Westfield's perfect record is ended by a draw

Table-toppers Westfield A paid the price for fielding a weakened side as they lost their 100 per cent record in Division One of the Wellingborough & District Table Tennis League.
Patryk PolanskiPatryk Polanski
Patryk Polanski

They were held to a 5-5 draw by Thrapston as Patryk Polanski saw off all competition for a hat-trick and Stephen Woolston defeated Mark Stockley in three for a fourth point.

Woolston and Polanski teamed up to add the doubles 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8 in a closely-fought contest against Ian Donaldson and Chris Warliker, who gained two wins apiece.

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Wanderers A moved into third place with an 8-2 victory over Old Grammarians A.

Steve Kendall scored the visitors’ only points, making light of his match against John Stamp, but struggling against Andy Law before eventually winning 11-9 in the fifth after losing at the last hurdle against Tony Wharton.

Mick Ball and Phil Laurence were unable to gain any ground, losing out in straight sets.

Chesterwell B put their disappointment in the Challenge Trophy behind them to overthrow the WDHA Royals 7-3.

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Carlton Ellwood claimed a straight sets hat-trick and was ably assisted by Graham Ellson who only lost once, in four ends to Virat Patel in the opening game.

With Luke Hughes adding a single victory over Amit Shah, the final point of the evening went to an Ellson and Ellwood combination in the doubles, winning 9-11, 11-6, 16-14, 11-7 over Patel and Shyam Bavalia.

Wanderers B suffered two 7-3 defeats in as many days.

In a re-arranged clash, Higham Harriers A’s Ian Bird continued his winning streak without losing an end in his team’s success.

Pete Briggs managed two wins for Wanderers with Paul Goodman adding the third point when defeating Graham Bird.

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Norman Wooster put in a fine performance, winning out 11-4, 11-7, 12-14, 7-11, 11-7 against Goodman and gained a second win against Bob Hickson in four ends.

Wanderers went on to suffer a 7-3 loss at St John A but there was a notable achievement for Goodman in an 11-1, 4-11, 13-11, 7-11, 8-11 win over Grant Timms while Hickson beat Pete Boustred.

The home team all secured two wins each with Boustred and Timms adding the doubles by the short route as they moved up one place in the table.

Results: Higham Harriers A 7 (Graham Bird, Ian Bird 3, Norman Wooster 2, doubles I Bird/Wooster) Wanderers B 3 (Pete Briggs 2, Paul Goodman), Chesterwell B 7 (Graham Ellson 2, Lukes Hughes, Carlton Ellwood 3, doubles Ellson/Ellwood) WDHA Royals A 3 (Virat Patel 2, Shyam Bavalia), Westfield A 5 (Stephen Woolston, Patryk Polanski 3, doubles Woolston/Polanski) Thrapston 5 (Ian Donaldson 2, Chris Warliker 2, Mark Stockley), St John A 7 (Pete Boustred 2, Richard Wills 2, Grant Timms 2, doubles Boustred/Timms) Wanderers B 3 (Bob Hickson, Paul Goodman 2), Wanderers A 8 (Tony Wharton 3, Andy Law 2, John Stamp 2, doubles Wharton/Law) Old Grammarians A 2 (Steve Kendall 2).

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Westfield B’s 7-3 success at Wanderers D ensured they stayed on top of Division Two.

There were maximums for the two Charlies – Morrow and Clements – but the scoreline didn’t reflect the close nature of the match with five of the games going to a fifth end and four more needed a fourth end.

Roger Ellingham and Mike Howorth scored single wins for the home team and then Ellingham and Graham Babbage joined forces to record a fine doubles win over the previously unbeaten Morrow and Clements.

Wanderers C whitewashed a weakened WDHA Superkings team 10-0 as they moved up to second.

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There were three wins apiece for Tony Wallis, James Findlay and Maurice Jones. The only resistance came from Manav Pandya who took Jones to a fifth end.

Westfield C’s narrow 6-4 win at Higham Band A moved them up three places to fourth.

Steve Fuller recorded a fine treble and there were two wins for Tim Mason before they combined to take the doubles a seal the victory.

Nigel Magee put up the most resistance for the hosts with a good double while Deirdre Kiziak and Pete Martin chipped in with a single win each.

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Chesterwell C are now re-discovering their form from last season and a second consecutive 9-1 win, this time at Old Grammarians B, sees them well-placed in the league with games in hand on all the other teams.

Maxine Shears, now back to her best, scored her third treble in successive matches and was ably supported by three wins from Stuart Coles and two from Clare Coles.

The home team’s only point came from Martin Rice who edged out Clare 11-8 in the fifth end and this defeat leaves them rooted at the foot of the table.

Results: Higham Band A 4 (Deirdre Kiziak, Nigel Magee 2, Pete Martin) Westfield C 6 (Tim Mason 2, Steve Fuller 3, doubles Mason/Fuller), Wanderers C 10 (Tony Wallis 3, James Findlay 3, Maurice Jones 3, doubles Wallis/Jones) WDHA Superkings 0, Wanderers D 3 (Roger Ellingham, Mike Howorth, doubles Ellingham/Babbage) Westfield B 7 (Charlie Morrow 3, Charlie Clements 3, Leigh Clements), Old Grammarians B 1 (Martin Rice) Chesterwell C 9 (Clare Coles 2, Maxine Shears 3, Stuart Coles 3, doubles Coles/Shears).

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Leaders Chesterwell D stamped their authority on WDHA Knightriders as they recorded one of three 10-0 whitewashes in Division Three.

All sets were won in three ends as Jonathan Driscoll, Duncan Wright and Daniel Mann recorded hat-tricks.

WDHA Challengers also had a clean sweep as they won for the first time this season when seeing off Chesterwell E.

Eight of the 10 sets, including the doubles were over in three ends.

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Hubert Malenda had a close call against Peter Atkins, winning out 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9 while Atkins also took an end from Daniel Bain.

But hat-tricks for Bain, Malenda and Rishan Ganatra sealed the deal.

The other 10-0 win was claimed by Westfield D in their inter-club clash with the E team.

There were a few close results but Stuart Holroyd, Asish Nandi and Amrat Mistry all played consistently well to get three wins apiece and add the doubles 11-3 in the fourth end.

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Second-placed Wanderers E lost a bit of ground on the leaders as they won 9-1 at Higham Harriers C.

Steve Hoole lost out to Matt Hicks 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 10-12, 3-11 in their only setback.

David May edged past new player Eddie Stamp 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7 while May and Derek Shears took the doubles victory, 11-5 in the fifth over Hicks and Stamp.

Results: Chesterwell E 0, WDHA Challengers 10 (Daniel Bain 3, Rishan Ganatra 3, Hubert Malenda 3, doubles Bain/Malenda), Chesterwell D 10 (Johnathan Driscoll 3, Duncan Wright 3, Daniel Mann 3, doubles Driscoll/Wright) WDHA Knightriders D 0, Higham Harriers C 1 (Matt Hicks) Wanderers E 9 (Steve Hoole 2, David May 3, Derek Shears 3, doubles May/Shears), Westfield D 10 (Stuart Holroyd 3, Asish Nandi 3, Amrat Mistry 3, doubles Holroyd/Nandi) Westfield E 0.

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In the first round of the Seoni Merit Awards, sponsored by Seoni Clothing, there are two players who have qualified for the awards while still maintaining 100 per cent records.

To qualify, players need to have played 75 per cent of their teams’ matches.

And Chesterwell D, who top the Division Three table, have all three of their team at the top of the table - Johnathan Driscoll, making a return to the league this year, and Daniel Mann, who finished fifth in the table last season, are both unbeaten and third place goes to Duncan Wright, who has lost the two points.

Hot on their heels are second-placed Wanderers E, who have two of their four players in the first round.

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Current Division One leaders Westfield A have no representation in this round as their players have not played sufficient matches.

Topping this round is Grant Timms, who was unfortunate to lose a game this week to Paul Goodman. All three of second-placed Chesterwell A figure in the table as does Carlton Ellwood for Chesterwell B.

You can also see why Westfield B are leading the Division Two tables with three of their players with good averages.

Mark Thomas, who has now moved up from Westfield C, shares pole position with Charlie Morrow.

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