Fambridge, so long the standard bearers for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League, have stormed ahead in the race to the Division 1 title this season.

Will holders Woodham A or pre-season favourites Mapledene A be able to breach the gap – with every week that passes it looks less likely.

In the lower divisions it was all about Maldon this week as the club experienced some very highs and some very lows.

Fambridge had the most comfortable of 10-0 victories this week as they brushed aside Woodham C barely dropping a leg along the way. This loss leaves Woodham C ensconced at the foot of the table but having played all the top sides for very little return – hopefully their time will come as they battle it out with the teams closer to them in the standings. A full scoring evening for the Fambridge trio of Gary Young, Mark Stones and Captain John Poysden.

Cold Norton B travelled all the way to their own venue for the derby clash with Cold Norton C and left with seven points and the win but the accolades of the evening all go to the C team’s in-form Arron Chandler who stood alone in defiance of the B team with three stunning five-set victories over Sam Lowman, Eric Green and Daniel Anderson – that is a truly remarkable feat.

Whilst the Cold Norton B and C teams were battling it out for the local bragging rights the Cold Norton A side were waving the white flag at their championship bid as their two-player team fell to an 8-2 loss at home to Mapledene B. Mapledene’s Kieran Skeggs was the standout performer in this encounter as he went unbeaten all evening including an eye-catching deciding set triumph over Duncan Taylor. Mapledene’s Anthon Ranjit Singh returned from his recent injury and recorded his first win of the season over Steve Maltby – again in five long sets.

Division 2 leaders Maldon A experienced the bitter sting of defeat for the first time this season – succumbing to a 6-4 loss at the hands of a very powerful Stow Maries A trio.

It was a team approach for the Stow trio with braces for Gary Brignall and Richard Storey, with Peter Chastin picking up a point against Brian Riedling. Brignall and Chastin then combining for the bonus doubles point that confirmed the victory.

The surprising star of the show was the stoic Hamish Innes who took on allcomers and left undefeated. Innes’ hat-trick included a hard-fought five-setter against Storey that went beyond deuce in the deciding set, and a remarkable match-up with Chastin where expedite must have been a consideration in an opening leg that was finally settled 24-22 in Innes’ favour.

This result tightens up the top of the Division 2 ladder with Maldon A, Stow Maries A and Woodham D all hopeful of a podium finish come the end of the season.

Cold Norton D seem to have lost their early season form of late and were swiftly dispatched in a one-way 9-1 defeat against Blackwater A this week. Cold Norton’s Terry Hyland spared his team’s whitewash blushes with a 13-11 fifth set win over the tricky Alan Scammell. Scammell’s team-mates Denis Balic and Neil Freeman both registering excellent hat-tricks to boost their personal stats.

Tony Ayliffe continued his recent fine form with a talismanic display for his Mapledene C side as they brushed aside the challenge from Stow Maries C with a comfortable 9-1 win. Jean Chasmer was the heroine for Stow with a well-earned five-set victory over Bill Smith. Ayliffe and Andy Seaman went unbeaten and combined for the extra doubles victory too.

The final Division 2 game of the week saw somewhat of a resurgence in form for league stalwart Dave Marsh. Limited in movement and with only a couple of single wins to his name all season, Marsh will have been delighted to have recorded a brace of wins in the stalemate between the B teams of Stow Maries and Maldon B.

Marsh had victories over Maldon’s Garry Eames and Colin Barrell, whilst his wingman Peter Hance went one better with a hat-trick that included a four-set triumph over Steve Aspland. Aspland was the best of the Maldon players with two singles victories and he combined with regular partner Barrell for the doubles in the 5-5 draw.

Maldon C now have a commanding lead in Division 3 after they destroyed the growing confidence and challenge of nearest rivals Maldon D in this week’s top-of-the-table clash. The final score was 9-1 in favour of the C team with impressive results for all their players.

A commanding but expected hat-trick for Captain Marty Englander, whereas the hat-trick earned by Ella Sach was definitely not expected and is perhaps the stand-out performance of the week. Sach beat Matthew Copsey in four sets, then overcame Arthur Shadforth (who was on 87% win rate prior to this match) in four, but the pièce de résistance was coming from two sets down against 82% win rate James Raymond to battle her way back into the match and finish off the job in five sets to earn a remarkable victory dance.

Shadforth redeemed himself with his team’s only point of the evening that had promised so much but in the end delivered so little – a five sets win over Chris Ravenhill. This victory leaves Maldon C 15 points ahead of the chasing pack after just six rounds of matches – the bookies are starting to payout on this one already.

Blackwater D bounded into third place just a couple of points behind the shell-shocked Maldon D team with a professional 10-0 win over Blackwater F – hat-tricks all round for Peter Davenport, Ron Tam, and David Sage. The ever-improving Oscar Wyman came closest to nicking a point as he narrowly lost out to the experienced Davenport in five sets.

St Lawrence blustered their way past the regular Blackwater E trio. The eventual score being 6-4 to St Lawrence but it could have so easily gone the other way as St Lawrence dominated the five-setters, winning three out of four to secure the win. Dave Bateman was the star Baysider with a very respectable hat-trick and he was well supported by the wily Mike Pratley who notched two five-set wins, and then the pair combined for the doubles. For Blackwater Deb Ginn showed great form with two wins of her own to keep the opposition on their toes.

In the final game of the week Woodham E continued their winning ways with a very good 6-4 turnover of Maldon E. Woodham’s own Clark Kent impersonator Allan Steel was up to his leftie hat-trick magic tricks to set the foundation for the win but this week it was Reece Arundell that made the difference with his first brace of wins beating both Brian Dixon and Dennis Eraut, and then joining forces with Steel for a hard earned comeback doubles victory. For Maldon, Kym Eames was on good form with two victories of her own, and a fighting performance against Steel to boot.

* It is with great sadness that we remember Burnham and Colchester league stalwart Roger Warren who passed away last week after a short battle with illness. He will be remembered fondly by everyone in our leagues and beyond.