Archive for 2003

The season will be a tough one. The mission this season will be to stay up – in Division 1.

Unfortunately the Captain, Simon Barker, is away for the first three weeks but he has roped his brother in to run the team during this period. Some old faces are back with James Treweek a new addition to the team and Adrian Hargreaves is also planning to play again. Neil Hodgkins (aka physcho) has offered his services for occasional games as he is a new club member.

This year players will be rotated (just like the Chelsea football squad!) to ensure where possible the lower order don’t dip out too much. Hopefully everyone should only miss about 2 games at most if all goes to plan. The Captain anticipates the team order to be – (subject to Barker brothers last deciding playoff game and any other best of three challenges to come):

James Treweek
Paul York
Mark Smith
Jon Oakley
Ade Hargreaves
Simon Barker
Richard Barker
Neil Hodgkins
Simon Richardson

***BREAKING NEWS*** SIMON BARKER HANDS OVER CAPTAINCY TO PAUL YORK

The photographer may have stayed away this year but there were plenty of people at the Club Dinner.

The fun all started before the meal whilst at the bar – somebody had informed Lawrence Ball that it was a Black Tie affair and he arrived in style – but no sooner had he appeared he had gone – a truly quick turn around arriving minutes later in a more casual style! Did you spot him before he changed?!

The meal was very good and there were talk of conservatory openings, people reaching 40th milestones all of who shall remain nameless.

The Chariman, Ferlin Barnard, made a fine speech commenting on:
- the increased membership and good health of the club.
- the success of the Open Day earlier in the year.
- the exciting new junior team run by Bernard Miles.

Unfortunately Bernard could not be there as he is recovering from a heart attack. But he sent his good wishes to everybody and the club wishes him a speeedy recovery.

Presentations were made to the team Captains and to the victorious team run by Paul McCormick who won PDL Div 3 by a mile and is looking forward to the local derby with the Daniel Lambert team.

Ferlin then introduced the Team Captains to make a speech about there performance over the past season.

Simon Barker started though his age must be getting to him – poor chap, comes to us all, yes he’s nearly 40! – as he struggled to give us any statistics apart from the fact that they won the league!

Then Kim Cozens baffled us with statistics as did Paul McCormick. The up and coming rivalry between the 2nd and 3rd team in the new season could be sensed.

We went on to play “heads and tails” for a new Racket and bottle of wine – this was won by Mary McCormick, lucky Paul!!!

The evening carried on in fine form and fun was had all round.

Last season Stamford Green Man squash team comfortably won division one in the Peterborough leagues and with a desire to play squash to a higher standard approached Cambridgeshire to join their leagues. We were offered a place in division two and took it.

Unsure of how good the standard was in the new league, the Stamford lads were mentally well up for every game. This showed as we had an excellent season resulting in winning division two and getting to the semi-finals of the Herewood cup.

So next season we look forward to playing the best players in the county in division one. Our team this year consisted of Paul York, Mark Smith, Jonathon Oakley, Simon Barker (capt), Richard Barker, Adrian Hargreaves, Simon Richardson and Paul Swift.

Our thanks go to our sponsors, The Green Man Pub, Movenpick ice cream and AWARE Promotions.

This was Stamford’s biggest challenge of the season. Kimbolton, Cambs premiership team who finished 4th in the table arrived with a full strength team. Stamford knew the pressure was on and tonight would be a taster for what we can expect next season, now that we have secured promotion to the Cambs premier div ourselves of what the best of the premiership could offer.

First on was Simon Barker playing Pramjet Deol. Pramjet started well and from the off found his touch taking the pace off the ball well and playing some lovely touch squash. This forced Simon into a serious running game needing to cover the front of the court. Struggling to relax Simon made too many errors losing the first 9-4. The second saw an improvement but Simon still not able to get forward enough to have any time on the ball forcing either an error playing the drop or a loose shot to the back where Pramjet was waiting. 9-6 to Pramjet. The third saw a fight back from Simon as he finally got that yard forward and started to cover Pramjets short shots. Better drops from Simon and good recovery shots took him to 8-8. Disappointingly though. he was unable to capitalise and lost the third 10-8.

Next on was Jon Oakley against Matt Towers. This was the best game of the night as both players produced some outstanding squash. Matt starting better, worked the ball well causing a few mistakes from Jon as he lost the first 9-4. More relaxed in the second Jon started playing some fantastic squash. His movement around court was very quick as he picked everything up and hit a lovely length and width. Too tight for Matt the next two went to Jon 9-7 and 9-5. The fourth saw Matt get back in control as he edged it all the way himself playing some great shots. 2-2 in the tie now. As they started the fifth, Jon, showing great determination and concentration had a flying start storming to a 6-0 lead before Matt got a grip and began fighting back. As he picked the points up the tension rose, but Jon kept his head and took control again to take it 9-6. A great result for Stamford and Jon. Well played.

Next on was Adrian Hargreaves playing Gary Milner. Gary, obviously fired up for this, dominated the T and massacred everything Adrian hit. Gary playing some excellent squash, taking the ball very early, hitting very hard and to a good width kept Adrian at the back of the court under serious pressure. Gary, too strong in the first took it 9-0. the second started the same as Gary stormed away to a 5-0 lead. Adrian finally grabbed a point and suddenly found himself back in the game as Gary dropped his game hitting a number of tins and then it was 5-5. Adrian now, forcing himself to take the ball early, was battling well but Gary cut the errors out and started applying the pressure again forcing mistakes from Adrian. The second finally going to Gary 9-7. The third saw Adrian again having to work hard for everything but Gary, still faster to the ball, kept Adrian on the back foot and had a comfortable 9-0 to take the tie 3-0.

Mark Smith next playing Steve Davis (much more interesting than the other). From the first point it was apparent that Mark was going to have to win each point 3 or 4 times as Steve’s speed and outstanding court movement got him to everything that Mark hit with seemingly half an hour to spare. Excellent rallying saw a very entertaining tie. Both players running hard but Mark was always under intense pressure as Steve picked up anything that didn’t roll out of the nick. The first went to Steve 9-3, the second 9-0 and valiant attempt by Mark in the third to stop the rot failed as Steve wrapped it up 9-6.

Last on was Yorkie playing Steve Barlow. Steve having an awesome touch and a vast array of shots was to prove a handful for Yorkie. The first started evenly but then Steve started throwing a working boast in from the back of the court and with Yorkie forced to do a few shuttles the omens weren’t good. A hard first saw Steve have the edge to take it 9-5. The second, was dominated by Steve as he pushed Yorkie around the court, playing some lovely touch shots. Yorkie fought hard putting winners away when the opportunity arose but Steve was controlling the T and secured the second 9-3. A better third from Yorkie as it went evenly up to halfway before a couple of errors under pressure gave Steve the edge and he went through to finish it 9-6.

So a convincing win for Kimbolton but credit to the Stamford lads as they fought for everything making it a very entertaining evenings squash. My thanks go to all who came and supported us.

With the season now over, to recap: Stamford are division two winners promoted to the premier league and Cambs cup semi-finalists. An excellent first year in Cambridgeshire. As this is the last match and report of the season I would also, as team captain, like to thank the team that has supported me this year. Whether they played one, or all 17 matches their support has made my job enjoyable. I would also like to thank our sponsors for the year: Stamford Green Man (Tony Shilling and his staff, excellent food, service, beer – a top boozer!!) AWARE promotions for the team shirts and Movenpick ice cream – probably the best ice cream in the world! Cheers.

Comfortable win.

Yorkie beat Paul Burnett 3-0
Smithy beat Roy Pickerill 3-1
Jon O beat Jon Palin 3-1
Adrian H beat Bill McTaggart 3-0
Simon B beat Martin Cadel 3-0

…the next match is the cup semi-final.

Recent results had not been good for Stamford and tonight’s match saw another new face in the team, Adrian Hargreaves. Yorkie was back post injury but Richard B was still sidelined with a pulled calf. Tonight’s team order is Yorkie at 1, Jon Oakley 2, Adrian Hargreaves 3, Si Barker (captain) 4 and Si Richardson at 5.

Si Richardson was up first against Stewart McTavish. Simon, fresh from a weekends skiing, commented “I always play crap, straight from skiing so I got a game in yesterday and got the crap game out of my system” He then went on court and preceded to play crap! Seriously though Simon was up against a very strong player and as determined as Simon was to rally the ball up and down the wall Stewart picked the ball off putting it away consistently. Simon ran for everything but couldn’t contain Stewart who had a comfortable win 9-0, 9-4, 9-2.

Captain on next who was determined to seek revenge on his opponent Jaques Van Oorschot for the 3-1 defeat during the first half of the season. Jaques though had other ideas and Simon, making way too many errors, made the task easier for him. The first went to Jaques 9-3 by simply taking the ball early and keeping Simon under pressure. Simon played better in the second but with still too many errors inexplicably lost it 9-1. The third saw a valiant fight back from Simon as he finally managed to force some errors from Jaques, but couldn’t do enough to steal it as Jaques took the third 9-7. Stamford now 2-0 down and in trouble again.

Next on was Adrian playing Jaco Vermaak. Adrian had an excellent start with Jaco making unforced errors to allow Adrian an easy 9-3 in the first. The second saw Jaco tighten up, find a better length and take control of the rallies. Adrian’s turn to make the errors as Jaco took it 9-7. The third was an excellent display of quality squash as both players hit accurate shots around the court. Adrian though always just had the edge and took the third 9-2. The fourth was an almost exact copy of the third as Adrian sealed it 9-2 and the tie 3-1. Was the comeback on?

Jon Oakley on now, against Hussein Said, (who made Yorkie work very hard in the first half of the season). Hussein started slowly giving Jon time to settle in. Jon, looking sharp around the court was quick to pick up everything and caught Hussein with the short ball. 9-3 to Jon in the first. Hussein stepped up in the second and Jon, looking a little too casual made the errors to give Hussein the second 9-6. The third began with a much more focused Jon playing excellent length and width, retrieving superbly and even when under pressure finding a great shot to get out of trouble. Hussein had no answer to this as he buckled to a 9-0 defeat. The fourth followed on with Jon totally dominating for a convincing 9-1 win to take the tie 3-1 and square the match 2-2.

Finally Yorkie was on playing Ben Bradshaw. Pressure was on Yorkie as the match relied on his result. The first saw Yorkie a little cautious (technical jargon for moving round court like a slug on a go slow) which we put down to him protecting his recently injured calf. This allowed Ben an easy ride in the first to take it 9-6. The second, Yorkie came out on a mission and suddenly found that extra half a yard and massacred just about everything into a selection of nicks. Ben found himself moving up to two paces forward of the T just to give himself a chance of picking the ball up before it bounced for the fourth time. 9-1 to Yorkie. A nail biting third then commenced as Yorkie threw in a few tins as well as the nicks and with Bens confidence lifted his retrieving was awesome. Yorkie stuck to his game though and snuck the third 9-7. The fourth was a real battle and with Yorkie’s little legs starting to fade the tension spectating was high. It was very even up to 7-7 then Yorkie clinched a point to give him match ball – but couldn’t finish it. With Yorkie’s tank about empty he didn’t need a fifth and finally on his third match ball a winning kill secured it for him 3-1 and the match 3-2.

Well played the top three and Stamford back winning. That result secured promotion to Cambs div 1 next year. Brampton at home next week and then the following week the cup semis at home. Come on the big boys!

Still recoiling from last weeks defeat and with an injury list worse than Casualty at PDH on a Friday night the Stamford lads were cautious about any predictions for this match. With both Yorkie and Richard now injured and unable to play, a first appearance for Paul Swift and the return of Simon Richardson (now almost a regular) was the order of the day. The team order for tonight was Mark 1, Jon 2, Simon B 3, Simon R 4, and Paul 5.

First on was Simon R playing Robin Attlesey. This proved an entertaining match with Simon playing some tight accurate squash, matched equally by Robin. The first game was tight with Robin just nicking it 10-8. Simon came back strongly in the second for a comfortable 9-3 win. Good squash in the third from Simon as he again dominated the game keeping Robin under pressure to take it 9-6. Fortunes changed in the fourth though as Robin fought for everything to take it 9-4 and level the tie 1-1. The fifth saw both players working hard until finally Simon had match ball at 8-7. Unable to clinch it Robin clawed back to 8-8 and continued on to win 10-8 and take the first tie 3-2.

Paul Swift was on the other court against Peter Askew. Paul started well, taking the ball early and controlling the game and did enough to force mistakes from Peter and take the first 9-6. The second saw too many errors from Paul and it was the turn of Peter to take advantage of the “free” points to take it 9-6. The next two games were taken one each to make it 2-2. The fifth saw Paul struggle to keep consistency with Peter now in control and finally taking it 9-3 and the tie 3-2.

So Stamford 2-0 down and in trouble. Jon Oakley on next against Paul Swallow. A very strong start form Jon playing great width and length added to some excellent retrieving saw a convincing win 9-0, 9-2 for the first two games. Jon relaxed in the third and this let Paul back in as he fought hard to take it 9-4. The fourth saw a more determined Jon as battled well and stepped up the pace to take the game 9-8 and the tie 3-1.

Simon B on now against Stephanie Marriot. After Jon Oakley’s fawning display, that destroyed the pride of men folk when he played her during the first half of the season and barely scrapped a win 10-9 in the fifth, Barker was determined to set the record straight. Simon took about tackling a somewhat unorthodox style of movement from Steph with vigour and after two close games Simon was 2-0 winning them 9-7 and 9-6. It was Simon’s turn to relax now and suddenly Steph was back in the match. Simon was now getting more and more frustrated trying to cope with Steph’s style he had to resort to the occasional “dropped shoulder” as he made the effort to get around Steph. Steph took the third 9-4 and the fourth 9-7. 2-2 and game on. The fifth though proved an anti-climax as Simon took control and stepped the pace up for a comfortable 9-1 win.

With the match squared at 2-2 now the pressure was on Mark playing Robert Murfitt. A quick first game with Mark either playing winners or tinners as he lost it 9-7. Much the same in the second but without the winners as Mark continually found the top inch of the tin to go down 9-3. A pep talk from the captain and top tips such as “don’t hit the tin” obviously worked as Mark came back in the third to take it comfortably 9-1. Was this the comeback? Sadly no, as the fourth saw Mark again finding the tin, letting Robert back in to take it 9-4 and the match 3-2.

So another loss for the Stamford boys. If only I had a football boot to kick around! Another tough one next week, Portugal Place.

Michael won the first two games of this semi-final against the No.1 seed El-Halaby from Priceton, 6-9, 7-9. However his best opportunity came when he served in the fourth game at 7-all. However, El-Halaby ran out that game when he hit a good ball that clung too tightly to the right wall to be returned by Michael. The Egypt-born Princeton freshman then won the fifth game 9-1 to take the match 3-2.

Wednesday night was here again and Ely were our foes tonight; an unknown quantity as they pulled out of the first round match. They did have one known player to us though and he was Galen Lecheminint, a semi-pro playing for “fun” in div 2 and yet to drop a game. Yorkie had his sights set high on giving him a good tonking when disaster happened: Whilst bending down to pick up a squash ball a few days prior to this match Yorkie hurt his leg. After much discussion he decided that amputation was probably not required but it would need complete rest till at least Thursday. So with Yorkie decimated by a pulled shoe lace, sorry calf muscle, it was down to super sub Simon Richardson to stand in again. I should also mention at this point, whilst driving down to Ely across the fens, Jonathon Oakley was clearly heard to say “WHY DO THEY BUILD THESE ROADS SO BUMPY?” After narrowly avoiding a major car crash due to hysteria in the car we explained to him the phenomenon of subsidence!

First on was Simon Richardson playing Ian Travers. Simon, now match savvy, had left any pre match nerves behind, and started well, playing to a good length and moving well. Ian attacked but Simon kept digging in and took the first 9-6. The roles reversed in the second with Simon making a few too many mistakes allowing Ian in 9-5. The third was a monumental battle, both players working hard with Simon taking it 10-8 to go 2-1 up. The fourth started well as Simon continued to work Ian hard and led to the half way point before dropping a few quick points to lose 9-6. Tied at 2-2 it could have gone either way. Ian stormed through the fifth racking up the points to go 7-1 up before finally fitness told and suddenly the tank was empty. Simon took advantage to claw back and finally take the fifth 9-7 and the tie 3-2. Well played.

Mark Smith was on the other court playing Galen Lecheminint. With the ball flying on this court Mark struggled to find his normal control as Galen hit the corners effortlessly. The first slipped way easily from Mark 9-4 as mistakes were abound. The second saw a more confident Mark hitting harder and more accurately to put some pressure on Galen who produced some excellent full stretch drives with a flick of his wrist making it very difficult to know where the ball was going. A better game from Mark but Galen doing enough to take it 9-6. The third started well for Mark taking a 5 point lead. This proved a tight game as Galen, playing continually to a length, had to work to stay in the game. Finally he leveled the score to 8-8 and a battle for the last points finally saw Galen steal it 10-9 and the tie 3-0.

Simon Barker was on next against Fernando Gris. On a hot court with the ball absolutely flying both Simon and Fernando seemed determined to out hit each other. The first game started with the ball hitting mach 2 with each strike of the racket as Fernando massacred every shot. Simon struggled to cope with the speed of the ball and made too many errors losing the first 9-3. The second went the same with Simon battling to stay with the pace of the ball but again was unable to put Fernando under any significant pressure eventually going down 9-6. The third saw better squash from Simon as he fought well and started moving Fernando and causing mistakes from him. Simon saw a glimmer of light and ran for everything but was still unable to tame Fernando’s power as he took the third 9-7 and the tie 3-0. Stamford now 2-1 down and under pressure.

Jon Oakley went on next against Andrew (Ely). As the first got under way this looked like the makings of an excellent match as both players played tight, good length and width and were looking sharp. The first went both ways up to 5-5 when Jon hit a couple of lovely disguised cross court drops to steal a couple of points and suddenly Andrew’s world fell apart. 9-5 to Jon in the first who then ran away with the next two 9-0 and 9-1 for a well needed win but disappointing game of squash. Jon would like it known he then did 7 mins 0.06 secs on the concept 2 rower. A personal best!

Finally Richard Barker was on against Tony Walton. Richard had a flyer in the first as accuracy and a slow ball proved too much for Tony. Richard took the 1st comfortably 9-2. The second started well and Richard, though not flying round the court, retained the advantage and the “T” to take the second 9-5. Things looking good for Stamford from the balcony but little did we know what was to come and a couple of points in the third a recurring calf injury suddenly looked very ominous as Richard began limping around the court. Tony took the fourth 9-7 to recover to 2-1 but at the start of the fourth it was apparent that the calf injury was too much and Richard was forced to retire forfeiting the tie 3-2.

So Stamford suffer their first defeat of the season and with the team in a sorry state in disrepair things don’t look too healthy for the last few games. Fortunately the damage has been done and we have enough points to have all but won the league. Crown lodge at home next week and the “lovely Stephanie” returns.

Last week, whilst the rest of the Trinity players won, Michael lost. So he is human after all – Michael won the first game 9-7 but then lost the next three games – 9-7,9-3,9-1.

For the full team match report CLICK HERE

Mike against Will Evans of Princeton

Meanwhile, Trinity College are National Champions for the 5th year running.