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October |  |
October Week 2
This week’s action in the Newbury and District Badminton leagues saw a couple of tremendous battles in the Ladies’ leagues. Firstly, in the Ladies 4 format, Bucklebury entertained Downlands at Elstree School. The first rubber set the tone for the evening, with a great 3-set tussle eventually being won by visitors Townley and Stephens as they took the decider 18-21. The home team then fought back in the next rubber as Neville and Penn won the deciding set 21-15. Rubbers 3 and 4 were then shared before Harris and Penn nudged Bucklebury into a 3-2 lead by taking another 3-setter (20-22, 21-14, 21-13). The visitors had saved their best until last though, as Stephens and Carlick powered to victory in the sixth and final rubber, as the match ended a 3-3 draw.
Bucklebury were involved again as they visited St Mary’s in the Ladies’ 6 division. The two clubs share the same home venue though, so it was hardly a great advantage for The Saints. The hosts pushed into an early 2-1 lead, only to see Bucklebury take the next two rubbers to edge into a 2-3 lead, as Drysdale and Chandler held their nerve to defeat Norman and Rayson 24-22, 23-21. This was particularly impressive as Teresa Chandler was playing in her first match for the Bucks. This turned out to be the high point of the evening for Bucklebury though, as St Mary’s won the next 3 rubbers to claim the win, with Farmer and Wilkinson clinching the victory by winning 21-16 in the third set against Drysdale and Chandler. Hutchins and Penn won the final rubber for Bucklebury, giving a final score of 5-4 to St Mary’s.
In Mixed Division 1, newly promoted Kennet faced a tough visit to Shaw A, and the hosts were in no mood for sympathy, as they stormed to a 9-0 triumph. The visitors battled hard, but were never able to win the crucial points. Cate Poore and Tony Walker were in particularly fine form, as they finished the evening without dropping a set.
In Division 1of the Men’s league, Shaw A took their 100% record to Downlands. Norman and Penfold put down a marker in the very first set of the match with crushing 21-3 win over Downlands’ top pair. The second set was closer at 21-15, but the pattern was set. The reunited Walker brothers then took the second rubber for Shaw with similar ease, before White and Schofield eased them to a 3-0 lead. The reigning champions eventually ran out as 8-1 winners.
In Division 2, Kennet’s B team visited Kintbury. The hosts made a fine start, as Digweed and Verrall won the first rubber, but a crucial second rubber went to the visitors, as Rivers and Fox won the third set 21-16, thus allowing Bilton and Taylor to give Kennet the lead by winning rubber 3. The hosts needed to win rubber 4, and things looked promising as Shaw and Wheatley won the first set 21-16, but Kennet’s Knight and Gore were not to be beaten as they fought back to win the next 2 sets 21-14, 21-13. Kennet now had a 3-1 lead, and were always ahead from then on, running out 6-3 winners, which was tough on Digweed and Verrall, who won all three of their rubbers.
October Week 4
Cannons’ top team gained their first victory of the season in Division 1 of the Mixed leagues with a hard fought 7-2 victory at Aldermaston. The very first rubber of the evening saw a titanic battle, as Kim Rhodes and Paul Rabbett won for the visitors 21-19, 20-22, 22-20. The second rubber was another tight one, and again it was the Cannons pair that prevailed, this time taking the final set 21-13. Aldermaston pulled one back in the next, thanks to the stalwart Apsey and Fleming pairing, only for Rhodes and Rabbett to take Cannons two clear again after another 3-setter, beating Hannah Ward and Stephen Gaunt 10-21, 21-17, 21-16. Sacha Emery and Claire Struthers-Semple then made the score 4-1 to the visitors, beating Apsey and Fleming in rubber 5, allowing Sally Hill and Nigel Coombs to clinch victory in rubber 6.
In Division 2, Newbury B and Shaw C had a tight battle, with Sally Norman and Keith Watts putting in a superb effort for Shaw as they claimed all 3 rubbers. It wasn’t to be enough though, as the greater strength in depth of the home team allowed them to sneak home by 5 rubbers to 4, with Jo Russ and Simon Currie leading the way, well supported by Nadya Bentley and David Reynolds.
In the Ladies-4 league, Shaw had a topsy-turvy time. First they visited Cannons, and ended up on the wrong side of a 6-0 score-line, though that was hardly a fair representation of the match as all rubbers were hard fought, including a 17-21, 23-21, 21-19 victory for Sally Hill and Kim Rhodes over Cate Poore and Rebecca Chivers. A few days later Shaw were on the road again, this time visiting St Mary’s, and romping away to a 6-0 victory. Boosted by the addition of Lucy Burton and Karen Harrison to the team, Shaw took control early on with easy victories in the first two rubbers, and when Harrison and Rebecca Chivers overcame Andrea Farmer and Pam Norman in the third rubber (23-21, 21-10), the Saints had no way back.
In the Men’s top-flight, St Mary’s hosted newly promoted Wantage, and could only field two pairs. In the first rubber, Wantage’s Adrian Brown and James Barclay crept past Mark Ferguson and Tony Glinos to put the visitors, in effect, 4-0 in the lead and it looked grim for St Mary’s. Gareth Jones and Pete Braithwaite hadn’t given up hope though, as they beat Jones and Pratchett 21-12, 21-12. This victory gave Ferguson and Glinos renewed heart to win their next rubber, and when Jones and Braithwaite beat Brown and Barclay 21-14, 21-17, the score was 4 - 3. The Saints won the next too, to level the scores, and the come back of the season was complete as Jones and Braithwaite overcame Clive Beasley and John Harrow 21-17, 21-17 to clinch an amazing 5-4 victory.
In the same division, Cannons A visited Shaw B, with the spoils being shared in the first two rubbers, with Nigel Coombs and Pedro Costa taking rubber 1 for the visitors (21-13, 21-6), and then Trevor Poore and Keith Watts replying for Shaw with a 21-13, 21-19 victory. That was the high-point for the hosts though, as Cannons raced through the rest of the match without dropping another set, to cruise to an 8-1 victory. Shaw B are still looking for their first win of the season.
In division 2, Bucklebury welcomed Kennet B. A fine tussle ensued, with Kennet’s Paul Knight and Andrew Earl putting in an excellent performance to claim all three of their rubbers. Crucial amongst these was a 17-21, 21-16, 21-14 victory over Bucklebury’s best pairing of Witcomb and Holloway, to lead Kennet to victory by 6 rubbers to 3.
This page was last updated: December, 2007
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