Cambs III in Day of Might-Have-Beens

Cambs IIIrds took on Beds IInds in their 2nd ICC Div 6 East match of the season last week, hoping to improve on their first match defeat against Northhants.

Geoff Green got the team off to a perfect start winning at first singles in straight sets, but Tom Zhang (J), Emma Brewster and Holly Gayle couldn't match him as they all went down to strong opposition.  Geoff teamed up with Will Hodgkinson at first mens pair and produced an epic game against their Beds counterparts, losing a close 3rd set.  They faired better against the Beds second pair, winning the first set and then taking the game as the Beds pair were forced to retire though injury.  Second pair Paul Martell and Tom again had 2 very close games and were unlucky to lose both.

In the ladies Holly and partner Jacquie Dennis had a bit of an off day as they lost to both Beds pairs in straight sets, but Stacey Knoop and Emma battled well to beat the Beds first pair and narrowly lose in 3 against the Beds second pair.

With the score now at 9-3 to Beds, Cambs had only pride to play for in the mixed, but again Beds proved why they are one of the favourites for the division this year by taking all 3 games, and the match 12-3.  Stacey and Tom were the closest at 3rd mixed, going down 21-19 in the final end.

As against Northhants it was a match of 'might-have-beens'.  The team lost three very tight 3-enders.  The other way around would have changed to match score to 9-6.

The return match against Northhants is up next on the 11th November.

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

Cambs Ist Team Continue Success

Cambs Ist team faced Nottinghamshire IInds at CRC on Sunday.  The singles started the match off strongly with Mindaugas Dabasinskas, Olga Bryant and Natalie Taylor all winning their games very comfortably in 2 ends. Thomas Li decided to get his money’s worth and gave his opponent a glimmer of hope after losing his 1st end to 12, before showing his true singles abilities by winning to just 9 & 16.

Once again the Notts men were no match for the almighty Min & Simon Woodhouse, who won both their games with relative ease. Neil Place & Thomas had more of a fight on their hands and after losing the first end to 17 they stepped up their game to take the next two ends by 18 & 16. They had another battle against the first pair, and narrowly missed out 21-18 in the third end. Most disappointingly was that the youngest star of the team, Thomas, injured himself during the match which will be a sad loss for the next game!

The first ladies doubles pair, Sara Mason & Nat, also came out strongly with 2 solid wins against the Notts ladies. The first match was against two younger players whose heads went down after they found that they were unable to get the shuttle past the Cambs pair. Though more sad was the lack of sportsmanship at the end when they only just managed to shake hands!

So despite the gauntlet set down in the first match report, Neil decided that he would change tack and remain on his feet! Although the same cannot be said for all the ladies… as Jen Hewitt decided she would battle it out with the boys for the best dive of the match!  Though wonder Jen was seen diving around the court as she fought for every point going. She teamed up once again with the awesome Olga, and battled it out against the second pair. They played well but lost in three ends, however went on to show their determination and fight by beating Notts first pair in 3 sets. A great result against Notts first pair.

And finally in the mixed Min/Olga and Si/Nat took the games that ensured a full three-point victory over Notts, winning in 2 games and Si/Nat winning in 3 ends. The third pair, Neil/Sara, had a less than interesting game with the height of the opposition causing difficulties and lost in 2 ends.

A short and sweet match report, tho not as sweet as the yummy rock cakes baked by Jen! High bars set by Olga’s choc cake in the first match, and Jen’s rock cakes… can the boys perform in the baking dept as well as they do on court?? Time will tell!!

A special mention to Thomas Li, who was voted player of the match for really stepping up his performance this match.

Well done Cambs I - another county match and another win under the belt as they beat Notts 2 by 12-3 to once again take full points.

Match report by Sara Mason.

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

New-Look Cambs IIIrd Team Struggle Against Northants

A new look Cambs IIIrd team had a number of new faces to start the season to face Northants IInd team. Debutant Tom Zhang settled in after a hard introduction losing 9-21, 21-18, 26-28 in his singles. A hard working talent, and one for the future. Geoff Green lost in straight sets against a hard working Northants player in a close game 17-21, 20-22. The ladies brought out old juniors Holly Gale and Emma Brewster who are a welcome return. Holly had a hard start, loosing 14-21, 11-21. Emma however powered her way to a 3 set victory: 15-21, 21-12, 21-14.

The doubles had new pairings on show. The men each went to 3. Tom playing with Paul Martel were unlucky to lose both, but showed exciting moments of what could come. Will Hodgkinson and Geoff took 1 game but slipped to a loss in the other. The new ladies Holly and Emma were undone by experienced Northants pairs. Stacy Knoop and Sharon Chandler were on form winning the first 21-16, 21-17. However, they narrowly lost in 3 ends in the next.

Going into the mixed, Cambs were still positive. Paul and Sharon were quick in winning 21-17, 21-10. Geoff and Emma also won. Strength and power taking them to 30-29, 21-13. Will and Holly lost in 3 with a close game. Holly showed great touch, but the pair were defeated by a steady and experienced Northants pair.

Final result: Cambs IIIrd 5, Northants IInd 10

A loss, but lots of positives with exciting new players.

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​Cambs IIIrd Team 2012-13

Match report by Will Hodgkinson.

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

Cambs I Strike Out on Right Foot

The first match of the season for Cambs 1 started on a high, with an inspiring 14-1 win against Worcs 2.

Min (Mindaugas Dabasinskas) played first singles against a tough opponent, and after losing his first game to 16, demonstrated his strength and stamina by winning the next two ends to 12 and 14.  Thomas Li played his first game as a Cambs 1 player, and came out fighting. He won his first game to 16, lost the second game to 17, and then showed his strength of character by winning the third end to a closely fought 22-20. Nat Taylor and Olga Bryant went on to show their singles abilities by winning comfortable games to 14 & 8, and 17 & 10 respectively. A composed and consistent game by both ladies. To finish the singles 4-0 up was a fantastic result.

Going into the men’s doubles was a nerve racking and fingernail biting experience, with two relatively new pairings put to the test. However they did not disappoint! Min and Simon Woodhouse took the first end to work out their game style wining narrowly by 23-21, and then showed off their skills by winning the 2nd game to 15. They continued their winning streak by beating the second pair to 17 & 19. Neil Place & Thomas Li looked solid in their first game winning to 15 & 16, and despite a fantastic effort they narrowly missed beating Worc first pair to 17 in the third end. Well played to all the men, tho the bets are on for who will get the highest score for floor dives. Place your bets now for Min vs. Neil…

Although the ladies managed to remain in upright positions on the court, their games were no less interesting than the men’s. There were some well fought battles, with 3 of the games going to 3 ends. Once against the ladies showed their strength, and had a momentous victory by winning all four doubles. Nat Taylor and Sara Mason have worked hard on their positioning, and it showed as they glided around each other on the court. And a warm welcome to Jen Hewitt who made her debut for Cambs County. She teamed up with Olga Bryant to make a strong second pair, and despite their relatively new pairing they demonstrated their awesome racket skills and knowledge to win both games.

Going into the mixed Cambs 1 continued their dominance, with Olga and Min winning to 21-12 & 21-13, Nat and Si winning 21-14 & 22-20, and finally Sara and Neil winning to 21-15 & 21-7.

First game for the first team a 14-1 victory.  Bring on Notts next week.

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Cambs Ist Team 2012-13​

Match report by Neil Place/Sara Mason.

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

Cambs U15 Restricted Results

Girls Singles

Eve Lauder beat Chanumi Gamage - 21-7

Girls Doubles

Hannah Duval / Chanumi Gamage beat Eve Lauder / Tiahane World - 21-13 / 21-13

Boys Singles

Jordan Huynh beat Eugene Stokes - 21-12

Boys Doubles

Oliver Stenson  / Eugene Stokes  beat Adam Walker / Nathan May - 24 - 22

Cambs II Kick Off With Staffs Win

​With some new faces added to the ranks, it fell to the Cambs IInd team to kick off the ICC season this year, with a home match against Staffs IIIrds in the newly designated 'Division 5 Central'.  The IInd team are the very grateful recipients of the hard labours of the IIIrds last year, who won promotion through their Division 5 playoffs, with the higher league placing resulting in the IInd team going up.  However, with the vagaries of Badminton England organisation, such promotion has resulted in the team remaining in 'Division 5' because other leagues above have been re-ordered!

​There was much anticipation as the team formed and began to warm up, and everyone knew the day was sure to be a good one when the 1-ton tin of homemade tiffin arrived with Katie.

Staffs looked like a young but decent team, and that proved to be the case in the singles.  Debutante Paul Heads enjoyed some challenging rallies, but always had the class to be in charge of his game, and won in two straight games, as did Katie Morton - looking more the classy singles player every match.  Will Hodkinson and Laurel Bennett both encountered sterner resistance.  Laurel played well, but was eventually outrun by a younger opponent, while Will's match was the spectator selection of the round, with a nailbiting first end going to 21-23.​  Unfortunately, despite giving his all, and winning the middle game, Will was pipped 19-21 in the third.

With the match 2-2 going into the levels then, Cambs II knew that they are going to have to fight for all their points this season.  In the mens doubles, Paul and James Wilson - the established pairing - had a harder game against the first Staffs men, but then settled into their groove and beat the second pairing comfortably.​  Will and Daniel Bates founding the going harder.  Although they powered home to win a third end 21-10 against the second pair, they gave the first pair over-generous leads in both games, and failed to reel them back in, and lost in straight sets.

The ladies doubles also reflected a difference in strength between the two Staffs pairs.  Both Katie and Jessica ​Sharman, and Laurel and Louise Tarbit (also a debutante) won in straight games against the Staffs second pair.  However, in identikit games, they won the first end, and then lost the second two in hard games against their first.

​That left the score 7-5 going into the mixed, and with both victory and the bonus point for Cambs sitting on a knife-edge.  James and Louise put their experience together to good use, winning in two - although they conspired to take the second to an impressive 29-27, after having been a long way behind.  New pairing Paul and Katie seemed to click well, and rampaged to a 21-4 / 21-7 victory, clearly inspired to get back to the tiffin-tin before anyone else was off court.  This left the bonus point down to Daniel and Jess, who despite letting a good lead slip away, were comfortable in winning their game in two ends.

This was a stiff test for a new team, and it's clear that the league will be a challenging one.  It's great to get the season off to such a good start though.​

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Cambs IInd Team 2012-13​

The team: Daniel Bates (c), Katie Morton: Hurst Badminton Club / Paul Heads, Louise Tarbit, James Wilson: Ely Victoria Badminton Club / Jessica Sharman: Court Badminton Club / Will Hodgkinson, Laurel Bennett

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

County Selection 2012-2013

As always, County selection has been a very long and difficult process, with many players making strong cases for their inclusion.  Please appreciate that the Selection Committee apply a considerable amount of thought to the decision, and that there are only a very limited number of places we can offer.  We have tried to be as objective and fair as we can in applying the following selection criteria:

• Results at the restricted tournament;
• Results at other tournaments over the last twelve months;
• County performance from the previous season;
• Potential for improvement / Development trajectory;
• Availability;
• Commitment to the County;

For anyone who is disappointed at not making a team, it is worth noting that in previous seasons there have been more than enough times when players have been required to play up to support higher teams. It is likely that everyone will get their chance to shine at some point.

This season we are submitting three teams: Ist team (Division 3 Central), IInd team (Division 5 Central) and IIIrd team (Division 6 East).  More details are available in the 'Senior County Squads' sections.

The targets for this year are for the Ist team to obtain promotion back to what is now Division 2.  The IInd team have got a very strong challenge, to do well in their division which includes the Ulster team.  The IIIrd team excelled themselves to go through the playoffs last year, and we would hope that they might be able to do the same again this season!

The teams as selected are:

Ist Team

Ladies: Olga Bryant, Jen Hewitt, Sara Mason (c), Natalie Taylor

Men: Min Dabasinskas, Tom Li, Neil Place, Simon Woodhouse

IInd Team

Ladies: Laurel Bennett, Katie Morton, Jessica Sharman, Louise Tarbit

Men: Daniel Bates (c), Paul Heads, Stephen Pickering, James Wilson

IIIrd Team

Ladies: Sharon Chandler, Emma Brewster, Jacquie Dennis, Holly Gayle, Stacy Knoop

Men: Graham Barr, Geoff Green, Aiden Foo, Martin Harvey, Will Hodgkinson, Paul Martell, Kaylan Sutton-Ziaian, Tom Zhang

John Tibbutt (Non-playing Captain)

Squad

(These are players who might be available for selection from time to time, but are not nominated to specific teams)

Kevin Barron, Damien Dugmore, Owen Mugeridge, Joe Pickering, Sam Scharf, Abu Kaher

There is of course the possibility that other players from the County may be asked to play as and when options become available.

The first County match is for the IInd team on 14th October, with the Ist and IIIrd teams playing the week after on 21st October.  All three are home matches at CRC.

Have a great season, enjoy your games, and play well!

The Selection Team (Daniel, Neil, Sara and John)