In six of the eight matches in the second round of the Braintree Table Tennis League handicap cup it was the lower ranked team that came through.
Five of the teams advancing to the quarter-finals are from the third division, while teams from the second division fill the other three spots.
Division one teams Sudbury Nomads, currently second in the league, plus Rayne A, Netts B, Black Notley B and Sudbury Wanderers were all left out.
Nomads were the biggest casualties, falling 9-0 to division two Netts C. Taking opponents with starts between 11 and 14 to 21, they took five sets to three matches, but Aron Jordan’s 21-19 defeat in the third against Peter Lewis was the closest. Lewis, Chris Krelle and David Montgomery were on duty for Netts.
Nomads’ second team, the Wanderers, managed three sets against Notley G – all from David Hitchen, with 8, 11 and 14 – but could not progress.
Black Notley B also failed to score, although opponent Finchingfield B declared it 5-0. Lucien Nolan-Bradford (2), Ray Bradford (2) and Peter Dacey (1) saw them at home.
Rayne A was the A team in name only, with, as allowed in the cup, two players from the second division plus one from the third division. But Sudbury Drifters’ Terry Hunneybel (2), Tim Matthews (2) and Geoff Barrett (1) cruised to a 5-2 win.
Of all the teams in the First Division, Netts B came closest to success. They pulled back from 1-4 to 4-4 against Sudbury Strollers before Ian Whipps (from +14) edged past Sean Clift.
Yeldham Whitlocks B had a walkover against Finchingfield A.
The two teams that bucked the trend were Rayne E and Netts F. Netts F got past Notley H, one place lower in the league, and it was as close as could be expected, with two undefeated players, Ann Peart of Notley and Tom Verrier of Netts facing off in the final singles with the score at 4-4. Verrier overcame the 12-point handicap and pulled his team through.
Rayne E also came through 5-4 against Notley F and again needed the last set to take their place in the quarter-finals. Richard Whiteside, who had lost his previous two singles matches, defeated Tony Brown (from +12)
The matches in the first division prior to the cup week often turned out to be predictable affairs. The top three won 9-1 (Netts A over Liberal B), 9-1 (Sudbury Nomads over Rayne B), 10-0 (Nomads again, this time over Notley B) and 9-1 (Rayne A over Sudbury Wanderers).
The exception was Netts B’s draw against Notley A, where Chris Parr won three sets against his former club mates.
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