Saturday 17 November 2012

Blobby in Pudsey-day Cameo

Resources are tight in the fourth team as I was drafted into a Friday-night appearance against Colinton Castle. A 250 mile drive from Liverpool saw me arrive at Colinton at exactly 7pm to find I was the only player there. That was because we had switched the tie to Accies. A few frantic phone calls saw us arrive at Accies and underway only a half hour late. Dave Gibson had used the time to limber up, only to pull a muscle and be unable to play. Andrew Beames was drafted in from the clubhouse and we finally got underway with Andrew and Pete Young first up.

Andrew started by playing lots of cross-courts, which his opponent picked-off easily. So he kept sending over more cross-courts convinced that eventually his opponent would move to the T. Unfortunately, he didn't and Andy went down 5-9, 4-9, 7-9 having never hit a single shot down the wall.

On the other court Pete was playing precision squash and took the first two games cleanly 9-4, 9-3. But his opponent took the next 3-9 and we went into the pivotal game. The fourth was cat and mouse 3-3, 4-4, 6-6, 7-7 before Pete found himself game point down at 7-8. A brilliant rescue brought up 8-8 and in a set 2, Pete took the first point to serve at match point. AAargh, but wait, another match point. AAAArgh and the game was lost 9-10. The decider was lost 3-9 and Grange 4 were two down.

Next up were Stephen and Anthony. Stephen began out of sorts and was soon 0-5 before finding his range and taking the first two games 9-6, 9-2. But the tide was turning, and the third was lost 2-9. On the other court  Anthony was struggling and was 1-2 quite quickly at 3-9, 9-4, 5-9. At this point the third court became free and we went on.

Having spent the last 7 weeks in hotels, I more resembled Mr Blobby making a guest appearance on Children in Need than a Number 1 for the fourth team. But as we were 2-0 down, being canon-fodder wasn't really going to matter. The first was tight until I was 7-8 down, but I managed to save a couple of game points before sneaking it 10-9. The next few were exchanged 4-9, 9-4, 5-9 and we were into a fifth that I really wasn't sure I'd be able to finish. By this time, everyone was finished and on the balcony. In the fifth, a 4-1 lead was quickly squandered with 3 non-returned serves to bring up 4-4. And similarly, a 7-4 lead was lost to 7-7. Soon I was facing match point at 7-8 down. A brilliant (lucky) shot got back serve and at 8-8, set 2 was called. Two quick points brought up 10-8 in the fifth. Ouch, that hurt.

So imagine my surprise to learn we had won 3-2.

Stephen had played an epic fourth game which he lost 8-9 following a brave 'set 1' call, to bring up 2-2 before superior fitness saw his take the fifth 9-3. Similarly, Anthony had turned his game around with a 9-7, 9-7 scoreline to win 3-2.

So all-in-all a great first win of the season for the fourths.

It turns out, Colinton Castle had switched the match because they had a quiz night on. Thank goodness, we only had 100 guests at a wedding to contend with...  Pizza was briefly consumed in the Committee Room before retiring for a warm bath.

Mike

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I now understand why a match for week 15 has already been played.


GrangeSquashClub said...

the Barbareians were psychic and hence the fifths were able to predict the score of this match before it was actually played.

The Barbarians will now predict their next win. What was that, Mike? "Hell freezes over, or The Dean thaws out". There's your answer.

Anonymous said...

I'll have a go at this.


Tonight's lottery numbers will be

1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2. The bonus ball will be 1.


You heard it here first.

GrangeSquashClub said...

You are not a Grange Barbarian.

This week, I am a Grange Barbarian ;-(

The only upside of this is that I am now psychic. I'll have a go here...
Tonight's Lottery numbers will NOT be....
1,2,3,4,3,2 The bounus ball MIGHT be 1.

You heard it here first, write back saying "The Barbarian was right."

Anonymous said...

I most certainly am not a Grange Barbarian. And with predictions like that, I don't want to be.


I am a member of one of the most elite and exclusive groups at the Grange.


I am a Grange Beerbarian.


Membership isn't difficult to obtain.

GrangeSquashClub said...

Beerbarians are an even more revered species. They can be seen in their native habitat, perched on a high chair at the bar, supping on IPA and holding forth on the merits of tennis, squash and beer-drinking as olympic sports ;-)

Anonymous said...

Hic.