Press Report - Issued 8 August 2024
Shead leads Chelmsford A to division one title
Kim Shead won all four of his singles matches to finish the season top of the player averages with ten wins from ten as his Chelmsford A side took the division one title with victories over its closest competitors.
Division 1
Two wins in a week against their closest two competitors was enough for Chelmsford A to clinch the division one title. Kim Shead and Simon Jacobs went undefeated as Chelmsford beat second-placed Danbury A 5-0, the doubles contest was the closest match of the evening with Shead and Jacobs beating Ian Whiteside and Sanjay Saptarshi in the fifth game having seen a 2-0 lead disappear. Shead was joined by Sami Osman as Chelmsford edged the Buttsbury A duo of Evie Knaapen and Jamie Elliott 3-2. Again, Shead won both of his matches with the Chelmsford duo recovering from 2-1 down to win the doubles. Going into that clash, Buttsbury had given themselves a chance of catching Chelmsford at the top with a 5-0 victory over Blackwater thanks to two wins apiece for Wudong Liu and Harrison Hill.
At the other end of the table, South Woodham Ferrers A gave themselves an end of season boost as they overcame fellow strugglers Writtle A 4-1. Woodham’s Graham Briggs won both of his matches while partner Chris Hancox bested Pete Layzell before missing out 3-2 to Writtle’s Trevor Collin.
Division 1 standings: C: Chelmsford A (26 points from 6 matches), 2: Danbury A (18 points from 6 matches), 3: Buttsbury A (18 points from 5 matches).
Division 2
In a tense climax to the season, Danbury B are the division two champions amassing 24 points from their 7 matches which was two points ahead of their closest rivals Chelmsford C. Danbury, Chelmsford, Cold Norton A and OCA A all posted identical records of five wins and two losses from their seven fixtures with fourth placed OCA A a mere four points behind the winners. James Grimston won twice as Chelmsford C beat OCA 3-2 in a fixture which Chelmsford went 3-0 up giving them hope of catching Danbury in the table. OCA hit back with Luke Richardson getting the win over Alesha Ellis-Austin as well as taking victory in the doubles match. Cold Norton clinched a respectable third place with a 4-1 win at OCA B. Dan Anderson finished the season with 11 wins from his 12 singles matches though he had to recover from 2-1 down to beat OCA’s Tom Barker. Kevin Willis won twice as Buttsbury B earned a 4-1 away win at Galleywood A. Willis won both of his matches by a 3-1 scoreline while his teammate Gary Carr beat Nathan Blore 3-2 before falling to Bryn Thomas having led 2-1.
Division 2 standings: C: Danbury B (24 points from 7 matches), 2: Chelmsford C (22 points from 7 matches), 3: Cold Norton A (21 points from 7 matches).
Division 3
With Hutton B confirmed as division 3 winners and Buttsbury C as runners-up, third-place position was on the line in the matchup between Cold Norton B and Buttsbury D. It was Buttsbury D who moved into third thanks to a 3-2 away victory - this was despite two single victories for Norton’s Peter Harverson. Scott Perry won twice as South Woodham B edged Maldon A in a close encounter. Perry came back to beat Marty Englander in four prior to getting the better of Chris Ravehill in three. Ravenhill was the back-to-back player in the Maldon line-up and in the previous match had just recovered from 2-0 down for victory against Alex Wilson. OCA C could still finish third with three or more points against South Woodham B in the outstanding fixture.
Division 3 standings: C: Hutton B (19 points from 6 matches), 2: Buttsbury C (19 points from 6 matches), 3: Buttsbury D (14 points from 6 matches).
Division 4
Division four champions Danbury C slipped to a 4-1 away defeat at Writtle B. Writtle’s Paul Aarons won both his matches - his second required a recovery having seen Ken Wilding fight back from 2-0 down. Teammate Michael Anthony had earlier beaten Wilding over four very close games before falling victim to Danbury’s Graham Naggs in three. Hutton C took runners-up position from Buttsbury F with a 4-1 home win over Chelmsford E thanks to two wins apiece for Charlie Gould and Billy Andrews. Gould recovered from 2-0 behind to beat Peter Davenport with his three winning games being a tense 12-10, 11-9, 14-12.
Division 4 standings: C: Danbury C (26 points from 7 matches), 2: Hutton C (20 points from 7 matches), 3: Buttsbury F (19 points from 7 matches).
Division 5
Chelmsford F took runners-up position in division five thanks to a 5-0 win over Hutton D with two wins apiece for Ben Robinson and Amir Chetitah. Vicente Deco won both matches as Hutton E won 4-1 over Buttsbury H. Deco’s opener against Callum Walker was a close contest which ended 11-5, 12-10, 11-13, 14-12 - Walker later being involved in a second five-game match this time coming back from 0-2 to take the victory against Archie Giles 3-2.
Division 5 standings: C: Buttsbury G (29 points from 6 matches), 2: Chelmsford F (19 points from 6 matches), 3: Hutton D (17 points from 6 matches),
Jeremy Hill, Press Office, Central Essex Summer League
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Press Report - Issued 30 July 2024
First winners crowned while destination of division one and two titles remains undecided
Hutton B, Danbury C and Buttsbury G earned title honours in their respective divisions while the pressure intensifies in divisions 1&2 as the summer league reaches its climax.
Division 1
Ian Whiteside was in fine form as he won all four of his matches in weeks five and six and Danbury A moved to the top of division one with home wins over Buttsbury A and Hutton A. Whiteside got the better of Buttsbury’s Grace Liu and Evie Knaapen in week five with Knaapen earning a fine 3-1 win over Sanjay Saptarshi, week six saw Whiteside overcome Hutton’s Paul Mulley and Jason Yeh in a 3-2 victory for the leaders. Yeh had beaten Tony Forster 3-2 in the opening contest in a see-saw battle which was clinched 13-11 in the fifth.
Chelmsford A’s Simon Jarvis continued his unbeaten run with two more wins in week five - the second of which was from 2-1 down against Writtle A’s Trevor Collin. Collin recovered from 1-0 behind to better Felix Reeve though Reeve scored a good 3-2 win over Dave Moles. Jarvis and Reeve then fought back from 2-0 down in the doubles for Chelmsford’s fourth victory of the contest. Collin put any disappointment behind him by winning both of his matches in week six as he led Writtle to a 3-2 victory over Blackwater. Things didn’t start well for Writtle as Blackwater’s Roger Slade took the opener in five games though Collin then dropped just one game in his matches with Denis Balic and Roger Slade to give Writtle the lead. Balic then levelled the fixture at 2-2 with a dominating display over Pete Layzell prior to Collin and Layzell taking the honours in an entertaining doubles contest for Writtle’s first match victory in their fourth attempt.
South Woodham Ferrers A sit at the bottom of the division despite a tight 3-2 loss against Hutton A in week five. Hutton’s David Thammadi won his two matches - a hard fought 3-2 win over Scott Perry saw the third game go to 23-21 to Perry though Thammadi took games four and five for the victory.
Division 1 standings: 1: Danbury A (18 points from 5 matches), 2: Chelmsford A (18 points from 4 matches), 3: Buttsbury A (11 points from 3 matches).
Division 2
Danbury B and Chelmsford C share the lead in division two with identical records of four wins from six matches and 19 points. The similarity does not end there - both teams won their match in week five but lost in week six. Week five saw Eric Green move to four wins from four matches this season with victories over Luke and Mick Richardson, Green later teamed with Denis Crapnell to win a close doubles encounter which they sealed 12-10 in game five. John Tendler’s two victories were not enough for Danbury in week six as they fell to a 3-2 home defeat to the Galleywood A duo of Will Goodchild and Mark Glenister. Glenister recovered from 2-1 down to beat Crapnell prior to winning the crucial doubles matchup by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline. Rev Matthews and James Grimston were both solid for Chelmsford C as they each won two of their four matches in their fixtures with Buttsbury B and Cold Norton A. Buttsbury’s Harry Sawford won his matches against the Chelmsford pair with Cold Norton’s Dan Anderson doing likewise four days later. Both fixtures were poised at 2-2 before Grimston and Matthews beat Sawford and Gary Carr in week five with Anderson and Ella Sach taking the doubles for Cold Norton three games to one in week six. OCA B won 3-2 on the road to Buttsbury B - this was despite yet another two wins for Harry Sawford.
Division 2 standings: =1: Danbury B (19 points from 6 matches), =1: Chelmsford C (19 points from 6 matches), 3: OCA A (18 points from 6 matches).
Division 3
Hutton B are the division three champions having posted an identical four wins and 19 points to Buttsbury C - Hutton’s 3-2 win over their title contenders in week six being enough for them to lift the trophy. Doubts may have crept in for Hutton in week five as they lost 3-2 at Maldon A as James Raymond of Maldon won both of his matches - his second victory was from 2-1 down against Jason Yeh. Yeh had beaten Maldon’s Marty Englander in the opener to give the leaders the perfect start however the hosts then won the next three matches to take an unassailable lead. Hutton were back to winning ways a week later as they managed to overcome two wins by Buttsbury C’s Gary Carr to take the tie 3-2. Carr stormed back for the win from 2-0 down against both Nick Giles and Charlie Ware - both fifth game deciders were settled by a 12-10 scoreline.
OCA C’s Farooq Ahmed took his record to five wins from six matches with another brace of victories against Maldon A in week six. Ahmed beat Raymond and Englander by identical 3-1 score lines - Englander had given the visitors the perfect start with a 3-2 win over Russell Hall before OCA won the remaining four matches.
Buttsbury D didn’t do their title-chasing clubmates any favours in week five as they scored a 3-2 win over eventual runners-up Buttsbury C - this was despite two wins from the C team's Kevin Willis. Willis fought back to beat Frances Hutt over five games - the decider seeing a scoreline of 16-14. Hutt then turned round a 2-1 deficit to Ray Horton in her second match and teamed with son Oscar to beat Willis and Horton 3-1 in the doubles.
Division 3 standings: C: Hutton B (19 points from 6 matches), 2: Buttsbury C (19 points from 6 matches), 3: Cold Norton B (12 points from 5 matches).
Division 4
Unbeaten Danbury C became division four champions with back to back 4-1 wins in weeks five and six. Greg Cooper won all four of his matches in the clashes with Buttsbury E and Hutton C while partner Paul Thurkettle’s only blemish was at the hands of Buttsbury’s Francesca Hart. Buttsbury F currently sit in second place having played their full complement of matches and have a host of teams who will be looking to take the runners-up spot. Chelmsford E are one of the teams in the hunt and their 3-2 away win over Buttsbury F in week five could prove crucial. Shengbing Zhu fought back from 2-1 down to beat James Hughes to put Chelmsford 2-1 up on the night before Jacqui Smith’s 3-0 win clinched the victory in the next match.
Two individual victories for Arthur Shadforth weren’t enough to prevent his Maldon B falling to a 3-2 away loss at Hutton C. Shadforth won both singles matches by a 3-0 scoreline but Hutton’s Nick Giles and Noah Middleton hit back and won the all-important doubles. Writtle B’s Michael Anthony took his record to six wins from eight singles matches this season with two victories in the clash with Galleywood B while Oscar Hutt won twice in Buttsbury E’s win over Buttsbury F. James Hughes won twice as Buttsbury F won 4-1 at Galleywood B - Galleywood’s sole point came from Ron Salton who beat Chris Hughes despite trailing 2-1.
Division 4 standings: C: Danbury C (25 points from 6 matches), 2: Buttsbury F (19 points from 7 matches), 3: Hutton C (16 points from 6 matches).
Division 5
Buttsbury G clinched the division five title with a 4-1 win in week five against Buttsbury H and a 5-0 win in week six against Chelmsford F. Their quest for a perfect 30 wins from 30 singles/doubles matches was scuppered by Torsten Greenan whose 3-1 victory over Vivaan Babbar was Buttsbury G’s only blemish on an otherwise dominating season. Joshua Freeman won twice again as Vivaan Babbar managed to sneak through a tight encounter with Lewis Woods which went to a decider. Greenan avenged his partners loss with a 3-1 victory over Babbar before champions elect took the doubles over five competitive games. Babbar and Freeman then beat Chelmsford F in week six though three of the five contests went to the full complement games. Babbar and Freeman had to recover from 2-1 down in the doubles against George Gregory and Amir Chetitah after Babbar had been extended to five-game matches against both Chelmsford players.
Hutton D have the second best record in division five and they saw success again in a 4-1 away win at Chelmsford G and 3-2 home win over Buttsbury H. Martis Heyes won both of his matches 3-0 against the Chelmsford duo of Neriyan Tharmathass and George Gregory, while Jago Ware dropped just one game in each of his victories. While not seeing any success in their individual matches the Chelmsford duo of Gregory and Tharmathass recovered from 2-1 down to win the doubles encounter. Ware won both of his singles matches in week six - a 3-1 win over Lewis Woods and 3-0 win over Thomas Lewis.
Hutton E gave themselves some breathing room over bottom-placed Chelmsford H with a 4-1 away victory. Vicente Deco won both individual matches - the second of which was a hard earned 3-2 victory over Sean Kwan having trailed 2-1. Kwan had earlier beaten Jacob Fernandez in straight games before Fernandez beat Bernard Chow in four tight games.
Division 5 standings: C: Buttsbury G (29 points from 6 matches), 2: Hutton D (17 points from 5 matches), 3: Chelmsford F (14 points from 5 matches).
Jeremy Hill, Press Office, Central Essex Summer League
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Press Report - Issued 15 July 2024
A perfect start for Buttsbury G in Division Five
Buttsbury G hold the best record in the Central Essex Summer League with four wins from four fixtures notching up a perfect 20 match wins along the way.
Division 1
Weeks three and four saw the top two in division one - Chelmsford A and Danbury A - win a match each to remain undefeated with three wins from three. Kim Shead and Simon Jarvis did the business in Chelmsford’s 5-0 home win over South Woodham Ferrers A, while Sanjay Saptarshi won both his matches and Eamonn Hall won one as Danbury A beat Writtle A 4-1. It may not be just a two-horse race though as Buttsbury A also remain undefeated with two wins from two - Evie Knaapen and Harry Sawford won two apiece in Buttsburys’s 5-0 win over Hutton A. Buttsbury will face a good test of their title credentials as they travel to Danbury A in week five. Elsewhere, week three saw an entertaining encounter between Hutton A and Blackwater which was won by the Blackwater team of Alan Scammell and Neil Freeman. Scammell won twice - dropping just one game in his matches against Alex Ware and David Thammadi, while both of Freeman’s matches went the distance - a 15-13 loss in the deciding game against Thammadi as well as a loss having been 2-1 up against Ware.
Division 2
OCA A look to be the team to beat in division two as two more wins in weeks three and four continued their unbeaten start to the season. Chelmsford C and Danbury B also won both of their matches as they both post an identical record of three wins from four matches. Week 3 saw OCA A beat Cold Norton A by a close 3-2 in a match which went down to the doubles contest - Mick and Luke Richardson took the deciding game 11-9. Week four was more comfortable on paper for OCA A as they triumphed 4-1 at home against Galleywood A though Mick Richardson edged his encounter with Will Goodchild 11-9 in the fifth as Galleywood earned their sole win of the contest with a 3-2 victory in the doubles. There were two wins apiece for Rev Matthews and Alesha Ellis-Austin as Chelmsford C beat the Galleywood A team of Nathan and Colin Blore 4-1 in week three, while James Grimston won twice in a 3-2 victory over OCA B. Grimston had to dig deep to get the better of Tom Barker having trailed 2-1. John Tendler and Denis Crapnell were in action as Danbury B won 4-1 against Buttsbury B - Tendler won both of his contests while Buttsbury’s Harry Sawford earned a win over Crapnell. Danbury B earned the same 4-1 scoreline in their week four away match at Cold Norton A. Crapnell was joined by Eric Green who won both of his matches 3-0.
Division 3
Hutton B lead the way in division three with three wins from their four matches as Cold Norton B and Buttsbury D lead the chasing pack with two wins each. As seen in division one the Buttsbury team are worth keeping an eye on with a 100% record from their two matches. Jason Yeh and Oladapo Owolabi won two apiece in their five nil away win at OCA C before Yeh was joined by Charlie Ware for their 4-1 win over South Woodham Ferrers B - the only blemish being South Woodham’s win in the doubles. The first of Ware’s two wins was a close 3-2 victory over Scott Perry - 15-13 in the decider. Cold Norton B’s Peter Harveson won all four of his singles matches across week three and four as his team were beaten 3-2 by Buttsbury C before edging OCA C by the same scoreline. Buttsbury D won both of their matches with a 3-2 scoreline - Jenne Seibolt won twice in the week three victory over South Woodham Ferrers B though his winning streak was ended by Chris Ravenhill who got the better of their close encounter 3-1.
Division 4
The two unbeaten teams in division four are separated by three places and four points as Danbury C lead the way with 13 points from their three matches while Buttsbury E have nine from the same number of matches. Buttsbury’s Francesca Hart won both of her matches against Hutton C after losing out to a Doug Blaber come-from-behind 3-2 victory the previous week against Galleywood B. Greg Cooper won twice as Danbury C won 4-1 at home to Chelmsford E though with Peter Davenport back in action the following week Chelmsford E beat Writtle B 3-2. Davenport dropped just one game over his two victories. James Hughes won both of his matches 3-1 as Buttsbury F lost 3-2 on the road at Hutton C while victories were shared among all four players as Maldon B won 3-2 at Writtle B. Matthew Copsey and Arthur Shadforth gave Maldon a 2-0 lead with five-game wins over Michael Anthony and Paul Aarons only for the Writtle duo to win the next two matches before being bettered in the doubles.
Division 5
Buttsbury G sit proudly on top of division five with four perfect 5-0 victories - Joshua Freeman won all of his matches over the two week’s play and he was well supported by 100% records from Lewis Woods and Vivaan Babbar. Chelmsford F beat clubmates Chelmsford G 5-0 thanks to wins for Ben Robinson and Amir Chetitah, while Chelmsford H fell to 5-0 losses to Buttsbury G and Hutton D. Hutton D won their week three fixture by the same 5-0 scoreline as Martis Heyes and Oliver Davies earned the victory over Hutton E. The encounter between Davies and Theo Rugg went to a decider after Rugg had recovered from 2-0 down.
Jeremy Hill, Press Office, Central Essex Summer League
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Press Report issued on 1 July 2024
Chelmsford and Danbury set the early pace in division one
Division 1
Week two saw Chelmsford A and Danbury A post identical 4-1 wins to both remain undefeated at the top of division one. Kim Shead won both of his singles matches by a 3-0 scoreline for the second successive week in Chelmsford’s away win at Blackwater as his partner Adi Kamma’s two singles matches went the distance. Kamma fought back from 2-0 down to beat Simon Quelch before being downed by Roger Slade in the decider. Danbury’s 4-1 win was against the familiar faces of South Woodham A - Sanjay Saptarshi remained undefeated for the season with two 3-1 victories while Woodham’s Daniel Piggott beat Eamonn Hall prior to Hall beating Chris Hancox in a close looking encounter 11-9, 11-9. 9-11, 9-11, 12-10. Hutton A earned their first victory of the season as the father-son duo of Alex and Charlie Ware got the better of Writtle A’s Pete Layzell and Trevor Collin by a 3-2 scoreline. Writtle’s Trevor Collin was undefeated on the night in singles action and after beating the Ware senior 3-1 he was taken the distance by Charlie - only crossing the line 12-10 in the decider. The Hutton team fought back in the all-important doubles match having trailed 2-1.
Division 2
Only two teams remain unbeaten in division two this season - OCA A who lead the way, and Cold Norton A in third place. OCA’s Mick Richardson remains unbeaten this season in singles action as his side won 4-1 on the road at Buttsbury B. Richardson beat both Jeremy Griffin and Harry Sawford in three games and teamed with Luke for a victory by the same score. Buttsbury’s Sawford secured the only win for the hosts on the night with a 3-0 victory over Luke Richardson. There were another two wins for Dan Anderson as Cold Norton A won 3-2 for the second successive week. Anderson was well tested by Galleywood A’s Will Goodchild in the first match which went to the fifth game. Mark Glenister got the better of Ella Sach in four closely contested games before Anderson and Sach came back from 2-0 down to win 12-10 in the decider. Rob Burton won twice as OCA B earned a 3-2 home victory over Danbury B. The closest contest of the evening was Denis Crapnell’s five-game victory over Michael Hayes - Hayes had recovered from 2-0 down only for Crapnell to win the crucial fifth game 3-2. Rev Matthews and James Grimston won two matches apiece as Chelmsford C dropped just one game as they demolished Chelmsford D 5-0.
Division 3
OCA C made their first appearance of the season and cruised to a 5-0 win at Buttsbury D in division 3. Farooq Ahmed earned ‘Player of the Match’ honours by dropping just one game from his two wins while partner Russell Hall lost just one more game from his double. The two OCA players teamed up for an emphatic 3-0 win in the doubles. Buttsbury C were in action for the first time this season and the team of Richard Pond and Joshua Freeman earned a 3-2 home win over Maldon A. Pond won both of his matches but was taken the distance in his match with Chris Ravenhill. Freeman came from 1-0 down to beat Ravenhill 3-1 before the Maldon duo of James Raymond and Ravenhill edged the doubles contest 3-2.
Division 4
Another two wins by Peter Davenport wasn’t quite enough for his Chelmsford F side as they slipped to a 3-2 loss at home to Buttsbury E in division 4. Davenport dropped just one game over his two singles matches while Lucy Elliott and Torsten Greenan scored 3-1 victories over Shengbing Zhu. The Buttsbury duo then took the doubles contest by the same 3-1 scoreline to take the honours for the visitors. Hutton C beat Galleywood B 5-0 thanks to two wins apiece by the returning Nick Giles and debutant Voltaire Salvador. The closest contest of the night was Salvador’s 3-1 win over Doug Blaber which was earned 11-9. 9-11, 11-8, 11-9.
Division 5
There were two home wins for Buttsbury in division five on Friday night as the G team of Vivaan Babbar and Joshua Freeman beat Hutton E 5-0 while the H team of Thomas Lewis and Callum Walker beat Chelmsford G 3-2. Babbar and Freeman lost just one game from their combined five matches, while the other fixture saw Chelmsford’s George Gregory prove to be a tough nut to crack as he beat Walker in three straight games and recovered from 1-0 down to beat Lewis. Lewis and Walker earned Buttsbury’s overall victory with a 3-0 doubles success.
Jeremy Hill, Press Office, Central Essex Summer League
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Press Report issued on 24 June 2024
We’re underway!
The most anticipated sporting event of the summer finally got underway as 37 teams from across the county began their hopeful journeys to glory within one of five divisions.
Division 1
The Buttsbury A team of Evie Knaapen and Jamie Elliott stormed to the top of division 1 with a 5-0 home win over the South Woodham Ferrers A duo of Chris Hancox and Alan Dadswell. Despite the one-sided looking scoreline Hancox and Dadswell both had their moments - Hancox levelling with Elliott before falling 3-1, and then Dadswell taking Elliott to a decider. The fixture between Danbury A and Blackwater was the first division one fixture of the season to be resolved by the outcome of the doubles contest as the hosts Danbury came out 3-2 match winners. Alan Scammell produced a fine but nerve-testing comeback against Eamonn Hall with the last two games won 12-10 by the Blackwater ace, while Sanjay Saptarshi sent out a message to the league that he wasn’t taking the summer off with crushing straight set wins over Scammell and Denis Balic. Balic regained his composure to beat Hall in three games before Hall and Saptarshi earned the aforementioned win in the doubles.
Division 2
The results from the four fixtures in week one of division two suggest it will be one of the more closely contested divisions this season. Galleywood A registered the best win of the week with a 4-1 away victory at Chelmsford D - however this was aided by the hosts only fielding one player. Galleywood’s Will Goodchild beat Chelmsford’s Salih Salim 3–0 after Salim had beaten Nathan Blore. Mick Richardson hit the ground running with two wins as OCA A beat clubmates OCA B by a 3-2 scoreline. The match between Luke Richardson and Michael Hayes was the closest of the evening with Hayes coming through 11-9 in the decider despite losing two games by a 15-13 scoreline. The Richardson’s recovered from a game down to win 3-1 in the doubles contest though games three and four were tight ones. Cold Norton A’s Dan Anderson and Ella Sach edged a 3-2 home win over the Buttsbury B duo of Harry Sawford and Jeremy Griffin. Anderson won both of his matches while Griffin and Sawford bested Sach before the doubles went to the Cold Norton team despite Griffin and Sawford recovering from 2-0 behind. John Tendler started the summer well with two 3-0 wins as Danbury B won 3-2 over Chelmsford C - Alesha Ellis-Austin edged Denis Crapnell in the fifth (11-9) before she joined forces with Rev Matthews to win the doubles 3-1. Earlier, Crapnell beat Matthews 3-1 in their singles match.
Division 3
Marty Englander won twice as Maldon A started the division three season with a 4-1 home win over the Cold Norton B duo of Dick and Oscar Wyman. Englander had to recover from a 2-1 deficit to overcome Dick Wyman while grandson Oscar started well in his losses against both Englander and Chris Ravenhill. Wyman snr bested Ravenhill in three before the hosts won the doubles over the Wymans in four. Hutton B got the better of Buttsbury D 3-2 in a keenly contested fixture - the first three singles matches of the evening were all decided at deuce in the fifth game. Jenne Seibolt edged Charlie Ware 13-11 in game five before Buttsbury teammate Lucy Elliott lost out 12-10 to Oladapo Owolabi in the decider. Owolabi then recovered from 2-1 down to beat Seibolt prior to Ware sealing the win for the hosts with a 3-0 victory over Elliott. Seibolt and Elliott then picked up the final point on offer with a comprehensive doubles triumph.
Division 4
Peter Davenport (Chelmsford E) and Greg Cooper (Danbury C) started the season in top form as they fired their respective teams to 4-1 wins in division four. Davenport won both of his matches 3-0 while teammate Jacqui Smith did well to come back from 2-1 down against Tomas Ratinas for the victory before falling to Ron Salton in three. Davenport and Smith recovered from one down to win three close games in the doubles. Danbury’s Cooper won both of his matches against Buttsbury F by a 3-0 scoreline while James Hughes earned Buttsbury’s only point with a 3-1 win against Ken Wilding - this after Wilding had beaten Chris Hughes by the same score. Wilding and Cooper won the doubles contest despite seeing their opponents recover from 2-0 down to force a decider.
Division 5
Fresh from competing at the U10-U13 National Championships, Joshua Freeman and Vivaan Babbar cruised to a 5-0 away win at Hutton D in division five. All of the singles matches ended 3-0 before Babbar and Freeman had to recover from 2-1 behind to win the doubles. Thomas Lewis won both of his matches 3-0 as Buttsbury H secured the win at Chelmsford H. Lewis’ wins were either side of Zac Berry’s 3-0 win over Archie Spurrier though Berry later lost out in a tight contest with Sean Kwan. Spurrier and Kwan took the doubles point with a 3-0 win. Ben Robinson’s two 3-0 wins were in vain as his Chelmsford F side lost 3-2 at Hutton E. Robinson beat Oliver Davies and Vicente Deco but both Hutton players earned wins over Sai Suresh. Inspired, Davies and Deco earned the win for the hosts in the all-important doubles matchup.
Jeremy Hill, Press Office, Central Essex Summer League
