Burnham & Dist: Blackwater are boiling hot

September 25, 2025 | Eamonn Hall

The Burnham & District Table Tennis League is back in business and the opening week saw two upsets in the top division and an unprecedented whitewash of victories for all six of the Blackwater Clubs. 

What an amazing start for the Maldon based outfit, as they rubbed their local produce into the wounds of their humbled opponents.  

The opening contests in Division 1 saw two of last yearâ€s Championship contenders bested by much lower ranked opponents. The pre-season favourites Mapledene A fell to Woodham B in a 6-4 contest that saw Woodhamâ€s Sanjay Saptarshi (pictured above) unbeaten for his opening hat-trick of the season. 

Harry Sawford chipped in with two points including an impressive straight sets win over Steve Muth. The final point came from captain Eamonn Hall with his own straight sets win over Pat White. 

The match of the night saw Sawford and ex-Woodham team-mate Dan Patynski go toe-to-toe in an all-out five-set slugfest that Patynski eventually won after trailing 2-1 earlier on in the match.  Patynski was Mapledeneâ€s best player on the night as he opened his account with two singles and the doubles in combination with Muth. 

In the second shock of the week the Galacticos of Fambridge were subdued by a very talented and hard-working Mapledene B trio. Fambridge star player Keith Adams did not disappoint with his personal hat-trick that included a tricky 13-11 fifth set triumph over the unbeaten Glenn Johnson. 

For Mapledene the damage was done by the quiet and demure pairing of Johnson and Keith Willett who won two singles apiece and teamed up for an excellent five-set doubles bonus point. Simon Jacob completed the scoring for Mapledene with a three-set win over Bruce Kettle. These early shocks have set the pigeons amongst the cats for sure.

In Division 2 there were plenty of familiar faces and the results went largely as expected given the teams on display. 

Blackwater A and B both won their matches against the lower Cold Norton sides. Blackwater A didnâ€t take too long to get the measure of the brand new Cold Norton E side where only the experienced Dick Wyman proved difficult to beat. Wyman took both of his teamâ€s points, but was unable to cope with the loopy forehand attack of Neil Freeman which saw Freeman take his first (of many expected) hat-tricks in this division. Freeman was ably wing-manned by Blackwater stalwarts Alan Scammell and Denis Balic. 

The B team posted a 7-3 victory over the stronger Cold Norton D side with the ‘dancing queen†that is Mervyn Perriman unbeaten all night in singles and doubles for a very well-deserved Player of the Match accolade. Louis Gunn partnered Perriman in the doubles victory and added two singles victories to boost the score for Blackwater. 

Mapledene C fielded a strong trio for the opener against Maldon B and came away with a healthy 8-2 victory with hat-tricks for Dave Woolmer and Tony Ayliffe. 

In the final match of the Division Woodham C fielded an extremely strong line-up that bodes well for the season, posting a 7-3 triumph over the tough to beat Stow Maries B side with a hat-trick for young star Peter Harverson, and two wins for new captain Scott Perry and new signing Tim Pulham.

The Blackwater siege continued unabated in Division 3 as Blackwater teams C to F won all four of the divisional contests to totally dominate the early leaderboard. 

The very talented C team made fast work of the Maldon E side with Maldonâ€s trusty John Leavett saving the whitewash with a respectable four-set win over Andrea Alleyne. For Blackwater there were hat-tricks for both Colin Barham and Gary Smith. 

The D side included a winning return to Burnham for Roger Tiffin in a 7-3 turnover of Maldon D. All three of the D team posted two wins as they all fell to the defensive know-how of Maldonâ€s transfer window signing Tim Huxtable. For Blackwater Dave Benstead and Jacqui Treacy provided the remaining points.  

The E team had the toughest evening as they squeezed past Woodham D with a tight 6-4 margin in a team effort where the trio of Kath Little, Keith Thompson and Deb Ginn all won two apiece. For Woodham Chris Crooks won two and debutant Jean Chasmer added another point before they paired up for an excellent doubles bonus point. 

The F team had a much easier time against St Lawrence as they emerged victorious with a decent 8-2 points haul. A ‘nine-dart†hat-trick for Jason Bush as he starts the season in style, and a commendable hat-trick for David McHattie, with Peter Hughes chipping in with two wins having lost an epic five-set battle with the effervescent Dave Siggins. Siggins and Nigel Brand then upset the odds with an unexpected doubles win to keep the rampant Blackwater trio in check – just a little bit!

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