Archive for November, 2002

After last weeks very narrow victory another hard match was ahead of us playing Portugal Place – last season’s relegation team from Div 1 and mainly consisting of university students. As they arrived at the courts, it was commented on that the combined age of their team was younger than Jon Oakley. A worrying statement.

First on court was Richard Barker playing Stewart McTavish. Stewart started strongly, taking the ball early and volleying well. Richard tried to counter with accurate squash but couldn’t get tight enough giving Stewart to much time to take the first 9-3. The second went the same way with Richard covering miles on court to keep himself in the rallies but again couldn’t prevent Stewart from cutting the ball off with winners, 9-5 to Stewart. Advice from the captain during the break seemed to inspire Barker junior as he came out all guns firing and reversed the pressure. Now it was Stewart on the back foot as Richard played winners from volleys and drops. A tense game though as Stewart fought hard but Richard hung on and took the third 10-9. The fourth started with a runaway for Stewart as Richard struggled to up the pace again. At 5-1 down though, he recovered his game to 5-4 before deciding the first two had drained too much and finally lost after a valiant attempt 9-4. 1 to Portugal.

Jon Oakley was on next door against Joe Devereux and preceded to give his opponent “a right good thrashing”. Jon’s game seemed to totally bemuse Joe as he strolled through for a comfortable 3-0 win dropping only 9 points. One tie all.

Barker senior on next against Jaques Van Oorschot (another international they had drafted in the strengthen their squad, determined to halt the run of wins from Stamford squad). The first game was a hard battle with Jaques running like a rabbit on speed and retrieving everything. Simon running out of ideas finally relinquished the first 9-7. The second was another hard-hitting game with both players running for everything but Jaques again proving to sharp for Simon as he took the second 9-3. A talking to for the captain in the break focused Simon’s game plan and playing a good short game caught Jaques napping a the back of the court to take the third 9-4. Portugal now only 2-1 and the fight back was on. The fourth though saw Jaques back his best as Simon, continuously under pressure struggled to get any advantage. Comments from the balcony such as “I hope Simon isn’t relying fitness to win this one” as Jaques again retrieved the impossible only to hit a lucky winner off it obviously didn’t help. Jaques finally taking the fourth 9-5 and the tie 3-1. Stamford 2-1 down now. Pressure was on!

Mark Smith on now against Jaco Vermack. Mark (having decided that any previous poor matches in his life have been due to eating bananas during the day and on a new dietary regime of NO bananas) started strongly and blasted Jaco off the court for only 5 points and the coveted ice cream. Excellent squash from Mark giving Jaco no chance to settle into any rhythm and a stream of tins cost him dearly; 9-0, 9-1, 9-4. Stamford level 2-2.

Last on was Yorkie against Hussein Said. This was the match of the night as marathon rally after marathon rally took place. Superb squash from both players with Hussein’s retrieving unbelievable at times. Yorkie lost the first but went on to win the next two. Looking for the fourth to take the match Yorkie found Hussein fighting for everything and doing enough to snatch it 9-7. 2 games all and all to play for. Both players seeming tired but still running and getting to everything. The fifth began and Yorkie had a mare, suddenly finding the tank empty and going 6-2 down when the ball burst. The few minutes to warm a new ball seemed the turning point as Yorkie clawed his way back to 7-7. After some tense points and a perfectly timed dead nick at the back for Yorkie he finally snuck the victory 9-7 and the match 3-2. Stamford escape again with a 16-8 point victory thank you very much. Still unbeaten with only Brampton to go in the first half of the season.

On a dark, dark, night, in the dark, dark Fens the undefeated Stamford squash team battled through the icy fog, intent on giving Crown Lodge a right good thrashing. Brimming with over confidence, new rackets and an arrogant air, the lads from Stamford strutted onto court with an expectant air of victory. Was pride going to come before a fall?

First on the psychedelically painted courts was Simon Barker, playing a lean and mean Robin Attersley. Simon was looking a little jaded from the start and Peter sneaked the first 9-7. In the second Simon managed to string a few good shots together and clawed his way back to win 9-6. But, alas, this was only a false dawn. Simon had the glazed expression of a rabbit in the headlights, and, after losing the third 9-7, managed to waste a commanding lead in the forth to lose the match 3-1, and become the first team member to lose a match. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap!

The shock waves intensified when Simon’s brother, Richard Barker crashed out woefully against a chubby Peter Askew 3-2. Was this the end of Stamford’s bid for promotion? The fabulous Barker Boys had gone down in flames – the end of an era.

It was now up to Jonathan Oakley and Mark Smith to mount a recovery. Smithy, after a shaky start found his form to clinically see off Paul Swallow 3-1.

Jonathan, however, playing Stephanie Marriott (a Michelle Pfeiffer look alike) seemed more concerned about scoring in the bar afterwards than scoring points during the match. Stephanie played inspirational squash, with the style and accuracy that only women can. Jonathan politely kept the rallies going as long as possible and “threw” a couple of games for good measure. A classy performance earned Stephanie three match points and the respect of the gallery, before Jonathan, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to win 10-8 in the fifth and square the match 2-2. Stephanie, intent on revenge immediately pencilled the date of the return leg in her diary, – mission accomplished by Stamford!

Last on court was Paul York. Playing like a demon he dispatched Robert Murfitt with the determination and precision that we are coming to take for granted. With its reputation restored, the Green Man Squash Team can once again hold its head up high, but questions must be asked about the bottom end!

Just when you thought the team were cruising in the league it get’s even easier – the team had a walkover!

The team arrived early at the club for a team photo for the paper and official handing over of new kit from AWARE Promotional Merchandise in Peterborough. After much pruning and argy bargy in the line up, the photos were taken and dressed in smart new kit we took on Hunts County.

With major pressure not to be the first team player to drop a match and a tub of probably the best ice cream in the world awaiting the player dropping the least amount of points was proving a good incentive to stay focused.

Yet it again it fell to the Barker brothers to kick the match off with Richard to play Peter Dampney. Richard started well, playing controlled squash and keeping the ball away from Peter. A comfortable first game saw Richard through 9-3. The second game went horribly wrong as Rich had the game from hell, finding himself out of position, hitting poor shots and generally playing very muppet like. This cost him the game 9-5 and tied it 1-1. A slightly more invigorated Barker came for the third but was still drifting the ball around the court with no conviction. Some poor finishing from Peter kept Richard in the rallies and remarkably came through to take the third 9-3. The fourth was much the same but Rich kept his head to take it 9-5 and the tie 3-1 to maintain his unbeaten record.

Simon was on the other court against Andy Fuller. Attempting to end his run of, some would say loose (ish) squash, Simon went for plan B which was to up the power a bit more, after all his motto is “if in doubt – hit it harder.” This had the following effect: The first was the slightly more erratic nature of the flight of the ball (given that all parts of the racket were used in an effort to gain more power ie frame, handle and occasionally strings). The second was that although not exactly tight, with the ball travelling at light speed Andy did have problems controlling his own shots. This gave Simon plenty of loose balls to put away. Too much pressure for Andy allowed Simon a fairly comfortable win 9-5, 9-6, 9-4. Was the ice cream in the bag?

Mark Smith followed Richard on, to play Paul Godwin. This had the makings of a good match, as both players are good runners. Sure enough the first couple of rallies saw some major running. Paul settled down quickly and made few errors. Although the rallies were tight it seemed Mark made the mistake first and allowed Paul to take the first 9-5. The second saw an immediate improvement in Mark’s game as he took control. Tight drives and playing short to move Paul about allowed Mark a convincing 9-1 to level it 1-1. The third was a marathon with both players running and retrieving superbly. A very entertaining and tense third saw Mark under pressure and after one unforced error he just had to check to see if his racket could fly. After retrieving it he got back into it to just steal it 10-8. Disaster for Mark in the fourth as he seemed to switch off and Paul took advantage with a quick and easy 9-3 win to level it 2-2. Pressure was on Mark for the fifth, as the match report for the first to lose (unless it’s me) will be harsh! The game started closely with both players chasing everything; then Mark sneaked a couple of points and stretched the lead to 7-3. Excellent battling by Paul saw around seven handouts at 7-3. Would Mark collapse under pressure. Nope. He came through to take the fifth 9-3 and the tie 3-2. Well played.

Jon Oakley was playing next door against Dave Moreau. Dave pulled some tricky shots out of the bag but struggled to match Jon’s game which has to be said was somewhat in disarray for most of the tie. Fortunately Jon was able to do enough to keep Dave under pressure and though by far not his best performance, (in fact joining Richard in the muppet club and even managing to look like Fozzy bear) he took the tie 9-5, 9-6, 9-7. A comfortable win but not enough to nick the ice cream from the captain’s grasp. Could Yorkie do it?

So here it was the last game; Paul York against John Ford. From the off John looked a threat to Yorkie, picking up his hard drives and well hit cross courts and returning them tight and to a good length. Yorkie struggled to find his own game and made loads of errors. Ears were blocked as Yorkie’s shrill cry of disdain was heard after every point as he lost the first 9-3. Encouragement from the captain (as the ice cream was now safely in the bag) during the break and words of wisdom such “hit it harder” had the desired effect. The second saw Yorkie make fewer mistakes and start to work John hard. This gave him the edge as he took it 9-5 to even things up. Much of the same for the next two games, with errors reducing even more and the cut drop shot working again, giving Yorkie them 9-6 and 9-5 to take the tie 3-1.

Another 5-0 win. Home next week to Ely where they have an ex pro playing 1 for them. Best of luck Yorkie. Take no prisoners.