St George's fall 3-2 again

For the second match in a row TWP St George's Hill went down 3-2 in The Premier Squash League last Tuesday night. The young Weybridge side were pipped by an experienced Bristol team containing several stars of squash.

Young Rachel Willmott for TWP battled hard against Bristol's World no 45 Vicky Hynes gaining great match experience but unfortunately no games as Hynes romped to victory.

Meanwhile Walton's British Junior Champion and rising star Joe Lee put huge pressure on former World no 2 Peter Marshall storming to the first game but just losing out as Marshall snatched the second with some fine touch play. Marshall visibly tired but became more accurate as he did so using his "legendary" two handed style to great effect. The third game was crucial and Lee failed to convert his chances whilst Marshall showed many of the qualities that had made him a World Class player. Marshall took that game and fought off a spirited comeback from Lee in the fourth to give his side a two match lead.

TWP's Mohamed Nafizwan Mohamed Adnan or Wan for short took to the court against Bristol's team captain Hadrian Stff and started sluggishly putting his side in more trouble as he lost the first game. Some persistant rallying and nice touches gave Wan the edge in the second and Stiff offered little resistance in the third. The fourth game was more evenly contested but Wan showed some of the form which has taken him to number 60 in the World and number 3 in Malaysia to pull a match back for TWP St George's Hill.

The eagerly awaited class between former British Open Champion David Evans and local boy Tom Richards failed to live up to it's post match billing. Tom has recently risen to number 49 in the world and last week took World number 10 Ong Beng Hee to five games at The World Open in Manchester whilst Evans has regained top form following a coaching stint in Jersey. Evans totally dominated the centre of the court and Richards struggled to put pressure on the tall but elegant Welshman. Unfortunately for TWP this was not to be Richards's night and he went down three games to love.

The final clash of the evening between TWP's top star Daryl Selby and Adrian Grant the World number 10 was an exhibition of exquisite squash skills. Selby's ball striking and control were superb whilst Grant moved in the same predatory manner as a young Mohamed Ali, anticipating Selby's best shots and countering with his own precise attacking strikes. On this performance 25 year old Selby could yet go on to become one of the world's best players. He took the first two games with style and narrowly lost out in a nail biting third as Grant clawed his way back into the match. The fourth game was evenly matched but Selby showed exceptional character to pull off an excellent win delighting the large St George's crowd.

TWP St George's travel to Chichester on November 4th and play at St George's Hill at 7pm on Tuesday 11th November against local rivals Unisport Guildford. Spectators are welcome and tickets can be purchased from 07905 102095.


St George's Hill players performed well in the recent World Open in Manchester with Daryl Selby reaching the last sixteen and Tom Richards coming so close to defeating World number 10 Ong Beng Hee in the first round. Joe Lee beat Irish champion and World no 79 John Rooney in qualifying but went down to Egyptian wonder kid Mo Shorbagy who reached the quarter finals.

Danny Lee