Richard Barham was in confident mood as Essex bid to make the top flight in the LTA Inter-County Championship at Swansea at the weekend.

The Westcliff Hardcourts player was selected along side club-mate Simon Bonham for the three-day event which will see the winners promoted to Group 1.

Essex will be taking on Sussex, Cheshire and South Wales in Group 2A at the Welsh National Tennis Centre but Richard is going into the event with an open mind.

"We should do all right as we have a good team on the go," said the 22-year-old from Rayleigh before the tie.

"I'm not sure what the other teams are like but our team spirit is very good."

The tournament will see Essex play each county at singles and doubles but it is the singles which will be special for the finance agent.

"I have played for the county in the summer for the last four years but it is always doubles," he explained.

"This is the first time I will have played singles for the county.

"My ambition is to go to a higher ranking in the county team as I'm playing at number six at the moment."

But Richard said it was difficult to improve his tennis when he is having to combine the game with work.

It is an all-too familiar problem for many talented players who find themselves with only evenings and weekends to play.

"After college I had to start earning a living so I could not carry on with playing as much tennis as I would have liked.

"It was a shame as I would probably have been Wimbledon champion," Richard joked.

But he has achieved a lot already, including receiving his county colours and being Westcliff Hardcourts men's singles champion twice.

And one of the highlights came this summer when Richard was part of the Hardcourts team which made it through to the finals of the National Singles League at Bournemouth.

After a fine series of victories in the regional competition, the Hardcourts faced some of the top clubs in the country and were knocked at in the first round.

"It was a good weekend. We did not do that well because a lot of them were playing full time and being paid.

"Basically we play at weekends and a little bit at the evening, so we did well to get where we did."

Kiss of death for Lawn result

Southend Lawn thought they had drawn 3-3 with Hockley in Ladies' Division Two until it was discovered they had fielder an unregistered player.

Stefanie Kiss was ineligible to play her rubber with Sara Needham so their 6-4 3-6 6-1 defeat to Hockley's Pat Bladon and Janie Achterberg was scratched and a walkover given to the Hockley duo.

Instead of the match standing at at three sets all, the walkover meant the adjusted score was 3-2 in Hockley's favour, giving them four points to Lawn's two.

Quartet conquer Castle

Westcliff Hardcourts were gifted a 4-0 Essex Winter League Division One doubles victory after Cranbrook Castle could only field one pair.

But with two rubbers being scratched, the Hardcourts quartet showed the two players from the Ilford club no mercy.

Richard Barham and John Handelaar won 10-4 in the first to ten games competition and Mark Bertola and Lance Owen ran out 10-5 winners.

Westcliff Lawn finished up drawing their Winter League Division Two encounter with Cranston Park 2-2.

Steve Wynn and Bryan Rivers won their two events but Ian McDonald and Ken Poole lost their to players from the Upminster club, which fielded Martin Vine.

The ladies from Westcliff Lawn lost 4-0 when they played Gidea Park Division One of the Essex Winter League.

Diana Carradus, Sarah Ball, Karen Rivers and Lyndsay Watt were the unlucky quartet who played what is probably the strongest team in the division.

Leigh and Westcliff results

Men's results:

Division One: Kent Elms v Rayleigh (6-3 1-6 2-6, 6-4 0-6 1-6) sets 2-4, Westcliff Hard v Westcliff Lawn (6-7 3-6, 6-3 4-6 7-5) sets 2-3.

Division Two: Kent Elms II v Invicta (6-2 6-2, 3-6 3-6) sets 2-2, Westcliff Lawn II v Westcliff Hard II (6-1 1-6 2-6, 4-6 5-7) sets 1-4.

Division Three: Invicta II v Southend Lawn (6-4 2-6 6-4, 0-6 6-0 6-0) sets 4-2.

Division Four: Westcliff Hard IV v Westcliff Lawn III (3-6 4-6, 6-7 3-6) sets 0-4, Kent Elms III v Hadleigh Park (0-6 0-6, 3-6 2-6) sets 0-4.

Division Five: Westcliff Lawn IV v Thorpe Bay IV (5-7 2-6, 0-6 6-4 6-1.

Division Six:Rochford v Southend Lawn II (6-1 6-3, 6-2 6-1) sets 4-0.

Ladies' results:

Division One: Westcliff Hard v Thorpe Bay (6-4 6-4, 3-6 3-6) sets 2-2.

Division Two: Hockley v Southend Lawn (4-6 6-1 4-6, 6-0 6-0) 3-2.

Division Four: Leigh II v Thorpe Bay III (5-7 6-2 6-7, 6-4 6-3) sets 4-2.

Division Five: Leigh III v Westcliff Hard IV (6-3 6-3, 6-2 1-6 4-6) sets 3-2.

Mixed results:

Division One: Kent Elms v Rayleigh (6-1 6-2, 6-4 1-6) sets 3-6.

Division Two: Hadleigh Park v Kent Elms II (4-6 6-2 6-7, 6-1 6-7 7-5) sets 3-3.

Division Three: Leigh II v Thorpe Bay II (0-6 2-6, 2-6 2-6) sets 0-4, Rayleigh II v Invicta (6-0 6-1, 7-6 6-3) sets 4-0.

Division Four: Wickford II v Westcliff Hard III (6-2 2-6 4-6) sets 2-4).

Division Five: Thorpe Bay III v St Peters (6-1 6-3, 6-1 6-0) sets 4-0.

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