A tear crept onto the cheek of
10 year old Brandon Crouchman and 11 year old Scott Dowsett
when they lost by the narrowest margin (3:2) their opening
match in the semi-final stage of the Chelmsford &
District Table Tennis League's CLICK KO Cup to Danbury A.
Danbury had already been soundly beaten 3:0 by joint
favourites Baddow A (Tom
Lee and Matt Davis). Both teams thought they were down and
out. But Scott and Brandon had forgotten that they still had
a second match to play in the 3 team group to decide which
team would go through to the final. So they found themselves
straight back on the table with no time to dwell against
their A side. And what a reversal! In a match that had to be
played in rather rushed conditions at the end of a long
evening Tom & Matt simply could not overcome their
handicaps allowing Scott and Brandon to run out 3:1 winners.
Each team in the group had therefore won 1 match, so out
came the slide rule, but it was the following morning
before the competition organiser could officially announce
that Scott & Brandon had qualified for the final - the 2
points gained in defeat making all the difference. And boy
did the tears turn to joy when they heard the news! In the
other half of the CLICK KO Cup semi final, Baddow Village B
(Clare and James Austin) ousted the other joint favourites Hylands
A with 3:1 victories in both their matches to secure a place
in an all Baddow final. This is the second year that the
CLICK KO Cup Final has been an all Baddow affair, perhaps
showing something of the Clubs strength in junior table
tennis at the present time. The Final will be on the 31
March at Melbourne and all spectators will be welcome.
In other C&DTTL KO Cup
events Baddow teams have also qualified for places in the
final. The League Junior KO Cup will also be an all Baddow
affair, with the Cup holders Baddow Village A (Sam Pitt,
Haydn Upson and Rykki Vansertima) taking on their B side
(Bradley Hudgell, Laura Pyman and Phil Twite) in the Final.
The A side got through to the final with a good win over
last years beaten finalists ECC A, whilst the B side showed
no mercy in despatching Baddow C (Hannah Pitt, Matt Skeoch
and Tom Lee) 5:0. You can expect the final to be a
feast of all that's best in junior table tennis.
And not to be outdone by the
juniors the Clubs division 2 side have reached the final of
the 2Down KO Cup. The team of Adrian Pitt, Ray Lawrence and
Julie Vansertima brushed aside Billericay, the joint leaders
of division 2, with a tremendous 5:1 victory. They will now
face the division's top side Danbury in the final, and again
you can expect this to be a cracking match. Well worth an
outside bet for Baddow to cause a major upset by toppling
the runaway divisional leaders. And last, but by no means
least, in division 6, led by non-playing captain Diane Pitt
our Baddow Village B side of Ian Austin, Adam Pitt and
Andy Lager have reached the final of the 6Down KO Cup where
they will take on runaway divisional leaders Danbury. Maybe
room for another major upset? Not bad overall though, 6
teams through to KO Cup Finals.
