National under-14 boys' champion Lewis Gray has relinquished his No 1 spot in the latest England cadet (under-15) rankings.

The Benenden 14-year-old, who is a member of the Weald Club, has been knocked off the top spot, which he had held since July, by Zak Zilesnick of Middlesex.

A couple of close defeats to players ranked slightly below him have led to Gray’s demotion, and for the same reason the Angley School pupil, Cranbrook, has also dropped two places from No 18 to No 20 in the junior (under-18) boys’ rankings.

His father, Diccon Gray, said: “It might be all down to just one match where Lewis held a match point, before losing.”

Gray’s Weald Club colleague, Yolanda King, retains her position as No 3 England cadet girl and No 11 junior girl. The Hastings 14-year-old has twice beaten England No 5 junior Mary Fuller (Yorkshire) in the past month.

Weald Club coach Ken Muhr said: “Lewis and Yolanda are well capable of beating older, higher ranked players, and their target should be to get into the England junior top 10."