Cambridgeshire IIIrds hosted Bedfordshire IInds at the weekend (27th November) for their third ICC Division 5C match, and gained revenge for the 11-4 loss earlier in the season, with a 9-6 win. Geoff Green and Josh Males opened proceedings in the first and second men's singles respectively and got the team off to a perfect start, both winning comfortably in straight sets. The ladies weren’t quite so dominant and didn't have things all their own way. Laurel Bennett at first singles fought bravely but went down to a strong junior in the third set. Jess James (J) had a topsy-turvy match, winning the first set to 10 and losing the second 21-23, before getting her game face back on to win the third to 12. 3-1 to Cambs.
First pair Will Hodgkinson and Owen Mugeridge got the mens doubles off to a bad start, losing in straight sets to a strong pair. It proved to be a bad day at the office for the pair as they also went down in straight sets to the Beds second pair. Luckily scratch second pair Graham Barr and Josh M were able to turn the tables with two fantastic performances beating both the Beds pairs in straight sets. A combination to keep an eye on. 5-3 Cambs.
The ladies started in a similar way to the men as Emma Best and Laurel B at first pair lost a close fought three-ender to the Beds first pair, before second pair Sharon Chandler and Jess J squared things up, beating the Beds second pair in straight sets. Sharon managed to tweak a calf muscle during the game but fought bravely on, sporting even more colourful strapping than usual. This must have inspired her and Jess as they turned over the Beds first pair in three sets. Laurel and Emma followed suit, beating the Beds second pair in straight sets to take the match score to 8-4 and clinch the victory for Cambs.
Needing two out of three mixed for the bonus point, Sharon and Graham opened the mixed against the Beds first pair. Despite Sharon's injury they fought back well after losing a quick first set to take the second 21-17. The third set see-sawed back and forth, until the Beds pair managed to inch away in the last few points to win 21-16. 8-5 Cambs.
The bonus point was still on as Geoff and Laurel took to the court at second pair and despite losing the first set to 15, things looked good as they fought back to 19-15 up in the second. The Beds pair then staged a remarkable recovery and came back to 20-20, before edging away to finally win 25-23. 8-6 Cambs.
With the bonus point gone, Will and Emma wrapped up the match in a comfortable straight sets win over the Beds third pair. 9-6 Cambs.
Despite missing out the bonus point, Cambs III must come away with confidence after this win over the top team in the division. They now lie only a point behind Beds II after 3 matches and a win over Lincs II in a couple of weeks would make for a nice early Christmas present.
More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.