On went Mike and as they say in Cricket circles, “did not bother the scorer” not registering a single point in the first game. What a wally; but things improved and despite a broken string he managed to beat the Knight Rider, who shared motor biking stories with our Vesparian; which leads into the joke. What’s the difference between putting your hand down the front of Dolly Parton’s blouse and riding a Vespa? You feel more of a t1t riding a Vespa! Next on was Mark complete with rent a crowd, his son Stephen. This must have spurred him on as he played a superb game that has catapulted him to number one next week. His “never stops talking” opponent Mike Lawrensen, tried tripping and using the frame only but this did not deter Mark who executed the world’s first ever 4 wall boast successfully, followed by several topspin drops. A shot revered by many in the table tennis arena. Next on was Nick who was making a fashion statement with his shorts (actually they look like longs against his fox terrier type legs). The team are not sure what the statement was or is but the scribe has been tasked with finding out. Nic played well and leveled the head to head matches between them to 2 all. Greg, shaking off the flu and a nice wife, kept plonking the ball in the tin and managed to dot all the i’s on the Schickerling, Bowen & Hesselink sponsored court. Last match of the night was a humdinger; primeval, man vs. woman. After Bruce had stopped ogggggling his opponent’s physique whilst loosing the first game, excellent tactical squash took over and the match went to five with an exhibition of retrieving, delicate lobbing, trickle boasting etc. It toed and froed with the well deserved winner Pam coming out on top. Nick commented that she was an orthodox player; what else would you expect from a Greek.
The last three matches have been 16, 14 and 14 and it is hoped that the winning streak can be maintained giving the team a chance of winning the league. On the latest published results from our Chairman John, Edenvale B are the log leaders but this is not a true reflection of the state of play. Edenvale A and ourselves have only been credited with 10 out of 11 matches. If the missing scores are included (Edenvale A got a 14 and we also got a 14) the log standings would be first Edenvale A with 131 points and us third with 124 points only 4 points behind Edenvale B. Having thrashed Edenvale B tonight, making them non title contenders, it could well come down to the last match of the season to decide the champions. It will be at home against the present log leaders Edenvale A who are only 7 points ahead. We want to emulate our 3rd, 5th, 6th and 10th league teams, who are to be congratulated.
Squash Tip of the Week
There are a couple of ways to take the speed off the ball. The accepted method is to hold back on the shot with soft hands but in eighth league the more favoured method is to use the frame. Slightly lower percentage but it comes at the same cost as the strings, so use it.
#1: Bruce vs. Pam Dollenberg, 2-3: 1-9, 9-6, 5-9, 9-7,3-9
#2: Mark vs. Mike Lawrenson, 3-0: 9-2, 9-3, 9-4
#3: Nick vs. Greg Whyte, 3-0: 9-7, 9-3,10-8
#4: Mike vs. Clint (when written in capitals the L runs into the I and can be embarrassing) Nel, 3-1: 0-9, 9-5, 9-7, 9-4
Match score: 14 - 4
