Brotherhood A took the honors this week in the battle for the big guns Division One of the Clacton League, beating reigning champions and title favorites Nomads Panthers 6-4.
Daniel Young’s (pictured above, photo by Gavin Price) hat-trick for Brotherhood included impressive victories over last year’s Closed Championship finalists James Denyer and Greg Green. Gary Young contributed two wins and Gracie Edwards one, while Denyer picked up two for the Panthers.
Somewhat surprisingly, only four of the individual matches were extended to a fourth set. It was the Panthers’ first loss since January 2024.
Elsewhere, Nomads Lions continued their perfect start to the season with another whitewash victory, this time over the hapless Windsor Buzzards. Ethan Lloyd, Paul Hume and Martyn Green were this week’s winning combination.
Windsor Eagles took four of the five games that went the distance, finishing with a narrow 6-4 winner against Walton A, Gary Cattermole unbeaten for Windsor. Phil Smith won one, a tight 11-9 in the fifth against Paul Meikle, while it was an even tighter 12-10 in the fifth for Gavin Price against former teammate Derek Willis. Crucially, Cattermole and Price won the doubles, 11-8 in the fifth, against Willis and Mark Gale. Gale was Walton’s best player, winning two.
Things were slightly more comfortable in a second clash between Windsor and Walton, with the Hawks edging past Walton B 9-1. Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez both took trebles and Scott Campbell two, Graham Buxton’s win over Campbell prevented a Hawks whitewash. Only three individual matches went beyond three sets.
A clash between the Brothers ended in an 8-2 victory for the ‘B’ team over the ‘C’ team. Patrick Cheung won three, and Simon Smith-Daye and Russell Hillier two each. There was a point each for Graham Playle and John Cleasby, with Cleasby defying the odds to take an excellent win over Smith-Daye.
There was one more surprise Division Two where promoted Brotherhood defeated J Lawford 8-2. Joe Sherwin and Ruby Gallagher took hat-tricks, Gallagher beating Charlie Denholm 11-6 in the decider and Ian Sherwood 11-8 in the decider. In the only other match that went the distance, Sherwin and Gallagher won the doubles 11-6 in the fifth against Denholm and Sherwood.
Brotherhood G secured their second 7-3 victory in as many weeks, this time beating club mates. Brotherhood D. John Gallagher remained undefeated for the winners, with Paul Metcalf taking two and Mark Beckham one.
And there was a third Brotherhood victory in this Division as the ‘F’ side recorded a convincing 8-2 victory over Windsor Harriers, with Mark Salter remaining unbeaten. Paul Alden and Tricia Salter won two each, Tricia performed excellently, beating both Isabel Barton and Ferdy Rodriguez, the latter coming with a nail-biting 11-9 in the fifth. Barry Allen took the points from both Harriers.
A new maximum for Kelvin Olano-Harper was not enough to prevent Windsor Penguins going down 6-4 to Nomads Jaguars, for whom Andy Hart and Chris Petrou each won two. Paul Woolnough got one for the Penguins, but lost 11-5 in the fifth to Hart and 11-8 in the fifth to Petrou.
It was also 6-4 when Windsor Kestrels defeated the Nomads Tigers side with a reserve. Jonathan Found’s treble for the Kestrels included an 11-9 in the decisive victory over Tom Wilkin. The Tigers’ points were shared between Wilkin and Alex Baldock, who each won twice.
In Division ThreeWalton C started their campaign with a 6-4 win over Holland Lancasters. Lynette Sparks won three, Maggie Earle two and Adrian Sexton one. Peter Evans scored two for the Lancasters and Dave Wright one, the pair doing well as they won the doubles together against Sparks and Earle.
It was also a first game of the season for Nomads Leopards and they also started with a victory, 8-2 against Windsor Falcons. Dominic Joannou and returning super-veteran Doug Green both recorded high notes, but also shared a doubles success. Anne Bonny took Leopards’ eighth point, while there was a point each for Windsor’s Gary Barnes and Matt Thomas.
No one remained undefeated in the meeting between Holland Vulcans and Brotherhood E, with the match ending on all counts. Bob Keefe and Derek Foxley won two each for the Vulcans, as did Tony Edmonds and Jack Hillier for Brotherhood. Brotherhood will be grateful to have won all three five-setters, with Edmonds beating Keefe 11-9 in the decider, Joe Hillier beating James Horsler by the same score, while the two Hilliers won the doubles by an even closer 13-11 in the decider against Keefe and Foxley.
Ultimately, Holland Hurricanes won 8-2 against a Nomads Ocelots team that was forced to field a guest player. Gary Stallwood remained undefeated for the winners, while Mike Wellum took both points for the losers.
* It is with great sadness that the League recently learned of the death of Arthur Wells-Garrett. Arthur had been playing in the League since 2016 and had become a regular at Nomads Ocelots. A quiet, friendly and sympathetic man who was never in the spotlight, he had developed into a reliable and good Third Division player. We express our sincere condolences to his family.
RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Eagles 6 Walton A4
Brotherhood A 6 Nomads Panthers 4
Walton B1 Windsor Hawks 9
Fraternity B 8 Fraternity C 2
Nomads Lions 10 Windsor Buzzards 0
Division 2
Lawford 2 Fraternity J8
Windsor Penguins 4 Nomad Jaguars 6
Brotherhood G 7 Brotherhood D 3
Windsor Kestrels 6 Nomadic Tigers 4
Fraternity F8 Windsor Harriers 2
Division 3
Holland Vulcans 5 Brotherhood E 5
Holland Lancasters 4 Walton C6
Nomads Ocelots 2 Holland Hurricanes 8
Nomadic leopards 8 Windsor Falcons 2
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