The Woodford Wells Club played host to the cup finals as the Woodhouse, Sanderson, and Webster Cups reached their climax.
The Sanderson Cup saw two understrength sides meet, with Maldon 1 facing Hamptons 1. Maldon were missing Mark McEwen, who was on England Over-35s duty, and Jon Matthews, while Hamptons were without captain Nigel Bacon and Richard Horswill. The early stages of the match went Maldon’s way, with victories for Pat Kielty and Paul Hodge putting the team from Chelmsford under pressure.
A nip-and-tuck match at string three saw Essex Over-45s teammates Dave Smith and Malcolm McEwen face off. Smith just got the better of McEwen, nicking the game by a single point. Despite Smith’s win at string three, Hamptons were still a few points behind with two matches to play. Step forward, the Brown brothers. First up was elder brother Jamie Brown, who proved far too strong for Paul Wallace in the string one match. With the match looking very tight, younger brother Louis Brown faced Adam Safwat. A strong start from Brown gave him a healthy lead, and despite a late fightback from Safwat, Brown had secured enough of a winning margin to clinch the Sanderson Cup for Hamptons.
The Woodhouse Cup saw Hamptons 2 face Woodford Wells 2, who stepped in at the last minute to replace Gidea Park 3, who were unfortunately unable to field a side. String ones began the match, with Louis Brown showing strong form to win the game by a healthy 14-point margin. Next up was the five string, where Woodford Wells’ Adam Waring closed the gap with a good victory over Hamptons’ Jackie Gregory.
Next saw Hamptons captain Steve Impett face Marc Thornley. Thornley was in imperious form and romped home to a 30–4 victory. This was enough to swing the match back in Woodford Wells’ favour. A one-point victory for Hamptons’ Tony Bickley over Harry Best wasn’t enough to worry Woodford Wells. Last up, Laura Neill displayed a very consistent performance to get the better of Steve Gatenby and give Woodford Wells 2 the win. Well done, Woodford Wells 2!
The Webster Cup final saw Kingswood 3 face Gidea Park 2. Gidea Park 2 were without captain Kenny Trim, but strong performances from Mark Robertson, Brandon Higgins-Pearce, and Steve Burnett were enough to give them the win. Well done, Gidea Park 2!
The finals night was excellently supported, and a huge thanks goes out to Jon Caton, Mike Hegarty, the Woodford Wells Club, and their chairman Guy Dolden, who was on hand in the kitchen to make sure players and spectators were well fed.
The evening also saw the presentation of the league trophies:
Premier Division – Woodford Wells
Division One East – Hamptons 2
Division One West – David Lloyd Gidea Park 3
Well done everyone!
