Having cruised through the ICC regional group stage in March, Northumbria Men’s O65s travelled to Kenilworth Tennis, Squash and Croquet Club for the National Finals on 16th and 17th May as number one seeds. Our intimidating 3-man line-up consisted of European Masters O65 champion Bryan Beeson (Northumberland Club) at #1, Welsh O65 number 1 Jon Evans (Primrose) at #2 and current Northumbria O65 county champion John Ord (Primrose) at #3.
8 counties qualified from the regional groups for the Finals, which were to be played in Monrad format, but two counties failed to turn up (perhaps having decided that they had little chance against the might of the Northumbria team?) This gave us a bye through to the semi-finals to play Southern group winners Hampshire, who had earlier defeated Lancashire.
Opening Northumbria’s account against Hampshire on Saturday afternoon, John came through a tight encounter with Simon Dancer 3-1 (13-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6). Then Bryan cruised to victory over George Kousseff, winning 3-0 (11-7, 11-2, 11-2), and Jon made it a clean sweep, beating Geoff Lees 3-0 (11-2, 11-8, 12-10). This put us through to Sunday’s final against 3rd seeds Middlesex, who had taken out Cheshire and 2nd seeds Norfolk on the way.
In Sunday’s final, John overcame his pre-match nerves to record an efficient 3-0 win over Tony St Louis (11-3, 11-5, 11-8), getting us off to another great start. Then aptly it fell to Bryan to clinch victory for Northumbria with an impressive 3-1 overpowering of fellow England international James Ockwell (11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6). Jon’s opponent, Jonathan Potter, conceded the 2nd string match so as not to aggravate an earlier injury, making the final result 3-0 to Northumbria and our first-ever Over 65 national title!
A special mention to team limousine chauffeur and first reserve Tim Gorman (Concordia), taking all pressure off captain John Thompson (Tynemouth), who remained safe as a non-playing second reserve. As we reach the more mature age categories, reserves are vital as ailments can pop up at any moment (Jon for instance, felt a twinge when stretching during his warm-up routine), and of course, these days the Grim Reaper can sometimes dramatically alter the rankings!
Captain’s Log (John Thompson)
” At times it felt more like a golfing weekend than a squash one, Tim having just returned from his latest tour of Portuguese golf courses, and Bryan and John being equally keen golfers, with much discussion on the finer points of the golf swing, golfing equipment, handicap adjustments, courses visited, top players, etc, so it was no surprise that on the Saturday evening we hiked 20 minutes from the Premier Inn through rough ground and over several motorway bridges to find a local pub with Sky TV showing the US PGA tournament. At the Festival pub, after successfully avoiding the drag karaoke double-act in the main lounge, we were able to commandeer the TV in the bar to watch the golf over a meal and a few beers, the captain keeping strict tabs of course on the amount of alcohol consumed.
We ate well over the weekend. On arrival on the Friday evening we dined at the Miller and Carter steakhouse next to the Premier Inn, benefitting from the captain’s “20% off all food and drink” special discount voucher, although Tim was rather annoyed that he was served “fake” Pinot Noir with his steak, a definite black mark (we never got to the bottom of that one). The Premier Inn cooked breakfasts were excellent on both mornings, and I can vouch for the porridge as well.
We travelled in style, Tim’s large Mercedes transporting his passengers in sumptuous comfort. Having said that, we had to make a number of pit stops on both legs of the journey, although not for tyre changes or vehicle-related mechanical reasons, but due to a medical issue increasingly common amongst the Over 65s.
Jon kept us guessing, arriving separately just in time for the first match, staying somewhere else locally with his son, then arriving for the final match indicating that he may be struggling with an injury (which luckily wasn’t tested). Diary note: bring plenty of cotton wool next year to wrap him in, and don’t let him out of our sight.
Bryan systematically charmed and then destroyed his opponents, his reputation as a deadly assassin remaining intact. Speed, power, accuracy, touch, deception, it was all there, brilliant to watch.
John O was just pleased to be part of the stellar team and making a positive contribution – he can’t believe he has now joined the National Champions Hall of Fame! And his SquashLevels ranking has shot up to a new all-time high, what more could he possibly wish for?”
This is a great piece John. Excellent read thank you!
John