Here's Joe's match report.
I'm happy to print it as it gives me a chance to republish this photo of The Warriors' dragarse Mike Atkinson who seems to be unsuccessfully resorting to violence again.
Btw, is anyone else troubled by Joe writing about himself in the 3rd person?
Who does he think he is; Mike Tyson?
After the prior match result with a reduced number of team members, the Warriors lost their top spot in the table by a small margin. However, reviewing the overall table boosted team morale when it showed they had a match in hand. If only a full team could travel to the distant town of Newbury for this week’s match against Nuffield Health and come away victorious, surely the top of the table could be regained and held for the remainder of the season.....
Match 1: Jez Harrop v James Storey
Having played his first team squash match of the summer just two weeks prior, Jez couldn’t wait to get on court again. Playing at the number two position this week, he had a tall order to fill. First game was very close to start, but then Jez pulled away for a 9-5 win. In the second, Jez seemed to have a good hold on the game by working out a lead to 7-3, but then James was able to collect himself and pull back to win at 9-7. For the third game and fourth games, it seemed that Jez had lost his squash legs as James was able to command the T and win out the match with scores of 9-2 and 9-4. First match to Nuffield.
Match 2: David Tecke v Rob Weighill
It had been well over a month since David’s last appearance for the team, but as a dedicated team member he had not only committed to travel for the match but was the team chauffeur! Showing on court that he was in top form, David easily won the first two games with scores of 9-2 and 9-3. However, he then took his eye off the prize and found himself down 7-2 in the third game. Finally flagging down the proverbial taxi to bring him back on court from la-la land, he took charge and stormed back for a 9-7 win. Second match to Beaconsfield.
Match 3: Andy Wright v Chris Sparks
Another first-timer team appearance recorded for the Warriors during this summer league, Andy was interested to see what this whole team-squash thing was about. Showing no signs of nervousness, Andy promptly made it known he was taking no prisoners with an authoritative win at 9-4 in the first game. The second game went much as the first, with Andy operating on a different level to his opponent and winning again at 9-4. However, Chris was not to be muscled off home court without some level of respect and brought Andy back to earth by winning a very close third game on a score of 9-8. Mentally shaken, Andy continued digging a hole to bury himself in as Chris built a 6-0 lead in the fourth game. But, showing confidence and mental toughness, Andy was able to climb out of his hole with a comeback 9-7 win, taking the match for Beaconsfield. Two matches against one, Beaconsfield in the lead.
Match 4: Joe Budzynski v Simon Bottomley
Knowing a match win would seal the overall team victory for the Warriors, Joe concentrated on doing just that. A slow opening saw the players trade serve multiple times up to 3-3, but then Joe was able to pull away for a 9-6 win. Similar to the first, the second game had several changes of serve with few points available for the taking. A couple strings of points put together by Joe ended up being the difference as he won 9-7. Third game now and Joe seemed to be showing some unusual signs of fatigue, which Simon took advantage of to build a very healthy 8-3 lead. But, Joe then caught a second wind as he worked the scores back to 8-8. Two points later and the match was his....fourth match to Beaconsfield, and the overall team victory in hand.
Match 5: Mike Atkinson v Jamie Crawford
Having gone on court while Joe’s match was still in progress, Mike was looking forward to a tough contest as he had won a very tight match during the Nuffield visit to Beaconsfield earlier in the season. Unfortunately, his opponent did not seem keen on making it close at all as he earned a commanding lead by winning the first two games on scores of 9-5 and 9-6. Down two games, Mike had read of John Bullard’s tactics in the last match at Bracknell and decided that might work for him as well....an injury timeout was the result as Mike caught Jamie on the forehead with his racquet. Feeling no sympathy for his opponent, Mike then finished the game off by winning 9-6. In the fourth, Mike relied on his fitness and some crafty shotmaking to fully reverse the trend of the first two games and draw even with a score of 9-1. Fifth and final game, with both players tired and feeling the pressure. Some ill-advised boast attempts by Mike resulted in amplified confidence for Jamie, which he used to dictate a final score of 9-3. Fifth and last match to Nuffield.
Final Match Score
Beaconsfield Warriors: 12 Games, 3 Matches won
Nuffield: 7 Games, 2 Matches won
Overall winner: Beaconsfield Warriors
Scores, fixtures, and table can be found on the club notice board and at:
Here's the latest in a slew of positive reviews for 'In Cassidy's Care', the latest release from my musical folly, Miracle Mile.
The latest outing from perfect-pop purveyors Miracle Mile is actually a concept album. Fortunately the dragon, starship, wizard and damsel count is zero, as the narrative arc charts a relationship from beginning to end and beyond. It's not an original idea but it's brilliantly executed. Miracle Mile have been masters of intelligent, thoughtful, literate pop for many years and this is no different.
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