The home team is a number of points behind at the bottom, the away team at the top. A road banker if ever there was one. Not so!
Rayne E produced what must be the result of the season so far in the second division of the Braintree Table Tennis League by beating their own C team 7-3. And they did it with a reserve on their team.
New signing James Grimston, who won his three singles matches, was largely to blame. Richard Whiteside added two wins and Conrad Gomes, from the club’s third division F team, scored an excellent victory over Steve Buer. It was a long evening, because no fewer than seven of the ten sets continued for the full five matches.
Rayne C is still comfortably in the driver’s seat but Black Notley D reduced their lead from 21 points to 16 with an 8-2 win over Netts D. Elliot Game, making a rare appearance, showed he has lost little of his touch by taking his three singles.
They replaced Rayne D, who lost to Netts C, the team directly below them, 7-3. Charles Calisin, Peter Lewis and David Montgomery all won twice, but none could get past Richard Whiteside, who was promoted from the E team on this occasion.
In division oneNetts A extended their lead at the top to 24 points with wins of 8-2 over Notley B and 9-1 against Sudbury Wanderers.
James Hicks was unbeaten against Notley B, for whom Neil Freeman won twice, while Andy Dosher and Szczepan Ziobro both won their three singles against Wanderers.
Sudbury Nomads retained second place with an 8-2 victory over Liberal B. Richard Fifield was undefeated.
Third-placed Liberal A won by the same score against Wanderers, while Alistair Hill was unbeaten.
Rayne A’s Ian Whiteside turned back the clock a few decades with an excellent performance against Notley A, where Luke Burridge, last season’s men’s singles runner-up, was among his three victims. It was also a convincing victory: 11-5, 11-7, 11-8. His victories helped his team to a 6-4 victory.
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