The quest to avoid the bottom step in the first division of the Braintree Table Tennis League has developed into a thrilling battle between three players.
After Black Notley B secured their first win of the season last week, it was Liberal B’s turn to put their first success on the board – with a 6-4 victory over Notley’s A team. Top form Ashley Skeggs was largely responsible, taking his three singles and the doubles with David Razzell.
Notley B, meanwhile, fared worse against relegation rivals Sudbury Wanderers with the same score. Rev Matthews was the in-form player this time and took his three singles and a double play for Notley, but they ran into availability problems and had to use two substitutes.
The bottom of division two has also perked up after Rayne E, once adrift, won their third match in a row, moving up three places. Richard and Scott Whiteside and James Grimston all won twice in the 7-3 victory over Notley C, but Jamie Brooks proved too good for them all.
Only four points separate the bottom seven teams, while three teams share the bottom step with 48 points.
Sudbury Strollers are one of them, but they improved their position with a 7-3 win over Finchingfield A to move level with their opponents.
Netts D are the third team with 48 points after their 6-4 defeat against their own C team. That meant a matchup between Charles Calisin, who was defeated only three times this season, against his father Jimmy, whose defeats outweighed his victories. But it wasn’t an easy ride for Charles, who edged home 11-6 in the fifth game.
The top two in division three not everyone had a good time. Leaders Notley E were stretched to 6-4 by lowly Sudbury Drifters, while second-placed Finchingfield B were held level by Rayne G, also at the wrong end of the table.
It was a final victory for Finchingfield’s Lucien Nolan-Bradford over Karl Bowden 11-9 in the fifth, saving their – and his – unbeaten record.
Bowden suffered another two-in-a-third defeat when representing Rayne F in their draw against Notley H. It was the third win of the evening for Wayne Wilson.
Notley’s F team won 9-1 against Netts E – three wins ahead of Tony Brown and Aivars Taimins – while the club’s G team won the final three sets of the evening to record a 6-4 victory over Yeldham Whitlocks B.
That match was notable for one of those rarities, a set in which all five games were decided by two points, with Steve Baines beating Richard Taylor 3-2 (15-17, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10, 14-12).
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