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| Report: | This turned out to be a feisty encounter between PL1 and Dulwich 1 yesterday evening. It all started like any other perfectly ordinary match, but ended in some controversy. A bit of variation and "light entertainment" for all ...
First up: London snr v Bristow.
The author was (ridiculously) having to fill the top slot on this occasion due to a variety of reasons that we'll gloss swiftly over. Quite a good competitive first game, but after that the author seemed to lose the ability to hit a consistent length and Jim was more than happy to get him out of position before putting the ball into any vacant area of the court. Very frustrating to effectively beat yourself. A comfortable win for Jim.
Next door: Kay v Butcher.
Paul had been drafted in as what turned out to be a very effective substitute. As is his wont, he gave his usual brand of 100% commitment and this was a very long match that lasted the length of two matches on the next door court. Not an awful lot of winners with these two, who both seem to love to rally for ever. A racket round the chops in the 3rd didn't seem to deter Paul too much and he eventually closed out a very tightly contested battle 14-12 in the 4th. Full marks for effort for both players, with Olly cycling to and from the match to boot!
Next up: Peel snr v Brownsdon.
A reasonably subdued looking Will, did enough throughout to keep Nick in check, whilst all the time appearing not to be too comfortable coping with the floaty old man's game he was up against. Nick made mistakes at crucial times in the games and that really was the difference. Nick was probably pretty hard done by (he'll be pleased to be told), not to win at least a game. A good effort for scant reward.
And so to the controversy: Peel jnr v Petronzio.
Where to start ... the first game was pretty innocuous, with Jack playing well to take it. Towards the end of the 2nd though there was a bit of "jostling". This culminated in Jack losing the point but being exceedingly peeved at some expletive laden (allegedly your honour) comments directed at him during the rally. Nick in the marking chair was in no mood to dispense clemency and awarded a stroke against Antonio. At this point all hell broke loose, and after ignoring conduct and final warnings to play on and stop arguing, an additional penalty point took Jack to game ball. The next rally saw Jack being clattered again, resulting in another stroke and thereby the game. Oh dear, oh dear.
The author was by this time sat despairingly with head in hands as heated discussions of rules, accusations of nepotism etc ensued. Still, the 3rd got underway eventually, and whilst it was toned down from the 2nd's stratospheric levels of tension, it was a tetchy game with a lot of collisions. Despite all of this, this was a remarkable win for Jack, and enabled PL to only lose on games countback!
Well, after all that, the tension dispersed somewhat in the bar. The author, somewhat jokingly, directed Nick and Antonio to opposite ends of the meal table, but no hard feelings appeared to remain, and jocular comments and handshakes were exchanged at departure time. Something different to brighten up a normal Priory evening. |
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| Author: | CL |
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