England Celebrate World Championship
Double In Cape Town
England scored a notable double in the 4th World Deaf Squash Championships - winning both the team and the men's individual titles at the Durbanville Squash Club in Cape Town, South Africa.

The England squad got off to a flying start in the Team Championships, beating title-holders Australia 2/1 in the first 'round robin' tie. With later victories over Netherlands and hosts South Africa - both by 3/0 margins - England faced Scotland in the decider.

Jonathan Oster, from Watford, began nervously against Scot Bernie Starkey, but always seemed in control of the match. "Jonathan played superbly for all week - his dedication to his training before the event and his match play during these Championships has been an inspiration to the rest of the team,” said Team Manager Mike Harris after Oster's 9-5, 9-4, 9-0 win.

Matt Hewitt was in ruthless form at second string - defeating Leslie Banks 9-0, 9-2, 9-0. Earlier in the week, the 32-year-old from Brighton had withdrawn from the individual event due to an infected blister. But after three days, he was keen to be the player to win the title for England.

"Matt's victory on the first day against Australia was a crucial win and one which effectively won us the team title," explained Harris. "I’ve known Matt for over 15 years - playing in the same Coral Premier Team in the Sussex League. He’s a great guy - I’m so pleased for him."

In the final match Philip Thomas started slowly against David Thompson, losing the first game to the Scot. But the Newbury player then he showed why he was the former World Deaf Champion, dropping only two points as he went on to complete a remarkable trio of victories in an 8-10, 9-0, 9-1, 9-1 scoreline.

"Philip will be the first to tell you he hasn’t been on top form this week, but he’s played his part for the Team on and off the court," said Harris.

"The guys prepared so well for these Championships and they didn’t fail to deliver when it mattered," added the Team Manager. "I’m really proud to part of this World Championship-winning team."

Jamie Mathews (right) became the individual World Deaf Champion when he defeated fellow Englishman and former champion Philip Thomas 9-2, 9-2, 9-3.

The 21-year-old from Epsom in Surrey needed only 28 minutes to defeat his England team-mate. Both players looked tentative in the opening skirmishes, but seven unforced errors by Thomas gifted the first game to a surprised Mathews.

In the second, Mathews began steadily and, sensing his opponent was not on form, waited for him to make the errors. Thomas duly obliged with six further errors, before the second game was over. Thomas became increasingly frustrated in the third, and resigned to his pending fate. Mathews, however, was ruthless, forcing his opponent to all corners of the court then putting away the loose ball.

"The scoreline was a fair reflection of the game and Jamie Mathews is a worthy Champion - congratulations to him,” said Harris.

Thomas admitted that he just didn’t get into the match: "Too many mistakes - and Jamie being too good on the day. Congratulations Jamie!”

A jubilant Mathews exclaimed: "I’m delighted to be the World Champion - I played well, and Philip didn’t. I just did what I had to do. It’s been a great week for me and the rest of the England Team.

"We’re the World Team Champions - sound good, doesn’t it!"

England Beat Champions Australia
In World Championship Opener
England defeated defending champions Australia on the opening day of the 4th World Deaf Team Squash Championships at the Durbanville Squash Club in Cape Town, South Africa.

"It was a tough match for both teams to begin the championships but, as is always the case when Australia and England meet, no quarter was given," said Team Manager Mike Harris, the England Squash Academy Director.

Matt Hewitt, playing in his first World Deaf Championships, began the tie with a gutsy display against Anthony Stanford - and at one game all and 5-4 in the third game the match could have gone either way. But the Sussex player managed four fantastic attacking boast winners to pull away from his Australian opponent. The final game was also tight but Matt held strong and clinched the match 9-4, 7-9, 9-4, 9-4 with a crunching forehand drive winner.

The second match was a see-saw battle between Berkshire's out-of-form Philip Thomas and a great stroke player Peter Walters. The Aussie from Adelaide began quickly moving the ball to all corners of the court whilst Philip seemed very sluggish and was making error after error.

A few choice words from Mike Harris seemed to do the trick and Thomas took the next two games. However, the Aussie fought back to force the match into a fifth game decider. Walters held his nerve, much to the delight of the Australian supporters, to win the match 9-0, 1-9, 1-9, 9-4, 10-9 - and take the tie into a deciding rubber.

The deciding match saw Surrey's Jamie Mathews outplay Aussie No1 Ben Bruggy. Striking the ball and moving well, the England No1 despatched his opponent for the loss of just a single point, winning 9-0, 9-1, 9-0 to give England a morale-boosting 2/1 victory over the 2005 champions.

England’s next opponents on Day 2 will be hosts South Africa, who lost 2/1 to Scotland.

“This is my first world championships event," said Matt Hewitt after his opening win. "I thought I played well in the first game, good length and width and he seemed a bit slow at the beginning. In the second, Anthony started to hit ball harder and deeper in to the back of the court, I hit short and he punished me, plus I broke my racket half way through this game and I got distracted. The third and fourth games were tough but in the last game I could see he was getting tired, so I made sure I kept up the pressure against him and won six straight points to win, it was the perfect way to start the match for England."

After his disappointing loss, Peter Walters explained: “I’ve only just got back from travelling round the world two weeks before the event and I’ve been struggling to get back into my game in such a short space of time. Peter has improved in the last two years and he played very well and I wasn’t at my best and it wasn’t a day for me. I will forget my poor performance today and I will try much harder, especially in the individual event as I’m the defending champion."

England's victorious top string Jamie Mathews  added: "Ben started slowly and I was quick on court so was able to
take advantage with my attacking game at the front. Overall I played well and we all very happy that we beat Australia the current champions. I’m really looking forward for the rest of the Championships."

Results

Men Team
England bt Scotland 3-0 : Philip Thomas bt David Thompson 8-10 9-0 9-1 9-1, Matthew Hewitt bt Leslie Banks 9-0 9-2 9-1, Jonathon Oster bt Bernard Starkey 9-5 9-4 9-0.

Australia bt Netherlands 3-0: Peter Walters bt Tonnie Klerks 9-5 9-5 9-0,Anthony Stanford bt Mehmed Mujanovic 9-0 9-2 9-1, Mark Friend bt Rob Bosveld 9-1 9-0 9-7.

Final England 35, Australia 31, Scotland 17, South Africa 14, Netherlands 0

Women South Africa 6, Australia 3

Men Individual Final
1st Position: Jamie Matthews (Eng) bt Philip Thomas (Eng) 9-2 9-2 9-3
3rd Position: Peter Walters (Aus) bt Anthony Stanford (Aus) 9-2 9-10 9-3 9-2
5th Position : Mark Friend (Aus) bt Max Percival (RSA) 9-6 7-9 9-2 7-9 9-6

7th Position: Ben Bruggy (Aus) bt David Thompson (Scot) 9-1 9-1 9-7
9th Position: Matthew Hewitt (Eng) bt Dominique Everett (WDSA) 9-0 9-5 9-1
11th Position: Chris Nortier (RSA) bt Jonathan Oster (Eng) 1-9 10-9 6-9 9-7 9-5
13th Position: Angus McDonald (Nzl) bt Nasir Adams(RSA) 2-9 9-4 9-7 9-5
15th Position: Mehmed Mujanivoc (Ned) bt Johan Niemand (RSA) 7-9 9-1 9-5 4-9 10-9

Women Individual ; Ronel van Coller w/o Denise Satti (Aus) scr;