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Norfolk U13 boys secure place in squash trophy finals

Norfolk Junior Squash Boys Under-13 team qualified for the Inter-County National Trophy Final to be played in March after a brave Stage 2 performance against Essex and Derbyshire on January 30. Tony Henden reports.

Following the late withdrawal of Oxford, Norfolk was left to compete with the host county Essex and Derbyshire for a place in the National Trophy Final.

Having narrowly lost 3-2 to Essex in Stage 1, a good result against first opponents Derbyshire was necessary to stand any chance of progressing. As things turned out Derby were missing their No1 and all the Norfolk boys were too strong for the young Derby players, with only Sam Crafer dropping a game following a slow start. Result Norfolk 20 Derbyshire 1.

Essex then followed on to produce an identical 20-1 result against Derby to set things up nicely for the final match Norfolk v Essex showdown.

Sam Crafer (3) and Sam McCluskey (5) took to the courts first and by the end of the first 4 games the score stood at 1-1 in each match. Sam Crafer’s opponent Ben Richardson was able to demonstrate the benefit of more time on court, and was able to take the last 2 games comfortably by virtue of better movement around the court, 3-1 to Ben.

Meanwhile Sam McCluskey was showing similar ability on the adjoining court where his tremendous speed and determination to retrieve enabled him to also close out his match 3-1.

With things all square William Henden (1) and Liam Bond(4) took to the court. With virtually nothing in the tank following 2 weeks of illness, William relied on his stroke play and court awareness to keep himself in the match against Regional player Charlie Green. Despite playing extremely well and taking the third game William went down 3-1.

Liam was involved in a cliffhanger to keep Norfolk’s hopes alive, and after levelling at 2-2, there was all to play for. Liam’s serves had proved a constant weapon all day, but as the match progressed both players were finding it increasingly difficult to find the strength and technique to get the ball to the back of the court. Virtually all the play was confined to the front of the court where both players were equally competent, and the match could have gone either way. In the end the Essex player scraped home 11/8, with Liam showing great sportsmanship over some decisions which went against him.

So Essex had won the match, but with one place available to the best group runner-up, there was still all to play for in the final match. Milo Butler (2) had lost to Connor Adams in the Stage 1 match, but this time, with the hopes of the rest of the Norfolk lads resting on him, Milo produced his best, and most consistent performance in a Norfolk shirt to take the match 12/10, 7/11, 11/7, 13/11 displaying a great range of delicate boasts, immaculate cross court lobs and strong drives.

So despite losing the match 3-2 and 16 points to 10, there was nothing to choose between the teams, and Norfolk managed to qualify for the finals as the best runners-up.

Thanks go to Liam Nolan who attend as team coach, and gave all the players constant encouragement and instruction throughout the matches and reserve Daniel Heffer who played two Essex reserves winning one and losing one.

Final results: 1 Essex 36 points, 2 Norfolk 30 points, 3 Derbyshire, 2 points

Boys Under 13 team in Colchester