Archive for January, 2002

Tania was beaten 9-4, 4-9, 0-9, 9-1, 10-8 by 16-year-old Egyptian qualifier Omneya Abdel Kawy in New York at the TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS.

This was set to be a tough return match with Oundle pulling out the stops to put a full strength team out. First up were the Barker brothers fresh from a weeks skiing. Simon playing Peter Izod and Richard playing Jim Massey. Peter started strongly playing tight squash and moving the Stamford captain all over the court. Still contemplating life in the mountains Simon found himself losing the first 9-3 and under pressure. Better squash from Simon in the second saw the game turn into a hard battle with both players retrieving well but Simon just taking it 9-7. 1-1 and the match was on. The third started evenly but consistent squash from Peter and impatience from Simon saw errors creep in giving Peter the third. Into the fourth and after a poor start by Simon he finally got into it producing an excellent fight back. Peter responded though and after some tough rallies (causing the captain to regret the occasional glass of wine supped whilst skiing) Simon couldn’t do enough to stop Peter taking the fourth and the tie 3-1.

Richard was having similar problems on the court next door struggling to get to grips with hard hitting and consistent rallying of Jim. Jim worked hard but took the first two and the pressure was on Richard. A superb fight back in the third from Richard playing better squash and moving Jim well paid dividends and Richard was back in it 2-1 down. The fourth was closely fought all the way with some good rallies and tight squash. Finally Richard gained his chance and at game ball up an easy kill at the front presented itself and ….. disaster. Who raised the tin? Opportunity gone and Jim seized the chance to get back in it and went on to take the game 10-9 and the tie 3-1.

Stamford 2-0 down and in trouble. Johnny (dodgy shorts) Oakley was on next for Stamford against Nick Sin. Jon struggled to begin with making too many unforced errors. As the game progressed he regained his composure (but not his fashion sense) and with Nick also making errors Jon took the first 9-7. A lapse in concentration followed from Jon as he swiftly loast the second 9-2 and was floundering. After having a word with himself in the break he came back on playing much better. Some great retrieving and some flicky short crass courts that Jon specialises in saw him take control and secure the tie 3-1.

Only 2-1 down now and in with a shout Mark Smith was the other court against Neville Keil. Mark had already lost the first 9-3 through some great back of the court rallying by Neville. Top tips from Yorkie after the first saw Mark applying them by playing the ball short and moving Neville to the front. Neville responded picking the looser ones and blasting a winner off them. 9-5 to Neville and Mark was in trouble. Consistency was again the key element in the third as Neville pounded the ball to the back of the court putting Mark under too much pressure, comfortably taking the third 9-0 and putting the match beyond Stamfords reach.

Yorkie was last on, up against an old adversary in Chris Davey. As expected the games were tight and saw some excellent rallying and retrieving. Both players playing to their best saw each game producing rally after rally of tight squash, excellent width and the ball being driven to almost destruction. After over an hour on court it was 2-2 and with imminent danger of the pub closing the team was forced to desert Yorkie and head to the bar. The last game was no different to rest and after an hour and a half on court Chris finally edged it winning 10-8 in the fifth. Outstanding squash by both players. An inconsolable Yorkie appeared at the pub as they called time. Deserted by his fellow team members, food on the table he couldn’t face, time for only a quick drink, defeat for him and the first defeat of the season for the team.

A quiet journey home as the team licked their wounds and avoided icy glances from Yorkie. Still, on a brighter note we are still 20 points clear at the top and ready to rumble. Come on Oakham. For those interested in watching this will be the next big game played at home (4th March) with Oakham currently second in the league.

The Daniel Lambert (Stamford 2) played their first match since the Christmas break in the Peterborough District Squash Leagues Division 2 against current leaders Peterborough Town II. The Stamford side had a quiet start to the season but manged to climb to third spot in the table. They were keen to reverse a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the leaders.

First on court was skipper Kim Cozens who took the first game with some clever front court boasts, however the wily Robin Soar changed his game floating the ball at every opportunity making the tie very uncomfortable for Kim even a late rally by the Stamford man was unable to save him from going down 3-1.

Playing at fourth string was Mark Lavers. Mark a strong performer was unusually out of sorts and was beaten 3-0 by David Montgomery . David pulling Mark around the court with some efective stroke play.

The tie was not looking good for the Daniel Lambert however the match took a decidedly turn for the better when Graham Trevor took on Bob Green . The Stamford player played with great authority and it seemed that there was not a shot he could not play. The experienced Peterborough player could not find a way past Graham who took the game 9-0,9-1,9-1.

Mike Ferreira playing at 1 took on the previously unbeaten Daniel Soar. Mike playing with all his usual tenacity took the first game but Daniel took the second with some brilliant retrievals. Mike charged back taking the third and superior fitness saw him through to take the fourth and even the match score at 2-2.

It was up to John Fields to play the deciding rubber at string 3 due to the late arrival of his opponent Simon King. The game started badly for John who could not overcome Simons awkward style . Simon harrying John at the front of the court, producing a lot of unforced errors from John. Simon took the first two games. John changed his style and this paid dividends with some clever lob serves and powerful driving from John pinning Simon to the back of the Court , John took the next two games to level the score.The fifth game was nip and tuck with both players having their chances , John held his nerve when the game got to 8-8 and his power eventually took its toll on Simon who surrendered the game 10-8 and enabled the Daniel Lambert to take revenge with a 3-2 win.

Werrington arrived with a stronger team from the first half of the season with Claire Waddle back in at number 1 for them. Yorkie though, was unconcerned and feeling more confident having had a couple of wins since his poor run of defeats over the Xmas break.

First on for Stamford was Richard Barker playing Colin Pummell. Richard started in fine form playing good controlled tight squash, moving Colin all over the court and showing no mercy took the first game 9-0. The second went the same way with Colin having to work very hard to stay in the game. Consistent squash from Richard secured the second 9-2. Colin came out for the third on a mission. Richard playing a little too casual was under pressure and had to produce some excellent retrieving to stay in the game. The earlier pressure on Colin took its toll though and as he started to slow Richard took advantage and the third 9-7 to secure the tie 3-0.

Next door was Simon Barker playing Alan Waddle. Alan showed awesome form in the knock up massacring everything that came near his racket hitting more nicks than Yorkie at his luckiest (and that’s a lot). Simon though showed the calm and composure required of a captain when all around a whispering “he’s going to get hammered”. First game saw Alan blasting everything looking for the nick constantly but Simons speed around the court got the better of him and suddenly the shots were going in the tin and not the nick. Good work and some tighter squash than seen normally from Simon gave him the first 9-3. Keeping the pressure on saw Alan get more frustrated as the tin became more and more magnetic to his shots. The second went to Simon 9-5 and third followed in the same style 9-7. A fine result for the Stamford captain 3-0.

Jon Oakley (thanks for playing Jon), was on next against Andy Ruderham. This match saw some excellent squash with both players hitting to a good line and length and retrieving with the same skill. Jon though just had the edge and although under constant pressure kept his head did enough to take the first two 9-4, 9-6. The third saw a fight back from Andy, playing some excellent shots and forcing the errors from Jon. This was enough to take it 9-4 and suddenly Jon was looking vulnerable. The fourth was closely fought up to 5-5, with neither player giving anything away when a lapse in concentration form Alan lost him 3 quick points to put Jon in a very strong position at 8-5 up. A tense couple more rallies saw Jon regain control and take the game 9-6 and the match 3-1.

Mark Smith on the other court was against Andy Walsham. Mark started strongly retrieving everything putting the pressure on Andy and forcing the errors from him. Good squash from Mark, showing no mercy took the first 9-0. The second went the same way with Andy being forced into too many errors and Mark surging on took it 9-2. Somewhat disheartened yet more errors from Andy gave Mark complete control and easy 9-0 to take the tie 3-0.

Finally on was Paul York against Claire Waddell. A strong start by Yorkie playing tight squash and hitting a good width had Claire on the back foot and working hard. Few errors from Paul enabled him to take the first two 9-2 and 9-5. Claire though found her form in the third taking the ball early and putting the pressure back on Yorkie. Some excellent drops by Claire helped take the third 9-6 and it was Yorkies turn to be under the cosh. The fourth was very closely contested with neither player giving an inch. Some excellent rallying made for an entertaining match with Yorkie just stealing it 10-8 and taking the tie 3-1.

An excellent result for Stamford maintaining their unbeaten run. Oundle next, currently in second spot in the division should prove a tough one.

This was the first game of the second half of the season that saw Stamford leading the division by a comfortable 31 points. Jon Oakley unable to play due to prior commitments (“I didn’t know the season had re-started yet and I’m taking my wife out to dinner!”) meant we had a second guest appearance from Adrian Chappell. Ade wasn’t too keen on playing at Bushfields stating “I remember when I was good enough to tell captains to *%&^ off and select someone else, if I didn’t like the venue!” They were the days eh Ade?? Anyway onto the match. Barker brothers on court first.

Richard played Peter Martin at four and Simon played Ken Bell at five. Richard was soon into his rhythm hitting good length and playing some excellent lobs. Consistent rallying from Richard put too much pressure on Peter securing the tie 3-0 to Stamford.

Ken played a more tactical game against Simon playing lots of short balls. Simons improved fitness came through though, enabling him to pick the short drops up and put Ken back under pressure at the back of the court. Excellent running from Simon saw a comfortable victory dropping only 3 points. A fine effort from Ken but unable to find a winning shot cost him dearly. 3-0 to Stamford.

Next on was Adrian Chappell playing canny Andrew Woodward. Andrew started strongly putting Adrian under pressure by volleying everything and playing a tight short game. Continued pressure and few mistakes from Andrew saw the veteran master Adrian, lose the first. Some quality advice from his protégé Yorkie (“Come on Adrian sort it out”) saw Adrian fired up for the second. Hard battling by both players and some interesting marking by the Stamford captain, saw an entertaining match with the next three games going to the wire. Adrian taking all three to win the match 3-1, but not in the style of the old master and whilst recovering from his exertions on the balcony was heard to say, “I really don’t feel very well”. 3-1 to Stamford.

Mark Smith on the other court was playing Neil “mutha” Hoskins. This promised to be a good match with Neil well up for it. The first game saw some good rallies with Neil blasting the ball around the court. Mark used this pace to his advantage, stroking the ball around and using the short game well to take the first. Neil came back strongly in the second working Mark well and not giving him the chance to get into it. Good finishing from Neil and it was 1-1. The third saw Mark regain control with a slow boast from the back of the court that kept catching Neil flat footed and was enough to go 2-1 up. The fourth saw Mark take a strong lead looking like a sure winner when concentration failed him and another fight back from Neil took it to 8-8. Mark though, managed to find enough reserves of energy to hit another two trickle boasts and seal the tie 3-1. A close call but Stamford win again 3-1.

Finally Paul York was on against Carl Taylor. Yorkie started well, putting behind him some crushing defeats over the Xmas break and dropped league games to lesser mortals in the team (namely the captain), hitting a good width and length. He moved Carl around well and finished many a rally with his cut backhand dropshot from the ¾ court area. The first game secured for Stamford. Carl fought back in the second playing an assortment of skid boasts (why play off one wall when you can play off three?), forcing Paul to work harder countering the vicious spin with accurate volleying. A close second game but Paul managed to hang on to go 2-0 up. Carl tiring in the third worked hard initially but as the continuous pressure of being worked around the court took its toll, Paul finished it off with a comfortable win in the third, 3-0 Stamford and the match 5-0.

Many thanks to Bushfield for an entertaining match and social evening in the bar afterwards.