2001 Handicap
Tournament
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Plate Schedule
Sunday, 6th October - Finals Night
We were treated to two very entertaining matches tonight.
Plate Final - Richard Chinn (-9) v David Preedy (+7)
The first match was between Richard Chinn (-9) and David Preedy (+7). You could tell this was destined to be a cliff hanger when David went 14/12 up in the first game only to watch Richard take the next two points. At fourteen all, Richard hit the ball straight back to himself - all David needed to do was say " let please" to be awarded the point and the game. However, such was the pressure that he attempted to play it and as always seems to happen in this case, lost the rally.
Richard made a few mistakes early on in the second game and David played well which allowed him to go 11/-5 up. There is no coming back from such a position, but Richard gave it a go and managed an honourable defeat 11/15. David had a superb start in the next game and won the first four points to go 11/-9 up. Once again, Richard didn't give up, but only managed to get up to +8 by the end of the game.
Richard showed great concentration in the fourth and made no mistakes to take it 15/12. Both players looked tired at the beginning of the fifth, but they both stuck to their game plans. Richard kept up his hard-hitting retrieving game with virtually no drops. David just played steadily thinking about the points ratio. Richards problems began when David hit a few winners to take three points in a row to give him a 10/-6 lead. Richard now needed to score points at over four times the rate of David. He nearly did it too. He put everything into it and there were a couple of patches in the game where he was getting five or even six points to David's one. At 7/12 down, it no longer looked impossible, just difficult! But then David once again produced some excellent winners at exactly the right time to get to an unassailable 14/7 and a couple of rallies later on he hit a shot that Richard just couldn't chase down.
This was a match in the finest tradition of this competition. Both
players gave 110% and the competing styles along with the handicapping made it a
very exciting match to watch.
The final score was 14/15 15/11 15/8 12/15 15/9
Final - Jimmy Harrison (0) v Peter Scully (0)
It's always a little disappointing when the finals of the Handicap Tournament is between two players in the same group. However, Pete and Jimmy have such different styles that it was bound to be an entertaining match. The first game began as expected. Pete whizzed round the court at a million miles an hour and Jimmy threw in the occasional millimetre-accurate volley drop. Jimmy is always a bit of a slow starter, so it was no surprise when Pete took the first 15/8.
Jimmy rallied slightly in the second, but he was still making too many mistakes - tinned drops etc. and wasn't showing the form that had eliminated Steve Dyke and Tom Richardson from the tournament. Pete was stretched to his limit a few times in this one, but in the end, won it 15/11.
Everything was reversed in the third. At 2/5 down, Jimmy suddenly started producing some great shots. Pete chose this moment to lose his concentration totally, and by the time he had recovered it, Jimmy had taken the game 15/10. It was getting exciting now, providing Jimmy could keep it up!
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the fourth game, Jimmy couldn't keep it up
and Pete took the first eight points. Jimmy then rallied and matched Pete
point for point, but couldn't eat back into the big lead Pete had
established. In the end, Pete took the fourth game 15/7 and the match.
The score was 15/8 15/11 10/15 15/7
There followed a short AGM in the bar accompanied by nibbles, beer (Richard hadn't drunk it all after all), and the presentation of awards.
Saturday, 5th October - Semi Finals
Jimmy played extremely well to beat Tom in four games. He lost the first heavily, but played intelligently (yes, I'm still talking about Jimmy) in the next three, preventing Tom playing his hard-hitting game, and throwing in some superb low drops.
Pete and Ben had a marathon match. I arrived near the beginning of the fifth game, and both players looked like they had done 10 rounds with Lenox Lewis. Ben played better than I have ever seen him play before, and Pete was having a hard job containing him. Eventually, Pete's better shots began to take their toll on Ben, and in a state of exhaustion, he completely missed about four easy shots allowing Pete to get in front (round about 12/10). Even still, Ben stayed with Pete to the end and I think Pete was pretty relieved to take the last game 15/13.
Brian and David Preedy battled it out for a place in the plate final. Brian must have been suffering from playing his third match in 24 hours, but it wasn't obvious from the way he played. He extended his handicap at the beginning of each game, with some good kills, but David hung on and overtook him in each of the three games.
The much-looked-forward-to battle between Neil and Richard was a bit of an anticlimax. Neil didn't play badly, but the flair that he always shows in these tournaments just wasn't there. Neil knew it as well, and although he rallied in the third game to get back to level, his heart wasn't in it. It must be said that Richard played extremely well. You could see him waiting for Neil to make his comeback, and he kept up the pressure all the time, but the comeback never appeared! My own theory is that Neil ran out of "special stuff", having used up a double portion in his match against Karen Ferris on the previous day!
Friday, 4th October - Quarter Finals
There were a lot of very close games tonight. Of the nine matches played, only one was a 3-0 (still very close - deuce in two of the games), and four of them went to five.
Steve Dyke (-7) v Jimmy Harrison (5)
Steve Dyke (-7) had the pleasure of taking on Jimmy Harrison (5) in the first
quarter final match. Jimmy got off to a slowish start allowing Steve the
first game 15/13. Then a couple of strokes in the second game helped Jimmy
in the early stages, Steve almost levelled it at 9/10 and then Jimmy
started hitting winners to take it 15/11. In the third, Steve did
what he does best - percentage squash, and Jimmy obligingly tinned shot after
shot. Steve had an easy 15/11 in that, and looked certain to take the
match. He started off the next game extremely well and got back to
6/10. However, Jimmy then got his second wind and matched Steve point for
point for the rest of the game to take it 15/10. Two all! If
anything, Jimmy seemed to be even stronger in the fifth and played well to get
to a commanding 13/4 lead. He was helped in one long rally by Steve who
(having done all the hard work and managed to pin Jimmy to the back of the
court, unwilling to move) tightened up and tinned an easy drop. Steve then
staged one of his famous comebacks, and, helped by Jimmy's tinned shots pulled
back to 10/13. In his match against Wayne, Steve went on to win from this
position, but Jimmy hit one winner to go 14/10, and in the final rally Steve hit
a loose shot at the front which gave Jimmy a stroke and the match. It's
always a pity to end a match in that way, but it was still a good contest.
The score was 13/15 15/11 11/15 15/11 15/10
This was not a particularly enjoyable match to mark as both players had outbursts. I wouldn't mind, but in every case the arguing player had just hit a bad shot and was in no position to dictate the outcome of the rally!
Tom Richardson (2) v Steve Porter (-2)
I didn't see any of this match, but the handicapping must have been right as
it went to five.
The score was 11/15 15/12 14/15 15/12 15/11
Peter Scully (-5) v Neil Thorneywork (4)
I only saw a couple of minutes of this match and it looked very close.
Neil was playing well, but Pete's retrieving was exceptional.
The score was 15/14 17/14 15/11
Kevan Thompson (8) v Ben Salcedo (-10)
This handicap looked to be tough for Ben, as Kevan had already shown how much
he had improved by taking out Brett in the preliminary round. Although Ben
got off to an excellent start in the first game by winning the first five
points, his concentration wavered, and Kevin seized his chance of hitting some
winners to give him an easy first game 15/4. The second game was totally
different, as Ben took it without dropping a single point. Not even Brett
managed that! Ben kept up the pressure in the next two games, and although
Kevan settled down into some good rallies, Ben's hard hitting and retrieving
eventually took their toll and gave him the match
The score was 4/15 15/8 15/12 15/13
Karen Ferris (9) v Neil Healey (-12)
For the first of the plate games, Neil obviously took a double dose of
whatever substance he uses just before he left the house. It took a game
to kick in (which Karen did well to take 15/8), but then there was no stopping
him, and he took the next three games comfortably. His performance in this
match confirms his place in Brett's group next year! If anyone who saw
this game could send me a report, I'd be grateful.
The score was 8/15 15/12 15/10 15/12
Graham Hemming (10) v Richard Chinn (-14)
For me, the highlight of the night was the battle of David and Goliath. David (in the form of Graham) was amazingly quick around the court and Goliath (in the form of Chinny) was hitting the ball very powerfully. Richard took the first six points, but then had concentration problems and didn't always stick to his plan of hitting the ball to the back. He did some stunning boasts which were millimetre perfect, but he tinned a couple and suddenly Graham had snatched the first game 15/4. Richard was very focused in the second game and only allowed Graham two points. Graham seemed to slow down slightly in the third game, but was still easily fast enough to cause Richard problems. He showed very impressive anticipation by picking up most boasts and almost every straight drive. His main problem seemed to be that having arrived at the ball, he didn't know where to hit it to cause Richard the most difficulty. Having said all that, he still had enough left in the third game to take it 15/7.
Richard turned on the concentration once again in the fourth, but nearly blew it at the end. Having climbed all the way up to 10/12, and then 14/13, the relief at being in a winning position proved too much. He tinned shots, he hit them out of court, and suddenly, Graham was serving at 16/14 for the match. Richard held his nerve and took that game 17/16. In the last game Graham looked a little tired. He was still speeding round the court, but now he was arriving at the ball a few milliseconds too late. He did frighten Richard at 12/3 and 13/9, but Richard could smell victory (or was it beer) and surged on to take the game and match.
This match was a joy to watch and showed the pressure felt by higher and
lower-ranked players in these handicapped events.
The score was 4/15 15/12 7/15 17/16 15/13
David Potter (-8) v Brian Ireland (7)
David and Brian played their 2nd round match tonight and the winner then went
on to play Kate half an hour later. Brian had a very good handicap and
David did very well to steal the first game 17/14. In the next three games
though, Brian played extremely well and hit shots so tight on the side wall,
that David couldn't scrape them off.
The score was 14/17 15/4 15/3 15/4
Kate Oakley (6) v Brian Ireland (-7)
This is another match that I didn't see, but with Brian playing as well as he
is, Kate must have had an inspired game to take the first 15/10. I think
her inspiration might have run out then, because Brian cruised through the next
three games!
The score was 10/15 15/9 15/8 15/8
David Preedy (0) v Frances Heneghan (0)
The final match of the night was another plate game between Frances and
David. Despite a very small audience (I keep emphasising that it is permissible
to bring your beers into the balcony!), this was a good match to watch which
again went to five. Frances showed that she can still remember how to
crack the ball on occasion, still tries the odd outrageous (and successful)
volley drop and enjoys a hard-hitting fast-moving game. David was
demonstrating a safe percentage game with the odd drop or boast thrown in to
tire out his opponent. The first three games were very close with never
more than a couple of points separating the players. Frances ended
up in the advantageous 2-1 position. However, she was tiring a little, and
this caused her to go for and miss some drop returns of serve in the next
game. David capitalised on that and concentrated on making no mistakes and
took that game 15/9. In the last game, Frances was keen not to miss any
more returns of serve and hit some great tight length shots. This strategy
gave her a 4/1 lead, but then David turned up the pressure. He kept
Frances moving around and did many crosscourts that were too wide to volley and
caused her to play defensive boasts from the rear. At 7/9, Frances still
had a chance, but watched it fade away as David took the game 15/7.
The score was 12/15 15/11 12/15 15/9 15/7
Sunday, 30th September
Ros Porter (7) v David Preedy (-9)
First off Ros Porter took on David Preedy (-9). Ros was on a high, having dispatched Brett in fine form the previous day, but David wasn't so easy. He took the first game 15/13, but struggled in the second against Ros's serves and good lengths to give her a very comfortable 15/0 win in that. The third game developed into a real battle with Ros getting lots of early points leading to a 14/8 lead. David showed great character in pulling this back to 14 all and through to 17/15. The fourth was another comfortable win for Ros with 15/11. In the fifth, David pulled out all the stops and stepped up the pace of the game. He also got better lengths, and this combination put real pressure on Ros. She never wavered, and kept going till the end, but David's reserves allowed him to take the last game with a convincing 15/11.
The score was 15/13 0/15 17/15 9/15 15/11
Steve Porter (0) v David Wales (0)
The next match was between Steve Porter (0) and David Wales (0). In the first game David could do no wrong and played the best squash I've seen him play - good serving, good controlled lengths and great kill shots. Steve didn't play badly, but couldn't stop David cruising through to a 15/6 win. In the second game, David seemed to ease off a little and allowed Steve a chance to play some of his dazzling winners (along with some dazzling tinned shots), but David was still in control and took that game 15/10. Steve picked up his game in the third, and momentarily stopped going for risky winners. This strategy paid off and gave him a 15/11 win.
The fourth game was a very exciting affair with both players giving it everything. Steve started going for risky winners again and most of these came off. At 13/10, Steve looked like taking it to two all. David produced some of his best squash at this point and managed to get back to 14/13 giving him match ball. Could he get that final point? No! Steve showed no nerves in getting back to 14 all, and although David had another match ball at 16/14, Steve cruised through to a 17/16 win. The fifth game was another battle with neither player slowing down significantly. At 12 all, it could have been anyones, but it was Steve's day and he took the game 15/12 and with it the match. This was a very close match which could have gone either way, and strangely enough, David got more points, but Steve got them at the times that mattered.
The score was 6/15 10/15 15/11 17/16 15/12
Steve Dyke (-7) v Wayne Hooper (5)
The final game of the night was between Steve Dyke (-7) and Wayne Hooper (5). Both of these players have an excellent track record in this event, and tonight's match was undoubtedly one of the best I have witnessed. Wayne did his usual 'man possessed' act and Steve made a few mistakes to give Wayne the first game 15/12 and the second game 15/7.
In the third game, Wayne kept up the pressure with some very good squash, and it looked all over for Steve, particularly when he tinned a very easy drop to make it 10/0 for Wayne. Steve then became extremely focused and settled into a pure percentage squash game. He completely eliminated short shots from his game and kept Wayne pinned at the back with punishing lengths. This took a lot out of him, but it had the desired effect of making it very difficult for Wayne to hit winners. Wayne did manage three in quick succession to get into a commanding 13/6 lead, but Steve played on as if the score were unimportant and kept Wayne under extreme pressure with his superb length drives. Whenever Wayne did get in front, he found it difficult to control the ball and gave numerous strokes to Steve. Wayne didn't get another point in that game as Steve went from 6/13 to 15/13 in a single hand.
In the fourth game, Steve gave an exhibition of textbook percentage squash. Wayne couldn't settle into any kind of rhythm, and Steve won that easily 15/7. At two all, Steve looked to be a little tired, but in a commanding position based on the score in the last game. Wayne wasn't out of it yet though. After a slow start, allowing Steve to get back to 2/8, Wayne started hitting incredible winners -
millimetre-perfect boasts, backhand kills and lengths that got past Steve and didn't come out of the back. This took him to a near-unassailable 12/2 and a few points later on to 13/5. Wayne now needed a mere two points compared with Steve's 10, and with Wayne hitting winners off almost every ball, there was no way Steve could recover from this position. But Steve kept up the pressure, and even when he got out of position, never gave up on anything. Some frantic retrieving to take him to 7/13 nearly finished him off, and he even did a brief Jimmy impersonation (talking while getting his breath back). He also seemed to be using his racket for support! But the key thing was that he kept up the relentless percentage squash, depriving Wayne of the chance of hitting any winners. Unbelievably, Steve got from 7/13 up to 15/13 in a single hand. There
was a moment's silence. and then the longest applause I've ever heard at one of these events. Steve, Ros, Mary B, Tom and Gill were all privileged witnesses to this superb match.
The score was 12/15 7/15 15/13 15/7 15/13
Saturday, 29th September
Once again, thanks to all the markers for their sterling work.
Brett(-30) and Ros(13) finally got around to playing their 1st-round plate match. I think this is the biggest handicap we have ever used in this tournament, and it translated into Brett needing 45 points to Ros's 2. We had a very biased audience led by Chinny (the marker) who were cheering Ros on. As was expected, Brett played this match in a true sportsmanlike manner - he never once resorted to the phenomenal power that he can draw on; he obviously decided to try and win this match with perfect stylish squash. In the first game, he played flawlessly and got the required 45 points only dropping one to Ros on the way. The demands this made on his concentration showed in the second game where he only managed to pull back to -23 (Ros got two points, to Brett's seven). It must be said however, that Ros's perfect forehand volley drop into the nick off one of his early serves meant that he was never going to win that one. In the third game, Brett did well to claw back to -4 before Ros got her second (and winning) point. In the fourth game, Brett was in a good position, having got up to -5 with the loss of one point and it looked as if there was a chance he might make it two all. Then Ros hit an unbelievable backhand clinger that even Brett couldn't get to. An excellent end to an excellent match. For the statisticians amongst you, Brett got 103 points to Ros's 7. Ros hit six winners and Brett made one mistake. The score was 14/15 15/-23 15/-4 15/-5
Karen Ferris (+3) and Granthan Speake (-4) were still further testament to the skill of the handicapper. It turned into yet another very close five setter with the first two games going to Karen. Granthan stepped up the pace in the next two to level the match. In the fifth however, Granthan started tiring and Karen started picking off his looser shots and put him under increasing pressure. In the end, she took that game fairly comfortably. The score was 15/7 15/8 13/15 13/15 15/6
I didn't see any of the match between Sarah Bent (+8) and Neil Healey (-11), but the score was amazing. Neil must have played exceptionally well to win as comfortably as he did. What he didn't realise, is how this affects his ranking next year. My computer program which analyses the scores show that his rating in this match puts him into Brett's division! We really must introduce random drugs testing next year!!
The score was 15/14 15/12 15/10
The match between Errol (-2) and Richard (+1) was just what we all hoped for - a real cliff hanger. The 3 point handicap against him spurred Errol on to produce the best squash I have seen him play. He (and Richard) covered amazing ground in the five games. It was neck and neck up until the fourth when Errol seemed to be tiring badly. He made a strong comeback in the fifth and was once again in a good position until at 14/13, Richard hit a good boast which was just out of Errol's reach. The score was 15/17 17/16 12/15 15/4 15/13
Kate Oakley (0) had the option of submitting the (winning three love) score of the match she played by mistake against Lisa Hobbs (0) last weekend, but she did the
sporting thing and insisted on a rematch. I'm sure she must have wondered if that was the right decision during their match today, because this was a very close five setter. Lisa had stepped up her game considerably and was matching Kate game for game. Even the fifth game followed this pattern with a 14 all. Kate then managed to summon up the willpower to take the next three points and the match!
The score was 14/17 15/9 15/7 13/15 17/14
Our venerable squash captain Brian Ireland (-7) made his debut appearance at the tournament today and took on Alice Hubbard (+6). Brian, despite a week's holiday with no squash, was in fine form and took control of the match. Alice responded with some lovely returns of serve, but was unable to deal with Brian's trademark paceless dropshots.
The score was 15/8 15/10 15/9
I had intended moving Anthony Workman (-7) into a lower group as he is a bit
out of practice at the moment. Unfortunately, I forgot to communicate this to the marker, so Anthony had to play with a pretty steep handicap against Frances Heneghan (+5). Frances was playing well and this was a good fast match with
excellent retrieving on both parts. Frances took the first one with Anthony getting up to a
respectable +9. In the second game, Anthony's concentration slipped and Frances romped home with a 15/-4 win. In the third game, Frances looked to be in a very comfortable position at 14/1
at which point she must have eased off a bit. Anthony seized his chance and stormed through the next 11 points to reach 12/14. However, it couldn't and didn't last, and Frances took the game and the match.
The score was 15/9 15/-4 15/12
Friday, 28th September
More good matches today.
Jimmy (-5) managed to talk Lorna (+4) into defeat! I didn't see this
match, but judging by the score, he probably had to play some good squash as
well!
The score was 15/10 15/7 15/13
Mary Boyle (1) had a good start against Tom Richardson (-2), but faded in the
later games.
The score was 12/15 15/10 15/6 15/11
Pete (0) and Paul (0) had their usual ding-dong match. It was pretty
close until Paul tired visibly in the fourth.
The score was 15/17 15/12 15/11 15/5
James Goddard (3) put up a good struggle against a fired-up Ben Salcedo
(-4). It was a good match to watch.
The score was 15/6 15/11 15/17 15/12
Sunday, 23rd September
Brett (-24) did exceptionally well to take two games off Kevan (+12).
The score was 14/15 15/-5 15/17 15/-2 15/-5.
Saturday, 22nd September
More good matches today. I didn't see any of them unfortunately, but Errol phoned through a summary. As always, I would welcome any match reports from people who were there.
Steve Dyke (-15) scraped through against Karen Ferris (+10) with a 3-1 win. I think Karen had game points in all the games!
Ian Smith (last year's winner) couldn't overcome his handicap of (-8) against Lorna Robinson (+7). So far Lorna has knocked out both of last year's finalists! She could be a name to watch!
Errol Ferris (-7) was giving away too many points against Dave Wales (+6) who is playing well at the moment. Dave took it 3-0.
Pete Scully (-15) had a win over Club Secretary - Lisa Hobbs (+10).
Ros Porter (+3) had a good battle against Alison Chinn (-4). People tell me that Alison scraped through with the narrowest of margins.
Mike Hart (-9) must have played well to beat Dave Preedy (+7).
Friday, 21st September
The tournament got off to a great start today.
Steve Dyke (-7) and Mike Francis (+5) had a great match which Steve won by the narrowest of margins. He lost the first two games badly, took the third 15/14, had another close game in the fourth and squeezed through 15/14 in the 5th. You can't get much closer than that!
Steve Porter's tremendous handicap (+4) proved too much for Richard Chinn
(-6), and although Richard must have given it 110% to take two of the games,
Steve was unstoppable in the fifth.
The score was: 15/8 13/15 12/15 15/5 15/9
Kate Oakley (+10) drew the biggest cheer of the night when she took a game
off Paul Heneghan (-15)! Although she was obviously unused to the speed of
the ball, she improved steadily in the first three games and put together a
string of points at the end of the third game to take it convincingly.
Unfortunately, the effort exhausted her, and Paul managed to step up his
concentration to take the fourth game.
The score was: 15/14 15/12 11/15 15/10
The unthinkable happened today. Neil Healey got knocked out in the
preliminary round! Neil (-9) had to take on the ladies champion Lorna
Robinson (+7). In the first game, Neil could do no wrong and Lorna was
clearly struggling with her game. Neil took that with the loss of just two
points. The next three games were a different story though. Although
Neil played impressively to reach 5/10 and 6/11 in the third and fourth game,
Lorna kept winning the points when it mattered.
The score was: 9/15 15/6 15/11 15/10
Tom Richardson (+5) got the better of Tony Whitehouse (-4) with a 3-1
victory.
The score was: 14/17 15/6 15/1 15/1
Dave Potter (-5) made too many mistakes against Neil Thorneywork (+4) and
although he played very well to take the second game, and get a 14 all in the
third, he faded in the fourth to give Neil the match.
The score was: 15/8 15/12 14/15 15/5
New girl - Danielle Chinn (+7), had a baptism of fire against one of our
seasoned players - Mary Boyle (-9). She put up a good struggle though and
made Mary work hard to take the match.
The score was: 15/9 15/12 15/10
Granthan Speake (+4) didn't need any handicap against Wayne Hooper (-5) in
the first game. In fact, he scored twice as many points as Wayne!
However, Wayne sneaked in a 17/16 in the second and although Granthan took the
third, he was tiring. In the last two games, Granthan resorted to trying
to hit winners off anything within reach. Wayne played steadily to take
the match.
The score was: 1/15 17/16 10/15 15/8 15/8