England v Rest of World Test Series
Results | Reports | Preview
RESULTS |
1st
Test: Friday 26 March, Lambs Club, London
England 1 - 2 Rest of World |
Paul Johnson (Kent) |
9/7 8/10 3/9 1/9 |
Jonathon Power (CAN) |
Simon Parke
(Yorks) |
9/6 11/9 7/9 14/12 |
Dan Jenson (AUS) |
Cassie Jackman (Norfolk) |
0/9 4/9 4/9 |
Sarah Fitz-/Gerald (AUS) |
2nd
Test: Saturday 27 March, Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham
England 1 - 2 Rest of World |
Simon Parke
(Yorks) |
9/6 9/6 11/13 6/9 9/5 |
Jonathon Power (CAN) |
Del Harris (Essex) |
6/9 4/9 5/9 |
Dan Jenson (AUS) |
Cassie Jackman (Norfolk) |
9/1 1/9 6/9 4/9 |
Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) |
3rd
Test: Sunday 28 March, Abbeydale Park Club, Sheffield
England 1 - 2 Rest of World |
Simon Parke
(Yorks) |
9/7 7/9 7/9 9/2 9/4 |
Jonathon Power (CAN) |
Lee Beachill (Yorks) |
7/9 9/4 2/9 5/9 |
Dan Jenson (AUS) |
Cassie Jackman (Norfolk) |
7/9 8/10 2/9 |
Sarah Fitz/Gerald (AUS) |
Reports
ENGLAND WHITEWASHED BY REST OF WORLD
The inaugural three-day Dunlop SRA England v Rest of the World Test Series resulted in a
3/0 whitewash for the host country by the visiting squad which boasted two world
champions.
Capacity crowds in London, Birmingham and Sheffield witnessed a dazzling display of
world-class squash as Australia's three-times women's world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald
and, in his first appearance in the UK since winning the men's world title, Canada's
Jonathon Power led the Rest of the World to three consecutive 2-1 victories over England.
England's hero, however, was world No6 Simon Parke, whose unbeaten run in the series
included two successive five-game victories over world champion Power - Parke's superb
athleticism ultimately having the edge over the Canadian's incredible racket skills.
In the first Test at Lambs Club in London, 26-year-old Parke, playing at No2 for England,
levelled the match when he overcame Australia's world No7 Dan Jenson 9/6 11/9 7/9 14/12 /
all men's games being played 'point-a-rally' to nine, or two clear points ahead from
8-all. Power then clinched the opening tie, when he beat England's world No4 Paul
Johnson 7/9 10/8 9/3 9/1.
Parke then moved up to lead the England squad for the next two Tests, the Nottingham-based
Yorkshireman earning his first series win against world No2 Power at the Edgbaston Priory
Club in Birmingham 9/6 9/6 11/13 6/9 9/5 in 66 minutes. On Sunday at Abbeydale Park in
Sheffield, Parke again asserted his authority over the Canadian, coming through to claim a
9/7 7/9 7/9 9/2 9/4 win in 41 minutes.
3rd Test
Simon Parke retained his unbeaten record in the series with a second
successive victory against Jonathon Power, but couldn't prevent the 'rest of the world'
team clinching a 3-0 series win as Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Dan Jenson both won to clinch the
match.
2nd Test
The 'rest of the world' took an unassailable 2/0 series lead in
Brimingham. Sarah Fitz-Gerald repeated her win over Cassie Jackman, although the UK
champion offered sterner resistance this time, taking the first game 9-1. Dan Jenson
cruised to a 3-0 win over Del Harris, but Simon Parke continued his winning run. Moving up
to play #1 after beating Jenson in the first test, Parke was facing a much harder task
this time, againg the World Champion. Parke raced into a 2-0 lead, and could well have won
3-0, Power eventually taking the third 13-11. Power levelled it at 2-2, but Parke managed
to find extra reserves in the fifth to record a notable victory.
1st Test
The 'rest of the world' team took the first match in the three-match
series 2-1. World champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald comfortably beat UK National champion Cassie
Jackman, 9-0 9-4 9-4. Simon Parke levelled the match, beating Australia's Dan Jenson 3-1,
two of the games going beyond normal scores with the expiremental '2 clear' scoring system
- Parke winning the last game 14-12. In the top-string match Paul Johnson took the first
game against world champion Jonathon Power, narrowly lost the second, but struggled
thereafter as the Canadian took the match 3-1 to give the 'rest of the world' a winning
start.
Preview
Beachill to
make England debut in Test Series
Fifteen months after breaking his back and being told he would never play squash again,
Lee Beachill has been selected to make his senior England debut against the 'Rest of the
World' in the Dunlop SRA Test Series on Sunday 28 March. Beachill, 21, from Barnsley in
Yorkshire, will play alongside county colleague Simon Parke, the England No2, and British
women's champion Cassie Jackman, in the final fixture of the three-day series at the
Abbeydale Park Club in Sheffield. The 'Rest of the World' line-up features world champions
Jonathon Power (Canada) and Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Australia), together with the Australian
No1 Dan Jenson, who Beachill will face for the first time. Beachill, the only player apart
from Simon Parke to win all four British junior titles (Under-12, U-14, U-16 and U-19),
enjoyed a glittering junior career. Capped 26 times, he led England to success in the
world junior championships in 1996, beating Egypt in an emotionally-charged final in
Cairo. It was a road accident in December 1997, in which he wrote off his car on black ice
returning home after a match, that he broke his back in two places. Despite the immediate
prognosis that he might not even walk again, the single-minded Beachill was back on court
after some eight weeks! He made a sensational comeback at the British Open in April, when
he became the only player to fight through six rounds of qualifiers to reach the first
round of the main draw.
"It's a big thrill to get an England call-up, even at junior level," said an
ecstatic Beachill. "When you leave the juniors, the next target seems so far away - I
didn't expect this to happen so soon."
SRA Performance Director Matt Hammond, added: "Lee Beachill is a prime example of the
success of the SRA's Lottery-funded World Class Performance Programme initiative. Since
receiving funding, he has reached the last sixteen of the World Open, has won his first
PSA Tour title, the Adelaide Club Open in Toronto, and has leapt almost 100 places up the
world rankings to No41." (and won the Proctor Memorial this
month)
The opening fixture of the Test Series will take place at Lambs Club in London on Friday
26 March, with the second at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham the following
evening. The final clash will be held at the Abbeydale Park club in Sheffield on Sunday 28
March. Former England No1 Del Harris has also been selected for the England team - playing
alongside Simon Parke in the Birmingham tie on Saturday.
Test Series
announcement
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