10/04/19: This Sunday sees the final of the two Eton Fives n/national championships with 2018 champions Tom Dunbar & Seb Cooley and Karen Hird & Charlotta Cooley once again defending their titles against Jonny Ho & Riki Houlden and Ashley Lumbard & Emily Scoones respectively. The ladies final kicks off at Eton at 1pm, with the Kinnaird final following at 2:30pm. All spectators are welcome!
The Kinnaird Cup final sees a repeat of last year's contest and the fifth consecutive major final between these two pairs. Jonny Ho & Riki Houlden have proved themselves to be the best of the rest in that run and scored a fine victory over Peter Dunbar & George Campbell in the semis, but have yet to find the key to challenging Tom & Seb. They will be hoping that things will be different this time around, but Tom & Seb are aiming for a ninth successive win in the competition and are still to be beaten in a competitive match, a remarkable statistic given that they have now been playing together for nearly a decade. Their performance in the Northern final at Shrewsbury in February was among the best they have ever produced and they will be looking to reach the same level again on Sunday.
The Ladies final is a third in a row between the same two pairs, with defending champions Charlotta Cooley & Karen Hird aiming for a seventh successive title together (an eighth in total for Charlotta). Standing in their way once again are Ashley Lumbard & Emily Scoones, who have got close to the champions in the last two years without yet managing to beat them. Both pairs looked in fantastic form in their semi-final matches and this promises to be another excellent encounter.
A few pieces of final trivia:
Riki Houlden becomes the first Old Westminster to make two appearances in the final and is aiming to become the first OW winner.
Jonny Ho would be the tenth Old Cholmeleian to win the Kinnaird Cup, and the first since 2002. No Old Cholmeleian has yet won the Kinnaird more than the four times achieved by Howard Fabian in 1930, 1937, 1939 and 1948.
Tom Dunbar is aiming to extend his record and win the Kinnaird Cup for the 15th time. This will be his 18th consecutive appearance in the final, dating back to his first win in 2002, overtaking James Toop's total of final appearances and moving to within one of the all time record of 19, held by Tony Hughes.
Seb Cooley is looking to win the Kinnaird for the ninth time, which would take him to joint fourth on the all-time list, level with Old Edwardian Tony Hughes. His ninth appearance in the final will take him into tenth place on his own in that particular list.
A win for Charlotta Cooley would take her level with Dominique Redmond on eight titles, joint fourth in the all-time list. It will be her sixteenth appearance in the final, already a record.
Karen Hird would move to within one of Dominique's number of wins if she emerges victorious on Sunday.
Ashley Lumbard is the second former Lancing pupil to reach a n/national final (after George Campbell) and would become the first senior n/national champion from Lancing.
Emily Scoones is the fourth Old Cholmeleian to reach the ladies final, after Eve Smith-Bingham, Amira Reimer and Phoebe Bracken and would become the first ladies champion from Highgate.
Most Kinnaird Cup wins
14 Tom Dunbar
11 John Reynolds
10 Brian Matthews
9 Tony Hughes
8 Gordon Campbell
8 Seb Cooley
8 Robin Mason
5 Denys Firth
5 Jonathan Mole
4 Jimmy Biggs
4 Howard Fabian
4 James Toop
Most Kinnaird Final Appearances (not including 2019)
19 Tony Hughes
17 Tom Dunbar
17 James Toop
13 Gordon Campbell
12 Jimmy Biggs
12 John Reynolds
12 Matthew Wiseman
11 Robin Mason
11 Brian Matthews
8 Seb Cooley
8 Denys Firth
8 Jonathan Mole
7 Peter Dunbar
7 Howard Fabian
7 Andy Gibson
7 Martin Shortland-Jones
7 Doug Wainwright
7 Ed Wass
6 Jamie Halstead
6 Dick Kittermaster
6 Robin Moulsdale
5 David Guilford
5 Malcolm Keeling
Most Ladies Final Wins
12 Kerry White
11 Karen Hoskins (Runnacles)
9 Lynn Wootten (née Parker)
8 Dominique Redmond
7 Charlotta Cooley
6 Karen Hird
4 Erica Tadman
4 Krystyna Vargas
Most Ladies Final Appearances (not including 2019)
15 Charlotta Cooley
13 Kerry White
12 Karen Hoskins (Runnacles)
10 Dominique Redmond
10 Lynn Wootten (née Parker)
8 Marianne Catmull (née Rees)
6 Karen Hird
6 Krystyna Vargas
5 Fiona Barnes (née Mitchell)
5 Erica Tadman
4 Teresa Dunbar
4 Anita Ganguly