Mixed vs Phoenix, 3 May 2013
Phoenix 3 – 6 Mixed
Anne B & Simon T | Calvin B & Morag D | Aaron G & Cheryl S
The final match in an unusually successful season for the mixed team saw them away in Phoenix’s gravel bunker. The home match in April had seen a narrow victory for Oakbrook, led by Tipue and Sarah, neither of whom were playing today. Like today, captain Simon O was unavailable and Simon T took the reins for the night.
So without our captain and last-time’s star players, the team looked to the only regular mixed-team pairing, Anne and Simon, to lead them down the path of victory. Despite the challenging nature of the courts, Simon claims always to play well at Phoenix, and today was no exception with a far higher percentage of shots in the court than usual and his crazy scrape-it-off-the-floor-backhand shot working a treat. Anne’s excellent reactions and shot placement from the front, along with many winners off return of serve, helped them to their best performance this year. They recorded the best figures from an Oakbrook mixed pairing, taking all three games in straight sets against a Phoenix opposition that weren’t quite on their best form. Though having given Anne the scorecards, I can’t now remember exactly what those scores were.
Calvin and Morag were finding things a little tougher, with close games always just going the way of the opposition, the closest being a 17-21 loss in the third end. The advantage of knowing your partner well was showing at times, with Phoenix’s regular pairings at times holding a tactical advantage over Calvin and Morag who were a little irregular in comparison as a partnership, despite many good individual shots.
Aaron and Cheryl therefore needed to put in a winning performance if we were to take the match. Their powerful shots and quick movement gave them an edge over their opposition, and they were able to use this advantage to win their first two games. With the match now won, they dallied a bit on the final game of the night, taking it to three games, and allowing the third end to turn into an epic. Aaron was the ‘personification of calm and tranquility’* as he fought for the final few points, a 16-21, 21-19, 27-25 victory completing their three wins of the evening.
So overall a 6-3 victory for the mixed team. Thanks to Morag, Cheryl and Aaron for stepping in to replace Joan, Sarah and Simon – not the first time our substitutes have proven pivotal to our victory.
Despite being beaten every single match for the last four seasons, Oakbrook’s mixed team have always felt they weren’t far short of the mixed division standard, and this has been proven this year. Although still losing to the established mixed teams again, they have beaten the new teams to the division – New Embers and Phoenix – both home and away this year in close-fought games, to finish the season with statistics of Played 8, Won 4, Lost 4, For 31, Against 41. That puts them mid-table, third out of five in the tiny five-team mixed league. Hopefully more teams will want to join the mixed league as it is a shame for the mixed fans that the combined leagues are so much larger.
*this may be a lie
Oakbrook Handicap Tournament 2013
Many thanks to everyone who turned up to play in the tournament; it’s always a headache when there’s a “no show”. There were lots of tight matches with 5 of them going to 20-20 before being decided. There were also plenty of matches decided by 5 points or less so I hope everyone felt they’d has a good competitive night. The handicappers (Dawn & myself) are very pleased with themselves as everyone involved won at least 2 games. Congratulations to Joan for winning the tournament and also to Xophie and Dan who won prizes. You can see the final results by clicking this link.
Mixed vs Phoenix, 9 April 2013
Mixed 5 – 4 Phoenix
Joan H & Simon T | Sarah R & Tipue M A | Sue P & Calvin B
With captain Simon O on holiday, the honour of captaining Oakbrook’s least successful team in history passed to Simon T. Although still rooted to the bottom of the Mixed league, Oakbrook have won their first ever game this season, and against Phoenix we were looking for our first win against a team that had actually brought three pairs with them.
Sarah and Tipue started very quickly, racing to a 21-12, 21-9 victory over their second pair, while Joan and Simon also came out winners of a close 21-17, 21-17 game against their first pair. Sue and Calvin started well winning their first end 21-17, but ultimately came out the wrong way after a close three-setter.
So 2-1 up after the first games, it was looking to be as close a game as it always is when Oakbrook play Phoenix. Sarah and Tipue were out to get the most from their match fee, and showed Joan and Simon what ‘close’ really meant, by coming out winners against their first pair 21-23, 24-22, 21-17. Sue and Calvin made a respectable but unsuccessful score against their second pair with a number of interesting parrot-like squawks from Calvin as he saw the shuttle land just out of his reach one or two times too many. Joan and Simon looked to have settled into winning ways with a straightforward two-set win against their third pair.
Now 4-2 up after the second round of games, we only needed one more victory to come out winners. Sue and Calvin had the first shot, but against their first pair this was always going to be a challenge, and so it was, 16-21, 17-21 still being a good score to finish their evening. Joan and Simon had won both their previous games in straight sets, and were up against the pair that Sarah and Tipue had already beaten to 12 and 9 earlier in the evening. Confident of victory, they went into a 12-3 lead in the first game, after which something went a little wrong… whether it was tiredness, complacency, or a sudden burst of excellence and clever tactics from their opponents, no-one knew for sure, but the result was that although hanging onto that first game they lost the next two: 21-11, 21-23, 17-21 being the outcome. With Joan and Simon slipping up, it fell to Sarah and Tipue to see us through to victory against their third pair. So it was all looking to have ended badly when they lost the first game. Perhaps sensing that it was coming down to them to decide the match, they improved from then on, and in the end made it look relatively easy, finishing 17-21, 21-14, 21-7.
A final score of 5-4, and a very rare win for the mixed team. Simon puts it down to his excellent captaincy despite the fact his less-than-excellent playing at the end nearly cost them the match, and says that he will refuse ever to captain the mixed team again now in order to maintain his 100% winning record. Many thanks to our substitutes, Tipue and Sue, for covering for Simon O and Anne. That might even raise us off the bottom of the league for the first time in five years!
Mens Feathers vs University Staff, 5 April 2013
Mens Feathers 1 – 8 University Staff
Gavin B & Simon T | David W & John W | Calvin B & Nick F
Today’s excuse: John’s arm didn’t work.
In the last feathers match of the season, our three pairs had different fortunes. Leading the way were Gavin and Simon, who put in a very good performance against their third pair, but still lost 18-21, 23-21, 13-21. They went on from that to win their second game 21-19, 21-18, but their form dipped a little at the end and another tight three-set game again went the opposition’s way in their last game of the night. But they can be happy enough to have got Oakbrook’s only game against the uni staff feathers team this year.
David and John’s evening was cut short after John’s arm decided it really was injured after all, and the pair had to pull out completely after losing their first game, thereby conceeding their others since we couldn’t convince left-handed John to play with his right hand like ‘normal’ people. A disappointing end to a feathers season that hasn’t quite seen the pair match their success from last year.
Calvin and Nick, standing in for the missing Tipue and Simon O, had moments of “pretty good”, but also some “bad, verging on very bad” according to Calvin afterwards. They found the uni staff pairs to be a little too strong, but still worked their way to double-figures most of the time, ending with 65-126 across their three games. Thanks to both of them for stepping in to fill our vacancies.
We weren’t expecting a win, and weren’t necessarily expecting even to get a game at all, so avoiding a whitewash was pleasant. Plenty of room for improvement next year though, since we remain second from bottom in the feathers league, ahead only of Abbeydale’s team of 12-year-olds. As usual we’re not Oakbrook’s most successful team, but we give a good game most matches and do enjoy the chance to play with proper shuttles!
Tournament entries
Today is the last day to enter the tournament. I’ll be collecting the sign-up list from the noticeboard tonight before I leave. If you would like to play and haven’t yet informed me of your intentions, now is the time; either add your name to the list or drop me a mail. There will be no club night on Friday as the tournament will be taking all the courts for the duration of the night. If you are playing in the tournament then please remember that it starts at 7pm so you’ll need to be there at that time.
Smashing.
David
Snow again! :-( Badminton cancelled tonight (22 Mar 2013)
Hello all,
Interserve phoned up at 1636 today to say that King Edward VII Lower School is now closed because of the snow. The mixed match at Phoenix I believe is also cancelled, so there’s no badminton for us at all today 🙁
Mens Feathers vs Abbeydale D, 12 March 2013
Mens Feathers 9 – 0 Abbeydale D
Tipue M A & Gavin B | Calvin B & David W | Simon O & Simon T
Today’s excuse: It was International Simon Sleepy Day
At seven o’clock, Abbeydale’s team of six, whose combined age numbered in double figures, were bouncing around the court and raring to go. None of them were called Simon. Meanwhile Tipue and Gavin, promoted to first pair on account of babysitting duties, and Calvin and David, promoted to second pair on account of having their shoes on and being ready to play, were warming up in a less bouncy fashion. Simon O was still making his way in from the car park and Simon T was concentrating at 100% to remember which boxes to write the names in on the scoresheet.
By half-past seven, both Oakbrook first pairs had seen off the challenge of both Abbeydale first pairs without difficulty and with only a few cries of anguish from Calvin as his attempted cross-net-drop-shot-while-walking-the-other-way didn’t quite come off. He and David still managed the best score of 21-10 21-14 in the first round of games. Although the Abbeydale kids will doubtless be streets ahead of us in a few years time, for now height, strength and experience beats perfect footwork, clever racquet skill and fitness. The Simons were both asleep since it was International Simon Sleepy Day, so sleepwalked onto court for their game, where they came back from a dreamy first-game loss to take it 19-21 21-19 21-14. Aerohog still airborne but creaking along on one propeller and with the oxygen masks descending from the ceiling.
While Calvin and David beat their first pair 21-12 21-17, the medics checked the Simons for a pulse, and they were confirmed alive and fit to continue. So with a bit of rapid arm movement sleep, they managed an unconvincing straight-set win against Abbeydale’s youngest pairing. Gavin had kept warm by training up a young future Oakbrook star in the corridor, and he and Tipue completed the round with an easier win against the pair that had taken the Simons to three games, allowing their opponents to make all the mistakes and the 21-17 21-7 score matching the best result of the night.
Six-nil up, and there was no let-up from either of the top Oakbrook pairs. Tipue and Gavin took another straight-set win for an evening total of 126-88. Calvin and David did the same and finished even better with 126-87. The Simon’s RAM sleep had ended and they went back to a deeper sleep of which the opposition third pair took full advantage, winning the first end and taking a lead in the second. With a suprising twist, Simon T woke up in the middle of the second end, announced himself warmed up, and started stringing together some reasonable shots, which combined with Simon O’s resiliant sleep play to lead them to a 19-21 21-17 21-11 final game.
So the final score was 9-0, described by Calvin as “very comfortable” but by Simon O as “can I go to bed now please”. That same phrase was uttered by Simon T’s wife when he appeared in the car park just after ten o’clock having drowsily put all the equipment away at a snail’s pace.
Mens Plastics 1 vs. Nomads, 8 March 2013
Mens Plastics 1 6 – 3 Nomads
Calvin B & Simon T | John W & David W | David P & Dave R
It’s always close with Nomads but we usually manage to edge it and so it was again tonight. None of our pairs did particularly well against their first pair but we all managed to take rubbers against the other two and we ran out 6-3 victors on the night. Calvin and Simon found their first pair too strong and succumbed to them in the first rubber. Dave & John meanwhile kept up their excellent form of late and secured the first point of the night against their second pair. I must say thanks to Dave & John for taking that horrible 2nd pair slot for this home game (I never fare well playing games 2, 4 and 9; especially if I have to play the decider).
With the match in the balance at 1-1, Dave R & myself took to the court for the last time this season. It’s been an up and down affair littered with silly mistakes of late but we managed to put that behind us and ran out fairly comfortable winners in two games. John & Dave also managed to secure their first rubber of the night (despite John complaining of a sore arm) and so we got in to a strong 3-1 position.
No rest for the wicked and it’s time for Dave R & myself to go straight back on court. My recent “choking” performances ringing in my head I was concerned when we went to 1 game each and a deciding game in the rubber. Fortunately we both managed to cut out the silly mistakes and ran out winners in 3 ends. A hug from me for Dave R as I was relieved to get past that “choking” tag. Simon and Calvin meanwhile were being put to the sword by their first pair and fared the same as everyone else on the night; going down in two straight games to a strong pair. 4-2 up after six and we’re looking in good shape with only one more rubber required.
Game 7 saw Dave and myself against their first pair and once again they proved too strong although we gave them a good run in the second game going down 21-18 with the final point of the game being a rather fortunate “off the net and dribble over” smash from the opposition. Simon and Calvin, however, were busy securing the match for us and managed to defeat their second pair in 2 ends thus securing a 5-3 scoreline and claiming the points on the night.
All that was left was for John and Dave to go through the formalities of beating their third pair. If only! With John still complaining of a sore arm and Dave smashing in to the net and hitting other shots out, they made a real meal of it. Eventually they prevailed in 3 ends but not without a scare or two. I did hear some mutterings about Walker Junior’s serve but I think they were unfounded. As usual when we run out winners at home, there are various comments about the venue, courts, lighting etc. Strange that we never hear it when the opposing team win. Have these teams *seen* some of the other venues?
So another season of mid-table mediocrity for Mens Plastics 1 but I believe we’re at the right level. Going up would see us getting beaten easily and going down would be less of a challenge. I think we’ve found our niche. Until next time my friends …
Mens Feathers vs Abbeydale C, 10 Feb 2013
Simon O & Simon T David P | Tipue M A & Gavin B | Aaron G & David W
Today’s excuse: I don’t know… my excuse for not knowing the excuse is that I couldn’t get there. This snow is starting to annoy.
My car broke yesterday night, and attempts to nurse it back to life with fresh oil failed this morning, so Simon O kindly offered to give me a lift. Noticing the snow forecast, I kept an eye out for signs of bad road conditions. Not a speck of snow settled in my village, and all looked well… until Simon O arrived a little later than expected after sliding gracefully down the hill. Not keen to attempt the ski course later in the evening it seemed best to send Simon O quickly back to Sheffield and leave me to stay officially snowed in for the evening, and so David P was recruited with minus two minutes’ notice.
As for what happened at the match I therefore don’t know. So I will write fiction instead to describe what I think probably happened.
Tipue and Gavin, keen to take on the responsibility of being the only proper feathers team pair, played their best badminton of the year. With Tipue’s rock-solid defence, and Gavin’s varied attacking shots, they tore through each opposition pair, winning with ease, including the game against the opposition third pair which they took 21-6, 21-0.
Aaron and David, feeling the cold a little from their snowy journeys to the match, warmed up with some smashes. With Aaron’s 15ft reach, his smashes came down almost vertically and were unreturnable. David’s smash, while flatter, was at such a speed that one of them passed clean through the opponent’s strings. They won each game in straight sets as well, their best game being 21-4, 21-4, where all eight points lost were from David hitting his smash out of the back deliberately in order to make dents in the back wall in the shape of a smiley face.
Simon O, after his 100-mile round trip from Sheffield to Sheffield via Derbyshire, and David, after his remarkably fast transformation from Sunday Evening DIY Genius to Sunday Evening Badminton-Playing Marvel, were a little tired before they started, so fared just slightly less well, only winning their opening game 21-13, 21-10. After that, Simon started up his impossibly tight net shots, and David won five points in a row with a round-the-back-reverse-slice-backhand-drop-shot that the opposition found truely unfathomable. With their opponents bamboozled, they went on to win their other games comfortably, and after a slight confusion with the score mid-game, their final game went down as a 21 – 8, 21 – -1 victory.
So after a thrilling match, the result was a fantastic 9-0 to Oakbrook, the local hat market saw prices rocket after everyone that had eaten their had to go and buy a new one because it was cold outside, and the devil was seen shopping in B & Q for a patio heater.
Badminton Snowed Off (Again!) – Tue 5 Feb
Apologies everyone, but the school sports centre is closed today, Tue 5 Feb, due to snow.
This means the club session is cancelled and the mens feathers match is postponed.
Hopefully it’ll have cleared up and we’ll be back on Friday!