Surbiton beat Cheltenham 8-0
[<<] [>>] by Chris Farthing
at Surbiton
20th August 2016
(AC - Inter-Club)
Despite some nail-biting finishes and many interactive games, Surbiton whitewashed Cheltenham 8-0 to earn a spot in the Inter-Club final.
Although the weather forecast predicted both rain and wind, a best-of-9 format was agreed in the changing rooms by the captains. There was some debate over whether best-of-9 really takes any longer on average than best-of-7.
In the first round of singles, Surbiton had three comfortable wins but the Mulliner vs Hayes match was a crowd-pleaser. After Sarah came to grief in the late stages of a triple, Stephen failed a sextuple at 2b with 4 peels done. Some time later, Sarah missed a shot at the peg when for peg and box, but unluckily ran into hoop 6 and stayed in-lawn to hand Stephen a straightforward finish and a +1 win.
In the afternoon matches, the race to get the winning point to take Surbiton over the finish line was won by Mulliner with a quick triple against Statto. Farthing and Patel soon made the score 7-0, but the final singles game again provided plenty of interest for the spectators with Murray, playing Hope, keen to avoid the embarrassment of being the only loser. Sam pegged Andrew out but made an unimaginative leave, which Andrew hit, needing to finish from 4b. A good rush to 4b made Andrew favourite, but his penult hoop stroke went through cleanly, past the peg and only leaving a shot at a quarter of the reception ball. The roquet attempt hit the peg and Sam took a +2 win.
Surbiton will play defending Champions Woking for the Inter-Club championship at Surbiton on October 2nd.
Stephen Mulliner beat Sarah Hayes +1
Samir Patel beat Chris Williams +17tp
Chris Farthing beat Andrew Hope +25
Sam Murray beat David Magee +25
Stephen Mulliner beat Chris Williams +20tp
Samir Patel beat Sarah Hayes +6tpo
Chris Farthing beat David Magee +17
Sam Murray beat Andrew Hope +2
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