The final two matches of the season sorted out a few positional dramas for Division 1 of the Burnham & District Table Tennis League.

Woodham A secured third place with a tight 6-4 win over two-player Mapledene B, and Cold Norton A brought out their stars in the battle to avoid relegation and duly dispatched Woodham B into relegation mires with a 9-1 comprehensive victory.

Cold Norton A trio Duncan Taylor, Kevin Read, and Charles Sweeny all took singles hat-tricks in their final match together for Cold Norton A. Eamonn Hall and Peter Harverson took the doubles glory with a comfortable four-set win over Taylor and outgoing Skipper Steve Maltby.

The unluckiest player on the night was Woodham’s Harry Sawford who went all the way to five against Sweeny, and then had three match points at 10-7 up in the fifth against Kevin Read before experience got the better of exuberance and Read won out 14-12 for the narrowest of wins. Read had also had tough battles with both Harverson and Hall earlier in the evening losing a leg to each.

This victory preserves Cold Norton A’s Division 1 status should they wish to continue next season – that fate of Woodham B is in the balance with two teams keen to be promoted from Div 2.

In the delayed final fixture of the season Woodham A just needed a victory to secure third place, and the probability of this happening was dramatically increased when Mapledene could only field a two-player team. So Woodham had a 3-0 headstart, and Men’s Singles Champion Dan Young in their squad – so things were looking good.

In the end they limped through 6-4 despite some inspired performances from the Mapledene duo. Young won his two singles both in four sets, and Dan Piggott defeated the in-form Anthon Ranjit-Singh for the six points to secure third place. Mapledene won the rest with Keith Willet taking two singles, and Ranjit-Singh finishing the campaign on a high with his first win of the season. Willet and Ranjit-Singh then paired up for an inspired five-set doubles victory over Young and Piggott. That final point was enough to take Mapledene B above Mapledene A and secure fourth spot in what has been a phenomenal season for the team.