FOUR players from the Southend and District League featured for Essex in their final three Premier League matches of the season at Milton Keynes.

The prestigious headquarters of Badminton England was the venue for some top class badminton.

Many of the country's top players were on view and with championship and relegation issues to settle, competition was fierce.

Essex's chances of overhauling Yorkshire at the top of the table were effectively dashed by the late withdrawal of Caroline Westley and a call to international duty in Finland for highly promising teenager Sarah Walker.

Viv Gillard and Sue Crompton were called up from Southend's Leighway, where they joined club mates Karina Bryant, the Essex captain, and James Anderson, the county number one.

Essex drew the opening match against Glasgow and Strathclyde, who virtually included the entire Scottish national squad!

Allison Pearson took the eye with a classic display in the first ladies' singles, where she defeated Frances Heslop 21-9, 21-11.

There was a fine win in the second ladies' doubles - 21-19 in the third - for Viv Gillard and Sue Crompton, while Karina Bryant and Tracey Dineen were unlucky to lose a 16-21 decider to Imogen Bankier and Helen Blaire.

It was Bankier's mixed doubles defeat of Gale Emms and partner at this stage last season that doomed the England number one's team, Hertfordshire, to relegation.

James Anderson and Peter Jeffrey continued their winning ways with a 21-10, 21-13 defeat of David Forbes and Colin Hill.

Allison Pearson rolled back the years in the afternoon match against Yorkshire, rocking the defending champions with a wonderful 21-15, 21-17 defeat of 10th ranked Helen Ward.

One-three down after the singles, Essex hit back strongly in the men's doubles where Anderson and Jeffrey accounted for Edward and Stephen Foster, 21-12 in the third.

Joel Gayle and Andy Frye saw off Marcus Ellis and James Vincent in two.

The absence of Caroline Westley and Sarah Walker cost Essex dear in the two ladies doubles and Yorkshire took a 5-3 lead.

Peter Jeffrey and Allison Pearson pulled one back for Essex with narrow victory over Stephen Foster and fifth ranked doubles partner Jenny Wallwork. Anderson and Karina Bryant just lost out 18-21 in the third end to Edward Foster and Sarah Bok.

Yorkshire won 6-4 in a match that Essex could well have won had they been able to field their full team.

Sunday saw the final match of the season with Essex pitched against third placed Warwickshire. With just one point needed to clinch the runners-up spot - and the silver medal - Joel Gayle promptly obliged in the men's singles with a comfortable win against Chris Dakin.

Sarah Walker, now back from Finland, then demonstrated what might have been, combining superbly with Karina Bryant to defeat England's number three ranked singles' star, Jill Pittard, who was playing with Catherine Grant.

Anderson finished the season in great style. by teaming up with Peter Jeffrey to thwart Rajeev Bagga and Chris Tonks in straight games.

He then joined forces with Karina Bryant to see off Carl Goode and Claire Millward in the mixed doubles.

Essex finished second of the 10 counties in the National Premier League, eight points clear of Warwickshire, while Worcestershire and Bucks are relegated.