Once again the county selection for the forthcoming season has taken a long time and has been a difficult process. There are many players with a strong case to be included, but there are only a limited number of places we can offer and we have tried to be as objective and fair as we can.
The selections below are based on many factors, including:
- performance over the summer practices
- results at the restricted tournament
- performance from the previous season
- potential
- availability
- commitment to county/training
- personal development and course plain old talent.
We have lost some players but also gained new ones, so there are some new names and faces here and there. Currently we have two county teams, the first team in div. 2B and the second team in div. 4B. The first team narrowly missed promotion last year so the target for this season is to again push for a high finish. The second team did get promoted last year and their target will be to consolidate that position and ideally achieve a successive promotion. To this end we have decided upon a squad of 29 players (16 men and 13 ladies) of which 11 are reserves. We must nominate four men and four ladies for the first team who then cannot play down in the seconds. We have also decided to allocate one further man who does not have to be nominated, but who will also be a first team pick. As the match dates this year are the same for both the first and second teams, it is highly likely that the reserves will be called upon during the season.
Before we list the teams, although no doubt some of you have already taken a sneak peak, we should mention the restricted. Special mention should go to Olga Bryant for winning a clean sweep again, James Watkins for a fantastic win in the mens singles, Kevin and Sonny for successfully defending their mens title and of course Nick Pratt for winning the mixed for the 8th time in 10 years. We'd also like to welcome newcomers Katie Balls, Will Hodgkinson and Peter Galloway to the county squad, who have all impressed recently with very strong performances.
And so to the teams......
First Team Ladies:
Olga Bryant (nominated)
Alison Bennet (nominated)
Katie Balls (nominated)
Jaclyn Lai (nominated)
First Team Men:
Rob Pace (nominated, captain)
Jon Carson (nominated)
Peter Galloway (nominated)
John Tibbutt (nominated)
James Wilson
Second Team Ladies:
Liz Salmon
Sharon Chandler
Amanda Godfrey
Tracey Hayward
Second Team Men:
James Watkins
Dan Bates
Rob Couch
Will Hodgkinson (captain)
Jason Lai
Reserves
Nick Pratt
Sonny Loy
Neil Place
Stephen Pickering
Joe Pickering
Mariusz Borowiec
Sandra Ashcroft
Isabel Gutteridge
Tracey Bichener
Carolyn Key
Rachel Farrington
The first county matches are on Sunday the 12th October. Further emails regarding training and match arrangements will be sent out shortly. Many thanks, Olga, James and John.