Duffield survive Nightmare week
Brian Hargrave reports

The past seven days has been a nightmare for the Duffield manager as first one player and then another succumbed to injury or illness to add to the long term injury of Nick Matthew.  Stewart Boswell (back injury), Alex Stait (cyst on lower back), Nick Taylor (flu), Paul Hargrave (whiplash injury), Kevin White (flu) and Laura Hill (rib injury) plus Shaun Le Roux unavailable (never received email like many other due to general problems with BT server). The Duffield manager scoured the country to find an eligible player to complete the line up and the search for was ended when 19 year old Rudi Willemse who hails from Cape Town, South Africa answered the call. Willemse reached the semi final of the British Junior Open before joining the senior PSA tour and is highly rated.

Tania Bailey, now recovered from her adductor injury, and Laurence Delasaux both returned for their first PSL outings in 2008. Pontefract reported similar problems with James Willstrop too weary after a succession of six events, Lee Beachill had not recovered from blisters whilst Vanessa Atkinson was taking a break with James.

The anticipated appearance of so many top world players had all collapsed and the Duffield manager feared that the evening might all go pear-shaped as regards competitive squash. How wrong can you get? Four games played on the show court and two crackers provided supporters with some great entertainment. 

Winning return for Delasaux
as he turns on the calypso style
Laurence Delasaux   beat   Colin Ramasra   9-6, 9-4, 9-2

It was Delasaux's first PSL appearance in 2008 and he made short work as he comprehensively beat the brave Trinidad & Tobago No 1 in just 16 minutes. Ramasra has improved since he appeared at Duffield in March 2007 but Delasaux was focussed from the first point racing into a 6-3 lead before easing home 9-6. Delasaux was given too much time and was able to dominate the T using his racket skills to great effect as he comfortably took the next two games 9-4 9-2.

Bailey digs deep in close encounter
Tania Bailey   beat  Lauren Siddall     9-7, 7-9, 4-9, 9-2, 9-6

Bailey has had a trying time in 2008 with injuries which have restricted her time on court with the result that she has had few competitive matches. She turned up expecting to be playing Vanessa Atkinson only to discover that she was playing the promising Lauren Siddall of Pontefract calendar girls fame. Bailey was made to work hard for every point as Siddall matched her shot for shot. Seven places separate the two players in the England rankings but a determined Siddall clearly felt she could take advantage of her opponent being a little ring rusty. Bailey edged the first 9-7 but Siddall was moving well and raced to a 7-3 lead in the second before Bailey clawed the scores level only for Siddall to squeeze the final two points to level the match. Bailey was struggling in the third and Siddall sensed that an upset was on the cards as she grew in confidence to take the game 9-4 with some impressive squash.

Bailey is a great fighter and she dug really deep to regain the initiative. Now back in her usual stride, her improved movement and timing saw the England No 1 start to dominate the T and make her opponent do most of the running as the world No 5 took the fourth 9-4. The nip and tuck fifth could have gone either way but Bailey’s experience saw her home 9-6. Bailey was relieved and delighted to have had such a tough work out whilst the rapidly improving Siddall knows how close she came to puling of a big upset. The tough workout was just what the England No 1 needed and hopefully this will be the start of an injury-free run.

Billson the entertainer turns on the style
Pete Billson beat  Sam Wileman    9-11, 9-5, 9-6, 9-2 

Pete Billson has endeared himself to the Duffield supporters in his first season with a somewhat laid back unorthodox approach to the game which produces shots not to be found in the coaching text book. Billson raced to a 6-3 lead in the first game but Wileman clawed his way back levelling at 8 all saving two game balls before edging home 11-9. The rallies were short and sweet as both players went for winners. Billson responded well by taking the next two games 9-5 9-6 seemingly just having the edge as he flicked winning shots from all angles with lots of twists and turns and lobs thrown into the mix. Billson had broken Wileman’s resistance and easily took the fourth game 9-2 to secure his team‘s 9th group victory.

Youth beats experience 
Rudi Willemse eat Alan Norrish 9-4 9-3 9-5 

Unknown pre-match problems with outgoing emails had contributed to team selection problems and with Shaun le Roux committed to North West Counties his friend Rudi Willemse offered to fill the no 4 slot when veteran Kevin White succumbed to flu. The rubber was switched to the glass back court and it was youth versus experience as 40 year old Alan Norrish proved that an age gap of 21 years is just too much. Nevertheless both players treated the spectators to an entertaining and at times amusing contest. 

Willemse had to work hard for each point as the wily Morrish was moving well and testing his younger opponent with plenty of lobs. The tall South African responded in style using his reach to great effect showing a nice array of shots. The scoreline of 9-4  9-3 9-5 was a fair reflection of the match. The talented Willemse is clearly a player to watch as he embarks on the PSA tour whilst Norrish knows that his engine is still running well (with a little bit of help from his friend Felix of Benz- Bavarian) but must settle for winning just a few more Ponte club championships.

Whippy put the icing on the cake with an awesome display
Andy Whipp  beat   Suarav Ghosal  3-9, 10-8, 9-3, 7-9, 9-2  

Over the past 15 years the Duffield supporters have been treated to some great games but I put this one in the top 10 as both players treated supporters to some sensational attacking squash played at great speed with quality long rallies and unbelievable retrievals by both players as the balls clung to the side walls and balls were picked up which had winner written all over them.

Ghosal had the better of the first game despite Whippy’s best endeavours. The India No 1 ranked 51 in the world has been playing to a top 15 world standard over the past three months and the part timer from Manchester found that his opponent’s court coverage was even better than his own. Ghosal took the first 9-5 and I had the benefit of sitting next to world class referee and MRC John Massarella whom predicted 3-0 when Whippy found himself 8-5 down in the second. An awesome period turned the game on its head as Whippy reeled off 5 straight winners to take the game 10-8. Ghosal was shell shocked whilst Whippy was on a roll and he continued in the same vein in the third which he won in style 9-2.

The outcome of fourth game was decided by four crucial refereeing decisions. The biased Duffield supporters felt Whippy had been hard done by but the learned judge thought it went 2-1 in Ghosal's favour, enough to see him home 9-7 with the conclusion Whippy had put up a brave effort. How wrong can you be as Whippy was really fired up, responding to a noisy home crown that drowned the encouragement from the sole Ponte supporter. Whippy was on a roll and there was no stopping him as he took the fifth game 9-2 to wild acclaim from the spectators. In true show business style Whippy came straight back on court for an encore and an out of breath interview.

Whippy took over the job of match reporter in the manager’s absence in round 9 and I wonder how he would have reported his efforts this week ...

The absent Malcolm Willstrop would have been pleased with his team’s fighting display whilst Duffield look forward to taking on Chichester at home in the first semi final leg on Tuesday 8 April with the away leg on Thursday 10 April.