Melbourn lost 9-16

Melbourn's 1sts first team match of the winter season was against Hunts County… and also lots of fellow team mates from playing Herts summer and Cambridgeshire intercounty matches.

Melbourn's team comprised: Chris Shaw (1), Vinod Duraikan (2), Mike Herd (3), Miles Jeanneret (4) & Mark Oppen (5). It proved to be a series of closely fought battles.

Chris won comfortably 3-0 against Hunts captain Colin Griggs (11-8 / 11-6 / 11-6), who learned his Squash at Melbourn.

Mike's match against Jason Burgon looked like it may have been a straightforward win for the opposition after Mike lost the opening game 5-11. However, Mike gradually pulled it back in the second game, levelling the scores 10-10 and with the spectators wondering which way the result would go?!? For Melbourn though, Mike just missed out on the second game 10-12 and the opening half of the third game looked to be as tight as the second until around the 7th point - Mike made some errors that let Jason in that extended the lead. This resulted in Hunts gaining their first 3-0 match win of the night, levelling the overall teams result one-a-piece (5-11 / 10-12 / 7-11).

Miles was on next against Henry Ingham. The match was up and down, seeing Miles move from losing the opener 5-11 to then winning the second comfortably 11-6. With the games 1-1 it was more a case of whether Miles' had the legs to keep his match alive. The third game was close but Henry's retrieving was relentless and after a loose drop from Miles' the visiting player had game ball and shortly after the game 11-9. The fourth game was more like the first as Miles battled to stay in the game but alas the result went to the Hunts player 3-1 (4-11 / 11-6 / 9-11 / 5-11).

Mark (skipper) was on after Miles and it was looking like the match could be a close affair as Mark lost the opener 10-12 to his opponent, Luke Halliwell. Mark worked hard to control play, resulting in winning the second game 11-9. The third was even closer with Mark just about taking it 13-11. In typical fashion, the fourth game was a fitness mind game for Mark as he battled to gain control, losing the fourth 9-11. Going into a deciding fifth game, Mark had to dig deep to keep his match alive but through sheer determination he managed to take the fifth game 13-11 and match 3-2 (10-12 / 11-9 / 13-11 / 9-11 / 13-11).

With the overall nights Squash hinging on the result of Melbourn's Vinod Duraikan and Hunts Sofia Aveiro-Pita' match, the suspense was palpable. Sofia had a great start as she took the two first games 11-4 & 11-6. Vinod not to be underestimated, came back in the third game playing the ball earlier and with good length and variety that removed time for Sofia to tee-up for her killing drives. The third game was fantastic, seeing great rallies and excellent play. Vinod played well that earnt him a very close game win 15-13. The fourth game saw Vinod continuing to work hard, carrying on with his third game formula. Although it was tight, Vinod thankfully won the fourth 12-10 to level the match 2-2, making the fifth game the one game of the night to decide the overall result for both teams. Vinod' start in the fifth was not great as Sofia found herself with slightly more shot-prep-time again for unleashing her trademark drives. With Vinod 4 points behind it was looking dicey whether he could pull the scores level. Vinod did bring the scores close but the earlier slow start from the blocks made it an even bigger challenge and unfortunately Vinod missed out on the win 8-11 and his match 2-3 (4-11 / 6-11 / 15-13 / 12-10 / 8-11)

Red Thai curry and hospitality at the Queen's Head afterwards was excellent, as usual. 

Mark commented afterwards: “It was great to see the team back on court again competing in league 1. This division is always a challenge, but we put in a good fight against our close rivals, Hunts. Although not a win, we were grateful for the 9 points and look forward to our next match, at home to Peterborough.”