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8th Oct:
SURREY CUP
NEW ON
SQUASHSITE ….
OK, the Surrey Cup is not as
prestigious as the National League, but
believe me, the faithful followers like me enjoy great matches, great fun,
and great players.
I’m not going to list all the players that participate regularly in the
competition, but from the top of my head, Rodney Durbach,
Bradley Ball, Stacey Ross, Steve Meads, Mark Cairns,
Adrian Grant, Ben and Tim Garner, Peter Genever,
Del Harris, Scott Handley, Danny Meddings, and so on…
The ones I forgot, please don’t shoot, I’ve been travelling and writing a
lot lately, a bit tired, the French woman…
And this year, we have a new addition, the Boss, Mr Peter Nicol
himself, is representing Esporta Croydon.
“I came to Esporta Croydon about a year ago for an exhibition, and I liked
the club. And it just happens that I have an Esporta two minutes walk from
my flat. So I contacted them to see if we could find an arrangement, and
we did. So I will play for the club, when my squash schedule allows it, do
some exhibition matches and coaching for the kids.”
Well, sir, nice to have you aboard…. Like a spectator said after the
matches of Peter Nicol and Adrian Grant, “who do we have next, Jonathon
Power???”.
Enjoy the new season
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The
Scorecard
Esporta bt Colets 4-1 (17-7)
The
National League, week one
| So guys, don’t forget to send us
the results of your matches, and nice little reports
would be more than welcome…. |
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SCOTT HANDLEY :
A MAN IN GREAT FORM….
 “Since
I heard I was going to be a father, I have much more strength and energy”,
said the delightful Handley after his match against Peter Nicol,
the Boss in his first appearance in the Surrey League.
I don’t know what Scott is on, but I want some! On Tuesday, in the
National League, he battles with Adrian Grant, world 13, and wins
in 5 games, and the next day, he pushes Peter in 5 very hard games….
In the first, it’s actually Scott that takes the lead, to everybody’s
surprise, 6/0. If his drop shots are still a bit imprecise, he hits the
ball well , covering a lot of ground, finding good lengths. He takes the
game 9/5.
Peter recovers, starts getting in front, applying more pressure, being
more in control of the rallies. Very rightly, he wins the game 9/2, but
the pace is very high, the points very disputed…
The third is extremely close, 1/1, 3/3, but slowly, Scott gets his drop
shot to a fine art, pushing Peter just out of his comfort zone, and gets
the advantage, slowly, point by point, to finally take the game 9/5.
I must say I thought that Handley would just crack up, what, with his
match of the night before, and now, playing away, against a legend. So, I
thought that when Peter took the fourth 9/2 after leading 5/0, the fifth
would be a doddle.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, Scott suffered in the decider,
Peter’s game was just too quick, too precise, his wrist seemed to be made
of rubber, his moves were catlike, and he got up to 8/1, match ball. And
then Scott went for everything, every ball, every kill he could think of,
and got back to 8/6.
 But
an extremely relieved Nicol was able to close the match on his fourth
match ball, and clinch the victory, in 75 minutes.
“I have been doing a lot of hard training recently, so it was good to have
a hard match. Scott is extremely fit, he played very well, and took full
advantage of the high tin and traditional scoring, both of which I haven't
used for a very long time. And I was very happy to win that one…”
Anyway, I think we can officially call this first week in the League Scott
Handley’s week!
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MARK CAIRNS: MARRIED AT LAST…
“Well, it wasn’t too bad, considering…”
Considering the fact the man just came back last Thursday from three
weeks’ honeymoon….
“We went to California, San Francisco and then the Grand Canyon. So, I
didn’t play squash for 3 whole weeks. I played yesterday against Peter
Parker in the National League, and today, I had to play against Adrian,
now 13 in the world! So, getting a game out of him, it’s not too bad…”
And from Steve Cubbins and myself, congratulations to him and his lovely
bride Sam…. |
I NEED A CLONE….
As usual, I couldn’t see everybody. I glanced at Robbins against
Johnson, which seemed a very high paced match, much closer than the
score line tells. And unfortunately, I couldn’t see even one shot of
Del Harris against Danny Meddings, as it was played at the same
time as Peter’s, and at the time, I fought to get a small place on the
floor, and believe me, every inch of the front of the court was occupied….
No way could I stand up and leave my little spot in front of the glass.
Sorry guys… |
MEADS/EWINS
: HIT AND RUN
To finish the evening, we had a close encounter. Boy does that Clive
Ewins knows how to hit the ball! It was the first time I have seen him
play, and I was nicely surprised.
Steve Meads, having lost weight due to hard work, he told me (he is
doing a lot of coaching at St George’s Hill, I understand), was in good
form and very motivated tonight - who knows, maybe he wanted to avenge his
defeat last night against Peter Genever, a very disputed game.
 But
it’s the “Hitter” Ewin that took the first game, after a good 23 minutes
of battle, 10/8. Steve retorts very quickly, went up 8/1, but some
outrageous shots from Clive threatened the “Mean Machine”, as I like to
call him, and he had to work just that much harder to finish the game 9/5.
The third lasted only 2 minutes, and went to Meads 9/0.
A tired and not feeling too well Clive Ewins made a fantastic start in the
fourth, leading 6/1. But Steve had no intention of losing that one, and
after equalising 6/6, took the game in 11 minutes 9/7.
Yes, it was a great battle, and allowed me to discover another good squash
player. Told you, I just love the Leagues…. |
ADRIAN: BIRTHDAY BOY…
 Yes,
it was Adrian Grant's birthday on Wednesday, 24 years old he is,
God, how time flies, he was 16 when I saw him play the first time in South
Bank.
Still tired from his match against Scott Handley last night, Adrian was on
a bit of a mission tonight, as his girlfriend had booked a table in a
restaurant to celebrate his birthday, and he had to play well, and win
quickly if he wanted to be on time.
Well, if the young man took the first game 9/5, Mark Cairns hadn’t
played his last ball and took a surprising lead 3/0 in the second, then
7/1, finding good angles cross courts, good lengths, and following up
Adrian’s precise shots. Grant came back very close, but it was a little
too late, and Mark clinched the second 9/6.
After that, Cairns did his best, but Grant was just in a different league
altogether, and the birthday boy took the 2 last games 9/0, 9/0.
So, Happy Birthday Adrian…. |
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