Ron fought hard to share the first two games but faded away badly in the final two games (1-3).
In the match up of the two number ones, Tony from Old Eds saw his grey haired opponent (John) and promptly put on a long sleeved shirt, scared that he might catch a chill. How wrong he proved to be in the first two games as he did well to scrape 4 points together. Unfortunately John went walkabout for the next two games and gifted them to his opponent (including a humiliating game to love). One severe reprimand later and a determined John reversed the downward trend and took the final game quite comfortably (3-2). (In an early contender for the COTY award, John tries not one, but two shots through his legs in the same point and misses them both and then has the temerity to ask for a let!)
On next, Richard, against old codger, Jeremy. There was only one player in it in the first game and it wasn’t Jeremy. As I am wont to do, every second shot seemed to find the tin and the second game was lost. In a war of attrition and countless hands in and out, I eventually managed squeeze the next two games for a 3-1 win.
With the games 7-6 in our favour going into the final match any result was possible. No pressure on Gavin as he turned on the class in the battle of the big hitters taking the first two games in some style. With a match point in the third game, Gav looked to wrap it all up smartly but his opponent had other ideas and the game was eventually lost 9-10. A demoralised Gavin was hammered in the fourth. With the pressure now really on and, for the second week in a row, the result of the match overall hung on the outcome of the final game. A quick sum and the answer was clear – Gavin needed four points to secure a win. Now what does one does his team do in this situation?
- Not tell Gavin anything in case it puts too much pressure on him or;
- Tell Gavin he needs four points or;
- Tell Gavin he needs five points
Final result 11-9. (Ron tried his best to explain that he knew that his one game was all he needed to get but the rest of us were believing none of it).
With the time at almost 23:00, dinner was out of the question and everyone headed their separate ways.
PS. Squash lesson no 153 – never trust your team when they tell you how many points you need to win in the final game. Just make sure you win the game.
Match result : 11-9
