U17s Represent Cambs at ICT Nottingham

The Badminton England U17 Inter Counties Tournament (ICT) was held in Nottingham over 4 days commencing on Thursday 12 April.

Teams from 40 Counties competed, with 10 players in each team.  Cambridgeshire were represented by Molly Carter, Jessica Sharman, Gemma McGuire, Emma May, Laura Pickard, Aidan Foo, Thomas Li, Tom Zhang, Kaylan Sutton-Ziaian and Sunny Kong.  Over the four days each team played a total of 10 matches.

On the first day the initial match for Cambridgeshire was against Warwickshire - the top seeds.  As anticipated, the match went in favour of Warwickshire 10-0.  The second match against Avon ended at 5 games each, but Avon won on count-back.  The final match on the first day was against Derbyshire, who ran out easy winners 9-1.

Friday was more successful.  The day started with a close match against Somerset and resulted in a Cambridgeshire victory 6-4.  Two defeats followed, with Berkshire winning 6-4, whilst Cumbria were the victors 7-3.  The final match of the day gave Cambridgeshire a convincing win over Wiltshire by 8-2.

On Saturday Cambridgeshire had a victory and a defeat.  Durham were defeated 6-4 whilst Cambridgeshire lost to Kent 6-4. On Sunday, the final day, Cambridgeshire finished with a flourish, defeating Northumberland 7-3.

Overall, Cambridgeshire won 4 matches out of 10, ending in 30th position as compared with 27th in 2011.

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The Cambs U17 ICT 2012 Squad

Cambs Compete at 17-21 ICC for First Time

For the first time Cambridgeshire entered a team into the ICC 17-21 competition. The team consisted of 6 men (Matt Price, Josh Males, Campbell Wilson, David Shepherd, Sam Pickup and Samir Sattar) and 5 women (Jessica James, Hannah Sharman, Rachel Farrington, Carolyn Key and Beth Parrish) with many of them not ever having played at county level and certainly not in an inter county environment. It was excellent experience for the players and they played very well together considering they weren't accustomed to playing with each other.

Despite the fact that the whole ethos of the competition is the transition from junior to senior badminton, with the emphasis on progressing young players rather than highly experienced ones, there was an impressive array of U19 and older England players participating at the championships! There were many teams with players that bore the legend ENGLAND on their backs.

However, Cambs held their own very well indeed and were just points off drawing with strong Warwickshire in their group and losing 1-5 after some 3 end-er, hard fought battles. Cambs then drew with Bedfordshire, who put forward England player Darren Adamson and his brother so drawing was quite an achievement. However, because Beds did slightly better against Warwickshire than Cambs did, we came bottom of the group. Unfortunately, we approached Cornwall next with the delusion that they were easy prey. They were very strong in this competition and again, Cambs missed drawing with them by a couple of points and lost 2-4.

Subsequent play-offs against Kent (with very strong players such as James Au) and Wiltshire saw 3-3 draws with Cambridgeshire.

All Cambs players gave their best performances for this competition and can hold their heads high as none of their opponents could have felt they had easy wins. Many ties went to three ends with setting. The team finished in 20th position but possibly a bit more experience in this level of competition could see improvements next year. A great weekend’s badminton!

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The Cambs 17-21 ICC 2012 Squad

Sharman and Sutton-Ziaian Lead the Pack: Cambs U19 Restricted Results

At the Under 19 Cambridgeshire Junior Restricted Tournament, there were double successes for Kaylan Sutton-Ziaian and Hannah Sharman.

Last year, Kaylan won the Under 15 Boys singles and doubles.  Having now moved up to the Under 19 level, he repeated last year's success.  In the final of the singles he defeated Josh Males, a regular senior County player, 21-12.  Up to the half-way stage the match was evenly contested, but then Kaylan charged to the win with controlled placement forcing his opponent into errors.  In his semi-final, Kaylan had beaten James Yow 21-11, whilst Josh got the better of Campbell Wilson by 26-24.

In the Boys doubles, Kaylan continued his successful partnership of last year with Aidan Foo.  They beat Josh Males and Campbell Wilson in a tight final game 21-19.

In the girls events, it was plain sailing for Hannah Sharman.  In the singles she overwhelmed Gemma McGuire to the tune of 21-6.  Hannah then partnered Jessica James to defeat Rachel Hoath and Robynne George 21-9 in the girls doubles.

Lincolnshire heartbreak for Cambs II

There was heartbreak again for the Cambridgeshire senior IInd team on Sunday, when they were pipped to the Badminton England Inter Counties Championship (ICC) Division 5D playoff spot by a single game. To add insult to injury, the Lincolnshire team were led by England International prospect Harley Towler - the same player who two years previously almost to the day had won the games in the match which condemned the IInd team to relegation from Division 4.

Going into the game on Sunday, Cambs II and Lincs I were tied at the top of the table, level on both points, and games for and against. It was apparent from the outset that it was going to be a tough match, as Lincs had supplemented their squad with two other strong players: Rodger Annis and Chloe Sidwell. In the singles, Tom Li (j) battled manfully against Towler, but was beaten in straight games, as was Mindaugas Dabasinskas despite mounting a spirited second end which he lost 24-22. Molly Carter (j) also suffered her first singles defeat of the season in straight games against Sidwell, so it was only Katie Morton who took points, with a confident straight sets 21-14, 21-7 victory.

Cambridgeshire went into the doubles resolved to turn the tide of the game, and while the ladies prevailed, the men found the going much harder. Captain Daniel Bates and James Wilson went into the game against Towler and Annis hoping to begin the fight back. After a thrilling first end which they won 27-25, they were unable to maintain their momentum, and lost in three. Molly and Liz Salmon were also enjoying a marathon match, mirroring the men by losing their first game 25-27, but then taking the rubber. In the other doubles, Tom and Paul Martell lost in straight games 21-12, 21-15, while Katie and Jessica Sharman (j) won 21-14, 21-19.

The reverse doubles saw very similar results, with both men's pairs losing in straight games, while the ladies both won, despite a mid-game dip by Liz and Molly.

That left the score 7-5 to Lincs going into the mixed, and with Towler ranked 19 in the country at mixed, the need to win all three seemed a stretch too far for the Cambs team. James and Katie, and Tom and Molly showed Cambs' traditional mixed class, by winning in straight games 21-19, 21-15 and 21-17, 21-15 respectively. Daniel and Jess started with a concerted effort to cut Towler out of the game, but found that this only served to confuse their strategy, and they lost 21-2. In the second game, they resolved to play for pride and took a more creditable 21-12, but with that result the match - and the playoff hope - was lost.

For the first time in years, the Cambs IInd team has enjoyed a season where the squad has been settled, and high hopes of a playoff spot were only dashed by sharing the group with a very strong County Ist team. With the Cambs Ist team looking likely to be relegated from Division IB this year, the only ray of light for the season is now likely to be the IIIrd team, who have won their Division 5 group and head into the playoffs at the end of April.

The team:
Daniel Bates (c), Paul Martell, Katie Morton: Hurst Badminton Club
Thomas Li: Pearl Badminton Club
Molly Carter, Liz Salmon, Mindaugas Dabasinskas: St Ives Badminton Club
James Wilson: Ely Victoria Badminton Club
Jessica Sharman: Court Badminton Club

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.

U11 & U13 Fun Tournament Results

Congratulations to everyone who turned out to play the U11 and U13 Fun Tournament on 17 March at Burwell.

Results:

U13

Boys Singles

Leo Huang bt Cameron Harris 21-19

Boys Doubles

Cameron Foo/Harry Zhao bt Leo Huang/Keir Lauder 21-19

Girls Singles

Winner: Hannah Milton

Girls Doubles

Not played

U11

Boys Singles

Winner: Dale Hellard

Boys Doubles

Not played (withdrawals)

Girls Singles

Winner: Chanuhi Gamage

Girls Doubles: Not played

Cambs II March On

Cambs Senior IInd team travelled to Wellingborough to face Northants IInds on 18th March, knowing that only full points would keep them within touching distance of the chance of following the IIIrd team through into the Division 5 playoffs.

Northants have caused the IInd team problems in the past, so it was pleasing to be able to put out a full regular team for this match. In warmup, Northants looked like a stern challenge with some impressive men especially, but Cambs got the game off to a great start in the singles. Tom Li (J) lost in two ends, although the 19-21 score in the second reflected that he was beginning to hit his stride. However, debutante Min Dabasinskas, Molly Carter (J) and Katie Morton all secured wins in straight games.

With four courts available, every game of the doubles could go on at once, and the usual high level of support from Cambs players was diminished. It was up to each individual pair to maintain the momentum from the singles, which they duly did. The girls were finished first, with commanding scores: Molly and Liz Salmon winning 21-8, 21-13, and Katie and Jess Sharman (J) 21- 12, 21-14. The men faced a stronger test. While James Wilson and Daniel Bates combined excellently to win 21-12, 21-19, Tom and Paul Martell took a little longer to impose themselves in a close tie, and held their nerve to win the deciding end 21-17.

That left the score 7-1 to Cambs, but a couple of disappointing seasons meant the team resolved to maintain their effort to ensure a positive outcome. In the return doubles, the girls again lead the way in straight games, with Jess and Katie winning to 13 and 14, and Molly and Liz to 12 and 12. The men also hit their stride, with James and Daniel and Tom and Paul winning their games to 16 and 10 and 13 and 17 respectively.

Going into the mixed with the score 11-1, Cambs had already secured full points, but were pushing to also match league leaders Lincolnshire's tally of games won. It was in the mixed discipline where the Northants ladies seemed to really come into their own, and all three games went to three ends. James and Katie turned around an early loss to win comfortably 21-17, 21-11, 21-14. New mixed pairing Tom and Molly also took time to find their feet, but really pulled together to win in the third end 21-16, 18-21, 13-21. The tightest game came in the middle draw, with Jess and Daniel meeting a determined Northants pair in a game that grew faster and harder as it drew on. After losing the first end 19-21, they pulled back to 21-15 in the second, but were then pipped to 19-21 in the last game as the pressure mounted.

That left the score at 13-2, and leaves the IInd team not only level with Lincs I on 13 points, but also with 56 games won to 19 lost. The last game on the fixture list being the home draw against the same Lincs team at CRC next Sunday - 25th March. Quite simply on that day, the winner takes all...

The team:
Daniel Bates (c), Paul Martell, Katie Morton: Hurst Badminton Club
Thomas Li: Pearl Badminton Club
Molly Carter, Liz Salmon, Mindaugas Dabasinskas: St Ives Badminton Club
James Wilson: Ely Victoria Badminton Club
Jessica Sharman: Court Badminton Club

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.

Cambs III Flying High

Cambridgeshire IIIrd team hosted Lincolnshire IInds at the weekend, in their last Badminton England Inter County Championship Division 5C match. A repeat of their 10-5 away win before Christmas would pip long time leaders Bedfordshire II by a point and clinch the division title.

Graham Barr and Josh Males (J) opened proceedings in the first and second mens singles and got the match off to a perfect start, both winning comfortably in straight sets. Kate Marshall at first singles matched the men with a good straight sets win, but Laurel Bennett was unlucky to lose in two very closely fought sets. 3-1 to Cambs, 7 more games needed.

Graham and Josh teamed up as first pair in the first round of mens doubles and continued their strong form with a convincing win over their opposite numbers. Will Hodgkinson and Damien Dugmore at second pair came back strongly after dropping the first set against the Lincs second pair to win the second end to 9, but a few crucial errors in the third saw victory slip frustratingly away. Kate combined with Sharon Chandler at first ladies pair and battled well in a long three-ender against the Lincs first pair, but eventually lost a very close third end. Laurel and Lisa Lim were not troubled at second pair, winning in straight sets. This left the score at 5-3 to Cambs with 5 more games needed from the remaining 7. It was going to be close.

The men kept hopes high as both Graham and Josh, and Will and Damien came through long three set games to record wins, with Will and Damien improving all the time and eventually dispatching the Lincs first pair to 9 in the third. The ladies continued the momentum although Kate and Sharon had to work hard to overcome a strong display by the Lincs second pair. Laurel and Lisa again showed strong form, winning in straight sets. With the score now at 9-3 to Cambs the match was won, but the team still needed one from the three remaining mixed games to gain maximum points and clinch the division.

Playing out of order, Damien and Lisa at third pair started first and after very close first set edged it 21-19. The second set continued in a similar vein with both pairs producing some fine badminton but neither able to pull out a lead. At 20-20 the pairs were still locked together, but eventually Damien and Lisa broke the deadlock and pulled out the crucial two point gap to win the game 26-24 and secure the division win! With the pressure off, Graham and Kate at first pair struggled against the Lincs first pair and lost in two, but Sharon and Josh at second were able to finish off the match in style winning in three.

This fine win means that Cambs IIIrds are now in the divisional playoffs to fight for promotion into ICC division 4. These games will be played on the 21st and 28th of April, the opponents TBD.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.