By ALAN THATCHER

Alan Thatcher's 2000 Diary

PHEW - IT'S ALL OVER
PETER NICOL bounced back from his "blip" at the British Open to win a third consecutive Super Series title at the Broadgate Arena, repelling a fierce onslaught from Australian David Palmer for the second time in three days to win a pulsating final.

Peter left the Arena with a broad grin on his face, a cheque for 20,000 dollars in his pocket, and looking forward to continuing his run of form in this week's Scottish Open in Perth.

After the final, Peter was interviewed by Sky TV presenter Jill Douglas, a fellow Scot (am I still allowed to say that?), who, like Nicol, is making a name for herself in London.

A NON-CONTACT SPORT ?
Jill admitted that her great mentor in Scottish television was the rugby commentator, Bill McLaren, and we could have done with  his services at times during some extremely physical encounters, most notably the semi-final clash between Palmer and Jonathon Power.

Sky viewers loved the drama and controversy, but several spectators muttered their misgivings about the way the game is heading if this kind of behaviour is allowed to get out of hand.

TV replays clearly showed Palmer and Power wrestling each other to the floor as they fought to gain control of the front right-hand corner of the court.

It was a nightmare match for referee Jill Wood. Every time a player produced a forehand drop-shot, his opponent either ran into his back or grabbed his shirt to drag him into a position where he hoped the referee would award a stroke.

I would like to invite the PSA and the top international referees into a darkened room to watch the video and try to work out a formula for controlling this type of incident, which is becoming more prevalent in the modern game.

Relations between referees and players are at an all-time low. The players, quite rightly, demand officials of the highest standard to take charge of their matches. Squash is faster than ever before, and the point-a-rally scoring system,  coupled with the lower tin, has changed the nature of the game.

Most of the world's leading players favour an attacking game, meaning more and more combat fought in the front half of the court. This, in turn, creates problems relating to access and the new rule concerning "minimal interference" has been designed to stop players fishing for cheap points. However, it has produced one unfortunate and unforeseen by-product. If players are denied strokes, when, in their own minds, they clearly deserve them, then they will try to engineer situations to make the decision a little more clearcut for the officials. This, regrettably, means they will often play the man rather than the ball, or, as we saw in London, they will try to drag their opponent into the firing line.

All of this is making life impossible for the officials. Coming into the British Open, Jonathon Power suggested the formation of a professional referees' unit, spearheaded by former players, to take charge of the game's big events. Sadly, until such a group is offered enough money to make it worthwhile them giving up their day jobs, I don't see it happening. I also don't see too many ex-players stepping forward to put their necks on the line as referees.

Until the two sides can come together and work out a framework for consultation, co-operation and compromise, we will be left with what we have now: confrontation.

CONGRATULATIONS
to Satinder Bajwa and his event management partners at WSM for staging another magnificent tournament. The standard of play and commitment from the players was higher than for a long time, with two superb semi-finals and a magnificent final providing top-class live entertainment for spectators and viewers on Sky Sports.

The Eye Group has led the way in breaking down the barriers that previously prevented live TV coverage of major squash events and, despite the slightly cramped conditions, the Broadgate broadcast was another success.
 

 

 


And the final was a comparatively 'clean' game

 


Baj

POWER'S MOMENT OF MAGIC
JONATHON POWER  produced a magnificent moment of his magic in his third-place play-off with Martin Heath, conjuring up a shot of exquisite skill to confirm his reputation as the Great Entertainer Of Squash. Power shaped to play a backhand, faked the shot then turned to allow the ball to drop to his right-hand side, whereupon he played a forehand drop shot into the front-left nick. Heath, completely bamboozled, could only smile at Power's amazing powers of creativity. Both players came over to our TV commentary position after the match to look at the monitor and see the point replayed from a variety of angles. 

The mood of the play-off was a slight contrast to the brawling encounter between Power and Palmer the previous night!

 


Just watch where this one goes ...


 
FRIDAY

PLACE YOUR BETS
GOOD to see a full house at the Broadgate Arena yesterday and tonight will be another sell-out for the final between Peter and David, a perfect match-up of the world champion and recently crowned British Open champion. Peter, having beaten David once already this week, starts as favourite, and last night's tussle will certainly have left David feeling tired. He was constantly holding his back after the mid-court pinfalls and body-checks and he'll certainly need a good massage before tonight's bout. Peter is looking calm, confident and at last getting the measure of this glass court.

I"M not really into spread betting but it's only a matter of time before somebody tries something in squash. The let-count would be a suitable subject for a punt and I must ask referee Jill Wood for the respective figures in last night's semi-finals. Whereas Power and Palmer bumped, blocked, pushed, shoved, grabbed and wrestled each other to the floor at every opportunity, Nicol and Heath moved effortlessly around each other and played the ball instead of the man. It was classic squash and the match got better and better as Martin recovered after a slow start to push Peter hard in the third and fourth. 

I wonder if Martin will have any energy left for partying tonight. Let's just think that through for a moment ... Friday night? In London? Silly question ...

TAXI ... TAXI
A MINOR  panic set in as my fellow Sky commentator Jonah Barrington was stuck in traffic getting across London before the semi-finals. Paul Johnson was on standby to say a few words of wisdom if Jonah failed to make it on time, but luckily "The Legend'"appeared just in time for the first fight ... sorry, match.

FORTUNATELY, our commentary position was right at the ringside, next to the front left corner of the showcourt, which offered a perfect close-up view of Jonathon's racket-smashing.

WE  were very mindful of the fact that, being so close to the court, we did not want to be heard or cause any distractions. During the first semi-final it was almost impossible to get a word in edgeways, with Jonathon screaming at full volume, but after  the second match, which was played in a much moregentlemanly fashion, Peter Nicol said he could hear Jonah getting a bit excited in the corner! Here's an admission, Peter: I think it might have been me!

 

 

 


Thirsty work, this squash ...

 


Jonah's hired a helicopter for tonight ...


 
THURSDAY

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
Dunlop can't have been too pleased with their star player Jonathon Power of late. At the British Open he failed to make the semis for a second successive year, depriving the brand of exposure. Fortunately this year Sarah Fitz-Gerald carried the flag, sorry racket, in Birmingham, making sure that that famous 'D' was prominently displayed throughout the women's presentation ceremony.

Dunlop supremo Paul Walters still wants one of his men to do the business though, and at the rate that Jonathon Power is demolishing his rackets they'd better do it quickly, before stocks run out.

Power's two-piece racket was on display in the Press room in Birmingham for most of the week - it mysteriously broke just after Power's second round exit.

Sky viewers were treated to a bird's eye view of the demise of another racket tonight. Power scrambled into the front corner in a vain attempt to retrieve one of Palmer's drop shots and ended up in a heap on the floor. In frustration he bashed his racket on the floor, right in front of the camera. He looked at the crumpled bat quizzically for a few seconds and then, presumably remembering his earlier conduct stroke for "unacceptable behaviour", or maybe Dunlop's warning that stocks were running low, a look of sheer horror and surprise came over his face. "How on earth did that happen?" viewers could almost hear him exclaim. 

Sorry Jon, but an awful lot of people know exactly how that racket was broken!

Later on in the match Power went off court after another exchange with the Palmer and/or the marker/referee (there were so many it's hard to recall them all!). This time viewers only heard a crash. The referee certainly feared the worst for yet another racket as she issued a "conduct stroke for racket abuse". Fearing the repercussions, Jon exclaimed on his way back onto court, "It wasn't my racket!".

Which leads us to the obvious question of just what he did go off court to bash ...

   


Hurry hurry - while stocks last !


 
WEDNESDAY

NEW BALLS PLEASE ...
IT started with a yellow dot, then two. Now the players are using all-yellow balls, which again are six per cent bigger than normal. No problems reported yet, only compliments, and we look forward to seeing how they show up on TV tomorrow. At this rate they'll be able to use the spare ones at Wimbledon next week.

SLIDE RULES AT THE READY
While the Fleet group looks fairly cut and dried in terms of qualification (the winner of Palmer v Johnson joins Nicol), anything is still possible in the Harrow Group;

If Power and Parke win then Power will win the group, but the others will all be on one win. If Chaloner and Heath win then three of them will be on two wins. So what's the rules - Tom Maidment explains ...

If two or more players are level on number of matches won, first it goes to a head-to-head between those players. If that still doesn't resolve the matter, it goes down to the most number of games won. If still level, it comes down to the number of games lost. If STILL equal, it goes down to the number of individual points.

If Power beats Chaloner tonight, and Parke beats Heath, they will each have one win. A head to head won't resolve the matter because Chaloner lost to Heath but beat Parke. Parke beat Heath but lost to Chaloner and Heath beat Chaloner but lost to Parke!  It will therefore go down to the number of games won - which thus far is as follows: Heath: Won 3 Lost 4, Chaloner: Won 4 Lost 3, Parke: Won 1 Lost 4.

If Chaloner beats Power and Heath beats Parke, MC, JP and MH will each have two wins and again, it will come down to number of games won because a head to head won't resolve anything!

Confused? All will be revealed tonight! 

KNOCK, KNOCK ...
You know how you feel when you've been on court for 20 minutes and someone knocks on the door ... well it happens to the world's top players as well.

Sunshine bathed the Arena again today as Peter Nicol and Jonathon Power had to battle with club players to get some practice time on the glass showcourt. Peter squeezed in a 20-minute session just before noon, but then had to make way for a Square Mile tournament match, organised by Lambs Club.

Jonathon came on afterwards, dazzling the handful of spectators in the marquee with his racket skills.

All the while a  production crew were wiring up the marquee in preparation for the live TV coverage on Thursday and Friday ...

 


"Personally, I think they've taken these
larger balls a bit too far ..."

 


"So, I just need 32 points to put me ahead of Parky,
but if he beats Martin and scores more than Mark does
then it goes down to .... hey, TOM - HELP !!!!!"


What do you mean, time's up -
it's 13-all in the fifth !


 

TUESDAY

LONG DAY AT THE STUDIO
THURSDAY's TV panel had better get their tonsils well lubricated and prepare for a lengthy stint of talking. The first semi-final is due to be broadcast live on Sky Sports Three at 6pm but the schedule, amended today, shows the programme beginning at 4pm. Mind you, it's normally more of a problem getting Jonah and myself to STOP talking !!

AN EQUITABLE EVENT
ONCE  again tournament promoter Satinder Bajwa, known simply as "Baj" throughout squash, presented all eight players with trophies at the opening day press conference at the luxurious Great Eastern Hotel.

They were warmly welcomed by John Weller, managing director of the event sponsors. He said: "A lot can change in a year. This time last year Peter Nicol was a Scotsman and I was working for Equitable Life. Now Peter is an Englishman and I'm working for Halifax Equitable."

Everyone in squash was delighted to see the company staying loyal to their sponsorship commitments concerning this event, and behind the scenes everyone is working hard to deliver a top-class tournament that will hopefully keep them coming back for more.

This year the advent of live TV coverage on Thursday and Friday on Sky Sports raises the profile of the tournament, and the game in general, up another notch.

LAYDEES AND GENTLEMEN ...
EVENT compere Sue Wright was an instant hit with the audience at the Broadgate Arena. I had the pleasure of working with Sue at the British Open and I know she was looking forward to the gig.

When she interviewed Peter Nicol about his recent form, he said: "I felt like I was on another planet at the Open, but I was much happier on court here."

Peter is looking forward to playing David Palmer tonight, when the world champion faces the British Open champion. It's a must-see match and, with the Arena bathed in sunshine, there can be few nicer sports venues anywhere on the planet.

WILL THE LAST ONE TO LEAVE...
Hmmm ... weird ... Why, asks a squash enthusiast friend of mine, did dozens of the audience all get up and leave the marquee just as Jonathon Power and Simon Parke took to the court? "It was one of the most entertaining matches I have ever seen," said Maidstone member Steve Masters. "I couldn't understand why so many of the crowd were walking out when the guy we all wanted to see was about to play. Power was just brilliant. He's a one-off and you just shake your head and marvel at some of the shots he invents."  Couldn't agree more.

 


Baj speaks ...


And I give you ...


They stayed for a treat ...


 

MONDAY

ONE SPARE SEAT
THERE  will be one empty seat at Friday's finals night. Sports Minister Kate Hoey was given the order of the Blair Boot a few days ago and will not therefore be making a return appearance at the Broadgate Arena. Last year she presented the trophies, gave Parkey a big hug (sweaty shirt and all) and promised to be back in 2001. Clearly she still expected to be in her job...

The new Minister, Richard Caborn, was invited to attend but declined due to a prior engagement. World Champion Peter Nicol was looking forward to introducing himself to Ms Hoey again. He said hello to her at the BBC Sports Personality Awards night at Christmas and said: "Hi, we met at the Broadgate Arena."

Ms Hoey replied: "Yes, I presented the trophy to Peter Nicol,"  then walked off...

COME ON IN
Jonathon Power's performance tonight certainly woke up the crowd.  It was quiet when Peter Nicol opened proceedings earlier on, with many office workers clearly unable to escape their desks with some big-money deals still to be done, but by the time the second match got under way the marquee was three-quarters full. Not only did Power send Parkey heading off in the wrong direction on a number of occasions, he also sent the crowd the wrong way with a display of deception that had them cheering wildly.

Maybe this is the year he sets London alight ...

POWER PLAYS
WORLD  No.1 Jonathon Power confirmed on Sunday evening that he would be playing in this week's Super Series finals in London following an injury scare at the weekend.

Power trained on Sunday on the all-glass court sited in the marquee at the Broadgate Arena and said: "I had a hit and a workout and my arm feels OK. I will definitely play. I am feeling good and looking forward to doing well in London."

Power had strained a ligament in his arm and was forced to pull out of Friday's Test match in Sheffield between England and the Rest Of The World. He faces England's Simon Parke in his first group match on Monday.

Scots-born world champion Peter Nicol, who will be representing England, is bidding for a hat-trick of titles in the eight-man tournament. He faces Kent's Paul Johnson in his first match.

Other first round matches pair Australia's new  British Open champion David Palmer with last year's winner, David Evans of Wales, while Martin Heath (Scotland) faces England's Mark Chaloner, a late replacement for Egypt's Ahmed Barada, whose return to the game failed to materialise.

 


Parkey and Kate ... will they meet again ???


A sparse early crowd

Power upset against Harris lin British Open
Power hoping for better form than in B'ham