The big match in Division Three of the Clacton League saw Brotherhood E go three points clear at the top after a hard-fought 7-3 victory over Windsor Harriers. There were two each for Brotherhood’s Fred Gallone, Tricia Salter and Duncan Dunne in a match where no-one stayed unbeaten.

Three of the League’s most experienced female players were on show but it was Tricia Salter (pictured above, photo by Roger Hance) who took the honours, defeating Jenny Higgins in three-straight and Isabel Barton 11-9 in the fifth.

Brotherhood won three of the four matches which went close in five but the Harriers took the closest contest of the evening, Barton coming back from 10-7 down in the fifth to defeat Gallone 3-2 (11-7, 11-9, 13-15, 9-11, 14-12). Barton took two for the Harriers.

Nomads Leopards are the third team in the promotion hunt and they are only seven points adrift of the leaders after beating a two-player Nomads Ocelots 10-0. The Ocelots nearly took a point but Chris Wilmotte eventually overcame James Horsler 12-10 in the fifth.

And it was also 10-0 as Windsor Magpies consolidated fourth place with a comfortable victory against Nomads Lynx.

Tom Bryden produced his best form of the season to stay unbeaten in Brotherhood F’s 8-2 win against Nomads Bobcats. Lucy Carvell and Ruby Gallagher contributed two each. Three matches went the distance, Bryden beating Matt Sage 11-9 in the fifth and Gallagher beating Jack Riddlestone by the same score. Sage picked up the two Bobcats’ points.

And there was a third victory for a Brotherhood side in this Division when the ‘G’ team defeated Walton E 7-3, despite a treble from Walton’s Maggie Earle. Dan Grindrod, Danny Still and Gary Simpson all won two for the winners.

In Division One the all-Nomads, top-of-the-table clash ended in a 10-0 whitewash win for the Panthers against the Lions. John Hatley, Gracie Edwards and Greg Green all stayed unbeaten, Greg also having the satisfaction of beating Dad Martyn in three-straight.

Trebles for Gary Young and Kevin Gowlett were central in Brotherhood A’s 7-3 win against Walton A, a result which moves them into second place above the Lions. Walton enjoyed a rare doubles victory, Kevin James and Derek Willis beating Gowlett and John Cleasby 11-6 in the decider.

Windsor Eagles were 8-2 victors over Walton C. Gary Cattermole and Mel Rampton recorded hat-tricks, with Phil Smith taking a couple, including a close 11-9 in the decider win over Paul Meikle.

Mark Gale won a singles for the losers and shared a fine doubles win with Meikle against Smith and Cattermole.

Pete Burrows stayed unbeaten for Walton B but bottom team Windsor Buzzards will feel pleased with the final result which ended all-square. Dave Martin had two close wins for the Buzzards, 15-13 in the fifth over Graham Buxton and 11-6 in the fifth over John Marshall, while Andy Cawley’s couple included an 11-7 in the fifth win over the unfortunate Marshall.

In Division Two Brotherhood D maintained their unbeaten record with a 6-4 victory against Brotherhood C. Joe Plummer was player of the match with his second hat-trick of the season, while Sam Plummer took two. There were a couple for Mark Boyland of the ‘C’ team.

Second-placed Lawford defeated Nomads Jaguars 9-1, Richard Spence and Charlie Denholm the maximum men, although Spence only just made it 14-12 in the fifth against Kevin Hogg. Chris Petrou took the Jaguars’ point after a marathon (11-6, 9-11, 17-15, 19-21, 11-7) tussle with Ian Sherwood.

Walton D stayed third and Nomads Tigers fourth after the two teams fought out an honourable draw. Denes Somodi took three for the Tigers, with Clive Allenby and Paul Woolnough winning two each for Walton. The closest match of the evening saw Allenby beat Dave Miller 11-9 in the fifth.

Finally, the battle of the two Windsor sides ended in a 7-3 win for the Penguins over the Kestrels. There were three for Scott Campbell, and two each for Sharon Gowlett and Annabelle Stallwood, Stallwood taken the distance before beating both Debra Found and Jackie Bunce. Allen Denyer was the Kestrels’ best player, winning two singles and, with Bunce, sharing an unexpected doubles success against Campbell and Gowlett.

* Next week sees the start of the group stage of the Knock-Out Cup. Teams are reminded that the winning team should send the result sheet to Tony Oswick within 24 hours of the match being played. Results and tables will appear at regular intervals on the League’s website.

Teams are also reminded of the new rule whereby some matches will be played as best of three sets rather than best of five. Full details are included on page 9 of the League Handbook and also with the Cup information sent out to all players.

RESULTS
Division 1
Windsor Buzzards 5 Walton B 5
Brotherhood A 7 Walton A 3
Nomads Lions 0 Nomads Panthers 10
Walton C 2 Windsor Eagles 8
Division 2
Lawford 9 Nomads Jaguars 1
Windsor Penguins 7 Windsor Kestrels 3
Walton D 5 Nomads Tigers 5
Brotherhood C 4 Brotherhood D 6
Division 3
Windsor Harriers 3 Brotherhood E 7
Nomads Ocelots 0 Nomads Leopards 10
Brotherhood F 8 Nomads Bobcats 2
Nomads Lynx 0 Nomads Magpies 10
Walton E 3 Brotherhood G 7