Following impressive wins in Week 4 and recent exceptional performances by fellow junior players Aidan Lees and James Donald, Chelmsford A’s Harry Chivers (pictured above) added more names to the list of top ranked players who have been upset by a junior player so far this 2023/2024 season.

Division 1

OCA A moved level on points with Chelmsford A at the summit of division 1 with a 10-0 demolition of Galleywood A. Mark Mulley, Paul Lucas and Keiran Lally were all unbeaten with Lally dropping just one game on the night. Mulley and James Hicks were involved in the most entertaining match of the fixture which went to five games.

Chelmsford A remain the only unbeaten team in the top two divisions after a 6-4 win at Writtle A. Following a hat-trick in his first appearance of the season last week, Harry Chivers won both of his individual matches in three straight games – beating Kevin Read 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 and Lee McHugh 11-6, 11-9, 11-9. Kaung Htet Paing won twice for Chelmsford A – a 3-0 win over Matthew Brown and a deciding game win against McHugh.

The Danbury C trio of Keith Adams, Paul Davison and Trevor Lloyd put on a near flawless display in their 9-1 victory over clubmates Danbury B. Only Ian Wall managed to put a point on the board for Danbury B – a five-game win against Keith Adams. Wall was involved in one of the evening’s other five game contests – a 3-2 loss at the hands of Paul Davison. Davison had earlier beaten Matthew Stringer in five games.

Chelmsford B fell to their fourth loss of the season after a 6-4 defeat at home to Danbury A. Chris Penrose of Danbury scored the only hat-trick of the night with team-mate Dave Richardson missing out on a treble of his own with a 3-2 loss at the hands of Kim Shead – one of Shead’s two wins for Chelmsford. Comeback of the night went to Adi Kamma who overturned a 2-0 deficit against Tim Cramphorn to take the victory.

Standings div 1: =1: Chelmsford A & OCA A 36 points, 3: Danbury C 29 points.

Leading averages div 1 (played 9+ matches): 1: Gary Young (Chelmsford A, 10/12 wins, 83%), 2: Mark Mulley (OCA A 12/15 wins, 80%), 3: Chris Penrose (Danbury A, 7/9 wins, 78%).

Division 2

Hatfield Peverel A stormed to the top of division 2 with an 8-2 win over the previously unbeaten leaders Chelmsford C. Martin Archie scored his third treble of the season with number one ranked female Julie Johnson scoring her second. Johnson had to withstand a Harrison Hill fightback in the opener, clinching the win by 13-11 in the fifth. Archie and Johnson beat Hill and Waseem Qureshi 3-2 in the doubles having trailed 2-0.

Maldon A look dangerous in fourth position, just five points behind the teams above them having played a game less. Maldon’s Colin Napper, Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Hamish Innes all went unbeaten as they beat Danbury G 10-0. Denis Crapnell showed the most resistance for Danbury when taking Napper to five games.

Danbury E won their first match of the season and in doing so shattered Danbury D’s hopes of going to the top of division 2, Sanjay Saptarshi’s unbeaten evening was the only positive of note for the D side with Tim Cramphorn, Neil Want and Dick Whyman all winning twice for Danbury E in their 7-3 victory. Whyman and Cramphorn teamed up to defeat Saptarshi and David Meah 3-2 in an entertaining doubles match.

A fourth hat-trick of the season for Mick Richardson was not enough to prevent his OCA B side from a 6-4 defeat at Writtle B. Richardson was pushed hard by Writtle’s Phil Smith but managed to recover from 2-1 down to power through the final two games. Smith was involved in another close contest, prevailing 3-2 against David Porter having trailed 2-1. Writtle B’s Richard Storey and Matthew Brown earned two wins each for Writtle without dropping a game but both fell to Richardson.

Dusan Doszkoty inspired Chelmsford D to their first win of the season in a 7-3 victory against Writtle C. Doszkoty had experienced a tough season up until this fixture having suffered seven five-game losses but he brushed that statistic aside to beat Pete Layzell, Gary Ward and John Gagg – dropping just one game in the process. Kevin Felix and Mike Johnston won two each for Chelmsford while Gary Ward did likewise for Writtle.

Standings div 2: 1: Hatfield Peverel A 31 points, 2: Chelmsford C 27 points, 3: Danbury D 27 points.

Leading averages div 2 (played 9+ matches): 1: Mick Richardson (OCA B, 14/15 wins, 93%), =3: Martin Archie (Hatfield Peverel A) & Sanjay Saptarshi (Danbury D) both, 11/12 wins, 92%.

Division 3

Galleywood B continued their dominance at the top of the table with an 8-2 win over bottom side Danbury K. Gary Brignall continued his unbeaten start to the season with another three wins while John Holland and Bryn Thomas earned two apiece. Both of Dave Hancox’s wins for Danbury were gained the hard way – he beat Bryn Thomas 10-12 in the fifth game decider and later handed Holland his first defeat of the season after recovering from 2-1 down.

Writtle D moved to second place in the table and Buttsbury A to third after a 5-5 draw on Friday night. Buttsbury’s Paul Sturton remains undefeated this season after another treble while Trevor Collin and Malcolm Henstock scored twice each for Writtle. Henstock and Caroline Cole were involved in the match of the night which Henstock edged 16-14 in the decider.

Hatfield Peverel B handed Chelmsford F their fifth successive loss with a 6-4 scoreline. Gareth Davies, Neil Freeman and Peter Mortensen all won twice but Pav Srinivasamurthy performed well for Chelmsford F by beating Freeman and Davies 3-1 and losing out in a close five game encounter with Peter Mortensen 13-15, 16-18, 12-10, 11-3, 6-11.

Writtle E moved off the bottom of the table while OCA C remain part of the chasing pack at the top after a 5-5 draw. Malcolm Storey won all of his matches for Writtle while Richard Upson and Tom Barker each won twice for OCA. Seven of the 10 matches on the night went to five games with Storey in particular seeing some incredibly close contests. He beat Upson 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 10-12, 15-13 and then Tom Barker 12-10, 22-24, 11-7, 13-11. Upson was involved in another tight contest – a 11-13, 12-10, 11-8, 12-14. 14-12 win over Neil Thompson.

Danbury J and Chelmsford E drew 5-5 with two wins from Danbury’s Peter Hance and Louis Gunn as well as Chelmsford’s Rev Matthews and Alesha Ellis-Austin. Ellis-Austin lost out by a 15-13 scoreline in the deciding game against John Robinson but put that disappointment behind her to fight back from 2-0 down to beat Peter Hance. Matthews also had to earn his win the hard way by bouncing back from 2-1 down to beat Robinson.

Standings div 3: 1: Galleywood B 38 points, 2: Writtle D 28 points, 3: Buttsbury A 26 points.

Leading averages div 3 (played 9+ matches): =1: Gary Brignall (Galleywood B) & Paul Sturton (Buttsbury A) 9/9 wins, 3: John Holland (Galleywood B, 11/12 wins, 92%).

Division 4

With leaders Galleywood C and contenders Buttsbury B not in action this week Chelmsford G moved into second place with a 6-4 win at OCA D thanks to a third successive hat-trick for Cleon Fernandes as well as a Salih Salim double. Both Fernandes and Salim were well tested by OCA’s David Bishop whom they beat narrowly in five games. Farooq Ahmed prevented a Salim treble when fighting back from 2-0 down to win 11-9 in the fifth game.

Peter Mortensen was the sole point scorer for Hatfield Peverel C as he earned all three in their 7-3 defeat at home to Highwood A. Roger Patient, Melanie Bonnett and Keith Fitz-John all won twice during Highwood’s first triumph of the season but all fell to Mortensen.

Neil Wood hit a treble as Hatfield Peverel D won for the first time this season. Wood’s D side consigned their E clubmates to their third successive loss of the season by a 6-4 scoreline. Gary Simmons and James Brooks both won twice for their respecive teams while Kath Little and Deb Ginn were involved in the closest and longest match of the night – Ginn resisting a fightback to win 3-2 (11-4, 11-3, 9-11, 13-15, 14-12).

Standings div 4: 1: Galleywood C 27 points, 2: Chelmsford G 22 points, 3: Buttsbury B 22 points.

Leading averages div 4 (Played 9+ matches): 1: Cleon Fernandes (Chelmsford G, 10/12 wins 83%), 2: Will Goodchild (Galleywood C, 9/11 wins, 81%). 3: Farooq Ahmed (OCA D, 7/9 wins, 77%)

Division 5

While division 5 leaders Danbury M enjoyed a deserved week off, Chelmsford H were able close the gap thanks to an 8-2 win over Highwood B. Peter Davenport and James Grindlay both scored a treble though Highwood’s Martin Goddard proved a tough nut to crack by taking both Chelmsford players the distance. Davenport’s other two matches were more straightforward 3-0 wins but Grindlay only managed to secure victory against Keith Pallett in the fifth game with a 12-10 scoreline.

Chelmsford J sit in third position following a 7-3 victory at OCA E. Mark Nolan was undefeated on the night for Chelmsford with left hander Elliot Hawthorne chipping in with a victory on debut. OCA’s Stuart Wintle beat both Chelmsford debutants in three straight games but Nolan prevented a hat-trick for the OCA stalwart with a 3-1 win.

ARU registered their first win of the season with a 6-4 win at home to Buttsbury C, who remain winless. Torsten Greenan and Francesca Hart earned two wins apiece for Buttsbury while Kelvin Edeh and Douglas Bawuah did likewise for ARU. Hart prevented a Bawuah treble by rallying from 2-1 down to win the decider 12-10 and then beat Gerald Amuta in five games.

Writtle F took a leap up the table with a 10-0 victory over second bottom Hatfield Peverel F, who remain winless. Michael Anthony, Jo Hart and Ron Tam won all their matches 3–0 on the night.

Shirley Carroll scored her first hat-trick since 2021 in Maldon C’s 5-5 draw with Galleywood D. Carroll trailed Steve Peacock 2-1 but was able to win a close fourth 12-10 before taking the decider. Peacock was involved in two other five-game matches – a 3-2 loss against Kym Eames having led 2-1, and a 3-2 win against Ross Wheeler having trailed 2-0. Nathan Blore earned two wins for Galleywood but was beaten in four by Carroll.

Standings div 5: 1: Danbury M 34 points, 2: Chelmsford H 31 points, 3: Chelmsford J 26 points.

Leading averages div 5 (Played 8+ matches): 1: Mark Nolan (Chelmsford J, 7/8 wins 88%), 2: David Smith (Danbury M, 7/9 wins, 78%). 3: Jason Clark (Chelmsford H, 6/8 wins, 75%)

Chelmsford Junior League division 1A

With leaders CTTC Cougars not in action this week the Buttsbury Bears closed the gap with a 4-1 victory at the CTTC Eagles. Joseph Hutt won twice for the Bears with Callum Walker chipping in with his third win of the season. Aryan Pradeep’s individual matches both went the distance, one a loss to Hutt, the other a win over Walker having rallied from 2-1 down.

The Danbury Dragons won the battle of the teams at the foot of the table with a 5-0 home win over CTTC Tigers who could only field one player. Oscar Whyman recovered from going a game down to beat William Guilloux 3-1.

Standings CJL 1A: 1: CTTC Cougars 15 points, 2: Buttsbury Bears 11 points.

Leading averages CJL 1A (Played 4+ matches): 1: Sami Osman (CTTC Cougars, 6/6 wins), 2: Amir Chetitah (CTTC Cougars 4/4 wins).

Chelmsford Junior League division 1B

Hutton Hawks powered to their fourth 5-0 victory of the season at CTTC Leopards. Charlie Ware and Charlie Gould won twice apiece and teamed up to win the doubles by a 3-0 scoreline.

Buttsbury Bulldogs edged out the CTTC Panthers by a 3-2 scoreline with Lewis Woods taking his season tally to four wins from four in division 1B. Woods beat both Sky Reeve and Ethan Collins by the same 3-1 scoreline and teamed with Lewis Woods to win the all-important doubles match 3-0.

Standings CJL 1B: 1: Hutton Hawks 20 points, 2: Buttsbury Bulldogs 8 points.

Leading averages CJL 1B (Played 4+ matches): =1: Jago Ware, Noah Middleton & Charlie Gould (all Hutton Hawks), Ryan Peiris (CTTC Leopards) and Lewis Woods (Buttsbury Bulldogs) all four wins from four matches.

Chelmsford Junior League division 1C

The Hutton Harriers climbed to the summit of division 1C with a 5-0 home win against the Buttsbury Bats. Billy Andrews moved to four wins for the season in division 1C with Thomas Hall also scoring a double in his first appearance. Hall had to withstand a Shay Coughlan fightback to win in five games.

The CTTC Rhinos beat their clubmates the Lions by a close 3-2 scoreline thanks to a double from Vivaan Deshpande and a win from Connor Ke. Deshpande was well tested on the day with both Lions players – Bernard Chow and Theo Peiris – taking him the distance. Peiris and Chow earned a consolation win in the doubles, having trailed 2-1 they took the last two games 11-8, 11-9.

Standings CJL 1C: 1: Hutton Harriers 12 points, 2: CTTC Rhinos 11 points.

Leading averages CJL 1C (Played 4+ matches): 1: Billy Andrews (Hutton Harriers, 4/4 wins), 2: =4: Louis Marsan & Vivaan Deshpande (both CTTC Rhinos) & Theo Peiris (CTTC Lions) all three wins from four matches.