Brotherhood C and Lawford locked horns this week in the first meeting of leading teams in Division Two of the Clacton & District League but the battle of the big beasts ended all-square with honours even.

Brotherhood’s Mark Salter was the best player on show, remaining unbeaten in his singles, whilst Barry Allen gave valiant support, his two wins including a last gasp 12-10 in the decider victory against Charlie Denholm in match ten. Jack Cansdale won a couple for Lawford, with Denholm and skipper Ian Sherwood contributing one each. Cansdale and Denholm combined to take an important doubles.

This result gave Brotherhood B, the third team in the promotion mix, the opportunity to forge ahead – which they duly did at the expense of Windsor Harriers, winning 9-1. Ferdy Rodriguez and Isabel Barton of the Harriers enjoyed a good doubles win against John Owen and Grant Sharpe but, that apart, it was plain sailing for Owen, Sharpe and Martin Scarfe, all taking hat-tricks, all winning their matches in three-straight.

Dave Martin was Windsor Buzzards’ hero as his side notched up their first success of the season, 6-4 against Nomads Jaguars.

John Harvey and Andy Cawley added one each, Cawley beating Chris Petrou 3-2 (5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 15-13) but going down 3-2 (12-10, 9-11, 13-11, 10-12, 10-12) to Daryl Lott. Lott and Doug Green won two each for the Jaguars.

The record books will forever show that Windsor Kestrels beat Nomads Bobcats 9-1 but the result disguises the nature of the match, the Kestrels winning four of the five matches which went close in five. Graham Bunce’s hat-trick included an 11-9 in the decider victory over Kevin Hume in the final match of the evening whilst all three of Debra Found’s wins went the distance, Found defeating Andy Teemal 11-7 in the fifth, Allen Denyer 11-8 in the fifth and Hume 17-15 in the fifth, the tightest finish in the League so far this season. Jackie Bunce won two for the Kestrels but was denied her hat-trick by the persistent Hume, who took the Bobcats’ consolation point with an 11-9 in the fifth win.

Brotherhood D were the third side in the Division to taste success for the first time this season, although they were helped when their opponents, Brotherhood E, could only field two players. Paul Metcalf, who edged past Kevin Pryor 14-12 in the fifth, Mark Beckham and reserve Graham Healey, making a welcome League appearance after a three-and-a-half year absence, each won one for the ‘D’ side. For the ‘E’ team, Duncan Dunne’s two included a 14-12 in the fifth win against Metcalf, whilst Pryor took one and combined with Dunne to beat Metcalf and Beckham 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9) in the doubles.

With three matches postponed there was just one result from Division Three which saw Walton E share the spoils with Nomads Leopards. Bob Jillins of the Leopards won his three. His team-mate Stuart Wilkinson won once, beating Lynette Sparks 11-9 in the fifth but losing out 11-6 in the fifth to Tony Sharman. For Walton, there were a couple each for Sharman and Toni Hayhow-Khan.

In Division One Nomads Panthers were without a match which enabled Walton A to move to the head of the table with an 8-2 victory over Nomads Lions, Daniel Young and in-form Gavin Price staying unbeaten. Jason Lloyd and Adam Cuthbert were the Lions’ points-winners.

Walton C put up stern resistance against Windsor Eagles but the persistence of the Eagles eventually won through, taking the match 9-1. Paul Hume and Mel Rampton stayed unbeaten. Walton’s Peter Burrows lost 11-9 in the decider to Hume and 11-8 in the decider to Rampton but picked up his side’s solitary point by defeating Phil Smith in three-straight.

Three of the matches between Walton B and Windsor Hawks ended 11-9 in the fifth but Walton won two of them, nudging them to a 6-4 victory. Walton’s Kevin James remained unbeaten, defeating Andy Vincent 3-2 (6-11, 13-15, 14-12, 11-5, 11-9) in the opening match of the evening, with Colin Dearman taking two. Derek Willis edged past John Barton 11-9 in the fifth but was edged out himself by Ian Fielder by the same score. Vincent took a couple for the Hawks.

* Details about the Group stage of this season’s Handicap Cup competition will be circulated by Monday 22nd November.

RESULTS

Division 1
Walton C 1 Windsor Eagles 9
Nomads Lions 2 Walton A 8
Windsor Hawks 4 Walton B 6

Division 2
Brotherhood B 9 Windsor Harriers 1
Brotherhood D 6 Brotherhood E 4
Lawford 5 Brotherhood C 5
Windsor Buzzards 6 Nomads Jaguars 4
Windsor Kestrels 9 Nomads Bobcats 1

Division 3
Walton E 5 Nomads Leopards 5