Long awaited clash in squash
Tuesday last saw the long-awaited clash between the top two players in Baw Baw Squash, Jason Tainton and Chris Cameron.
The match started at a frenetic pace with long rallies and great court coverage by both players. With the ball bouncing higher than usual due to the hot night it was difficult to put away winners.
The speed of both players around the court meant that each had to place and weight their shots perfectly to put the other under pressure. Overall, Jason was better able to accomplish this and took the match in three games 9/4 9/3 9/6.
In the previous match on court one, Lynton McPhail and Joe Cicala had an epic battle with Lynton prevailing in five games. After losing the first, 5/9, he turned the tables in the second with a convincing 9/2 win.
With a return to better depth Joe was able to catch Lynton out of position in the third with a reversal of the 9/2 result in the previous game.
The final two games could have gone either way but Lynton took each, 9/7 9/6. Jason’s team, the Hawks, won 3 – 0 over the Vultures to give them a clear advantage at the top of the table and push the Vultures back down to third.
On court two Jim Wilkinson played his best game for the season in defeating Steve Mooney 9/7 10/9 9/4. He was able to do this with great control and mixture of pace in the difficult conditions as well as utilising boasts of pinpoint accuracy to draw his opponent out of position.
After missing a couple of seasons due to injury it is great to see Jim getting back to top form.
Steve Andrews won the first game against Björn Hestdal 9/5, but after that Björn took control. He won the next two games 9/6 9/7 in a tough struggle and took out the final game 9/2 as Steve started to tire.
In the last match of the evening Bruce Bowering and Russell Jackson resumed the longest-standing rivalry in local squash. On this occasion Russell avenged last week’s defeat by beating Bruce in four games 5/9 9/6 9/4 9/2.
After losing the first, Jim’s coaching helped Russell improve his movement around the court and counteract Bruce’s speed by forcing him back with well-placed lobs and tight drives.
Order of play for round six this week is one, three, two.
New players are always welcome for both Tuesday and Thursday competition. Contact Bellbird Park for further information.