Cambs Squash

Report: Mens O35 Inter Counties Stage 2 Premier
Location: Cambridge Squash Club.
Date: 8th/9th March 2008.

After facing very tough competition in our previous weekend and finishing bottom of the pack, this weekend wasn't going to be easy to survive relegation. A full squad was a good start and some fortunate absences/injuries with our opponents brightened the outlook, but we still had to finish in the top two to avoid relegation.

Our first match versus Avon was predicted to be a win and we managed to come through winning 4-1. Nick Brown 3-0, Vinod Duraikan 3-1, Simon Gardner 3-1, John Hawkins 3-0, Duncan Alexander 0-3.

Saturday afternoon, Cambs versus Surrey was the going to be the tough one. A solid performance from Nick (3-1), Simon (3-0), the match stood at 2-2. Andy Whitham and Andy D'alessandro stepped in but faced tough opponentsand went down 0-3 and 1-3. It was now down to Vinod . After a slow start, he managed to pull he game back to 2-2 then lost the advantage when the lights went off to give his opponent a vital breather. Final result 3 - 2 to Surrey. We could have had the weekend sewn up!!!!

So Sunday morning arrived with the prospect of having the pull out all the stops to beat Suffolk who had peformed well on Saturday (only 2 points behind us). Simon turned on the pace and produced a 3-0 win. Duncan had a tough battle and dug deep but unfortunatley lost 3-2. John followed Simon's example, another 3-0 win. Nick fought hard and produced the result we needed, a 3-2 win. Cambridgeshire were safe. Vinod breathed a sigh of relief, the match didn't depend on him. He lost 3-1.

Well done to the squad, a real team effort. Thanks also to Cambridge Squash and Fitness Club for the use of their facilities.

Man of the weekend - Nick Brown (3/3)

Final positions:

Surrey (47 pts), Cambridgeshire (43 pts), Suffolk (32 pts) and Avon (18 pts)

The Squad:

Nick Brown, Vinod Duraikan, Simon Gardner, John Hawkins, Andy Whitham, Andy D'alessandro, Duncan Alexander.