Champions crowned in Division 3, Division 2 all but sorted, and a seismic shock result in Division 1, all in a busy week for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League.
Having drawn last week against leaders Fambridge the pre-season favourites Mapledene A needed a decisive win against the surprise Title challengers Cold Norton B. Anything other than a high scoring victory would be a nail in the coffin of the quest for glory. So going down 5-0 in the opening half of the match didn’t really help. The dream was scuppered, the open top bus parade cancelled and the fat lady would never sing again. The pick of the opening exchanges was a 4 setter where Sam Lowman kept his cool to get the better of Men’s Singles Champion Reece Seddon. Seddon did fight back and in match 6 used all his nous to come through a tight 5 setter against Ian Wall – and finally Mapledene were on the scoreboard. Could they rally and perhaps somehow muster a draw from the dregs of the match. Absolutely not – Cold Norton switched on the turbos, won the doubles and went on to clean sweep the last 3 singles for an astonishing 9-1 victory that should see them clinch the most unexpected of Titles. The final match of the night saw Seddon again lose out in a tight 5 setter against player of the match Eric Green. Cold Norton travel to bottom team Woodham C for their final match needing just a victory to claim their first ever Division 1 crown. Amazing.
Elsewhere in Division 1 there were high scoring victories for Mapledene B and Cold Norton C, and a tight triumph for Woodham A. Cold Norton C scored a whitewash 10-0 win over Woodham C with hat-tricks all round for Arron Chandler, Kim Shead and Tim Cramphorn. In this one-sided affair only one match went beyond 3 sets and that saw Cramphorn come from behind to finally best the energetic Adi Kamma. A good night’s work for Cramphorn who has been struggling to convert his play into points this season. Mapledene B looked worried after Colin Chatfield lost out to Woodham B’s Dan Patynski in the opening match – but they needn’t of as that was the last blot on their copy book as they ran out 9-1 winners. Despite the scoreline it wasn’t all one-way traffic as the Woodham trio fought hard. None more so than Captain Eamonn Hall who lost out in deciding sets to both Keith Willett and Simon Jacob. In the match with Jacob, Hall looked like he was cruising to the most unexpected win of the season at 2-0 (11-4, 11-3) and 9-3 up but Jacob suddenly upped his game and went on a twiddle frenzy that befuddled his opponent and as the gap closed the confidence levels switched, Hall became like a fish up a tree, and Jacob somehow grasped a victory from the guts of defeat. Willett completed his hard-earned hat-trick in a topsy turvy 5 setter against Patynski. Woodham A were better stacked this week with both Harry Chivers and the travelator that is Lee McHugh in attendance. In the 6-4 victory over Cold Norton A Chivers hit a treble including 5 set wins over Arron Chandler and Duncan Taylor – markers for the upcoming Burnham Tournament. McHugh chipped in with 2 wins including another 5 setter against Chandler but lost out to Taylor in 3. Tony Bonnici added the final point in a straight sets encounter with Steve Sawyer, but earlier on he had also gone the distance with Chandler but lost out despite having had a decent lead at one point.
The Division 2 crown has almost certainly gone to Stow Maries A who finished their campaign with a Ken Sheard inspired 7-3 victory over Blackwater B. They needed 8 points to be sure so now they have to wait for Maldon A to drop just one point in their final two matches – not an impossibility but Maldon do have to play a couple of the decent mid-table sides who can field some very top Division 2 players, so its very unlikely. So back to the commentary and less of the speculation, Stow’s trickster Ken Sheard hit an unbeaten treble and his cohort of Peter Chastin and Richard Storey both won 2 out of their 3 matches. For Blackwater Simon Quelch handed Peter Chastin a ‘You’ve Been Quelched’ calling card, and Louis Gunn did a number on Richard Storey – both gaining significant kudos and ranking points in equal measures. Quelch and Gunn then blotted the Sheard copy book as they took the doubles against Sheard and Chastin in straight sets. Maldon A didn’t really help themselves as they stumbled to a 6-4 win over Stow B, although the Innes family pride was on full show as Hamish Innes and son Ross Kirby both hit impressive hat-tricks for the 6 winning points. The Innes senior treble might have been expected but this was Kirby’s first Division 2 treble and was much less expected so what a night for the duo. Naturally they celebrated by losing the doubles in a long and tight 5 setter against Peter Hance and Nicky Reece-Ford. Maldon B recorded the same score as their A team as they overcame the Cold Norton D challenge with a 6-4 triumph. As is often the case, Steve Aspland was their stand out player with another unbeaten night. Terry Hyland was the best of the Cold Norton bunch with wins over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames. The Blackwater A trio warmed up for the upcoming Burnham tournament with a perfect night against 2 player Stow C – only one match went beyond 3 sets when plucky Jean Chasmer took the second leg of her match against Neil Freeman. Trebletastic times for Blackwater’s Alan Scammell, Denis Balic, and Freeman.
Maldon C have been the long time Division 3 champions-elect, following this week’s 9-1 result against Blackwater F they are now actual bonafide Champions. With a Maldon twist the squad and their support crew will be holding an open top barge parade this weekend along the Promenade – everyone is welcome, banners are encouraged. Not to be outdone each of the Maldon players this week scored a hat-trick of wins but somehow that form evaded them in the doubles which was won by Blackwater’s Oscar Wyman and Anne Brewer. So 8 straightforward victories and one tough one as Ella Sach came from behind to edge her match against Wyman for her hat-trick, with the other trebles going to Shirley Carroll and Chris Ravenhill. Blackwater C have all but secured the runner-up spot but they’ll be disappointed they didn’t close that mathematical certainty as they just squeezed past St Lawrence A with a tight 6-4 win. Colin Barham was in fine fettle with his hat-trick and Chris Rolison bagged a brace, and they combined for the Brucie Bonus doubles to secure the overall victory. For St Lawrence Mike Burton was back in action and taking good wins over Rolison and Jacqui Treacy. Allan Steel maintained his 100% win rate as his Woodham E side drew with Kath Little’s Blackwater E trio. Nothing the Little Crew could do against the hardened Steel but they battled hard in all the other matches to secure enough points for the draw – with Phil West and Deb Ginn each winning their other 2 singles matches, and Little taking a nervy last gasp 12-10 in the fifth point over Diane King.
