Finchingfield A’s apparently relentless progress towards the division three title in the Braintree Table Tennis League received a major boost when their only serious rivals, Sudbury Strollers, suffered a crushing 9-1 defeat. The team responsible were Finchingfield’s own B team.
Strollers had won all five matches up to that point but were no match for Stewart Grant, Lucien Nolan-Bradford and Chad Rose.
Grant, still unbeaten this season, and 16-year-old Nolan-Bradford won their three singles while Peter Abbott preserved a modicum of respectability for Strollers by beating Rose 11-6 in the fifth game.
Finchingfield A didn’t just rely on their B team. They added eight points to their total against third-placed Black Notley G.
One place behind their G team, Notley I had a 7-3 win over Rayne G, where Ben Southgate was the only one to beat Ted Sims. Adrian Boeriu, new to league table tennis this season, scored excellent wins over the experienced Alastair Brown and Brian How and had a match point before bowing out against Sims.
Perhaps the performance of the week came from 10-year-old Ethan Collins. He won his three singles in Rayne H’s 6-4 win over Yeldham Whitlocks B, including a very creditable win over Steve Willis, a division two player last season with only three defeats behind him this term.
In the Netts v Netts battle at the lower end of the table, JJ Calisin’s three sets helped F beat E 6-4.
Strollers weren’t the only Sudbury team to suffer an unexpected defeat. Wanderers, with five wins out of five in division two, came up against a stronger than usual Rayne E where they were unable to cope with the twin thrust of Matthew Brown and Adi Kamma, who took all seven between them in a 7-3 victory.
Kamma had to fight hard, though. He had to come from two games down to beat Ian Shrubsole 11-8 in the fifth, while Louise Hartshorn took him even closer, 13-11 in the fifth.
The damage was limited, however, as rivals Rayne D were held to 6-4 by Notley C. Dave Moles continued his excellent form with three wins, which takes him to 19 out of 21.
Notley D beat Netts C 9-1 with unbeaten evenings from Alesha Ellis-Austin and Paul Nicol, while the Notley’s E team and Rayne F shared the points, with Notley’s Jamie Brooks unbeaten.
In division one, Notley’s A and B teams both notched up victories against Liberal teams.
The A team beat Liberal A 6-4 despite three wins from Brandon Crouchman while the B team came away 9-1 better off against Liberal C.
A consolation for the Sudbury club came from their first team, Nomads, who dealt with a two-man Rayne B 9-1.
