Broadberry Sports

Off to S.S.R.C. last night and we heard it through the grapevine that they were short of a couple of players, so we fancied our chances of picking up a few points. When we arrived, there were 2 courts available for the team so if all went well, we hoped to get back to Whitecraigs to commiserate or celebratory with a beer!

First on was Chris (Murphy) against Jessie Mills at No.2, which I didn’t get to see as I also went on. I had a chat with them both afterwards, and it seems that Chris had a convincing 3-0 win. Jessie said that he just couldn’t get in front of Chris, so I told him that he should adopt my strategy when playing him, which is to insist on an 8-0 start….. and the serve! My opponent (Chris Holt) suggested that there should be an age advantage as well, so you got 1 point for every 5 years younger your opponent was, but I said “Chris, if you start 10 points up in every match, that would just be taking the piss!” Chris didn’t seem too amused with that comment!

Anyway, back to the No.2 tie! As I have already said Chris dominated this match, but I did hear later that Jessie’s racket was getting a gymnastic lesson on match ball! Apparently, it was launched up the court with a forward 7½ summersaults with a triple twist!

As I mentioned I was on, at the same time, against Chris Holt at No.4 and it was refreshing to play someone my own age for once (bloody youngsters!). Chris and I have had our battles over the years and my tactics are generally the same. Try to dominate the ‘T’ and not do too much running, and so it was last night. The 1st went to plan, but Chris got me on the end of a few hard rallies in the 2nd – and although I managed to hold on to win the game and go 2-0 up, in-so-doing was gassed in the 3rd game, as Chris ran me out. However, with a second-wind, I managed to close the match out with a 3-1 win for the team.

Meanwhile we were speeding through the ties tonight, with Flash Harry (Anderson) on court already, at No.3, against Brian Robertson. Harry was flashing about the court, but his length wasn’t quite deep enough, and Brian was really playing well to counter the attacks. The scores were 1-1 when I started watching and Harry’s length ball to the back was getting better as the rallies went on. And, just as importantly, he was making Brian work really hard, which made everything much easier as the game went on. Harry won that one and all he had to do was ‘more of the same’ in the 4th, to take the match. Largely he did this, but he did give Brian more of a chance than I would have preferred – still a good 3-1 win for the team (and the 3 team bonus points secured).

Ollie (Millen) was back in the 1st team this week again (with Kiwi-Cammy already a member of a 15-court club in New Zealand – and 2James Sings offering to take on all 300 members in 1-day!) and he was up against it this week against Sean Kelly. This was a 3-2 epic and when Ollie had enough breath, he was very dangerous, but when Sean made him work too hard, he was lamenting his last 10 trips to the pub (in the last 7 days!). And so to the end of the 5th! This was a bit of an epic and Ollie was coming back from 10-7 down with some lovey attacking play (including a backhand, cross-court volley, roller!) to get to 10-9. Then in the best rally of the night as Ollie had Sean all over the court for about a minute, with some great shots. However just as you though Sean must be ran-out, Ollie chopped a cross-court into the tin and Sean took the applause of the crowd! 2-3 to Sean.

Last on were the No.1s – with James (Singh) v Dan Wearing. Dan was typically modest when I asked him how he managed to win the 1st game, as he said, “James gave it away”, but that wasn’t the whole story as Dan played really well to chase James down and force the errors. James was under pressure, but he dug in well and began fighting for the length-ball much more. That, and his nice array of shots, meant he was able to take control of the match and he never let it go as he took the next 3 games for a 3-1 win.

So a hard fought 17-6 win for the team and later on Chris announced that he should be MOTM, which automatically precludes him from getting it!!!!! So I will give it to myself! 😊

Cheesy pasta and a can of Tennents for dinner. I asked big Rob behind the bar, if I could have some lemonade to kill the taste of the beer, but he just said “We don’t do cocktails!”. Great bunch at S.S.R.C. (2022 Club of the Year!) and Ollie tried to sting me with a gag as he got out of the car (not repeatable here, but it’s about roosters and cats!), but I was wise to it! The rest of us made our way across the Kingston Bridge and back to Whitecraigs for a catch up with the other teams and to try and blag another meal from Vicky if there were leftovers! Sweet & Sour Quorn with rice – sorted!