I had nightmares the night before the game of how we lost the match and tumbled in despair to the closest contenders to OUR throne and not only that, but then fell behind in points to the third place arch rivals – The Randburg Ringers!!! “The Nightmare on the corner of Orange & Troon Street” was a movie of the mind and fortunately never made it to production but was substituted with an absolute blockbuster of a flick called “The Chamber of Thrones” starring Herkie as the judicial romantic Afrikaner lead, Dr. Paul as the cool and calm calculating academic, Lyal as the mad professor aka Dr. Brains meets Dr. Brawn and finally Brennan, the tech savvy, heart stealing bit of eye candy for the feint-hearted. I refer to them as the “ABC” team – Absolute Bloody Champions.
When I got to the courts, there was Brennan warming up against a kid. Nick is a really young kid, a pint-sized chap who had his father in tow giving support and advice. I witnessed what must have been a very difficult game for Brennan to play. How do you measure out sufficient aggression against an opponent who was old enough to be Brennan’s own child? I saw the dilemma in Brennan’s game play as he tried desperately to not be the big bully and even popped some shots up for Nick to get to and I watched with great admiration as Brennan tried not to accidentally run over his opponent in getting around the court. Hats off to Parkview in fielding this young player (of great potential) because they were low on team members but more especially to Brennan who showed a fathers maturity in playing this young lad and treating him with respect. In the end it was a walk in the park for Bren who won and set us on the right track. (3-0)
In between games I had to take my own son back home. When I returned I had already missed the first game of Lyal against Herman where, I believe, there was an epic battle for dominance. Lyal had taken the first 17-15 and now he was 6-13 down in the second and then the tremendous fight back ensued. Clawing his way back with a calm but determined resolve was a sight to behold. He showed great maturity and composure as match points came and went and in the back of your mind you knew that winning this game could swing the match. Herman seemed hell bent on hitting the ball harder than Lyal and this led to a number of errors and to a large extent kept the ball alive. Finally Lyal stuck to his task and took the second 21-19 and this seemingly also broke Herman’s spirit and made the third and final game look like yet another walk in the park. A good solid performance and win by Lyal. (3-0)
The feeling I got from Paul as the match against Sherwyn unfolded was a sense of what-do-I-do-now? Sherwyn had a wrist that was as agile as an overworked red-light-district special in Amsterdam. He could retrieve shots that looked like winners, his wrist action was so fluid you could not tell where he was going to place the ball, his movement around the court was good and he was reading Paul’s every move. Paul loses the first and truth be told, I was worried. Words with Paul at the break amounted to being a bit more decisive with shot play, to keep his opponent moving and eliminating the unforced errors. Paul manages to deliver in the second and this, once again, proves to be a critical game as a more determined and analytical look returns to Paul’s eye and he manages to drive home his determination and takes it at 20-18. The third game sees Paul finding the chinks in the chainmail armour and fatigue starts having an effect on Sherwyn’s shots. Mistakes start creeping in and slowly the tables are turned and Paul is more decisive and clinical. The fourth sees Sherwyn lose the fight completely and almost all of Paul’s short balls are left unchallenged by Sherwyn and it is like Paul is playing a completely different opponent. Paul cleans up – the match of the night. (3-1)
Herkie was so looking forward to playing the undisputed and unchallenged 7th League champion from Parkview who has lost nothing. When I say nothing, I mean not a match nor a game. Unfortunately Rob was not available but Jason came in his stead at No.1 and unfortunately for him, Herkie was on song! His focus was right, his serve was clean, his shot selection was good, true and tight, his fetching was unsettling and his drops from just about any position on the court were out of this world – a power bestowed upon him from his reign on a far distant other planet. He was just awesome – like superman returns to the squash courts. Jason also suffered a slight pull of the hammie which did not help his cause and Herculean Herkie wraps it up in 3 quick and concise games and again I am in heaven! (3-0)
I might have to apologize for my vocal exuberance and shouting a little too loudly on the night but a 4-0 win against our heel nippers is something any passionate cappie would shout about – even a crappie cappie with vocal training! My dream remained something stuck in the ether somewhere and the only thing that is going to keep me awake at night now - is how we keep this momentum for the second round???
“We remain the log leaders!”
“When in front of the race, don’t look behind to see who might be catching you – keep your focus on placing of one foot in front of the other and get to the finish line in your fastest time possible.
When you cross the line – then you can look around and see how you placed.” Gary (ear-ear)
The call from Dave to support “The Bones” pub at Pirates was a nice diversion from the all too accustomed Doppio’s where we still haven’t been able to secure a member discount for unwavering and loyal custom.
No: 1 – Herkie vs. Jason (3-0) 15-11 / 15-12 / 15-12
No: 2 – Paul vs. Sherwyn (3-1) 9-15 / 20-18 / 15-10 / 15-3
No: 3 – Lyal vs. Herman (3-0) 17-15 / 21-19 / 15-5
No: 4 - Brennan vs. Nick (3-0) 15-5 / 15-5 / 15-4
“Ear-Ear”
Gary
Overall result: Won 13 - 4
