Availability problems have hit Rayne A’s chances of retaining their Braintree Table Tennis League title.

Having agreed a rearranged date to play Liberal B, they unexpectedly found themselves down to one player when one player had work commitments and another was ill.

With Lee McHugh currently in Asia, reserve strength was limited so club secretary Ian Whiteside was pressed into service but no third player could be found in time.

Paul Lucas was unbeaten and Whiteside did his bit by beating James Mullane as well as joining Lucas to win the doubles, but the five points dropped could prove to be costly.

Netts A took advantage to close the gap at the top with a 9-1 win over Rayne B where Victor Chan had a good win over James Hicks to put one on the board for Rayne.

Black Notley A are in third place despite a 9-1 defeat to their own B team, but it is Liberal C who have been the surprise package.

Bottom of the table last season, they currently sit in fourth place, only three points behind Notley A with a match in hand.

They made it two wins out of three with a 6-4 victory over Rayne C where David Razzell was unbeaten.

Sudbury Nomads picked up their first win of the season, 9-1 over Netts B, with Ken Lewis and Aron Jordan unbeaten.

In division two, the top two, Rayne D and Sudbury Wanderers had 10-0 wins over Notley E and Netts D respectively.

Rayne E in third place remain unbeaten and added an 8-2 win over their own F team to their record. Lewis Armstrong-Kirton’s win over Richard Whiteside was probably the pick of the evening.

Notley F were also 8-2 winners. An unbeaten Graham Chinnery the only one to get the better of Yeldham A’s Doug Sanders, which he managed at 11-9 in the fifth game.

In a battle of the C teams, Netts beat Notley 6-4. Charles Calisin, Clive Forster and Peter Lewis all won twice for Netts and Dave Parker twice for Notley.