| |
LEAGUE TABLE
FIXTURES |
PREVIEW
TEAM SQUADS
|
Final
Chapel Allerton Destroy Duffield Dream
After a 21-year absence, Leeds club Chapel Allerton
marked their return to the Premier Squash League in sensational
style by beating Benz-Bavarian Duffield 3/2 in the final before a
packed crowd n Nottingham - thus preventing the Derbyshire club from
becoming the first to win the world's most prestigious league title a
record four times.
Duffield - champions in 1998, 2006 and 2007 - started
well in the climax of the 25th season of the PSL when club stalwart
Tania Bailey, fresh from captaining England to success in the
European Championships in Sweden, crushed Chapel Allerton newcomer
Carrie Ramsey 11-2, 11-1, 11-3.
While Bailey, the world No14 from Lincolnshire, was
chalking up her 23rd successive PSL match win, 18-year-old Leeds student
Ramsey was making her maiden appearance in the league!
Bailey, beset by injury and illness in her recent career,
will travel to London immediately following the final to check into a
London hospital at 7.00am tomorrow for an operation to repair the
cartilage on her hip joint.
"I did think about tomorrow's operation a couple of times
during the match - the surgeon is the best in England, who has treated a
lot of Manchester United players (including Roy Keane)," said Bailey
after her convincing win. "But I enjoyed every minute I was on court,
making the most of my last game for a few months. I kept thinking about
how much I love playing.
"I couldn't have been happier with my game over the last
few months - and I love playing for England. Being captain of the team
in Malmo was extra special - we've really got a good thing going with
our team.
"The rough estimate is that I'll be back playing in four
months - but they won't really know for certain until they do the
operation," added the former world No4.
Surprises looked on the cards when Duffield's Joel
Hinds took a 2/0 lead against Chris Simpson, and Andrew
Whipp twice came back from behind to reach match-ball in the fifth
against Chapel Allerton's Australian international Aaron Frankcomb.
But Frankcomb saved two match-balls before clinching
success with his own third match-ball to beat dogged Duffield campaigner
Whipp 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 4-11, 14-12 after 70 minutes.
And Simpson - who had never before lost to Hinds, and
prevailed against the Derbyshire 21-year-old in last month's British U23
Championship final - battled hard from eight-all in the third to win
6-11, 2-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-5 in 72 minutes.
The Leeds club now had a 2/1 advantage - leaving Duffield
requiring the final two matches to make PSL history.
But disaster struck for the former champions early in the
second match on the showcourt when Englishman Joey Barrington,
who had led 5-1, injured his foot when stretching for a drop shot
delivered by Chapel Allerton's second string Alister Walker.
"I'm not sure what happened, but he went for it and
clearly pulled something in his foot," said Walker after the
devastatingly brief 6-5 (retired) win which gave Chapel Allerton the
title.
"We always have brutal matches and that was what I was
expecting tonight," said Walker, the 26-year-old from Leeds who made his
England debut in last week week's European Championship - winning the
first match towards England's victory over France in the final. "I took
loads of energy drinks in preparation for tonight's match - I think I'll
need to go out now and burn it off!"
In the dead rubber that finished the evening, Duffield
stalwart Nick Matthew, the England number one, entertained the
crowd - and gained a further consolation point for his club - by beating
Frenchman Thierry Lincou 11-7, 5-11, 13-11, 11-6 in 55 minutes.
Chapel Allerton team manager Neil Guirey was full
of praise for his team for lifting the PSL trophy in, essentially, its
maiden season in the league. "What's really pleasing is that everyone
in the team is a genuine Chapel Allerton player - either based full-time
at the club or, like Thierry, often training here when he's in the UK.
"This success will really be good for us, especially
after the one million pound refurbishment the club has recently
undergone, which has increased our squash courts to six. In fact our
two new courts replaced a tennis court - and it's always nice to do
that!
"Tonight has been really spectacular - it was quite
difficult to predict how we'd do at the beginning of the season, even
though I knew we had a good squad," Guirey added.
"It's also good for Yorkshire squash that we've now
established ourselves in the most prestigious league in the world.
We've had great local support throughout the season - in fact we could
have sold out three-times over.
"But I hope the biggest knock-on effect of this will be
to expand the professional side of the club, and attract more elite
international players to Chapel Allerton. I hope this will put us on
the map as an elite club."
RESULTS:
Premier League Final, Nottingham
Chapel Allerton 3 Benz-Bavarian Duffield 2
Thierry Lincou lost to Nick Matthew 7-11, 11-5, 11-13,
6-11 (55m)
Alister Walker bt Joey Barrington 6-5 ret.
Aaron Frankcomb bt Andrew Whipp 11-8, 9-11, 11-8,
4-11, 14-12 (70m)
Chris Simpson bt Joel Hinds 6-11, 2-11, 11-8,
11-2, 11-5 (72m)
Carrie Ramsey lost to Tania Bailey 2-11, 1-11,
3-11 (22m)
|
Semi Finals
Chapel Allerton & Duffield To Meet In
PSL Final
After surviving dramatic ties in the
semi-finals of the Premier Squash League (PSL), former champions
Benz-Bavarian Duffield and league newcomers Chapel Allerton
will meet in the final of the 26th season of the world's most
prestigious squash league.
Long-established Yorkshire club Chapel
Allerton - who last played in the then National League more than 20
years ago - recovered from losing the first match on their home courts
in Leeds to beat 2007 runners-up Probuild Bristol 3/2.
Simultaneously, 200 miles south, defending champions PCL Whitehall
Security Surrey H&RC hosted three-time champions Duffield -
and saw their chance of a return to the final slip away when their
Derbyshire visitors snatched a 3/2 win as long-time squad number one
Nick Matthew beat the Croydon club's Egyptian star Wael El Hindi
in four games.
England junior international
Sarah-Jane Perry put Bristol ahead in Leeds with a straight games
win over Chapel Allerton's Jenna Gates. But the home side's
hopes were boosted when squad No4 Chris Simpson beat the
visitors' Lewys Hurst 11-2, 11-3, 11-6 and local star Alister
Walker, ranked 16 in the world, defeated Bristol's former world No3
David Evans - winner of nine out of his ten appearances hitherto
for the west country club - 9-11,11-8, 11-6, 11-6.
All eyes were then on the third string
clash in which the home team's Aaron Frankcomb, a 23-year-old
touring pro from Australia ranked 44 in the world, was battling with
Bristol captain Hadrian Stiff, a 36-year-old who retired from the
Tour more than six years ago. Stiff forced the match into a fifth game
decider after saving numerous match-balls in the fourth to win it
14-12.
But the packed local crowd 'raised the
roof' when Frankcomb finally clinched the match 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 12-14,
11-8 to ensure Chapel Allerton's place in the final.
But the Bristol number one Adrian
Grant was not prepared to lie down in the final game. Proud to be
the team's only full-time player, the world No11 from London played one
of the games of his life to beat Frenchman Thierry Lincou,
currently ranked seven in the world, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 5-11, 14-12.
The victory marked Grant's first ever win over the former world number
one and world champion in nine meetings since September 2002.
"To get to the final after a 24-year
absence from the league is absolutely amazing," said Chapel Allerton
team manager Mike Dickens. "It's been great to see so many kids
watching the action tonight. They've been just in awe of the
spectacular action on the courts. Everybody in the club is buzzing.
I've already been inundated by demands for tickets for the final."
There were similar scenes of delight from
the Duffield fans who had travelled from the depths of Derbyshire to the
south side of London to see their team take on last year's winners - in
a repeat of the semi-final two years ago which Duffield won en-route to
winning the PSL title for second year in a row.
And it was club stalwart Tania Bailey
that put the visitors in the driving seat with a majestic 11-7, 11-7,
11-9 win over England team-mate Vicky Botwright. It rounded off
a fantastic month for Bailey, the 29-year-old from Lincolnshire who,
after being out of action for most of last year following knee surgery,
won the biggest tour title of her life last week in Kuala Lumpur - and
has now extended her unbeaten PSL run to 22 matches since March 2005.
Surrey Health & Racquet Club came back
into contention following a spirited performance from team co-manager
Tim Garner, the 38-year-old former world No26 who stared defeat in
the face at two games and match-ball down in the third - but
sensationally battled back to beat 21-year-old full-time player Joel
Hinds 6-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-9 to celebrate his first PSL
victory of the season.
The Croydon club moved into the lead when
Londoner Peter Barker, now ranked nine in the world, extended his
season's record to nine wins from nine matches by beating Duffield's
Joey Barrington 11-7, 11-6, 11-4.
Home fans were now looking to world No30
Davide Bianchetti to take them into the final - but unranked
opponent Andrew Whipp had other ideas and scored a notable
victory over the Italian star by winning 11-8, 9-11, 17-15, 12-10
(saving game balls in the third and fourth) to level the tie.
A place in the final would now be decided
by the top strings. It was Wael El Hindi, the world No10 from
Egypt, that led Surrey H&RC to title success almost 12 months ago - but
the 28-year-old from Cairo was unable to repeat his magic again as world
No6 Nick Matthew recovered from a game down to win 4-11, 11-6,
11-6, 11-6 to take Duffield into their third final in four years.
Remarkably, it was the third time that
the 28-year-old from Sheffield had been forced to win a semi-final
decider to clinch a place in the final for the Derbyshire club - and in
2007 it had also been against Croydon club Surrey Health.
"My nerves are still jumping up and
down," admitted Benz-Bavarian Duffield team manager Felix Frixou
later. "But when you've got people like Nick Matthew and Tania Bailey
playing for you, you're half way there! They, and the rest of the
squad, are true professionals.
"Our host Pete Smith, of the Surrey club,
has been absolutely fantastic tonight - and has made us and our fans
really welcome. And especially touching was the call we've just had
from the team's long-time manager Brian Hargrave. He is the team's
founder and father figure and we were delighted to receive his
congratulations."
RESULTS:
Semi-finals
Chapel Allerton 3 Probuild Bristol 2
Thierry Lincou lost to Adrian Grant
11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 11-5, 12-14
Alister Walker bt David Evans 9-11,
11-8, 11-6, 11-6
Aaron Frankcomb bt Hadrian Stiff 11-8,
7-11, 11-6, 12-14, 11-8
Chris Simpson bt Lewys Hurst 11-2,
11-3, 11-6
Jenna Gates lost to Sarah-Jane Perry
6-11, 6-11, 5-11
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 2
Benz-Bavarian Duffield 3
Wael El Hindi lost to Nick Matthew
11-4, 6-11, 6-11, 6-11
Peter Barker bt Joey Barrington 11-7,
11-6, 11-4
Davide Bianchetti lost to Andrew Whipp
8-11, 11-9, 15-17, 10-12
Tim Garner bt Joel Hinds 6-11, 8-11,
13-11, 11-9, 11-9
Vicky Botwright lost to Tania Bailey
7-11, 7-11, 9-11
Final (Tuesday 5 May): Chapel
Allerton v Benz-Bavarian Duffield
(Venue TBA)
Semi Final Preview
Duffield & Bristol Bank On Britons For
PSL Success
While defending champions PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC and league newcomers Chapel
Allerton will be led by top overseas players in the semi-finals of
the Premier Squash League (PSL), opponents Benz-Bavarian
Duffield and Probuild Bristol, respectively, will be relying
on 100% British squads as they bid for places in the final of the 26th
season of the world's most prestigious squash league.
Derbyshire club Duffield, three times PSL
champions (in 1998, 2006 and 2007), are celebrating their fourth
successive season in the semi-finals, while Croydon-based opponents
Surrey Health & Racquets Club are hoping for a second successive year in
the final after winning the title for the first time last year.
After an absence of more than a decade,
well-established Leeds club Chapel Allerton are marking their first
appearance in the semi-finals – while Bristol will be hoping to repeat
the success they achieved in the maiden season in the league two years
ago when they finished as runners-up.
Duffield will be fielding an entirely
English squad, led by club stalwart Nick Matthew, the world No5
from Sheffield who is the reigning British National champion. Matthew,
in his sixth season for Duffield, will line up against the Surrey H&RC
number one Wael El Hindi, the world No9 from Egypt who made his
PSL debut for the Croydon club last season.
The opening match of the tie in Croydon
will feature England team-mates Vicky Botwright and Tania
Bailey – with both players currently in top form. Botwright rounded
off her illustrious career by reaching the World Open final in
her home town Manchester last October – while Duffield star Bailey has
just returned from Malaysia where she won the biggest Tour title of her
career in Kuala Lumpur.
In addition to El Hindi, the home side
will hope for Italian success in the third string clash where Davide
Bianchetti takes on Duffield's Peter Billson - before
England international Peter Barker, the world No10 from London,
faces the visitors' Andrew Whipp in the battle between the second
strings.
In the other tie, home side Chapel
Allerton will be relying on the French influence of their number one
Thierry Lincou and the Australian contribution of third string
Aaron Frankcomb. Lincou, an 11-time winner of the French national
title and a former world champion and world number one, takes on
Bristol's top string Adrian Grant. Earlier this month, the world
No13 from London won a PSA event in India to become the current
Englishman with the most Tour titles.
Frankcomb faces Bristol captain
Hadrian Stiff, a former world No54, while the visitors' David
Evans - the now-retired Welshman who won the British Open
crown in 2000 - will do battle with the Yorkshire hosts' rising star
Alister Walker, England's Leeds-based world No16.
National and club pride is on the line in
these crucial semi-final clashes: Said Duffield team manager Felix
Frixou: "I am extremely proud of both Duffield Squash Club and all
the squad members of Benz Bavarian Duffield for reaching this stage of
what is without doubt the finest Squash League in the World. The
standard of play by all teams so far has been magnificent, and I would
like to thank all my team members for some enthralling matches.
"It would obviously be very disappointing
to lose at this stage, but I appreciate it will be a very tough match
against an in-form Surrey side. If this be the case, I honestly could
not have asked or been given any more from my team. This said, I do
believe we are in with an excellent chance of progressing to the Final
and am sure it will be a wonderful if hard fought spectacle against
Surrey.
"This season has been a sharp learning
curve for myself, it being my first season as Team Manager. I would
like to take this opportunity of thanking all members of the various
clubs we have visited for extending a very warm welcome, and very much
look forward to continued success in the 2009 /2010 season."
Surrey Health & Racquets Club team
manager Pete Smith responded: "After our success last year in
winning the title, it was always going to be tough to defend it this
year. The squad have been excellent and managing to finish top of the
south league after 10 competitive matches and claiming a home draw in
the Semi-Final was great news.
"Tuesday's match against Duffield is
going to be a fantastic night of squash with both teams at full
strength, a packed crowd and the prize a place in the final. We have
utmost respect for the Duffield team, having won the title so many times
before, so I am sure they will come at us with all guns blazing. We are
looking forward to Tuesday very much and we hope we can play well and
move through to the Final."
Mike Dickens,
manager of the Chapel Allerton squad, added: "Chapel Allerton
Tennis and Squash Club have made wonderful progression in their first
season of PSL. We lost our first match to Nottingham, but have marched
on since then to reach the semi-finals. The atmosphere at Chapel A has
been superb all season, with sell out crowds every time. The home crowd
are looking forward to the semi final, especially with Bristol having
some absolute legends of squash in the line-up. It has been a fantastic
season and long may it continue to the final (fingers crossed)."
Bristol team captain Hadrian Stiff
concluded: "Although we are missing Peter Marshall, Lewys Hurst is
playing well and is a good replacement. I feel we do have a chance of
winning and, as usual, it's down to how we all perform on the night!"
Semi-final line-ups:
Chapel Allerton v Probuild Bristol
Thierry Lincou v Adrian Grant
Alister Walker v David Evans
Aaron Frankcomb v Hadrian Stiff
Chris Simpson v Lewys Hurst
Jenna Gates v Sarah-Jane Perry
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC v
Benz-Bavarian Duffield
Wael El Hindi v Nick Matthew
Peter Barker v Andrew Whipp
Davide Bianchetti v Peter Billson
Ben Ford v Joel Hinds
Vicky Botwright v Tania Bailey
|
|
TEAM SQUADS 2008/9
DIVISION B
|
LEAGUE TABLE |
|
|
|
Ties |
Matches |
Games |
Pts |
|
P |
W
|
L |
W
|
L |
W |
L |
|
GROUP A: NORTH |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapel Allerton |
8 |
5 |
3 |
27 |
13 |
89 |
59 |
114 |
Benz-Bavarian
Duffield |
8 |
5 |
33 |
24 |
16 |
85 |
61 |
110 |
MB Nottingham |
8 |
4 |
4 |
18 |
22 |
73 |
73 |
93 |
Esporta Oxford |
8 |
3 |
5 |
17 |
23 |
66 |
87 |
81 |
Pontefract |
8 |
3 |
5 |
14 |
26 |
56 |
89 |
71 |
|
GROUP B: SOUTH |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Surrey H&RC |
10 |
7 |
3 |
29 |
21 |
111 |
82 |
146 |
Probuild Bristol |
10 |
7 |
3 |
31 |
19 |
110 |
81 |
145 |
Devon & Exeter |
10 |
6 |
4 |
26 |
24 |
95 |
93 |
125 |
UniSport Guildford |
10 |
3 |
7 |
22 |
28 |
92 |
101 |
107 |
TWP St George's Hill |
10 |
4 |
6 |
21 |
29 |
85 |
111 |
105 |
PNH Properties
Chichester
|
10 |
3 |
7 |
21 |
29 |
84 |
109 |
99 |
|
|
PREMIER SQUASH LEAGUE
LEAGUE
FIXTURES
2008-2009
Groups
|
NORTHERN GROUP A
A: PONTEFRACT
B: ESPORTA OXFORD
C:
BENZ-BAVARIAN DUFFIELD
D: ENERGIE FITNESS REDDITCH
E: NO FIXTURE
F: NOTTINGHAM |
SOUTHERN GROUP B
A: PROBUILD BRISTOL
B: UNISPORT GUILDFORD
C:
LUXFORDS ST GEORGE’S HILL
D:
DEVON & EXETER
E: PCL WHITEHALL SECURITY SURREY H&R
F: PNH PROPERTIES CHICHESTER |
First named is home team,
start time 7pm |
Date |
Group A |
Group B |
Mon 06-Oct |
|
Surrey 3-2 St George's |
Tue 07-Oct |
Pontefract 3-2 Oxford
Nottingham 3-2 Chapel Allerton |
Bristol 4-1 Guildford
Chichester 2-3 Devon & Exeter |
Tue 21 Oct |
Duffield 3-2 Pontefract
Oxford 5-0 Nottingham |
St George's 2-3 Bristol
Devon & Exeter 3-2 Surrey
Guildford 4-1 Chichester |
Tue 04 Nov |
Oxford 0-5 Chapel
Allerton
Nottingham 3-2 Duffield |
Surrey 3-2 Bristol
Guildford 2-3 Devon & Exeter
Chichester 5-0 St George's |
Tue 11 Nov |
Pontefract 0-5 Chapel Allerton
Duffield 4-1 Oxford |
Bristol 1-4 Devon &
Exeter
St George's 3-2 Guildford
Surrey 5-0 Chichester |
Tue 02 Dec |
Chapel Allerton 1-4 Duffield
Nottingham 2-3 Pontefract |
Guildford 2-3 Surrey
Devon & Exeter 2-3 St George's
Chichester 2-3 Bristol |
Second
Half, Reversed Fixtures |
Tue 13 Jan |
Oxford
4-1 Pontefract
Chapel Allerton 4-1 Nottingham |
Exeter
3-2 Chichester
St George's Hill 1-
4 Surrey
H&RC
Guildford
1-4 Bristol 4 |
Tue 03 Feb |
Pontefract 4-1
Duffield
Nottingham 5-0 Oxford
|
Bristol 5-0 St George's Hill
Surrey H&RC
1-4 Exeter |
Tue 17 Feb |
Chapel Allerton 2-3 Oxford
Duffield 5-0 Nottingham |
Bristol
4 -1 Surrey H&RC
Exeter 2 -3 Guildford
|
Tue 10 Mar |
Chapel Allerton 5-0 Pontefract
Esporta Oxford 2-3 Duffield
|
Exeter Diamonds 2-3 Bristol
Guildford 3-2 St George's Hill
|
Tue 17 Mar |
Duffield
2 Chapel Allerton 3
Pontefract
1-4 MB Nottingham |
Surrey
H&RC 3-2 Guildford
St
George's Hill 5-0 Exeter Diamonds |
Tue
24 Mar |
Snow Delayed 7th Round Result |
Chichester 3-2
UniSport Guildford |
Playoffs |
31st Mar 2009 |
Semi Finals
Chapel Allerton
3-2 Probuild Bristol
PCL Whitehall
Security Surrey H&RC 2-3 Benz-Bavarian Duffield
|
Final |
5th May
2009 |
Chapel
Allerton v Benz-Bavarian Duffield |
10th Round
Newcomers Chapel Allerton & Surrey Health Rise To Top PSL Tables
The tenth and final
round of the Premier Squash League (PSL) saw league newcomers
Chapel Allerton and title-holders PCL Whitehall Security Surrey
H&RC take over the top positions in Group A and B,
respectively, to earn the right to host the end-of-season semi-final
play-offs in the world's most prestigious squash league.
Chapel Allerton,
the Leeds club which rose from bottom place in the Group A tables in
October, earned a 3/2 away win over former champions Benz-Bavarian
Duffield and will face Group B runners-up Probuild Bristol in
the semi-finals on 31st March. Surrey H&RC, the Croydon club which
lifted the PSL trophy last year for the first time, held off a
determined challenge from UniSport Guildford to beat their
country rivals 3/2 at home and will now host Group A runners-up Duffield
in the other semi.
Chapel Allerton and
Duffield had already ensured their place in the play-offs after the
ninth round - and the Derbyshire club seemed odds on favourites to win
the final home tie to extend their lead in Group A. But England
international Jenny Duncalf started the visitors' victory bid by
beating Duffield stalwart Laura Hill in straight games - and it
wasn't long before the Yorkshire side's South African international
Stephen Coppinger and Australian import Scott Arnold wrapped
up five-game wins to give Chapel Allerton a surprise unassailable lead.
Duffield's top two
strings Nick Matthew and Joey Barrington - fresh from star
'supporting' roles in this week's flagship PSA Tour event, the
ATCO Super Series Finals at Queen's Club in London - gave the local
crowd something to shout about by beating Alister Walker and
Chris Simpson, respectively, to reduce the deficit. But the 3/2 win
saw Chapel Allerton overtake their opponents in the final tables by just
four points!
Three teams lined
up in Group B with the chance to earn semi-final places - but the bid by
league debutants Exeter Diamonds quickly faded when they were
crushed 5/0 away from home by TWP St George's Hill - the Surrey
club earning its first maximum points win of the season. The standout
match of the night was the five-game win by Essex star Daryl Selby
over Exeter's Jonathan Kemp - less than 48 hours after the
English duo had contested the Manitoba Open final in the Canadian
city of Winnipeg, where Kemp prevailed in a 108-minute marathon,
the longest match of his career.
PCL Whitehall
Security Surrey H&RC
were expecting to
field a full-strength squad in their vital fixture against UniSport
Guildford - but, within hours of the tie, it seemed that top string
Wael El Hindi, the world No9 from Egypt, was unable to free
himself from Super Series Finals commitments in London.
The tie opened with
a fine women's match between England team-mates Alison Waters and
Vicky Botwright - in which the Surrey club's now retired
Botwright showed that she can still deliver the goods, taking Waters to
five games before going down 2-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11.
And the Croydon
club's co-manager Tim Garner, who stepped into the squad at the
last minute at No3 in El Hindi's absence, earned valuable game points
despite falling to Guildford regular Stephen Meads 6-11, 11-5,
8-11, 11-6, 11-6.
It was two-all when
the hosts' newly-promoted top string Peter Barker took to the
court against Jesse Engelbrecht for the decider. South African
Engelbrecht stretched world No10 Barker to four games - but it was the
English international that ultimately prevailed 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5
to take the Croydon club back into the play-offs for the third year in a
row.
Probuild Bristol
started the night as Group B leaders - but suffered a shock defeat by
bottom-placed PNH Properties Chichester, the Sussex club picking
up only its second win of the season. The hosts suffered a heavy blow
when strong third string Peter Marshall was forced to retire with
an injured hamstring after leading against Chichester's Peter Genever.
Then team captain Hadrian Stiff also went down 11-8, 8-11, 3-11,
12-14 to the visitors' Robbie Temple as Chichester
clinched an unlikely victory.
Bristol's
Sarah-Jane Perry and top string David Evans earned
consolation victories to reduce Chichester's win to 3/2 - but the 11
points gained by the Avon side just failed to prevent Surrey H&RC from
taking top place in the Group B table by a single point!
In the other Group
A tie - the outcome of which was not going to have any bearing on the
play-off line-up - Yorkshire club Pontefract introduced a team of
future stars, including 15-year-old debutant George Wileman, to
get a taste of PSL action against former champions MB Nottingham.
The East Midlands
visitors recorded a 4/1 win - with the home side's Kirsty McPhee
gave the Pontefract crowd something to shout about as she despatched
Nottingham newcomer Joanne Smalley 11-2, 11-4, 11-3.
RESULTS: 10th round, Tuesday
17 March 2009
Group A:
Benz-Bavarian Duffield 2 Chapel Allerton 3
Nick
Matthew bt Alister Walker 11-9, 11-3, 11-5
Joey
Barrington bt Chris Simpson 10-12, 13-11, 11-8, 11-5
Andrew Whipp lost to Scott Arnold 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 11-3, 10-12
Joel
Hinds lost to Stephen Coppinger 11-9, 15-13, 7-11, 3-11, 6-11
Laura Hill lost to Jenny Duncalf 9-11, 5-11, 7-11
Pontefract 1 MB Nottingham 4
James Earles lost to John Rooney 8-11, 4-11, 9-11
Sam
Wileman lost to Simon Parke 9-11, 10-12, 7-11
Alan
Norrish lost to Eddie Charlton 6-11, 9-11, 6-11
George Wileman lost to Marco Becker 7-11, 6-11, 8-11
Kirsty McPhee bt Joanne Smalley 11-2, 11-4, 11-3
Group B:
PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 3 UniSport Guildford 2
Peter Barker bt Jesse Engelbrecht 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5
Davide Bianchetti bt Stacey Ross 6-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-6
Tim
Garner lost to Stephen Meads 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 6-11, 6-11
Ben
Ford bt Phil Rushworth 11-9, 12-10, 13-11
Vicky Botwright lost to Alison Waters 2-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11
TWP
St George's Hill 5 Exeter Diamonds 0
Daryl Selby bt Jonathan Kemp 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5
Tom
Richards bt Peter Creed 11-6, 11-5, 11-7
Mark
Krajcsak bt Hywel Robinson 11-2, 11-6, 11-6
Joe
Lee bt Matt Baker 11-4, 11-1, 11-4 (17m)
Rachel Willmott bt Emma Chorley 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (54m)
Probuild Bristol 2 PNH Properties Chichester 3
David Evans bt Tim Vail 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8 (36m)
Hadrian Stiff lost to Robbie Temple 11-8, 8-11, 3-11, 12-14 (54m)
Peter Marshall lost to Peter Genever 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 6-9 ret.
(37m)
Lewys Hurst lost to Olivier Pett 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 5-11, 7-11 (56m)
Sarah-Jane Perry bt Annabelle Collins-Ballands 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (22m)
Semi-final line-up, 31st March:
Chapel Allerton v Probuild Bristol
PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC v Benz-Bavarian Duffield
PSL
TABLES (after 10th round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L
W L
Group A:
Chapel Allerton
8 5 3 27 13 89 59 114
Benz-Bavarian
Duffield
8 5 3 24 16 85 61 110
MB Nottingham
8 4 4 18 22 73 73 93
Esporta Oxford
8 3 5 17 23 66 87 81
Pontefract
8 3 5 14 26 56 89 71
Group B:
Surrey H&RC
10 7 3 29 21 111 82 146
Probuild
Bristol
10 7 3 31 19 110 81 145
Exeter Diamonds
10 6 4 26 24 95 93 125
TWP St George's
Hill
10 4 6 21 29 85 111 105
UniSport
Guildford
9 3 6 20 25 81 90 96
PNH
Properties Chichester
9 2 7 18 27 73 98 83
9th Round
Heroic Grant Performance Boosts Bristol's PSL Play-Off Hopes
England international Adrian Grant played the game of his life to
record his first ever win over Australia's world No6 David Palmer
and clinch victory for Probuild Bristol over west country
rivals Exeter Diamonds in Tuesday's ninth and penultimate round
of the Premier Squash League (PSL) - thus keeping alive the Avon
club's hopes of a place in the semi-final play-offs of the world's most
prestigious squash league.
Bristol maintain their lead in the Group B table, ahead of defending
champions PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC and Exeter - with
all three clubs lined up against lower placed teams in next week's final
round to decide the top two play-off qualifiers.
By
contrast, former champions Benz-Bavarian Duffield and league
newcomers Chapel Allerton have already sealed places in
the play-offs following contrasting wins over Esporta Oxford and
Pontefract, respectively, in Group A
After
beating Probuild Bristol 4/1 away from home in the first half of
the season, Exeter Diamonds were looking forward to even greater
success at home - especially led by twice world champion and four-time
British Open champion David Palmer for the first time this
season. And the home club, in its maiden season in the PSL, looked in
good shape after Emma Chorley beat the visitors' Sarah-Jane
Perry, and Tom Pashley defeated the Bristol captain
Hadrian Stiff.
But
Bristol's Rob Sutherland, replacing the squad's anticipated No2
Mohamed El Shorbagy, the rapidly-improving teenager from Egypt,
went down in straight games to fellow Welshman David Evans -
leaving Palmer and Grant to play out the decider.
With
six successive Tour wins over Grant stretching back to 2003 - most of
which were in straight games - Palmer must have expected to extend his
run, especially after taking a two-game lead.
But
the plucky left-hander from London stuck to his task and ultimately
crafted a sensational 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 victory which gave
Bristol their seventh win of the season.
Title-holders PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC took a near
full-strength squad to the Sussex coast to face PNH Properties
Chichester in a repeat of the 2008 final. Vicky Botwright,
Davide Bianchetti and Peter Barker soon ensured a win for
the Croydon club, following victories over the home side's Dominique
Lloyd-Walter, Peter Genever and Tim Vail, respectively
- but Chichester's local star Olivier Pett, 20, from Sussex,
gave the home crowd something to shout about when he beat Adrian
Waller 9-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-7.
The
top string clash saw Egyptian international Wael El Hindi
extending the visitors' lead with an 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 win over the
Chichester number one Alex Gough, the former world No5 now the
CEO of the Professional Squash Association.
The
final Group B tie saw UniSport Guildford record their second
successive PSL win with a 3/2 home victory over Surrey county rivals
TWP St George's Hill. It was the third string clash which proved to
be the decider as Guildford part-timer Phil Rushworth - a
full-time coach in Wimbledon - despatched Tour regular Philip
Nightingale 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in an impressive victory which earned
the 25-year-old Yorkshireman the evening's 'Man of the Match' award.
It was
an all-Yorkshire battle which saw the most comprehensive win of the
night when Leeds club Chapel Allerton hosted and beat
Pontefract 5/0. It was a determined win by the PSL newcomers over a
visiting side which could have been expected to have provided sterner
opposition.
Chapel
Allerton's new national champion Jenny Duncalf took four games to
overcome Leeds-based Vanessa Atkinson, the former world champion
from the Netherlands, 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 - and, later, Pontefract
stalwart Lee Beachill, playing his first PSL match since
announcing his premature retirement due to knee problems, showed that
his movement is clearly far from 100% as he went down to the hosts'
23-year-old Australian Aaron Frankcomb in four games.
The
final match saw an exhilarating display between two world top 10 rivals
which could have gone either way. But it was ultimately French star
Thierry Lincou that prevailed, beating Pontefract's world No7
James Willstrop 7-11, 11-6, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9.
The
other tie in Group A saw Benz-Bavarian Duffield, one of the
league's most successful clubs of all-time, claim their fifth win of the
season in a 3/2 victory at Esporta Oxford. The hosts rued an
uncharacteristically disappointing start by Madeline Perry, the
Irish champion, who failed to score in the first game against Duffield's
England international Tania Bailey.
But
after taking the third game, Perry looked to be finally in control - but
Bailey squandered a couple of match-balls in the fourth before finally
prevailing 11-0, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10.
It was
England's top-ranked international Nick Matthew that clinched
victory for his club when he beat Oxford's Australian international
Cameron Pilley in straight games - but it was the earlier second
string battle which was judged to have been the evening's outstanding
match, when Spanish number one Borja Golan brought matters level
by beating the visitors' Joey Barrington 9-11, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11,
11-6.
RESULTS: 9th round, Tuesday
10 March 2009
Group A:
Chapel Allerton 5 Pontefract 0
Thierry Lincou bt James Willstrop 7-11, 11-6, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9
Alister Walker bt Saurav Ghosal 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9
Aaron Frankcomb bt Lee Beachill 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5
Chris Simpson bt Neil Cordell 11-5, 11-1, 11-4
Jenny Duncalf bt Vanessa Atkinson 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8
Esporta Oxford 2 Benz-Bavarian Duffield 3
Cameron Pilley lost to Nick Matthew 9-11, 8-11, 12-14
Borja Golan bt Joey Barrington 9-11, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11, 11-6
Chris Ryder bt Andrew Whipp 11-1, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9
Scott Handley lost to Peter Billson 8-11, 1-11 ret.
Madeline Perry lost to Tania Bailey 0-11, 6-11, 11-8, 10-12
Group B:
Exeter Diamonds 2 Probuild Bristol 3
David Palmer lost to Adrian Grant 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11
Rob
Sutherland lost to David Evans 8-11, 6-11, 3-11
Tom
Pashley bt Hadrian Stiff 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9
Peter Creed lost to Peter Marshall 6-11, 11-6, 4-11, 2-11
Emma
Chorley bt Sarah-Jane Perry 11-4, 11-2, 11-9
UniSport Guildford 3 TWP St George's Hill 2
Jesse Engelbrecht lost to Mark Krajcsak 8-11, 5-11, 11-7, 6-11
Stephen Meads bt Neil Hitchens 12-10, 11-4, 11-7
Phil
Rushworth bt Philip Nightingale 11-9, 11-7, 11-3
Mick
Biggs lost to Adam Fuller 10-12, 13-15, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11
Alison Waters bt Rachel Willmott 11-4, 11-3, 11-5
PNH
Properties Chichester 1 PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 4
Alex
Gough lost to Wael El Hindi 8-11, 4-11, 9-11
Tim
Vail lost to Peter Barker 10-12, 6-11, 6-11
Peter Genever lost to Davide Bianchetti 6-11, 2-11, 5-11
Olivier Pett bt Adrian Waller 9-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-7
Dominique Lloyd-Walter lost to Vicky Botwright 11-6, 7-11, 9-11,
11-13
10th
round fixtures, Tuesday 17 March 2009
Group A:
Benz-Bavarian Duffield v Chapel Allerton
Pontefract v MB Nottingham
Group B:
PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC v UniSport Guildford
TWP
St George's Hill v Exeter Diamonds
Probuild Bristol v PNH Properties Chichester
PSL TABLES (after 9th round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
Benz-Bavarian Duffield
7 5 2 22 13 75 51 100
Chapel Allerton
7 4 3 24 11 79 49 99
Esporta Oxford
8 3 5 17 23 66 87 81
MB Nottingham
7 3 4 14 21 61 70 76
Pontefract
7 3 4 13 22 53 77 68
Group B:
Probuild Bristol
9 7 2 29 16 99 71 134
Surrey H&RC
9 6 3 26 19 98 74 128
Exeter Diamonds
9 6 3 26 19 91 78 121
UniSport Guildford
8 3 5 18 22 73 77 88
TWP St George's Hill
9 3 6 16 29 70 107 85
PNH Properties Chichester
8 1 7 15 25 63 87 68
8th Round
New Champions In Mixed Fortunes For Clubs In PSL
The two new British
National Squash champions Nick Matthew and Jenny Duncalf
maintained their winning form in the eighth round of the Premier
Squash League (PSL) - but, while Matthew's four-game victory helped
lift former champions Benz-Bavarian Duffield back to the top of
the Group A table, the win by fellow Yorkshire player Jenny Duncalf
failed to prevent Chapel Allerton going down 2/3 to
Esporta Oxford with two rounds to go in the season of the world's
most prestigious squash league.
Derbyshire club
Duffield notched up an impressive 5/0 home win over East Midlands rivals
MB Nottingham. The 2007 champions' first whitewash of the season
consigned Group A leaders Nottingham to third place - while Leeds-based
Chapel Allerton hold onto second place despite their home loss to Oxford
Probuild Bristol
return to the top of the Group B table for the first time since the
beginning of the season after beating reigning champions PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 4/1 at home - while UniSport
Guildford secured only their second win of the season by beating
former table-toppers Exeter Diamonds, weakened by the last-minute
withdrawal of squad No1 Stewart Boswell. Last season's
runners-up PNH Properties Chichester suffered their fourth defeat
in a row, going down 2/3 to TWP St George's Hill.
Just 48 hours after
regaining his men's British National crown in Manchester, Sheffield's
Nick Matthew recorded his sixth successive PSL win when he beat
French international Renan Lavigne 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 to
clinch the 5/0 win for Duffield. Nottingham also fielded two new
National champions, Simon Parke and Donna Vardy, the
British Over-35 title winners. Parke, a long-time Nottingham stalwart
was beaten 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 by the home side's 27-year-old Andrew
Whipp, while Vardy - the 37-year-old former nationally-ranked player
who stopped playing for ten years before picking up a racket again, then
played in her first tournament for 15 years to win the Over-35 crown -
went down 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 to England international
Tania Bailey.
Jenny Duncalf
repeated her Manchester semi-final win over Madeline Perry when
she beat the Irish number one 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 to put Chapel
Allerton ahead in their home match against Esporta Oxford.
But the visitors' Scott Handley, Chris Ryder and Borja
Golan were too strong for the Leeds club's middle order as Oxford
built up an unassailable lead.
Thierry Lincou
restored some pride for the home team, however, when the newly-crowned
French champion defeated Australian international Cameron Pilley
11-6, 11-6, 11-7 in the final match of the day.
Probuild Bristol
recorded their fourth PSL win in a row when they defeated PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC - the Croydon club weakened by the
unavailability of squad number one Peter Barker, who withdrew
from the Nationals with bronchitis.
After Vicky
Botwright gave a the visitors a temporary lead, the Bristol hosts
took full advantage of the opportunity as Peter Marshall, team
manager Hadrian Stiff, David Evans and Nationals'
runner-up Adrian Grant all earned hard-fought victories to take
the team back to the top of the Group B table.
It was also the
last-minute loss of their top-string that led league newcomers Exeter
Diamonds to only their second defeat of the season. Team regular
James Snell, celebrating his 21st birthday, gave the hosts some hope
with a straight games win over UniSport Guildford's Mick Biggs
- but the Surrey University team already had a win under the belt via
women's national championship runner-up Alison Waters - and club
stalwarts Stephen Meads and Stacey Ross soon ensured the
overall win with victories over Exeter's Tom Pashley and Rob
Sutherland, respectively.
There was further
Surrey success when TWP St George's Hill beat PNH Properties
Chichester - but it was all-square when the hosts' top string
Daryl Selby took on Chichester's now-retired Welsh international
Alex Gough. Selby, a quarter-finalist in Manchester, had to
work hard to keep Gough at bay - but, spurred on by a capacity St
George's Hill crowd, battled to a 12-10, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 victory to
clinch a 3/2 outcome for the home club.
RESULTS:
8th round, Tuesday 17 February 2009
Group A:
Chapel Allerton 2
Esporta Oxford 3
Thierry Lincou bt
Cameron Pilley 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
Laurence Delasaux
lost to Borja Golan 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 9-11
Chris Truswell lost
to Chris Ryder 2-11, 8-11, 10-12
Rudi Willemse lost
to Scott Handley 11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 6-11
Jenny Duncalf bt
Madeline Perry 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9
Benz-Bavarian
Duffield 5 MB Nottingham 0
Nick Matthew bt
Renan Lavigne 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8
Joey Barrington bt
John Rooney 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8
Andrew Whipp bt
Simon Parke 11-6, 11-8, 11-5
Joel Hinds bt Lewis
Walters 11-7, 11-3, 11-6
Tania Bailey bt
Donna Vardy 11-5, 11-5, 11-3
Group B:
Probuild Bristol 4
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 1
Adrian Grant bt
Davide Bianchetti 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5
David Evans bt Simon
Rosner 11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9
Hadrian Stiff bt Ben
Ford 13-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8
Peter Marshall bt
Adrian Waller 11-7, 3-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 (74m)
Sarah-Jane Perry
lost to Vicky Botwright 8-11, 2-11, 6-11
Exeter Diamonds 2
UniSport Guildford 3
Mohamed El Shorbagy
bt Jesse Engelbrecht 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7
Rob Sutherland lost
to Stacey Ross 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6, 4-11
Tom Pashley lost to
Stephen Meads 7-11, 9-11, 3-11
James Snell bt Mick
Biggs 11-4, 11-3, 11-1
Emma Chorley lost to
Alison Waters 3-11, 6-11, 2-11
TWP St George's
Hill 3 PNH Properties Chichester 2
Daryl Selby bt Alex
Gough 12-10, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6
Tom Richards bt Tim
Vail 11-2, 10-12, 11-4, 11-7
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan
bt Robbie Temple 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8
Joe Lee lost to
Olivier Pett 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-13, 3-11
Rachel Willmott lost
to Dominique Lloyd-Walter 4-11, 4-11, 11-7, 5-11
PSL TABLES (after
8th round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
Benz-Bavarian
Duffield
6 4 2 19 11 63 44 83
Chapel Allerton
6 3 3 19 11 64 44 79
MB Nottingham
7 3 4 14 21 61 70 76
Esporta Oxford
7 3 4 15 20 59 75 74
Pontefract
6 3 3 13 17 48 62 63
Group B:
Probuild
Bristol
8 6 2 26 14 89 62 119
Exeter Diamonds
8 6 2 24 16 82 68 112
Surrey H&RC
8 5 3 22 18 85 70 110
TWP St George's
Hill
8 3 5 14 26 64 95 79
UniSport
Guildford
7 2 5 15 20 61 71 71
PNH Properties
Chichester
7 1 6 14 21 59 74 64
|
7th Round Snow Delayed Report
Chichester Win, But Guildford
Celebrate Highest PSL Finish For Three Years
The delayed seventh round Premier
Squash League (PSL) tie between PNH Properties Chichester and
UniSport Guildford – postponed after the heavy snow in early
February – produced delight for both teams: A final win for last
year's runners-up Chichester, and a fourth-place finish in the Group B
tables – their best for three years – for Guildford.
Chichester captain Tim Vail
clinched victory for the hosts after beating the University of Surrey
team stalwart Stephen Meads 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7 in the second
string clash – but crucial to the visitors was gaining valuable game
points in the three matches lost.
Chichester took the lead after the
opening match when 16-year-old Annabelle Collins-Ballands beat
Emma Wardle, aged 17, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 in a
hard-fought clash between two stars of the future.
The visitors fought back when coach
Phil Rushworth beat Sussex 20-year-old Olivier Pett 12-10,
11-3, 11-9. In another five-game battle, Chichester's Scottish
international Neil Frankland dealt a cruel blow on his former
club when he beat Guildford's Mick Biggs 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5,
11-5.
After Vail put the tie beyond the Surrey
club's reach, Stacey Ross clinched the valuable points which took
Guildford to fourth place in the table when he fought back from two
games down – and saved a match ball in the third - to beat Chichester's
former world No5 Alex Gough 5-11, 7-11, 15-13, 11-5, 11-7 in the
end-of-evening top string clash.
RESULTS:
Delayed 7th round tie, Tuesday 24
March 2009
Group
B:
PNH Properties Chichester 3 UniSport
Guildford 2
Alex Gough lost to Stacey Ross 11-5,
11-7, 13-15, 5-11, 7-11
Tim Vail bt Stephen Meads 11-9, 11-8,
6-11, 11-7
Olivier Pett lost to Phil Rushworth
10-12, 3-11, 9-11
Neil Frankland bt Mick Biggs 11-5,
7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5
Annabelle Collins-Ballands bt Emma
Wardle 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-6
FINAL PSL TABLES
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
Chapel Allerton 8 5 3
27 13 89 59 114
Benz-Bavarian Duffield 8 5 3
24 16 85 61 110
MB Nottingham
8 4 4 18 22 73 73 93
Esporta Oxford
8 3 5 17 23 66 87 81
Pontefract
8 3 5 14 26 56 89 71
Group B:
Surrey H&RC
10 7 3 29 21 111 82 146
Probuild
Bristol 10 7 3 31 19
110 81 145
Exeter
Diamonds 10 6 4 26 24
95 93 125
UniSport
Guildford 10 3 7 22 28
92 101 107
TWP St
George's Hill 10 4 6 21 29
85 111 105
PNH
Properties Chichester 10 3 7 21
29 84 109 99
7th Round
Nottingham & Exeter Reclaim Top Positions In PSL
Tables
The freezing weather might have caused the postponement
of one of the ties, but the conditions failed to prevent former
champions MB Nottingham and newcomers Exeter Diamonds from
gaining convincing victories in Tuesday's 7th round of the
Premier Squash League (PSL) to reclaim their table-topping
positions early in the second half of the season of the world's most
prestigious squash league.
Nottingham, in fourth place in the Group A going into the
home tie against Esporta Oxford, crushed their visitors 5/0 to
leap to the top of the table - ahead of Chapel Allerton, the
Leeds-based club enjoying a 'rest-day'. Meanwhile former world number
one Lee Beachill led Pontefract to a 4/1 home win over
former champions Benz-Bavarian Duffield - a victory which lifts
the Yorkshire club off the bottom of the Group A table.
Exeter journeyed to Croydon to face league champions
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC - and pulled off their
second victory over the title-holders this season, winning 4/1. While
snowbound PNH Properties Chichester were forced to postpone their
fixture with UniSport Guildford, the remaining tie Group B
clash saw Probuild Bristol move up to second place in the
standings for only the second time this season after despatching TWP
St George's Hill 5/0 at home.
It was one-way traffic at the Park Squash Club when MB
Nottingham entertained Esporta Oxford. Emma Beddoes
and Eddie Charlton clinched straight games wins over their Oxford
opposition before Nottingham stalwart Simon Parke - who will be
seeking to gain his first Over-35 Masters title at the British
National Championships next week in Manchester - defeated Kristen
Johnson 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 to put the tie beyond the visitors' reach.
To the delight of the packed Nottingham crowd, Irishman
John Rooney and Frenchman Renan Lavigne followed Parke's
example by beating Jaymie Haycocks and Scott Handley,
respectively, to guarantee maximum points.
It was a less-than-full-strength Benz-Bavarian
Duffield squad that set off for Pontefract, hoping to open
their 2009 campaign in Yorkshire in winning form. But the home side
piled on the pressure from the outset - former world number one
Vanessa Atkinson defeating the Derbyshire club's rising star
Millie Tomlinson 11-8, 11-3, 11-8, before team-mates Neil Cordell
and Harinder Pal Sandhu clinched victory for the home side.
Duffield picked up a consolation win when local star
Joel Hinds beat James Earles in straight games - but
Pontefract number one Lee Beachill played the perfect captain's
innings to round off the night, beating the Duffield top string
Andrew Whipp 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 to record a 4/1 win for his club.
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC
replaced Exeter Diamonds at the top of the Group B table towards
the end of last year - and held a nine-point cushion ahead of their
Devon rivals going into the seventh round clash. And the Croydon club's
star Vicky Botwright put the hosts into the driving seat with an
11-7, 11-4, 11-8 win over Exeter's Emma Chorley.
But the tables turned thereafter as visitors James
Snell, Tom Pashley and Jonathan Kemp battled to
notable wins over their home opponents to ensure Exeter's victory. And
Australian star Stewart Boswell - who had raced back from this
week's Motor City Open in Detroit, where he made the
quarter-finals - defeated Surrey's Italian ace Davide Bianchetti
11-7, 11-5, 11-4 to ensure the Diamonds return to the top of the points
table.
Probuild Bristol marked up a
first this season by recording their maiden 5/0 win - a victory made
even more notable as it was achieved by a squad led by three 'part-time'
players. The Avon side were already 2/0 up on TWP St George's Hill,
thanks to wins by Sarah-Jane Perry and Lewys Hurst, when
former world No2 Peter Marshall, now 37, took on rising star
Joe Lee, aged 19.
Lee led the famed double-handed back-hander 2/1, but
canny Marshall held his nerve to beat the youngster 11-7, 9-11, 9-11,
11-6, 11-4 in 59 minutes. "Not bad for a 37-year-old physiotherapist,"
commented Bristol captain Hadrian Stiff.
Stiff, last a Tour player more than six years ago, also
had significant cause for celebration following his 11-7, 12-10, 5-11,
11-9 win in 51 minutes over Malaysian international Mohd Nafiizwan
Adnan. The tie finished on a high note for the hosts when former
British Open champion David Evans, who retired from the Tour in
2004, recovered from a game down to beat world No33 Daryl Selby
6-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-3.
RESULTS:
7th round, Tuesday 3 February 2009
Group A:
Pontefract 4 Benz-Bavarian Duffield 1
Lee Beachill bt Andrew Whipp 11-9, 11-7, 11-9
Harinder Pal Sandhu bt Alex Stait 13-11, 10-12,
11-5, 11-6
Neil Cordell bt Peter Billson 15-13, 11-5, 11-1
James Earles lost to Joel Hinds 4-11, 9-11, 5-11
Vanessa Atkinson bt Millie Tomlinson 11-8, 11-3,
11-8
MB Nottingham 5 Esporta Oxford 0
Renan Lavigne bt Scott Handley 12-10, 11-9, 8-11,
12-10
John Rooney bt Jaymie Haycocks 15-13, 11-1, 11-4
Simon Parke bt Kristen Johnson 11-7, 11-4, 11-2
Eddie Charlton bt Anthony Graham 11-6, 11-8, 11-3
Emma Beddoes bt Deon Saffery 11-3, 11-4, 11-4
Group B:
Probuild Bristol 5 TWP St George's Hill 0
David Evans bt Daryl Selby 6-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-3
Hadrian Stiff bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-7, 12-10,
5-11, 11-9 (51m)
Peter Marshall bt Joe Lee 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6,
11-4 (59m)
Lewys Hurst bt Neil Hitchens 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6
Sarah-Jane Perry bt Julie Peachey 9-11, 11-8, 11-7,
13-11
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 1 Exeter Diamonds
4
Davide Bianchetti lost to Stewart Boswell 7-11,
5-11, 4-11
Tim Garner lost to Jonathan Kemp 3-11, 7-11, 8-11
Ben Ford lost to Tom Pashley 14-12, 6-11, 4-11,
11-6, 4-11
Adrian Waller lost to James Snell 4-11, 11-4, 9-11,
7-11
Vicky Botwright bt Emma Chorley 11-7, 11-4, 11-8
6th Round
Champions Surrey HR&C Stretch
Lead In PSL Group Tables
Title-holders PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC stretched their lead at the top of the Group
B tables after beating county rivals TWP St George's Hill 4/1 in
the sixth round of the Premier Squash League - but Leeds-based
Chapel Allerton restored their supremacy in Group A after a 4/1 home victory
over MB Nottingham in the opening round of the second half of the season
of the world's most prestigious squash league.
Esporta Oxford
also secured a 4/1 home win in Group A, over Yorkshire club Pontefract,
while Exeter Diamonds consolidated their second place in Group B with a
3/2 win over PNH Properties Chichester, and Probuild Bristol
scored a 4/1 win from their visit to UniSport Guildford.
Recently retired
England international Vicky Botwright put Surrey H&RC into the lead with
a crushing 11-0, 11-3, 11-5 defeat of her St George's Hill counterpart Rachel
Willmott. Team-mates Davide Bianchetti and Peter Barker
wrapped up the Croydon club's win before Tom Richards - playing as top
string for St George's Hill for only the second time this season - almost caused
a notable upset in his match against the visitors' world No8 from Egypt Wael
El Hindi.
Rising English star
Richards, the world No43 from Walton-on-Thames, led 2/1 and had several match
balls in the fifth game before El Hindi denied the hosts a consolation point by
winning 11-4, 11-13, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10.
League newcomers
Exeter Diamonds had to recover from 2/0 down before beating PNH
Properties Chichester for the second time this season. And it was left to
the battle between the two top strings to decide the outcome of the tie as the
home side's Stewart Boswell faced Malaysian star Mohd Azlan Iskandar.
It was the first significant match of the year for both world top twenty-ranked
players - but Australian Boswell held his nerve to win 11-2, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2
and give the home crowd a popular 3/2 victory.
UniSport Guildford
were hoping to improve on their 4/1 first round defeat as they hosted
Probuild Bristol in the other tie in Group B. England international
Alison Waters extended her unbeaten run for the Surrey club into a fourth
year with an 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 defeat of junior international Sarah-Jane Perry.
But that was to be the home side's only win as Peter Marshall, Bristol
captain Hadrian Stiff, David Evans and Adrian Grant
despatched their Guildford opposition to repeat their earlier 4/1 win.
There was a great
sense of anticipation from Chapel Allerton supporters when the club
introduced its new top string Thierry Lincou, the former world number one
from France who was not only making his debut for the Leeds club but also his
maiden appearance in the PSL. But things started badly in their fixture against
MB Nottingham when their England number one Jenny Duncalf went
down to the visitors' Sarah Kippax - ranked more than 25 places lower in
the world - 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11.
Chris Simpson,
Aaron Frankcomb and Alister Walker steadied the ship for Chapel
Allerton with wins which guaranteed home success. And Lincou also did not
disappoint, though the world No7 from Marseille had to save match balls against
Ong Beng Hee before beating the Malaysian number one 11-7, 12-10, 10-12,
9-11, 14-12 to ensure a 4/1 victory - reversing the result of their opening
season clash.
Esporta Oxford
also avenged their round one defeat when they beat Pontefract 4/1. Irish
international Madeline Perry set the home team on their way with an 11-6,
11-9, 11-9 win over Pontefract stalwart Lauren Siddall before Anthony
Graham - an 18-year-old from Gloucestershire - beat Yorkshireman Neil
Cordell 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 in what he later described as his 'best
result ever'.
Oxford 'veteran'
Scott Handley clinched the tie win by beating the visitors' Harinder Pal
Sandhu 11-7, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4 before the club's Spanish star Borja
Golan delighted the home crowd with a 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8 victory over
Lee Beachill, the former world number one from Pontefract.
"We always seem to
get a good match to finish our programme - and Borja and Lee did not
disappoint," said Oxford team manager Jason Martin. "Tonight's win keeps
us on track," added Martin, whose team move up to third place in the Group A
tables.
6th round, Tuesday 13 January 2009
Group A:
Esporta Oxford 4 Pontefract 1
Borja Golan bt Lee Beachill 12-10,
11-4, 8-11, 11-8
Chris Ryder lost to Saurav Ghosal
7-11, 5-11, 7-11
Scott Handley bt Harinder Pal Sandhu
11-7, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4
Anthony Graham bt Neil Cordell
7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6
Madeline Perry bt Lauren Siddall
11-6, 11-9, 11-9
Chapel Allerton 4 MB Nottingham 1
Thierry Lincou bt Ong Beng Hee
11-7, 12-10, 10-12, 9-11, 14-12
Alister Walker bt Renan Lavigne
11-3, 11-3, 11-7
Aaron Frankcomb bt John Rooney
11-6, 11-6, 12-10
Chris Simpson bt Simon Parke 11-7,
11-7, 11-13, 11-6
Jenny Duncalf lost to Sarah Kippax
6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11
Group B:
UniSport Guildford 1 Probuild Bristol 4
Jesse Engelbrecht lost to Adrian
Grant 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11
Stacey Ross lost to David Evans
13-11, 3-11, 8-11, 8-11
Phil Rushworth lost to Hadrian
Stiff 8-11, 6-11, 8-11
Mick Biggs lost to Peter Marshall
11-8, 3-11, 6-11, 0-11
Alison Waters bt Sarah-Jane Perry
11-7, 11-3, 11-5
TWP St George's Hill 1 PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 4
Tom Richards lost to Wael El Hindi
4-11, 13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 10-12
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan lost to Peter
Barker 6-11, 5-11, 2-11
Joe Lee lost to Davide Bianchetti
5-11, 12-10, 7-11, 8-11
Neil Hitchens bt Adrian Waller
8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8
Rachel Willmott lost to Vicky
Botwright 0-11, 3-11, 5-11
Exeter Diamonds 3 PNH Properties Chichester 2
Stewart Boswell bt Mohd Azlan
Iskandar 11-2, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2
Jonathan Kemp bt Tim Vail 11-4,
11-4, 13-11
Rob Sutherland bt Robbie Temple
10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6
James Snell lost to Peter Genever
13-15, 7-11, 11-13
Emma Chorley lost to Dominique
Lloyd-Walter 6-11, 8-11, 6-11
PSL TABLES
(after 6th round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
Chapel Allerton
5 3 2 17 8 55 34 70
Benz-Bavarian
Duffield
4 3 1 13 7 44 30 59
Esporta Oxford
5 2 3 12 13 48 51 58
MB Nottingham
5 2 3 9 16 44 54 54
Pontefract
5 2 3 9 16 36 58 46
Group B:
Surrey H&RC
6 5 1 20 10 71 46 96
Exeter Diamonds
6 5 1 18 12 62 51 87
Probuild Bristol
6 4 2 17 13 62 48 82
TWP St George's Hill
6 2 4 11 19 46 71 56
PNH Properties
Chichester
6 1 5 12 18 50 62 55
UniSport Guildford
6 1 5 12 18 50 63 55
5th Round
Duffield & Surrey HR&SC Top Mid-Season PSL Group Tables
Away
teams had the edge in all of the ties in the fifth and final round of
the first half of the Premier Squash League season - but it was
former champions Benz-Bavarian Duffield and reigning
champions PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC that will lead the
points tables in the two groups going into the second half of the season
after resounding wins at Chapel Allerton and UniSport
Guildford, respectively.
Derbyshire club Duffield, champions in 2006 and 2007, could have claimed
a maximum points victory at Chapel Allerton if former member Laurence
Delasaux, now representing the Leeds club, hadn't spoiled the
visitors' party by beating Duffield's 'home-grown' Joel Hinds
7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 14-12.
But
Duffield stalwart Laura Hill kicked off the visitors' winning run
with a straight games success over Jenna Gates - and team-mates
Andrew Whipp and Joey Barrington followed her example with
positive victories before team number one Nick Matthew - the
world No10 from Sheffield - despatched the home side's Alister Walker
11-7, 11-9, 11-1 to give Duffield a 4/1 win and take the club to the top
of the Group A points table for the first time this season.
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC,
winners of the PSL title for the first time last season, have spent most
of the season making up for a surprise early season loss to PSL
newcomers Exeter Diamonds, the Devon club which went on to top
the Group B table.
The
Croydon club faced county rivals UniSport Guildford - and after
World Open runner-up Vicky Botwright gave the visitors an
early lead, Guildford regulars Mick Biggs and Stephen Meads
survived five-game encounters to give the home side a 2/1 advantage.
But
despite the last-minute withdrawal of the Croydon club's Egyptian number
one Wael El Hindi, their promoted numbers one and two restored
the title-holders' lead - Davide Bianchetti beating Stacey
Ross in five games and England international Peter Barker
despatching Guildford's top string Jesse Engelbrecht 11-8, 11-3,
11-6 to give Surrey HR&SC a 3/2 win which sees them back in control in
the group.
Meanwhile, it was a surprise home defeat which saw Exeter Diamonds
lose their supremacy in Group B. And the defeat was swift as TWP St
George's Hill quickly established an unassailable 3/0 lead when
Rachel Willmott, Philip Nightingale and Neil Hitchens
beat their home opponents. Later Jonathan Kemp and Australian
international Stewart Boswell restored some pride for the home
fans by beating Tom Richards and St George's Hill number one
Daryl Selby, respectively.
The
other Group B tie saw last season's title runners-up PNH Properties
Chichester slump to their fourth defeat of the season, losing 3/2 to
Probuild Bristol. The home side were ahead after victories by
Dominique Lloyd-Walter and team captain Tim Vail. But
Chichester suffered a setback when squad number two Alex Gough,
the now retired former world No5, was forced to retire injured midway
through the second game against fellow Welshman David Evans, a
former world No3.
World
No11 Adrian Grant then clinched victory for Bristol after beating
Malaysian Mohd Azlan Iskandar, ranked two places lower, 11-2,
11-4, 9-11, 11-6.
The
second clash in Group A saw a welcome return to action for England
international Lee Beachill after an injury layoff. The former
world No1 levelled the tie for Pontefract against MB
Nottingham by coming back from 2/1 down to beat the former
champions' Renan Lavigne 11-6, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4.
In a
dramatic decider in Nottingham, England number one James Willstrop
battled for five games to overcome Malaysian number one Ong Beng Hee
10-12, 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4 to give the Yorkshire side their second
win of the season.
RESULTS: 5th round
Group A:
Chapel Allerton 1 Benz-Bavarian Duffield 4
Alister Walker lost to Nick Matthew
7-11, 9-11, 1-11
Aaron Frankcomb lost to Joey Barrington 9-11,
10-12, 8-11
Scott Arnold lost to Andrew Whipp 5-11,
11-7, 9-11, 8-11
Laurence Delasaux bt Joel Hinds 7-11,
11-5, 11-5, 14-12
Jenna Gates lost to Laura Hill
5-11, 1-11, 2-11
MB
Nottingham 2 Pontefract 3
Ong
Beng Hee lost to James Willstrop 12-10, 4-11,
6-11, 11-9, 4-11
Renan Lavigne lost to Lee Beachill 6-11,
11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 4-11
Simon Parke bt Neil Cordell
11-4, 11-5, 11-7
Lewis Walters lost to Harinder Pal Sandhu 4-11, 4-11,
13-11, 11-9, 5-11
Emma
Beddoes bt Kirsty McPhee 7-11, 11-6,
11-5, 11-4
Group B:
UniSport Guildford 2 PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 3
Jesse Engelbrecht lost to Peter Barker 8-11,
3-11, 6-11
Stacey Ross lost to Davide Bianchetti 15-13,
11-6, 3-11, 8-11, 1-11
Stephen Meads bt Adrian Waller 11-7,
3-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6
Mick
Biggs bt Steve Richardson 17-19,
11-7, 11-9, 2-11, 11-7
Harriet Ingham lost to Vicky Botwright 3-11,
5-11, 3-11
Exeter Diamonds 2 TWP St George's Hill 3
Stewart Boswell bt Daryl Selby
11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7
Jonathan Kemp bt Tom Richards 7-11,
11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6
James Snell lost to Neil Hitchens
9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-13
Tom
Pashley lost to Philip Nightingale 17-15,
6-11, 6-11, 6-11
Emma
Chorley lost to Rachel Willmott 11-8, 6-11,
7-11, 8-11
PNH
Properties Chichester 2 Probuild Bristol 3
Mohd
Azlan Iskandar lost to Adrian Grant 2-11, 4-11,
11-9, 6-11
Alex
Gough lost to David Evans 5-11,
1-6 ret.
Tim
Vail bt Hadrian Stiff
9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 11-5
Robbie Temple lost to Peter Marshall 8-11,
7-11, 6-11
Dominique Lloyd-Walter bt Vicky Hynes 11-4, 11-5,
11-6
PSL
TABLES (after 5th round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
Benz-Bavarian Duffield
4 3 1 13 7 44 30 59
Chapel Allerton
4 2 2 13 7 42 28 52
MB Nottingham
4 2 2 8 12 38 41 48
Esporta Oxford
4 1 3 8 12 36 43 41
Pontefract
4 2 2 8 12 28 46 38
Group B:
Surrey H&RC
5 4 1 16 9 57 40 77
Exeter Diamonds
5 4 1 15 10 53 43 73
Probuild Bristol
5 3 2 13 12 50 41 65
TWP St George's Hill
5 2 3 10 15 40 57 50
UniSport Guildford
5 1 4 11 14 43 51 48
PNH Properties Chichester
5 1 4 10 15 42 53 47
4th Round
Newcomers
Chapel Allerton & Exeter Diamonds Head PSL Tables
After convincing away victories in
Tuesday's fourth round of the Premier Squash League, PSL
newcomers Chapel Allerton and Exeter Diamonds head the
Group A and Group B tables, respectively, on the eve of the midway point
in the 26th season of the world's most prestigious squash league.
Leeds-based Chapel Allerton faced
under-strength fellow Yorkshire club Pontefract, missing their
top three players James Willstrop, Lee Beachill and
Saurav Ghosal. The hosts' Vanessa Atkinson, jet-lagged
after returning from a major women's Tour event in New York, was no
match on the night for Chapel Allerton's Jenny Duncalf, going
down 11-6, 11-7, 11-1 to the England number one.
And the visitors' strong squad continued
the Pontefract purge, winning the remaining matches in straight games -
with top string Alister Walker enjoying his second win of the
season by beating Pontefract's newly-promoted number one and
fast-improving Neil Cordell 11-7, 14-12, 11-6.
"We put out a young squad tonight - and I
was heartened by their performances," said Pontefract team manager
Malcolm Willstrop. "In a couple of years' time, they'll be
something - and tonight they showed their promise."
The maximum points 5/0 win takes Chapel
Allerton to the top of the Group A table for the first time.
The other tie in the group finished only
minutes before midnight as former champions Benz-Bavarian Duffield
ground out a 4/1 home win over Esporta Oxford. The opening
match of the night saw a welcome return to action for England's former
world No4 Tania Bailey, playing her first competitive match since
July after a troubled year which included knee surgery in April.
The Duffield star faced the in-form Irish
international Madeline Perry, now ranked 11 in the world. And
the sensational comeback saw Bailey win 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 - no doubt
raising hopes with the England selectors that the former British
champion will be available for next month's Women's World Team
Championships in Egypt.
"I just didn't know what to expect," said
a delighted Bailey afterwards. "So I am very encouraged by that win -
especially as I know Madeline's really playing well at the moment. It's
the first proper game I've had for ages - and I really enjoyed it.
"It was only last week that I thought I'd
be OK to play - but to get a result like this is more than I could have
expected. I'm playing at a level better than I thought," the
29-year-old from Lincolnshire continued. "2008 has been a pretty
horrible year for me. I've really missed playing. I'm just looking
forward to getting back into it now."
Bailey's performance inspired team-mate
Joel Hinds to beat Oxford's experienced Scott Handley in
straight games - then new squad number two Joey Barrington played
the match of his life to clinch the team's win by beating Spain's
newly-crowned Santiago Open champion Borja Golan 8-11,
11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5 - fighting back from 5-8 down in the fourth to
draw level before clinching the match in the decider.
The evening-ending top string clash also
went to five when Duffield stalwart Nick Matthew eventually
overhauled Australian star Cameron Pilley 7-11, 11-9, 12-10,
5-11, 11-6.
The sparkle of Exeter Diamonds in
Group B seems to show no signs of fading as the Devon debutants chalked
up their fourth successive PSL win by beating South West rivals
Probuild Bristol 4/1 away from home. Both Emma Chorley and
Rob Sutherland notched up their first ever wins over Bristol
opponents Vicky Hynes and Hadrian Stiff, respectively.
For the second tie in a row, it was
Egyptian teen sensation Mohamed El Shorbagy that clinched
victory for Exeter - this time the 17-year-old Millfield School pupil
beating Bristol's former British Open champion David Evans 11-6,
4-11, 11-9, 18-16.
"It seems we can't go wrong," said Exeter
Diamonds team manager Tony Snell. "I didn't expect to win
tonight, to be truthful, but it just shows the strength we've got in our
squad. I'm very proud of them. And the crowd at Bristol was fantastic
- it was totally sold out!"
PSL title-holders PCL Whitehall
Security Surrey H&RC produced their most powerful win of the new
season, beating PNH Properties Chichester 5/0 at home in a repeat
of last season's final. But it took determined performances by
Adrian Waller, Ben Ford and Davide Bianchetti in
matches that went the full distance as the Croydon club trio beat
Chichester's Robbie Temple, Tim Vail and Alex Gough,
respectively.
Top string Peter Barker - one of
four members of the team that won the title in May - finished off the
tie in style, dismissing the Chichester No1 Mohd Azlan Iskandar
11-6, 11-5, 11-7.
Just two months short of his 50th
birthday, former world champion Ross Norman made his first PSL
appearance for more than six years when he turned out for TWP St
George's Hill in their home tie against Surrey county rivals
UniSport Guildford. And the popular New Zealander
showed that he has not lost his touch when he defeated fellow world
champion Jamie Mathews - the reigning World Deaf Champion
- 11-3, 11-13, 11-9, 11-5.
The win started the momentum for St
George's Hill whose Hungarian star Mark Krajcsak - fresh from
victory in last weekend's PSA Tour event in Vancouver - then beat
Guildford stalwart Stacey Ross 10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 15-13.
Krajcsak surprisingly agreed to a change of ball at 10-all in the
fourth game - and duly sprinted to victory after barely warming up the
new ball!
But it was the top strings that were left
to decide the outcome of the tie - and the hosts' Daryl Selby
recovered from 1-7 and 6-10 down in the decider to beat Guildford's
Jesse Engelbrecht 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10 to give St George's
Hill a popular 3/2 win.
RESULTS:
4th round, Tuesday 11 November 2008
Group
A:
Pontefract 0 Chapel Allerton 5
Neil Cordell lost to Alister Walker
7-11, 12-14, 6-11
Adam Taylor lost to Chris Simpson
3-11, 8-11, 6-11
James Earles lost to Scott Arnold
9-11, 4-11, 4-11
Sam Wileman lost to Jonathan Harford
8-11, 9-11, 6-11
Vanessa Atkinson lost to Jenny
Duncalf 6-11, 7-11, 1-11
Benz-Bavarian Duffield 4 Esporta
Oxford 1
Nick Matthew bt Cameron Pilley 7-11,
11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 11-6
Joey Barrington bt Borja Golan 8-11,
11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5
Andrew Whipp lost to Chris Ryder
6-11, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11
Joel Hinds bt Scott Handley 11-4,
11-5, 11-9
Tania Bailey bt Madeline Perry 11-6,
11-8, 11-9
Group
B:
Probuild Bristol 1 Exeter Diamonds 4
Adrian Grant lost to Stewart Boswell
10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 5-11
David Evans lost to Mohamed El
Shorbagy 6-11, 11-4, 9-11, 16-18
Hadrian Stiff lost to Rob Sutherland
6-11, 6-11, 11-5, 1-11
Peter Marshall bt James Snell 11-4,
11-4, 11-9
Vicky Hynes lost to Emma Chorley
6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 3-11
TWP St George's Hill 3 UniSport
Guildford 2
Daryl Selby bt Jesse Engelbrecht
5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10
Mark Krajcsak bt Stacey Ross 10-12,
11-6, 11-7, 15-13
Adam Fuller lost to Stephen Meads
9-11, 7-11, 9-11
Ross Norman bt Jamie Mathews 11-3,
11-13, 11-9, 11-5
Rachel Willmott lost to Alison
Waters 4-11, 5-11, 3-11
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 5
PNH Properties Chichester 0
Peter Barker bt Mohd Azlan Iskandar
11-6, 11-5, 11-7
Davide Bianchetti bt Alex Gough
8-11, 12-10, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7 (76m)
Ben Ford bt Tim Vail 11-9, 6-11,
6-11, 11-4, 11-6
Adrian Waller bt Robbie Temple 11-8,
6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9
Vicky Botwright bt Annabelle
Collins-Ballands 11-6, 11-5, 11-2
PSL TABLES (after 4th round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
Chapel
Allerton 3 2 1 12 3
38 15 48
Benz-Bavarian
Duffield 3 2 1 9 6 31
26 41
Esporta
Oxford 4 1 3 8 12
36 43 41
MB Nottingham
3 2 1 6 9 26 31 36
Pontefract
3 1 2 5 10 18 34 23
Group B:
Exeter
Diamonds 4 4 0 13 7
43 31 63
Surrey H&RC
4 3 1 13 7 44 32 59
Probuild
Bristol 4 2 2 10 10
39 34 49
UniSport
Guildford 4 1 3 9 11
35 38 40
PNH
Properties Chichester 4 1 3 8
12 35 42 40
TWP St
George's Hill 4 1 3 7 13
28 47 33
3rd Round
PSL
Newcomers Exeter Diamonds Sparkle With Lone Unbeaten Run
With only three rounds of the new season
completed, newcomers Exeter Diamonds are already the only
unbeaten club in the Premier Squash League after securing a 3/2
away win at UniSport Guildford in Tuesday's third round of the
world's most prestigious squash league in its 26th season.
But the standout match of the night was
in the decider between title-holders PCL Whitehall Security Surrey
H&RC and Probuild Bristol - when Peter Barker save a
match ball to defeat England team-mate Adrian Grant to clinch a
3/2 win for the Surrey club hosts. Elsewhere in Group B, last season's
runners-up PNH Properties Chichester made up for their poor start
to the season by whipping TWP St George's Hill 5/0.
Yorkshire newcomers Chapel Allerton
claimed their first win of the season in fine style, beating Esporta
Oxford 5/0 away from home in Group A - while former champions MB
Nottingham overcame East Midlands rivals Benz-Bavarian Duffield
3/2 to take pole position in the Group A table for the first time.
Vicky Botwright,
the surprise runner-up in last month's World Open Championship in
her hometown of Manchester, put Surrey H&RC into the driving seat
against Probuild Bristol with an 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 win over
Warwickshire teenager Sarah-Jane Perry. But the visitors'
Peter Marshall struck back to level the tie after beating the
Croydon club's Steve Richardson - and later Bristol's Welsh star
David Evans again restored parity when he battled to a four-game
victory over the hosts' Tim Garner.
The decider was a mouth-watering affair
between fellow London left-handers Barker, the world No10, and Grant,
ranked just three places below. It was the pair's third domestic
meeting this year - with underdog Grant boasting a 2/0 advantage. It
was nip and tuck throughout - with both players saving match-balls in
the fifth game before Barker finally triumphed 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 4-11,
13-11 to give Surrey H&RC a 3/2 win to consolidate their mid-table
position.
The Exeter Diamonds hero in
Guildford was Egyptian teenager Mohamed El Shorbagy. Welshmen
Peter Creed and Rob Sutherland had already put the league's
Devon debutants into a 2/1 lead when the 17-year-old Millfield schoolboy
took to the court against the experienced UniSport Guildford
former top string Stacey Ross. Shorbagy has been making rapid
strides on the senior Tour over the past few months - and showed the
same form in beating Ross 12-10, 11-9, 11-7 to clinch an unbeatable lead
- and three wins out of three this season - for Exeter Diamonds.
Malaysian Delia Arnold ignited a
winning streak for PNH Properties Chichester in her debut for the
Sussex club against TWP St George's Hill. Arnold beat the
visitors' Rachel Willmott 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 - and victories
followed for team mates Peter Genever, Robbie Temple and
Tim Vail, the Chichester captain returning to action after the
birth of his first-born son Cameron.
But the bravest performance of the night
was delivered by the hosts' Welsh veteran Alex Gough. The former
world No5, now retired from the PSA Tour, faced Tom Richards, a
22-year-old rising English star who celebrated a career-high world No47
ranking this month. Richards recovered from two games down to level the
match - but the wily Welshman kept up the pressure to win 12-10, 11-8,
8-11, 9-11, 11-9 to ensure a maximum points win for Chichester.
In the East Midlands derby at Nottingham, the host club's Emma
Beddoes set the scene for the evening by beating higher-ranked
opponent Laura Hill 11-9, 11-1, 8-11, 11-4 - a victory which
team-mates John Rooney and Renan Lavigne followed to
ensure a popular home win. Rooney exacted revenge on the player who
beat him in the final of the West of Scotland Open at the
weekend, beating Cheshire star Andrew Whipp 11-8, 11-3, 11-4,
while Frenchman Lavigne was leading 2/1 against Duffield's Joey
Barrington when the winner of last week's African Open in
Nigeria conceded the match.
Like Exeter Diamonds, Leeds club
Chapel Allerton also delighted in an impressive maiden season
victory - dishing out a 5/0 drubbing at Esporta Oxford. Again,
it was perhaps the opening women's match which set the scene for the
flavour of the evening: Oxford's Irish international Madeline Perry
recovered from two games down to take the third against English
international Jenny Duncalf and move into the ascendancy. But at
8-8 in the fourth, Perry sustained an 'adductor twinge' which led to
Duncalf clinching the match.
Chapel Allerton team-mates Adam
Murrills, Scott Arnold and Stephen Coppinger built on the
score before the visitors' number one Alister Walker survived a
26-minute first game against Oxford's Chris Ryder and went on to
win 15-17, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3 to clinch a memorable 5/0 win for
Chapel Allerton.
RESULTS:
3rd round, Tuesday 4 November 2008
Group A:
Esporta Oxford 0 Chapel Allerton 5
Chris Ryder lost to Alister Walker
17-15, 3-11, 11-7, 8-11, 3-11
Scott Handley lost to Stephen Coppinger
5-11, 7-11, 3-11
Kristen Johnson lost to Scott Arnold
5-11, 7-11, 6-11
Thomas Phipps lost to Adam Murrills
7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 5-11
Madeline Perry lost to Jenny Duncalf
9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11
MB Nottingham 3 Benz-Bavarian
Duffield 2
Ong Beng Hee lost to Nick Matthew
7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 9-11
Renan Lavigne bt Joey Barrington
7-11, 11-4, 11-4 ret.
John Rooney bt Andrew Whipp 11-8,
11-3, 11-4
Eddie Charlton lost to Alex Stait
11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 4-11
Emma Beddoes bt Laura Hill 11-9,
11-1, 8-11, 11-4
Group B:
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 3
Probuild Bristol 2
Peter Barker bt Adrian Grant 11-9,
11-13, 11-8, 4-11, 13-11
Tim Garner lost to David Evans 11-6,
5-11, 10-12, 6-11
Ben Ford bt Hadrian Stiff 11-8,
11-9, 11-8
Steve Richardson lost to Peter
Marshall 4-11, 9-11, 7-11
Vicky Botwright bt Sarah-Jane Perry
11-4, 11-3, 11-5
UniSport Guildford 2 Exeter Diamonds
3
Gilly Lane bt Jonathan Kemp 6-11,
7-11, 11-7 ret.
Stacey Ross lost to Mohamed El Shorbagy
10-12, 9-11, 7-11
Stephen Meads lost to Rob Sutherland
14-12, 6-11, 6-11, 4-11
Jamie Mathews lost to Peter Creed
3-11, 8-11, 4-11
Alison Waters bt Victoria
Temple-Murray 11-0, 11-2, 11-3
PNH Properties Chichester 5 TWP St
George's Hill 0
Alex Gough bt Tom Richards 12-10,
11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9
Tim Vail bt Nicolas Mueller 11-6,
4-11, 11-9, 12-10
Robbie Temple bt Neil Hitchens 11-8,
9-11, 11-9, 11-6
Peter Genever bt Philip Nightingale
11-7, 11-4, 11-4
Delia Arnold bt Rachel Willmott
11-8, 12-10, 11-8
PSL TABLES (after 3rd round)
Ties Matches Games Pts
P W L W L W L
Group A:
MB Nottingham
3 2 1 6 9 26 31 36
Esporta Oxford
3 1 2 7 8 29 30 34
Chapel Allerton
2 1 1 7 3 23 15 28
Benz-Bavarian Duffield
2 1 1 5 5 18 19 23
Pontefract
2 1 1 5 5 18 19 23
Group B:
Exeter Diamonds
3 3 0 9 6 31 23 46
Probuild Bristol
3 2 1 9 6 31 22 41
Surrey H&RC
3 2 1 8 7 29 26 39
PNH Properties Chichester
3 1 2 8 7 29 27 34
UniSport Guildford
3 1 2 7 8 25 29 30
TWP St George's Hill
3 0 3 4 11 19 37 19
|
2nd Round
Esporta
Oxford Crush Nottingham To Top PSL Group
Esporta Oxford
scored the first maximum points win of the season in the
second round of the Premier Squash League - beating MB
Nottingham 5/0 to head the Group A table in the world's most
prestigious squash league.
Elsewhere in the group, former champions
Benz-Bavarian Duffield began their 2008/09 season campaign by
resisting a strong challenge from Pontefract, fighting back from
behind to clinch a 3/2 win over their Yorkshire visitors. In Group B,
league newcomers Exeter Diamonds inflicted the first defeat of
the season on title-holders PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC,
beating the Croydon club 3/2 - while Probuild Bristol also scored
their second win of the season in a 3/2 away win at TWP St George's
Hill. But the biggest smiles were to be found at another venue in
Surrey where UniSport Guildford scored their first win in more
than two years over PNH Properties Chichester, beating the Sussex
club 4/1 at home.
Pontefract, featuring the two
highest-ranked players in their stable - James Willstrop and
Lee Beachill - arrived at Duffield's Derbyshire base looking for
victory. And Dutch star Vanessa Atkinson put the visitors into
the driving seat with a four-game win over local star Laura Hill.
Duffield-based Joel Hinds, playing for his local club for the
first time after three years at Birmingham University, levelled the tie
- but Leeds-based Indian champion Saurav Ghosal restored
Pontefract's lead with a straight games dismissal of Andrew Whipp.
It was a capacity home crowd at Duffield
that roared on Joey Barrington as the club debutant beat
higher-ranked fellow Englishman Lee Beachill 11-8, 9-11, 11-8,
11-4, before squad number one Nick Matthew - in his sixth season
for Duffield - despatched his England team-mate James Willstrop
11-8, 11-5, 11-9 to clinch victory for the three-time champions.
The last-minute withdrawal of club
stalwart Simon Parke left MB Nottingham having to promote
Arthur Gaskin to third string and introduce local player Lewis
Walter at four in their away fixture at Esporta Oxford. And
it was Irish champion Madeline Perry that kicked off the Oxford
onslaught as she beat Emma Beddoes 11-3, 12-10, 11-2 - a win
which was followed by straight games defeats of Walters and Gaskin. In
his debut for the hosts, top-ranked Spaniard Borja Golan let slip
a two-game lead over Nottingham's Renan Lavigne - but refocused
in the decider to beat the Frenchman 12-10, 12-10, 3-11, 6-11, 11-8.
In the final match - described by Oxford
team manager Jason Martin as "the best game I've ever seen at the
club" - Australian Cameron Pilley beat Malaysian star Ong Beng
Hee 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 14-12 to round up a 'whitewash'
evening.
"I'm the happiest I've been in PSL for a
long time," exclaimed the jubilant UniSport Guildford team
manager Ian Robinson after his club's 4/1 home win over last
season's runners-up PNH Properties Chichester. While Guildford's
Alison Waters secured an early 3/0 win over English compatriot
Dominique Lloyd-Walter, team-mate Jamie Mathews was making a
good start in his debut for the club against the visitors' Nafzahizam
Adnan. But the Malaysian - also making his PSL debut for Chichester
- fought back to beat Mathew, the World Deaf champion from Surrey,
11-13, 11-5, 11-1, 11-6.
Long-time UniSport campaigners Stephen
Meads and Stacey Ross carved out valiant victories against
their respective opponents - but the day's standout success came when
new club number one Jesse Engelbrecht defeated experienced
Chichester top string Alex Gough 11-5, 11-5, 11-2.
While Nafzahizam Adnan was making a
successful debut for Chichester, his higher-ranked younger brother
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan was also in winning form for TWP St George's
Hill against Probuild Bristol. But the 22-year-old's
four-game win over Bristol captain Hadrian Stiff wasn't enough to
lead the home club to victory.
Welsh veteran David Evans clinched
Bristol's win after beating rising star Tom Richards 11-6, 11-6,
11-2 - but it was a match perhaps overshadowed by the consolation
victory by the Surrey club number one Daryl Selby. The world
No36 from Essex continued the fine form he showed in last week's
World Open in Manchester when he beat fellow Englishman Adrian
Grant, ranked 13 in the world, 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7.
Some 48 hours after making a
surprise appearance in the women's World Open final on Sunday,
Manchester squash star Vicky Botwright came down to earth with a
bump for champions PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC in their
away tie against Exeter Diamonds. Vicky lost 15-17, 8-11, 4-11
to Australian Natalie Grinham - the 2007 runner-up - but later
watched her fiancé Stewart Boswell clinch victory for the
opposing team when he battled to an 11-6, 16-14, 5-11, 5-11, 11-5 win
over higher-ranked Egyptian Wael El Hindi.
Exeter Diamonds manager Tony Snell
was overjoyed with his team's performance: "In the first round we beat
last season's runners-up - and now we've beaten the champions. It
really is unbelievable!"
RESULTS:
2nd round, Tuesday 21 October 2008
Group A:
Benz-Bavarian Duffield 3 Pontefract 2
Nick Matthew bt James Willstrop 11-8,
11-5, 11-9
Joey Barrington bt Lee Beachill 11-8,
9-11, 11-8, 11-4
Andrew Whipp lost to Saurav Ghosal
9-11, 5-11, 2-11
Joel Hinds bt Neil Cordell 11-6,
12-10, 11-9
Laura Hill lost to Vanessa Atkinson
11-5, 4-11, 5-11, 4-11
Esporta Oxford 5 MB Nottingham 0
Cameron Pilley bt Ong Beng Hee 11-13,
11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 14-12
Borja Golan bt Renan Lavigne 12-10,
12-10, 3-11, 6-11, 11-8
Chris Ryder bt Arthur Gaskin 11-6,
11-6, 11-2
Scott Handley bt Eddie Charlton 11-9,
11-9, 11-8
Madeline Perry bt Emma Beddoes 11-3,
12-10, 11-2
Group B:
TWP St George's Hill 2 Probuild
Bristol 3
Daryl Selby bt Adrian Grant 11-7,
11-7, 9-11, 11-7
Tom Richards lost to David Evans 6-11,
6-11, 2-11
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan bt Hadrian Stiff
5-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-7
Joe Lee lost to Peter Marshall 7-11,
11-9, 6-11, 6-11
Rachel Willmott lost to Vicky Hynes
7-11, 6-11, 7-11
Exeter Diamonds 3 PCL Whitehall
Security Surrey H&RC 2
Stewart Boswell bt Wael El Hindi 11-6,
16-14, 5-11, 5-11, 11-5
Jonathan Kemp lost to Peter Barker
10-12, 3-11, 9-11
Rob Sutherland lost to Adrian Waller
9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 6-11
Tom Pashley bt Nic Birt 11-9, 11-9,
11-8
Natalie Grinham bt Vicky Botwright
17-15, 11-8, 11-4
UniSport Guildford 4 PNH Properties
Chichester 1
Jesse Engelbrecht bt Alex Gough 11-5,
11-5, 11-2
Stacey Ross bt Robbie Temple 9-11,
11-6, 12-14, 12-10, 11-8
Stephen Meads bt Peter Genever 2-11,
12-10, 11-5, 11-5
Jamie Mathews lost to Nafzahizam Adnan
13-11, 5-11, 1-11, 6-11
Alison Waters bt Dominique
Lloyd-Walter 11-4, 14-12, 11-4
|
1st Round
Mixed
Fortunes For PSL Newcomers In League Season Openers
While Pontefract and Probuild
Bristol top the two group tables after the first round action in the
new season of the Premier Squash League, there were mixed
fortunes for PSL newcomers Chapel Allerton and Devon & Exeter
on the opening night of the 26th season of the world's most prestigious
squash league.
Yorkshire club Pontefract, led by
England number one James Willstrop, secured their best ever start
in the PSL, beating Esporta Oxford 3/2 - while the other tie in
Group A saw Nottingham also overcome Leeds-based Chapel
Allerton 3/2. 2007 runners-up Probuild Bristol scored the
most decisive victory in Group B, with a 4/1 home win against
UniSport Guildford - and title-holders PCL Whitehall Security
Surrey H&RC recovered from 1/2 down to beat Surrey county rivals
TWP St George's Hill 3/2.
Devon & Exeter
faced a tough induction away from home against PNH Properties
Chichester, last season's beaten finalists weakened on the eve of
the tie by the withdrawal of their injured squad No1 Mohd Azlan
Iskandar, the world No12 from Malaysia. And the PSL debutants were
2/0 down after the first two matches at the West Sussex club.
But in a clash described as 'the standout
match of the night' by the Exeter club's manager Tony Snell,
Welshman Rob Sutherland reduced the deficit by beating the home
side's Robbie Temple 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10. "I always knew
that match between the two Robs would be key - and our Rob played
extremely well, he looked strong throughout and thoroughly deserved his
win," said Snell.
England number six Jonathan Kemp
levelled the tie with an 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 win over Chichester captain
Tim Vail, before Australian star Stewart Boswell clinched
victory for the visitors by overcoming league veteran Alex Gough,
the now retired former world No5, 11-2, 11-13, 11-5, 11-2.
"The absence of their expected number one
Azlan certainly gave us more of a chance," conceded Snell. "But it's
been a fantastic start to our PSL campaign - and not really what we
expected. In fact, I had to ring our sponsor Keith White - who is on
holiday in Marbella - and he was taken aback too!"
The emphatic home victory by Group B
rivals Probuild Bristol over UniSport Guildford was 'what
we needed', said team captain Hadrian Stiff. But the visitors'
world No6 Alison Waters was too strong for 18-year-old
Sarah-Jane Perry, winning in straight games to give the Guildford
club the early lead. Bristol's cream rose to the top, however, as its
manpower took the remaining four matches - squad number two David
Evans, recently returned to Wales after two years as the Jersey
national coach, taken the full distance by the UniSport second string
Stacey Ross before winning 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7.
TWP St George's Hill
looked on course to avenge their two defeats by champions PCL
Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC last season - firstly when club
stalwarts Joe Lee and Tom Richards put the visitors 2/1
ahead, and secondly when squad number one Daryl Selby took a two
game lead over the Croydon club's world No11 Peter Barker in the
decider.
Lee celebrated his 19th birthday in fine
style, beating fellow Englishman Ben Ford - ranked some 50 places
higher in the world - 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10 to level the tie after
England international Vicky Botwright put the hosts ahead with a
comprehensive 11-7, 11-0, 11-7 defeat of former British Junior champion
Rachel Willmott.
But, in the decider at the end of the
night, England international Peter Barker showed the talent that has won
him two PSA Tour titles in the past month when he came back from
two games down to beat St George's Hill's Daryl Selby 11-13, 9-11, 11-6,
11-8, 11-5 to clinch victory for the champions.
Pontefract team manager Malcolm
Willstrop proclaimed it a "good night of squash" after his
home-grown squad clinched a popular home victory over Esporta Oxford in
Group A. And the Yorkshire club had to come from two matches down after
Vanessa Atkinson slid to a 2-9, 9-3, 5-9, 9-7, 6-9 defeat to
Irish comeback queen Madeline Perry and newly-recruited
19-year-old Indian Harinder Pal Sandhu lost to the visitors'
Jaymie Haycocks.
But promising York teenager Neil
Cordell produced one of the best wins of his career when he beat
experienced Oxford opponent Scott Handley - ranked more than 150
places higher in the world - 9-5, 9-7, 11-9. The win spurred the
squad's better known Indian Saurav Ghosal, his country's reigning
national champion, to beat last weekend's Leinster Open champion
Chris Ryder 9-5, 5-9, 9-7, 8-10, 9-7.
And in the decider, Pontefract number one
James Willstrop recovered from a game down to beat Cameron
Pilley 2-9, 9-6, 10-8, 11-9 in his third successive PSL victory over
the rising Australian star over the past two seasons.
"It was a cracking game which will do
both of them good in the lead-up to next week's World Open," said
Willstrop senior.
Like Devon & Exeter, former champions
Nottingham may also have benefited from the last-minute reduction in
the fire-power of newcomers Chapel Allerton, whose top string
Alister Walker was forced to pull out with injury. The Leeds
newcomers romped to a 2/0 lead after wins by England number one Jenny
Duncalf and squad latecomer Stephen Coppinger.
But Nottingham regular John Rooney
restored order for the hosts, beating Chris Simpson in four games
before Julian Illingworth - the US champion making his PSL debut
- despatched the visitors' Scott Arnold 11-9, 11-1, 5-11, 11-6.
Malaysian star Ong Beng Hee made
the best possible start to his third season for Nottingham by clinching
victory for the club with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 win over Jonathan
Harford.
RESULTS:
1st round, Tuesday 7 October
2008
Group A:
Pontefract 3 Esporta Oxford 2
James Willstrop bt Cameron Pilley
2-9, 9-6, 10-8, 11-9
Saurav Ghosal bt Chris Ryder 9-5,
5-9, 9-7, 8-10, 9-7 (61m)
Neil Cordell bt Scott Handley 9-5,
9-7, 11-9
Harinder Pal Sandhu lost to Jaymie
Haycocks 3-9, 7-9, 6-9
Vanessa Atkinson lost to Madeline
Perry 2-9, 9-3, 5-9, 9-7, 6-9
Nottingham 3 Chapel Allerton 2
Ong Beng Hee bt Jonathan Harford
11-8, 11-7, 11-3
Julian Illingworth bt Scott Arnold
11-9, 11-1, 5-11, 11-6
John Rooney bt Chris Simpson 11-6,
10-12, 11-5, 11-7
Arthur Gaskin lost to Stephen Coppinger
10-12, 0-11, 11-4, 7-11
Sarah Kippax lost to Jenny Duncalf
5-11, 5-11, 5-11
Group B:
Probuild Bristol 4 UniSport Guildford
1
Adrian Grant bt Jesse Engelbrecht
11-9, 11-4, 11-7
David Evans bt Stacey Ross 11-7,
7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7
Hadrian Stiff bt Phil Rushworth
11-8, 11-8, 11-8
Peter Marshall bt Mick Biggs 11-5,
11-6, 11-5
Sarah-Jane Perry lost to Alison
Waters 4-11, 2-11, 8-11
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC 3
TWP St George's Hill 2
Peter Barker bt Daryl Selby 11-13,
9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5
Davide Bianchetti bt Mark Krajcsak
11-4, 11-5, 11-6
Tim Garner lost to Tom Richards
4-11, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11
Ben Ford lost to Joe Lee 4-11, 8-11,
11-7, 10-12
Vicky Botwright bt Rachel Willmott
11-7, 11-0, 11-7
PNH Properties Chichester 2 Devon &
Exeter 3
Alex Gough lost to Stewart Boswell
2-11, 13-11, 5-11, 2-11
Tim Vail lost to Jonathan Kemp 6-11,
8-11, 11-13
Robbie Temple lost to Rob Sutherland
4-11, 8-11, 11-6, 10-12
Peter Genever bt James Snell 8-11,
11-3, 11-7, 13-11
Dominique Lloyd-Walter bt Emma
Chorley 11-8, 11-4, 11-6
|
Devon &
Exeter And Chapel Allerton Join PSL For New Season
The Premier Squash League (PSL)
welcomes two new teams as the 26th season of the world's most
prestigious squash league gets underway with Leeds
club Chapel Allerton and Exeter-based Devon & Exeter
seeking honours against established opposition.
Croydon-based PCL Whitehall Security
Surrey H&RC will begin the defence of the title they won for the
first time last season with a squad again led by Egyptian wizard Wael
El Hindi, the world No9. However, England's in-form Peter Barker
- ranked just two places lower in the world order - will lead the club's
attack in the opening tie in Group B against TWP St George's Hill,
from Weybridge.
Barker, winner of two successive PSA
Tour titles in the USA last month in his build up to this month's
Hi-Tec World Championships in Manchester, will face fellow
Essex player Daryl Selby, the world No36, in the club's home
match against their Surrey rivals.
Devon & Exeter, who face last season's
runners-up PNH Properties Chichester away from home in their
maiden tie in Group B, will be led by Stewart Boswell, the former
world No4 who has switched allegiance from former champions
Benz-Bavarian Duffield. Boswell, leading the west country club in
the absence of squad No1 David Palmer, also from Australia, will
face the home side's Alex Gough, the former world number five of
Wales, in the top string clash.
Also in Group B, Probuild Bristol
host league stalwarts UniSport Guildford. Only in their
third season in the PSL, the home side will again be led by England
international Adrian Grant, the London-born left-hander who will
arrive in Bristol fresh from his victory in the Wolverhampton Open
at the weekend. Grant, the world No13, will face the new Guildford
number one Jesse Engelbrecht, the London-based world No55 from
South Africa who has worked his way up the squad since joining the club
four years ago.
With a number of leading international
players now based at Chapel Allerton, it is no surprise that the
Yorkshire club is returning to the Premier League. In their opening tie
at former champions Nottingham in Group A, the Leeds squad will
be led by club member Alister Walker, the fast-improving world
No27 who faces the home side's Ong Beng Hee, the world No10 from
Malaysia. The women's clash has much to offer, as Nottingham's Sarah
Kippax - winner of her fifth WISPA World Tour title this year
at the Leinster Open in Dublin at the weekend - takes on
compatriot Jenny Duncalf, the world No5 and top-ranked
Englishwoman.
With 2006 and 2007 champions
Benz-Bavarian Duffield enjoying a 'rest day' in the opening round,
the other tie in Group A sees Yorkshire club Pontefract entertain
Esporta Oxford - the visitors no doubt spurred on by squad number
two Chris Ryder who won the men's title at the Leinster Open
in Ireland at the weekend. Ryder faces Pontefract's Indian champion
Saurav Ghosal, while the top string clash features a world top 20
battle between home star James Willstrop, the England number one,
and Australian Cameron Pilley.
1st
round line-up, Tuesday 7 October 2008
Group
A:
Pontefract v Esporta Oxford
James Willstrop v Cameron Pilley
Saurav Ghosal v Chris Ryder
Neil Cordell v Scott Handley
Harinder Pal Sandhu v Jaymie Haycocks
Vanessa Atkinson v Madeline Perry
Nottingham v Chapel Allerton
Ong Beng Hee v Alister Walker
Julian Illingworth v Jonathan Harford
John Rooney v Scott Arnold
Lewis Walters v Chris Simpson
Sarah Kippax v Jenny Duncalf
Group
B:
Probuild Bristol v UniSport Guildford
Adrian Grant v Jesse Engelbrecht
David Evans v Stacey Ross
Hadrian Stiff v Phil Rushworth
Peter Marshall v Mick Biggs
Sarah-Jane Perry v Alison Waters
PCL Whitehall Security Surrey H&RC v
TWP St George's Hill
Peter Barker v Daryl Selby
Davide Bianchetti v Mark Krajcsak
Tim Garner v Tom Richards
Ben Ford v Joe Lee
Vicky Botwright v Rachel Willmott
PNH Properties Chichester v Devon &
Exeter
Alex Gough v Stewart Boswell
Tim Vail v Jonathan Kemp
Robbie Temple v Rob Sutherland
Peter Genever v James Snell
Dominique Lloyd-Walter v Emma Chorley
|
|