Adeyfield take the scalp of reigning champions Crown & Sceptre

After a series of drawn matches between the top-three teams in Division One of the Hemel Hempstead Table Tennis League, Adeyfield I finally broke the sequence by defeating reigning champions Crown & Sceptre I 6-4.
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Dave Wackrill was the star of the night, bagging a maximum to help Adeyfield to the important win.

The team then continued their fine form with a 9-1 victory over Flamstead I and another 9-1 win over Row; with Mike Boardman achieving a double maximum.

Crown I hit back with an emphatic 10-0 whitewash over Northchurch I thanks to the efforts of Marc Lyons, Alan Thomas and Dave Gomm.

Meanwhile, table topping St Michaels had three victories to celebrate; 9-1 against Adeyfield A, 8-2 over Row and 6-4 against Flamstead I, for whom Angela Smith remains unbeaten. Martin Livesey led the way with two maximums for the leaders.

Flamstead then drew 5-5 with Adeyfield A – for whom Mike Branscombe bagged a maxmimum – before Flamstead beat Northchurch 8-2.

Things then got even worse for Northchurch as they were thrashed 10-0 by Crown & Sceptre A.

Meanwhile, Flamstead A remain top of Division Two after recording a close 6-4 win over McAlpines A.

Second-placed Crown & Sceptre B closed the gap to just three points with successive victories over Adeyfield B (9-1) and KLCC I (7-3), with Dave Easey bagging a maximum.

McAlpine I edged out their A team 6-4 despite the efforts of Xinjun Wang for the losers.

The first team then beat Crown & Sceptre C 9-1, with Alex Hamilton and Trevor Leverno leading the way, but despite the efforts of Hamilton they slipped to a 6-4 defeat to Flamstead B.

KLCC I had mixed fortunes with a 10-0 drubbing of Adeyfield B and an 8-2 reverse against McAlpines A, for whom Xinjun Wang and Chris Pedley did the damage.

Elsewhere, Division Three leaders St Georges I kept their unbeaten record intact with thumping victories over Crown & Sceptre D (10-0) and KLCC A (9-1), with Jackie Channell gaining a double maximum.

They then had a narrow 6-4 win over Flamstead C, with Tony Bourke hitting a treble for the losers.

Second placed Adeyfield C kept in touch with three victories of their own; 8-2 versus Northchurch A, 7-3 against Highfield, and a comfortable 9-1 thumping of St Georges A. Pick of the bunch for Adeyfield were Mariusz Puczynski and Bob Sapuan.

Northchurch A whitewashed Crown & Sceptre D 10-0 and also won 6-4 against Flamstead C, while Crown D lost 10-0 to Highfield.

Despite a Dennis Chang maximum, St Georges A could only manage a 5-5 draw with Highfield.

Away from league action, teams were battling it out in the quarter-finals of the Wren Cup and Wren Plate.

In the Cup, Flamstead I won by just two points against Crown & Sceptre B, while St Michaels triumphed by 24 points in their match.

Other teams who made it through to the semis were Adeyfield I and Highfield.

In the Plate, Adeyfield C narrowly pipped KLCC I by two points, with Crown & Sceptre D beating Adeyfield A by only three points.

Adeyfield B went through quite comfortably, while Crown & Sceptre A were awarded a walkover into the semi-finals