Match 1 - Connaught2 Away
So for our first match, we face the long trek up to Chingford to take on Connaught 2. And we make this trip without our captain fantastic, Dave, who has shunned us to play golf instead. Talk about leading by example! However we have a more than able replacement in the form of Dan Jacobs so confidence is high as we arc round the M25 towards East London. Who let these teams into the ESSEX league anyway?
On arrival we meet up with Colin who has gone straight there from work and is currently sitting in, what he describes as, a creche! Surrounded by kids running around and playing table tennis, "haven't they got any homework to do?" he moans. Why he didn't sit somewhere else then is anyone's guess.
Through to the squash courts we go, and no there's sign of the home team. Just one guy, sitting on a chair waiting. "Do you know who that is" asks Dan. The way he said it I thought it must have been Peter Nicol himself but alas it wasn't. It turns out to be not far off though and although we have a strong replacement at No. 1 in Dan, they have an even better replacement at No. 1 in Jason Friend.
The first matches on are Dan v Jason, and the No. 3's Paul v Mark. Despite his best efforts, Dan reaps little reward out of his encounter with Jason and gets a heavy beating. No shame in that though as Jason has played a very high standard. What must have been disconcerting though is the way Jason came off court and immediately got stuck into a few cans of Red Stripe. Who said fitness and beer don't mix? Meanwhile on the other court, I am struggling to make any impression against Mark who is playing a solid game of squash. Although showing a few glimpses of skill, unfortunately the even fewer bursts of fitness take their toll and I eventually succumb 3-0. "You played some good shots on there, but then some crap shots too" was the wonderful insight of Chris and Colin as I came off court.
Next on are the 2's Chris v Will, and the 4's Colin v Nev. Chris plays some of his best squash for a long time and in a game full of good shots and long rallies, his boast eventually wears Will out and he triumphs 3-0. "That's how it should be done!" he explains as he comes off court. In the meantime on the other court, Colin is involved in a stop start match which probably has more lets and strokes in it than actual points. Nothing new there then. A scrappy affair, but ultimately Colin's talent shines through, not to mention his new found fitness, and he succeeds 3-0.
Therefore, it all comes down to the final rubber. The 5's Marcus v Mike. As they go on court there are murmurings in the crowd that it's just like a throwback to Marcus' glory days, when he used to go on court last with a match finely balanced. The only difference being he used to be playing as the No.1 then! The first two games are shared in a tightly fought affair, but then Marcus ups it and starts to dominate, and displaying glimpses of his former past he takes the next two games to wrap up a 3-1 win. And the team is off to a winning start.
A dubious looking curry is waiting for us afterwards in the 'creche', but thankfully the kids have finally taken Colin's advice and gone home to do their homework. The post match banter is dominated by football talk with the emphasis on whether Beckham should be back in the England team, was Carrick worth £18m, why do those 2 world class argies play so crap at West Ham and would you still do Ulrika Johnson? Upon Colin declaring that he still "has a small interest in Ulrika", it's time for us to leave. A good night and a more than satisfactory result to report back to our absent skipper.
Results:
Dan v Jason 0-3
Chris v Will 3-0
Paul v Mark 0-3
Colin v Nev 3-0
Marcus v Mike 3-1
Clements beat Connaught2 14-7
On arrival we meet up with Colin who has gone straight there from work and is currently sitting in, what he describes as, a creche! Surrounded by kids running around and playing table tennis, "haven't they got any homework to do?" he moans. Why he didn't sit somewhere else then is anyone's guess.
Through to the squash courts we go, and no there's sign of the home team. Just one guy, sitting on a chair waiting. "Do you know who that is" asks Dan. The way he said it I thought it must have been Peter Nicol himself but alas it wasn't. It turns out to be not far off though and although we have a strong replacement at No. 1 in Dan, they have an even better replacement at No. 1 in Jason Friend.
The first matches on are Dan v Jason, and the No. 3's Paul v Mark. Despite his best efforts, Dan reaps little reward out of his encounter with Jason and gets a heavy beating. No shame in that though as Jason has played a very high standard. What must have been disconcerting though is the way Jason came off court and immediately got stuck into a few cans of Red Stripe. Who said fitness and beer don't mix? Meanwhile on the other court, I am struggling to make any impression against Mark who is playing a solid game of squash. Although showing a few glimpses of skill, unfortunately the even fewer bursts of fitness take their toll and I eventually succumb 3-0. "You played some good shots on there, but then some crap shots too" was the wonderful insight of Chris and Colin as I came off court.
Next on are the 2's Chris v Will, and the 4's Colin v Nev. Chris plays some of his best squash for a long time and in a game full of good shots and long rallies, his boast eventually wears Will out and he triumphs 3-0. "That's how it should be done!" he explains as he comes off court. In the meantime on the other court, Colin is involved in a stop start match which probably has more lets and strokes in it than actual points. Nothing new there then. A scrappy affair, but ultimately Colin's talent shines through, not to mention his new found fitness, and he succeeds 3-0.
Therefore, it all comes down to the final rubber. The 5's Marcus v Mike. As they go on court there are murmurings in the crowd that it's just like a throwback to Marcus' glory days, when he used to go on court last with a match finely balanced. The only difference being he used to be playing as the No.1 then! The first two games are shared in a tightly fought affair, but then Marcus ups it and starts to dominate, and displaying glimpses of his former past he takes the next two games to wrap up a 3-1 win. And the team is off to a winning start.
A dubious looking curry is waiting for us afterwards in the 'creche', but thankfully the kids have finally taken Colin's advice and gone home to do their homework. The post match banter is dominated by football talk with the emphasis on whether Beckham should be back in the England team, was Carrick worth £18m, why do those 2 world class argies play so crap at West Ham and would you still do Ulrika Johnson? Upon Colin declaring that he still "has a small interest in Ulrika", it's time for us to leave. A good night and a more than satisfactory result to report back to our absent skipper.
Results:
Dan v Jason 0-3
Chris v Will 3-0
Paul v Mark 0-3
Colin v Nev 3-0
Marcus v Mike 3-1
Clements beat Connaught2 14-7
posted by Hodgey at 11:30 AM
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