With five rounds complete in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League season we have a real battle developing at the top of the Division 1 table.

The top four teams are now only separated by five points and of course they all have to face each other over the coming weeks. “Gladiators are you ready?”

Mapledene A just about maintained their 100% win-rate record with a very tight 6-4 victory over relegation challengers Woodham B. Steve Muth was once again the man Mapledene turn to in a crisis, and he delivered his second hat-trick on the bounce that included a drama-filled five-setter with Woodham’s top dog Sanjay Saptarshi.

Muth went on to win his other two singles battles, both in four sets against Harry Sawford and Eamonn Hall. The final match of the night saw Muth claim the team victory parade in his win over Sawford, after Sawford and Saptarshi had cheekily won the doubles to put pressure on the Mapledene crew.

In a rare Burnham outing Peter Barrett won two singles to help the cause with some excellent looping and backhand punching. Saptarshi was the best of the Woodham bunch with two wins and Sawford picked up a notable scalp with a four-set win over George Reeves. So the unbeaten run continues but at what cost to Mapledene – in recent weeks they have dropped significant points against two of the lower teams and this may come back to haunt them beyond this year’s Halloween celebrations.

Woodham A leapfrogged Mapledene A with a solid 8-2 victory over struggling Woodham C. A last-minute roster crisis saw League Chairman Alan Dadswell make his Div 1 debut for the season and he didn’t disappoint as he contributed to the A team haul with a win over David Penrose. The rest of the A-Team’s points came from the trusted paddles of Harry Chivers and Daniel Piggott who went unbeaten throughout the duration.

John Poysden’s star continues to shine bright as he led his Fambridge trio to a close awayday 6-4 triumph at Cold Norton B. Recent hat-trick merchant Sam Lowman was drafted in for this one to boost confidence and increase the points haul for Cold Norton – unfortunately he notched up a negative hat-trick and this only boosted the Fambridge team. Poysden was in full talisman mode as he went unbeaten in singles all evening, but did lose out in a lengthy doubles five-setter shift with partner Gary Young that went beyond deuce in the decider.

Young won two of his three singles and this was matched by Cold Norton’s best player Eric Green who recorded good wins over Bruce Kettle, and Young. Green and Ian wall were the victorious doubles pairing for Cold Norton. This tight win sees Fambridge back on top of the table as their odds continue to drop – they certainly have the squad to reclaim their title.

With runaway leaders Maldon A on a warm weather training week in Majorca it was time for the potential challengers to be stand up and be counted. Boy did they deliver! All three of the most likely contenders posted comprehensive 8-2 home victories to at least put a draught into the sails of Maldon A.

Stow Maries A showed no mercy to stablemates Stow Maries B as both Ryan Pitt and Peter Chastin won all their singles. Third wheel Ken Sheard chipped in with two wins, just losing out to the very tricky Peter Hance. Hance and Dave Marsh surprisingly pipped the doubles for some extra consolation on a night of woe.

Mapledene C displayed the strength of their squad by fielding a trio rarely seen in the Burnham league – but welcome they are. Well maybe Cold Norton D would disagree with that as they fell to an 8-2 defeat which stunts their recent progression. For Cold Norton Neil Want was able to muster a couple of wins, but lost out to the Mapledene star player Dave Woolmer in a close five-setter.

Woolmer posted his first hat-trick of the season, and was ably supported by Tony Ayliffe and Dennis Squirrell who each won their other two singles. Surprisingly Woolmer was not selected for the doubles match but this didn’t turn out to be as costly as is oft the case as Ayliffe and Squirrell finished the task in another five-setter.

Woodham D are the growing threat in Division 2 and despite giving away approximately 120 years of experience they were able to overcome the wisdom and guile of the Stow Maries C trio. The final score was 8-2 to Woodham D but the scorecard shows the match to be a lot tighter, especially for the lovable Dave Goody who played the maximum 15 legs of singles matchplay only to come away empty-handed.

Goody sorted this travesty out in the doubles as he and partner Jean Chasmer, destroyed the Woodham pairing in three very quick and straight sets – some small consolation for the Stow stalwart. For Woodham both Scott Perry and Peter Harverson were on hat-trick podium duty, and not far behind was Jeremy Griffin with a brace of wins, just losing out in five to Pete Layzell despite going 2-0 up early doors. The next league fixture will see Maldon A and Mapledene C lock horns – could be more of a spectacle than the actual Maldon fireworks display!

Last week we boosted the relative merits of Maldon B’s Colin Barrell and Garry Eames and right on cue the editor’s curse strikes as both players had disappointing results in their loss to the awkward Blackwater A trio. It was a good teamwork evening for the Blackwater squad as they all contributed to the 6-4 win. Denis Balic and Roger Slade both won twice including notable wins over Barrell.

Captain Alan Scammell took a point against Eames and joined up with Balic for a straight sets doubles win over the usually proficient Maldon B doubles duo. So where did all the Maldon points come from – well he’s back, ladies and gentlemen – Steve Aspland back in the groove and posting only his second hat-trick of the season, perhaps he’s now fired up and ready to go!

There is no questioning the favourites for the Division 3 crown and if you need any extra proof then this week’s 10-0 whitewash victory for Maldon C will do the trick. They have now played four matches, won them all, and only dropped four individual matches along the way. Come on Division 3, someone stand up to these imposters!

This week’s unfortunate opponents were a highly talented Blackwater C trio that included the mercurial Colin Barham. But no mercy was given as the Maldon C crew of Marty Englander, Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill had to jostle like shivering penguins as they all perched happily on the hat-trick podium together – with Ravenhill just taking the player of the match crown on a statistical countback. Barham did his best to burst the Maldon bubble including taking Riedling to a fifth set having won the marathon fourth set 19-17 – but alas no cigar this time.

Maldon D kept up the semblance of a chase with a close 6-4 victory over Blackwater D but they will need bigger scorelines to trouble their C team. The reliable James Raymond was again the most consistent player with a hat-trick of singles including a fifth set barnstorming comeback against Peter Davenport. Raymond’s sidekick Arthur Shadforth added two further points with victories over Ron Tam and David Sage but he couldn’t outsmart the wily Davenport. Not surprisingly Raymond and Shadforth paired up for a straightforward doubles victory that ensured the overall team win.

In the final match of the week Blackwater E adopted the Dusty Bin scoring method with a 3-2-1 set of singles wins for a hard earned 6-4 winning margin over Maldon E. Blackwater’s Deb Ginn was the hat-trick star that included a deciding set triumph over Maldon’s top player John Leavett. Leavett won his remaining singles and then combined with Kym Eames for a comfortable doubles bonus.

Blackwater matriarch Kath Little won out in the toughest match of the night as she eventually dispatched Eames 15-13 in a fifth set full of drama. Little and Keith Thompson also beat Maldon’s Patrick Coyne but needed quite a few deuce legs to go their way.