I’ve just remembered that I’ve not put up last week’s scorecard, sorry. Team 3 hosted North Merchiston 4, which normally contains my very old adversary (we go back to 1987!) Graham Booth as well as Marek’s daughter Julia. However, only Graham and Slavomir Bess turned up, because Julia was ill. So we knew that we would start 3-0 up, there would be only six singles matches. Note however that Marek decided to display family loyalty rather than club loyalty, because he was the visitors’ non-playing captain! Before the fixture started we were third-bottom in Division 2, and North Merchiston 4 were bottom.
Unfortunately, as home captain, I allowed myself to be hustled out of playing the singles matches in the correct sequence. If there are three home players A.B and C, against only two away players X and Y, then this is the sequence that the six singles matches should be played in: A-X, B-Y, C-X, A-Y, B-X, C-Y. That is absolutely NOT what actually happened, for instance one of the first matches was B-X, Shashi against Graham!
Anyway we played the six singles matches. Shashi seemed to be a bit confused by Graham. I managed, despite not really hitting hard. to be just marginally steadier than the hard-hitting Slav in four ends. George and Shashi came through against Slav, each in straight ends. The last singles match was I against Graham. What a change from our encounter in Division 4 last season. This time it went to five ends. I did catch Graham out several times with my cross-cout backhands, but I lacked conviction in the fifth end. And then, somehow, George and I broke the team’s recent run of losing doubles matches by winnng the doubles 11-9 in the fifth end!
So a 7-3 home win, the team’s first, but it doesn’t really count because North Merchiston had only two players. What it did do was to be the third win for the club that week. Team 4 won on Wednesday and Thursday, Team 3 won on Wednesday and Team 2 won a tough match at Penicuik 2, by 6-4. So the Club won all four fixtures last week, yaayy!! Team 2 won at Penicuik, but they were unlucky because four matches, including the doubles, went to five ends, and Team 2 lost them all, by the narrow margins of 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 and 12-10. Really unlucky.
Anyway, here’s the scorecard for Team 3’s fixture last week.