Melbourn lost 4-19

The 1sts opened the second half of the season with a 19-4 loss at home to an extremely familiar Hunts County 1sts team, four of whose five players have played for Melbourn previously (though only three recently).

Melbourn’s only victory came at second string as Chris Shaw beat Malik Bilen, aided by the recurrence of an injury to Malik when the Hunts Player was leading by two games to one. That resulted in a 3-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-0, 11-0 win for Chris.

Bilen’s younger brother Mumin, who also played top string for his nation, Turkey, in the 2024 European Team Championships, proved too strong for Matt Sampson at first string, winning (Matt’s scores first) 10-12, 5-11, 6-11.

Another national number 1, the top ranked Portuguese female player, Sofia Aveiro-Pita, took the third string as she edged out Melbourn’s Vinod Duraikan (Vinod first) 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11.

All three of the teenaged aspiring pros have featured for Melbourn in recent years, either in the winter league or in Sophia’s case the summer one. Mike Herd (4) was up against a player whose Melbourn history was longer ago, Hunts head coach Colin Griggs having started his Squash journey at our club. The latest chapter was another win for Colin as Mike was beaten 6-11, 5-11, 6-11.

The final match saw Miles Jeanneret (5) taking on the only Hunts player without Melbourn connection, not surprising as David Robertson has very recently moved to Cambridgeshire. This first meeting of the players resulted in a 5-11, 10-12, 7-11 loss for Miles. Next time. Next time…