#intercounties

MENS O50, O60 & O65 INTER COUNTY FINALS 10 & 11 JANUARY 2015 - NOTTINGHAM SQUASH CLUB Julie Chappell reports

SATURDAY - SEMI FINALS Our afternoon began with a very relaxed and calm atmosphere in the lounge area, with team members meeting up with friends and wishing each other a Happy New Year. Kent were less chilled thanks to a traffic delay, which saw them arriving just in time for their first matches, but we were soon underway.

MENS OVER 50 #5's Mark Regan and Kevin Dryden set the tone with a 40 minute session, resulting in a 3-1 first win to Avon. #3 Mark Taylor followed on with 3-0 against Dave Lumsden in 25 minutes. Meanwhile, in the other semi, Dave Faulkner took 40 minutes to defeat Dave Coffey 3-2 in the 5th string. Unfortunately this winning vein didn't continue as the remaining strings were all won by Yorkshire, who will be joined by Avon in the Final.

AVON 4-0 DURHAM & CLEVELAND Andy Killey vs Peter Lonsdale 1-3 9/10, 9/4, 9/4, 9/4 44m Jeremy Goulding vs Neil Harrison Mark Taylor vs Dave Lumsden 3-0 9/3, 9/5, 9/2 25m Ben Dillinstone vs Colin Shields 3-0 9/8, 10/8, 9/7 32m Mark Regan vs Kevin Dryden 3-1 9/5, 9/4, 9/10, 9/4 40m

KENT 1-4 YORKSHIRE Clive London vs Ray Burke 0/3 2/9, 4/9, 0/9 25m Nick Peel vs Ged Martin 0/3 1/9, 6/9, 1/9 20m Pat Burke vs Steve Martin 0-3 1/9, 6/9, 2/9 20m Sean Wardman vs Les Hughes 1-3 6/9, 6/9, 9/3, 5/9 40m Dave Faulkner vs Dave Coffey 3-2 9/5, 9/3, 7/9, 5/9, 9/3 40m

Our remaining finalist teams arrived and our second session of semi-finals commenced.

MENS OVER 60 After a 5 game win for Derbyshire in 40 minutes from John Pearson against Steve Williams, Peter Hall levelled the score beating Neil Nightingale 3-0 in 20 minutes. The decider was won by Rob Lathbury putting Yorkshire into the Final. They will be joined by Surrey who had wins at #1 & #3 strings beating Cumbria.

DERBYSHIRE 1-2 YORKSHIRE Neil Nightingale vs Peter Hall 0-3 0/9, 4/9, 4/9 20m Rob Lathbury vs Mark Thompson 0-3 5/9, 3/9, 2/9 25m John Pearson vs Steve Williams 3-2 5/9, 9/5, 9/4, 3/9, 9/6 40m

CUMBRIA 1-2 SURREY Ronnie Bell vs Steve Jackson 1-3 7/9, 9/4, 0/9, 0/9 28m Derick Leaver vs Alasdair Niven 3-1 6/9, 9/7, 10/9, 9/5 29m Trevor Musson vs David Lyscombe 2-3 5/9, 9/2, 9/1, 3/9, 6/9 38m

MENS OVER 65 Sadly, due to injury, Yorkshire were a man down for this round. In a very sporting gesture, they arranged for a player to give the Hampshire #3 a match. Sussex won all three of their matches, dropping only one game at the third String. They will join Hampshire in the Final.

HAMPSHIRE 3-0 YORKSHIRE Barry Featherstone vs Martin Day 3-0 9/4, 9/3, 9/4 23m Chris Wilson vs Adrian Wright 3-0 9/6, 10/9, 9/5 25m Joe O'Flaherty vs w/o 3-0