Leaders toppled by Jeffernauts
But Extra Edge are still hot favourites to clinch title
THATCHAM Extra Edge (Phil Davenport, Jonathan Clarke & Celia Hooker) suffered a rare defeat in Division 1 of the Newbury League as they were beaten 7-3 by the powerful Thatcham Jeffernauts team of James Ellicot, Tony Brown & Fallon Thompson.
Davenport beat Ellicot 3-0, lost to player-of-the-match Thompson 1-3 and to Brown in five games, while Clarke beat Brown 3-1, beat Ellicot 3-2 and lost to Thompson 1-3.
Hooker was unlucky not to record a victory, losing to Ellicot 0-3 and losing to both Thompson & Brown in five games.
Woolton Hill Wildcats (Ajai Kamath, Viktor Veres & Simon Sonsino) lost 8-2 to Thatcham Scorpions’ Eric Van Looy, Lee Calcutt & Simon Barter.
Kamath lost 0-3 to Barter and player-of-the-match Calcutt and 5-11 in the fifth to Van Looy.
Veres beat Van Looy 3-1 and lost in five games to both Calcutt and Barter, while Sonsino went down 1-3 to Barter, Calcutt & Van Looy.
Thatcham Jeffernauts (James Ellicot, Fallon Thompson & Tony Brown) then brushed aside Thatcham C (Jack Savage, Colin Price & Nestor Ceron) 9-1.
Star player Ellicot beat Savage and Ceron, both in three close games, and then outgunned Price 3-0.
Thompson won all three games 3-0, and Brown beat Price & Savage 3-0 and Ceron 3-1.
In an all-Woolton Hill encounter, Wolverines (Dave Barr, Richard Fettes & Jonathan Hopson) beat Eagles (Antony Baker, Keith Langley & Darren Jones) 7-3.
Player-of-the-match Barr beat Baker & Langley 3-0, although he was frequently stretched by Jones’ driving forehands and was somewhat fortunate to preserve his season’s unbeaten record, winning
6-11, 11-3, 11-3, 13-11.
Fettes beat Langley 3-0 and Baker 3-1 and in a close contest was beaten 11-9, 3-11, 1-11, 9-11 by Jones.
Hopson was no match for Jones and Baker, losing 0-3, although he managed to beat Langley 3-1.
Despite two recent defeats, the Division 1 trophy is now well within Thatcham Extra Edge’s grasp, as they have 53 points from 18 games.
The battle for second is between Kintbury JOG, with 48 points from 19 games, and Woolton Hill Wolverines with 41 points from 17 games.
In Division 2, AWE Fission (Bob Harris, John Jenkin & John McLarty) beat Thatcham Hawks (Christine Milne, Bob Lynch & Ian Dickason) 7-3.
Player-of-the-match Harris beat Milne 3-0, Dickason 3-2 and Lynch 3-1, while Jenkin lost to Milne 0-3, to Dickason 2-3 and to Lynch 1-3.
McLarty beat Milne 3-0, Dickason 3-1 and Lynch 3-2.
Thatcham Lions (Eddie Haines, Dave Martin & Phil Jones) trounced Kintbury Cobras (Bob Nash, Richard Hudson & Jenny Tanner) 10-0.
A special mention goes to Hudson, who lost 9-11 in the fourth game against Haines and also lost 9-11 in the fifth game against both Martin & Jones.
Thatcham Spartans have a commanding seven-point lead at the top of Division 2 with 46 points from 15 games.
Thatcham Lions are second with 39 from 16 and AWE Fission are third with 39 from 15.
In Division 3, Woolton Hill Wrens (Martin Berry, Vijay Kesarariman & Mary Cherowbrier) recorded a 9-1 victory against Thatcham Spitfires (Christine Haines, Pat Shaw & Joshua Price).
Best player Berry won all three matches 3-0, while Kesarariman also completed a hat-trick.
Thatcham Tornadoes (Reece O’Neill, Rowan Quittenton & Dan O’Neill) drew 5-5 with Thatcham A & E Specials (Pete Blunden, Lorraine Mortimer & Bill Bavister).
Thatcham A & E Specials lead the division with 44 points from 15 games, ahead of Woolton Hill Tomahawks with 39 from 15 and Thatcham Tornadoes with 35 from 14.