There was no doubting the star of this week’s Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League matches as Cold Norton’s Neil Want (pictured above) played doubles for the two Division 2 teams, winning all six of his singles matches and also assisting in the doubles. You could say that the opposition was at fault.
With league leaders Cold Norton B sidelined this week due to illness in their opposition camp, Fambridge took advantage of the opportunity presented to them and with a 7-3 win over Mapledene B they have taken over pole position as we head into the Christmas holidays.
The Cold Norton gang won’t be too disappointed as they have two games in hand and only a six-point lead to overcome – but it’s certainly a milestone. John Poysden was in treble form as he starred for Fambridge, while teammate Mark Stones added two more wins for the bulk of the points. For Mapledene B it was the slender Kieran Skeggs who was the hardest to beat as he recorded excellent wins over Stones and Chris Ballard.
The cold Norton C is at a particularly unknown high altitude in mid-season. Their lofty third place finish has seen team captain Tim Cramphorn order extra oxygen for the trials and tribulations ahead. This week they destroyed their own first team (albeit a two-man affair) with a devastating 10-0 win. Hat tricks all round for Cramphorn, Kim Shead and Arron Chandler.
In the final meeting, a Liam Squirrell-inspired Mapledene A settled for a draw against Woodham B. Squirrell of course remained unbeaten all night, but Woodham fought hard and there were braces for both Sanjay Saptarshi and Harry Sawford, including notable victories over the tricky Steve Muth.
In Division 2 Cold Norton D drops from the bottom spot, but still can’t find that elusive first win. This week they drew against Blackwater B, largely thanks to Neil Want’s trouble-free hat-trick. For Blackwater B, Merv Perriman and Gary Smith both had good evenings winning two of their three singles matches. Perriman had to come from behind against the much younger Peter Lucraft to win the last two legs 11-9 in a very tight finish.
The Blackwater A team met Want again later in the week in their match against Want’s regular Cold Norton E team and, as history tends, his hat-trick antics were repeated. This time he got some extra help as teammates Dick Wyman and Rob Harris added runs against Neil Thompson and his flashy new bat. So together with the doubles win it all made for a 6-4 win for Cold Norton, with Noah Sage and Alan Scammell both scoring a pair of wins for Blackwater. A loss that has implications for what had been a growing campaign for the Blackwater side.
Woodham C moved closer to the leading pack with a very respectable 6-4 win over the consistent Stow Maries B trio. The bouncy Scott Perry was unstoppable for Woodham as he won all his singles and doubles matches, leaving wingman Tim Pulham reeling in two wins to set up the winning score. Dave Marsh was the best of the Stow side with two wins, including a notable victory over Pulham. League chairman Alan Dadswell was unlucky not to win any of his singles matches, having played 14 of a possible 15 sets and leading 10-8 in the deciding set against Marsh. At least he won the doubles!
Blackwater C continued their romp to the Division 3 title with a 7-3 win over Maldon D, and for once none of their players went undefeated as teamwork made the dream come true for the leaders as their trio all won two singles each. Peter Davenport and the in-form Tina Hutchinson combined for a tricky five-set doubles bonus point to complete the scoring, with third wheel Colin Barham adding his two singles to the pot. Blackwater even showed real championship grit when they won all three five-setters over the course of the evening. Maldon’s James Raymond went home with his head held high with good wins over Barham and Hutchinson, and Shirley Carroll took a remarkable point from Davenport.
St Lawrence returned to winning ways as the Baysiders secured 6-4 victories over Blackwater E. Dave Bateman and Mick Robinson did all the damage with five wins in singles and then combined for the all-important doubles win.
After scoring a clean sheet against Blackwater C, John Leavett fared much better against the F side of Blackwaters as he scored another hat-trick as his Maldon E side emerged from the Blackwater Arena with a spring in their step and 10 whole points. Hat tricks for Leavett, Tim Huxtable and David Park.
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