This week saw the leading two teams in Division One of the Clacton League in opposition, and it was reigning champions Nomads Panthers who came out on top with a 6-4 victory over Windsor Hawks.

James Denyer (pictured above, photo by Roger Hance), making his first appearance of the season, remained unbeaten, with Gracie Edwards winning two and Denes Somodi one. For the Hawks, Gary Young won two and Andy Vincent one, with Young and Felipe Rodriguez taking the doubles 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9) against Edwards and Somodi.

In retrospect, the crucial individual match of the encounter was Somodi v Rodriguez, the Panthers’ player edging it 11-8 in the fifth for a crucial winning point.

Elsewhere, Gary Cattermole and Phil Smith took trebles as Windsor Eagles defeated Walton A 8-2. John Hobson recorded an 11-8 in the decider win over Andy Foster and nearly picked up another point, Derek Willis winning their individual match 3-2 (10-12, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 12-10). Dave Binns took the second Walton point.

Three from Kevin Gowlett, and two each from Russell Hillier and John Cleasby, were enough to give Brotherhood A a 7-3 victory over Brotherhood B. There was one each for the ‘B’ team’s Joe Plummer and Sam Plummer, the pair combining to take a close 11-9 in the fifth doubles against Gowlett and Hillier. 

It was good to see Paul Hewitt back in action but, alas for his Lawford team, Nomads Lions ended as 10-0 winners. Ethan Lloyd, Jason Lloyd and Charlie Fulcher all took trebles, with just two matches going the distance, Ethan Lloyd beating James Tindle 11-6 in the decider and Jason Lloyd beating Richard Spence 11-5 in the decider.

In Division Two, Windsor Buzzards and Brotherhood C both enjoyed 9-1 victories and remain joint-top of the table.

Windsor Buzzards defeated Windsor Penguins with trebles for Pete Bloomfield and Scott Campbell. Paul Woolnough took the Penguins’ point with a win over Andy Cawley, and took Bloomfield close before going down 11-7 in the fifth. Woolnough and Sharon Gowlett also ran the doubles close but the Buzzards’ pairing of Campbell and Cawley scraped home 11-8 in the fifth.

Brotherhood C also recorded a 9-1 win, this over Brotherhood G. Mark Boyland and Mark Beckham both remained unbeaten, with Paul Metcalf taking two but losing 12-10 in the decider to the ‘G’ team’s Danny Still in the closest contest of the evening.  

In a match where every player picked up a point but no-one stayed unbeaten, Nomads Tigers edged their tie 6-4 against Windsor Kestrels, winning all three matches that went to a decider. Dave Miller and Bob Jillins each won two for the Tigers, Miller losing to Debra Found and Jillins to Graham Bunce. Zein Shafat beat Found but went down to both Bunce and Peter Aumord. The two closest matches both finished 11-9 in the fifth, Miller beating Aumord and Jillins beating Found.

Windsor Harriers were 10-0 winners over Windsor Magpies. Magpies’ skipper John Plummer was his side’s only player to go to a fifth set, although Malcolm Caley had an interesting match against Isabel Barton, eventually going down 11-8, 21-19, 11-3.

A good all-round team performance saw Brotherhood D home 7-3 against Brotherhood E, Mark Salter winning three, Paul Alden two and Tricia Salter one. Kevin Pryor’s two for the losers included a 16-14 in the fifth victory over Alden.

It was a second win for the Brotherhood D team who earlier had beaten Brotherhood G 8-2, with a hat-trick for Mark Salter, and two each for Tricia Salter and reserve Joe Sherwin.

In Division Three, early leaders Brotherhood F had a predictable 10-0 win against Holland Lancasters, Tom Bryden, Joe Sherwin and Lucy Carvell unbeaten. All the matches bar one were settled in three-straight, that exception being Carvell’s close 3-2 (11-6, 13-11, 10-12, 7-11, 14-12) victory over Dave Wright.

Three for Savindu De Silva, two for Harindu De Silva and a doubles success for the two brothers gave Brotherhood H a 6-4 victory over Walton D. Lynette Sparks with two, and Adrian Sexton and Deborah Pallett with one each, were the Walton point-scorers, Sexton edging out Owen Woollard 11-9 in the fifth in the closest match.

Dominic Joannou stayed undefeated for Nomads Leopards and shared a doubles win with Anne Bonny, but two each for John Smith-Daye, Ian Gwillim and Pam Cousins were enough for Holland Hurricanes to take the tie 6-4.

Finally, Nomads Bobcats proved too good for Holland Mosquitos, Sam Watling, Alex Baldock and Jack Riddleston unbeaten in the 10-0 victory.

* A reminder about the Windsor Club Quiz Evening on Saturday 16 November at the Brotherhood Hall. It’s 7pm for a 7.30pm start for teams of up to six, £5 per person, bring your own drinks and nibbles. For more details or to enter a team, contact Jenny Higgins on 07790 240566.

*  Older League members will be saddened to learn of the death of former player Dave Smith. Dave was a regular in the League during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, playing most of his table tennis for the Brotherhood Club.

He was a good standard Division Two player, although occasional diversions into Division Three led to his only trophy successes, winning the Division Three title with Brotherhood B in 1990/91 and finishing as runners-up with Brotherhood G in 1998/99.

Table tennis was something of a family affair for Dave, with both his dad, Gordon, and brother, Robert, also well-known League players. For a few seasons, including the 1998/99 season, Dave and Gordon played in the same team.

Dave was a lively and competitive player but, off the table, he was the most friendly and sociable person you could wish to meet, always willing to have a chat, and more often than not with a smile on his face.

We send our sincere condolences to Dave’s family, remembering a stalwart League player and a genuinely likeable man.

RESULTS

Division 1
Brotherhood A 7 Brotherhood B 3
Windsor Eagles 8 Walton A 2
Nomads Panthers 6 Windsor Hawks 4
Lawford 0 Nomads Lions 10
Division 2
Brotherhood D 7 Brotherhood E 3
Windsor Kestrels 4 Nomads Tigers 6
Windsor Magpies 0 Windsor Harriers 10
Brotherhood G 2 Brotherhood D 8
Windsor Penguins 1 Windsor Buzzards 9
Brotherhood C 9 Brotherhood G 1
Division 3
Nomads Bobcats 10 Holland Mosquitos 0
Brotherhood H 6 Walton D 4
Holland Hurricanes 6 Nomads Leopards 4
Brotherhood F 10 Nomads Lancasters 0