March Week 1
The Mens Division 1 league this week saw an almighty tussle between the mid-table teams of Wantage and Saint Mary’s, who were both trying to relive past glories. The visiting Saints team had a few notable absences but this didn’t stop them taking the match to Wantage. Right from the start the Saints took the lead and from then on they never let go, despite a valiant effort from the Wantage pairing of James Berkeley and John Harrow. Pat Braithwaite and Garth Jones were in dominant form as they brushed aside all 3 of the opponents’ pairs and laid the foundations for a good away performance by putting the Saints into an unassailable lead. This was unfortunate for Wantage who made a late surge and went home thinking what could have been as the final score finished 5-4.
In Mens Division 3 another tense 5-4 match took place, but this time it was the home team of Aldermaston who came out on top. With four out of the five games setting to three Newbury B can count themselves unlucky not to come away with the win, especially with David Adams and Scott Haddon playing so well. Instead the points went to Aldermaston who largely have the pairing of Coapes and Macdonald to thank.
In Mixed Division 1 League, Saint Mary’s A continued their pressure on the leaders with a storming 9-0 win over Aldermaston. Revenge was in the air for the Saints as they bludgeoned the team who ended their Blackford Cup ambitions. Pat Braithwaite and Janny Fisher were the pick of the bunch, as they waltzed through their games at a canter.
Elsewhere, in Mixed Division, Newbury B welcomed the visit of Downlands, but duly wished they hadn’t as they were thrashed 9-0. Keith Pardon and Hannah Townie picked up their usual 3 points, and they were backed up by the guile of Ananya Jeshtadi and Maryanne Stephens. Hilary Wilton and Simon Currie tried their best to resist, but could do nothing to stop the Downlands onslaught.
March Week 3
In Men's Division 1, few teams have emerged this
season from St Mary's courts with much reward for their effort and so it
proved for Cannons 'A' when they played the Saints' top team. Despite
Coombs and Cosa's valiant efforts, Cannons were soundly beaten
9-0.
Kennet 'B' visited Hurst in the Men's Division 2 clash
that was predominantly decided by the foundations laid down by captain
Mark Payne and partner Alex Wigmore. Fox and River provided some comfort
for the visitors but Hurst triumphed 6-3 on the night.
St
Mary's 'B' raided Shaw 'C' in Men's Division 3 stealing all but one of the
points on offer. A convincing display by the Saints' super juniors,
Parsons and Neville, meant the Shaw team were always facing an uphill
struggle.
Three more promising juniors were called up for the
same two teams in their Mixed Division 2 match. Shaw's Victoria Stone and
the Saints' Rebecca Meagrow and Oliver Nicholls all played some great
badminton but it was left to Francis Rayson and newcomer Matt Benion, in
his first game for the Saints, to grasp the crucial last match of the
evening to take home the spoils for St Mary's by 5 rubbers to
4.
Pundits would not have been surprised with the results
from Mixed Division 3 this week. Struggling Downlands 'B' went down 2-7 to
the Bucklebury Farmers team - the only glimmer of hope being the two games
taken from the appropriately named Cross and Madder which prevented the
sought-after whitewash.
Kennet 'B' hosted Whitchurch and although
Mallard and Prior won all three of their rubbers for the visitors,
Kennet were too strong for the other two pairs, resulting in a 6-3
victory for the home team.
Blackford Cup is a Shaw Thing! (Says Handicappers !!)
The Blackford Cup, the Newbury and District Leagues premier team competition, was settled this week with Aldermaston and Shaw battling out to take the title. The first leg was held at Aldermaston and proved to be a very tight contest, with only a few points separating the sides at the end. Being a handicap competition, Shaw started each game on –5, 10 points behind Aldermaston who started on +5.
In the singles matches Shaw set to the task at hand quickly and got off to a good start. Lucy Burton won both her singles games against Hannah Ward 21-14, 21-15 and Bod Norman followed suit with a 21-15, 21-16 win against Michael Ling to put Shaw into an early lead. However Chris Apsey and Julie Ward took this all in their stride and produced some fine badminton to cut the lead down to only 12 points.
Then came the level doubles matches, which again saw Shaw produce a solid performance, and helped push the lead between the two teams to 38 points. Bod Norman and Mike Pembroke gave a powerful display against the Aldermaston pairing of Michael Ling and Stephen Gaunt, and so too did Clare Beavis and Lucy Burton who ran out comfortable winners in the second end of their match, winning 21-17, 21-12.
However from this point on Aldermaston rallied and preceded to claw back Shaw’s lead, wining 6 out of the last 10 games, with Chris and Helen Apsey both playing vital roles for the home side. Shaw went into the last rubber with a +30 advantage, but some clever touches by Helen Apsey and deception by Stephen Gaunt, brushed aside the efforts of Karen Harrison and Tony Walker and recorded a healthy 21-9, 21-10 win for Aldermaston which cut Shaw’s lead down to only 7 points overall, leaving the tie evenly poised with the Second leg to be played in three days time at Shaw.
With three days to recover and reflect the teams re-emerged with both sides making one change in their line ups. Rhian Jenkins started instead of Hannah Ward for Aldermaston and Rebecca Chivers took the place of Karen Harrison for Shaw. The Second leg got off to a similar start to the first with Bod Norman in cruise control as he notched an impressive 21-15, 21-9 win. Lucy Burton had a bit more trouble on her hands this time round as she took on Rhian Jenkins, who played some fantastic shots, and battled well against a much more experienced player to go down 21-19, 21-17. This put Shaw into a 24-point lead on the night.
Next up came the doubles and the first match up saw a determined and gutsy display from Rebecca Chivers and Tony Walker, who having not played with each other for over a year, came out with a game a piece against Julie ward and Chris Apsey. Clare Beavis and Lucy Burton remained focused in a see-saw match between Helen Apsey and Rhian Jenkins, with the Shaw pair coming away with a 21-19, 21-15 result.
In the first men’s doubles, Mike Pembroke and Andy Norman got off to a shaky start but then moved onto another level and took their opponents apart in the second game winning 21-16, 21-9, to give Shaw a commanding 65 point lead. In the second lot of doubles matches, the Aldermaston pairing of Helen Apsey and Julie Ward were on song, as they ran out comfortable winners 21-12, 21-8, however Shaw hit back in the Men’s doubles as Tony Walker and Mike Pembroke bullied their way to a 21-12, 21-14 victory to widen the overall points gap.
With 3 matches to play Shaw held a 39-point advantage on the night and only a flurry of heavy victories by Aldermaston could see them close the gap and win the cup. Michael Ling and Rhian Jenkins threw everything but the kitchen sink at Bod Norman and Lucy Burton, but they could not find a way through the Shaw pairs defences, and as a result went down 21-12, 21-14 to the reigning Robin Deasley Champions. A closer match was fought when Stephen Gaunt and Helen Apsey took on Rebecca Chivers and Tony Walker, with both pairs winning a game each.
The final mixed match was begun before the penultimate game was finished so the pairs did not know the overall scores standings, but all the Shaw pairing of Clare Beavis and Mike Pembroke had to do was make sure they didn’t lose heavily. The Shaw pair lost the first end to Chris Apsey and Julie Ward 21-15, but moved into another gear in the second end. With the score at 20-20 it was apt that the winning shot should come from the racquet of Shaw’s most consistent and reliable performer over the last few years, as Clare Beavis smashed the shuttle to take the game 21-20, and start the victory celebrations for Shaw.
The overall final score was a 55 point win for Shaw over the two legs, which meant that with 40 games being played between the two teams the winning margin was only just over 1 point per game, which shows what a fine job the handicap committee did at the start of the season and what a close and tight affair the final was. One of the highlights of the final was the spirit the game was played in, as both sides played in a competitive but friendly and fair manner, and many spectators said how good it was to see the game played in such a sporting way.
Both sides could come away from the fixture with some positive points. Aldermaston can be sure that their future is a bright one with young stars such as Hannah Ward and Rhian Jenkins coming through, who if they continue to play, will go on to be fantastic players. Couple this with the knowledge and experience in the team; they should be a force for years to come.
For Shaw, the bright note was that as a team they had battled through more games and more point deficits than any other team to take the cup, and for this they should be proud. Not only do they have strength in depth but they also have a great team spirit and togetherness that other teams would be hard pressed to match. However they must be aware and prepared, and I’m sure they are, that next year will see them have an even harsher handicap as they look to defend their title.
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