Cambs Squash

GREAT EFFORT FROM CAMBS BOYS SQUAD IN U19 NATIONAL FINALS

England Squash held the finals of the U19 Inter County Competition over the weekend of 15-16 March at the National Squash Centre -Manchester. Cambridgeshire had earned their way to the final with a very young squad who have two further years within this age group. A fantastic achievement for Cambridgeshire to be one of the top four teams in the country, especially at such a young age

They started with the toughest draw against Yorkshire. First on court was No 3 string, Robert Dadds, who had the opening match, always a tough ask. A nervy start was made but Dadds settled well in the 3rd and played well but couldn’t hold the strong opposition, losing 0-3.

No 1 string, Sammy Chambers, took his first two games 10-8 and 9-5 but his fitness was lacking due to recent injuries and let the pace slip allowing his opponent to get into the game. An ugly game followed with opponent, Andrew Widdison, resorting to unsporting gamesmanship which Chambers was too inexperienced to deal with. Chambers finally lost the match 2-3.

Meanwhile No 5 string, Ahmed El Refee, was having a really close match with Yorkshire’s, James Earles. El Refee narrowly lost the first 8-10, lost a close 2nd but managed to win the 3rd 9-7. A few too many errors saw him lose the match 1-3.

No 4 string, Peter Dickinson, like Chambers, had an unpleasant match with his opponent being warned several times by the referee. Dickinson won the first two games and was finally awarded the match by the referee as his opponent’s behaviour was unacceptable.

Last on court was Daniel McGinn, No 2 string. McGinn struggled in the first game losing 0-9 but came back on for the 2nd more determined winning it 9-6. A great match followed with McGinn finally losing 1-3. Cambridgeshire lost to Yorkshire 1-4 but put up a good fight with several games having been won.

The 2nd day Cambridgeshire had to play Hertfordshire and were quietly confident. Robert Dadds, had a great match against Phillip Waller finally losing in the 5th. Ahmed El Refee and Peter Dickinson both had comfortable 3-0 wins.

Unfortunately No 1 string, Sammy Chambers, had to concede his match with injury which put pressure on the side. The match at 2-2 gave Daniel McGinn the task to win the tie. He started positively winning the 1st but struggled to finish the rallies in the remaining sets losing 1-3. A very disappointed Cambridge lost 2-3 to Herts putting them in 4th place in the event.

Despite their disappointment Cambridgeshire should take heart as the final played between Yorkshire and Gloucestershire was hardly a match with Yorkshire dominating Gloucestershire through every string. Cambridgeshire had stretched the Yorkshire team far more and look forward to the challenge in 2009 and 2010.

Rebecca Moore – Team Manager