County Weekend 7/8th November
Report by Steve Davies
The mens county team were in action on 7th and 8th November away in Cambridge. The team got off to a flying start with a 4-1 win over Worcestershire. Nathan Derrick, Steve Davies, Ben Shakespeare and Sam McCoy all winning with Joe Elfasi the only defeat. Sam McCoy had the toughest match at number 5 and he ultimately triumphed 3-2, a superb achievement on his debut for the full side.
The next match as expected was a much tougher affair against a strong looking Cambridge side that resulted in a reverse of the first tie and a 4-1 defeat. It was Ben Shakespeare who recorded Beds only victory and he put every last ounce of effort into an excellent 3-2 win at number 4 string. Both Steve Davies and Joe Elfasi picked up games and ran their opponents close but could not get over the line to give the side an unlikely victory.
So it came down to a straight shoot out on a Sunday morning between Beds and Northants to see who would finish in second place and move into the promotion group in March. Nathan Derrick lost the first match of the day at number 1 seed before Bruce St Leger who came in to replace McCoy for this match at number 5 leveled the scores at 1-1 with a typically hard hitting 3-0 win. Things continued to remain tight between the two counties as Steve Davies took the next leg for Beds. However, it soon became 2-2 as Ben Shakespeare could not repeat his heroics of the day before and lost 3-0, clearly struggling from yesterdays efforts. So it was all down to Joe Elfasi at number 2 string and despite playing well and taking the first game he was up against a strong opponent who in the end was just too fast around the court and had an answer for everything Elfasi could throw at him.
All in all it was good performance from the side who have had an injection of youth in it this year and came within a whisker of the promotion group. The next stage is on the 13th and 14th March and if we get a home tie this time details will be posted on this site and all support would be very welcome.
Results
Beds 4 - 1 Worcesteshire
Beds 1 - 4 Cambridgeshire
Beds 2 - 3 Northants
The mens county team were in action on 7th and 8th November away in Cambridge. The team got off to a flying start with a 4-1 win over Worcestershire. Nathan Derrick, Steve Davies, Ben Shakespeare and Sam McCoy all winning with Joe Elfasi the only defeat. Sam McCoy had the toughest match at number 5 and he ultimately triumphed 3-2, a superb achievement on his debut for the full side.
The next match as expected was a much tougher affair against a strong looking Cambridge side that resulted in a reverse of the first tie and a 4-1 defeat. It was Ben Shakespeare who recorded Beds only victory and he put every last ounce of effort into an excellent 3-2 win at number 4 string. Both Steve Davies and Joe Elfasi picked up games and ran their opponents close but could not get over the line to give the side an unlikely victory.
So it came down to a straight shoot out on a Sunday morning between Beds and Northants to see who would finish in second place and move into the promotion group in March. Nathan Derrick lost the first match of the day at number 1 seed before Bruce St Leger who came in to replace McCoy for this match at number 5 leveled the scores at 1-1 with a typically hard hitting 3-0 win. Things continued to remain tight between the two counties as Steve Davies took the next leg for Beds. However, it soon became 2-2 as Ben Shakespeare could not repeat his heroics of the day before and lost 3-0, clearly struggling from yesterdays efforts. So it was all down to Joe Elfasi at number 2 string and despite playing well and taking the first game he was up against a strong opponent who in the end was just too fast around the court and had an answer for everything Elfasi could throw at him.
All in all it was good performance from the side who have had an injection of youth in it this year and came within a whisker of the promotion group. The next stage is on the 13th and 14th March and if we get a home tie this time details will be posted on this site and all support would be very welcome.
Results
Beds 4 - 1 Worcesteshire
Beds 1 - 4 Cambridgeshire
Beds 2 - 3 Northants
