1sts Fight for a third victory

The first team went out looking for their third victory of the season against a Kent team who could pose a problem to Cambridgeshire's promotion hope.

Men's singles went one first with Stephen Pickering going up against a player who played for Kent seconds last year, he had a tough first end losing 21 - 18 but dominated in the second to win 21-12, going into the third with confidence then struggled to cope with a rampent opposition lost 21-10.

The second mens singles saw veteran Kevin Barron dragged out of retirement to come and play singles, he showed all his class in a marathon 3 setter winning 21-18, 18-21 and 21-15.

The ladies singles saw Olga Bryant stretch her unbeaten record this season to 9 with an easy 21-14 and 21-13.

And Jaclyn Lai at second singles stepped up to win her first singles this year 21-15 and 21-10, hopefully the first of many this year.

With Cambs in a strong place of 3 - 1 up after the singles the first mens doubles wents on full of confidence, scratch pairing of Stephen Pickering and Neil Place sutruggled in there first end losing 15 -21 stepped up there game to win the second 21 - 13 and fought hatrd in the third end to win 22-20 after being 20-18 down.

Second pair of Kevin Barron and Sunny Loi went on against there second and showed why they've won the restricted twice and dominated to win in two 21-14 and 21-18.

The reverse mens doubles with Neil and Stephen playing the second pair determined to get there moneys worth went to three eventually winning 21-12, 17-21 and 21-14.

The last mens doubles was always going to be close with a strong kent first pair determined to win after losing there first game and so it proved with a battling three ends just losing 22-20, 10-21 and 23-25.

The Ladies doubles has been a strength for Cambs this year Olga Bryant and Jaclyn Lai continued there winning performance this year with a great fighting spirit in the first game to win 28-26, struggled in the second and lost 18-21 but fought through the third end to win 21-18.

Second pair of Liz Salmon and Amanda Godfrey dominated The second pair to win in two 21-14 and 21-7.

The second pair for Kent then had to conceed there second game through injury, this just left Amanda and Liz to play the Kent first pair, and after a great first end winning 21-18 lost the second 17-21 and then fought to the end valiently losing 21-23.

This left Cambs 9-3 up needed one more rubber to get all 3 points, Olga and Stephen pairing up to win the first mixed easliy, 21-14 and 21-11.

New pairing of Amanda and Neil showed a great understanding to win 21-12 and 21-12.

Third pairing of Liz and Sunny showed fight but unfortunately lost 18-21 and 21-23.

This means Cambs won 11-4 can we keep our unbeaten record going forward to the last match before christmas against Bedfordshire on the 6th of December....

IInds Return to Winning Ways

Cambs II team returned to winning ways, with a victory against northern neighbours Lincolnshire at St Bede's on Sunday 8 November. Things did not look hopeful at the outset, with experience being well and truly aced by youth - The senior members Daniel Bates, Robert Couch (who wished to have it recorded that he was getting over a cold!) and Amanda Godfrey all lost their singles, with youthful Hannah Sharman the only player to take her game. Following a closely fought battle, Hannah's heart rate was monitored to ensure she had not over-exerted herself, but thankfully chocolate digestives were not deemed necessary get her back up for the doubles.

Robert and Daniel were keen to avenge themselves in the doubles and barnstormed their way to two quick wins, one being a victory to 5. Paul and Sam looked like a couple rapidly becoming accustomed to either other, and chose beforehand to play a more aggressive style which also brought them two straight-sets wins. The ladies however, faced stiffer resistance going into the doubles. Amanda and Hannah were overcome by a consistent first Lincs pairing, while taking the second. Sandra Ashcroft and Lisa Hawes fought valiantly but struggled to imposed themselves, and lost both despite taking the second game into a third end.

With the scores tied at 6-6, the game went to a nailbiting mixed decider, with all three games going the full length. Rob and Amanda slipped into gear and won to 19 in the third, and Paul and Sandra secured the win by settling into their groove after two very close ends to finish a fading Lincs pair 21-7. New pairing Daniel and Hannah won the first end, but failed to capitalise and faded once the match was secure. So the result of 8-7 means Cambs II get on the scoreboard, and move to a mid-table position. This is a team with some potential, once the members have settled into their roles and had more experience together. Chocolate digestives and Guiness may need to be rationed for the season though.

IInd Team Struggle in First Match

For the first match of the season Cambs II faced tough opposition in the form of Norfolk II, and this was demonstrated in the men's singles, which both went to Norfolk, although Rob Couch put up a strong fight, losing 19-21 and 17-21 in a disappointing two close sets. The Ladies were also very unlucky in the singles, with both Amanda Godfrey (21-19, 17-21, 15-21) and Hannah Sharman (11-21, 21-12, 18-21) losing in 3 after very close fights.

Going into the men’s doubles Cambs were 4 - 0 down and in need of a result, which was duly provided by Rob Couch and Sunny Loy who won comfortably against the Norfolk first pair (21-14, 21-15). Unfortunately they were unable to repeat this in their second close match (19-21, 19-21). Paul Martell and Sam Pickup were also beaten in both of their games, despite putting up a good fight against the Norfolk second pair, only to lose after a tense third set (17-21, 20-22 and 14-21, 21-16, 18-21).

In the Ladies doubles Cambs had more luck with first pair Amanda and Hannah winning both of their games (22-20, 17-21, 21-14 and 21-13, 21-10), but with Cambs still in need of some more wins the second pair of Sandra Ashcroft and Lisa Haws were not so lucky, losing both of their games (16-21, 13-21 and 15-21, 18-21).

So going into the mixed, Cambs were 9 –2 down and playing for pride. They didn’t disappoint. Hannah and Sunny, a previously untried pair set the standard with a spirited fight, winning in three thrilling sets (17-21, 21-13, 21-19). Amanda and Rob also posted a win, with a nail biting third end against the Norfolk first pair (14-21, 21-16, 21-18). Sandra and Paul tried hard but struggled against a good third pair (17-21, 16-21). Final score 10 – 5 to Norfolk.

IIIrd Team Struggle v Beds II

Second game in for the 3rd team proved a little harder than expected. With a few squad changes and some illness amongst the team - I guess that isn't the best preperation. Starting off with the mens singles, the 3rd team started off with a bit of a tough time...Tom up against a tough opponent, managing only to get 12 in both ends...Ray improving,, but still a little short with 16 and 15. Ladies singles on the other hand has been totally different, Laurel played as 1st this time, and had a very difficult and well trained opponent, taking it to 3 ends although loosing in the end(16-21, 21-17, 21-13)..and she had won her first singles on our first tie. Staci played at two this time around, and although she lost in two the second game was 26-24!, and she has had constant close matches always loosing at around 19!

Mens doubles. Owen and Tom having played together at the restricted had some history, but unfortunately this was one step up and lost both mens, though putting up a good fight. Playing at 2nds Damien and Ray took the Beds II pairs a bit further into 3 ends, however, without the killer instinct this time around weren't able to finish things off. Ladies doubles. Emma and Carolyn together for the first time played at 1 losing both games though close in all ends. Staci and Laurel played together at 2nd and were unfortaunately out played in both.

Mixed. Tom and Emma having played in the last match were put up as 1st pair, with Owen and Staci playing 2nd and Damien and Carolyn playing 3rds. With Owen and Staci going to 3 ends this looked like the best chance for a victory. Unfortunately the luck just didn't seem to be blowing in the way of Cambridgeshire and all three mixed ended up going the wrong way. All in all not the result that was hoped for, but it should not be forgotten that this is the first year the County has had a 3rd team. The purpose of which is a development team both for juniors and top club players to experience this level badminton. A couple of games in show that it takes a while to become acustomed to County level badminton, however, there is no doubt that over the season there will be a huge improvement.

 

Ist Team Second Victory

Cambs went into todays match against Sussex, knowing that we we're going to face a tougher test than the first match against herts 4, and the mens singles proved to be the case with first singles player Stephen pickering losing in 3, struglling with shuttles that were to fast. And second singles Sam Scharf losing in two. Ladies singles were split with Olga Bryant showing her clas and winning comfortably in two but Jaclyn Lai struggling for consistancy and losing in two. So after the singles Cambs were 3 1 down, looking for more success in the mens doubles than in the mens singles, Sam and Stephen lost there first doubles against the second pair in two but then bounced back to beat the first pair comfortably in two. First doubles pair James Wilson and Neil Place had a similar problem, beat the first pair comfortbly in two games but the lost to the second pair in 3 with some uncharasteristic mistakes.

The ladies doubles had more success with the singles players pairing up, beating the first pair in a battling 3 sets with Olga playing some amazing badminton, and then easily beating the second pair with some great power hitting for Jaclyn dominating the game. Second ladies pair of Liz Salmon and Amanda Godfrey went on against the second pair and fought valiently to beat a determined second pair in 3 followed by going on against the sussex first pair and going down in a very close 3 set battle. So after the double the match score of 6 all meant we needed 2 mixed to win the match, new pairing of Stephen and Olga took the Sussex first pair to pieces to win comfortably in two. Second mixed pairing of Liz and Neil played a dominating game to bully there opponants in to a two victory. Third mixed pairing of Amanda and James, battled through a challenging game to pull out a 3 set victory against the thirds. So another victory for the Cambs first team searching for promotion this year, with a tough game against Kent to come next can we continue the winning streak....

Cambridgeshire Players Tournament

The competitive badminton season got underway with the Cambridgeshire Players Tournament at Littleport when the outstanding performance came from Olga Bryant who won three trophies. She won the Ladies Singles for the 9th successive year when she defeated Jaclyn Lai 21-12, 21-12.

Olga then partnered with Katie Balls took the Ladies Doubles title defeating Jaclyn Lai and Liz Salmon 21-9, 21-12.

Finally in the Mixed Doubles Olga completed the treble with Nick Pratt as a partner. In a tight final match they overcame Stephen Pickering and Sharon Chandler 21-10, 15-21, 21-17.

Over the years the Mens Singles final has often been between Kevin Barron and Mohammed Mustafa. This year they met in the semi-final with Mustafa being successful by 21-15, 21-11. In the final Mustafa defeated Stephen Pickering 21-19, 21-17.

The Mens Doubles final provided the outstanding and closely fought match of the entire tournament. Jason Bryant and Nick Pratt just edging home against Paul Martell and James Wilson 24-22, 20-22, 21-19.

In the plate competition for the first round losers the most promising performance came in the ladies doubles which saw 14 year old Molly Carter and 15 year old Hannah Sharman being successful.

Results

Mens Singles

Mohammed Mustafa beat Stephen Pickering 21/19 21/17

Ladies Singles

Olga Bryant beat Jaclyn Lai 21/12 21/12

Mens Doubles

Nick Pratt & Jason Bryant beat

Paul Martell & James Wilson

24/22 20/22

21/19

Ladies Doubles

Katie Balls & Olga Bryant beat

Jaclyn Lai & Liz Salmon

21/9 21/12

Mixed Doubles

Nick Pratt & Olga Bryant beat

Stephen Pickering & Sharon Chandler

21/10 15/21 21/17

Plate Competition

Mens Singles - J. Pickering

Mens Doubles - D. Dugmore & O. Poyser

Ladies Doubles - M. Carter & H. Sharman

Mixed Doubles - J. Wilson & S. Ashcroft

For further information contact Ken Verney

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.​