It might have been a whitewash first time around, but Man/Pont's Yawar Abbas isn't expecting an easy ride for Nottingham's return visit ...
On Tuesday Manchester-Pontefract welcome Nottingham to the National Squash Centre, in what promises to be a closely fought encounter.
Following a 5-0 defeat in December, Nottingham appeared to be out of the play off picture but they bounced back with their own whitewash over defending champions Edgbaston last week and are now in contention again.
The women’s match features Vanessa Atkinson against world number 6 Natalie Grinham. In the first half of the season, Vanessa clinched a hard fought 3-2 win over her closely ranked rival, but Natalie gained revenge in the Dutch Open final, so expect a tough match.
Unbeaten Marcus Berrett will take on Nick Douglas in the fourth string match, looking to continue his great form.
At three, Nick Taylor will take on Dutch number 1, Tommy Berden in a game that could well prove to be the decider.
Newly promoted James Willstrop will have the experienced Simon Parke as his opponent. Having had the best of recent encounters, Willstrop will be keen to confirm his promotion up the world rankings.
Leading the teams tonight are two of the world’s top players – for the home team the world number 4 and recent Qatar Classic Winner Lee Beachill will face world number 2, John White in what is repeat of the Qatar final that Lee won 3-2. Both players will entertain and White is sure to produce some of his amazing power to try and disrupt the control of Beachill.
Expect close matches all the way and with Nottingham sensing an unlikely surge towards the play off places our players must be at their best to secure a win.
Tickets available on 0161 220 3800
Yawar Abbas – Team Manager
