First Team Relegated Despite Victory

This weekend saw the crucial bottom of the table clash between Cambridgeshire I and Nottinghamshire III, with both teams needing points to avoid relegation. A win would not be be enough for Cambs, who needed the  full 3 points offered by a 10-5 victory to avoid the drop. The usual list of injuries and unavailabilities that has left Cambs in this position was only amplified before this game with just one out of eight nominated players fit and able to play.

With Cambs only regular mens singles player on the injury bench it was left to successful doubles player Neil Place to open up the game. Taking full advantage of his opponent arriving late and missing the warm up Place took  he first set but was outclassed as the Notts player got into his stride, beaten heavily in the remaining two sets. Veteran Kevin Barron, talked out of  retirement to help with the injury crisis reminded everyone of his quality with very confident straight sets victory to level the match. Natalie Taylor, having missed the first half of the season continued her bid to single handedly save Cambs from relegation with a fantastic two set victory, completely justifying her selection as top singles player. Olga Bryant did not let her unusual position of second singles put her off her game as she too continued her bid to regain full fitness with a comfortable victory giving Cambs at 3-1 lead after the singles.

Barron teamed up with fellow retiree Nick Pratt for doubles and came through a nail biting game to beat Notts second pair, using all their experience to win on setting in both ends. Unfortunately their consistent style of play was not suited for their other game, this time beaten on setting in both games. Place and James Wilson, the most successful parternship of this season played some fantastic badminton, mixing flair with determination winning both their games, making it four out of four in the last two county matches.

The ladies doubles saw Taylor team up with club parter Amanda Godfrey to great effect with one straightfoward win before an extremely tense second game which the Cambs pair just held on to take in the third set. Godfrey once again was very impressive on promotion from her second team slot, coping extremely well with the heavy targeted she received from Notts. The new pairing of Bryant and Liz Salmon did not enjoy the same success- the final match of the season not the ideal time to play as a new pair- as they started strongly but faded and were beaten in both games. The three mens and two ladies wins meant Cambs had won the match but still had a mountain to climb- needing two out of three mixed to pull off a miraculous escape and avoid relegation.

Such was the close matched standard of the players that all three mixed games went the distance to three ends as the pairs of Bryant/Pratt, Taylor/Wilson and Salmon/Place gave everything they had to try to save the county. Disappointingly all three games went to Notts, and while avoiding a cliche the games really could have gone either and whoever lost would have felt hard done by. All three pairs played to their potential, with just a couple of understandably nervous shots costing the team in the end.

So a bittersweet victory for Cambs as they won 8-7 but were relegated to division 3. A good win though over a strong team and the players should take great credit for their performances. It was results earlier in the season that cost Cambs, leaving them too far adrift for recent back to back victories to save them. A lack of consistency- 8 different teams fielded for the 8 matches, with not a single player featuring in every match was responsible for failure this season, however recent results show Cambs are more than capable of competing in this division and after a brief interlude fully expect to be back where they belong in division 2 next season.​

Nail Biting Finish for First Team

It is easy to blame the lack of success this season on the host of injuries and unavailabilities that have plagued the first team this year, however with only one of the eight nominated first team players available to play Warwickshire III it was always going to be tough to avenge the defeat from earlier in the season.

Captain Rob Pace, the only Cambs player not to have missed a match for the county this season continued his impressive singles run- opening the match with a strong win over Warwicks' top player. Unfortunately Richard Fryer, suffering from a slight lack of recent practice was not able to convert his game, going down in straight sets. Natalie Taylor continued her drive back to fitness with a confidence boosting win in a close fought two set match, and the singles honours were shared evenly as Liz Salmon was solidly beaten at second singles.

The mens doubles saw the singles players team up together, however Pace/Fryer found their touch completely deserted them as they suffered two extremely disappointing defeats. Thankfully new pairing of James Wilson/Neil Place came to the rescue by beating both Warwicks' pairings in close games, playing extremely well together to ensure the spoils were also split in the mens doubles.

Taylor teamed up with her club partner Amanda Godfrey for the ladies doubles and had mixed success, with a close win over one Warwicks pair, but just losing out to the other. It was up to the second team pairing of Salmon/Sandra Ashcroft to tie the match going into the mixed and things looked to be on track as they won the first set against the second pair before just going down in three sets, then losing in two sets to the top pairing.

This left Cambs 7-5 down with 3 mixed to play, needing one for a consolation point or all three for an unlikely win. Salmon/Place first took on Warwicks third pair and played a fantastic game, coming back from a distinctly fishy first set to take the game 22-20 in the third and ensuring Cambs would not go home empty handed. Next Taylor/Fryer had a monumental battle against the very strong first pair, again recovering from a first set defeat to take the remaining two sets 29-27, 23-21. This tied the scores, meaning the match would be decided on the very last game of the day. A victory looked on as Godfrey/Wilson ran away with the first set but a Warwicks revival saw the second set lost and meant the entire tie rested on the final set of the final game. A 9 point gap opened up as Cambs lead 18-9, however incredibly Warwicks fought back to take the match score came to 7 games all, 1 set all, 20 all. The closest possible finish to a match saw Cambs win 22-20 in the final set and take the match 8-7.

A fantastic victory which gives Cambs a glimmer of hope of avoiding relegation- a 10-5 victory over Notts is now required to stay up.

Another Defeat for First Team

Without a single win all season Cambridgeshire 1 desperately needed a victory over Worcestershire 2 to claw back ground on the rest of the division. However both Cambs ladies singles players fell to injury playing a tournament the day before the match, so many thanks to Liz Salmon and Tracey Heyward for stepping up at very short notice.

Rob Pace lead the team out with a confident victory at first singles, gaining revenge for a defeat earlier in the season. Unfortunately county champion James Watkins was not able to avenge his earlier defeat, again beaten in 2 ends.

With the regular ladies singles players unavailable Natalie Taylor and Liz Salmon bravely stepped up and put in two great performances, Taylor’s fitness just holding out to give victory in straight sets, and Salmon losing out but deserves credit for a very strong battling performance.

It was the level doubles that cost Cambs the away fixture and the same proved true in the return leg. All four Cambs pairings were scratch partnerships and perhaps it was no surprise that all eight games went to Worcs. Perhaps even more disappointing was the fact that only one of the eight games was decided in three sets, the rest not going the full distance.

With all the points already decided there was nothing left to play for in the mixed. Pace/Kate Balls fought hard but were beaten at first, Watkins/Salmon played a tight three end game and did very well to come away with a result, then James Wilson/Taylor after using the first end as a warm up came though to win the next two comfortably.

Result 11-4 and a poor performance against a beatable team. 11th hour injuries cannot be anticipated but with six out of seven pairings being scratch partnerships, and having not fielded the same team for any two matches this season it really is no surprise Cambs are in trouble. 

Ist Team Well Beaten

The first match after Christmas is always difficult, especially when you are playing a team far too strong for the division they are in and three key players are unavailable. However the team was delighted to welcome back Natalie Taylor and Richard Fryer, both making their first appearances of the season. 

While Cambs are fighting to avoid relegation, Norfolk have not dropped a single point all season and that record never looked in danger during the match.

Singles saw straight sets defeats for Rob Pace and Jaclyn Lai against exceptionally strong opponents. The second singles saw Richard Fryer extremely unlucky to lose out in a tight three set game, before Alison Bennett produced a fantastic singles display against strong opposition, winning in three sets and must surely now be considered for a permanent singles place.

Doubles saw a similar story with the Norfolk top mens and ladies pairs being too strong for Cambs. Pace/Fryer picked up a point with a good victory over the second pair, unfortunately Jon Carson/Peter Galloway were not able to match their victory. Taylor/Bennett were not able to trouble the Norfolk pairs, while Lai/Kate Balls were involved in a close game before being forced to concede through illness. 

The match was decided before the mixed and the illnesses/injuries meant not a single established pair was available to play. However the three scratch pairings produced some of their best performances but unfortunately were not quite able to secure any results. Bennett/Pace gave the Norfolk first pair a huge scare, just losing out by the tightest of margins. Lai/Galloway similarly pushed their opponents close, before fading slightly towards the end. It took Taylor/Fryer the first set to work out how to play together but then produced a fine display and were beaten in the closest game of the day. 

Another disappointing result that doesn’t quite reflect the closeness of some of the games. However it is the matches against other opponents that will decide whether Cambs can maintain their place in the division rather than this game.

Defeat for Ist Team

After three straight defeats Cambridgeshire 1 faced a bottom of the table clash against Worcestershire in a battle to stay in division 2. A host of illnesses, injuries and various unavailabilities saw several new partnerships being tested out for the first time and several players making their first team debut having been called up from the seconds.

The opening singles saw both Rob Pace and James Watkins being defeated in straight sets before Olga Bryant playing as steadily as always took her game comfortably. Junior Jaclyn Lai lost the second singles in straight sets.

The mens doubles saw Pace team up with James Wilson in an untested partnership which seemed to be paying off until several dubious decisions gifting the game to the home team. James Watkins and Neil Place stepped up from the second team and played extremely well to take one of their two games in a close 3 set match.

It was hoped that the ladies would level the scores for Cambs, however Bryant and Kate Balls in their first competitive match together were disappointingly beaten by the Worcs first pair, before claiming a victory over the seconds. The second ladies pair was another new partnership and Lai and Amanda Godfrey pushed both pairs extremely hard before just losing out in very close finishes in very tight games- extremely unlucky not to take a point.

Cambridge needed all three mixed to salvage a point but this never looked likely as yet another new pairing of Bryant/Place were beaten in straight sets at first mixed. With only pride left to play for Wilson/Godfrey were unable to reproduce their winning form from the previous week and were also beaten in straight sets at third. The longest and closest game of the day went to Pace/Balls who fought out an epic and bloody three set game (including some bizarre scoring from an umpire who hadn't quite grasped the new scoring system) finishing the match bandaged and blooded, and very unlucky not to come away with a result.

Overall a very disappointing result to finish the first half of the season. Despite having several key players missing this is a match Cambs really out to have taken points away from. Things will have to improve in the new year to have any chance of avoiding relegation.

Ist Team Find the Going Too Tough

After two straight defeats Cambridgeshire 1 desperately needed a victory against Warwickshire 3 to distance themselves from the foot of the table and allay their relegation worries. With two regular players being unavailable Amanda Godfrey started her first match of the season and Rob Pace stepped in to fill a gap in mens doubles.

The opening singles gave Cambs the perfect start as Rob Pace opened up his singles account with a confident victory and Olga Bryant kept up her impressive record with a straight sets win to give Cambs a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately this was as good as things got as the match rapidly turned in Warwickshire’s favour. The second round of singles saw defeats for Jon Carson and Jaclyn Lai before the level doubles pairings of Olga Bryant/Amanda Godfrey, Kate Balls/Jaclyn Lai, John Tibbutt/James Wilson and Rob Pace/Jon Carson contrived to lose all eight games in straight sets.

The mixed games were effectively dead rubbers, however veteran Nick Pratt, called back out of retirement to partner fellow veteran Bryant rolled back the years with a truly fantastic nail biting three end win over the extremely strong Warwicks first pair. Balls/Pace were unfortunate to lose out in their close fought match at second pair however Wilson/Godfrey laid down their claim to regular first team mixed with a solid win at third.

This left Cambridgeshire bitterly disappointed to leave empty handed with an 11-4 defeat and slightly confused as to how it went quite so wrong. Strong performances in the singles and mixed (and a lesson that experience and a wise head often count for more than youth and agility), however improvements are needed in level doubles if Cambs are to maintain their position in division 2.

First Team Slump to Second Defeat

Following their heavy defeat in the opening match of the season Cambridgeshire first team faced up to Nottinghamshire 3, a team they beat twice in the previous season.

Early straight sets defeats for Rob Pace and Jon Carson against beatable opposition highlighted the lack of strong mens singles players available. The ladies singles saw Olga Bryant pushed hard before she completed victory in 3 sets, and junior Jaclyn Lai recover from early nerves before just losing out in a tight fought game at second. 

The mens doubles were all extremely tight games, however the results were disappointing with John Tibbutt/James Wilson only taking one of their games and Jon Carson/Peter Galloway losing both.

The ladies doubles however was a different matter with fantastic results for both pairings of Olga Bryant/Alison Bennett and Kate Balls/Jaclyn Lai as they stormed to victory in all four games.

Two out of three mixed were required for a win but the match was lost with a disappointing loss for Balls/Pace, closely followed by a close defeat for Bryant/Carson. Bennett/Tibbutt picked up a consolation game with their second win of the season to leave the final score 8-7.

This is a match that Cambridge really ought to have won and with two consecutive losses leaves the selectors a few decisions to make before the next game.

Congratulations to all the ladies for fantastic performances, and John Tibbutt for picking up two out of three games.