Mens 40 1) Steve McLoughlin (Capt) 2) Glen Ragou 3) David Youngs 4) Andrew Cross 5) Andrew Murray 6) Simon Street Reserve: Steve Ward

Mens 60 1) Martin Pearse (Capt) 2) Keith Jones 3) Phil Godfrey 4) Allen Brown 5) Larry Grover 6) Aubrey Waddy Reserve: Mike Broomhall

Womens 40 1) Nicola Fowler (Capt) 2) Isabelle Tyrrell 3) Lesley Sturgess 4} Sarah Parr 5) Isabelle Tweedle

Sport Wales National Centre,
Sophia Gardens,
Cardiff, CF11 9SW
Tel: 0845 045 0902

Friday 22nd -24th April 2011

Map

Cardiff Squash Rackets Club,
Ryder Street,
Cardiff, CF11 9BR
Tel: 029 2022 7842

Map

Cardiff Angel Hotel,
Castle Street,
Cardiff,
CF10 1SZ


Map

MO40 - Please scroll down the page for the following reports
MO60 - see also Events - Home Internationals - 2011 - Wales - Reports
WO40
Results

Home internationals O40s Cardiff 2011
Friday morning: As I threw the last of the kit in the car I couldn’t help thinking back a year to the Edinburgh experience, would we have anything like those nightmares again? –Volcanic eruptions threatening world travel and the global economy? Peter Gunther doing his thing on the dance floor? Both terrible in their own way but I could at least recover from the former in good time….
This time we were travelling by car, marginally safer (Alison driving) possibly quicker (Alison driving) and hopefully we wouldn’t end up in Glasgow, and indeed the journey had passed quite smoothly as we approached the Severn bridge toll, but the storm clouds were gathering. – Firstly, £5.70 for the toll! We asked the attendant very politely: ‘What do we get for that?’ The answer cannot be printed here without checking the decency laws..Still as we grudgingly paid up, my comforting thought was that we could claim it back when we left, a sort of deposit for good behavior, more on that later….
Indeed the storm clouds were literally gathering, over the border the weather changed from a balmy 70 degrees to raining and 50 degrees, unfortunately this meant doing 5 miles an hour on a dual carriageway whilst the electric roof tried to do it’s bit, not the best way to make friends with the locals.
At the Angel hotel, (named after it’s occupants reputations Glen?) we met up with the team all in situ amazingly at about 4pm, a quick exchange of pleasantries and checking that everybody was sorted room wise the inevitable ‘One room between 3 for Dave, Chris and Andy Cross’ was noted and left to sort out later, we were already late for the pre-match photos. We arrived at the National sports institute by foot, a decision I was to regret judging by the whingeing and moaning of the team. In their defence I did say it was 5 minutes, and that was déjà vu from last year, it was more like 15, the only difference being Andy Cross didn’t drive past the team in his car refusing to give anybody a lift. (Judging the way one or two played Saturday morning I wish we’d all driven!)
We got there 5 minutes before the match was due to start, so I decided the team photos could wait and we would go straight for warm up mode, Simon Street at 5, and Andy Murray at 3 took this onboard by standing outside in the sun, not what I had in mind….Meanwhile I surpassed last year’s terrible organization by missing the team captains meeting again but this time I wasn’t even at the right club!! The only saving grace was that Martin (O60s) had made the same mistake, so I wasn’t the only muppet this time.
The matches Friday night all went according to plan, 2 solid victories by the openers, and then Glen at 4 and Dave Youngs at 1 put on a couple of masterclasses to put us 4 nil up over Ireland, then Andy Cross put on the performance of the night by giving an impression of Robocop on court with no tins, relentless hitting and retrieving and no sign of breathing – awesome….Captain was rested for this one, but consoled himself with the thought he was still knackered from Thursday’s 5 mile hard run followed by a ghosting session, One or both possibly a mistake….
Post mortem of the match was booked for the Cardiff Squash Club over dinner a real 5 minutes walk away, unfortunately this to took longer than anticipated as an unscheduled stop at the nearest pub hadn’t been factored in, still I think 1 round was a lucky escape! Over to Cardiff squash club we quickly tucked in to curry and rice and several desserts whilst listening quietly to a quietly confident Scotland who had tonked Wales (minus Steve Evans) 5 zip, game on.
As we had a serious looking Scotland sniffing a win Saturday morning I was relieved to hear the boys volunteering for an early night, and indeed that’s what we got, and at breakfast the next day I was happy to see Andy Murray and Glen looking sprightly ( truth be told I was just happy to see them!) and Andy Cross had made it back to the correct hotel this year, and to hear that they cut short the nightclub to a 3am finish was a tribute to their professionalism….
So to battle, this time at the Cardiff club, team order: Dave 1, Andy Cross 2, Andy Murray 3, Captain Steve Mac 4, and bringing up the rear hopefully to great effect Glen at 5.
Scotland’s order: Frank Ellis 1, Barry Sutherland 2, Malcolm Kerr 3, Alan Thomson 4, Peter Buchan 5.
First, Match 1:
Glen vs Peter: This always had the look of 5 sets, but at 2-1 down and 4-0 down, even fans of Glen’s comebacks were not backing their man, but a couple of squeaky tins from Peter and some good play from Glen and it was 2 all. Then you have to say one of those perfect Glen 5th games gave us the start we needed, 1 up to England.
Next up Match 2:
Andy Murray vs Malcolm. Now I had some inside information on Malcolm having met him at the World’s in New Zealand and Cologne, and having a few hits with him in Chichester, when a ‘friendly’ turned into 95 minutes of attritional hell I knew this was a tough assignment for Andy. Sure enough after the usual quick fire start from Andy, Malcolm picked up the pace and everything Andy could throw at him and sent it back with interest. It soon became obvious that Andy couldn’t face being on court for another 3 days (and the loss of drinking time) and the towel was grudgingly thrown in, 3 0 nil to Malcolm, match score 1 all!
Match 3:
Dave Youngs vs Frank Ellis. What can you say about this match? It had everything, Dave refusing to believe you can’t lob to victory on a stiflingly hot court in April, and Frank refusing to believe that Dave can lob the smallest (but toughest) player in professional squash history. 2 brilliant comebacks from Frank in games 2 and 4 from roughly 8 2 down in both (old timers scoring) brought it back to 2 all, and with me about to give Dave the Captain’s words of wisdom for the 5th, it wasn’t looking good. Luckily Dave then used an element of surprise and ambushed Frank by discarding the Gentleman’s conduct he has displayed throughout his career and walloped one straight at Frank at 6 4 in the 5th, and still amazed at the turn of events Frank fell apart, match to England, now 2 1 up.
Match 4:
Steve ‘Can I go for run before the match’ Mac vs Alan ‘Never lost to an Englishman’ Alan.
With Dave’s victory giving us the advantage I thought the best tactic was probably to hit as many flukey shots off the frame as possible, thus putting off an accomplished player like Alan who was expecting the odd crisp smooth shot from my racket, no such luck. After winning a cagey first game, I think Alan was a bit deflated, and with the road runner still fresh-ish from resting the previous night the writing was on the wall, second and third games going to England, so 3 0, probably not what the crowd had their money on. 3 1 to England.
Match 5
Andy Cross vs Barry
Another cracking match, Barry using some shots surely no one’s seen before (certainly not Andy) took a close first game, but the turning point in this match was Andy taking the second, Barry’s head went down against the terminator and the 3rd and 4th went fairly quickly the same way, 3 1 to Andy, and overall match 4 1 to England!
Worth noting, a fantastic match, and the 5 hours we had before playing Wales were already gone when we finished!
The last match of the day was next up immediately, Wales. Thankfully we had the ready to go Simon Street on first at 5, Glen rested for this one. Simon went through his opponent like a knife through butter, good start. The other matches were fairly straightforward wins for England until we came to the 2s, at which point Andy Cross’s latish night seemed to catch up with him and his impression of Bambi’s first few minutes were a sight to behold. Luckily Robocop re-appeared just in time and from 2 down he fought back to take the match 3 2, 5 0 overall to England.
So a fine weekend’s work for the team, again defending last year’s win in style, but with some great performances from the opposition, particularly Scotland who were well up for it this time!
On to the evening’s entertainment – An inauspicious start, on the way down to the dinner, stuck in a lift built for a maximum of 3 people with 12 Scots shouting (singing they called it). On entering the dining venue we swiftly rearranged the England tables to be slightly more sociable, ie. Boy girl boy girl where possible, which I would like to say went down very well with the girls but I fear was more to Glen’s liking, sorry ladies! Still we were well situated near the back of the room - easy access for the hotel bouncers to remove any badly behaved team members – but a long walk from the podium which was slightly worrying me in light of bambi’s last match, but I guess we could carry him down if need be. Suffice to say the evening was fantastic, the food was great, some great speeches were made, (not by me obviously although I did manage a few words without insulting Martin this time – He qualified well and truly in the top 6!). We even had a trophy to collect, having taken the sensible decision not to search Martin Greenslade and Jon Clarke’s houses respectively for the old one. (Even better news we STILL have the new trophy!!)
The night was a fairly late one, I departed the hotel bar at 3:30am but I vaguely remember not being the last to leave. Isabelle at least was still there…
Sunday morning on the drive back to England, I had time to ponder a few unanswered questions from the weekend:
1). Did Andrew Murray stay out all night on Saturday or did he call it a day before dawn?
2). Did Glen run out of southern comfort (or for that matter lemonade)?
3). Did Simon run out of lemonade?
4). Did Andrew Cross’s legs ever recover? And how did he get his own room in the end?
5). Did Dave and Chris actually have an early night on Saturday or did they go out without the lightweights?
6). How did I get to be Captain?
7). Is Alan Thomson as we speak already plotting my downfall next year?
As I thought through the possible answers to these questions I could see the toll swiftly approaching, time to get that deposit back……

Many thanks to Wales squash for a brilliantly organized weekend, the Angel hotel for a great dinner and the late bar and generally looking after us, the 2 clubs and their staff, especially Cardiff squash club for the desserts, the referees for their usual patience with stroppy players..A special mention - the barman from Cardiff squash club, a very good player himself, for buying far too many drinks on Saturday night, Chris for being best supporter that actually watches squash and Alison the best supporter that doesn’t.
See you all next year
.

MENS O60 HOME INTERNATIONALS - CARDIFF
EASTER WEEKEND – APRIL 22/23 2011

Chairman’s Report

For the second time in three years the O60 visited (very sunny) Cardiff and assembled at the Barcelo Angel, right in the city centre and bang next door to the former location of the Holiday Inn and Cardiff Arms Park. Nearby was a gathering of shopping arcades, including a branch of Primark, the world renowned brand, noted for supplying a new England member a shirt to wear for the Dinner. (This at 6.30pm on the Saturday night – the shirt didn’t return to Jersey with it’s owner.)

Ireland sprang a big surprise on your Captain when he saw David Gotto in the foyer. And with legendary Stanley Campbell (one of the only Masters players to ever beat Keith Jones) at No 4, the balance was slightly shifted! However, at No 5, newcomer Aubrey Waddy, fresh from beating three of Ireland’s side en route to winning the Ulster Regionals in February, showed that his match playing abilities hadn’t diminished as he gave the holders a great start, winning 9/7 9/0 3/9 9/3.
No 3 Larry Grover found the courts not to his liking, despite taking the first game against Terry Norman. The latter, once in his stride, reeled off a succession of points to put himself firmly in the pound seats, until a fightback by the Guernsey player saw the fourth go to 8-8. However, Norman struck the all important winner to equal the match score at 1-1.

Time for the World Final because undoubtedly, these two are yards faster than anyone else on planet earth for their ages – with the exception of Dave Lumsden - David Gotto possesses sublime all round skills, but Keith Jones’ ability to get to the ball and wait, (and wait) is virtually unique. So it was, that, despite a Gotto comeback in the second, that Jones gave England a 2/1 lead, winning 9/3 3/9 9/2 9/3.

No 4 time, and debutant Phil Godfrey probably couldn’t have had a more difficult opponent. Stanley Campbell, 6 foot 3 and upright, commanded the T and placed ball after ball down either wall. Godfrey found life difficult getting to the ball and compounded his problem by not playing percentages. However, a fightback in the third with a change of tactics, didn’t last and Campbell closed out the match 9/3 in the fourth to level the scores 2-2.

All on debut boy, all the way from St Helier, Allen Brown. The most important match of his life to save England’s unbeaten record. No ball is ever good enough not to chase down and his sheer exuberance at retrieving some very precise shots was enough to unnerve the Belfast player, Jim Campbell, who started brightly, winning the first 9/6. Instructions to get everything, lots of pace and hard and low, saw Brown rocket through 9/2 9/1 9/3 to record a superb victory, not many times in the history of the Home Internationals have England been so tested.

Scotland, however, also presented a serious challenge, in fact, before Gotto’s arrival this match was targeted as a priority, especially with Golly Gosh at 3, despite a hip resurfacing.

No 5’s were in first and Martin Pearse started well (too well) 9/0. Never a good omen. Italian Scot Emilio Fazzi then levelled 9/4 and kept in control to 7/3 in the third with the seagulls directly overhead making an unfathomable racket. (Seagulls nest right above Court 2 and 3 – you couldn’t believe the noise.) And the courts are very, very low, no Cherlin lobs here. However, 7/3 up is not a time to relax and Pearse tightened up considerably and probably broke a few Scottish hearts by winning seven points in succession to take a 2/1 lead and was never again really threatened, winning 9/4 in the fourth.

No 3 next and Chris Wilson (aka Gosh) was always well in control over a strangely subdued Larry Grover whose fightback to 7/7 in the third was just too late. 1-1. Wilson moved seemingly very well, without any obvious discomfort, but it would have been very interesting had Grover got the third game.

Keith Jones at No 1 was up against John Rae – a word here – John decided playing at No 5 or 6 wasn’t good enough and trained ferociously to become Scottish No 1. Just goes to show what a lot of effort can do for you! However, Jones was just too good, 9/5 9/0 9/1, but Rae won his match with Wales.

Godfrey then had a chance to redeem himself. After a nervous inquisition (mainly with himself) saw him start brightly against Alex Sinclair to lead 1/0. However, Sinclair then overturned a big lead in the second as Godfrey frequently gambled on a winner – which turned out to be a loser. With Sinclair in the pound seats, sanity prevailed and once his game was firing on all cylinders, the Cambridgeshire player, having sneaked the third unexpectedly, rocketed through the fourth to give the match to England.

Allen Brown, thankful for a rest from saving Englands reputation, played Jim Dougal—master of the one shot rally. Dougal’s effortless touch kept him in the proceedings all the way through four tough games 2-2. However Brown’s determination was never going to go away, and he cruised through the fifth 9-1. Match score England 4—1.

The final match saw England beat a tired Welsh team 5-0 .Pearse , nursing Achilles tendonitis, won 3-0 against Tudor Young and Grover, after a nervous start, discovered winning ways against Leighton Jenkins. The two Jones’ saw the elder rushing around the younger frantically. It didn’t do any good, unfortunately, and the Keith version allowed the Haydn version six points. Haydn will be glad to get to 65.

At 4, former Welsh supremo David Jenkins - now an upmarket lawn consultant in Dorset—showed some of his old skills. Unfortunately he forgot , to have a chance of winning, it is important to run past the red line, occasionally anyway. Aubry Waddy, on a mission, led 2-0 before Jenkins shocked the gallery by sprinting the length of the court twice, at least. He held game ball 8-3, but Waddy discovered his mojo and closed out 10/8 to win 3-0
A by now relaxed and cheerful Brown then finished off the proceedings clinically, beating Richard Ford 3-0.

A great weekend, with many thanks to all at Squash Wales, notably Mike Workman, Sue Evans and Chris Rees, for all their hard work, organising and hospitality. Also many thanks to both Lloyd and Nick at Cardiff Squash Club and the Welsh Institute of Sport - lovely warm bouncy courts and great food.
Finally all our thanks to the Master Ref - Roy Gingell, and his two assistants Huw and - Hugh !!
Also the Staff at the Barcelo Angel who did a sterling job, with brilliant food at the Dinner, - they even kept Glen happy to the very early hours of Sunday….

And, of course, thanks to my Team !!
Martin Pearse

Scores – Mens O60 Home Internationals - 2011

England 3 Ireland 2

Keith Jones bt David Gotto 9/3 3/9 9/2 9/3
Allen Brown bt Jim Campbell 6/9 9/2 9/1 9/3
Larry Grover lost Terry Norman 9/7 6/9 0/9 9/10
Phil Godfrey lost Stanley Campbell 5/9 6/9 9/2 3/9
Aubrey Waddy bt John Kielty 9/7 9/0 3/9 9/3


England 4 Scotland 1

Keith Jones bt John Rae 9/5 9/0 9/1
Allen Brown bt Jim Dougal 10/8 5/9 9/6 8/10 9/1
Larry Grover lost Chris Wilson 1/9 3/9 7/9
Phil Godfrey bt Alex Sinclair 9/2 7/9 9/7 9/2
Martin Pearse bt Emilio Fazzi 9/0 4/9 9/7 9/4


England 5 Wales 0

Keith Jones bt Haydn Jones 9/0 9/1 9/5
Allen Brown bt Richard Ford 9/6 9/4 9/3
Larry Grover bt Leighton Jenkins 9/6 9/3 9/1
Aubrey Waddy bt David Jenkins 9/5 9/2 10/8
Martin Pearse bt Tudor Young 9/1 9/5 9/6

It was another great weekend and fantastic result for England Women’s over 40s beating Scotland 4-1 and Wales 5-0.
A slight disappointment for the Friday evening’s match, when we were told we had no match against the Welsh over 40s friendly team, when as a team consensus we had agreed to play this match. However, we used the time to practice instead.
Saturday morning was the match against Scotland. Lesley lost the first game 9-2 and was well down in the second game and we were all getting a little nervous. Lesley’s experience and confidence helped her to make a big come back and win the second game 10-9 and then going on to win 3-1. We could relax again...a little bit. In fact, a lot because Isabelle Tyrell played a storming match against Ashley Mears with a convincing 3-0 win. I knew my match was going to be tough against Senga, and it was, I went down 3-0.
Sarah Parr, new to the England team, overcame her nerves and fought well to win the match for us 3-1. Isabelle Tweedle played very well against Fiona Maclean, narrowly losing the first game and then fighting through the next 3 games to win 3-1.
Before we played the second match, we all needed some fresh air to cope with the heat...or maybe just an excuse to see what bargains there were in the shops in Cardiff.
The afternoon match against Wales was tough with the heat soaring through the court’s glass roof and Lesley’s match against Heather Charles started off a similar way to her morning match against Scotland, being 1-0 down and a second game win of 10-9! Lesley then went on to comfortably win 3-1. The rest of the team won each of their matches convincingly, 3-0 to win the overall match 5-0.
My woman of the matches goes to Isabelle Tyrell, who despite saying she had not played very much squash, due to her world tour on the tennis circuit, didn’t drop a game all weekend.
Of course, we all needed to celebrate the win with some champagne and a great party afterwards.
Thank you to all the team, there was an excellent team spirit and everyone played extremely well. Good luck to Isabelle Tweedle and Sarah Parr who are due to play in the England Over 35s next weekend in Dublin.