The courts at Malvern are unusual, writes David Barnes. One of them has no door – you have to climb in (and out!) over the 5ft high back wall; one of them is marked 'Rugby' – it was apparently once a plain-wall court; and they all have an oversized buttress, which forces the player on the right to stand further up the court and volley more than usual, making the game at times quite spectacular.
It was heartening to see the efforts of players and spectators alike, not least those of the Sedbergh School competitors led by master-in-charge Jon Lidiard, to ensure that play remained possible.
The best of the early round matches involved Kelly & Passey from the Wessex Club and Lidiard & Lawry from Sedbergh, eventually won by the Wessex pair. The losers were always going to be favourites to win the plate, and several hours later they achieved this in a really entertaining final against Christie (RIchard) and Kirk from Derby Moor. Another fascinating first-round spectacle was the sight of two left-handers, RFA President Warner and his game young partner Goodwin, in partnership against former champions Akerman and Mario Mohammed. Fortunately no-one got injured in the battle for left court domination.
The quarter-finals were interrupted by sweating floors, and the lack of continuity was beginning to affect some players. The top four seeds came through without losing a game in the end, but not without some stout resistance, particularly from Coffey and Pearce- Smith in their second game against Roberts and Tristão.
They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, but Sedbergh swept this cliché aside by giving us a very nice one. Brows were furrowed at this stage because of the uncertainty of the court conditions, but Queen's Hall provided an oasis in which to take counsel and refreshment, and it was decided to soldier on with the tournament, provided sawdust could be found to dry the floors.
It was duly found and deployed before the semi-finals and the start of the plate pools. In the top half semi, holders Ellison and Hal Mohammed comfortably defeated Akerman and ?Dad' Mohammed; while the encounter in the bottom half was a tighter match, won in two hard games by Roberts and Tristão against Fox and Minta. With the balls darkening rapidly and the floors uncertain, the standard of fives was incredibly high at this stage, with magnificent volleying and great accuracy of placement.
The final maintained this extremely high standard. Roberts and Tristão, both Rugby Fives trained but with games ideally suited to the Winchester variety, went down quite heavily in the first game but rallied magnificently in the second, giving themselves every chance of drawing level. But it was not to be: Ellison and Mohammed took a final grip on the game and ran out the winners 15-11, thus clinching their first win at Sedbergh and the ?Grand Slam' of Winchester Fives, winning successively at all four venues.
An unusual feature of the tournament this year was that no matches went to three games, which, since we did not finish until hard on 7 in the evening, was perhaps just as well! It remains for me to thank Jon Lidiard and Sedbergh School on behalf of all the competitors and spectators for their hospitality, and for their hard work in keeping the courts playable. Next year we go to Malvern, where the buttress looms large!
David Barnes.
RESULTS
Round 1: W Lyons & J Sinton bt A Smith & B Wood 15-2, 15-8.
Round 2: W Ellison & H Mohammed bt J Duffield & O Thompson 15-0, 15-1; F Kelly & A Passey bt J Lidiard & B Lawry 15-13, 15-10; H Buchanan & J Marshall bt Ric Christie & B Kirk 15-2, 15-5; H Akerman & M Mohammed bt A Goodwin & R Warner 15-9, 15-5; S Roberts & D Tristão bt C Farmer & L Stone 15-4, 15-2; S Coffey & J Pearce-Smith bt Rob Christie & A Wilson 15-4, 15-1; Lyons & Sinton bt R Sandie & A Erskine 15-6, 15-3; D Fox & J Minta bt D Neale & A Metcalfe-Gibson 15-5, 15-0.
Quarter-finals: Ellison & H Mohammed bt Kelly & Passey 15-4, 15-2; Akerman & M Mohammed bt Buchanan & Marshall 15-8, 15-7; Roberts & Tristão bt Coffey & Pearce-Smith 15-1, 15-13; Fox & Minta bt Lyons & Sinton 15-3, 15-9.
Semi-finals: Ellison & H Mohammed bt Akerman & M Mohammed 15-5, 15-3; Roberts & Tristão bt Fox & Minta 15-11, 15-10.
FINAL: Ellison & H Mohammed bt Roberts & Tristão 15-2, 15-11.
Plate: Lidiard & Lawry.