prep

Another Title for England
Quick summary from Steve Cubbins

England's women maintained their perfect record in the tournament to collect their 28th consecutive title, but it was a close run thing against hosts Netherlands.

Jenny Duncalf got the defending champions off to a great start with a 9/0 9/2 9/2 demolition of Margriet Huisman before world champion Vanessa Atkinson levelled the match against England captain Linda Elriani.

The decider saw Vicky Botwright take a tight first game 10/8, then rush to a 9/0 win in the second. At 8/4 to Botwright in the third three match balls passed, as Annelize Naude clawed her way back into contention.

Naude levelled, and earned a game-ball at 9-8, Botwright spurned a fourth chance at 9-9 as Naude pulled a game back.

The Dutch girl got off to a flyer in the fourth, leading 5-1, but that was to be the end of the home crowd's hopes, as Botwright reeled off eight unanswered points to retain England's title.

Scroll down for quotes and photos ...

England claim
another double ...

The start of men's final turned out to be a repeat of 2004, with James Willstrop and Nick Matthew winning 3/0 at third and fourth strings, leaving Lee Beachill and Peter Nicol the task of winning a single game to retain their title.

When Beachill took the first game 9/4 England took an unassailable position, and retain their title ... the match was being played out with the final two matches best of three, with Beachill and Nicol both winning in three to give England their sixth

Details to follow ...

WHERE TO SIT??? This morning, I sat down on the left side to watch English Ladies against the Dutch, and I chose the left side because it’s where the action normally is… And it’s only when Paul Carter, Assistant Coach for England, told me “Well, I guess that, this afternoon, you’ll be sitting on the other side”, that I realised I was sitting in the middle of the English Squad! So, I quietly moved and went to sit right in the centre… God, it’s such hard work to report on matches, you have no idea all the parameters you’ve got to think about…. DRIVING FOR 30 HOURS… The new men’s Fair Play Awards was awarded to Ukranian Roman Dolynych. It was the first year that Ukraine was taking part in this tournament, Chris Stahl, President of the ESF informed us. And not only that, he told us that Roman and his team mates actually drove from Ukraine to Amsterdam… Is that dedication and passion or what???	MATTHEW IMPERIAL… So, it was not an easy three setters for Nick Matthew today against Renan Lavigne… 48 minutes with a game of 9/0, you see immediately that the battle was rude, and the rallies long… Nick was just in constant control of the T. He never left the front of the court, imposed his pace, his game, his shots. Yes, he run a lot of course, but his variation of shots, from backhand boast flirting superbly with the tin to hard and low hitting not to mention his remarkable volleying, forced the Frenchman to cover a tremendous ground… Renan retrieved beautifully well, and his patience started to pay off in the middle of the second, as Nick made a few errors, and found himself in the back of the court for a while… the roles were reversed… After 8 minutes, we were still at 1/1. Then those two offered us the rally of the tournament, about 2 minutes of perfect squash, won by Renan, followed quite quickly by another rally about the same length, this time won by the English… What happened in Renan’s brain at 3/1, not sure, but that was basically the end of it all. He never score another point in the match…The last game was simple and short: 7 minutes. Hard… And those two perfect victories of James and Nick set up the perfect game for Lee…
GOOD SPIRIT FOR MARGRIET… You couldn’t help feeling tense for that young lady, playing in her first big final, in front of her home crowd. Margriet Huisman started her match against Jenny Duncalf very very nervous indeed… Jenny on the contrary shot out of the starting blocks, played her game of hard hitting crosscourts and sharp backhand boasts to perfection… The Dutch had a good start to the second game, and got in front of the English a few times, placing some nice kills. But her luck was short lived, and although she fought to the end, running like a lunatic, picking up lost causes, she couldn’t prevent her opponent from finishing it off… But I know she had a great time, and she showed some excellent attitude on court, and great disposition… I’m sure we’ll hear from her again soon…	VANESSA : GOOD PERFORMANCE… Vanessa Atkinson was expected to win today… The same way she was expected to win last week in Qatar… Never easy to be the favourite, you know… All the weight on your shoulder… The fear of winning is so much greater than the fear of losing… But no, today, Vanessa didn’t choke… She was in control most of the match, apart from a little “switching off” at the start of the second that allowed Linda Elriani to take a “comfortable” lead 5/0, then 6/1, a lead that the English couldn’t unfortunately hold on to, allowing the Dutch to stick back at 7/7, then 8/8. A drop shot and an out of court later, Vanessa was 2/0 up … Again in the third, Vanessa seemed to drift away once in a while, and the game was very close score wise, 4/4, 6/6…. But the rallies became shorter and shorter, and Vanessa imposed her pace and shots to a still fighting Linda, who could only accept defeat in three, 9/6 in the third…
BOTWRIGHT O SO STRONG… This time, the pressure was on string number two Vicky Botwright, who was playing ex South African Funny Hair Colour Lovely Lady Annelize Naude… During the whole match, the pace was extremely high, and I don’t think I ever saw Annelize playing so fast for so long. She played extremely well, and although the two girls seemed to get in each other’s way more than once, their game was quite complementary, and it was a very good match indeed… First game, very close indeed, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 8/8, and Vicky needed three game balls to finally seize the game in 25 minutes. The second, Annelize just didn’t exist, allowing a cruel score, 9/0. The third was magnificent! Suspense, drama, four match balls… and none transformed! Against all odds, the Netherlands girl came back from 4/8, and battled and battled again, finding her width at last, cutting off Vicky’s shots beautifully, in particular on the forehand… And the Netherlands crowd, up to that moment, rather quiet, started to believe that maybe, today was the day… Could she..? And their support raised even more when their girl was up 5/1 in the fourth. Was she going to be able to impose a fifth? But it was not knowing the Lancashire Botwright… She just dug in there, didn’t lose her head, didn’t lose her focus, got back in front, put more weight on her shots… and just clawed back, breaking Annelize's spirit, who strung error after error... And this time, Vicky only needed one match ball… England was a very deserving champion, once again…	LINCOU: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE… Or “Déjà vu”… Like I said to Andy Bunting sitting next to me, I had the impression of being 12 months back, in Rennes, for the last final of the European Tams … And although today, Thierry Lincou was not playing Peter Nicol but Lee Beachill, the feeling of “mission impossible” was as tangible as it was last year.. The Frenchman never had a chance really… Well, I'll let you in on a little secret… that everybody on the circuit knows anyway… Thierry is a slow starter, he is… It’s quite usual for him to lose the first game, and he probably won more five setters that he wishes to remember… So, imagine the scene. He knows he’s got to win. No, worse than that. He knows he cannot lose. Anything. A bit like if I say to you, “don’t look”… No, Thierry made as usual a wobbly start, worsened by a perfect Lee Beachill, on a court that suited him to perfection. He never gave Thierry a chance, his length as perfect as usual, pushing his opponent way to the back, and even having the audacity and the confidence to go for nick kills… The game lasted 27 minutes, but the Englishman was able to impose his game nearly from start to finish… Another “humiliating” final for the French. 20 points in three matches. Oups… Like Thierry said afterwards, David against Goliath... Oh well, maybe next year....
HEART BREAKING DAY… Hard day for my little heart today, you know… First, while my French women were battling hard against Germany for fifth place, I was watching the final between England and Netherlands… Well, you’ve got to have your priorities right… And I couldn’t justify dropping the top two teams, just because my home country was playing… Then, I had to skip the match between James and Laurent, as I had to send the quotes to Steve of the six ladies… And then, I saw Nick Matthew playing a superb and analytic destruction of Renan’s spirit, that gave England a 99% chance to win, yet again… And then I saw Lee playing once again so superbly against French Number One Thierry Lincou, and signing at the bottom of the Score Sheet the definitive defeat of my country men… I’m not even sad… Why? Well first, England was just far too good, far too strong, far too much in control. Two, the French gave everything they had, and beyond. Three, I have not only a great admiration of each and every one of the England Team, but also… I just love them. I do. And I’m not going to apologise for it.	« Je suis heureuse et fatiguée ! La pression retombe actuellement et la fatigue des matches commencent à se faire ressentir. Nous avons réalisé quelque chose de bien et je suis contente de mon parcours. Je me souviendrai longtemps de ce championnat où j’ai gagné mes premières victoires en senior. Mon plus beau souvenir restera ma balle de match contre le Danemark !» Célia Allamargot « Le Championnat d’Europe s’est bien déroulé avec une 5e place à la clé. Je suis satisfaite du résultat de l’équipe. Personnellement, je n’ai joué qu’un match face à l’Espagne. Mon adversaire était plus forte et m’a imposé un rythme très élevé durant toute la rencontre. Le moment le plus fort restera notre victoire face aux Danemark. » Maud Duplomb « L’équipe a assuré et a rempli son contrat. Je pense que l’on ne pouvais pas faire mieux. Personnellement, je suis pas satisfaite de mes résultats. Mon squash ne me plait pas. Pour l’instant les résultats ne sont pas à la hauteur de mon investissement. Je m’entraîne enormément en Angleterre alors je veux faire mieux. Je pense que d’ici deux ans, l’équipe sera plus performante et j’attends l’arrivée de Camille et de Soraya . » Isabelle Stoehr
"He had a good lead in the third, and in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help thinking that it would be better for the team if I was to win in three, so I really didn’t want to lose that game, strangely enough… "It was a good game out there… Laurent battled hard, and I had to work very hard to win the match…" James Willstrop "During the two first games, I wasn’t tight enough, I wasn’t precise enough, and as the court was very warm and very bouncy, I couldn’t find my length either… And in the third, I started to find my game at last. But at the end, I wasn’t patient enough, and I couldn’t finish it off… "He played so well. He’s got an amazing reach, and to score points against him, you’ve got to be so precise. And as he is also so precise…. "I did my best, in view of the circumstances…" Laurent Elriani "I know Renan’s game quite well, because he came and trained with me last summer, and I know that you always have to make a great start against him, be patient, and delay the shots. If you are not focused in the beginning, he can get very confident and become very dangerous indeed. "Peter had a 'go' at us, James and myself, saying 'you lost 16 points between you two, it’s unacceptable!'. No, I really don’t think that both of us could have done any better. "My back is really holding very well now, I’m teaching my body to hold differently, it’s a whole new process, a new way of life… After the ToC, I was really lost, I didn’t know what I was going to do, and if I was going to be able to go on playing." Nick Matthew "I’ve got the feeling that I missed the last part of the match. In the beginning, I played well, but then I lost my rhythm… "I wasn’t able to keep the same strategy for long enough. I was attempting something, it wasn’t working quick enough, so I tried something else… And I could see the points running away from me… "I wasn’t strong enough mentally to force him into my game. Well, I was sometimes, I pushed him to play some errors, but not often enough… "The beginning of the second game was crucial, we had a very long rally, that I won, then another one, nearly as long, that I lost. And that was the turning point. I wasn’t mentally strong enough to step another gear… "But at the end of the day, they’ve got four players in the top ten, they got a very strong structure, a lot of money, and we don’t… Renan Lavigne "I like the court very much. It’s a court on which it pays if you’re accurate. James and Nick proved earlier that, if you play with accuracy, you really impose a great result. "On that court it’s very difficult to try and attack and move your opponent around. So I was very patient, and Thierry made a few errors… "I’m not going to apologise because we’ve got four players in the top ten. It’s been a great year for all of us, we’ve got a great system, a system that works, and the way we do things is obviously the right way. "But the flipside of it, is that we’ve got to perform, and that we all have a lot of pressure every time we arrive at a tournament, because if France were to beat us for example, it would be a fantastic result. "Take Renan. He is a great player, and Nick had to come and beat him 3/0. The pressure was on Nick, not on Renan you know… And the same for me. I had a fantastic season, I saw the back end of the tournament nearly all the time, I worked very hard, it’s the end of the season, and I still had to play at my best today, we all had to… "I think our strength comes from the fact we have a great team spirit. We are all there for each other; we don’t want to let each other down… We don’t play just for ourselves… We play for each other…" Lee Beachill	Thierry "Je voulais jouer à fond et tout donner. Mais rentrer en sachant que je ne peux pas perdre le moindre jeu, c’est une pression terrible… "Alors, j’ai du prendre des risques, j’ai attaqué, et bien sûr, j’ai fait des fautes… Alors que lui, il était patient, il savait qu’il pouvait tout donner sur un jeu… "A part ça, on est très content du reste de la semaine, on est arrivé en finale très affûtés, et de belle manière, sans perdre un match. "Maintenant, comparé à l’Angleterre, on n’a ni les moyens financiers, ni l’historique qu’ils ont. Notre fédération est toute petite, toute jeune, c’est un peu le Petit Poucet… Alors, c’est seulement au niveau individuel que je peux relever le défi, et c’est une grande satisfaction personnelle bien sûr… J’ai la motivation qui je l’espère, me permettra de progresser encore… Thierry Lincou "Les deux premiers jeux, je n’ai pas assez collé mes balles, je n’ai pas été assez précis, et comme le court était très chaud, je n’arrivais pas non plus à trouver mes longueurs… Et puis dans le troisième, mon jeu s’est vraiment mis en place, mais à la fin, j’ai manqué de patience, et le match m’a échappé… "Il a vraiment bien joué… Il a une allonge phénoménale. Pour marquer des points contre lui, il faut vraiment être très précis, et comme il est aussi très précis, c’est très difficile de le battre… "Mais bon, j’ai fait de mon mieux au vu des circonstances…" Laurent Elriani "J’ai un peu l’impression d’être passé à côté de la fin du match. Non, au début, j’ai bien joué, mais à la fin, j’ai perdu mon rythme. "Mon problème est que je n’ai pas réussi à conserver la même stratégie assez longtemps. Je tentais quelque chose, et puis ça ne marchait pas, alors je tentais autre chose… Et les points défilaient… Je n’étais pas assez fort dans ma tête, dans mon schéma pour l’entraîner dans mon jeu. Enfin, j’ai réussi de temps en temps, je l’ai poussé à la faute, mais pas assez souvent… "Le début du 2ème a été crucial, on a eu un échange très long que j’ai gagné, et un autre presque aussi long, que j’ai perdu. Et ça a été le tournant… Après ça, je n’étais pas assez fort mentalement pour en remettre une deuxième couche. "Mais bon, au bout du compte, ils ont une équipe trop forte, avec de très gros moyens… Et pas nous…" Renan Lavigne

"I was really nervous to start with, I knew there were a lot of people counting on me… "Linda puts the ball up so well, so I had to make sure I was taking the ball early, and volleying as much as I could. In the second game, I went too short, and got a bit tired, it’s hard to volley constantly… "When I was down, I kept on saying to myself “be patient, and keep volleying”. I was hoping that, the more I would keep the rallies going, the more she would eventually make errors. And it worked…" Vanessa Atkinson "I didn’t feel, like, superfresh after yesterday’s match, but I was all right. I find it much harder to play number one, as you get to play all the other numbers ones who are usually top players, even if the rest of the team isn’t that strong… "Vanessa played very well, even if there were moments where we were both up and down. She was more consistent than I was, her length was better as well. "She is so nice to play, it’s clean squash, and a fair play… Always a pleasure…" Linda Elriani "Jenny plays at such a pace! And she volleys so much, I was under pressure the whole time… She plays great boasts as well, she holds her shots so well, you think she’s going to play length, and suddenly, you find yourself running after a short ball… You never know where to stand, and what’s she is going to do… "It’s my first European final, I’m so happy to play against a top 10 player, I really enjoyed it. It’s a fantastic feeling to play for your country. I was in the National Team for a few years, but I was playing fourth, so I was only playing a few matches, but now, at three, I’m playing much more. "It’s a special feeling to play in the semis and the final for your country in your country…" Margriet Huisman "I felt quite confident. It’s so different from playing a WISPA event though, there’s so much pressure… "But I was OK really, this morning, I didn’t feel too much pressure, and I got a good start, 9/0. After that, I was able to play my game and just enjoyed it…" Jenny Duncalf	LINDA on England victory "It’s a great feeling to win again, Vicky played very well, there was a lot of pressure on England to win again, and a lot of pressure on Vicky. And she handled it very well. "After losing the third, she didn’t get nervous, she didn’t lose her head, she kept concentrated, and came back to win it. "Of course, I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t do my bit today, but I did my best…" Linda Elriani, England Captain "It was such a release to win, I thought I was about to cry! "It’s the most pressure I’ve ever been under, playing the decider for the Europeans… "All week, I felt quite nervous, but today, I woke up, and I felt ok, I felt calmer… "At the end of the third, beginning of the fourth, I suddenly shortened my game, and played her game, in particular, I was playing too many cross courts, and she was volleying extremely well, playing winners so many times…. So I just decided to hit through the ball a bit more…. And it worked… "And I have to admit, when I didn’t get a good start in the fourth, I started to be really worried…" Vicky Botwright "I was under pressure all week, but today, I knew that I just had to relax, and enjoy the fact that I was playing in Amsterdam… "Vicky is pretty consistent, and mentally very strong. She had more pressure than me, and I think she handled it very well… "I’m extremely disappointed…" Annelize Naude


"I liked the court… Because Linda and I have such different games, the pace would vary and depend on who would take the ball early… I really didn’t want to play short winning shots when I was volleying, I just wanted to keep the rallies going, I really tried very hard to impose my game… Madeline Perry "I really suffered today on those courts. It was so hot, so bouncy. But at the same time, the front wall is so dead, and yet you can’t hit a decent length. I really didn’t feel that was a true court… "Madeline and I have totally different games, so the game was very varied, depending who was imposing their style… "I got back in there because I just don’t want to lose, ever, not if I can help it. Today, she was playing superbly, and I’m really glad that I dug in to come back into the game, and also pleased to beat her when she is playing that well…" Linda Elriani "I enjoyed the game. It’s always nice to represent your country and play well. I was relaxed, and I just played my own game. I’m really looking forward to meeting the hosts tomorrow, it should be a great occasion…" Jenny Duncalf "Jenny was way too strong, she is so consistent… And those girls play at that level every day…! "If I could play the match again, I would try and do for the whole match what I did for the first half of the first game, take the ball earlier, and have a bit more belief and confidence in what I was doing… "Ah, and also, turn professional, that’s the only way, I’m afraid…" Laura Mylotte

"Renan and Jean-Michel really went beyond the call of duty once more, and showed yet again, that we can count on them. You know, with this format, when you start your match with your team up 2/0 in matches, and 3/0 in games, you have a tremendous psychological advantage… "Greg and I start so relaxed, it’s Renan and Jean-Mi that have the pressure, they are the ones playing the matches. And we can just stay in shape for the next day…" Thierry Lincou "I really enjoyed playing against Greg…The first game was good, I played flat out. Then in the second, he was just too quick, too strong, and I got a little tired. "It’s good for both of us to get into the rhythm for tomorrow’s matches, especially as it was a dead rubber…" LJ Anjema "I knew he was not going to let go of anything, especially in front of his home crowd. It’s his 18th or 19th European Championship, the man has got experience. So I knew I had to play him tight… "I moved well, was comfortable, and I didn’t give him a chance to express himself. I made very few errors, so, very happy with this victory here, in Amsterdam… " Renan Lavigne "Thank you for remembering my match last year in Rennes! But contrary to last year, the court is warmer here, and the shots that were winners last year, well, Renan could pick them up. Not to mention that he is much fitter than I am. I stopped the PSA circuit about 5 years ago, I’ve got two kids, I do some coaching, I still play a few leagues, and that keeps me fit, but not as fit as Renan, of course… But I’m happy to be playing in the Europeans, at 37… "I needed a good start, but I made too many errors. I was up 6/4 in the third, but I hung in there, and couldn’t finish. He deserved to win…" Lucas Buit "I have a sore throat that has been nagging me for a few days, so I was happy to play a hard match to get rid of the “bad stuff”! But I must have really enjoyed only one rally through the whole match ... the rest of the time, I suffered like hell, thanks Marc… "He runs well, he’s got a good length, but thank God his short game lacks sometimes in precision, but still, I couldn’t let go with my shots, because I wasn’t sure of myself physically…" Jean-Michel Arcucci "I tried to play a bit shorter that I normally do because he is so quick on the court… The first game was very close, but he is a very experienced player, and I maybe got a bit impatient at the end of the game. "When he came back for the second, he had changed his game, and every time I was playing a short shot, he was just behind me and could redrop or counterattack beautifully. "Jean Michel doesn’t make many mistakes, he is so quick, you’ve got to win the point so many times… But I still believe that if I could have won a game, things could have turned out differently… Marc Reus, 22	"Against Wales, the matches went as expected. Maybe the Welsh boys didn’t give that a strong challenge to the English… But we are very happy to be in the final once again against the French…. Tomorrow will be a very competitive situation, with a lot of passion between both teams…" David Pearson England v Wales Simon Parke bt Jethro Binns 9/0 9/0 9/1 Nervous start for Jethro, he spins the racket for serve and walks off court forgetting to check and see! Parke smiles…… Simon, as always, shows his love to be on that court playing for England. As he bobbed about he looked stronger and stronger. Jethro was making unforced errors and the nerves took over. But I have to say he gets full marks from me because he kept trying. The match lasted 24 minutes and he had to work for that one precious point. He is so young and that means he is in the fortunate position of representing his country for a long time to come. So I look forward to watching him play in another European Championship. I said to Simon after the match “You looked as if you were enjoying that.” “Yeah,” he says with that impish smile. Peter Nicol bt David Evans 9/3 9/0 conceded These two giants of the game started off just as we hoped for….. Long rallies with exciting play. How Peter can lob with such accuracy is amazing and Evans just kept on returning everything. The first game lasted 14 minutes and only the last two rallies ran away from Evans. We are in for a treat we though, if these guys keep this up it will be magic. Sadly this was not to be the case, at the start of the second game it was questioned if it now became the best of three as England had already won the tie. Evans lost this game in 5 minutes and then conceded the third…what a shame…. James Willstrop bt Ricky Davies 9/3 9/3 9/3 I didn’t see this match but by all accounts Davies gave a good account of himself. Spectators reported he never gave up trying and the Welsh boy had a good match. Lee Beachill bt Alex Gough 9/5 9/0 conceded I arrived in time for Gough to come off court, collect his bag and brush past me…game over… When I asked Gavin Jones for a few careful words on his Team's performance, he said “It’s hard when you know mathematically that you have lost.”

PUT THE BLAME ON SIR PARKE… “What the heck are you doing here”, has been the most common sentence I heard today. Well, it’s all Simon Parke’s fault! For days, I tried everything to get him to write. I begged. I cried. I shouted. Nothing. I eventually threatened him to write another report on his last match with Joey Barrington in Colets last week… That did the trick. He texted me to try and arrange a phone interview. But nooooo. Not that simple, Madam! We kept on missing each other, when he was in his room, I was out, and the reverse… Hell it was… So the only way, THE ONLY WAY to get him to write something was to come to Amsterdam… Which I did… And that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it… MADNESS Here I was, quietly coming back from a lovely quiet evening at Dulwich Squash Club where the Garner Brothers, Tim and Ben, were playing an exhibition match and did a great job entertaining the crowd… And I tell you, no wonder they are both so skinny the pair of them, you should have seen them running like lunatics… Anyway, here I was, 11.30pm, thinking that I was about to have a lovely evening/weekend with my feet up, when I received a message from Linda requesting my presence in Amsterdam… Why? Not sure, but hey, when Linda says Jump, I say How High?????? So, finding a plane at a quarter to midnight, booking long term parking, packing, catching four hours of sleep, sorting out the repairs to my roof (yes, still leaking, thanks for asking…), off to Gatwick, with a car whose alarm system goes on and off as you drive, horning away… Lots of fun… Arriving in Amsterdam after 45 minutes. A joke really, I’m so used to long hauls, going to Amsterdam is nothing! Hop in a taxi, and here I am, in the FransOtten Stadion. Squash Players EVERYWHERE… All colours, all nationalities… Old friends, New Faces… I’m home… Framboise	Scotland, typed by Linda, not sure it makes sense, please check before posting From the Scottish Camp: but Harry is the Author: The word from the Scottish Camp Yeah Yeah …….Squash…Blah-Di-Blah –Di-Blah On to the more important matters; a worrying trend of pathetic hair cuts is sweeping the European Squash World. Starting at the top (literally) Peter Nicol’s dreadful barnet leaves him more hair-netter than nick-hitter these days, whilst the pretender to his throne, James Willstrop joins him in some sort of German B movie – Bjorn Borg, long haired fusion Nightmare. Jethro Binns (John White’s illustrious training partner) and Andrea Torrici (Italy) appear to be getting in touch with their Lithuanian peasant sides whilst Lee Beachill, Greg Tippings and Kirsten Johnson are doing their bit for the third division footballers. If we’re looking for someone to solve the mystery of why squash players are turning to bad hair perhaps the ‘Kojak’ of squash Paul Gregory may be useful…….although the sight of his shiny cupin on court with the overgrown locks and beard of Andre Holdegger left many wondering if this was a Buddha vs. Jesus of Nazareth celebrity death match. Speaking of slapheads watch this space for messieurs Arcucci and Ryan who look like they might be joining Greg in the not too distant future. Special mentions must go though to Stevie Richardson and Borja Golan. A strategically placed rubber band leaves the Irishman with a ridiculous tuft of hair protruding from the centre of his napper whilst the young Spaniard has opted for braids prompting Heathy to comment “What’s he up to? That’s the kind of nonsense 11 year old girls get on holiday in Tenerife.” Although Martin himself has his own issues as he is now sporting a fine ‘winter plumage’ (!) The ‘Just for Men’ bottle may be calling, if so I’m sure Dave Pearson and Paul Carter will be able to lend him a splash as they appear to be going through buckets of the stuff!! Anyway….back to trying to get back in the top eight …
Hi there ... since we last wrote we have played two matches, the first being against Scotland - out team consisted of Linda at number one who despatched Pam Nimmo in a confident and professional manner, needing just three games to carry out the victory. Second on was Jen, her opponent Louise Philips was an interesting player to say the least! Again only three games required, which left only Al to tie things up with a 3-nil win over Lizzie Leitch (this time managing not to serve out ... unlike a certain Nick Matthew, might we add). The tie was finished just in time for us to catch the all-important Champions League semi-final (much to the dismay of Bot, that is, until she realised she could make a swift exit to the Chinese with the coaches). 0-0 the final score, so still all to play for in the second leg ... come on you reds! After a good night's sleep (even for Jen who, in the form of her i-pod, finally found something to combat Al's incessant snoring) we were all set to take on the Germans on the show court. As with the previous match the order was 1-2-3 so on stepped Bot (Linda rested) making her first appearance for England at number one, a role that she fulfilled with the maturity and attitude it requires, taking out Karen Beriere three games to nil. To make sure of the result, Jen beat a former junior nemesis of hers 3-0, leaving Al again to finish off the job, this time beating Sandra Kruger, a promising youngster who despite the 3-0 scoreline left a good impression. So it's three matches three wins for us and for the boys so far. With our semi against Ireland not being played until 7pm tonight we have plenty of time to relax and prepare for what we hope will be another good day for the England Camp. So long for now ... the England Girls
J White Bt Roman Dolynych 9/0 9/6 9/0 H Leitch Bt Sergiy Zamomlystrow 9/0 9/0 9/0 S Crawford Bt Dmytro Shcherbakov 9/0 9/0 9/0 K Johnson Bt Oleksandr 9/0 9/3 9/2 batch 4 pic 005 Sergiy the tall one and Roman batch 4 pic 006 as above batch 4 pic 004 as above but brighter batch 4 pic 001 + 002 Ukraine team + J White batch 4 pic 003 Ukraine team batch 3 Sergiy Sergiy interview: I am 16 years old and have playing squash since 2002 - 3 years. I was born in Crimea ( Spelling?) I live with my mother and at present I am at school. Next year I go to University to study International Economics. I hope that in 7years time we can win this Championship, this is our dream. ----------------------------------------- The gentleman kneeling down to the right of the pic wearing specs is Mark Burden he is a helper, supporter, fan. He moved from Bournemouth 10years ago and liked Kiev so much he stayed there and now does as a hobby whatever he can to support the team. batch 2 pic 016 M Reus + Laurens batch 2 pic 015 plasma screen score board at centre court batch 2 pic 013 Greg Tippings disagreeing with the Spanish ref pic 012 Nick Matthew pic 011 Parkey Goffy ( I think he is injured ) and Paul Gregory, Greece where is the long hair !!! pic 008 Evans explaining to Tippings ..... pic 006 Graham H + Roy Gingell ( World Ref and here as on of the 2 assessors. Wendy Danzey arrived late last night pic 005 as above pic 004 Irish boys at breaky. left at front Liam Kenny , at back Niall Rooney, right Derek	Our 'ever-ready bunny' Madeline bounced back from a 2-0 defecit against Isabelle Stoehr to stage a magnificent comeback and win the first and crucial match, 9-7 in the fifth, leading the Irish as she always does. 'Chad's Chick' Aisling then came through a tough 3/0 against Celia Allamargot to win the match for Ireland, taking us to our first semi-final for ... well, let's just say a long long time, to be sure, to be sure ... Champion treadmill runner Laure then finished the job off with another hard fought 3/0 win over Laurence Bois. Look out the English ... remember the Six Nations ...


Arrived here in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon after a mini delay due to the lovely northern weather, and met up with the Southern Softies at Schipol. Beach was immediatley nominated to drive the team bus and treated Linda and the rest of the girls to a roller coaster ride in the car park. Had a lovely dinner at the function last night and spent the rest of the time debating what Alison's initiation should be and whether DP would find out about Jenny's 50 pound fine (hope I haven't let the cat out of the bag). The team this year is a good mixture of youth and experience with Alison making her debut and Linda and Parkey trying to add to their 52 and 50 caps respectively. The first match went ok without any hitches. The guys beat an under strength Holland 4 - 0 and the girls beat Belgium 3 - 0, the highlight of which was Alison serving out on her first England appearance. Nick Matthew Ireland v Finland Steve Richardson reports ... [5] IRELAND drew [8] FINLAND 2-2 Liam Kenny lost to Olli Tuominen 6-9, 4-9, 9-7, 6-9 Liam 'Roy' Kenny feels bad for losing ... we think he's just bad! Derek Ryan bt Matias Tuomi 7-9, 9-4, 9-4, 9-5 Old stager 'Shrek' Ryan started poorly, but used his experience to come through in four Steve Richardson lost to Juha Raumolin 8-10, 1-9, 4-9 Both players were as bad as each other ... except that Richardson was worse ... Niall Rooney bt Erno Teitti 9-4, 9-3, 9-2 Youn gun following in his brother's footsteps ... too quick, too good.