Author Archive

First road trip for the Seconds and a last minute change in line up saw Jimbo stepping in for Anton (cheers for arranging the replacement Anton, saves me a lot of trouble and is the way to do it!). Having ensured the rest of the team arrived promptly, The Captain ended up in some posh Hotel on the outskirts of Ware (BMW sat navs are rubbish at times!). Still, finding a massive Industrial Plant in the middle of a small town is difficult……..

Arriving with Jim 1-0 down, the added support hauled him back into contention and some great cross court widths and the trademark drop shots saw Jim closing in to level the tie. At 13-8 ish up a wide lunge had Jim sprawled against the side wall looking rather pained – a pulled hammy ending his fight back which would have seen the tie go the distance. Hard luck Jim but drop into that Massage Parlour in Watford, I am sure they’ll still honour that loyalty card!

Manny up next and against an opponent who moved well and hit the ball hard, but so many cross courts was always going to be trouble for him against a man who will always take the ball early. True to form again, Manny knocked his man to the back of the court and lots of wrong footing, knick drops and straight drives delivered a comfortable win and first points of the night – have to play you at 1 next time!

The Captain, having finally managed to negotiate getting from courtside to changing rooms and back again without the need for a map or directions from the ever fierce club manageress, got on with hard hitting Richard with whom he has battled a number of times in the past, with varying degrees of success. Needing a win to convert the match, he benefitted from a few unforced tins from his opponent (now I know what it’s like playing against me!) but a steady match and early volleying pushed him through to a tough 3-1 win

First victory of the season, but at some expense with Jim out for the next few weeks. Still, 9 points is not to be sniffed at and this will keep us up in the running – long way to go yet

Haileybury duly arrived at Radlett as the “new” second team dipped their toes into Div 4. Unsure of the standard and with an unknown line up from Haileybury, a strong line up was put out

Manny first up and a controlled game of straight hitting, good length and high defensive lobbing saw an early advantage. Second and third games followed a very similar pattern and a quickly tiring opponent saw a very impressive first win for Manny and the Seconds

Captain Pig up next against Andy (who sported a natty 3 Musketeers beard and a Prince racket last seen in the British Museum!). Much puffing and panting and snatched shots into the tin and first game lost – time to lose the trackie trousers! Next 2 games won, Captain just about getting to grips with changes of pace from Skelding like lobs and widths to ferocious straight drives and cross-courts. All down to the last but no joy and a close 3-2 loss

Decider as Duncan steps up against the Brother of their no 3. Warm courts and a bouncy ball allowed their man to retrieve a huge number of straight drives and quality drops. First game down. Similar story in the second. Time to rally in the 3rd game and a massive effort came to nought as Dunc ran out of places to hit the ball without them coming back. 3-0 loss and a tight 2-1 match loss

If this standard continues then it’s going to be a very competitive Summer Season! Still, we were all twice their age!!

Combined food in the Bar with the First Team ( a new idea which actually created a great buzz in the club and was well received by all teams). Great start to the season; good competition, good atmosphere, good food , good company – bring on the first win!

Jago recently won the Middlesex Closed and the South of England Open O35s beating Jamie Goodrich 3-1 in the final

After a shaky first week out we returned to form with a top win 4-1 over Tring 2. Bit of a personnel change this week with Tony and Luke swanning off on a half term break somewhere wet and windy, but with Duleep, Gary and Angus stepping up we managed to turn out a very strong side and overwhelm the opposition (well most of us did anyway)

Duleep, Gary and Angus showed great form winning comfortably 3-0 although Duleep managed to drag the last game out to win 20-18. Let’s hope that Angus’s great play is mirrored in his completion of House Chores in the future so he is available for matches rather than getting stuck in detention on match days!! Maybe a bit of Poly Juice potion and someone else would have got blamed!!

A quick returning to form Simba looked comfortable at no 4 and a not so quick to return to form or fitness Captain played like a god for 1 game and like an “Oh my God” for the others to ensure we didn’t quite get the 5-0 scoreline that the other performances warranted. I keep saying I’m better on those courts where the tin is 3” lower……

This puts us right in the mix of mid table but with a few wins that will quickly change with only 7 points between 8th and 3rd. All results on the web site

All to play for and Potters Bar next up at Home and with a good squad feel at the moment we should be able to send out a strong line up each week, especially with a few superstars waiting in the wings on those days where it all goes a bit wonky

Bit of a drubbing up at Harpenden this week, but we competed well (even when they stick in ”injured” ringers at No 4) and good to see new faces in the team. All looks good to keep the squad numbers up and make getting a team out each week a little easier

Great performance from Luke at 1, just running up short against Chris who had to dig really deep to win in 5

Tony still manages to defy his injury list that exceeds Arsenal’s current list and the serious curry abuse last week in India. Great effort against Mr Motivator Burdett who never seems to know when to give up

Simba shows some touches never seen before on court (and a couple we asked about and even he couldn’t explain!) Few more matches to get back into it and great things will follow

Steve Lloyd at 4??!! I never stood a chance, even when he played me in!

Welcome in to Duncan from the wilderness of Next Gen, good steady stuff and match practice will catapult back to greatness

Next week is Home to Tring, who dropped down from Div 1 last season so expect a strong squad again. Along with another new face with Angus escaping from Hogwarts for the evening (thanks for arranging that Lorna), we have Gary stepping back in next week. Appreciate this Gary as I know you have other team commitments also this Winter