After the first weekend of matches in the Senior County Championships, Premier Division in November, Essex topped the table with 5pts after three rounds of matches.

The second weekend of matches were played on 15 & 16 February 2025 at Wood Green Table Tennis Centre in Wednesbury.

Round 4

Essex beat Surrey 8-2. Surrey had only two male players as their top player Robert Pelc sustained an injury the previous evening. A replacement was sought but would only arrive in time for the second match of the evening.

There was a good battle in the match between Emil Erkekov and Oliver Maric-Murray where the former got the better of the youngster 3-2 (4, 10, -14, -8, 6). Oliver won his other match against Abdullah Ubaidullah 3-2 (9, -4, 14, -7, 7). The other win for Surrey was Krish Chotai over Emil Erkekov 3-0 (5, 6, 5).

Middlesex beat Leicestershire 8-2 with three of them being five-setters. Israel Awolaja got the better of Luke Greenfield 3-2 (-7, 16, -9, 7, 7), Lok Yee Lo beat Karen Smith 3-2 (-10, -9, 8, 2, 8), and Alim Hirji was beaten by Mohammed Salameh 2-3 (7, -6, 10, -5, -6).

Norfolk’s good start to the competition suffered a dent when they lost to Sussex 3-7. Lauren Charles was beaten by Letitia McMullan in a high paced match 2-3 (-9, 7, 6, -10, -6). Shun Hei Chan stretched Joshua Bennett (11, 9, -9, -4, -5).

Lancashire were beaten by Yorkshire 6-4. Three matches were noteworthy, Ryan Choong’s (Lancs) win over Simon Noutch (5, 7, -8, -7, 8); Victor Guang Shi (Yorkshire) beating Hui Yeung Elliot Chan (-8, 3, 4, -7, 8) and Paul Cicchelli’s win over Simon Noutch (-5, -8, 10, 8, 3)

Round 5

The battle of the top two teams, as Essex faced Middlesex, was an engrossing one.

Umair Mauthoor (Essex) gave them a good start beating Alim Hirji in 4 (7, -9, 8, 8). Israel Awolaja levelled it with a 3-2 win over Emil Erkekov (-13, 9, 8, -9, 8).

Sarah Her-Lee beat Meige Wang in five (3, -9, -7, 3, 9) and the teams were level at 4-4 and with two matches to be played.

Felix Thomis (Middlesex) overcame Umair Mauthoor in a thrilling five-setter (5, 5, -8, -5, 7). Israel Awolaja (Middlesex) followed up with a win over Abdullah Ubaidullah (-9, 6, 5, 7) sealing a win for Middlesex 6-4. This moved them to top of the table – a point difference separating the two teams.

Surrey and Sussex drew 5-5. The Bennett brothers, Joshua and Jack, won both their matches with Jack being extended by Krish Chotai (-10, 10, 8, -9, 9). Letita McMullan won her encounter over Sarah Horsnell 3-0.

Leicestershire beat Yorkshire 6-4 to give themselves a chance of staying in this division. Mohammad Salameh, who was Player of the Match, gave them a perfect start beating Simon Noutch 3-0, with Victor Guang Shi following with a similar win over Luke Greenfield 3-0. Rebecca Savage & Janet Adams pulled Yorkshire level, with Janet scrapping past Karen Smith (6, -1, -10, 5, 8). After seven sets Yorkshire led 4-3. James Hobson lost to Chris Rogers 2-3 (1, -3, 6, -5, -7) but Simon Noutch beat Luke Greenfield 3-2 (5, -10, 4, -2, 9) and Janet beat Jessica Birbeck 3-0. Leicestershire won the next three to clinch the win.

In a one-sided affair, Norfolk thrashed Lancashire 8-2. Their only losses were Veton Zeqiri’s matches against Hui Yeung Elliot Chan and Matthew Westworth respectively.

Round 6

An early start saw Middlesex play Sussex. The scoreline 9-1 to Middlesex did not truly reflect the close nature of the matches. Four ties were five-setters; Meige Wang beat Letitia McMullan (-9, 8, -8,8,6), Israel Awolaja beat Jack Bennett (9, -7, 10, -6, 7) Lok Yee Lo beat Letitia McMullan (-12, 3, -9, 4, 9) and Alim Hirji beat Owen Brown (-10, 7, -8, 13, 8). Two were four-setters and Joshua Bennett was the sole winner for Sussex when he beat Alim Hirji 3-0.

Surrey were 7-3 winners over Norfolk. Bryan Aiglemont lost to Chris Cockburn in five (8, 10, -8, -8, -8) and Krish Chotai beat Shun Hei Chang (1, 10, -8,-10, 9).

Essex beat Yorkshire 7-3 to keep their title hopes alive. Three matches went the full distance. Umair Mauthoor beat Simon Noutch (6, 3, -11, -11, 5); Sarah her-Lee beat Rebecca Savage (-5, 10, 9, -11, 12) and Umair Mauthoor beat James Hobson (12, -14, 6, -5, 5).

In the battle between the bottom two, Leicestershire drew with Lancashire 5-5. The match was 5-4 in favour of Lancashire with Luke Greenfield playing Hui Yeung Elliott Chan which he won (-9, -1, 9, 7, 9).

Round 7

Middlesex beat Surrey 8-2 to make certain the title was retained, and the trophy was won for the 34th time in the 77-year history of the County Championships. Three matches went the full distance. Alim Hirji beat Krish Chotai in the opener (7, -7, -8, 2, 7). Israel Awolaja lost to Bryan Aiglemont (8, -4, -2, 13, -4). Felix Thomis got the better of Krish Chotai (-9, -8, 6, 7, 5).

Yorkshire drew with Sussex 5-5. Rebecca Savage beat Joelle Bennet in five (2, 8, -11-10, 4), Janet Adams lost to Letitia McMullan in 5 (10, 7, -7, -5, -11); James Hobson lost to Joshua Bennett in five, (8, -3, 4, -2, 9) and Victor Guang Shi beat Jack Bennett in a decider (7, 9, -7, -9, 8). Sussex finished third in the table and Yorkshire sixth.

Lancashire drew with Essex, with three of the five sets having a deciding game. Matthew Westworth beat Emil Erkekov (-12, -7, 6, 8, 8). Hui Yeung Elliott Chan beat Emil Erkekov (12, -5, -11, 8, 7). In the last set with Lancashire leading 5-4 and a win needed to possibly keep them in the Premier Division, Matthew Westworth lost to Abdullah Ubaidullah (-9, 7, 7, -9, 5). Lancashire finished bottom with 5pts. Essex ended their campaign with the runners-up spot.

Leicestershire and Norfolk drew 5-5 with none going to a decider. Norfolk ended their efforts with fourth position on 8pts. Leicestershire were seventh and joined Lancashire as relegation candidates.