Plan comes together for the Phyllis Court A Team

A 5-2 win at West Worthing saw National holders Phyllis Court ‘Team A’ qualify for the national Final of the Federations Shield inter-club competition on Thursday last week.

Unfortunately, Phyllis Court ‘Team B’ were pipped 3-4 by Cambridgeshire side Meldreth on Sunday to deny the club the unique achievement of getting two teams into a National team final.

Team A won their Advantage rules Handicap semi-final fairly comfortably on a windswept and rainy day on the Sussex coast, despite having to make one personnel change due to Paul Franklin’s frustrating shoulder injury. Kevin Ward (handicap 5) came into the number four berth for this fixture.

He took some time to settle into a new partnership for the opening doubles rubber with Chris Roberts (-2) and the pair both struggled to find their length on West Worthing’s relatively slow running courts.

They were beaten all ends up in their first game 1-7, by West Worthing’s Andy Woon (4) and Stella Russell (4), but came back well to record 7-4, 7-5 victories in the second and third games to take the doubles rubber 2-1.

Before the end of their second game, Andy Jones (2) had made restively short work of the host’s Andrew Stewart (2), 7-4, 7-5, in a level-play contest giving Phyllis Court an early lead in the team match.

The other morning singles match was also a level play encounter between West Worthing’s captain Charlie Preston (5) and Phyllis Court’s Patricia Mulcahy (5).

This one went to a third game after Preston came back from a first game defeat to win the second, with the match eventually won by Mulcahy, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, giving Phyllis Court a welcome, but perhaps flattering 3-0 half-time lead, given the closeness of the morning’s croquet.

The players braved the wind and rain of the afternoon, with Phyllis Court needing a win in just one of the remaining four rubbers for victory in the team match, and it came along in just over the hour when Mulcahy (5) beat Russell (4) in quick-time 7-3, 7-0.

Roberts (-2) had really found his shooting accuracy by then and repeatedly hit Stewart (2) from range to overhaul a -2:1 starting score, and win 7-3, 7-5.

But West Worthing were not to be completely out-done and the impressively accurate Woon (4) beat Phyllis Court’s Jones (2) 6-7, 2-7, and Preston (5) beat Ward (5) 6-7, 5-7. Phyllis Court ‘Team B’ also had an away semi-final, but played at the neutral location of Wrest Park, near Bedford, because opponents Meldreth have only a one court facility of their own.

They also got off to a good start when captain Raghu Iyer (handicap 4) and High Crook (7) won the morning doubles runner in straight games against John Bishop (4) and Sue Bishop (5) 7-5, 7-4, but Meldreth won the opening salvos of the two singles rubbers as a foretaste of the close match to unfold.

Phyllis Court’s Rob Eagle (5) and Helen Essa (6) levelled those matches with game two victories against David Edwards (4) and Roger Wallbridge (5), but the Meldreth men came back to win the deciders for 4-7, 7-3, 5-7 and 3-7, 7-3, 7-6 match wins respectively.

At 1-2 down at lunch, all was to play for in the four afternoon singles rubbers and when Iyer beat John Bishop 7-4, 7-5 and Crook beat Wallbridge 7-5, 7-4, thinks really looked up for Phyllis Court team B.

In the two remaining singles matches, Essa was game up versus Sue Bishop and Eagle was down versus Edwards, before both matches were brought level in the second games.

Meldreth, who had shown good ball placement and especially jumping skills, brought those to the fore in the two deciders and Phyllis Court’s Eagle and Essa lost 5-7, 7-6, 3-7 and 7-5, 4-7, 4-7.

The previous weekend, a record six Phyllis Court players had participated in the club’s National B-Level Series tournament that is jointly hosted with Blewbury.

Raghu Iyer’s podium fourth place was Phyllis Court’s best placing, one ahead of Alastair Broom and with Patricia Mulcahy in sixth, behind winner Adam Newbould of Bromley.

In the consolation plate event Kevin Ward fell just short in his last game to tie with outright winner Jane Powel (Ealing), while Helen Essa won three games to easily outplay her seeding and it could have been so different for Rob Eagle had he converted some of his four 6-7 losses.