Braintree League: Relegation places could be close

October 27, 2025 | Ron Fosker

The struggle to avoid relegation from division one of the Braintree Table Tennis League could be one of the most intriguing of recent years with no obvious candidate for the drop.

Two of the contenders – the teams promoted last season – met last week and battled out a draw. Neil Freeman was the man in form for Black Notley B, notching up three wins, while Richard Fifield took two for Sudbury Wanderers.

Rayne B, who as Rayne C avoided the bottom spot by just five points last season, were beaten 7-3 by Netts B, who finished two places above them in their previous guise as Notley A. Chris Parr won his three singles for Netts and was the only one to beat Peter Hance.

Liberal C, who footed the table, have joined with their B team this year and it was a mix of the two that drew with Notley A. Adam Cuthbert led the way with his three singles.

Alistair Hill was unbeaten for Liberalâ€s A team but could not stave off a 6-4 defeat by Rayne A.

Rayne C kept up their 100 per cent record in division two with a 7-3 win over their own D team, but not before Adi Kamma had registered three wins for the D team, including a rare defeat for Matthew Brown, his first of the season.

Netts D retain second place but were held to a draw by their own C team. Charles Calisin faced both his father and brother for the first time. He beat his dad easily enough but had a battle royal with brother JJ before emerging 3-2 (4-11, 8-11, 14-12, 12-10, 11-9).

Rayneâ€s E team share third place with their D team after an 8-2 win over Notley C. Richard Whiteisde and new signing James Grimston were unbeaten.

Notley C had earlier beaten Netts C 6-4. In a neat bit of symmetry, Matt Stephenson, playing up, won his three singles, as he had the previous week when representing Notley D against Netts D.

Yeldham Whitlocks A recorded their first win of the season, 6-4 over Notley D, but promoted Finchingfield A continue to struggle. They wilted 7-3 against Sudbury Strollers in the face of the double threat of Ken Lewis and John Colvin, who were both unbeaten.

Rayne F tasted defeat for the first time in division three, and it was an inspiring performance from 16-year-old Harry Wilson that led to their downfall against Notley H. His three singles in the 7-3 win included a first defeat of the season of Conrad Gomes – in straight games too.

No such problems for Finchingfield B, who shared the top spot with Rayne F the previous week. They beat Rayne G 8-2 with three singles from Trevor Laird.

Laird was the only one to beat Karl Bowden, but he so nearly didnâ€t. He was 2-1 down in games and was taken to 18-16 in the fourth before clinching the win in the decider.

Notley G beat Yeldham B 7-3 – three sets for Ben Southgate – while the other two matches finished 10-0, Notley E against Sudbury Drifters and Notley F against Netts E.

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