest upset of the week as they held Champions-elect Fambridge to a very creditable 5-5 draw. Without a single match being settled in straight sets this was a hard long slog for both squads. For Fambridge both Keith Adams and Mark Stones won twice but it was the performance of Mapledene’s 2013 Singles Champion John Monk that stood out as he took the scalps of both Gurj Bhambra and Keith Adams, and then buddied up with Steve Muth for the all-important doubles victory. In the mid-table battles there were good 7-3 wins for both Cold Norton C and Mapledene B. Cold Norton C were inspired by the much improved Tim Cramphorn as they overturned Maldon A. Cramphorn registered an unbeaten night of singles and doubles play to mark up his first Division 1 hat-trick of the season. For Mapledene B Paul Brown and Keith Willett combined for all their points as they beat Stow Maries A and climbed up a few places in the league table.
In Division 2 Maldon B took their chance to go top with some aplomb as they trounced a strong Cold Norton D side 10-0. As is oft the case the score doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of the match as most of the games were tense and long but the determined Maldon B trio of Brian Riedling, Colin Napper and Ciaran Whelan found a way to win every single match. Title challengers Mapledene C had a week off this week and they will need to be back on their game when they return if they want to halt the Maldon juggernaut. Recent big-hitters Maldon C were pegged back this week as they were held to a 5-5 draw by the wily Blackwater A side. Every player won at least 1 game, but no single player was able to dominate proceedings. For Maldon there were braces for regulars Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell, whilst for Blackwater Big Merv Perriman scored 2 wins of his own. Stow Maries B were able to defeat Woodham C 6-4 largely due to a hat-trick from the hard-hitting Nicky Reece-Ford. For Woodham both Adi Kamma and Joerg Poeschus managed two wins but this wasn’t enough to avoid the loss. Blackwater B registered their first win of the season against the struggling St Lawrence A. Hat-tricks from Andrea Alleyne and Noah Sage were the highlights of the evening, with St Lawrence’s Steve King saving the whitewash with his team’s single point of the night. St Lawrence’s Jason Bush had a busy evening of it as he took all of his matches to a deciding fifth set but was unable to get across the line in any to impact the overall score of the match.
The much anticipated top-of-the-table clash in Division 3 turned out to be a bit of a damp squib as a heavily loaded Stow Maries D side were able to brush aside the regular Blackwater C side in a championship defining 10-0 victory. The Stow Maries trio did not drop a single set all evening. This win sees the Stow side leapfrog their vanquished opponents and they are now odds-on for the title with all local bookmakers. Elsewhere in the division, Blackwater D had a comfortable 9-1 win over Blackwater E. Hat-tricks of wins for both David Sage and Chris Rolison of the D team, with the E Team’s Ron Tam saving their blushes with his victory over David Benstead. Woodham D were back on top form as they overcame the challenge of Burnham A with an impressive 8-2 triumph. Woodham’s Mike Burton and Joe Cooke went unbeaten all evening for the majority of the Woodham haul, with young Alex Wilson registering yet another victory to bolster the Woodham victory. David Bateman and Finley Smyth scored a point a-piece for Burnham.
Week Ending Fri 18 Nov
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
No More Mr McChokey
Without any doubt the stand out performance of this week in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League goes to Lee McHugh of Woodham A who destroyed champions-elect Fambridge with an awesome display of skill, grit and determination. He led his team to a 3-7 defeat but that won’t get in the way of the story of a young man who was renowned for just not quite making it over the line, and struggled to shake-off his McChokey moniker. He’s back with a vengeance, back stronger, and is now right up there with the favourites for the Singles Title this year. Stunning performance! For Fambridge, the team rallied as champions do and between the trio of Mark Stones, Bruce Kettle and John Poysden they were able to win all the other matches for a decent points haul that sees their title campaign securely on track. Cold Norton B bounced into second place with a harsh 10-0 destruction of their very own stable-mates Cold Norton C – excellent unbeaten performances all round for Eric Green, Dave Richardson, and Ian Wall. Stow Maries A picked up some very welcome points against the struggling Woodham B side. No player remained unbeaten all night but the Stow team all registered a brace of wins with Ryan Pitt picking up the player of the match award – his spinney serves doing the business against some fresh opponents. For Woodham season debutant Gary Copsey had a good evening winning two singles of his own.
Maldon B are the in-form team in Division 2. Their 10-0 victory over St Lawrence A this week was their 6th win on the bounce, and maintained their 100% record this season. Regulars Colin Napper and Dawn Baldry continued their impressive seasons, and Denis Crapnell ran up his first Div 2 hat-trick of the campaign – more to come no doubt! This win puts Maldon in touching distance of the early pace-setters Mapledene C, and next week they have the chance to overtake the leaders and bookie’s favourites when they Host Cold Norton D. In fact Maldon B will be hoping to emulate their C team who this week took an 8-2 victory from their away trip to Cold Norton D. C team regulars Colin Barrell and Steve Aspland both hitting hat-tricks and Garry Eames chipping in with a win over Roy Gandy for his first point of the season. Blackwater B are still chasing that elusive first win of the season and were unlucky not to register it this week as they were 5-4 up going into the final match against Stow C. Alas it was not to be as Peter Chastin came up with the win for his Stow C side to square off a very competitive encounter. The hard working Louis Gunn was the trump in the pack for Blackwater as he won all his matches including a bruising 5 set encounter with the very inform and lovable Dave Goody. In the final match a fully loaded Blackwater A trio recorded a statement victory over Woodham C. A 9-1 win over a strong Woodham side where the three Blackwater players won all their singles and allowed Woodham the consolation doubles win. Hat-tricks for captain Alan Scammell, Denis Balic, and Nick Duce.
The Knights of Stow D had a good week coming to within 1 point of leaders Blackwater C courtesy of an 8-2 triumph at St Lawrence B. For Stow Tim Huxtable and Rod Maclennan were undefeated in singles and doubles, and John Knights rounded things off with a 4 set victory over David Siggins. Woodham D had a similarly enjoyable evening this week with their own 8-2 home victory over Maldon D. For Woodham Mike Burton and Joe Cooke were themselves unbeaten in singles and doubles, and young Alex Wilson picked up another win to keep his confidence growing. Burnham A had to come from behind in their match with Maldon E to eventually square things up for an honourable draw. Burnham’s David Bateman continued his excellent season with another hat-trick but he needed a couple of good wins from team-mates Terry Frost and Finley Smith to secure that draw. For Maldon E, Roger Warren and Kym Eames both scored two good singles wins and naturally then combined for the bonus doubles point.
Week Ending Fri 11 Nov
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
There were some dominant players this week in the top division of Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Cold Norton A’s Matt Stringer was on tip top form in his side’s 7-3 victory over Stow Maries A. Stringer dominated all his singles matches and then teamed up with doubles partner Rob Harris for a clean sweep of 4 wins on the night. Harris did his bit with an extra 2 singles points including a nail-biting 16-14 deciding set against the unfortunate Ryan Pitt. In the Cold Norton C versus Mapledene B encounter it was a second outing for Kieran Skeggs and he maintained his 100% record as his Mapledene team ran out 7-3 winners on the night. For Cold Norton the loopy Chris Buer proved the most stubborn with good wins of his own over Keith Willett and Paul Brown. Cold Norton B had to work hard to secure their draw with Mapledene A winning the last two singles matches to even the scores at 5-5. Cold Norton’s Kim Shead was the dominant hat-trick hero in this one, but only just! In the match-up with George Reeves Shead came through in 5 sets but in each of his 3 winning legs Reeves had taken him to deuce at 10-10 – so a great one to win but oh so close. The final match of the week was a bit more open with no single player winning all his matches, but no player losing all their matches. Woodham A welcomed back Club legend Lee McHugh for his first league match of the campaign and he competed well against the Maldon A right handers but then struggled against the fierce hitting of the wily and lefty Jon Stokes. Stokes in return won his two matches against the oppo’s right handers, including McHugh, but then came a cropper against fellow lefty Dan Piglet. Woodham’s Mick Rigg also picked up two good wins in a night of contrasting styles and tactics that finished in an honourable draw!
With runaway leaders Mapledene C on gardening leave this week it was a chance for Maldon B to catch up a little and remind the Mapledene crew that this is not a one horse race. Well they certainly did, with a confident 8-2 turnover against the hard-working Stow C side. Maldon’s Dawn Baldry continued her impressive early-season form with another hat-trick of wins to maintain her 100% win record. Her most difficult opponent came in the shape of the defensive minded Peter Chastin. At 2-2 it looked like Chastin had the upper hand but Baldry wasn’t having any of that and came out all guns a-blazing in the deciding set to close out 11-3. By that time Chastin had already seen both his other matches go to 5 sets – he defeated Colin Napper 11-8 in the fifth, and then in the closest and longest match of the evening he just about outwitted, or most likely out-patienced, Ciaran Whelan for an 11-9 5th set triumph. So 2 good wins for Chastin, which was matched by both Napper and Whelan. Maldon’s C team recorded a very impressive 9-1 win over St Lawrence A - hat-tricks for regulars Colin Barrell and Steve Aspland, with Steve King sparing the blushes for his St Lawrence team with a win over the rejuvenated Bryan Speller. A covid hit Woodham C could only field a 2 man team but still avoided defeat against a fully loaded Cold Norton D trio. Woodham’s Joerg Poeschus and Adi Kamma both won 2 of their 3 singles and combined for the key doubles point to secure the draw. The whirlwind that is Nicky Reece-Ford was the star attraction in the final match of the week as his Stow B outfit grafted a 6-4 win over the tricky Blackwater A side. Reece-Ford won all his singles, but needed 14 sets to secure these wins. Tony Forster proved a good wing-man as he won 2 of his matches to boost the team’s total. For Blackwater David Gatheral provided the most resistance as he won 2 of his matches to keep the match in the balance.
In Division 3 the leaders Blackwater C were held to a 5-5 draw against Maldon E, allowing Stow D to catch up a little in what will be a title battle right until the end. Maldon E had the youthful Harrison Hill to thank as he won all his singles and combined with the less youthful Roger Warren for the doubles. Stow D recorded the biggest win of the week with an 8-2 demolition of Blackwater E where both Graham Naggs and Tim Pulham went unbeaten. Blackwater D had an impressive 6-4 victory over Woodham D despite Woodham having the player of the match in Mike Burton with 3 wins to his name. For Blackwater Dave Benstead and Blaydon Farmer both won 2 matches, but in many ways the best story was the first league victory for young Alex Wilson – hopefully many more to come. Burnham A threw everything they had at 2-player Maldon D but struggled on the night to get passed the excellent play of both Ella Sach and Marty Englander. Englander went home with 2 good wins to his name, and Sach secured her second hat-trick of the fledgling season but had to concentrate right until the end in her scrap with Dave Bateman – 2 sets all, then 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, until finally Sach came up with the goods for a 14-12 final set crescendo.
Week Ending Fri 4 Nov
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report - Clash of The Titans Special
It was the clash of the titans this week in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. The bookies top two took centre stage as they battled to remain the only unbeaten side in the top tier of local ping pong. Cold Norton A didn’t help themselves by losing a player en route and arriving with just two warriors – however if you must go into battle with the champions then bring your best knights – and this they did in the little and large formation of Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read. The welcoming committee at leaders, and current title holders, Fambridge must have been delighted to see just 2 players arrive but if only they knew what was about to unfold. Messrs Taylor and Read managed to win 4 of the 6 singles and combined (obviously) in the doubles for the extra win to secure an infamous draw against the Fambridge trio of John Poysden, Mark Stones and Keith Adams. So honours even on paper – but a nod to the Cold Norton duo for a job well done. Mapledene A jumped up into joint second spot courtesy of a 9-1 demolition of their own B side. For the A Team Reece Seddon and Babul McLeod were unbeaten, with third wheel George Reeves scoring 2 good wins of his own. The Mapledene A-Team ‘ just love it’ when a plan comes together! Despite all these goings on at the top end of the table the star player in the Division for this week surely has to be bottom placed Woodham B’s talisman Sanjay Saptarshi. Despite his team losing twice he won all his games for a double hat-trick – that’s some going. Take a bow old boy! Woodham B lost out 6-4 against Maldon A where the doubles proved crucial as Maldon’s Steve Whiteley and Jon Stokes outwitted the Woodham pairing of Saptarshi and Joerg Poeschus to take the crucial doubles point which gave them the overall win. Stokes and Lloyd Bennet-Smith both won twice for Maldon, although Stokes had to work hard to get passed the defence of Eamonn Hall coming back from 2-1 to win in 5 sets. Later on in the week Woodham B were up against fellow bottom dwellers Cold Norton C and this time they lost 7-3 although the scoreline could have easily gone wider or narrower as half of the individual matches went to a deciding fifth set. Saptarshi scored all his teams points and for Cold Norton C it was a group effort as all three team members combined for the remaining points. Saptarshi had to come from behind against Tim Cramphorn and Arron Chandler to win both in 5 sets, whereas the luckless Eamonn Hall for Woodham B lost out to Dick Wyman 11-9 in the final set, and then 11-8 to Arron Chandler, again in the final set - it’ll come… In the remaining match of the week it was teamwork for the Cold Norton B side that gave them an impressive 7-3 victory over a fully manned Woodham A side. Captain Dan Anderson was Player-of-the-Match with 2 good wins, but he was ably supported by fellow Nortonians Neil ‘The Net’ Want and Dave Richardson who also racked up a brace of wins each. For Woodham A Daniel Piglet was the most effective player with two wins to his name to continue his good season.
In Division 2 Mapledene C maintained their position at the top of the table with a tight 6-4 turnover of Blackwater B. The Blackwater side had David Gatheral to thank for their resistance as he won all 3 of his singles to keep the score respectable. The Stow Maries teams had conflicting adventures this week as the B team outclassed the Cold Norton D side for an 8-2 victory with hat-tricks for both Nicky Reece-Ford and Richard Whiteside. Whilst the Stow C side were put asunder by an all-firing Maldon C team in an unexpected 10-0 whitewash. Hat-tricks for Steve Aspland, Colin Barrell and a delighted Bryan Speller, especially having been down 3 match points in the fifth end against the lovable Dave Goody. In the final Division 2 encounter Woodham C recorded an emphatic 8-2 win over newly promoted St Lawrence A. Woodham’s Adi Kamma was at it again with a fine hat-trick, but it was Robert Salvage for St Lawrence who spared the blushes with two fine wins – I’m sure there is a pun in there somewhere!
In Division 3 Blackwater C continued their unexpected but very welcome domination with an awe-inspiring 10-0 crushing victory over Burnham A. Blackwater’s Deb Ginn was again the player-of-the-match but only on countback from Kath Little as both ladies won all their singles without dropping a set. Phil West also bagged a hat-trick to record his best set of results for the season. St Lawrence B helped themselves to some much needed pointage with a 7-3 win over 2-man Maldon E. All 3 St Lawrenconians recorded 2 wins but it was the wily Roger Warren form the Maldon Camp who bagged the player of the night with 2 wins of his own. Maldon D hosted Blackwater D, and like their E team could only field a 2-man team. However this didn’t stop the Maldonites from posting a solid 6-4 victory coming for a 0-3 starting position. Marty Englander was on fire with 3 hard fought victories against the Blackwater trio, two of which came deep into the fifth set. He was ably supported by his wingman Ross Wheeler who won 2 of his 3 encounters, just losing out to David Benstead in another 5 setter.
We also had two very special representatives at the West Sussex Ladies Tournament this week - congratulations to Kath Little and Ella Sach - no prizes but lots of fun and experience. No wonder their win ratios keep rising!!
Week Ending Fri 28 Oct
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report - Handicap Cup Special
This week saw the opening round of the Handicap Cup in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. The Handicap Cup is a straight knock-out team event across the whole league where players receive a handicap rating based on ability and ranking and this coverts to players receiving a head start or a negative penalty depending on their relative handicap to their opposing player – the aim is to even things up.
Last year’s finalists Blackwater A fell at the first fence this year as they succumbed to their very own Blackwater C team. Early on in the match the A team’s Merv Perriman (-3) managed a 3 set victory over Deb Ginn (+8) to even up the score at 1-1. However that was the end of the good news for the A Team as the C team’s Kath Little (+10) and Phil West (+10) then went unbeaten all evening to secure an 8-1 victory and all of the bragging rights in the Blackwater environs.
In the tightest game of the first round Cold Norton C triumphed 5-3 over the experienced Stow B trio. Whilst other players struggled with the handicaps Cold Norton’s Tim Cramphorn (-10) was the star player winning all 4 of his doubles and singles matches to take his team into a 4-3 lead. In the final singles match it was the top rated player from both teams Neil Want (-11) representing the Cold Nortonians, and Dave Marsh (-6) of the Stow Maries clan – friends normally but foes for the evening. It took a while for Want to relax into his natural game of forehand winners and dodgy nets, but he quickly overcame his handicap in the opening two sets and was able to secure the match and overall win for his team.
Mapledene A were a welcome return to the Handicap Cup and their status as one of the top teams in the whole league meant they were lumbered with high handicaps to overcome. Their opponents were Division 2 Stow C who were looking forward to capitalising on their considerable points advantage. Well, Mapledene won out in a 5-0 whitewash, but that statistic alone does not tell the story as the 5 matches were some of the most eagerly contested encounters where the handicaps proved to be very accurate. A good example was the opening doubles match where Mapledene’s Steve Muth and Paul Brown (-12) took on the experienced doubles partnership of Peter Chastin and mum Jean Chasmer (-2). The Stow pairing took the first leg 21-19, but then lost the second leg 22-20, and of course the final and deciding leg had to go to 20-20 before the skills of the Ist division side came to the fore and they saw out the match for the tightest of victories. That one match probably took over an hour so the two players not involved then had their own marathon as George Reeves (-15) secured a long 3 set victory over Dave Goody (0). These tight games continued but the Stow team could never quite get over the finishing line, and in the second doubles confrontation of the night Mapledene won another tight 3 set match to register 5 wins overall and their passage to the next round.
Woodham B are struggling to adapt to their new life in Division 1 so it came as some relief for them to record and enjoy a comfortable 7-2 Handicap Cup victory over Blackwater B. The Blackwater trio were a real smorgasbord of handicap ratings ranging from Peter Hughes at +12, to Neil Freeman at -10, so every match had its own challenges for the regular Woodham trio. Freeman lost out in both his singles, but each match went to a deciding leg to give the baying crowd something to cheer for. He lost to Trevor Collin on -7 rating (18, -19, 14), and then in the most enthralling match of the night he lost out 21-19 in the final set to Sanjay Saptarshi (-12). For Blackwater it was Hughes who proved the most difficult opponent as he used his generous handicap to full effect as he won both his singles matches pretty comfortably – and he enjoyed his moment in the spotlight.
The next round will take place in early February.
Week Ending Fri 21 Oct
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Storey of the Long Night
Honours were even this week in the Woodham versus Mapledene encounters in the top division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Although Woodham A managed a creditable 6-4 win against Mapledene B courtesy of the in-form Daniel Piglet who scored a second hat-trick on the bounce, it was Mapledene A’s 9-1 demolition of Woodham B that grabbed the headlines. For Mapledene A both Reece Seddon and Simon Jacob were unbeaten and third player Steve Muth managed two wins only losing out to the tricky Sanjay Saptarshi. Fambridge continued their destruction of the lower placed teams with another 10-0 whitewash - this time Maldon A played the role of unfortunate fodder. Cold Norton B maintained their top 4 position with a 7-3 triumph over a busy Mapledene B side - all 3 Cold Nortonians secured 2 wins but none could fluster the colossus that is Kieran Skeggs. Stow A continued their impressive run of victories with a close 6-4 turnover of Cold Norton C. This week it was Club stalwart Richard Storey who dominated proceedings with a 14 set hat-trick. He also partnered Gary Brignall for the doubles 5 setter that went the way of Cold Norton - but certainly a night Storey can be sure he got his money’s worth!
Bad Kamma for Chastin
The big news in Division 2 this week was the first defeat for the 100% man Peter Chastin from Stow C. Although it couldn’t have been closer as Chastin had 4 match points at 10-6 up in the fifth against Woodham C’s Adi Kamma but from the jaws of victory he snatched an unexpected defeat losing 6 points on the bounce for a Kamma 12-10 victory in the deciding set. Despite this loss, Chastin’s Stow C went on to secure a draw courtesy of an unexpected Dave Goody hat-trick including surviving 3 match points to League supremo Alan Dadswell. Brilliant stuff from the lovable Goody. On a night of surprises even the usually sound Stow C doubles was thwarted by Woodham duo of Dadswell and Chris Crooks - cries of bring back ‘mum’ could be heard all the way back to Stow Maries. Stow B fared much better as they mercilessly whitewashed the newly promoted St Lawrence A side to leapfrog up the table – wins all round for the Stow trio of Messrs Marsh, Sheard, and Reece-Ford. Blackwater A scraped a 6-4 victory over Cold Norton D. With the honours very even in the singles it came down to the doubles as Blackwater’s Alan Scammell and Denis Balic outwitted their Cold Nortonian opponents Peter Lucraft and Dave Hancox for a 4 set bonus point. Blackwater’s Balic continued his impressive form this season with a hat-trick performance of straight 3 set wins, with Hancox winning a brace for his Cold Norton team. Maldon B remain the only unbeaten side, and the only 100% winners in Division 2 but had to work hard to overcome League leaders Mapledene C, and in particular their talisman Barrie Delf. Delf won all his matches and looks to be back to his top form, whereas all the Maldonites managed wins to secure 5 points and then Colin Napper and Brian Riedling won the all-important doubles to secure the overall win. These two will surely be fighting it out all season long!
A Knight to forget for Burton
A full round of matches in Division 3 this week saw Blackwater C maintain their position atop of the league ladder, with Stow D and the other Blackwater teams in hot pursuit. An unbeaten Deb Ginn inspired the Blackwater C trio to a fine 7-3 win over St Lawrence B, including partnering skipper Kath Little to the extra doubles win too. Stow C were surprisingly comfortable 8-2 winners over a Woodham D team that included a winless Mike Burton. Graham Naggs and the returning Bandana Pulham both won all their singles and John Knights recorded the win of the week with a 4 set victory over top player Mike Burton. Blackwater D had a busy week with 2 wins to their name. First was a tight 6-4 win over Maldon E where teamwork was the order of the day as none of the Blackwater trio could overcome the strength of Maldon’s John Leavett in the singles, but David Smith and Chris Rolison combined to beat Leavett and Dennis Eraut in the key doubles encounter to confirm the win. In their second match of the week Blackwater D came up against another tough adversary in the form of Burnham’s David Bateman. Bateman scored all 3 of his team’s points as the Blackwater trio of Rolison, Anne Brewer and Peter Hughes won all of the other matches for a 7-3 triumph. Maldon E reversed their loss from earlier in the week when they defeated Blackwater E on Friday night in another tight 6-4 scoreline. This time Roger Warren was their main man as he racked up his first hat-trick of the season and he was ably supported by a brace of wins from Kym Eames.
Week Ending Fri 14 Oct
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
The Galacticos of Fambridge TTC continued their unwavering quest to retain the top crown of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Facing their toughest opponents to date Fambridge still emerged with a 9-1 victory over Cold Norton B, with the only loss being in the doubles bonus match. Just like Erling Haaland these guys have racked up 4 hat-tricks in as many weeks – outstanding performances for John Poysden, Keith Adams and Paul Sayer. The other expected challengers to Fambridge both took hefty dents this week. Cold Norton A just scraped through 6-4 against a resilient Maldon A side but needed star player Duncan Taylor to be on tip top form with an unbeaten evening, whilst for Maldon Jon Stokes and Steve Whiteley both won a brace of singles. Mapledene A suffered an unexpected defeat to the in-form Stow Maries A trio. Stow’s Richard Storey was the local hero as he won all his matches in the 7-3 victory but he was ably supported by the experienced Gary Brignall and the young Sam Phillips. Last season the two top Woodham teams were fighting it out for the champions tag in Division 2, as they met for the first time this year they were both hoping for some points to register their involvement at the highest level. A creditable draw was played out in front of a baying crowd with Daniel Piglet roasting all the B team players for his hat-trick. The A team’s Tony Bonnici chipped in with two wins although his encounter with Eamonn Hall went to the wire any beyond as both players had match points in a fiery 5th set.
In Division 2 Mapledene C stretched their lead with an emphatic 9-1 victory over Maldon C, with hat-tricks for both Barrie Delf and John Monk. Blackwater A welcomed back their skipper Alan Scammell and he immediately inspired them to a 10-0 whitewash over St Lawrence A. Scammell was ably supported by Denis Balic and the wily Mervyn Perriman. Maldon B could only field a 2 player team against Blackwater B but still managed to conjure up a 6-4 victory. For Maldon Colin Napper was unbeaten and Brian Riedling won 2 of his singles, just losing out to Blackwater’s Louis Gunn. At the Stow Maries showdown this week there were upsets a plenty as the C and B teams played out a tight draw. The C team’s in form and previously unbeaten Peter Chastin finally met his match in the hard hitting Nicky Reece-Ford, but he won his other 2 matches. Chastin was joined on 2 wins by his team-mate Ken Sheard, plus Reece-Ford and Peter Hance from the B team. After Hance and Dave Marsh had cruelly crushed the unbeaten run of Mother and Son combo of Chastin and Jean Chasmer in the doubles – the B team were 5-2 to the good. Sheard defeated the previously unbeaten Reece-Ford, Chasmer conjured up a 4 set victory over top player Marsh for the stand-out win of the night, and then Chastin defeated the previously unbeaten Hance – not a bad finishing straight.
The title chase in Division 3 looks likely to be a long battle with several pretenders to the crown. Performance of the week must go to the David Benstead inspired Blackwater C, who showed no mercy to their very own E team in a 8-2 crushing victory. Benstead was supported by Kath Little and Deb Ginn who both won 2 of their singles, but were unable to get passed the tricky play of the E team’s David Sage. Burnham A had David Bateman to thank in their 5-5 draw with St Lawrence B, Bateman notched his first hat-trick of the season, whilst Roy Hutchins and Anne Mills both won twice for St Lawrence. Maldon D ran out 6-4 winners over Stow Maries D despite Stow having player-of-the-match Rod Maclennan. The dapper Maclennan won all his matches for Stow, whereas Maldon relied on teamwork as Tom Elder and Ella Sach both won twice, and Sach and Ross Wheeler combined for the crucial doubles.
Week Ending Fri 7 Oct
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Following the recent spate of good weather the cream is rising to the top of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. Perennial favourites Fambridge finally dropped a point this season, but only the one as Mapledene’s Simon Jacob accomplished what no-one else has achieved this season as he won his singles encounter with Fambridge’s Mark Stones. Fambridge won out 9-1 to take a comfortable lead at the top of the Ist Division but they have tougher encounters on the way. The top two Cold Norton sides both had successful evenings as they try and keep the pressure on Fambridge. Cold Norton B recorded a comfortable 9-1 against Maldon A with Eric Green and Ian Wall unbeaten throughout the evenings entertainment. Cold Norton A were up against their clubmates from the C team and won out 8-2 with hat-tricks for Duncan Taylor and Sam Lowman. Woodham A opened their account for the season with a hard-fought 4-6 defeat to Stow Maries A. Stow Maries stalwart Gary Brignall was the star of the show as he won all his singles in 5 sets and then partnered Stow debutant Sam Phillips for the doubles Brucie bonus.
In Division 2 Mapledene C appear to be the team to beat as they posted the most comprehensive victory of the week beating a good Woodham C side by an 8-2 margin. Andy Seaman and Richard Gill both registering hat-tricks with Alan Dadswell the only singles winner for Woodham with a 14-12 5th set triumph over Bill Smith.
Cold Norton D welcomed back Terry Hyland and he repaid their patience with a handsome hat-trick in his side’s 7-3 win over St Lawrence A. With Hyland back in their ranks and the services of Gordon Gatheral to follow the Cold Norton D side should move up the table and be challenging for those promotion slots come the business end of the season. Stow Marie C lost out 4-6 to a fully loaded Blackwater A side but that didn’t stop player-of-the-year contender Peter Chastin from doing his thing. Chastin won all his singles and continued the trusty doubles partnership with his mum Jean Chasmer for all 4 of the Stow points. Blackwater A relied on teamwork as Messrs Duce, Perriman and Slade all scored a brace of wins for the 6 points. Maldon C notched their first win of the season as they defeated Blackwater B 6-4, although the odds were stacked against the Blackwater team as they were a man down. The Blackwater pairing of Louis Gunn and Colin Barham did extremely well as they both were able to win 2 singles to keep the scoreline respectable.
Division 3 looks like it is going to be tight this season with lots of tight games already. That theme continued this week as there was little to choose between any of the teams. Tim Pulham’s recovery continues at a pace as his hat-trick helped his Stow Maries D team to a draw with Blackwater D. Maldon E were tight 6-4 winners over Woodham D where a Harrison Hill hat-trick made the difference for Maldon, and this included the scalp of Mike Burton. Burton and the lovable Valerie Board both won 2 matches for Woodham. In the final encounter of the week Blackwater E travelled into the depths of the Dengie for their Friday night encounter with St Lawrence B. Despite some strong resistance from St Lawrence’s Jacqui Treacy the Blackwater trio escaped with a 6-4 win courtesy of a long and hard-fought hat-trick for Peter Davenport in his debut appearance, and excellent support from the defensive minded Ron Tam.
Week Ending Fri 30 Sept
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Press Report
Division 2 of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League had a full set of fixtures this week and already the bookies two favourites are making strides. On Wednesday Mapledene C registered a 7-3 victory over a solid Stow Maries B team with Tony Jacks remaining unbeaten all evening, whilst on the Monday they gave newly promoted Blackwater A a lesson in Division 2 finishing skills as they won all 3 of the individual matches that went to 5 sets in a 9-1 romp - Denis Balic sparing Blackwater's blushes with a creditable win over Mapledene stalwart Bill Smith. Even Merv 'the swerve' Perriman couldn't put a further dent into the Mapledene machine. The Blackwater B team fared little better as they were undone by the visiting Woodham C trio. Woodham new signing Adi Kamma threw in a debut hat-trick in an 8-2 win to pile on the agony for the ‘Boys from the Black Water’. In the remaining fixture honours were even as Stow Maries C and Cold Norton D battled out a 5-5 result. Star of the Night, and a potential candidate for the Division 2 player of the year, was Stow’s Pete Chastin with his second hat-trick of the season, whilst for Cold Norton the wily old pairing of Peter Lucraft and Dave Hancox each got a brace of wins. Chastin did have to come back from 3-7 down in the deciding set against Lucraft to maintain his 100% win rate - squeaky bum time!
In the top Division this week fate was cruel to the newly promoted Woodham B side as they welcomed the all-conquering Fambridge for their opening fixture in the top division. The result was probably as expected but at least they made a fight of it with plenty of long games and at least 2 games going to deciding sets. In amongst the competitive play we hear the match was incident full with injuries on both sides and smashed bats to boot – who knew ping pong could be so dangerous! Woodham's Trevor Collin was last seen hanging out of the back of an ambulance on his way to Basildon A&E. So another 10-0 for the Fambridge galacticos – with Gurj Bhambra, John Poysden and Bruce Kettle obviously recording unbeaten hat-tricks. Mapledene A bounced back this week with a very strong 9-1 success over Cold Norton C with Babul Mcleod and George Reeves unbeaten and Arron Chandler providing the only success for Cold Norton with a 5 set victory over Steve Muth. Muth was in action again this week but this time racking up a hat-trick in the Mapledene B 7-3 win over Maldon A. Muth was just pipped to the player-of-the-match award by Simon Jacob who only dropped a single set all evening. Cold Norton A were pegged back a bit this week as they were held to a 5-5 draw by their stablemates Cold Norton B. Kevin Read was on great form to win all his singles and combined with Matt Stringer for the doubles. All of the B team scored points with Ian Wall and Dan Anderson winning two apiece and Neil Want taking the all important win over Steve Maltby.
Blackwater C opened their account in Division 3 with a superb 7-3 away victory against title hopefuls Woodham C. Deb Ginn was Blackwater’s ace in the pack as she blocked and smashed her way to 3 good wins. Ginn was ably supported by youngsters Kath Little and Phil West who each won 2 singles, as they both succumbed to the growing prowess of Woodham’s Joe Cooke. Cooke then combined with 4th player Diane King to take an unexpected bonus doubles point for his team. Little was also involved in the Blackwater C opening fixture as they held Maldon D to a draw. Ella Sach was on fine form for her Maldon team winning all her singles, whereas the Blackwater team had to spread their victories across the squad. In an early encounter in this one Maldon’s Tom Elder fell whilst attempting a sweeping forehand and was hurt quite badly and couldn’t continue but we were delighted to be informed that he was ok the following day - well he was a bit dazed and confused, but everyone agreed this was quite normal! Continuing the Blackwater theme, Blackwater E recorded a fantastic 8-2 away victory over Burnham. Blackwater’s Ron Tam and David Sage won all their matches and the doubles without dropping a single set, and the final point was won by Jo Hart in her match with Derren Bridge. Quite a week for the Blackwater Division 3 teams!
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Week Ending Fri 23 Sept
Burnham & District Table Tennis League Opening Week 2022/23
The Burnham & District Table Tennis League is back in business for its Winter Season. One of the best features of an indoor sport is the fixture list is rarely impacted by the external weather conditions so we should have good sport every week until the season finishes in late April 2023. This season the Burnham League has reverted to its more traditional pre-covid structure of 3 divisions with each team playing every other team home and away across the season.
In our top Division, current champions and bookies odds-on favourites to retain their title this year, Fambridge were quick off their blocks in the opening fixture this week when they defeated Stow A with a hard-fought 10-0 scoreline despite some close encounters during the match including a tense 5 setter where Fambridge Captain John Poysden just about prevailed in his battle with the wily Ryan Pitt. So an unbeaten night for the Fambridge galacticos of Poysden, Mark Stones and Gurj Bhambra. But who will challenge this band of merry men this year we wonder. Local bookmakers suggest that both Cold Norton A and Mapledene A could indeed be valid challengers if they put out consistent strong teams – and this week they did just that when they met at the Mapledene Arena in an early clash of the titans. Mapledene fielded new signings but familiar players in Babul McLeod (a deadline day transfer from Cold Norton, fee undisclosed), and the re-introduction of former Singles Champion Reece Seddon. Despite 2 wins from Seddon this was not enough to upset a stellar Cold Norton A line-up of current singles champion Duncan Taylor, former Singles Champion Kevin Read, and future Singles Champion Sam Lowman who combined to win all the other matches to record a very impressive 8-2 victory. Taylor remained unbeaten all evening although it went all the way to 11-9 in the deciding set against the impressive Seddon.
Division 2 seems to be fairly wide open this term with perhaps Maldon B and Mapledene C as the front runners on paper. Newly promoted St Lawrence A found it tough going against their opening week opponents as they fell to an 8-2 defeat at the hands of Dave Goody’s Stow C team as Mother and son combo Jean Chasmer and Peter Chastin won all their singles and combined for a good doubles win. Chasmer twice clutching victory from the jaws of defeat as she came back from 2 sets down to complete 3-2 victories. For St Lawrence Karen Braney and Tina Hutchinson both recorded hard fought wins over the lovable Goody. Maldon B showed their class with a fine 7-3 win over a tricky Woodham C side with Dawn Baldry notching an early season hat-trick and player of the match award that seemed unlikely at 0-2 down in the final match of the night against Woodham’s Alan Dadswell but Baldry rallied and finally took that match to maintain her unbeaten record. For Woodham David Meah starred with 2 excellent wins over Colin Napper and Denis Crapnell. In the final match of the division Stow B triumphed over Blackwater B 7-3 with Dave Marsh unbeaten for Stow. Perhaps most notable was the form of young Noah Sage as he registered unexpected victories over both Tony Forster and Nicky Reece-Ford both in 5 sets, and in fact his defeat to Marsh was also in 5 sets – one to watch for the season.
In Division 3 it is hard to see beyond Woodham D or Stow D as the champions-elect – however last season proved that you never know what can happen in this division when St Lawrence A surprised everyone and took the title with some awesome play. In the opening week both of the pre-season favourites made emphatic starts with 8-2 victories that sets down the challenge to the rest of the teams. Stow D were victorious over Burnham A with 2 wins a piece for Captain Martin Knights and new signing Graham Naggs, and a hat-trick of wins for the returning Tim Pulham. For Burnham Dave Bateman showed the most resistance with 2 good wins for his team. For Woodham D Mike Burton and Joe Cooke won all their singles and then joined ranks to take the doubles bonus point, with Val Board picking up the final point for the Woodham team.
