Summary
1.Team: Warwickshire Men’s O70
2.Competition, Date & Venue: Seniors’ Inter-County Championship 2019, Div 2b
3.Players & Club; Mick Webb (Streetly), Geoff Hayward (Knowle & Dorridge), Geoff Cliff (Streetly), Dave Bradbury (Leamington Spa), Will Rogers (Streetly), Derek Bradshaw (Streetly), Peter Grant (Warwick Boat Club), Chris Barker (Solihull Arden), Steve Drummond (Warwick Tennis Club), Richard Le Page (Captain) (Snitterfield).
4.Summary of Matches Played: Somerset (Won 3-1), Notts (Won 3-1), West Scotland (2-2, Won on games difference), Lancs (Won 4-0), Cumbria (2-2, lost on games difference)
5.Final Position: Top of division 2b. Promotion to Division 1 imminent but not yet confirmed.
6.Additional Information: Home indoor matches were played at Sutton Coldfield and Edgbaston. Both venues were excellent. Although we entertained our Lancashire visitors at a Harvester Inn in Sutton Coldfield, the tennis venue said they could provide a meal if booked in advance so that could be a good option for the future.
The plan this year was to try to increase the squad size to make it more inclusive. To this end, prior to the first match, we held three practice sessions at Knowle & Dorridge and Streetly with the existing squad plus other potential members. These were very well attended and it was clear that we had a good mix of players who got on well and played to a good standard.
A testament to this was that the first two matches, both of which we won, were played with completely different players.
The squad will be celebrating a successful season with a morning’s tennis followed by a meal at a local bistro.
The squad included players from Streetly, Knowle & Dorridge, Solihull & Arden, Leamington Spa, Warwick Tennis Club, Warwick Boat Club and Snitterfield.
Match Reports
Somerset
On 5th June, Derek Bradshaw (Streetly), Chris Barker (Solihull & Arden), Dave Bradbury (Leamington) and Will Rogers (Streetly) travelled to Taunton Blackbrook Tennis Centre to play Somerset. It was honours even after the first round, with Dave and Will comfortably beating Somerset's second pair but Derek and Chris losing in a closely fought champs tie-break to their first pair. In the second round, Derek and Chris beat Somerset's second pair, but the clincher came when Dave and Will came from a set behind against Somerset's first pair (which included GB player Nigel Barker) to take the rubber in another closely contested champs tie-break. Result 3-1 to Warwickshire.
Notts
Warwickshire took a completely different team to play Nottinghamshire on 14th June. The established partnership of Mick Webb and Geoff Cliff (Streetly) joined Geoff Hayward (Knowle & Dorridge) and Peter Grant (Warwick Boat Club) on the trip to West Bridgford Tennis Club's indoor facilities. Watched by captain and reserve Richard Le Page (Snitterfield), Mick and Geoff C put in a characteristically solid performance, being particularly effective with their volleys and overheads, against a strong Notts first pair, finishing with a 6-3, 6-1 scoreline. Against Notts' second pair, Geoff H and Peter looked out of it after the first set, but rallied in the second to take the rubber into a champs tie-break. A truly gritty performance in the tie-break by the Warks pair won the rubber for them.
Mick and Geoff C took Warwickshire into a winning position with a comfortable win against Notts' second pair, whilst Geoff H and Peter, maybe suffering from their exertions in the first rubber, lost narrowly to the first pair. Result 3-1 to Warwickshire.
West Scotland
The long trip to West Scotland was undertaken by Mick Webb, Derek Bradshaw, Geoff Hayward and Peter Grant. The team flew up on the morning of 25th June, returning the same evening. The venue for the match was the David Lloyd centre in Renfrew, just a mile from the airport. After the first two rubbers the two teams were tied on the same number of rubbers, sets and games, with Mick and Derek winning their rubber 6-2, 6-4 and Geoff and Peter losing theirs by the same score. This set the match up for a thrilling conclusion. A combination of a big win for Mick and Derek, and a close match for Geoff and Peter gave Warwickshire the win on games difference.
Lancs
A great 4-0 result for Warwickshire in their match with Lancashire on 19th July, played on the excellent indoor courts at Sutton Coldfield Tennis club.
Will and Dave put in a near-faultless performance against the Lancs first pair, possibly fuelled by Will's frustration with the LTA over the developments at Streetly. One of the opposition was Peter Bretherton, ex-president of the LTA. Dave's solid groundstrokes and overheads complemented Will's fine angles to give them a 6-2, 6-0 win.
Meanwhile, Chris and Geoff H took the first set comfortably against the Lancs second pair but, apparently due to a lapse in concentration by our plucky duo at the start of the second set, Lancs pulled level. Chris and Geoff made amends in the champs tie-break pulling away from 6-6 to take it 10-6, with Geoff pulling off some outstanding defensive returns in the process.
Will and Dave had a good match against the second pair and came through 6-1, 6-2. Chris and Geoff won the first set against the Lancs first pair, and this time at the start of the second set remembered which sides they had been receiving. However, that made no difference because they lost the second set. Again, they played a great champs tie-break with some crashing interceptions from Chris at critical times.
Cumbria
We had a tough match against Cumbria on 1st August on the indoor courts at Edgbaston. Having been warned that they were probably all ultra-fit fell runners, we expected that they wouldn't tire easily.
Mick and Geoff C provided us with their usual solid performance against Cumbria's strong first pair, winning 6-2, 6-2. Meanwhile, county first-timers Steve Drummond and Richard Le Page were outmanoeuvred in the first set by a display of fine lobbing by the Cumbrian second pair, but, having learned how to deal with it in the second set, put up a better performance although unfortunately losing it 4-6.
This meant that we went into the second half in the lead by one game. Mick and Geoff overcame a first set scare against Cumbria's second pair to win 6-4, 6-2. Steve and Richard, feeling a little weary after chasing down multiple lobs in the first rubber, crashed against the first pair.
This means we drew on rubbers but, due to the brutal scoring system, we lost by 4 games and get no points.