LEAGUE  mens1 | mens2 | mens3 | mens4 | ladies1 | ladies2 | mix1 | mix2

1st Team Captain - Alan Pritchard 01952 242892

Wood field 2 Away 
 
It was a cold, wet, and bleak Monday night. Nobody felt like playing tennis. Two players seriously considered calling in sick but changed their mind.
 
Before the start, we knew we would be champion if we managed to beat the favourite Woodfield II at their turf. Responsibility was high. We could feel the weight upon our shoulders.
 
Without any league table to go on, any strategic approach was improbable.
 
Prior to the match, a short pretend conversation took place regarding which surface the home team should choose to play on. We knew they knew we knew it was going to be on astra turf. A pretend answer was given after the phrase 'it's drying up nicely' was heard.  NO, THEY WEREN'T DRIED!! They were wet, damp, slippery, and dangerous.
 
They were by far the best foursomes that I have played in as many seasons. No weakness whatsoever; good serves, solid groundstrokes, good at the net and a leftie, to make matter worst.
 
Kay and I were surprisingly competitive and accumulated more games than anticipated, due mainly to the heavier wet ball.  By the time we finished our two rubbers, we were actually 2 games up, with Michelle and James 6-1, 4-0 up, we should have been home and drive.
 
However, a ghostly figure with heavy clothing now appeared behind the courts. This figure was moving amongst the darkness and the shade. WTF!!  Halloween was couple of weeks back.  This figure later revealed himself to be Mr Pritchard.
 
The unthinkable and unimaginable then happened…  we lost by 2 games.  So 5-3 it was.
 
We then retreated to the packed Beacon, where most punters were Liverpool FC supporters. A loud cheer could be heard when a penalty was given for a dive. That says it all regarding Liverpool FC.
 
Without the league table, it is impossible to guess where we might be in the league. I am semi-confident that we would be promoted to div I. May I take this opportunity to thank the team members and captain for playing and organising this league. Also thanks to my loyal readers who follow my reports religiously. You know who you are, because you are reading it.
 
Carl

Woodfield 3 - Home

It was a Super Monday night, with both I and II playing at home. Before the start, we knew we would be in a very strong position to gain promotion to the dizzy height of Div I, if we managed to beat Woodfield III . The stake could not have been higher.

I was not 100% fit due to a viral infection brought home by the kids. Knowing that Ivor was on holiday and Paul Robert-Bennet was injured, I decided to soldier on. So in went the paracetamol and orange juices.

Wendy and myself got on to a decent start winning a tight first set 7-5 but managed to throw away 6 match points in the second set before claiming the third set tiebreak. Michelle and James adhered to the tradition of finishing the rubber before we finished our first set. They had to wait a good 45 minutes for the conclusion of our rubber.

It was getting late and I was determined to throw away the second rubber as quickly as possible. Their second pair had exactly the same in mind, but they went one step further by retiring after losing the first set 6-0. So 7-1 it was.

Off to the Cock, surprised to have a table despite having got there after the II team. I was trying to gather as much information about how other teams have been doing so far this season. I noticed that they all have taken points off each other. So the last match against Woodfield II should be the champion decider. We have 32 points so far, 35 should be more than enough for promotion.

Tickets are now on sale for the season ending championship decider at Woodfield on 9th November. They can be purchased from Carl at a knockdown price of £1 each. Only limited tickets available, so early booking strongly recommended. All proceeds will be donated to the tenfags.Wrekin.com foundation, which is a non-profit making charitable foundation that provides soulful nourishment for the athletes of the Wrekin.

Market Drayton1 away

' Dead Draw'

A lovely drive to a lovely market town in the heart of Shropshire.

The old tactics of gathering as many games as possible was duly deployed after 3 wins. It was time for consolidation, time for the straight bat after hitting couple of boundaries and a six. The opposition were by far the best team that we have encountered this season.
Their first pair consists of a tall 15 years old Alistair and Vicki, who is of Michelle's quality. The second pair was Stuart and Amanda, the most delightful lady.

Kay and myself were up against the wall from the word go, but to our surprise, every time we looked over, Michelle and James were losing. We all finished the first rubber in less than an hour. Kay and myself lost 1-6 2-6, Michelle and James won 6-3 6-1. How did that happen? Surely, we must have lost 6-3 6-1!! How could that be? After pondering on it for over 12 hours, the answer is yet unknown.

Half time interval. It was time for reflection; time to ponder over our achievements and disappointments over a smoke or two with our teammates, those true athletes of the Wrekin.

So we were one game down. I was not at all confident that we could over turn the deficit, especially against such a strong first pair. After 1st set, I exchanged score with James. We were now two games behind. James finished 5 minutes before we did; I was informed that the score was now a draw. One more game, then we would win. We had game point, Kay was serving, Guess what? Back to deuce it was. Another five minutes of deuces, we finally succumbed to persistent pressure.

Draw it was. James claimed to be required at work at 11. Michelle claimed to be tired. They left together early. Refreshments at a lovely pub. We found our way back to Shawbirch. No lost keys. No one read in the dark. No dead hedgehog, just a dead draw and still, an unbeaten team.

Carl

Cound1 away

We got held up by an unexpected event and managed to get there just in time before they claimed the match.

We were persuaded into warming up with the positions. In spite of feeling slightly uncomfortable, we did not disagree.

By the time Izzy and myself won our first set 6-3, Michelle and James had finished their first rubber losing just one game, in less than 25 minutes. We lost a tight second set , and I could feel Izzy tightened up and frustrated. I decided to follow Ivor's footstep in conducting my own brand of on court coaching. I asked Izzy to go for everything waist height and blocked everything else. That seemed to work and we managed to come through the tiebreak.

By this time, Michelle and James were cold, despite having played another set of single with each other and warming up again with the Cound's pair.

Time was in essence and I didn't even manage to inhale any American's finest.

Again, by the time we won our first set, Michelle and James were finished, losing one game. Izzy and myself again lost a tight second set tiebreak before running away with the third set tiebreak. Job done. 8-0. Needless to say, the usual Cound's own brand of line calls was not too infrequent.

Nice food in the clubhouse. Got lost and killed a hedgehog on the way back. James lost his keys. I had two teas and couldn't sleep. Izzy can read in complete darkness. You learn something new everyday.

Carl

PS. Mr Chairman, would you please organize the remaining fixtures?

Longden1 - Home... " Oh my God, I nearly Killed Wendy"
Like any other season, the responsibility of the second pair is to gather as many games as possible and hope for a winning draw. Michell and James had a good start winning their rubber 6-2 6-1 without much difficulty. Wendy and I managed to compete reasonably well against a strong second pair, at 2-4 down, something unexpected happened. In an attempt to win the game, I moved forward where Wendy was to put away a short ball. However, despite a loud shout, Wendy was unable to pull out and two distinctive noises were heard. Wendy immediately fell to the ground holding her head.
No movement!! Not good!!
The whole ground consisting of 16 players, many spectators and an animal went silent!!!!
I rushed over to inspect Wendy’s state of health and palpate her head. OH NO, a
depression of approximately 3 inches by 1 inch was noted. I immediately went to get my key ready to take Wendy to A&E. However, Wendy insisted she was fine despite the deep depression. How could that be???? I just hit her head in, literally!!!! I was relieved to realize that it is part of her normal anatomy.
We soldiered on, losing the set 6-3, with a heavy heart.
However, the knock seemed to have awakened Wendy and not only did we go on the win the second set but we went to claim the rubber by winning a tight tiebreak 10-8.
Job done!! Our minds were firmly on the Cock. We threw away the second rubber against their first pair. Michelle and James did not lose a single game despite their best effort to avoid the embarrassing double wooden spoon.
Nice conversation. More food than normal as Michelle and James left early to entertain their other halves.
Carl

High Ercall 1 - Home
on the above league match at home to High Ercall last night.
James and Michelle won both their matches quite easy 6-1 6-4 and 6-3 6-4 which took some pressure of Ivor and Issie, they had two match points in their first match and still managed to loose the tie-break.7-6 3-6 0-1(9-11). And in their second match they had a match point and lost that as well, 6-4 2-6 0-1 (9-11).