Sunday 26
th October
saw the start of a new campaign for Cornwall 2
nd Team in Division 6
South West of the Senior County Championships. Having narrowly missed out on
promotion to the ‘promised land’ (Division 5) for a number of seasons, the team
were looking for a winning start to the season against an Avon 3
rd
team who had achieved a resounding 12-3 victory against Dorset 3
rd
Team in their first encounter of the season two weeks previously.
As always, proceedings were
opened with the Men’s and Ladies’ Singles, with Cornwall represented by the
Luke sisters, Hester and Daphne in the Ladies and by Liam Sillifant and Dave
Harrington in the Men’s – Liam making his first appearance for a senior county
team following a number of excellent performances in pre-season trials and
tournaments.
Cornwall were given an fantastic
start, with Hester’s power and precision around the net proving too much for
Becky Cox, representing Avon in the number one singles slot. Despite a rally
from Cox in the second end, Hester won 21-8, 21-18, crucially conserving energy
for the doubles games to come.
Meanwhile both Men’s Singles were
in progress, with Liam taking on Aiden Gibbons and Dave up against David
Bailey. Unfortunately for Dave, the agile Bailey proved to be very mobile
which, teamed with his sharp net play, made for a tough match. Despite recovering
from a poor start, Dave was unable to string together enough points to take the
win and went down 21-14, 21-17 – a creditable effort against a tough opponent.
With the match now level at 1-1, Liam’s game was also in the balance. The young
Launceston BC player’s opponent (Gibbons) has been selected for the Ireland
Under-19 squad and would prove a tough opponent on Liam’s debut appearance. In
spite of this, Liam started strongly and took the first game with an array of
precise smashes and tumbling net shots. The next two games were a veritable
‘to-and-fro’ affair, with some excellent net play and outstanding recovery
shots from both players. Unfortunately for Cornwall, the tournament-hardened
Gibbons was able to edge the second game, and a good run of points when locked
at 15-15 in the final end saw him take the match 18-21, 21-19, 21-15. Despite
the defeat, it was an impressive debut performance from Liam who no doubt has a
bright future ahead of him with the county teams.
The second Ladies’ Singles match
saw Daphne pitted against the experienced Eve Morgan. In a difficult match with
some long rallies and superb retrieval around the net, Morgan’s experience
eventually told and, despite Daphne’s best efforts, ran out a 21-13, 21-14
winner.
Facing a 3-1 deficit going into
the Level Doubles, some strong performances were needed to turn the tables and
the team were confident that they could deliver. Representing Cornwall in the
Ladies’ Doubles were the all-Mount’s Bay BC pairing of Hester and Vicki Thomas
and the all Callington BC pairing of Lynda Beer and Jan Santillo. The pairings
for the Men’s Doubles were Rich Townsend and Dave Harrington, reprising last
year’s regular partnership, and Kahoo Tse and Sam Spencer, who also represented
the second team together on a couple of occasions last year.
The first round of Ladies Doubles
saw two tense matches, both of which went to three ends. Vicki and Hester were
pushed all the way in their game against Morgan and partner Becci Scott, their
match being one of the longest of the day. In a game which ebbed and flowed
throughout, the Cornish ladies did well to recover from the disappointment of
losing a close second end to triumph in the third, sealing a 22-20, 23-25,
21-19 victory. Lynda and Jan, resuming their partnership after a season’s
break, had a similarly even encounter with Cox and partner Penny Scott. With
the power of Scott in particular proving a handful, Lynda and Jan played well
and took the first end. The next two ends saw a number of gruelling rallies and
some excellent badminton from all concerned, but Lynda and Jan were
unfortunately unable to secure the second end needed for the win and the Avon
pair ran out 17-21, 21-17, 21-15 winners.
The first Men’s match-ups saw
some similarly close and entertaining matches. Dave and Rich took on Will
Hollis and Darren Wong in a match which saw Hollis’s powerful smash and Wong’s
dogged defence provide an interesting contrast to Dave’s fast, flat game and
Rich’s touch around the net. Several long runs of points on serve were had by
both pairings and although Dave and Rich did their best to squander an 8 point
lead in the final end with some shaky serving, their determination and ‘Lleyton
Hewitt like’ tenacity (and shouting) sealed a 21-16, 19-21, 21-18 win for the Cornish
team. Kahoo and Sam, meanwhile, were taking on the youthful Gibbons and Bailey.
Although the Cornish pair, with Kahoo’s attacking power and excellent defence
acting as an effective foil to Sam’s deft drop shots and deception, seemed to
form a better partnership than the two singles-orientated players in the Avon
pairing, a momentary lapse in concentration allowed the sharp Avon pairing to
steal the first end. However, Kahoo and Sam did not allow this setback to
affect them and roared back into the contest in the second and third ends and
sealed another win in three ends – 20-22, 21-17, 21-17.
The second round of doubles
matches did not prove to be as close as the first. Vicki and Hester continued
their impressive form against Cox and P. Scott, who seemed intent on playing
the shuttle to Vicki for much of the game, despite her consistently solid
performance. Vicki and Hester led for most of the first end and, having edged
past the Avon pair in setting, asserted their dominance in the second end,
having an excellent run of points at the start of the game and taking the
overall win 22-20, 21-12. In the final Ladies’ Doubles, Lynda and Jan had a
tough match against the experienced Morgan and the attacking net play of B.
Scott. Despite a great effort from Lynda and Jan, the Avon pair also played
well, making very few unforced errors and took a 21-18, 21-14 win for their
team.
The final Men’s Doubles matches
were thankfully a little more of a formality than the first round. After an
error-strewn first end which Dave and Rich were lucky to win, they produced a
far more competent performance in the second, with consistent serving from Rich
allowing Dave to pounce on any weak returns at the back and stretch out a good
lead in the second game. This improved consistency allowed the Cornish pair to
nullify the Avon youngsters’ excellent defence and retrieval and sealed a
24-22, 21-14 win. Kahoo and Sam found their form in similar fashion in their
second match, producing a variety of shots which proved very effective against
the smash and drive oriented game of Hollis and Wong. Never really troubled in
either game, Kahoo and Sam completed a straight two end win, 21-18, 21-15 – a
win which also completed an excellent clean sweep in the Men’s Doubles.
With the doubles complete and the
match score at 7-5 to Cornwall following a great comeback in the Level Doubles,
one rubber was needed from the Mixed Doubles to seal the match win. If the team
could take all three Mixed then they would come away from the fixture with the
full three points. The Mixed saw Lynda and Rich take on B. Scott and Gibbons,
Vicki and Kahoo up against Cox and Wong and Jan and Sam playing P. Scott and
Hollis. With both sides needing to take all three matches to gain extra points,
all of the matches were very hard-fought.
Kahoo and Vicki, having formed an
effective partnership in pre-season, had the best of their match despite the
best efforts of Cox and Wong. With both Kahoo and Vicki displaying great court
coverage and retrieval, they took the rubber 21-17 21-18 to give Cornwall an
unassailable 8-5 lead in the fixture and secure at least two points from the
match. Jan and Sam also put in an admirable performance, especially given their
being a scratch pairing with little to no practice together. Up against the
powerful P. Scott and Hollis pairing, they controlled the game well,
counteracting the power of their opposition by slowing down the play. After a
straightforward first end, the second was far closer, with some excellent
badminton played by both pairings – thankfully for Cornwall Jan and Sam held
their nerve to take the game and the rubber 21-11, 24-22. Hopes of securing
three points from the fixture now rested with Lynda and Rich, taking on the
strong pairing of B. Scott and Gibbons. In a match reflective of the standard
of badminton played across the whole fixture, it was nip and tuck all the way
through, with the Callington BC club mates recovering a 3 or 4 point deficit on
a number of occasions. Unfortunately for the Cornish team, and despite Lynda
and Rich having a number of game points in both ends, the Avon pair triumphed
in two agonisingly close ends – 24-22, 25-23.
With the Mixed Doubles over the
fixture had been concluded with a final score of 9-6 to Cornwall. The match had
seen some excellent badminton from both sides and had proved to be a great
showcase of skill and teamwork. Although possibly a little disappointed at not
securing all three points, the Cornwall team will be very pleased with a good
start to the season against tough opposition and will be looking to carry their
form into the next fixture against Dorset 3rd Team on 23rd
November.
Thanks of course go to the
selectors for their efforts in organising the fixture, to the Avon team for a
match played in excellent spirit and to everyone who gave up their time to
attend the match and support the team.
Team
Ladies – Lynda Beer, Daphne Luke,
Hester Luke, Jan Santillo, Vicki Thomas.
Men – Dave Harrington, Liam
Sillifant, Sam Spencer, Rich Townsend, Kahoo Tse.
