Any hopes Sudbury Nomads may have had of taking Netts A’s Braintree Table Tennis League title from them were emphatically extinguished when the two met for the second time.
Netts’ 8-2 win was as convincing as it looks and left the champions 20 points clear at the top. Paul Davison was at his most devastating. He never went further than 11-6 in any of his nine games and only gave up a total of 34 points all evening.
Andy Dosher also won his three sets, although he was twice stretched to four games, while Nomads’ only consolation was that Andy Holmes could not follow suit, losing to Aron Jordan and Richard Fifield.
The most striking feature of Liberal A’s 8-2 win over Netts B was the sight of Peter Hayden’s name on the scorecard for the first time since his knee surgery in November. Not yet the vintage Hayden, but good enough for two sets.
He said afterwards: ‘It is healing nicely and the muscles are building well. I just haven’t put the work in in terms of endurance. I was exhausted when I took off my tracksuit!’
It was Chris Parr who gained the upper hand, but he lost to Scott Dowsett, who took all three for Liberal.
Liberal’s B team shared the points with Sudbury Wanderers in a merry-go-round of a match. For Liberal, David Razzell and Ashley Skeggs won two and Garry Fryatt one, while Wanderers’ Ian Shrubsole won twice, while David Hitchen and Colin Moss won one each.
Not so much a merry-go-round as a steep slide for Black Notley B when they face their own A team. Alesha Ellis-Austin, Roger Hance and Steve Noble took all ten for the A-team.
Division two continues to entertain. This week it was Netts D’s turn to bounce back after sinking to the bottom. They rose from 10th to sixth place with a 7-3 win over third-placed Rayne D. They were indebted to the strong form of Clive Forster, who took his three singles after a run of just four wins in his 15 appearances so far this season.
The other big jumpers were Notley C, who regained the four places they had lost the week before with an 8-2 win over Finchingfield A. Jamie Brooks was unbeaten and Matt Brooks and Lawrence Grantham scored twice.
Still behind in their matches, Sudbury Strollers again showed their potential with a 6-4 win over second-seeded Netts C. David Fiddeman extended his unbeaten record to 18 sets.
Netts C’s defeat allowed Rayne C to extend their lead at the top to 31 points (from another match) with a 7-3 win over Yeldham Whitlocks A.
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