SDTTL WL 24/25 - 4th REPORT

Division 1 Reports from David Barnes

Week 15 (18)

With neither of the top two teams in action this week, Rawreth Megazone C took the opportunity to move into third place courtesy of a 9 – 0 home thumping of bottom team Hadleigh Forum C. Paul Brown took the POM award, although Garry Hartgrove and Trevor Ward were also unopposed. Credit should go to the Forum team (of David Thomas, Mark Everard and Todd Barker) for their commitment.

Brand Identity B could be being drawn into the bottom end of the table. Their visit to Canvey A saw them on the wrong end of a 7 – 2 scoreline. Canvey’s Ray Wilson again took the POM prize and his team mates Bob Skews and Andrew Murray added two victories each. Jenny Harrison was Brand’s best player, securing both their points.

Having lost his 100% record last week, Wakering’s Callum Turner returned to his undefeated ways with a hat trick on his team’s trip to Hadleigh Forum B. However, Forum were too strong for the rest of the Wakering side, with David Woolmer, Michael Tappenden and Jim Stait each managing two wins. There were some close five setters in this match and Wakering could have picked up at least one more point.

Week 14 (17)

At the Christmas and New Year break, Matchpoint A stand at the top of the Division 1 table. However, their lead over rivals Basildon A is only a slender five points, with Basildon having played one fewer match. At the other end of the table both Hadleigh Forum C and Wakering are a little adrift of their peers.

Harry Sawford was Player of the Match for Matchpoint’s 6 - 3 win over visitors Hadleigh Forum B. Alexander Deacon chipped in with two wins and Daniel Stewart got the other. Veteran Tony Jacks was Forum’s best performer taking two scalps, with David Woolmer collecting one win.

A surprising (and much needed) victory by Wakering away at Canvey A was masterminded by POM Andy Dedman’s hat trick. Paul England was also undefeated and Stewart Mills added one victory, as Wakering romped to a 7 - 2 win. Lee McGonagle and Joanne Hills each won one for the Islanders.

Rawreth Megazone C were too strong for visitors Brand Identity B, coming out 6 - 3 victors. Garry Hartgrove was their main man, being undefeated, a feat matched by his teammate Paul Brown. Brand’s team (of Mick Grout, Jenny Harrison and Dale Gutteridge) each recorded one win.

Hadleigh Forum C entertained Mapledene, but we’re a little too generous hosts. Visiting Dawn Baldry came away with the POM award for an unbeaten display, whist Lin Roff added two, and Charles Yeung one in a 6 - 3 away win. Paul Fawell had two successes and Mark Everard one for the home side.

Week 13

This week Basildon A leapfrogged Matchpoint A at the top of the table by a solitary point, by virtue of a slightly better result. Les Hoey and Arun Joy were both unbeaten, as Basildon overcame visiting Hadleigh Forum C 7 - 2. Paul Fawell and Mark Everard got one win each for Forum, and Jenne Seibolt got the home side’s other victory.

Matchpoint A’s 6 - 3 home win over Mapledene was a team effort. Player of the match Harry Sawford scored a hat trick, Daniel Stewart won two, and Debbie O’Neil one for the win. Mapledene shared their points, with Dawn Baldry, Bill Smith and Mike Johnston getting one victory each.

In a close fought match between hosts Hadleigh Forum B and Canvey A, no player was undefeated. POM was Canvey’s Ray Wilson, with two successes, a feat emulated by teammate Bob Skews and both Dave Woolmer and Mick Tappenden for the home side. Thanks to Peter Cray’s single victory, Canvey got a 5 - 4 away win.

Division 2 Reports from Paul Strutt

Week 15 (18)

Table topping Stanford B showed little mercy to bottom of the table Matchpoint C this week, running out 8-1 winners and opening up a massive 24 point lead at the top of Division 2. Rob Salvage took the POTM honours with Adrian Armstrong also recording a hat trick, although he had to work hard to beat Roger Sherman in five sets. Sherman did better when he came up against John Handscombe and recorded Matchpoint’s only win in another five set encounter. Handscombe went to five sets again against Ollie Milchard but finished on top in this one.

Currently in second place are Matchpoint B who surprisingly only fielded two players against Hockley D, but these were John Lott and Dennis Squirrell their most experienced players. Lott didn’t disappoint maintaining his unbeaten record with another hat trick and Squirrell weighed in with two wins to give them a narrow 5-4 victory. A good performance however by young Elliot Brackenbury, who beat Squirrell in four sets and then led Lott by two sets before experience took over, Lott winning the last three 11/5 11/1 11/4.

At the other end of the table Stanford C picked up a useful 6-3 win defeating mid table Rawreth D. It would have been a lot more convincing but for the performance of Richard Kidd who won all his games dropping just one set. Team mates Jaspreet Singh and Mike Webb found the going a lot tougher with the Stanford trio of Martin Winter, Chris Crooks and Vaughan Chambers all recording two wins. Singh did extend Chambers to five sets and Webb actually led Crooks by two sets before succumbing 11/8 in the fifth. Stanford are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone albeit they have played a game more than the bottom two teams.

Finishing the week in style were the ‘boys’ from Runnymede who thrashed Invicta B 9-0. Andrew Humphris, Steve Wisbey and Tony Millward were in fine form and only Sarah Ball came close to picking up a point for Invicta leading Humphris two sets to nil before losing the next three 11/8 11/7 11/6. Millward took the POTM honours.

Team of the Week – Stanford C

Player of the Week – Richard Kidd

Week 14 (17)

Canvey B started the new year with a bang whitewashing Stanford C 9-0 and only dropping three sets in the process. Terry Giddens and Trevor Hayes both recorded perfect hat tricks and Des Duffield completed the rout but did drop a set to Chris Crooks and had to come back from 2-1 down against Vaughan Chambers before winning in five. The win pushes Canvey up into third place above Matchpoint B and level on points with Hockley C who have a game in hand, albeit against Canvey.

In the mid table clash between Rawreth Megazone D and Hockley D Hannah Harbour turned in a POTM performance leading her team to a 7-2 victory and pushing Hockley into fifth place above Rawreth in sixth. She completed a perfect hat trick and team mates John George and Elliot Brackenbury both weighed in with a brace each. Jonathan Allen actually started the evening with a win for Rawreth defeating George in four sets but a second win didn’t come until game seven when Amar Al-Soufi completed a remarkable comeback win against Brackenbury. He lost the first set 11-0, went 2-1 down, but then won a crucial fourth set 12/10 before clinching the decider 11/5. Earlier he had been two sets down to George but lost the fifth set decider.

Rob Salvage continued his fine form this season with another hat trick as leaders Stanford B beat Runnymede 6-3. This included a fine win against Tony Millward who, like Salvage, had only lost one game this season, coming through in four sets. Support for Salvage came in the form of Mark Downey with two wins and John Handscombe with one. Tina Hutchinson had an eventful night for Runnymede pushing Salvage to five sets before conceding and then overcoming Handscombe in five sets, coming back from 2-1 down before winning the deciding set 12/10. Millward won his other two games.

Hockley C moved up to second place with a hard fought 6-3 win against bottom of the table Matchpoint B. The score were level after six games but three consecutive wins has helped Hockley maintain their promotion push. Mike Worship was the man in form for Hockley winning all his games with Tony Molisso recording a brace and Neal Klyman winning a very important eighth game in five sets against Zach Samuels. He fought back from 2-1 down to win the last two sets 11/3 11/5. Ollie Milchard chalked up two wins for Matchpoint with Alwine Jarvis grabbing the other point.

Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour

Team of the Week – Canvey B

Division 3 Reports from Dave Woolmer

Week 18 Report

We are into the business end of the season in Division 3 and it is now a two-horse race in the chase for the title. Basildon A have headed the table all season and as they, and their close rivals, Invicta C, approach their last four matches, Basildon hold a seven point advantage.

In this week's round of matches, Invicta hit the table first and recorded a 6/3 win over Canvey C. Maximums here for Trish Winter and POM Andrew St John and, in reply, there was a win apiece for Canvey’s Ray Baker, Che Martin and Steve Parker.

Basildon had to wait until the end of the week to show their hand and, when they did, they were ruthless. They only conceded two sets in a 9/0 win over a young Hockley F side who have found the going tough this season, but who will surely benefit from the experience. Richard Riebold was the POM here, with Andy Roff and Dave Walton also unbeaten.

Elsewhere, Hockley E travelled to Rayleigh to take on Rawreth Meggazone E and emerged as 7/3 winners. Robert Garlick and George Clark were both unbeaten on the night, with Keith Denyer picking up the extra point. For Rawreth, there was a win apiece for Graham Back and Ro Brett.

The junior teams of Matchpoint D and Evolve came together and a close match ensued. Matchpoint started well and led 5/2, but Evolve came back to win the last two games, the final score being 5/4 in Matchpoint’s favour. Samuel Morgan was the POM after a flawless hat-trick, well supported by Blake Stewart with a double. Nova Narayanan was the best on the night for Evolve recording two wins, with his teammates Leo Goodey and Ben Berwick picking up a win each.

Finally, there was another 5/4 outcome in the match between the D teams of Hadleigh Forum and Stanford. Douglas Brown (3) and Todd Barker (2) were the point winners for Forum but Douglas had to work hard for his hat-trick with both Randy Santiago and Andrew Jessop extending him to a deciding set. Randy won his other two games with Andrew and Mandy Till each adding a point

Week 17 Report

Well, it had to happen sometime, and finally, league leaders, Basildon B, have surrendered their unbeaten record. Stanford D were their conquerors and 7/2 was the scoreline. Stanford skipper, Randy Santiago, was the hat-trick hero for Stanford, with his teammates, Jake Santiago and Andrew Jessop, adding a brace each. Andy Roff recorded two wins for Basildon and came close to beating Randy. Having established a two-set lead, he fell just short, as Randy recovered to take the last three sets 12/10, 11/8, 11/8.

Second placed Invicta C took full advantage of their rivals defeat with a near perfect 8/1 win over Hockley F. James Evesham scored the only point for Hockley and prevented the whitewash, with a straight sets win over David Barlow in the final game. Andrew St John and Keith Baxter both unbeaten on the night for Invicta.

Rawreth Meggazone E could only muster two players for their trip to Hullbridge to take on Matchpoint D. Graham Back (2) and Ro Brett (1) were on the scoresheet for Rawreth but it was Matchpoint who emerged as 6/3 winners. Richard Sloman won both his games to take the POM award and there was a notable win for Cooper Hill over the experienced Ro Brett. Having fallen two sets behind, Cooper rallied brilliantly to win the final three sets 11/8, 11/8, 14/12. Well played young man!

Finally, this week, Hadleigh Forum D were 6/3 winners over Hockley E and remain in third place in the table. Douglas Brown turned in an unbeaten performance, well supported by Sineh Ball with two wins and Ivan Arabadzhiev with a single win. Ron Rogerson, with a couple of wins, was the best on the night for Hockley.

Week 14 Report

As we approach the Christmas break in Division 3, it is Basildon A who still head the table and remain unbeaten. In their latest outing, they were again only able to put out two players, but made light of this as Victor Wei and Andy Roff were unbeaten in their 6/3 win over Hockley E. Victor was the player of the match but had to work hard to complete his maximum, finally getting the better of Robert Garlick at 13/11 in the final end.

Invicta C kept up their pursuit of the leaders thanks to a 7/2 win over Stanford D. Keith Baxter led the way with a hat-trick and he was backed up by his teammates Andrew St John and David Barlow with a brace apiece. The consistent Randy Santiago with a double for Stanford.

Hadleigh Forum D have moved into third place after a 6/3 victory over Rawreth Meggazone E. Forum skipper Todd Barker is in good form and his unbeaten performance was the backbone of this win. There was good support for Todd from Ivan Arabadzhiev with two wins and Sineh Ball who added a single. Graham Back was the best on the night for Rawreth with two wins.

So, as we head into the New Year, Basildon A lead the way with 83 points from 12 games, followed by Invicta C with 73 points from 12 games and Hadleigh Forum D who have 56 points from 12 games.

The Handicap Shield Competition - 1st Report

The Handicap Shield Competition as at 20^th December 2024 is as follows:-

Nineteen teams are competing in our first year of the Handicap Shield Competition . The draw took place on the 14^th Oct and all of the first round matches have been completed bar one, which will be played on 2^nd Jan – hopefully all fully recovered from the indulgences of the festive period or the handicaps could be meaningless.

The teams still vying for the £200 donation are:

Basildon A, Canvey B & C, Invicta B, Stanford D, Hadleigh Forum C and Matchpoint A,B,C & D

Should anyone wish to donate to one of the Charities individually, the links are below .