Things have certainly tightened up in the Basildon and Thurrock district badminton association American League after Waterside A claimed four wins in the latest round of matches.

For their latest clean sweep saw them close the gap on fourth placed East Thurrock A to one point.

To make things more interesting, BEI Europa let slip their chance by unexpectedly losing three matches, and now top the division by a single point.

Lake Meadows are second but have seen their lead over Stanford also reduced to one point.

Results

1. Waterside A (Fletcher Jowett and Simon Phillips) bt Stanford 21-3; bt Lake Meadows 21-14; bt East Thurrock A 21-6; bt BEI Europa 21-2.

2. Stanford A (Scott Harris and Peter Jones) bt BEI Europa 21-16; bt East Thurrock A 21-13; bt Lake Meadows 21-15.

3. Lake Meadows (Ritchie Watt and Rod Moreton) by East Thurrock A 21-16; bt BEI Europa A 21-15.

4. BEI Europa A (Andy Visram and Ian Taplin) bt East Thurrock A 21-13.

5. East Thurrock A (Russell Star and Dave Luff) - No wins.

Rayleigh regain top sport

Meanwhile, a maximum of four wins for Rayleigh Park B put them back at the top of the mixed third division, level on wins with Waterside C, but with a superior points average.

Thurrock's three wins keeps them comfortably third - four clear of Stanford A - who lead Barstable C by a three point margin.

Results

1. Rayleigh Park B (Kevin Leeds and Jane Lee) bt Barstable C 21-13; bt Waterside C 21-12; bt Thurrock A 21-16; bt Stanford A 21-2.

2. Thurrock A (Dean Smith and Leanne Archer) bt Waterside C 21-10; bt Stanford A 21-5; bt Barstable C 21-16.

3. Waterside C (Brad Clark and Sandy Woolacott) bt Barstable C 21-6; bt Stanford A 21-5.

4. Barstable C ( Chris Ridley and Peggie King) bt Stanford A 21-6.

5. Stanford (Alan Low and Sue Pledger) - no wins.

Saints march on

In the Ladies Premier Division, St Aidans-Leigh continue their march on the title.

They enjoyed a resounding success over struggling Westcliff seconds (J.Harrison/N.Harrison, Tatum/Emerson, Barber/Morris). And with five wins from five matches the current champions look set to comfortably retain their title.

Westcliff drew level on points with Saints following a narrow 5-4 win away to Fitzwimarc (Crompton/Norris). However, they have little chance of taking top spot having played two games more than their Chalkwell based rivals.

In Division One, Belle Vue recorded their first win of the season with a 5-4 win at Great Wakering, despite a battling maximum from the home team's Tibble/Beaver combination.

Belle Vue's second team were not so lucky on their travels in Division Two, going down 7-2 to Sapphire seconds (Cattell/Hayward, Smith/Taylor).

Sapphire's first team also impressed with a 6-3 win away to bottom placed Phoenix (Halton/Edwards), a victory which moves them into second place just two points behind Fitzwimarc seconds, but with a game in hand.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.