Club Championship 2005 - Commentaries

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Saturday 23rd April - Finals Night

We had one of the best finals nights of recent years tonight.  All three matches were close affairs with all players giving 100%.  There were a few players conspicuous by their absence, but the usual crowd turned up to watch and cheer on the players and then retired to the bar for prize giving, a (short!) speech from our captain and nibbles and drinks.

Plate Final

The first match of the evening was the plate final between Ian Smith and Paul Heneghan (me!).  I'd seen Ian play over the last couple of days, and he looked to be in dangerous form, so I was determined not to go down 3-0.  In fact, I may have overdone it in the first game - I served hard, and kept Ian pinned to the back of the court and took the game fairly easily 9/1.  I tried my hardest to keep the momentum up in the second, but let the pace drop slightly, and this was all Ian needed to start playing his usual volley/drop game.  Whenever he got the chance, he would do a backhand drop, and then volley drop any high return I might make.  I got to most of these, but they took their toll.  At 6/5 to me in that game, I needed to win it to get a 2-0 cushion, but that's when Ian played his best squash, and drew me to the front with drops and then hit crosscourts past me.  Ian took the second game 9/7.  The third game followed the same pattern, except Ian broke his racket towards the end.  You would have thought a new racket would have upset his game slightly, but not a bit of it - he took the third 9/6.

I got off to an early start in the 4th game.  Ian lost a bit of accuracy with his drops, and I was able to hit good clearing crosscourts off them which weren't coming off the back wall.  Once I'd gone 5/0 up, Ian started conserving himself for the fifth, so I took the fourth fairly convincingly 9/1.  The question now was, could Ian get going again?  Unfortunately for me, he could.  In fact, my squash became distinctly ragged, and I gave away several strokes.  I also chose do play some pretty poor drops in the hope that Ian's mobility had lessened, but Ian's a great competitor, and he got to them and hit winners off them.  Ian took the fifth game 9/1 and the match 3-2.  It was a good match, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ladies' Final

Next up, was the ladies' final between Frances Heneghan (1) and Anne Tomkins (2).  In fact this match started much too early as Anne had to get away, so there were lots of complaints later from people who wanted to watch it and couldn't - we'll ensure that the finals matches are run consecutively next year as intended!

Frances hasn't played competitive squash for 18 months due to injury, so her fitness was questionable.  Anne has been playing pretty regularly, but was nursing a knee injury - would the match be played all the way through?  Frances got off to a great start.  She seemed to be back to her old self, hitting the ball hard, volley dropping aggressively, and retrieving where necessary.  She took the first game 9/2.  Unfortunately, she couldn't maintain this pace, and Anne's boasts were taking quite a bit out of her, causing her to lose length on the replies.  This gave Anne the chance to play the shot of her choice and move Frances round the court.  Once Anne moved into a 5/1 lead, the outcome was inevitable - second game to Anne with a score of 9/4.  The third game was neck and neck, but Anne got the last few points to take it 9/6.

The fourth game was a long game - the longest of the match.  Anne was playing consistently well, and Frances seemed to have found a second wind.  Frances managed to get 6/3 in front by going back to basics and doing some nice straight tight lengths.  Anne dug in though, did a few nice serves, and Frances's return of serve deserted her as she hit some very loose short crosscourts.  Anne picked these off with ease and levelled the game 7/7.  Frances got to 8/7 and served to take the game, but Anne pulled it back to 8/8 with some good pressure squash.  Frances called 'set 2', and probably regretted it as she won the next two points to go 9/8 in front.  I think Frances was losing her second wind at that stage because she was late onto a couple of Anne's boasts and hit loose drops which Anne got to and  put away.  Then Anne served at match point, and clipped the cut line.  The marker saw it as good, Frances fluffed the return and it was all over - match to Anne 3-1.  It's a pity it ended like that, but the marker's decision is final!

Hopefully next year, we'll have better support for the ladies' tournament.  It would be nice if we could get a core of at least eight who could mark each others' games, support each other throughout the tournament and turn up for finals' night (all of it!).  With an entry of eight, then we could also run a plate competition as well.

Men's Final

The men's final had begun to become a bit repetitive, as the same two players have battled it out for the past God knows how many years.  However, this year, there was added interest as it was between our new 'number one' Paul Sewell (1) and the existing club champion Brett Green (2) who had beaten the third seed Glenn in the semis.  Many in the audience had never seen Paul play, so they were in for a bit of a treat, as he plays at a sensational pace with lots of attacking shots which makes for exciting viewing.

The main worry we all had, was that the match might be a bit one sided, but Brett soon showed us that he had no respect for Paul's 'number one' status, and was going to do his utmost to hang on to his title.  In fact, in the first game, it went mostly Brett's way.  Paul was a bit restrained (for him!), and let Brett control the pace of the match (one unkind but honest spectator informed me that the pace in this match made the match between Ian and me earlier in the evening look distinctly slow by comparison.  The ball was moving fast, the two players were covering the court extremely well, and there were several cases of good disguise sending the opponent the wrong way; amazingly, having gone the wrong way, they nearly always recovered - good entertaining squash to watch.  As I said, Brett was doing most of the scoring due to some really tight shots which Paul couldn't scrape off the side wall, and some good tight drops, which didn't quite nick, but were low enough to spoil Paul's shot.  Brett took the first game 9/3.  Were we in for an upset?

The second game started off in the same manner, and while still at 0/0, I went to have a look at the ladies' match next door.  When I came back a couple of minutes later, the second game was over - 9/0 to Paul.  What happened?  I think, he decided to play his own game rather than Brett's, upped the pace and went for his winners.  In the third game, Paul looked distinctly in control.  He took the ball early, volleying whenever possible and worked Brett round the court.  Brett's pace dropped off slightly as a result, and he had to hit the ball higher on the front wall to compensate which gave Paul more time.  Brett also tried a few attacking shots with disastrous consequences - a trickle boast which met with the expected response, and some drops that just weren't tight enough.  Nevertheless, it wasn't going all Paul's way, and there were several rallies where he lost control and allowed Brett to do the attacking.  Paul took that game 9/4.

The fourth game started disastrously for Brett.  Paul had the bit between his teeth and we were treated to some exhibition squash, as he volleyed hard into the nick, hit perfect drops and worked Brett mercilessly round the court.  He shot through to 8/0 and then, not exactly eased off, but seemed to lose focus ever so slightly.  Brett should have been exhausted and maybe got a point or two before the inevitable defeat, but with the crowd willing him on, he began to play some really tight squash and get back in control.  Once again, his widths clung to the wall, his drops were spot on and he began to cause Paul some real trouble.  Paul was still getting to everything, but the tightness of the shots prevented him from regaining control.  Point by point, Brett clawed his way back to 7/8, and then had a chance to put away a loose boast by Paul with a forehand drop into the nick.  All his previous drops in this hand had been perfect, and this one probably would have been as well had he not slipped (probably due to sweat on the floor) and completely missed the shot.  The crowd groaned, as they knew he probably wouldn't get another chance to force a fifth game.  He did actually, twice, but Paul wasn't going to let this game slip away and took it 9/7 and the match 3-1.

It would have been nice if the match had gone to five, and it so nearly did, but the crowd were delighted nonetheless.  As I always say in these reports, it was the best men's finals I remember!

Prize-giving, Speech & Nibbles

Then we had the prize giving.  It was good of John Lomas, the ERC chairman, to turn up to do the presentation.  Richard gave a speech of astonishing brevity (older members reminisced about Brian Ireland's scintillating speeches of a few years ago), and then we all fell upon the food.  Some people fell faster than others - I didn't get ANY of the tuna fish sandwiches I made, but I made up for it with Christina's sausage rolls.

Paul's Rant

Right, you all know what's coming now!  This is my platform for berating the laxer members of the squash section, and reminding everyone of what's expected of him/her during these tournaments.

1. Enter the tournament.  Sounds obvious really, but I think all players (regardless of standard) should enter.  I've heard some people express the opinion that there's no point in entering if you can't win, but that's just daft.  If that were the case, there would only have been an entry of three in the men's tournament this year.  I think I speak for all the people in the plate this year when I say we all enjoyed our matches and put everything we had into them.  In fact, I think I put just as much effort into losing to Ian in the plate final as Brett did losing to Paul in the championship final.  My legs buckled once in the fourth, and were distinctly wobbly in the fifth!
2. Persuade/remind other players to enter.  This job is mostly the province of the team captains - they should ensure that all their team players enter the tournament.  It's amazing every year how many players say, "I would have entered but I didn't know it was on".
3. Having entered the tournament, commit yourself to the event.  This means doing your utmost to play at the scheduled times.  I appreciate that there will be conflicts with other activities, and in the early rounds I try to be as flexible as possible, but sometimes I think some players could make a bit more effort with regard to this matter.
4. If you must rearrange a match, please bear in mind that playing at a later time/day could prevent a later round being played.  It is your responsibility to check with all the affected players and the organiser.
5. If you are capable, mark a few matches.  I am amazed at the selfishness of some team players who turn up year after year at the scheduled times to play their matches, glibly thank the marker after the match, and then go home straight away.  I don't want to go to the trouble of scheduling markers as well as players, but due to the selfish actions (or lack of actions) of a few, I may have to!
6. Come along to finals' night.  If you entered the tournament, then you have an obligation (in the absence of some overriding vital reason) to turn up to finals' night.  I know you'll miss Dr Who on the TV, but you've got a video recorder.  You kept the night free in case you got through to the finals, so why not come down and support the people (or even shout good-natured abuse at them) who put you out of the tournament.  No one has yet attended a finals' night and found it disappointing!
7. Provide some nibbles.  Once again, this function is always carried out by the same few people.  If you have no culinary expertise, you can always buy a box of Pringles - you can always bring them home if nobody eats them.  Actually, the amount of food we've had at the last couple of tournaments has been spot on, but if this rant causes a surge of entries next year, we'll need additional nibbles to feed them!  The only option open to me if this continues to be abused is to raise the tournament entry fee to £5 or £6 and get Nick and Vi to provide something.
8. Write a match commentary and email it to me.  I'm probably wasting my breath with this one, but you can all write, and I promise to publish (unaltered) anything you send me!  Particular thanks to Matt Powell for sending me an exposé this year of some high-stakes betting on one of the matches.

Wow, that's a relief to get that off my chest!

Now the pleasant part.  This tournament was a success due to lots of help from lots of people.  I'm particularly grateful to everyone who marked a match or two - particularly Errol, who did the lion's share this year.

Thanks to all the players who entered and played the matches in such good spirits.  I didn't see a single case of players giving the marker a hard time - commendable!  It's also excellent example to set our juniors.  It's never easy to mark, and you have to respect the marker's decision - they call what they see.

Thanks to all the people who came along to watch the semi-finals and finals.  I think it was the best attendance we have ever had at a semis - that slot on a Friday night works particularly well.  I was particularly delighted to see four of our juniors, Matt, Clare, Heather and Thomas at the finals.  Nice commitment from the youngsters!

Thanks to all the people who brought some nibbles - particularly Chinny, who brought some food, and then had to go before he could eat it!

Thanks to Steve and co. for getting the courts into great condition.  I think they must be about the best courts in the county (when the heating works).

See you all next year!

Paul
Squash Section Secretary and Webmaster!

Friday 22nd April

Paul Sewell (1) put Tom Bomford (4) through his paces in the first semi-final match tonight.  Tom is not exactly slow, and can hit the ball at a fair old pace, but everything Tom could do, Paul could do better.  He hit the ball lower, harder, straighter, and got such good length that Tom's retrieving skills were tested to the full.  At one stage, it looked like a 27/0 was possible, but in the second game, Tom fought back, started getting some good lengths and managed a couple of winners.  Unfortunately, whenever Tom did take control of a rally, he found it near to impossible to finish it dues to Paul's extraordinary speed and anticipation.  The score was 3-0 to Paul (9/0 9/1 9/1).

Next we had an interesting match between Glenn Danks (2) and Brett Green (3), the two finalists for the previous few years.  Glenn has won all their previous encounters except for last year's when he had an off day, so this was an important match for both of them.  It was expected to be a very close-matched affair.  Neither player had a particularly good preparation for this match, Brett being on a detox (I bet he cheated today and had a steak!), and Glenn being away on business for the week, arriving back just before the match.  I didn't see the first game due to marking another match, but apparently, they both started a little cautiously, and then Glenn started steaming ahead and got up to a comfortable 7/3 lead, and then didn't get another point in that game.  In the second game, Glenn looked distinctly tired and made some uncharacteristic mistakes.  He also gave up on a few shots which he normally would have chased down.  Brett couldn't believe his luck, and kept the pressure on, at one stage going from 1/2 to 7/2 in a single hand.  Glenn seemed disgusted with his own performance and was late onto a couple of shots which compounded his problems.  Brett won that second game, and then won the first four rallies in the third game.  He wavered slightly then and Glenn took full advantage to close the gap to 1 point, but then he tinned a drop and lost a couple of front-of-court exchanges with Brett.  Once Brett got up to about 6/3, there was no stopping him, and he cruised through to a 3-0 victory (9/7 9/3 9/3).  Undoubtedly, Glenn wasn't playing his best, but also undoubtedly, Brett was playing some pretty good squash and this resulted in a reasonably easy (and quick) victory for Brett.  Of course, he can't relish the moment for too long - he's got to give 110% tomorrow if he's going to have a shot at beating Paul - it should be a good match.

The ladies' competition was in full swing tonight with two semi-finals matches.  First of all, Frances Heneghan (1) played Ros Porter (4).  This was Frances's first competitive game in about 18 months due to a long standing foot injury.  She started fairly cautiously and concentrated on getting good length and width.  This was surprisingly effective, and she took the first game 9/1 as Ros struggled to scrape some of the shots off the side wall.  The story in the second game was pretty much the same, but Ros was beginning to adjust to the line and length game and counter attack.  The score in that game was 9/3 to Frances.  In the third game, Frances became a little too predictable, and Ros was anticipating well and waiting for the shots, she also unleashed some superbly paced forehand boasts that looked like they weren't going to reach the front wall, but did, and nicked!  All of a sudden Frances was 6/3 down, and could do nothing to prevent Ros a few more winners to take the third game 9/6.  In the fourth game, Frances changed tack, and turned on the power.  She also spoiled Ros's anticipation by throwing in a few deep cross courts when Ros strayed across to the nearside wall.  This brought her to 8/0, and then Ros started a belated challenge, but to no avail.  Frances took the fourth 9/2 and the match 3-1 (9/1 9/3 6/9 9/2).  It's good to see Frances playing again after such a long layoff.  It's also good to see how much Ros has improved - particularly her retrieving skills and attacking forehand boasts.

The other ladies' semi-final match was played between Anne Tomkins (2) and Karen Ferris (3).  Although the score might suggest otherwise, this was a pretty close match, with lots of handout.  In the first game. it was neck and neck up to 4/4, and then Anne started getting some good length on the ball and shot up to 9/4 in a single hand.  The second game was similar - neck and neck up to 5/5, and then Anne pulled away again.  In the third game, Karen started playing much more determinedly.  She did some good serves and moved Anne round the court with accurate boasts and good lengths.  This tactic brought her quite quickly to 3/0, and Anne looked to be in trouble, but she played steadily to claw it back to 3/3, and then onto match ball using some very attacking drops that had tinned earlier in the match, but were now millimetre perfect.  Karen staged one last attack, and got another couple of points, but Anne was too far ahead and never in any danger.  The score was 3-0 to Anne (9/4 9/5 9/5).

The final match of the night was a real humdinger between plate semi-finalists Wayne Hooper and Ian Smith.  Both players were pumped up on adrenaline, and this was a fast and furious affair.  There was a real contrast in styles between 'serve and volleyer' Ian, and 'whack it into a corner' Wayne.  Ian got off to a good start, but towards the end of the first game started having difficulty containing Wayne.  He was also pulled up on a couple of foot faults and had to take some of the pace off his serve  as a result.  Wayne managed to nick this game 9/5.  In the second game, Ian staged a comeback and hit some really low volley drops which were just out of Wayne's reach.  This gave him the second game 9/5.  Wayne countered in the third and won that 9/5.  In the fourth, Ian got into a comfortable lead, and then unfortunately Wayne broke his racket.  He went off and got his spare racket and hit a couple of test shots both of which went out of court!  They carried on the match, but Wayne took a little while getting used to the racket and didn't score any more points in that game.  So, with all to play for in the fifth, both players went at it hammer and tongs.  Neither player showed signs of tiring, but Ian's killer drops were were very low and tight.  Some Wayne didn't get too, some he got to but couldn't do much with.  In the end, this shot undoubtedly won Ian the game and with it the match.  The score was 3-2 to Ian (5/9 9/5 5/9 9/1 9/4).

Order of play for tomorrow (Saturday 23rd April).

Nibbles and prize-giving in the bar afterwards.  Please bring along some nibbles!

Thursday 21st April

Paul Heneghan v. Granthan Speake (plate semi-final)

By Matthew Powell

The stakes were high on this one, with Bob Speake having bet his house on the outcome of 3-2 to Paul (against 3-2 to Granth - my prediction)! That’s right – his house. It looked set to be a close one, with both players at a similar standard, but each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Paul took the first game comfortably at 9-5, with his superior technique and ability to place the ball paying off. The second game went to 10-8, with Paul winning by a whisker. Granth had begun to show us that it really is possible to run from the back of the court to the front quicker than Bob can be convinced to bet his house on something, and once he got going, there was no stopping him (that goes for both Granth and Bob – “How about upping the stakes…” he says! Could they get much higher?!)

Now 2-0 to Paul, Granth dug deep, and caught Paul at the front of the court in no man’s land on many an occasion. Despite some excellent rallies and some killer drives from Paul, Granth pulled it back to win the third and fourth game, making it 2-2. Paul was making some dangerous mistakes, unsure where to place the ball so that Granth couldn’t get it, and as a result tinning some and hitting others out of court. At this point though, it was anybody’s match – Granth was on top form, running for, and often reaching, everything Paul hit at him, whilst Paul looked the more confident and assured player; you had the feeling he might just pull it off. Despite this though, Bob was getting nervous. Would he have a house to go back to? Fortunately for Bob, it now went downhill for Granth. He lost concentration and was obviously tiring, as he was no longer reaching everything. This allowed Paul to take control physically and mentally. In the end, Paul easily won the 5th 9-2, making it 3-2 to Paul, just as Bob predicted. All in all, a thrilling match, with some great rallies and comebacks – a great example of how mental fitness is just as important as physical prowess in squash. The only disappointment was the fact that I was no longer going to be acquiring the property I was counting on.

Ros Porter (4) v Lisa Hobbs (5) had a very good game in their qualifier match.  Both ladies have improved considerably in the last year - Ros has been getting match experience playing for the team, and Lisa has started coming down to training sessions.  Lisa started off a bit nervously and wasn't really getting any length initially.  Ros dominated the T and took the first game fairly easily.  In the second game, Lisa started hitting a much better length and if she hadn't played a few weak drops at critical moments would probably have won it.  At this stage, with a lead of 2-0, and playing some good mixed squash, Ros looked the favourite.  I think Ros got off to an early lead in the third, and then made the favourite mistake of all squash players - she eased off!  Lisa's shots started working for her, she had a few good lengths, and her drops were much more accurate, so she took the third game 9/7.  This was developing into something interesting!  In the fourth game, Ros was more focused and again she played some good mixed squash - good widths, lobs to the back, and some nice low drops.  Lisa let her get a couple of points ahead, and just couldn't reel her in, so Ros went through 3-1.

Note the rearranged times of the semi-finals on Friday.

Please come down and support the players/tournament in the semi-finals.  There is a six o'clock start with a big battle between Brett and Glenn - last year's finalists.  On the other court, Tom and Paul should have an exciting game, as they are probably the fastest movers and hardest hitters in the club at the moment.  Try and stay on to cheer on the players in the plate competition and ladies' event afterwards.

Please also come along to the finals on Saturday night.  The format is the same as usual - 18:30 start - plate final, ladies' final and men's final.  Nibbles and prize-giving in the bar afterwards.  Please bring along some nibbles!

Wednesday 20th April

Wayne Hooper beat Tom Richardson in the QF of the plate tonight.  According to Wayne, Tom got stuck at the back of the court.  According to Tom, Wayne was too fat to run around!  The score was 10/8 9/1 9/3

Tuesday 19th April

David Potter (8) had the pleasure of playing Paul Sewell (1) yesterday.  I didn't see this match, but those that did see it enjoyed it, as Paul put Dave through the mill.  Those of you who haven't seen Paul play, should make an effort to get down and see him play in the semi-finals or finals.  He is unbelievably quick around a squash court, and has a dazzling array of shots.  I think Dave's original plan was not to get done 27/0.  Once he got his first point, then he revised his plan to 'try to get more points than Andy'.  In the end, he acquitted himself pretty well, getting as many as three points in the last game.  People have tried to explain to me one of Paul's shots, only once seen before in the club.  It came off a shot from Dave that went past him into the back left of the court.  Paul caught up with it at the back wall and as there was no space to drive or even boast it, he had to backhand drive it backwards - first hitting the sidewall, then the backwall, then sailing through the air to land diagonally opposite on the front wall, and then trickle down into the front corner.  Impressive stuff.  The score was 9/2 9/0 9/3.

I think Tom and Wayne are playing on Wednesday.  The winner gets to play Ian Smith in the semi-finals of the plate on Friday.

Richard Avery played Kenny Graves and beat him to get his reward of a 'friendly' game against Glenn sometime after the tournament has finished.  Kenny was supposed to go through to meet Granthan in the plate, but was unable to play, so Granthan is now through to the semi-finals where he meets me.  That match is probably happening on Thursday evening.

We now have a ladies' tournament!  After a very lethargic start, there is now an entry of five ladies - Frances, Anne, Karen F., Ros and Lisa.  There is one QF match (Ros v Lisa) on Thursday night, and then the semis is on Friday.

Sunday 17th April

No idea what happened to Tom Richardson and Wayne Hooper in the first plate quarter-final match, as they both failed to turn up; either they both forgot to turn up, or they rearranged without letting me know (grrrrr!) - the crowds in the balcony were very disappointed!

We had to console ourselves with the first championship quarter-final match between Martyn Whiting (5) and Tom Bomford (4).  The first game was neck and neck.  Martyn played very well and took full advantage of a few loose shots from Tom.  Tom's extra speed and pace were offset by a few loose shots and tins.  Although Tom pulled ahead to 8/6, he then lost momentum and Martyn took the first game 10/8.  Everything changed in the second game.  Martyn still played consistently well, but Tom raised his game several notches.  He stopped making mistakes, covered the court much better and tempted Martyn with a few safe but gettable drops - when Martyn returned the shots with another drop, Tom played a deep crosscourt forcing Martyn to run the diagonal.  Martyn invariably played a straight length (anything else would have been suicidal) and then Tom produced his new secret weapon - a backhand crosscourt drop that hit the wall a few millimetres above the tin, and then nicked.  One or two would have been flukes, but Tom had bagfuls of them.  This is the best I've seen Tom play - he took the next three games 9/1.

On the other court, Tony Whitehouse and Ian Smith battled it out in another plate quarter-final.  Ian's tennis serves were working well, and Tony took a couple of games to adjust, but Ian kept just far enough in front and won 3-0.

Then we had a rather interesting match between Richard Chinn (6) and Brett Green (3).  For the first game Brett played perfect squash and Chinny didn't seem to have any means of getting points.  His trademark backhand trickle boasts were treated with contempt by Brett who got to them with time to spare and drove them low and hard to the back of the court.  Chinny used up lots of valuable energy getting to some of these, but was only able to boast them back to where Brett was waiting to administer the winning straight drop.  Brett took the first game 9/0, and at 5/0 in the second, looked distinctly like heading for a 27/0 win.  Then Chinny got the serve and then hit a low backhand that Brett couldn't scrape up to get his first point.  After Chinny had finished his celebration dance, Brett had three options: a) carry on playing superb squash; b) tighten up his game and crush Richard into the ground; c) take his foot off the gas and let Richard back into the game.

Well, we all know which option he went for - option c).  Not only did he let Richard back into the game, he relaxed so much that his retrieving got sloppy.  Richard reacted to this like someone who had overdosed on Viagra!  Not only did he keep it up for longer than he's ever kept it up before, but he achieved length and width of epic proportions!  Richard nearly took the second game, going 8/6 in front, but Brett clawed his way back to a 10/8 win in that game.  We assumed that after this hiccup, Brett would finish off the job in the third, but he just couldn't get going again.  He still had enough reserves to go 8/4 in front, but then he lost momentum, played a few loose shots, and allowed Richard to go for his winners and even pull off a few successful backhand trickle boasts.  Whereas in the first game, Brett had crushed Richard's unorthodox shots, now he seemed a little unsettled by them.  Richard smelled victory, and took the third game without Brett getting another point - 10/8.  After another celebration dance from Richard, they started the fourth game.  This was more of the same - and Richard managed to keep a couple of points ahead up to 6/4.  In the end, Brett's percentage squash, even though below par, was enough to carry him through - 9/6.  So, 3-1 to Brett and a place in the semi-finals against Glenn.

Then I (Paul Heneghan) played Matt Powell in a plate quarter-final.  Matt's improved a lot in the last year, but he still lacks match experience.  He was susceptible to crosscourts being driven past him, and he served out many times - not used to a hot ball.  His best shots were some winning attacking returns of serve.  I won 9/0 9/1 9/2.

I didn't see much of the Glenn Danks (2) v Neil Healey (7) match, but Glenn was obviously in control.  It wasn't exactly one-sided though as Neil averaged just over three points per game - pretty creditable.

Please let me know the outcome of the rescheduled matches ASAP and I'll fill in the tables on the web site.

Saturday 16th April

For the Internet-savvy folk amongst you, I've just realised that this is a blog!  And, I've been doing it for years - I should have patented the idea!

Some good games today.  Matt Powell and Jonathon Bomford played at the ungodly hour of 0900.  Jonathon was too wily for Matt and won 3-0, but Matt got lots of points in the games (the last went to 10/8).

Jonathon then had an hour's rest before he played Brett Green (3).  As you could expect, Brett was pretty much in control throughout.  Jonathon played well, but was unable to get Brett off the T despite some very good crosscourt lobs and boasts.

In the next match, I (Paul Heneghan) played the sixth seed player - Richard Chinn (6).  Richard came out all guns blazing, and I had difficulty coping with his low hard shots in the first game which he won comfortably 9/3.  Richard shot off to a 4/0 lead in the second game and then eased off as it seemed under control.  He made one or two mistakes and I managed to get my act together and hit some good tight lengths which started putting the pressure on.  I also managed to stay on the T which made a world of difference - I won that one 9/4.  I had a brief lead in the third with 4/2, but then lost some length and width and was unable to stop Richard going through to 9/4 in that one.  I think we were both tiring a little in the 4th, and some mistakes crept in, but at 7/7, it was still too close to call.  I chose that moment to mishit one shot and do a crap boast in the next rally, so 3-1 to Richard.  As I write this at midnight, I still ache, so it must have been a good game - probably my best in these championships.

There have been a few rearranged games so far.  Most of these have been fine, but one or two have been rearranged with no thought given to the effects on later rounds.  If you rearrange a game, check that it will not interrupt your part of the draw, i.e. you must produce a winner to play in the next round by the scheduled time.  If you can't do that, then YOU must contact the players affected later on in the draw to see if they are able to delay their matches.

Some good games tomorrow - come down and watch:

10:30    Martyn Whiting (5) v Tom Bomford (4)
11:15    Brett Green (3) v Richard Chinn (6) 
12:00    Neil Healey (7) Glenn Danks (2)

10:30    Tom Richardson v Wayne Hooper
11:15    Ian Smith v Tony Whitehouse
12:00    Matt Powell v Paul Heneghan

Friday 15th April

The competition has started.  No surprises yet - all the seeds got through.

Lots of rearranged games as usual!  Please check the website for the latest information - it changes hourly.

It looks like we can persuade four ladies to enter, so at least we have a semis and a finals.

Thursday 14th April

Doing the draw - it should be ready this evening.

Wednesday, 13th April

Just waiting for the entries to come in.

©Copyright 2005 by Paul Heneghan

Last modified: 24 April 2005 03:09