Fifths @ The Dean (Tue Oct 30)

Winter is fair drawing in as was proved by anyone venturing near Court 2 at the Dean this evening where a novel attempt to recreate the outdoor conditions indoors proved an experiment not to the visitors liking. The leaky roof and highs of 12 degrees were not particularly conducive to high quality squash however since there is rarely much high quality squash involved with the 5ths we battled on regardless.

  First up on the marginally warmer court 1 was Craig Watt. I think Craig may have been making his debut tonight for the 5ths or maybe it just looked that way in games 1 and 2. The nerves of performing in front of the large crowd (well three of us) appeared to be getting to him and despite a number of extraordinary shots, his opponent Ian squeezed out the first two games. After a bit of coaching where it was suggested that the ball might be played into some of the other parts of the court, Craig appeared to have got to grips with his opponent and took the 3rd convincingly. Unfortunately despite a valiant effort, Ian took the 3rd for the Dean for our first loss of the night.

Whilst Craig was playing on Court 1, Bill went on in the icebox. He returned moments later where we thought he had forgotten something however he informed us he had lived up to his name and gone down 0-3 in record time.

Jordon had hoped Bill and his opponent would have warmed the atmosphere on Court 2 but he was mistaken. Watching this game I couldn't understand why Jordon wouldn't hit the ball beyond mid court and I wondered if he was being hypnotised by the sight of the rain dripping down at the front wall as he also went down 0-3.

Tom was on Court 1 where the temperature appeared tropical having just come from watching Jordon's game on Court 2. A fast start saw him take the 1st and it was looking good for our first win of the evening. In an extraordinary reversal in the 2nd, Tom abandoned his winning formula from the 1st game and allowed his opponent Ian to take control of the match. Whilst I didn't see the remainder of this game Tom didn't recover and it was another loss for the Grange, 1-3.

I took to the freezer against Craig and was still warm enough from watching on Court 1 to take the 1st game. Unfortunately my body was cooling rapidly and Craig easily took the 2nd and 3rd. Despite hitting the ball harder than I have ever tried to hit a squash ball before, I still couldn't find the back corners. The court thermometer still showed 12 degrees however I'm sure ice was forming on the puddle at the front as we began the 4th game. Somehow I managed to win this one with a change of tactics throwing up a few lobs in the hope of getting the ball somewhere near the back wall. All square going into the 5th. A few terrific nicks (or maybe the ball just didn't bounce anymore) and Craig's ability to move faster in the harsh conditions saw him take the 5th.

A poor result on the scorecard for the 5ths but a fun night never the less at our closest neighbours. Talk turned to the free rave held by the Dean's burglars at the weekend and the dangers of cycling in the big city.

David Grieve