While leaders Rayne A were without a match, former champions Netts A jumped to the top of the Braintree Table Tennis League with a cruising 9-1 win over a two-person Liberal C.

It gave them a three-point lead over their rivals, both having played six matches.

Richard Jennings gave both Andy Holmes (11-6, 3-11, 12-10, 12-10) and James Hicks (8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9) something to think about but Liberal’s only success came from an excellent win for Robin Armstrong over Holmes.

Sudbury Nomads held on to third place with a 6-4 win over Liberal’s A team, where Scott Dowsett was unbeaten, while a stronger than usual Liberal B crept closer by beating Black Notley B 9-1.

Ashley Skeggs and Adam Cuthbert were unbeaten while David Gatheral, in his first match of the season, won twice.

Notley A scored a Parr 3 (Chris of that ilk remaining unbeaten) in a draw against Rayne C

while Rayne’s B team overcame a two-man Netts B 8-2.

Not much has gone Netts B’s way this season, but wins for Joe Meleschko over Steve Pennell and Fred Evans over Victor Chan were worthy of celebration.

In division two, leaders Sudbury Wanderers kept up the momentum with an 8-2 win over Notley F while Rayne E continued their good run, beating Notley D 7-3.

In an intra-club battle, Notley E’s Jamie Brooks did all he could – three singles and the doubles with Lawrence Grantham – but the club’s C team took the rest.

The other two matches ended in a draw, which was nothing new for Rayne F and Yeldham Whitlocks A, who had finished level on three and two previous occasions respectively before they shared the points with each other.

Netts C and D teams played out the other draw, including a commendable performance from 16-year-old JJ Calisin. In his first season of league table tennis, he stepped up from his normal berth in division three to win twice for the D team.

While division three leaders Finchingfield A were without a match, Sudbury Strollers took advantage to move a bit closer with an 8-2 win over Notley H. George Berry was unbeaten.

Notley I, beaten only once before, suffered from the absence of Ben Southgate and tumbled 9-1 to their own G team.

The next two teams, Rayne H and Finchingfield B, shared the points while David Montgomery took his three singles for Netts E but Rayne G won the rest.