Date: Mon 9th March

Venue: O&C Club

Result: Swans 4 – Jesters 2

Match Manager: Andrew Clark

Dear Swans and Jesters,

Please correct me if I have any score wrong. I make it 4/2 to the Swans. So the Jesters did better than the Escorts.

Further, anyone is not a Jester and would like to be one then please just say.

                Jesters   vs Swans

1. Simpson vs Sibley 0/3
2. Troop vs Gemmell 1/3
3. Curtis vs Husband  3/0
4. Kynoch vs Percival  2/3
5. Warner  vs Maclean 1/3
6. Clark vs Carlisle        3/1

First on Clark vs Carlise. Carlisle outplayed Clark from the start with better length, dribble boasts, drop volleys and a fluidity of movement absent from Clark. However, Carlisle allowed his opponent to register more points than deserved so the first 2 games were both 10/9 and 1 game each. In the 3^rd, Clark played a perfect reverse angle on return of serve and won the point. He was so pleased with himself that he then proceeded to play 6 more such shots; they were all effectively dealt with by Carlisle’s counter drop. Clark’s main field of excellence appeared to be shouting instructions to himself. He appeared to think he knew what to do even if he was unable to do it. I am not sure how but somehow Clark won the 3^rd and 4^th games. Thoroughly undeserved.

Meanwhile, Warner took on the younger Maclean. It was 1 all when I started watching. Warner was playing his usual boasts and backhand drop volleys to good effect, but it was clear he was tiring. I recall that during Covid the Club said we couldn’t use the courts because the walls would all need cleaning afterwards in order to stop the spread of the supposedly deadly virus. I wrote to the Club Secretary and explained that in squash one does not in fact touch the walls at all. However, last night Warner proved me wrong. In fact, Warner spent a good deal of the 3^rd and 4^th games semi-collapsed against both sidewalls and backwall. Despite this the match remained relatively close largely thanks to Maclean scampering to the front corners and then kindly and inadvertently dollying the ball back to his semi-collapsed opponent.

Simpson vs Sibley. Great to watch. This was the best I have seen Simpson play. The first game was excellent with highly, highly contested rallies and Simpson even managed to deservedly win a few. He also played the best lob of his career so far. However, Sibley is excellent and relentless and often produces a cracking winner to end such gruelling rallies. The pace was tough and unsurprisingly Simpson faded slightly in the 2^nd and 3^rd. However, many of the rallies remained both high quality and highly contested. A great effort.

Husband vs Curtis. I was not aware this was a 45 year rematch. On this occasion, Curtis’ excellent lengths, boasts and lobs were too accurate for his opponent.

Alex Troop vs Gemmell. This was a slugfest.  Troop has improved. Despite a rather odd floppy racket style he no longer gives up on points and the rallies were hard and long from the start. Surprisingly, Troop out-rallied Gemmell often in the first 2 games…1 game all. However, over time Gemmell’s relentlessness prevailed and he closed out the match 3/1.

Last on Kynoch vs Percival. Kynoch’s talent as usual was on display with some great backhand volley nicks. However, Kynoch also regularly provided Percival with opportunities to demonstrate his extremely effective forehand volley kill. The Kynoch boasts were as dangerous as ever but somehow Percival, despite being fully extended by the deadly boasts, not only reached them but repeatedly managed to reply with remarkable counter-drops. Great to watch and a well-deserved win for Percival.

Best regards,

Andrew