Welcome Back Winchester

IGT Winchester V TWP St George’s Hill
Chris Nutley reports

As Winchester set off on their Premier Squash League adventure the club welcomed back a hero and unearthed a new one.

After an absence of about 15 years PSL or National League as it was then known returned to Winchester with a full house and a great evening of squash.

The club have been looking at entering a team for a number of years and since the withdrawal of Guildford at the end of last season they seized the opportunity of bringing world class squash back to the venue.  The hard work and dedication of Gary Hinton, Kirby Sinclair and Gary Harris, supported by General Manager Billy Kerr made it all possible and last night the members and local squash fans got behind the venture and filled the club with energy, enthusiasm and fantastic support.

There must have been nearly 150 people in attendance on the two show courts as Winchester took on St George’s Hill in Round 1.  The setup at the club is ideal for the PSL format, with two side by side glass backs with plenty of seating which enables both courts to be watched from either side helping to create a real atmosphere and a definite home advantage.

With their top two players unavailable Winchester were lead out by New Zealand’s World No62 Kashif Shuja with the Egyptian youngster Marwan El Shorbagy, Stacy Ross, Mark Cairns and Lauren Selby completing the team.   STG were also without their big guns with Daryl Selby and Laura Massaro both on Commonwealth Games duty.


Hence their side consisted of Tom Richards, Nicolas Mueller, Joe Lee, Stephen Meads and Rachel Willmott.

First two matches on court saw Stacey Ross tackle the youthful and rising Joe Lee while Mark Cairns did battle with old rival Stephen Meads – and the two matches couldn’t have been more different.  On the one court Joe Lee came out firing and stormed past Stacey Ross who seemed to be unable to compete with Joe’s speed and agility.  The match had hardly got going before Joe was off court admiring a fine 11/4 11/4 11/4 victory in just 23 minutes – not the start Winchester had been looking for – 1 down!

Meanwhile on the adjacent court former Winchester club manager and hero Cairns was settling in to a long and hard fought 49 minute tussle with Meads.  Although the elder statesman in their respective teams the squash on display was wonderful to watch and well contested – good banter as well which amused both the spectators and the referee.  Mark was always in control and delighted the crowd with drop after drop and great changes in pace.  A great match to watch and the 11/4 11/4 11/6 score line did an injustice to Stephen who had played his part in a great match.  Winchester taking their first league point and levelling the tie at 1-1.

Back to the other court where Winchester’s Marwan El Shorbagy, younger brother of the former double World Junior Champion Mohammed was up against Nicolas Mueller (who had earlier been announced as German or Austrian before the evenings compere had finally decided he was in fact Italian!!!!) [he's actually Swiss, Ed.].

On paper I had this down as an exciting encounter but one where I expected the experience of Mueller to tell and probably win in 4.  No chance – the first two games were shared 11/7 before Mueller stepped up a level and took advantage of some unforced errors to take control of the match and secure the third 11/5.

For those who haven’t seen Marwan play his movement, athleticism and determination were a breath of fresh air.  The crowd instantly warmed to him and he seemed to feed of it and raise his game and play to the support - back he came to level once again at 2 games apiece.  It was point for point in the fifth until Mueller took the initiative and with it a 7-4 lead.  Had Shorbagy missed his chance – no way – and with three unnecessary tins on the bounce from Mueller, Shorbagy sensed victory and quickly took it 11/8.  54 minutes of entertainment and Winchester had found its new hero – if he doesn’t get them back through the turnstiles for more I’m not sure what will.  Winchester 2-1 up.

Meanwhile the women’s match was well underway and you could be forgiven for thinking Winchester were now favourites for the match as Lauren Selby took on Rachel Willmott.  However Lauren suffered an early blow to the bridge of her nose and a short blood injury break followed.  She came back on court to snatch the first 14/12 but then lost her way a little and Rachel took control and out battled Lauren to take the next three games 11/8 11/7 11/6 – a good solid win for the former multiple National Junior Champion to take the overall match to 2 all and into the decider.

The balance had now shifted and St George’s were definitely the favourites with Tom Richards facing Winchesters Kashif Shuja.  Tom took the first comfortably before he seemed to relax and allow Kashif to force his way back into proceedings and level it at 1-1.  However this was the wakeup call Tom needed and he refocused and ran out a comfortable 3-1 winner to seal the match and the overall points for St George’s Hill.

It was a disappointing end to the match for Winchester who had sensed victory but the evening as a whole had been a great success and I’m sure they will bounce back and surprise a few teams throughout the season.


 On this evidence Winchester are a great addition to PSL and everyone involved should be congratulated for putting on a memorable evening – Welcome back Winchester.

Chris Nutley