Results 2022/23
North Oxford beat Old Edwardians 3-0 at Oakham & Uppingham 09/07/23:
C.Austin & I.Mitchell beat P.Scholey & T.Hoskins 2-0 (12-3, 12-11) at Oakham
M.Chinery & K.Hird beat S.Thatcher & T.Hoskins 2-0 (12-7, 12-7) at Uppingham
C.Cooley & S.Nowinski beat P.Scholey & E.Johnson 2-0 (14-11, 12-2) at Uppingham
Other matches:
Oakham:
C.Cooley & R.Morgan beat S.Thatcher & S.Nowinski 12-11
K.Hird & M.Barnes beat M.Chinery & A.Butcher 12-5
R.Morgan & E.Johnson beat C.Cooley & C.Schroeder 12-8
S.Nowinski & M.Barnes beat S.Thatcher & A.Butcher 12-7
C.Austin & C.Schroeder beat T.Hoskins & E.Johnson 12-10
G.Hoskins & C.Cooley beat K.Hird & M.Chinery 12-8
R.Morgan & S.Nowinski beat S.Thatcher & E.Johnson 12-6
Uppingham:
C.Austin & R.Morgan beat G.Hoskins & C.Schroeder 12-7
I.Mitchell & A.Butcher beat M.Barnes & C.Schroeder 12-11
M.Barnes & S.Nowinski beat C.Cooley & A.Butcher 12-8
M.Chinery & K.Hird beat C.Austin & R.Morgan 12-8
T.Hoskins & C.Cooley beat P.Scholey & S.Nowinksi 12-2
I.Mitchell & R.Morgan beat T.Hoskins & C.Schroeder 8-5
The official playing side of the 2022/23 season came to end in Rutland yesterday with a splendid edition of the long-running North Oxford v Old Edwardians "unusual courts" fixture. Thirteen years after our previous visit to the courts at Oakham and Uppingham for this fixture, we returned yesterday with a fifteen strong cohort of players for a series of fun matches on both sets of courts, a vague attempt to produce an official fixture of sorts - for statistical purposes if nothing else - and an enjoyable lunch in between. It was very much in the historical spirit of this fixture that the first job was to clear the third court at Oakham of a large amount of building equipment and take a broom to all three to get them ready for action. The courts themselves at Oakham are a delight and very much fulfil the "unusual" brief, with low ceilings, missing (in some places) and additional (in others) ledges and a general sense of being in a very confined space. Some excellent matches were played, however, with Ian & The Wizard narrowly holding off a spirited second game comeback from Pete Scholey & Tom Hoskins in the best of three NO v OE match on the middle court. Lunch was taken in The Crown, 10 minutes down the road in Uppingham, with a convenient ice cream stop on the way back to the afternoon's games. The Uppingham courts felt very big and roomy after the Oakham experience and we were grateful for the enclosed back as the heavens opened. On court, two further best of three matches were played with the North Oxford pairs again just about coming out on top, plus another series of one game matches until everyone had more or less had enough. An excellent day all round.
North Oxford beat Old Wulfrunians 2-1 at Wolverhampton 10/06/23:
A.Abrahams & B.Hart beat S.Simmons & D.Jones 3-0 (12-11, 12-8, 12-11)
M.Chinery & I.Mitchell lost to M.Yates & A.Husselbee 2-3 (12-10, 12-5, 7-12, 2-12, 7-12)
M.Barnes & S.Clifford-King beat E.Frith & R.Pye 3-1 (12-8, 12-10, 12-13, 12-7)
The summer schedule took a detour from unusual walls and the Westway Superleague to revive the June friendly against the Wulfrunians in Wolverhampton. And a splendid friendly it was, with three well-matched pairs and a full house for lunch afterwards. We helpfully borrowed NOEFC occasional and OUEFC star Ben Hart against his own club and he partnered Alex in a high quality first pair match with their youth up against the experience of Sid Simmons & David Jones. The final result was 3-0 to the youngsters, but this doesn't tell the full story; Sid & David were ahead in all three games, with big early leads in the first and third. They were also 11-9 up in both of those two games before being pegged back to 11-11, opting for sudden death and losing the next rally both times. The second pair match, by contrast was the classic game of two halves; Ian & Matt started well, pinching the first game to 10 and then dominating the second to 5 to establish a 2-0 lead. Two things happened at that point, however. A ball change to a whiter ball brought Andy Husselbee back into the game and Mark Yates began to shake off the rust of not having played for several weeks. With both of the Wulfrunians upping their game, the tide turned and while Ian & Matt stayed in contention, especially at times in the fifth game, it was the home pair who bossed the second half of the match to win 3-2. Third pair saw Mandie Barnes - courageously overcoming a flower-pot inflicted gardening injury - team up with Sophie Clifford-King to take on Rob Pye & Ellie Frith. The North Oxford pair dovetailed well in the first two games, Mandie's cut-returning and volleying backed up by Sophie's cutting and court coverage and they were able to withstand a Wulfrunians comeback in a tight fourth game to take the fourth 12-7. Our traditional lunch venue of the Oddfellows was unavailable but a more than decent replacement was found with the London contingent in particular appreciating Midlands prices. Sadly Midlands trains left a bit more to be desired and Alex & Sophie both had a rather adventurous and protracted journey back to London.
North Oxford 2 beat Old Cholmeleians 2 2-1 at Highgate 22/04/23:
M.Chinery & S.Thatcher beat Ar.Bhattacharya & V.Kassardjian 3-2 (15-12, 2-12, 8-12, 12-8 ret)
S.Chapman & E.Gosnell lost to R.Morgan* & D.Lioubimov 2-3 (12-8, 14-13, 13-14, 13-14, 8-12)
H.Asquith & I.Mitchell lost to E.Scoones & M.Scurr 0-3 (0-12, 8-12, 2-12)
*ineligible player
The pre-match pairing shenanigens were also hard at work in the Division 2 match; Ralph Morgan was on the Cholms teamsheet but only eligible for their Division 1 team. The Highgate management decided that it was in everyone's interests if Ralph played instead in the Division 2 match as an ineligible player. Even with a point in the bag (much to the delight of Spencer and his stats), this was still a strong OC second team and it was going to require a strong performance or two to pick up any more points. It came - eventually and just about - from Matt & Stephen at first pair, 15-12 first game winners against Aroop Bhattacharya & Vatche Kassardjian before throwing in a Thatcheresque 2-12 second game, recovering slightly in the third to 8-12, then hitting top form in the fourth to level at 2-2....at which point Aroop had to leave (exams pending, work to do...) thus conceding the fifth. Despite having the W in the bag because of Ralph's eligibility status, Spencer & Edwin Gosnell could have done with a bit of that fifth game largesse as they spectacularly conjured defeat from the jaws of victory in a five game epic against Ralph & Dan Lioubimov. Having won the first two games 12-8 and 14-13, they twice came within a point of winning the match, in both the third and fourth games; in the fourth they were 11-9 up and squandered several opportunities to wrap it all up before somehow losing both 13-14 (having won the second by the same scoreline) and then going on to lose the fifth 12-8. Ian & Harry at third pair got the tough end of the OC pairing order, having to take on Mylo Scurr & Emily Scoones; despite a decent second game showing they were unable to make too much of an impression on a very strong opposing pair. There was some splendid irony in winning three league points out of six across the two matches when the only North Oxford player who came off court having actually won a match without the opposition being ineligible or retiring was the one playing for the Cholmeleians...anyway, we all retired to The Bull for a delightful and lengthy lunch - STP with raspberry sorbet and a dessert wine from Ralph - and a 12-6 win for North Oxford (well eventually when Spencer, Edwin, Dan & Ralph finally made it). If pub attendance was somehow factored into the league table, we'd be miles ahead of everybody, something we should definitely be proud of!
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Cholmeleians 1 1-2 at Highgate 22/04/23:
N.Caplin & A.Abrahams lost to J.Ho & J.Hopkins 0-3 (9-12, 5-12, ret)
G.Pulsford & D.Patel lost to J.Marks & C.Blackaby 1-3 (12-7, 8-12, 4-12, 2-12)
C.Austin & N.Patel lost to G.Hoskins* & R.Tyler* 1-2 (5-12, 12-7, 9-12)
*ineligible players
The first Division season finished with an away game at Highgate against the Old Cholms, which rather encapsulated many of the recurring themes of the season - unavailability/injury to some of our key players and an unfortunate tendency to keep running into opponents at near full strength. As always, however, we got stuck in and gave it out best shot and to quote former England rugby captain John Pullin at the post-match dinner in Dublin after defeat to Ireland in 1973 (the year after Wales & Scotland had refused to play there because of The Troubles): "We may not be very good, but at least we turned up", which in this case gained us a valuable point as the Cholms were only able to put out two pairs. To be fair to the North Oxford pairs, we were significantly better than the England rugby team, with Noah - in his first game back after his ankle injury - & Alex pushing Kinnaird semi-finalists Jonny Ho & James Hopkins all the way in the first game, even leading 9-8 at one stage, before losing 12-9 and then bowing out as Noah's ankle began to trouble him at the end of the second game. At second pair, Grandad & Darshan went one better, taking an impressive 1-0 lead against Joe Marks & Chris Blackaby. The home pair rallied, however, turning the tables in the second before turning the screw in the third and fourth, with the North Oxford duo unable to find any answers by the end. Our third pair of Nirav Patel and "The Wizard" weren't left twiddling their thumbs as the NOEFC captain hastily donned his kit, while Richard Tyler answered the SOS call and they played an enjoyable match, with Gareth & Richard staging a late rally to sneak through in the third and deciding game.
North Oxford 3 lost to Newbury 2 1-2 at Newbury 15/04/23:
M.Chinery & S.Thatcher beat P.Holland & W.Thomas 3-0 (12-7, 14-12, 12-9)
A.Bishop & E.Aldous lost to J.Holland & J.Hopkins 2-3 (12-8, 7-12, 12-5, 8-12, 2-12)
R.Wood & B.Millar lost to C.McCormack & D.Pemberton 1-3 (7-12, 12-8, 7-12, 2-12)
While the Division 1 team were taking their medicine at Aldenham, the main excitement of the day was happening at Newbury, as Bishop's Buccaneers went in search of the two points they needed to finish top of Division 3. Interestingly, the Newbury team on the day were stronger than the one they fielded against us in Division 2 earlier in the season, so it was clear from the start that we would have our work cut out to get the win. The initial signs were promising: Matt & Stephen at first pair had the edge over familiar foes Will Thomas & Paul Holland right from the start, winning the first game 12-7 and then crucially coming out on top 14-12 in a tight second. Both of the other courts were in play at this point - Rachel & Bee were giving as good as they got at third pair against Chris McCormack & David Pemberton, losing the first but hitting back well in the second to level at 1-1. The Club President was in action at second pair alongside Ed Aldous, a frequent Monday nighter in recent years, but making his first official NOEFC appearance. Excitingly for those who care about such things (that would be me then) Ed became the first Old Oakhamian to represent North Oxford, leaving just Wrekin, QEB and St.Bees as senior Fives-playing schools with their own courts who have yet to produce a player who has gone on to don NOEFC colours. Even more excitingly, Ed & Andy also shared the first two games with their young opponents Jack Hopkins & James Holland, leaving the overall tie beautifully poised. Matt & Stephen duly completed their 3-0 win over Will & Paul, while Rachel & Bee began to find the going more tricky as their opponents started to dominate in games three and four, leaving all eyes on the President and the debutant. Hopes were high as Ed & Andy took the third game 12-5, but phone calls to open-top bus companies in Oxford had to be put on hold suddenly as James & Jack began to get on top, moving away from 5-5 in the fourth to win 12-8 and then racing through the fifth 12-2 to take the win and leave the team stranded a point short of the league title. A 6-1 win in the pub was some consolation - actually considerable consolation looking at the quality of the STP - which leaves only the inquest into what went wrong. This will take the form of an NOEFC poll to determine the official scapegoat for us not winning Division 3, with votes to be made by contacting the club captain directly. The three available options are as follows:
A - President Bishop for blowing a 2-1 lead with one hand already on the Division 3 trophy
B - Spencer for originally making himself available for the fixture but then pulling out
C - Nigel Cox, for not turning out for Newbury
The result of the poll will be revealed in due course.
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Salopians 1 0-3 at Aldenham 15/04/23:
A.Abrahams & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to E.Taylor & G.Thomason 0-3 (11-15, 5-12, 0-12)
G.Hoskins & P.Scholey lost to C.Hughes & M.Hughes 0-3 (7-12, 4-12, 4-12)
D.Patel & N.Patel lost to G.Williams & O.O'Callaghan-Brown 0-3 (9-12, 8-12, 3-12)
The penultimate game of the Division 1 season saw us taking on this year's league champions and with Seb cycling in Shropshire, Noah's ankle not quite better yet and a couple of our other big players again unavailable, it was a familiar story, with all three pairs battling hard but none able to get on the scoreboard. Darshan & Nirav were always in the game for the first two games against Guy Williams & Ollie O'Callaghan-Brown but could never quite get their noses in front and faded in the third. Pete & Gareth both played well in patches, but rarely at the same time and good starts in the first and third games were not enough to prevent Mike & Chris Hughes notching up a fairly regulation win at second pair. Steve was back in action this week, continuing his Division 1 first pair education alongside Alex Abrahams, this time against the formidable pairing of Ed Tayloy & George Thomason. The North Oxford pair got off a great start, playing some fast, accurate Fives and helped by some slightly wayward early pair from their opponents. Having established a 7-1 lead, though, Steve & Alex were gradually pegged back to 10-10 and ended up losing the game 15-11, which was a shame as they probably deserved to get a game on the board. Having found their range, however, Ed & George moved up through the gears in the second and third games, racing to a 3-0 win. There was a rare 3-2 defeat in the Round Bush and a chance to catch up on the excitement unfolding in Newbury, before heading off to regroup before the season finale at Highgate next weekend against the Cholms.
North Oxford beat Aldenham 3-0 at Aldenham 09/04/23:
A.Abrahams & M.Chinery beat D.Patel & N.Patel 2-1 (12-7, 12-5, 14-15)
G.Hoskins & K.Hird beat P.Lyndon & F. Manderson-Harkin 3-0 (12-5, 12-5, 12-7)
C.Lumbard & R.Wood beat N.Margerison & A.Fraser 2-1 (12-10, 12-4, 8-12)
The traditional Easter Sunday Aldenham fixture came with the traditional Easter Sunday sunshine again this year. The format for this one varies depending on the numbers and the personnel; this year both sides had six players so it worked nicely as a three pair match, with each court playing three games, thus allowing the opportunity for some extra games and different combinations before the Round Bush beckoned. All three courts produced some fun and friendly Fives (and a missed opportunity for Spencer to pad his stats out a bit) and three North Oxford wins, although it was encouraging to see Aldenham pupil Frankie Manderson-Harkin showing some promise alongside the some of the more "experienced" members of the Aldenham club. The weather was glorious, lunch was taken in the garden of the Round Bush (6-4 to North Oxford) and the only minor quibble was that the STP wasn't quite up to its normal standards, although the rest of the food was top notch. Same time next year...
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Olavians 0-3 at Orpington 25/03/23:
P.Scholey & G.Hoskins lost to H.Ravi & A,Agarwal 0-3 (8-12, 4-12, 5-12)
M.Chinery & S.Thatcher lost to J.Ravi & T.Arjaria 2-3 (12-10, 12-14, 14-11, 10-12, 3-12)
S.Chapman & H.Asquith lost to S.Gupta & E.Nancekivell-Smith 0-3 (8-12, 9-12, 8-12)
With none of the usual Division 1 big boys fancying a Saturday morning trip to Orpington ("injured", "unavailable", "can't be bothered..."), it was left to the NOEFC hardcore to step up to the Division 1 plate and give it all for the NOEFC badge. After grovelling to Howard in the week to ask him to go easy on us obviously. Some complicated pre-match transport logistics were successfully navigated with an early morning meeting at the spiritual home/car park of the club at the Stud. The late addition of Cyril to the ranks (subbing in for Windsor & Eton in the Div 3 match being played at the same time) almost threw a spanner in the works, thoroughly confusing chauffeur Scholey, but we turned up on time and raring to go. The Toops and Wisemans of this world had sensibly decided to stay in bed, but the top two pairs were each faced with a Ravi and one half of the outstanding U16 schools winning pairing from earlier in the week at Shrewsbury. Plus some horrible plastidip balls that resolutely refused to grip or spin in the slightest. Gareth & Pete made a promising start against Ravi (H) and Aadi Agarwal, some aggressive attacking volleying getting them to 8-7 up in the first game but this was where their performance peaked and a lack of match fitness from the club captain and a lack of working eyesight from his partner - plus some nice play from their opponents - all signposted the way to an honourable but fairly comprehensive defeat. It was good to get outings from Spencer & Harry at third pair, with Spencer returning to the fold, the season having finished for his student team and Harry getting in some valuable match practice for her ladies semi-final the day after. They also went down to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Swastik Gupta & Ethan Smith, but not without playing some pretty decent stuff and running their opponents close in all three games. Meanwhile, Stephen and Matt - playing pretty impressively for a man his age and size - were getting stuck into the game of the day against Ravi (J) and Tanish Arjaria. All seemed to be going well for the majority of the match; the North Oxford pair went 1-0 up, recovering from 1-6 down then almost repeated the dose in the second from 1-8, only losing it 12-14. The third was won 14-11 and at 10-5 up in the fourth it looked to be in the bag. It wasn't and in textbook Thatcheresque fashion, they somehow managed to lose the fourth 10-12 and the fifth to 3. According to Stephen, "his finger got into his head" in the final set, clearly a technical flaw in the Thatcher game that needs to be ironed out; it's not easy to return a cut from that position. Anyway, we won 5-0 in the pub, with a healthy W&E contingent joining us in the Rose & Crown, now confirmed as the new post-match Orpington venue of choice, although we will reserve final judgement for when we have sampled the pudding menu, which rather disappointingly proved beyond anyone. Where's Karen when you really need her?
North Oxford 1 beat Old Millhillians 1 2-1 at Aldenham 19/03/23:
N.Caplin & A.Abrahams lost to A.Rennie & C.Plummer 0-3 (6-12, 6-12, 3-12)
P.Scholey & D.Patel beat S.Tailor & C.Graville 3-2 (14-13, 8-12, 10-13, 13-12, 12-2)
M.Chinery & C.Lumbard beat S.Barker & B.Briggs 3-0 (12-5, 12-2, 14-12)
After the tricky run of mid-season defeats, a second successive win for the Division 1 at Aldenham yesterday raised hopes of a strong end to the season and a possible mid-table finish. It was great to welcome Noah Caplin back from his trip to the USA and he reformed the partnership with Alex Abrahams that was so successful in Division 1 last season. Sadly this wasn't their day as they came up against a pair who were in inspired form, Andrew Rennie & Charles Plummer putting in a superb performance, controlling the buttress and dominating the set piece and volleying game. Noah & Alex were disappointed with their performance but they will no doubt be back and keen to show what they can do next time out. The Millhillians lower order contained three of their current crop of school players and for Sam Barker & Billy Briggs it was a case of déjà vu as they found themselves up against Matt Chinery for the second time in two weeks, following the Division 2 match a fortnight ago. On that occasion, Matt & Chris Austin made short work of their opponents and for the first two games it was a case of different Chris but same story as Matt & Chris Lumbard cruised through 5 and 2. A change to a bouncier ball in the third game brought the schoolboys back into, though, and Matt & Chris had to work hard to make it a straight games win, eventually coming through 14-12. The closest match of the day - and one of the closest of the season, bringing back memories of some epic past NO v OM five setters - was at second pair, with Pete Scholey & Darshan Patel up against OM captain Sunil Tailor and L6th player Charlie Graville. A diary mix up meant that Darshan was coming into the game straight from a hospital night shift but although he was a bit erratic on occasions, there was plenty of excellent play in there too, with his powerful left-hand volley always a potent weapon. The match went to five games, but in many ways the story was one of Pete & Darshan doing their best to lose for most of it then suddenly finding a way to win just when it looked as though they were about to succeed. They won the first 14-13 having been 11-8 up then 11-13 down; they lost the second and third games having been in the lead and at 10-12 down saved a couple of match points (including a fairly straightforward cut return hit down that Sunny won't want to think about for too long), before taking it 13-12 and then racing through the fifth game against opponents who must have thought they had it in the bag just a few minutes before. A fine effort, especially given Darshan's far from perfect preparation. Unsurprisingly, he dashed off to get some kip in before heading back to work for 8pm, but it was still a 4-0 win in the Round Bush, or more accurately in the garden of the Round Bush, for a first al fresco post-match lunch of 2023.
North Oxford 3 beat Old Citizens 2-1 at Westway 18/03/23:
M.Chinery & R.Wood beat E.Gosnell & J.Greenhouse 3-1 (0-12, 12-7, 12-8, 14-11)
T.Bush & P.Lyndon lost to S.Shah & M.Melessaccio 1-3 (13-12, 10-12, 12-13, 8-12)
C.Schroeder & S.Clifford-King beat J.Robinson & J.Cooley* 3-1 (0-12, 12-9, 12-9, 12-8)
*ineligible player named in advance
Bishop's Buccaneers hit the top of the Division 3 table on Saturday with a 2-1 win in a close contest with the Old Citizens at Westway. The build up to the fixture was pretty chaotic, with the club president coming down with a dose of covid a couple days before the match, leaving the club captain to finalise the team selection, Phil Lyndon coming in for a second game of the season and Cyril Schroeder replacing the stricken Andy. Further shenanigens were to follow, with the team members unable to accommodate a late start for the potential 6th OC player due to other commitments. John Cooley was duly summoned at the last minute as an ineligible player to ensure the full three pairs could go ahead but there was then an unfortunate pile-up no the M40 which delayed Matt, Rachel and Cyril's arrival until after 3pm, ensuring that the match had the late start anyway that everyone had been keen to avoid in the first place. Anyway, the net result was that first and third pair started a game down and had to come from behind, which they both duly did. Matt & Rachel took this to further and further extremes, not only recovering from a game down to win 3-1 but coming from behind to win all three, including a comeback from 5-11 down in the fourth game to win 14-11 against Edwin Gosnell and Jacob Greenhouse. Cyril & Sophie had the luxury at third pair of knowing that the league point wasn't at stake but played really well together, showing clear improvements and demonstrating the benefits of lots of recent court time and match experience. The second pair game had thankfully started on time, which was just as well as it was a tight match throughout with little to separate the two pairs. Toby & Phil won the first game 13-12 but then conceded the second 10-12 to Saajan Shah & Massimo Melessaccio. Both pairs had chances to win the crucial third game but it was the Citizen pair who took it 13-12 and they maintained that advantage into the fourth game as Phil & Toby slightly ran out of steam. It's tight at the top in Division 3, with just the away match at Newbury to come and several teams still in with a chance of claiming the title. All to play for!
North Oxford 2 beat Old Millhillians 2 3-0 at Aldenham 05/03/23:
G.Pulsford & N.Turnbull beat A.Rennie & L.Vanhaesebroeck 3-1 (12-8, 8-12, 12-7, 12-2)
M.Chinery & C.Austin beat B.Briggs & S.Barker 3-0 (12-3, 12-1, 12-2)
Old Millhillians 2 conceded third pair
History was made at Aldenham on Sunday morning as NOEFC played two simultaneous Division 2 matches. Accidentally. The Millhillians match was originally planned as a Division1 fixture in a double header with the Team Westway 1 Division 2 clash. We had 13 players ready to go when the OMs requested switching the Div 1 and Div 2 match (at Aldenham in two weeks time) around. Only three of the 13 were Division 2 ineligible so why not play two Division 2 matches at the same time. Anyway, with Westway dropping two pairs and the Millhillians 1, only three pairs ended up playing with all three winning to give us two 3-0 wins at the same time. A good morning's work! The Wizard of Wolverhampton has had a couple of disappointing results in the last few weeks and decided on taking the Chapman option in an attempt to get a W on the board and marginally improve his season's stats. He teamed up with Matt Chinery at second pair to take on school pair Billy Briggs & Sam Barker. It would be harsh to describe it as a full Chapman as Sam & Billy are a very decent pair; their lack of experience and precision compared to the gnarled old pros they were up against meant that they were not particularly flattered by the scoreline, which didn't reflect the quality of their best Fives. The first pair match up was an interesting one, with Aldenham player and current SF Monday nighter Andrew Rennie lining up alongside Lukas Vanhaesebroeck to take on Grandad and Nathan. Grandad was clearly relishing the opportunity to get one over on his Aldenham team mate and he and Nathan played extremely well, a small cutting wobble in the middle of the second game notwithstanding. Over the course of the match they played a smart tactical game, taking on Andrew on the top step at times but also putting pressure on Lukas at the back of the court and returning cut well throughout, finally breaking their opponents down and racing through the fourth game, which at one stage looked like it would be a very rapid 12-0. It was a 6-1 win in the Round Bush across both matches, without the presence of the club captain (driving past the pub on his way to Eton for the Barber Cup final) and last season's leading appearance maker (driving past the pub in the Repton minibus on her way to the courts for an afternoon school tournament). Thus unsupervised, Nathan did have ice cream with his STP but we'll forgive him (just) given his fine performance on court. The bumper haul of six points takes us up to second in the table, with a good chance of a top three finish and just the Cholms to go to finish off the Division 2 season.
North Oxford 2 beat Team Westway 1 3-0 at Aldenham 05/03/23:
N.Patel & D.Patel beat C.Lumbard & P.Griffiths 3-0 (12-2, 12-6, 12-4)
Team Westway 1 conceded second and third pairs
The week long shenanigens around pairings (see above) resulted in just the one Westway pair making it to Aldenham on Sunday, and Chris Lumbard & Pete Griffiths ran into a pair of Patels in fine form, the two left-handers dominating from start to finish on their home courts to win in straight games.
North Oxford 1 beat Old Cholmeleians 1 2-1 at Aldenham 25/02/23:
S.Cooley & A.Abrahams beat J.Ho & E.Scoones 3-1 (9-12, 12-3, 12-6, 12-1)
G.Pulsford & C.Austin lost to A.Bhattacharya & A.Bhattacharya 0-3 (9-12, 3-12, 9-12)
G.Hoskins & S.Thatcher beat R.Morgan & V.Kassardijan 3-0 (12-2, 12-7, 12-3)
After four successive 3-0 defeats, the Division 1 side finally moved off 8 points and closer to the teams above them with a 2-1 win at Aldenham yesterday in the bottom of the table clash with the Old Cholmeleians. The NOEFC cause was strengthened by the presence of Seb Cooley in the ranks and he and Alex Abrahams - after a slow start that saw them concede the first game - saw off former North Oxford players Jonny Ho & Emily Scoones with relative ease. Grandad and the Wizard were back together at second pair and their match against the Bhattacharya brothers followed the pattern of several of their games in recent weeks - some good play at times but another narrow defeat with an inability to close out games they were ahead in, in this case the third, which appeared to be under their control right until the final unravelling. Not that Chris showed his frustration at all, though. The Cholms have suffered an injury hit season and their third pair of Ralph Morgan & Vatche Kassardijan, while playing some good stuff at times, struggled to cut their opponents down and made far too many unforced errors, paving the way for a comfortable straight games win for the club captain and Stephen Thatcher, who chalked up his first Div 1 win. The Cholms are a delightful bunch and there was an excellent court to pub conversion rate, with North Oxford just edging a 6-5 win. The Wizard of Wolverhampton's groupies were also there (Mrs P and friend), which may or may not have prompted Grandad to loudly point out that he had a much larger one than Seb (pudding, of course...) while Thatcher went typically off piste and ordered both ice cream and custard with his STP, which caused consternation behind the bar and almost made the till explode. Seb then further justified his selection by rescuing the club captain's wallet from the pub floor before he disappeared back up the M40. Next up is a Div 1 and 2 double header against the Millhillians and Westway back at Aldenham next Sunday. Hopefully both of them will be able to produce a full team...
North Oxford 2 lost to Old Salopians 2 0-3 at Highgate 21/02/23:
G.Pulsford & C.Austin lost to C.Hughes & S.Welti 0-3 (4-12, 8-12, 6-12)
D.Patel & N.Patel lost to T.Cox & J.Flowers 0-3 (6-12, 9-12, 9-12)
M.Chinery & I.Mitchell lost to M.Hughes & O.O'Callaghan-Brown 1-3 (4-12, 5-12, 12-8, 2-12)
Having lost to the Salopians in the EFA Trophy at Eton on Sunday, it was more of the same for the Division 2 team at Highgate last night. This was something of a return to the start of the season, when we came up against a couple of very strong Harrovian and Olavian second strings. The Salopians rather took this to the nth degree, lining up Chris Hughes, Sam Welti, Tom Cox, Jack Flowers, Mike Hughes and Olly O'Callaghan-Brown for this Division 2 match. Perhaps we should be honoured that they felt this was necessary to take on the might of NOEFC. Anyway, the Aldenham-heavy North Oxford top order fought manfully - some decent scores there from Grandad & the Wizard at first pair and Nirav & Darshan Patel at second pair - while Matt, partnered by Ian after a late illness-related withdrawal from Stephen Thatcher, finally took a game off Mike Hughes, having gone close on Sunday without quite taking that final step. We did win 6-4 in the pub, too, a strong showing for a Tuesday night in London.
North Oxford beat Oxford University 3-0 at Eton 19/02/23:
A.Abrahams & M.Asquith beat B.Hart & N.Choustikov 3-0 (12-6, 12-6, 12-4)
N.Shaw & N.Turnbull beat J.Ledigo & E.Gosnell 3-0 (15-11, 12-6, 12-7)
M.Chinery & K.Hird beat A.Deshmukh & S.Chapman 3-0 (12-10, 12-5, 12-2)
Having overcome the morning disappointment with lunch in the sunshine, and trying not to cast an envious glance over at the final, where the Salopians were mercilessly dispatching the Old Wulfrunians, the North Oxford team buckled down to the task of proving themselves top dogs in Oxford, with a 3rd/4th town v gown battle against Oxford University. There was a pair refresh with Matt stepping up to play with Alex at first pair; they put together a strong and convincing performance to win comfortably against Ben Hart & Nick Choustikov, who had got to 2-2 against Chris Austin & Sid Simmons in the morning match. Nick & Nathan were less convincing and clinical at second pair against Jack Ledigo & Edwin Gosnell, but were good enough to come through in straight games as well. A familiar foe awaited Matt & Karen at third pair with club treasurer Spencer Chapman partnering Aaditya Deshmukh. The first game was quite tight, but ultimately Matt & Karen had enough working limbs between them to be too much for Spencer. There was a change of venue afterwards, with the snug at the Crown & Cushion offering a suitable venue for a thorough debrief and some plotting to work out how we can finally get our hands on the EFA Trophy again next year. Plus they do STP with custard as the default option, so we'll definitely be back.
North Oxford lost to Old Salopians 1-2 at Eton 19/02/23:
A.Abrahams & N.Shaw lost to Guy Williams & W.Sissons 0-3 (9-12, 9-12, 8-12)
M.Asquith & N.Turnbull beat J.Flowers & S.Mcloughlin 3-2 (5-12, 12-5, 4-12, 12-8 ret)
M.Chinery & K.Hird lost to M.Hughes & Grant Williams 0-3 (3-12, 6-12, 12-14)
Sunday's semi-final was a repeat of last year's EFA Trophy final and unfortunately produced the same result, despite an excellent showing from the North Oxford team. The Salopians had strengthened considerably from the side that only just made it through the qualification rounds earlier in the season but we went into the match feeling that causing an upset wasn't out of the question. Alex & Nick at first pair were up against Will Sissons & Guy Williams, a tough match up. Nick is currently in marathon training and had run 28km the day before by way of a warm up; it seemed to work early on as he and Alex got into an early lead in the first game; sadly they couldn't quite hold on so in the second game went for the different tactic of going behind in the second and trying to pull it back. There was a fleeting chance at 9-10 when an easy ball was missed that would have levelled at 10-10. Instead the Salopians took the next two rallies to take the game 12-9 and go 2-0 ahead and despite their best efforts, the NOEFC pair couldn't quite pull it back in the third. Second pair was a bit more of a rollercoaster ride as Nathan & Matt took on the mercurial pairing of Jack Flowers & Sam Mcloughlin, who blew hot and then cold over the course of the first four games, with Matt & Nathan biding their time and taking their chances to level the match at 2-2 and set up a decider. For their fifth game to be in play, though, they needed Karen & Matt to be in with a chance of winning at third pair, up against the difficult proposition of Mike Hughes & Grant Williams. The initial signs didn't look good, as the first two games went the way of the Salopians pretty comfortably. Things began to change in the third game, however, with Karen beginning to find her cut returning groove, Matt getting his attacking volleys going and Mike & Grant starting to tire. This one was nip and tuck and went all the way to 11-11, then 12-13. Several match points were saved and with all four players aware that this was a potentially significant moment in the match, every rally was keenly fought over. As quickly as the flicker of a chance came, though, it then went as Grant & Mike finally got the point they needed, putting the Salopians through into the final and leaving Jack & Sam to concede at 2-2 to save energy for the final (they needn't have bothered as it turned out...). The team were disappointed to have lost, particularly as they knew they had come close and given themselves a chance at times, but ultimately the Salopians were a bit too strong, and they went on to overwhelm the Old Wulfrunians in the afternoon final.
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Westminsters 1 0-3 at Highgate 15/02/23:
A.Abrahams & J.Piggot lost to H.Young & I.Salim 1-3 (6-12, 12-9, 2-12, 6-12)
M.Asquith & W.Ponsonby lost to R.Houlden & N.Choustikov 0-3 (5-12, 5-12, 3-12)
N.Turnbull & K.Hird lost to J.Alster & B.Merrett 1-3 (12-8, 9-12, 10-12, 9-12)
It was déjà vu all over again as the North Oxford Division 1 side experienced another frustratingly pointless - but definitely not pointless - at Highgate, this time against the Old Westminsters. As in the first fixture between the sides at Aldenham earlier in the season, the OWs had both of their big beasts in action and once again put Hugo at first pair and Riki at second. For the second time in the season, therefore, and much to his delight, Matt Asquith found himself taking on Riki at second pair, this time alongside Will Ponsonby, a late injury replacement for fellow Etonian Oxonian James Cobb, whose fetlock had gone wonky a couple of days before. A tough ask, that one, and Riki & NIck Choustikov duly won in straight games. The Abrahams/Piggot combination had shown a lot of promising signs last week against the Salopians and once again they had their moments, recovering from losing the first game to take the second 12-9 against Hugo & Issy Salim. They fell away a little bit after that - always a possibility if Hugo hits his straps - and lost in four, but this was another decent effort from a new combination. Third pair offered perhaps our best chance of winning a point for the first time in a while and the initial signs were good, Karen & Nathan taking the first game 12-8 against Ben Merrett & James Alster. Sadly that was as good as it got, though, as the next three games all went in favour of the Westminsters by narrow margins, which is really the story of this phase of the Division 1 season, where the performances have been significantly better than the results. Still, every match is an opportunity and next up are the Cholmeleians at Aldenham on Saturday week - the only team currently below us in the table. And rumour has it there's a chance we might be able to welcome Seb back to the team for his first game in a while....
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Olavians 0-3 at Aldenham 11/02/23:
A.Abrahams & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to J.Toop & A.Agarwal 0-3 (2-12, 11-13, 10-12)
G.Pulsford & N.Turnbull lost to H.Wiseman & J.Prior 1-3 (9-12, 5-12, 12-4, 10-12)
P.Scholey & C.Austin lost to G.Nsenga & C.Michaels 0-3 (7-12, 12-14, 14-15)
The other part of the Olavian double header was a Division 1 clash. Once the transport logistics - a fleet of cars at Radlett station to pick up 15 of the players - had been successfully negotiated, the NOEFC team - again missing some big names - put in a performance that deserved a lot more than it got. The end result was a third successive 0-3 defeat in the top division, but all three pairs played some excellent Fives and all three had their moments but none were really able to convert their chances or get over the line in the tight games. Alex & Steve got off to a slow start at first pair against the formidable James Toop and top U16 player Aadi Agarwal, losing the first game to 2. In both of the next two games, however, the North Oxford pair played some fantastic Fives, going toe to toe with James and putting Aadi under pressure (which he dealt with pretty well, it has to be said). Alex & Steve certainly deserved to win one either the second or third games, but it was the Olavians who set the tone for the whole fixture with 13-11 and 12-10 wins to take the match. Second pair was an interesting tactical game with Nathan & Grandad taking on Joey Prior & Howard Wiseman. The Olavians took the first two games but the North Oxford pair were steadily improving and burst into life in the third, an unstoppable nine point hand from Grandad pulling one back and taking the game to a fourth. Hopes of a successful comeback were extinguished in the fourth, however, another narrow Olavian win (12-10) this time putting a stop to that. The third pair was possibly the closest and most frustrating of the lot as Pete & the Wizard too on top school player Genesis Nsenga & former OUEFC secretary Chris Michaels. Chris & Pete played some good stuff at times, but were never able to establish a clear lead. Nevertheless they were in a position to and had the chances to win all three games and it was disappointing that their opponents managed to sneak through in all three. Still, we march on to the next game - a midweek clash at Highgate against the Westminsters - and with a bit of luck we will see the tide start to turn in our favour. We won 11-0 in the Round Bush, though, so it wasn't a completely unsuccessful day!
North Oxford 3 beat St.Olave's School 2 2-1 at Aldenham 11/02/23:
K.Hird & R.Wood beat V.Shetty & S.Shetty 3-0 (12-8, 12-9, 12-3)
M.Chinery & P.Lyndon beat O.Rushton & H.Etherington 0-3 (12-4, 12-3, 12-9)
A.Bishop & S.Clifford-King lost to O.Brock & L.Whitnall 0-3 (4-12, 6-12, 8-12)
After their thrilling win at Westway in midweek, Bishop's Buccaneers consolidated their position near the top of Division 3 with a 2-1 win over St.Olave's School, part of an NO v Olavians double header at Aldenham on Saturday morning. Karen & Rachel warmed up for the following day's Ladies Championships with a strong performance at first pair against the Shetty brothers, the North Oxford pair proving too accurate and consistent for their mercurial opponents. Aldenham skipper Phil Lyndon provided valuable experience in the middle order in his first appearance of the season and he and Matt cruised past their young opponents at second pair. With hindsight, it might have worked better to have moved Matt down to third pair alongside Sophie - playing her first game of 2023 after illness - as there was little to choose between the two young Olavian pairs. Andy & Sophie at third pair couldn't quite find the firepower to fend off their opponents, although they were beginning to hit their stride by the third game and had they started to do so just a little bit sooner, the result might have been different. Still, two points is two points and the Division 3 title race is beginning to hot up, with several teams still in contention as we approach the business end of the season. Next up for the Buccaneers is a top of the table six pointer with the Old Citizens at Westway in mid-March.
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Salopians 1 0-3 at Highgate 09/02/23:
A.Abrahams & J.Piggot lost to E.Taylor & R.Worth 1-3 (11-14, 2-12, 12-5, 10-13)
M.Asquith & J.Cobb lost to C.Hughes & S.Welti 0-3 (6-12, 2-12, 8-12)
N.Turnbull & S.Thatcher lost to G.Williams & H.Blofield 0-3 (5-12, 4-12, 2-12)
Another midweek Division 1 away game and another 0-3 defeat, but the NOEFC youngsters - when was the last time we had an entire team in their 20s? - put up a good showing against the Old Salopians at Highgate last night. The Salopians are gunning for the league title again and were pretty much at full strength; with Seb in Shrewsbury, Noah in LA and Tom M still crocked others had to step up for NOEFC and they did a cracking job. It would have been interesting to have seen what would have happened if the Salopians had also had to cope with three players of that calibre unavailable and it is a reflection of the strength in depth in the North Oxford ranks that we were able to stretch them as much as we did. Indeed, Alex and James Piggot at first pair were left at the end of the evening with a real "what might have been" feeling about their match against Ed Taylor & Rex Worth. The second and third games were shared with dominant performances by either pair; the first and fourth were both set, with Alex & James getting to 10 or 11 first without being able to close out either. Fine margins but a terrific effort from the North Oxford pair. Second and third pairs weren't quite as close, with Matt Asquith & James Cobb at second pair also slightly frustrated that they didn't get slightly closer to the in form pairing of Chris Hughes & Sam Welti, whose greater familiarity with the Highgate courts and with playing together allowed them to impose their game on the North Oxford Etonians sufficiently to win in three. Henry Blofield is another form player on the circuit and he & Guy Williams were too strong for Nathan and Stephen Thatcher at third pair but the North Oxford pair gave a decent account of themselves and this was invaluable Division 1 experience for Stephen in particular, who will hopefully start to establish himself as a regular Div 1 player in the next couple of years. Not that any of the current squad are of an age where they might be thinking about slipping down a Division or two of course. The Division 1 games are coming thick and fast at the moment and it's another tough one on Saturday against the Olavians at Aldenham, again without Seb, Noah and Tom and without the Etonians this time. Nevertheless, we've got plenty of quality (not to mention experience) in the ranks so let's see what happens!
North Oxford 3 beat Team Westway 2 2½-½ at Westway 07/02/23:
F.Fairhead & A.Clover beat P.Wilkinson & D.McCahon 3-2 (12-8, 7-12, 12-8, 7-12, 12-9)
T.Bush & S.Nowinski drew with D.Goddard & M.Gwynne 2-2 (12-15, 4-12, 13-11, 12-4, 3-10 timed out)
A.Bishop & B.Millar beat K.Mikowski & B.Palmer 3-1 (14-12, 6-12, 14-11, 14-13 timed out)
After an early season burst of activity, Bishop's Buccaneers had been in hibernation for a few months but returned to the courts with a bang in an epic match away at Westway last night that somehow resulted in a 2½-½ win. Team selection for this one was a rather fraught and drawn out process but the end result was a good one with a strong Summer Fields flavour. There was a second appearance of the season for Freddie Fairhead, who teamed up with NOEFC debutant Arthur Clover at first pair thanks to the close OE/NO tie-up across the different divisions. They were up against tricky opponents in the shape of David McCahon (father of currently injured NO star Tom) and ex-Cambridge captain Phil Wilkinson and the match was tight right from the off, with the first four games shared as the Westway pair pegged back 1-0 and 2-1 North Oxford leads. Freddie & Arthur kept their cool when it mattered, though, winning the fifth game 12-9 to set the tone impressively at the top of the order. Second pair was just as close and required another display of character from the North Oxford pair, as Stefan and Toby recovered from 2-0 down against Mark Gwynne and Dan Goddard to level at 2-2, a dominant fourth game following a tight third that saw them flirting with defeat before coming through 13-11. Their reward was a slice of luck in the fifth; with Toby's hitherto effective cutting negated by the Westway pair going under the wall and Stefan's game going slightly off the boil after a superb fourth game, Mark & Dan were in control of the match and closing in on victory when the lights went out, leaving the match a draw with the completed games score standing at 2-2. The first two NOEFC pairs both contained an ex Summer Fields pupil (Freddie & Toby), while at third pair it was down to the Summer Fields staff to bring home the final point. Team captain and club president Andy Bishop was there, of course, his wily cutting variations causing all sorts of problems for opponents Kacper Mikowski and Becky Palmer, but the story of the match was a remarkable debut for Bee Millar, who started playing at the start of January and was on court for about the fifth time ever, playing a full game to twelve for the first time. Bee's remarkable progress in such a short space of time gave us the confidence to throw her into an early league match and she fully justified her selection, volleying aggressively on the top step and returning doggedly from the back, while constantly improving and adding new shots to her repertoire during the course of the evening. The second game got away from the North Oxford pair but the first and third were both won having been set at 11-11, and Andy was about to serve at 14-13 and match point in the fourth following a comeback to 10-10 having never been ahead in the game, when the lights went out. The 2-1 completed games score stood, therefore, and Bee was able to celebrate her debut with a fantastic win, hopefully the first of many...
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Harrovians 0-3 at Harrow 02/02/23:
M.Asquith & N.Turnbull lost to R.Tyler & O.Denby 1-3 (5-12, 12-10, 1-12, 8-12)
G.Pulsford & P.Scholey lost to I.Hutchinson & C.Stone 1-3 (7-12, 9-12, 15-13, 9-12)
G.Hoskins & M.Chinery lost to Z.Smith & E.Hewens 0-3 (6-12, 7-12, 3-12)
A third trip to Harrow of the season saw a depleted North Oxford Division 1 side fight hard but fail to come away with any points. A variety of excuses including teaching, train strikes and Jimmy Carr meant we were denied the services of some of our big hitters, but Matt & Nathan stepped up and took on the responsibility of playing at first pair. They were helped by the late withdrawal of Tom Dunbar - either running scared once he'd seen the NOEFC teamsheet or coming to the conclusion that it wasn't worth him getting his gloves on for (you decide) - but still had to cope with Oskar Denby and Richard Tyler. The Harrovian pair got off to the better start, winning the first to 5, but Matt already has one league win over Richard on Court One at Harrow this year and hopes were raised of a second victory after a terrific second game performance from the two NO youngsters to level the match at 1-1. The wheels came off a bit in the third, however and at 9-2 down in the fourth the end seemed nigh. There was one final flurry from Matt & Nathan as they pulled the score back to 8-9 and threatened to provide some late drama, but it wasn't to be as the home pair closed the game out 12-8. There were more late replacements in the OH second pair (we must have really had them worried) with Manuel de Souza pulling out followed by Gus Stanhope. Gus's school partner Casper Stone was still there and coach Ian Hutchinson stepped in at the last minute, playing a first competitive match for some time following a major back operation. Casper rather ruined what could otherwise have been the oldest match in league history as they took on the NO veterans, Grandad continuing his fine recent form and Pete getting back into the groove having returned from his latest travels. Again, the home pair started better, taking a 2-0 lead but Hutch was slowing down and Casper beginning to make more errors. Pete couldn't really see much, either, but it didn't seem to matter as he and Graham dug in and eeked out a 15-13 win in the third. The fourth was tight all the way through and at 9-9, it looked like a deciding fifth game would become a reality. As in the first pair, though, the Harrovian pair just about managed to get themselves over the line, grabbing the last couple of points to take the honours 3-1. Matt successfully managed to get to Harrow as part of his week-long tour of the UK, but that was as successful as his evening got. He and the club captain endured a frustrating evening, not playing badly necessarily but unable to find an effective cut or volley length on the Harrow courts and giving too many scoring opportunities to opponents Ed Hewens and Ziko Smith, who were plenty good enough to take them. There was a 3-1 win in the pub afterwards and a mixture of pride/relief that the potential battering hadn't materialised and even a tinge of disappointment that we didn't manage to come away with a point somehow. February is a busy month for the Division 1 team, with a tough run of matches coming up; hopefully enough of the big guns will be available to get us away from the bottom of the table and into the top half.
North Oxford 2 beat Old Etonians 2-1 at Eton 21/01/23:
G.Pulsford & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to J.Cobb & J.Piggot 0-3 (7-12, 3-12, 9-12)
M.Chinery & S.Thatcher beat W.Ponsonby & N.Lempriere-Johnston 3-0 (14-11, 12-9, 13-10)
G.Hoskins & E.Gosnell beat A.Clover & R.Emlyn Williams 3-0 (12-4, 12-8, 12-8)
The Division 2 team's charge up the table continued at Eton on Saturday with a 2-1 win against the only team currently ahead of us in the table, the Old Etonians. A fourth successive 3-0 was just beyond us thanks to the presence of Messrs Cobb & Piggot in the OE ranks, but this was nevertheless a good victory overall, with the highlights being a North Oxford debut for OU student and Old Citizen Edwin Gosnell and a 3-0 win at second pair from the Thatcher/Chinery engine room which featured some impressive Fives escapology. The first pair game was a terrific match with the Pulsford/Gore partnership putting their unbeaten record on the line against the Etonian heavyweights. There wasn't much in it, especially in the first and third games, but Cobb & Piggot are a high quality pair who know each other's games inside out and they were generally in control for most of the match, holding off the improving North Oxford pair in a tight third game. Maybe if Grandad and Steve had found a way to nick that one, they might have been able to push on and cause an upset. On the other hand, with a busy run of NO Division 1 games coming up, it was pleasing to see James & James in good form. If anyone had been looking for advice on how to nick a game, they could have done worse than ask Matt & Steve, who spent the afternoon perfecting the art against Will Ponsonby & Nick Lempriere-Johnston. 2-8 down in the first? 8-11? No problem, that will be a 14-11 win thank you. 5-10 down in the third? Easy...we'll just reel off 8 successive points to win 13-10 and walk off with a nice little 3-0 win. Stephen didn't even take the opportunity to chuck in the standard rogue game where he lets the opposition win without trying, which was slightly disconcerting. The third pair drama all happened off court in the proceeding 24 hours. Robert Thorogood had to do a Spencer - Spencer himself having shot his bolt early and done a Spencer for this fixture a week ago - the day before the match due to illness, leading to a frantic scrabble around to find a last minute replacement. Edwin answered the call....five minutes before the OEs got in touch to say they were struggling to get a third pair. By the time they did manage to get one, we had an extra couple of volunteers and could have put out four pairs, but Edwin got the nod in a first come, first served capacity and he did his job splendidly, doing the bulk of the work against Arthur Clover and Rhydian Emlyn Williams while the club captain did a Spencer of a different sort, picking up a W for the stats without doing a right lot. There was a bonus for Edwin with the arrival of the Shrewsbury team for a fixture against Eton and an additional game (15-14 naturally) partnering Will P against Arthur and Seb, who was only too keen to don a pair of gloves and jump on court, not least in the hope of keeping warm. Everyone else decided the better way to keep warm was to head to the Henry, where North Oxford suffered a rare 5-4 defeat.
North Oxford 2 beat Newbury 3-0 at Newbury 19/01/23:
B.Hart & S.Thatcher beat W.Thomas & P.Holland 3-0 (12-6, 12-8, 12-10)
G.Guetard & G.Hoskins beat J.Holland & J.Hopkins 3-0 (12-7, 12-6, 12-6)
S.Nowinski & R.Wood beat N.Cox & R.Chester 3-0 (12-4, 12-3, 12-10)
After a tricky start to the season, the Division 2 team recorded a third successive 3-0 win - and a second in the space of five days - away at Newbury last night. There were early problems to overcome with freezing temperatures and some icy patches out the back of the court and also some traffic problems on the A34 that threatened both a late arrival that might have cost a game or two and potential difficulties in finishing with a 9:15pm deadline. An experimental North Oxford line-up took on a Newbury team also suffering from a couple of injuries and one or two key absentees. Thankfully, after the slightly delayed start, the NOEFC team got out of the blocks fast in all three courts, with Ben Hart teaming up with Stephen Thatcher at first pair for the first time against the settled and dangerous pairing of Will Thomas & Paul Holland. The Birmingham/Wolverhampton Dark Blue pair gelled well straight away winning the first game to 6 and holding off Will & Paul's threat in both of the next two games. The two Light Blues in the NOEFC Line up teamed up at second pair with Gael Guetard making his Division 2 debut alongside the club captain. They were up against youngsters Jack Hopkins & James Holland and all three games followed a similar pattern with Jack & James playing some good Fives early on and even getting their noses in front but making too many unforced errors and allowing the North Oxford pair to get a mid-game run of points and establish a winning lead in all three games. Another NOEFC Dark Blue combination did the job at third pair, as Stefan & Rachel dominated the first two games and held on in the third against school pupil Rowan Chester and ever willing uberveteran Nigel Cox. The post match trip to the pub was a 2-2 draw and we were in fact the only customers there in what is apparently Will Seath's local (no causal link suggested there), although the barmaid did point out that she had been expecting the Scouts but they hadn't turned up this week. Scouting appears to have moved on since I was a lad. Anyway, she was able to get on with her hoovering while we held the post-game debrief before the lights got turned out pretty much as we set foot out the door. A slightly surreal end to an enjoyable evening. Next up in the current run of Division 2 games are league leaders Old Etonians at Eton on Saturday in what promises to be a tough encounter.
North Oxford 2 beat Old Ipswichians 3-0 at Aldenham 14/01/23:
S.Kaaber-Gore & G.Pulsford beat T.Gregory & S.Burnell 3-0 (12-9, 12-10, 12-6)
C.Austin & I.Mitchell beat C.Cooley & P.Forrest 3-1 (12-5, 5-12, 12-6, 12-9)
M.Chinery & R.Wood beat W.Carron & A.Phillips 3-0 (12-1,12-2, 12-7)
After a slow start to the Division 2 campaign, a second successive 3-0 win - either side of the Christmas break - at Aldenham on Saturday morning has sent North Oxford 2 shooting up the Division 2 table into second place, with twp more matches to come in the next week. This was a victory earned the hard way, in treacherously wet underfoot conditions and against a resilient Old Ipswichian side. Third pair were the first to finish; Ipswich youngsters Will Carron and Alex Phillips had both shown good form at the Graves Cup the previous weekend but neither came to terms with playing on a wet court. Matt & Rachel used their greater experience to their advantage, controlling the match from start to finish, the only real threat coming from the number of new balls that Matt managed to lose during the course of the match, which for a long time looked like it might be greater than the total number of points conceded. Second pair saw the return to action after long-term injury of the Wizard of Wolverhampton, wand now repaired and in full working order. He teamed up with Ian Mitchell and they won in four against Charlotta Cooley and Peter Forrest; the North Oxford pair looked in control for the majority of the match, despite a major wobble in the second game and a minor one towards the end of the fourth, and it was good to see the Wizard back on court. The 3-0 win was finished off at first pair by Steve and Grandad. Steve struggled with the conditions for the first couple of games and it took a couple of key passages of cut returning at just the right time from Grandad to come from behind on both occasions against Tim Gregory and Steve Burnell. The OI pair could consider themselves a bit unlucky to be 2-0 down, but the third game saw the best Fives of the match from the North Oxford pair as Steve began to get to grips (well as much grip as there was) with wet weather Fives. Much to the relief of the drenched crowd, the players moved to the drier environment of the Round Bush, where Matt & Rachel had done the early shift so that Rachel could get back to Oxford for Rugby Fives practice (boo, hiss) and where Grandad regaled us with tales of Aldenham lock ins. A 6-3 win there to go with the 3-0 one on court and the show now moves on to Newbury on Thursday, with an experimental NOEFC line-up adding a new league venue to the Division 2 rota.
EFA Trophy at Eton 20/11/22:
North Oxford beat St.Olave's B 6-0, Old Ipswichians 6-0, Newbury 6-0, Old Wulfrunians 5-1 and finished 1st in Group A.
North Oxford: A.Abrahams, N.Shaw, K.Hird, N.Turnbull, M.Chinery and S.Thatcher
North Oxford qualified for the semi-finals of the EFA Trophy for the sixth successive season in emphatic style at Eton on Sunday, scoring 23 out of a possible 24 points to top Group A and set up a last four clash with the Old Salopians. Alex Abrahams was back in the NOEFC starting line-up for the first tme this season after a frustrating injury lay off and he teamed up at first pair with Nick Shaw, back in the EFA Trophy ranks after several years of Old Harrovian Barber Cup-induced unavailability. Indeed the last time Nick played in this competition was the last - and only - time that we won it, all the way back in 2009. A good omen perhaps? With experienced EFA Trophy campaigners Karen Hird & Nathan Turnbull at second pair and Kinnaird Pepperpot Trophy winners Matt Chinery & Stephen Thatcher at third, the challenges of the St.Olave's U16 team, a not-at-full-strength Old Ipswichians and the improving Newbury squad were all seen off without a single blemish on the scorecard, setting up a group decided against the Old Wulfrunians to finish off the day. Matt & Stephen had enough left in the tank to see off Andy Husselbee & Greg Hammond, Karen & Nathan produced an imperious display to dispatch Mark Yates & Tom Husselbee 5 and 5 and Nick & Alex were on top form to win the first game against the formidable Wulfrunian first string of David Jones & Sid Simmonds. A slow start in the second game left them too much work to do to complete the perfect set but in every other respect this was an exemplary qualifying performance. It was a shame that we weren't able to put out a second team this year - something to put right next season - but hopes will be high of getting our hands on the trophy in February, although getting past the Salopians will certainly be far from easy.
North Oxford 2 beat Old Westminsters 2 3-0 at Aldenham & Iffley Road 19/11/22:
S.Kaaber-Gore & G.Pulsford beat B.Merrett & S.Shah 3-0 (12-7, 12-9, 12-5)
K.Hird & P.Scholey beat N.Choustikov & D.Gore 3-0 (12-6, 12-5, 12-8)
M.Chinery & S.Thatcher beat J.Poulard & H.Barma 3-0 (12-6,12-3, 12-7)
For the second successive Saturday, North Oxford took on the Old Westminsters in the league, this time in Division 2. We couldn't quite cope with the top end of the OW ranks at Aldenham last week, but our strength in depth is second to none and after a tricky start to the Division 2 campaign it was good to get a convincing 3-0 win on the board. The match was played across two venues; with the OWs struggling to get players to Aldenham, it was agreed to play second and third pairs at Iffley Road - no hardship for the North Oxford team and an opportunity for the OW Oxford students to get a game in. First pair remained at Aldenham, with Steve Gore and Sahil Shah renewing their rivalry from last week. Steve got his revenge, partnering Grandad to an impressive straight games win against the very handy pairing of Sahil & Ben Merrett, further evidence of the strides Steve is making this season. It was nice to see league Fives return to Oxford - even if not at Summer Fields - and the two pairs both produced some enjoyable Fives to watch. Neither Pete & Karen nor Matt & Stephen needed to be at their absolute best and the victories were workmanlike rather than inspired. Both were classic examples of match experience and knowhow overcoming enthusiastic inconsistency with occasional flashes of inspiration. Lunch - for two thirds of the team, anyway, the score at the Round Bush going unrecorded - was taken at the Oxford Blue with some interesting pizzas, a friendly dog, a slightly disappointing panna cotta and a 5-1 victory for the official home team.
North Oxford lost to Cambridge University Men 1-2 at Cambridge 13/11/22:
M.Chinery & G.Guetard lost to T.Xu & F.Kottler 1-3 (13-10, 12-14, 11-12, 8-12)
S.Nowinski & R.Wood beat G.Poole & I.Gianfrancesco 3-1 (12-10, 12-6, 3-12, 12-11)
I.Mitchell & M.Barnes lost to L.Drummond & L.Siriwardana 1-3 (8-12, 12-8, 7-12, 9-12)
With lunch taken care of, it was back to the Cambridge sports centre for the afternoon match, which turned out to be a (pretty accidental) masterpiece of pair-matching. Gael Guetard has been making great strides on a Monday evening and deserved the opportunity to partner Matt at first pair against Cambridge captain Tom Xu and NOEFC's own Freddie Kottler. Stefan & Rachel took on George Poole & Isaac Gianfrancesco at second pair and Mandie & Ian (who had put in some very thorough pre-match preparation at the Blue Lion) teamed up at third pair, with Lewis Drummond & Lasith Siriwardana their opponents. All three matches could have gone either way; at one point it looked almost odds on that all three would go to a deciding fifth game and the watching spectators (even the very young ones) were kept thoroughly entertained all afternoon. Matt & Gael were a little bit slow out of the blocks, allowing Tom & Freddie to head out to a 10-6 first game lead. Suddenly, though, the North Oxford pair flicked the switch, got the cut returns going and went on a remarkable run of 10 unanswered points, winning the first game 13-10 and going 3-0 up in the second. Just as quickly, though, the tide turned the other way as Freddie & Tom won 9 of the next 10 points themselves to lead 9-4 before Matt & Gael once again got on top to lead 10-9 (keep up at the back). At this point, things finally settled down a bit, with the game set to 14 and the Cambridge pair eventually taking it 14-12 to level the match. The third game was close from the start, with neither side able to reproduce the runs of points that had characterised the early stages of the match. The quality overall was getting better, with fewer mistakes, longer rallies and some fine touches and terrific shots coming from all four players. Matt & Gael got it to 10-10 and went for the shortest option; they had a couple of half chances to win the game but couldn't take them and Freddie & Tom edged it 12-11 after an exemplary piece of sportsmanship where the North Oxford pair agreed (correctly) that one of their shots had gone fractionally down. With his family beginning to look a little bit anxious about how long this was all taking (they were due back in Oxford at 7:30pm), Gael decided he had time for one more game and a shot at levelling things at 2-2. For the vast majority of the fourth game, the two pairs were as evenly matched as they had been throughout the first three, but one slightly sloppy double change in the middle of the game cost Matt & Gael, who almost closed the gap at the end but eventually went down 8-12 to end a fantastic match. Second pair also had its share of ups and downs, although at the end of the second it looked as though Stefan & Rachel had things well under control, following a tight first game win 12-10 with a more comfortable 12-6 victory. Hopes of a regulation straight games win soon disappeared. though, as they threw in a disastrous 3-12 third game and with their opponents' confidence restored, the fourth game turned into a nailbiter, the North Oxford pair avoiding a fifth game by the skin of their teeth with a 12-11 sudden death win. Unsurprisingly after the size of his roast dinner, Ian took a while to get going at third pair and he and Mandie lost the first game to 8. A 12-8 win in the second game, with Mandie getting more cuts up and Ian controlling most of the rallies pointed towards a possible North Oxford win, but to their credit the Cambridge pair tightened up their game and put in a much improved performance in the third and fourth, just holding off a late NOEFC comeback to win in four. This was a terrific fixture and a terrific day all round - we look forward to going back next year!
North Oxford drew with Cambridge University Women 1-1 at Cambridge 13/11/22:
C.Farquharson-Roberts & N.Lilienthal lost to J.Tu & S-L.Yuen 0-2 (11-13, 8-12)
G.Day & S.Clifford-King beat A.Davies & E.Spencer 3-0 (12-1, 12-1, 12-1)
Additional Game: G.Day & S.Clifford-King lost to J.Tu & S-L.Yuen 7-12
The annual Cambridge friendly fixture on Sunday followed the traditional format, starting with the women's match which was played over two pairs. Unlike last year, none of the CU beginners were tempted to come along and enjoy the masterful coaching coaching that would have been available from Stefan Nowinski, Ross Gordon and the club captain, who were instead able to keep an eye on the World T20 final while watching the feast of Fives that was being laid out before them. Two graduates of last year's coaching session were at second pair for Cambridge and both Alex Davies and Emma Spencer have also been along to Monday evening sessions at Summer Fields since then. Both are improving fast, but were no match for the North Oxford duo of Sophie Clifford-King - fresh from her Black Cup winning heroics last weekend and looking to maintain her bid for top spot in the end of season stats - and Grace Day, another OUEFC graduate and NOEFC debut-maker. The first pair game was much closer, with the ex-Cambridge pair of Natalie Lilienthal and Charlie Farquharson-Roberts up against last year's Cambridge captain Sze-Lyn Yuen and current U25 and U21 champion Jessye Tu. Both games between these two pairs were closely fought and with some excellent and long rallies. The Cambridge pair shaded both games, with Jessye's set piece probably the difference between the two pairs in the end. The morning finished with Sophie & Grace getting the chance to take on the Cambridge first pair, scoring 7 points and confirming that as they gain in experience they have the potential to become a very strong pair indeed in the future. Charlie & Natalie split up and played a game with Alex & Emma and everything was wrapped up just in time to head over to the Blue Lion in Hardwick for a highly enjoyable team lunch, although Sophie did blot her copybook slightly by opting for cream rather than custard with her crumble. You could almost hear the tutting from Repton.
North Oxford 1 lost to Old Westminsters 1 1-2 at Aldenham 12/11/22:
N.Caplin & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to H.Young & S.Shah 1-3 (15-14, 9-12, 8-12, 4-12)
B.Swallow & M.Asquith lost to R.Houlden & C.Koksal 0-3 (5-12, 7-12, 4-12)
M.Chinery & N.Patel beat B.Merrett & E.Osen 3-0 (12-6, 12-6, 12-5)
An intended double header at Aldenham on Saturday was reduced to just a Division 1 match due to Team Westway 1 being unable to get out a side, but with all the focus therefore on our taking on the defending league champions the Fives didn't disappoint. With both Hugo Young and Riki Houlden in their ranks, the Old Westminsters were always going to be formidable opponents. Unsurprisingly they opted to split their two superstars across pairs one and two, with Hugo & Sahil Shah at first pair and Riki dropping down to second pair to play with Can Koksal. This meant a tough morning's work for Matt Asquith and Old Summerfieldian Beau Swallow (on NOEFC debut), who responded impressivley to the challenge, putting in a strong performance which didn't quite get the recognition it deserved on the scoreboard, especially in the second in which they were in with a real chance for the vast majority of the game. After his successful debut at Harrow last weekend, Nirav Patel was back in action on his home courts and he and Matt Chinery were in cruise control for most of their third pair match, completing a regulation straight games win over Ben Merrett & Elana Osen to continue our record of winning at least one pair in every Division 1 match this season. With all due respect to the occupants of the other two courts, the highlight of the morning, however, was the first pair match with Noah Caplin returning to the starting line-up and partnering Steve Kaaber-Gore against Hugo & Sahil. The first game was an absolute epic with Steve showing the benefits of a run of first pair matches and looking completely at home at this level. Noah was fired up and enjoying taking on a couple of players he knows very well and the North Oxford pair matched their opponents shot for shot and point for point before finally coming from 10-13 and 12-14 down to take the first game 15-14. With hindsight, it was the second game that was crucial to the outcome of the match. Hugo & Sahil got off to a strong start, moving into a 9-4 lead before Steve & Noah hit back, going on a run of points to level at 9-9. At that point the ball got stuck and had to be changed; while the new ball itself made little difference, the break in play and loss of momentum might just have done, Hugo & Sahil recovering just in time to win 12-9. Noah & Steve continued to play well in the third and fourth games but Hugo in particular began to find his form, returning cut superbly to the extent where Noah & Steve were struggling to find a way to cut him down. The North Oxford pair continued to offer a scoring threat of their own but were unable to contain Hugo, who took control of the match to lead his pair to a four game win. Impressively there was a full house in the Round Bush: 7-6 to NOEFC thanks to their extra spectator and from that point of view at least it was perhaps just as well that Westway never made it otherwise we might have struggled to fit everyone in. The point won keeps us nicely in the top half of the table and in touch with the top teams for now - with Steve now an established Division 1 presence and Alex Abrahams about to return to fitness, it will be interesting to see where we are able to end up by the end of the season.
North Oxford won the Richard Black Cup at Eton 06/11/22:
Group stages: beat Repton 3-0; beat Cambridge University 3-0; beat EFA 3-0; beat Shrewsbury 1 2-1
Semi-Final: North Oxford beat Windsor & Eton 2-1
R.Wood & H.Asquith beat E.Scoones & B.Capaldi 2-0 (12-10, 12-3)
F.Turnbull & A.Whitehead beat M.Barnes & S.Wisa 2-0 (12-10, 12-5)
S.Clifford-King & E.Leatherbarrow lost to S.Evans & Z.Pulchan 1-2 (14-12, 12-14, 10-12)
Final: North Oxford beat Ipswich 2-1
R.Wood & H.Asquith beat C.Cooley & L.Rymell 2-0 (12-5, 12-5)
F.Turnbull & A.Whitehead lost to N.Gregory & A.Parker 1-2 (3-12, 12-9, 7-12)
S.Clifford-King & E.Leatherbarrow beat E.Lau & L.Eaden 2-0 (12-9, 12-9)
North Oxford produced a magnificent display of Fives to retain the Richard Black Cup - a fourth win in the last five editions of the tournament - at Eton on Sunday. The previous three wins had been achieved by more or less the same squad of players, with just Rachel Wood replacing Sarah Greasley from the 2017 winning team. This year saw some major changes, with Karen moving to lead the Repton team, Mandie taking charge of Windsor & Eton and Faye sunning herself on a Bali beach. This was the ideal opportunity for the next generation of North Oxford talent to come in and join the experienced core of Harry Asquith, Rachel Wood and Francesca Turnbull. Injury prevented Kirby Clayton and Issy Wong from taking part, but Annalise Whitehead and Sophie Clifford-King were ready to seize the opportunity, and the final spot in the team was taken by Erin Leatherbarrow - whose time as a Monday nighter was rather cut short by covid - after Natalie Lilienthal failed a late fitness test. Another difference this year was the lack of a Highgate team, NOEFC's traditional rivals after seven meetings in the last eight finals. The top players were also spread around the draw, giving the competition a fresh, exciting and most interestingly of all wide-open look at the start of the day. There were some morning issues with wet courts and lights that weren't working, but the North Oxford team ignored all difficulties, progressing comfortably from Group A with 3-0 wins over Repton (including Karen), Cambridge University and the EFA, finishing with a 2-1 win over the dangerous Shrewsbury 1 side. Captain Harry took the decision to drop down to second pair for this one alongside the impressive Annalise to counter the Salopian strength in depth, allowing Francesca to step up to first pair alongside Rachel, where they won 12-9 in fine style to ensure first place in the group. The semi-final brought us up against some familiar faces - Windsor & Eton were in the Black Cup for the first time, but were led by four time NOEFC champion Mandie Barnes and featured Highgate's Emily Scoones at first pair. Rachel & Harry overcame a bit of a first game wobble to defeat Emily & Bronte Capaldi in straight games, producing a clinical second game performance to reinforce their status as the best pair in the competition. Annalise - despite playing little Fives in recent months - was proving to be a revelation at second pair, her natural talent and athletic ability gelling perfectly with Francesca's big game experience and excellent all round game. They produced their best match of the day to overcome Mandie & Sophie Wisa in straight games with the pattern similar to the first pair - a narrow win in the first game followed by a dominant performance in the second. This was enough to send North Oxford into the final despite defeat at third pair for Erin & Sophie, who lost an epic encounter 14-12, 12-14, 10-12 to Sian Evans & Zhang Pulchan. This match may have ended in defeat, but it was to prove crucial later on, as it meant that Sophie & Erin - who had not really had a close match all day to that point - went into the final battle-hardened and playing at their best. The only team to break the NOEFC/Highgate sequence of finals in recent years has been Ipswich, and it was Ipswich who made it through once again in the other semi-final, their second pair winning a tense and occasionally feisty 15-10 deciding game in the deciding rubber of their match against Shrewsbury's A team. Ipswich kept their pairs the same for the final, with Louise Rymell given the tough job of stepping up to first pair to partner Charlotta Cooley against the unbeaten Asquith & Wood combination. Louise fought hard and beating Charlotta is always a challenge, but Rachel & Harry were up to the job, producing a very thorough and efficient display to win 12-5, 12-5 without giving the Ipswich pairing a look in, putting North Oxford ahead in the tie. The Ipswich second pair of Natasha Gregory & Aisha Parker however, buoyed by their terrific semi-final win, were leading the counterattack and put Annalise & Francesca to the sword in their first game. A fantastic turnaround by the North Oxford pair in game two saw them draw level, but Aisha & Natasha again took control in the decider to win an exciting and very high quality match in three games, levelling the overall score at 1-1 and leaving it all down to third pair. The second pair had completed three games but third pair at this stage were still in the middle of game two. Things had started well for North Oxford, with Sophie & Erin winning a tight first game 12-9, thanks to some strong set piece work from Erin and some good attacking top step Fives from Sophie. The second game started even better, with Sophie & Erin racing to a 6-0 lead, tantalisingly close to overall victory. Elise Lau and Laura Eaden weren't done, though, and managed to up their game, cutting more effectively and stopping the flow of points against them. The momentum began to turn, the lead began to disappear and suddenly it was level at 8-8, with everyone watching and Ipswich seemingly closing in on a deciding third game with a following wind behind them. The semi-final experience now stood Erin & Sophie in good stead, as both NO players produced some good cutting under pressure to get themselves back on an even keel as the score ticked on to 9-9 and then 10-9 to North Oxford. Sophie now stepped up and seized the moment, finding a fantastic cut return to go to 11-9 and then immediately repeating the feat first time at game ball, somehow getting a tough cut back into play and turning defence into attack in a couple of shots to end the match and clinch the Black Cup, much to the delight of her teammates (belatedly for Annalise who had had to dash off as soon as her match had concluded), although whether that was because they had won or had therefore got their hands on the bigger boxes of chocolate is a moot point. Anyway, a great result for a new look team and another cup for the NOEFC trophy cabinet!
North Oxford 1 beat Old Harrovians 1 2-1 at Harrow 05/11/22:
M.Asquith & S.Kaaber-Gore beat R.Tyler & M.de Souza Girao 3-1 (14-11, 7-12, 12-6, 12-7)
G.Pulsford & N.Patel beat F.Prickett & A.Anderson 3-2 (12-13, 12-9, 12-7, 6-12, 12-5)
M.Chinery & G.Hoskins lost to G.Stanhope & C.Stone 0-3 (6-12, 11-10 ret)
Saturday saw NOEFC ending up with another excellent Division 1 victory - a third in four matches - following an unusual sequence of events that culminated in us playing our home match against the Old Harrovians at Harrow. The match was originally scheduled for Aldenham but the only way Harrow could produce a full team was to include three schoolboys, and with no way of transporting them to Aldenham we generously agreed to switch. Nothing to do with Tom Dunbar being out of the country and unavailable on this particular date of course. We had absentees of our own to contend with, as well, with Seb and Noah unavailable, Alex and Tom still injured and the Etonians (with the honourable exception of Matt Asquith) away on their own planet this weekend. The benefits of Steve Kaaber-Gore's recent outings alongside Seb at first pair immediately became apparent therefore as he stepped up alongside Matt to take on the two senior pros of the OH squad, Richard Tyler & Manuel de Souza Girao. It is probably fair to say that the glory days for both Richard and Manuel are well behind them, but they are still a formidable pair with a lot of skill and bags of experience as well as an entertaining, vocal and occasionally even physical attitude towards teamwork when playing together. Matt & Steve got off to a good start but found themselves 6-9 and 8-11 down; with the benefit of hindsight their comeback to win the first game 14-11 - finished off with a nonchalant but textbook cut return pick up/left-hand volley into the hole combo from Steve - was absolutely crucial, giving the North Oxford pair belief, showing their opponents that they were in the game and perhaps most significantly putting miles into the older pair's legs with three games still needed to win. Richard & Manuel won the second to 7 to level the match but Matt & Steve were always in the game and as things moved into the third and fourth they gradually began to get on top, their fitness, speed round the court and speed of reactions taking them to a well-deserved and memorable win. Second pair was equally exciting, with Aldenham's Nirav Patel - on North Oxford debut - partnering Grandad against Old Summerfieldian Fred Prickett and schoolboy Algie Anderson. This was the archetypal rollercoaster of a match, with Grandad & Nirav going 0-1 down, then 2-1 up and then 2-2 before finding their best form just when it mattered most, controlling the fifth game from start to finish to win 12-5 and 3-2 overall. Sadly third pair were unable to join the fun, as the club captain's dodgy back let him and partner Matt Chinery down towards the end of the second game, with the North Oxford pair 11-4 up at one stage having lost the first game to 6 against Gus Stanhope (another Old Summerfieldian) and Casper Stone. Nevertheless a third successive 2-1 win was a great result against opponents we rarely score too many points against and we head into next week's meeting with defending champions the Old Westminsters in a strong position in the league.
North Oxford 1 beat Old Millhillians 1 2-1 at Mill Hill 18/10/22:
S.Cooley & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to S.Tailor & V.Bhimjiyani 2-3 (12-10, 7-12, 9-12, 12-9, 11-14)
N.Caplin & N.Turnbull beat A.Field & H.Gibson-Leitao 3-1 (12-6, 12-9, 11-13, 12-7)
K.Hird & G.Pulsford beat O.Sander & J.Lefort 3-1 (12-7, 12-9, 11-12, 12-8)
There is a history of epic late night finishes in matches between North Oxford and the Old Millhillians at Mill Hill (generally involving the currently crocked Wizard of Wolverhampton) and Tuesday evening's Division 1 clash fitted perfectly into that tradition. The strength in depth of the Division 1 squad is being sorely tested at the moment with Messrs Abrahams, McCahon and Austin all on the injured list and the Etonian contingent not especially available. It has been a huge bonus therefore to have Seb available to play a couple of matches and he was there again to lead the side against a strong looking OM side. One of the advantages of having Seb in the line up is that it has allowed Noah to slide down the order a place and take care of the second pair result. He did this impressively at Berkhamsted a couple of weeks ago - motivated by some unintentional pre-match dissing from the opposition - and backed this up with another good win here. Whether or not his OM opponents wound him up to the same extent (he was playing against Hal so it's not impossible!) but Noah and Nathan Turnbull, now settling into his groove after a couple of outings last weekend, saw off the not insignificant challenge of Hal G-L and Adam Field in four games, with an 11-13 reverse the only minor blemish on an otherwise pristine scorecard. Half-term also meant a first Div 1 appearance of the season for the Repton coach, who reprised her Aldenham double act with Grandad Graham to great effect, adding another very decent scalp - Oli Sander & Justin Lefort are no mugs - to their already lengthy and distinguished list of victims. Meanwhile, the match of the night was going on at first pair. Sunil Tailor & Vish Bhimjiyani are a well-established pair and have a formidable record on their home courts. They were up against Seb and Steve Gore, making a second successive appearance at first pair alongside the pro following his baptism of fire at Berkhamsted. This time, the North Oxford pair were able to get into the match early on, taking the first game to 10 and giving Steve the room to settle down and get used to the challenge of playing at this level. The OMs took the next two games but Seb & Steve hit back in the fourth to take the match the full distance. NOEFC momentum quickly stalled, however, with Steve beginning to struggle with cramp; the OM pair took advantage and stormed out to an 11-2 lead and the outcome looked inevitable. But with Steve recovering and able to do his bit, it was time for a bit of Cooley genius. There was no Wizard of Wolverhampton this time but instead it was the Shrewsbury Sorcerer (and the Burford Bewitcher?) firing off bits of magic in all directions as 2 became 4, 4 became 7, 7 became 10 and then suddenly it was level at 11-11. Surely there could be no stopping Seb & Steve now? Sadly it wasn't to be, however, as the comeback stalled at 11 and to their great credit Sunil & Vish kept their composure, found a couple of much needed cut returns at the vital moment and closed the match out 14-11. This was another fabulous performance all round from the team, with a second successive 2-1 win on the road and some real plusses - another dominant performance from Noah, Nathan beginning to hit top form, Karen & Grandad showing their class, Steve banking loads more invaluable first pair experience and looking more and more comfortable at the highest level and Spencer able to claim that his league stats for the season are now better than Seb's.
North Oxford beat Oxford University 2-0 at Iffley Road 16/10/22:
S.Cooley & N.Caplin beat H.Young & C.Plummer 2-1 (9-12, 13-11, 12-5)
K.Hird & M.Chinery beat B.Hart & R.Wood 3-0 (12-2, 12-8, 12-7)
Sunday saw a bit of switching around, with the Salopians disappointingly crying off from the scheduled Division 1 fixture at Aldenham. Three of the team were instead diverted to Iffley Road to play in a highly entertaining and worthwhile friendly against the University. I suspect it has been a long time (possibly the time in the dim and distant past when Hoskins G and Davies C - wearing Jesters colours - took down Peter Dunbar and Hedi Young on the same court*) since Iffley Road has seen quite such a high quality game as the one that unfolded on Court One, with Seb & Noah taking on University skipper Hugo Young & PGCE student Charles Plummer. Hugo & Charlie got off to a rollicking start with Seb & Noah not immediately gelling as a partnership. Having lost the first game to 9 and at 5-0 down in the second, Seb was looking at a fifth consecutive lost game for NOEFC this season and a second successive match defeat. The threat to both pride and stats was too much; on cam the after burners and with Noah settling down and playing much better, the North Oxford pair began to get on top, reeling their opponents in in the second game, which they edged 13-11 and then controlling the majority of the third which they won to 5 before Charlie had to head off to University cricket trials. The game in the second court was also an entertaining encounter, with Matt & Karen for North Oxford taking on Ben Hart & Rachel, who had their OUEFC kit on for this one. Karen & Matt cruised through the first game but Ben & Rachel improved greatly in the second, establishing a significant lead which they were unable to convert into a win. That was their chance as Karen & Matt closed out the third to give north Oxford a 2-0 win in the first Town v Gown derby of the season.
*Some would prefer it to go unrecorded that Dunbar may or may not have been cutting left-handed at times that day due to an iffy shoulder. Others would say just look at the result.
Mixed Team Tournament (The Boughton Bowl) at Highgate 09/10/22:
North Oxford (R.Wood, F.Turnbull, S.Clifford-King, N.Turnbull, M.Chinery, N.Shaw) finished third, scoring 15 points out of a possible 24
Despite this only being the third edition of the Boughton Bowl, North Oxford EFC already has quite a history in the competition - denied a shot at winning the first one after a nasty injury to Captain Karen before returning in 2021 to claim the title after a thrilling win in the final. In both of those competition, we were able to enter three teams; it was a rather different story this time with five of last year's winning team unavailable and our female ranks depleted by work commitments, injuries, holidays and emigration. Despite all of these pre-tournament difficulties we were able to assemble a strong team to defend the trophy at Highgate on Sunday, with 2021 champion Rachel Wood joined on the female side of the team by fellow Black Cup winner Francesca Turnbull and new recruit Sophie Clifford-King, who was already made a blistering undefeated start to her NOEFC career in Division 3 this season. With Nathan Turnbull, Nick Shaw and Matt Chinery making up the six, the team took on tournament favourites Berkhamsted, previous champions Highgate and two sides from Ipswich in a round robin format that saw each pair play two sets against each each opponent, meaning there were six points up for grabs (one for each set) in each round. The first round against Highgate went well, with Nathan & Rachel looking strong despite losing to Emily Scoones & Abs Bhattacharya and Sophie continuing her unbeaten run in a North Oxford shirt with a 2-0 win at third pair alongside Matt. The balance of power came down to second pair, therefore, and a fantastic match between Nick & Francesca and Marj Briscoe & Tom Halstead. Nick & Francesca looked odds on to win the first game but somehow let it slip right at the death; thankfully they were able to overcome that disappointment and win the second in fine style. A 3-3 draw and (with potential implications later on) also a tie on overall points difference. Two impressive victories followed - a 5-1 against the Old Ipswichians with Sophie extending her NOEFC winning streak to 12 successive sets and Nathan & Rachel producing their best performance of the day to get a 1-1 draw at first pair against an OI pair featuring Charlotta Cooley. Elsewhere in the draw, Highgate and Berkhamsted had drawn 3-3 (with Highgate shading that points difference head to head by 54-52) but Highgate had had two 6-0 wins over the Ipswich teams whereas the Berkhamsted first pair had been Cooleyed in their encounter, dropping two points. All of which meant that the competition could not have been more excitingly poised going in to the final round. Highgate were finished and could only watch, with 18 points in the bank; North Oxford were taking on Berkhamsted and both teams were in with a chance of overtaking Highgate; Berko needed a 6-0 win to claim the title, North Oxford needed a 5-1 or 6-0 victory for an outright win or a 4-2 win to tie with Highgate (remember the earlier points different tie? Keep up at the back...) and any other result - 5-1 or 4-2 to Berko or a 3-3 draw - meant Highgate got their hands on the trophy. This was a tough test for North Oxford - the Berkhamsted team were pre-tournament favourites and it was perhaps a surprise that they had dropped as many points as they had done to this point. It quickly became clear that the North Oxford win was unlikely: the Berkhamsted first pair of Ryan Perrie & Freya Butler had really hit their stride by this stage and were too strong for Nathan & Rachel. With Jack Pemberton & Zoe Nicholls winning the first game 12-7 against Nick & Francesca, our hopes were hanging by a thread. Matt & Sophie's third pair match against Ant Theodossi & Bronte Capaldi was neck and neck and went to 11-11; if Matt & Sophie took it, Berkhamsted's chances had gone and Highgate knew the worst they could do was to tie. It didn't happen, though, as Sophie's winning streak finally came to an end and Berkhamsted went 3-0 up in their quest for the 6-0 result they needed to take the trophy. North Oxford's hopes of winning may have been dashed but the tension was ramping up even further. Suddenly the Highgate squad were cheering on North Oxford, as their hopes of winning depended on one of the NOEFC pairs winning their second set. It wasn't going to come from Nathan & Rachel, who couldn't find a way past Ryan & Freya; it wasn't going to come from Matt & Sophie who weren't able to repeat their first set heroics and lost the second to 2. All eyes turned to second pair and Nick & Francesca, who were determined to finish in style. They got themselves into a commanding lead, aided by a couple of cuts straight out from their opponents, and got to 11-6 ahead but with Highgate watching on nervously (or not in the case of Captain Emily who couldn't bear to watch) Jack & Zoe gradually whittled the lead down to 11-9 before the winning shot was struck by Nick to claim a final point for North Oxford, taking us to a total of 15, 3 behind Highgate & Berkhamsted, with Highgate winning the trophy on points difference countback. We'll let them keep the bowl for a year...but we'll be back next year hopefully to see if we can get it back in the NOEFC trophy cabinet!
North Oxford 2 lost to St.Olave's School 1 1-2 at Orpington 08/10/22:
P.Scholey & N.Turnbull lost to H.Ravi & G.Nsenga 0-3 (1-12, 5-12, 1-12)
G.Hoskins & M.Chinery beat J.Prior & D.Robson 3-0 (12-6, 12-8, 12-3)
S.Chapman & S.Nowinski lost to T.Farmer & E.Smith 0-3 (5-12, 1-12, 6-12)
The Division 2 team finally got off the mark in their second match of the season, but Orpington proved to be another tough away trip after the 3-0 defeat at Harrow a couple of weeks ago. With Grandad ruled out after his eye injury last weekend, who better to replace him than an actual Grandad, national Over 60s champion Stefan Nowinski stepping up into Division 2 to partner Spencer at third pair. Experience was on their side against the school pairing of Ethan Smith and Tommy Farmer, but the young Olavians are both fine prospects (Tommy won the U16s at the National Schools' championships last year) and proved to be too strong for the North Oxford pair, whose efforts probably deserved a more flattering scoreline than the one they got. A third schoolboy was lurking at first pair, with the current Olavian number one Genesis Nsenga partnering Harry Ravi against Pete and Nathan. This was a rather disappointing performance and result for the North Oxford pair; the Olavians undoubtedly played well, but Nathan was suffering from some early season rust and nowhere near his best, while Pete struggled to reproduce his excellent form of the last couple of weekends. Some honour was salvaged at second pair where the captain teamed up with Matt Chinery to take on Joey Prior and Dom Robson. A tricky assignment on paper was navigated with relative ease thanks to some excellent cut returning, opposition profligacy and the occasional run of the court giving us something to take away from the morning's play. There was time for an extra mix and match game on the four courts before the shock of discovering that the (on the face of it near empty) Royal Oak was unable to serve us any food because they were too busy. Over the road to the Rose & Crown it was then - memorably the scene of Spencer's chicken wrap without the chicken - which had undergone something of a refurb since our last visit and which provided the opportunity for a very pleasant outdoor lunch in the beer garden with not a chickenless wrap to be seen and a convincing 5-1 win for North Oxford.
North Oxford 1 beat Berkhamsted 1 2-1 at Berkhamsted 02/10/22:
S.Cooley & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to G.Campbell & R.Perrie 0-3 (8-12, 9-12, 2-12)
N.Caplin & P.Scholey beat C.Nicholls & C.Davey 3-0 (12-7, 12-6, 12-7)
J.Piggot & G.Pulsford beat D.Foster & W.Roen-Tate 3-1 (11-12, 12-6, 12-3, 12-8)
Sunday morning saw the return Division 1 match against Berkhamsted and a chance to gain revenge for the 2-1 defeat at Aldenham three weeks ago. Our chances were improved by first appearances of the season from giant of the game Seb Cooley and the talented James Piggot. With Noah Caplin also in the line-up, Steve Kaaber-Gore continuing his rapid progression through the ranks and support from the ever-reliable Pete & Grandad, we were able to offer some firepower of our own to combat a strong Berkhamsted line-up which featured a Kinnaird finalist (George Campbell), two semi-finalists (Ryan Perrie and Doug Foster) and a finalist from last week's U25 tournament (Charlie Nicholls). The pair selection was an interesting exercise. Steve had rearranged his whole weekend and called in a few favours for the opportunity of playing at first pair with Seb, whose presence meant that Berkhamsted countered by putting their two biggest hitters at one. This was a huge step for Steve - as well as a mighty challenge for Seb - and he coped extremely well with playing at a level considerably higher than anything he has yet experienced. The first two games were both close, but Ryan & George were getting more cuts up and Steve & Seb were unable to put together enough returns to ever get on terms, which was even more frustrating on the couple of occasions when a sequence of cuts did come back and the scoreboard quickly started moving. The third game went away from the North Oxford pair but this was fantastic experience for Steve and will hopefully inspire him to keep making progress and find out exactly how far he can go in the game. The other knock on effect of Ryan & George playing together at first pair (apart from helping to keep Seb's stats at a sensible level of course) was to open up the possibilities of winning second and third pairs. Noah - suitably motivated by a pre-match enquiry from Doug about the relative merits of the NOEFC second and third pairs - was in terrific form and dominated large parts of the second pair match, with Pete providing excellent support. They raced to a 10-1 lead in the first game before holding off a fightback from Charlie Nicholls & Chris Davey and recovered from a 1-5 deficit in the second to go 2-0 up before closing the match out in a more regulation fashion in the third. The third pair match was very close for the first game and a half as James & Graham got used to playing with each other. They lost the first game 11-12 to Doug Foster and Will Roen-Tate but things began to click for the North Oxford pair about halfway through the second game. Graham was his normal reliable attacking self and the Piggot left-hand started dominating proceedings as the second game was won to 6 and the third to 3. The only subsequent threat to a 3-1 win came from an unexpected quarter halfway through the fourth game when Will caught Graham in the eye with a glancing blow from his glove in his follow through after a left-hand shot in the back court. The eye was beginning to swell, and had closed up by later in the afternoon, but Grandad heroically managed to keep going for the remainder of the fourth game, which he and James were able to close out in the nick of time for a well-deserved victory. There was a 4-1 post-match NOEFC win in the King's Arms, with Ryan showing the benefits of some of his past NOEFC training. The King's Arms, incidentally, scored very high marks all round as a post-match venue, with only a slightly disappointing STP (relative to the rest of the food and not helped by salted caramel ice cream instead of custard) stopping it from potentially slotting in right at the top of the table.
North Oxford 2 lost to Old Harrovians 2 0-3 at Harrow 24/09/22:
P.Scholey & S.Kaaber-Gore lost to O.Denby & F.Prickett 0-3 (11-15, 11-13, 10-12)
K.Hird & S.Thatcher lost to A.Poole & N.Shaw 0-3 (2-12, 1-12, 6-12)
R.Thorogood & S.Chapman lost to C.Stone & G.Stanhope 0-3 (9-12, 10-12, 5-12)
Harrow has traditionally been a tough venue for North Oxford to score many league points. Last year saw a major turn around in fortunes with 3-0 wins there in both Division 1 and Division 2. Our first trip there yesterday reverted to the more normal pattern as our first Division 2 outing of the season resulted in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of a very strong Harrovian outfit, although we were unlucky not to get a bit more out of the match with both first and third pair always in contention before ultimately just falling short. Also worth of note was the strong North Oxford influence in the visitors' ranks with Nick Shaw at second pair and an ex-Summer Fields pupil in each of the other two pairs in the shape of Fred Prickett and Gus Stanhope. Indeed, Fred is due to join us in January as the gap year Fives coach at SF so were delighted to initiate him into several important NOEFC traditions in The Castle after on court proceedings had finished. Those proceedings finished disappointingly quickly at second pair, where Stephen and Karen never really got going against Nick & Alex Poole, a match up that needed them to be at their absolute best to be competitive in. There was a brief revival at the start of the third game, but otherwise it was pretty much one way traffic for the OH pair. NOEFC hopes were pinned on experience at third pair as Spencer & Robert took on Gus and Casper Stone, who was at least spared yet another defeat at the hands of Karen, having lost to her on multiple occasions in various competition last season. The first two games were both nip and tuck and could have gone either way; that bit of early season rust in the North Oxford game plus some decent Harrow cutting just gave the schoolboys the upper hand however and they won both games, to 9 and 10 respectively. There was plenty of hot air on court in the third game from Spencer & Robert but sadly not in the form of either a renewed head of steam or a second wind (that was more likely to be the falafel vegan roll Spencer had between games) and an epic comeback in five games was never really on the cards. The first pair of Pete & Steve were up against the formidable obstacle of Oskar Denby & Fred Prickett (London Tournament quarter-finalists last season as a pair) but right from the start the North Oxford pair were right in the match and matching their opponents shot for shot. As with the third pair, the crucial last step in each of the first two games proved beyond them, with the OH pair taking both after they had been set at 10-10. Undeterred, Steve & Pete came out firing at the start of the third game, establishing a 7-3 lead at one point, with Steve in particular looking every inch a player ready to step a level or two. They certainly deserved to win at least one game for their efforts but it wasn't to be as Oskar & Fred closed the gap , once again nicking it at the death 12-10. The North Oxford support team of Gareth & Kirby helped ensure a 7-1 win in The Castle (and the 1 was Fred who is one of us now anyway) so there was one victory after all, as well as the return of Coach Karen inspiring a couple of apple and blackberry crumbles. With custard of course. Next up for NOEFC is the Division 1 return leg against Berkhamsted and rumours of a rare appearance for the giant of the game. Watch this space.
North Oxford 3 beat The Abbey 2-1 at Westminster 22/09/22:
M.Chinery & F.Fairhead beat H.Barma & O.Meredith 3-0 (12-10, 12-8, 12-7)
A.Bishop & T.Bush lost to A.Weiss & A.Gupta 0-3 (11-13, 12-14, 6-12)
S.Clifford-King & R.Swallow beat S.Miyake & P.Shah 3-0 (12-3, 12-4 ret)
The early season rush of Division 3 fixtures concluded at Westminster on Thursday with a second successive win for Bishop's Buccaneers over the Abbey team. The President's influence was notable for the presence of a Summer Fields Old Boy in all three pairs, with Freddy Fairhead making a welcome appearance alongside Matt Chinery in the top court. Unusually for this fixture they found themselves up against a pair of Old Westminsters rather than school pupils, including former Oxford University club secretary Hatam Barma, so to come away with a 3-0 win after a tight first game was a notable effort. Sophie Clifford-King maintained her 100% record with a second win in two weeks at third pair, this time alongside NOEFC debutant Rupert Swallow. They found themselves up against an inexperienced school pair and saw them off pretty quickly, one of the boys being replaced by the Westminster coach for an extra game at the end. Andy & Toby at second pair had the closest match of the evening against - effectively - this year's Westminster School first pair. Andy & Toby rushed to a 7-1 lead in the first, and then let them level at 7-7 almost as quickly, thanks to some disappointingly ineffective cutting from the President, who struggled to find the right line and length throughout the evening. The North Oxford pair retook the lead 10-7 before again letting them back to 10-10 and then going on to lose it 11-13, having had chances to score points but conceding a couple of unfortunate lets at crucial moments*. In the second game the schoolboys got off to a flyer - 4-0 up before we knew it. Andy & Toby were always behind, but at 7-11 down, Toby produced a series of fine cut returns and with Andy chasing around at the back of the court the score was pulled back to 11-11. Sadly, though, the final stages were a repeat of the previous game: nip and tuck, but they crossed the line first (12-14). The third game was a bit shorter; with tails high, the boys reduced their error count and produced a series of fine shots to the base of the buttress. It was still closely contested, but in the end the superior cutting of the Abbey pair saw them home. The score was 5-2 to North Oxford in the post-match refreshments. The President had decided that, instead of the Sanctuary, it might be interesting (for reconnaissance purposes) to investigate the Munich Cricket Club, a Bavarian Bierkeller on Abbey Orchard Street. It was, rowdy, loud music - anthemic songs of 20+ years ago, with lots of young people (some in lederhosen costume etc**) standing on the bench tables, singing along - and pretty busy. The younger fives players seemed to enjoy the atmosphere and the experience. The President, however, was disappointed that the music was not actually a Bavarian oompah band. Perhaps an experiment not to be repeated.
*Editor's Note - it is not known whether these were textbook "Bishop lets" or not. One likes to think so.
**Editor's Note (2) - it is not known whether any of the NOEFC team had brought their own lederhosen. Or indeed a dirndl.
North Oxford 3 beat Windsor & Eton 3-0 at Eton 13/09/22:
M.Chinery & R.Wood beat O.Lawton & J.Lawrence 3-0 (12-7, 12-6, 12-1)
A.Bishop & T.Bush beat J.Hepburn & T.Goodman 3-0 (12-7, 12-8, 14-11)
S.Clifford-King & C.Schroeder beat S.Wisa & D.Clarke 3-0 (12-7, 12-5, 12-8)
Battle-hardened by the tough game against Berkhamsted at the weekend, the Division 3 team produced a terrific performance to claim all three points away against Windsor & Eton last night without conceding a game. Report from Andy (mainly, with bits from Matt, Cyril & Toby) plus photos from Matt & Toby.
At third pair, Cyril enjoyed a fine victory with Sophie over the Holyport pair of Darcy Clarke & Sophie Wisa, both North Oxford players having only started playing Fives this time last year. Sophie was a bit rusty to begin with after a summer off (to be expected) but soon found a decent seam of form. Cyril had difficulty returning cuts, at least to start with; however, things improved once he decided to stand his ground by the buttress instead of his tactic at Aldenham, which was to move to the front wall. There were a few Staleyesque shots out of the back, but also a good number of back court winners landing just inside, including several "straight down the line" cuts, in an unintended homage to W&E legend Nick Bunyan. This high-risk approach by the Luxembourger - further cementing his status as the country's number one Fives player - dovetailed well with Sophie's merciless volley winners into the buttress. This was an excellent North Oxford debut win for Sophie, and useful experience for Cyril, who stepped up well to take more responsibility as the "lead partner".
There was plenty more experience on show at second pair as Andy and Toby took on W&E stalwarts Jamie Hepburn & Tom Goodman. The first game was fairly close for the most part with Andy & Toby never more than 2 points ahead until about halfway through, when they eased away from 7 to 12 . Toby didn't return many cuts, but improved a bit in that regard in the next two games; he also biffed the ball pretty hard from the back court to the back, ignoring the buttress. Tom & Jamie didn't return many cuts either - especially Andy's devious slices (which were working rather well last night, though I say it myself!), although more in the third game, when Jamie went to the front wall and disrupted my rhythm for a few points. Second game saw Toby more dominant in volleying on the top step and adopting a wilier approach at the back by hitting round the walls rather more. The third game saw the NOEFC pair get off to a shocking start - 1-7 down after a series of uninspired cutting and other unforced errors (mainly by the senior partner). However, they kept their nerve and gradually clawed it back to 8-8 before easing ahead to 11-8. Having missed a straightforward opportunity to finish off, a nervy period saw Tom & Jamie draw level at 11-11. Andy & Toby set it to two, continued to focus on producing unreturnable cuts, and controlled the final passages of play to win 14-11. Overall, the blend of two different styles of cutting - Toby's power and Andy's old-man cunning dibbly-dobblies - was the deciding factor in the match.
The first pair match up looked tough on paper, with Matt & Rachel taking on Oli Lawton & Jeff Lawrence. Right from the start, though, the North Oxford pair gained the upper hand, thanks to Rachel's relentlessly effective cutting and Matt's off-putting welder's outfit. With a post-match drive back down the M4 to Cardiff awaiting, the North Oxford duo kept their foot on the gas, controlling the set piece and never letting their opponents back into the game, finishing in style with a run from 5-1 to 12-1 in a single hand to close out the match in the third. This was an excellent win for Bishop's Buccaneers, with more invaluable experience in the bank for some of our newer recruits and not even a long delay back into London for Sophie & Toby (perhaps they would have better off going to Cardiff?) thanks to a broken down train could take the gloss off a splendid evening's work.
North Oxford 3 lost to Berkhamsted 2 1-2 at Aldenham 11/09/22:
M.Chinery & G.Guetard lost to W.Roen-Tate & S.Corso 1-3 (12-8, 8-12, 11-12, 10-12)
R.Wood & S.Nowinski lost to A.Pemberton & Z.Nicholls 1-3 (12-2, 7-12, 13-15, 10-12)
A.Bishop & C.Schroeder beat B.Evers & G.McWalter 3-1 (8-12, 12-5, 12-7, 12-8)
While the Division 1 side were battling to get a point out of their match, Bishop's Buccaneers were involved in a close and exciting tussle with their Berkhamsted Division 3 counterparts. The final result was the same, with losses at pairs one and two and a win at pair three, but the match panned out in rather different fashion, with the first main takeaway being the unusual statistical quirk of the winners of the first game in all three pairs going on to lose their matches. At third pair, the Club President took on the senior partner role alongside debutant Cyril Schroeder, who has been playing for less than 12 months, and after a slightly slow start the North Oxford pair gradually got a grip on the match with Cyril finding a pleasing steadiness that can occasionally elude him while Andy provided an experienced controlling hand on the tiller to take them to a 3-1 win. At second pair, Rachel & Stefan set off like a train, winning the first game 12-2 against Adam Pemberton & Zoe Nicholls, before things soon began to change as the talented Zoe started to find her feet. The game hinged around the passage of play at the end of the third game which was set at 10-10; it was the Berkhamsted pair who found the precision when they needed it and the 15-13 win in the third gave them a lead which Rachel & Stefan couldn't pull back, despite getting close again in the fourth. First pair followed a similar pattern; having overcome the shock of finding NOEFC's own Seb Corso in the opposition ranks (the Ryan Perrie Eton connection), Matt & Gael made a fine start, taking the first game against Seb & Will Roen Tate 12-8. Again, the match came down to which pair could hold their nerve and convert their chances at the business end of the third and fourth games and again it was the Berkhamsted pair who sneaked home 12-11 and then 12-10. The second big takeaway of the match, though, was the invaluable experience gained by the likes of Cyril and Gael (who responded terrifically to playing at first pair), who have played quite a bit of Monday night Fives now but not many competitive league matches yet. Both will be much better for this outing and we hope to see continued improvement from both during the course of this season. A first trip of the season to the Round Bush followed, with an 8-1 North Oxford victory (good work from Zoe to keep the Berko end up), although there was a distinct lack of puddings consumed, as a mark of respect for the absence from this fixture of the new Repton coach.
North Oxford 1 lost to Berkhamsted 1 1-2 at Aldenham 11/09/22:
N.Caplin & B.Hart lost to A.Theodossi & R.Perrie 0-3 (8-12, 9-12, 13-15)
G.Hoskins & C.Lumbard lost to C.Nicholls & J.Pemberton 0-3 (3-12, 2-12, 3-12)
G.Pulsford & P.Scholey beat C.Davey & M.Mauratille 3-0 (12-6, 12-3, 12-3)
North Oxford got their 2022/23 league season off to an enjoyable start at Aldenham on Sunday with a Division 1 and Division 3 double header against Berkhamsted. The Division 1 line up was dictated very much by availability with injury (Chris Austin, Alex Abrahams), teaching commitments (Seb Cooley, Karen Hird, Steve Gore), christenings (James Piggot), holidays (Tom McCahon, Isaac Wagland, Isaac Weaver), singing (Matt Asquith), temporary retirement (Phil Roper), inability to read messages (James Cobb) and general unavailability (Nathan Turnbull, Sid Simmons, Stephen Thatcher) leaving the club captain with little option but to select himself alongside ever reliable veterans Pete & Grandad, Chris Lumbard, Noah Caplin and NOEFC debutant Ben Hart. Alex's late(ish) withdrawal due to a nasty-sounding broken finger prevented the Caplin/Abrahams partnership from setting their sights on another top scalp in Ant Theodossi & Ryan Perrie. Instead, Oxford graduate student Ben found himself in at the first pair deep end and he responded superbly, providing excellent support to Noah and not looking out of place. Although they lost 0-3, each of the games was close and the North Oxford pair were unlucky not to have won at least one game, with some excellent passages of play just undone by a lack of consistency and perhaps by the difference between a new thrown together pairing and one that has been together for years. Nevertheless this was an encouraging performance with Noah looking ready to lead the North Oxford Division 1 campaign this season and Ben already looking like a great addition to the ranks. Gareth & Chris teamed up at second pair and were outclassed by top OB youngsters Charlie Nicholls & Jack Pemberton, who put together an impressive display, despite some decent Fives from Gareth & Chris in the second and third games that perhaps didn't get the reward on the scoreboard that it merited. Nevertheless, by posing sufficient threat that the Berkhamsted team had to throw both Jack & Charlie at them at second pair, Gareth & Chris opened the way for veterans Pete & Grandad to further extend their record as the oldest pair to win in Division 1. They rolled back the years yet again at third pair to comfortably dispatch Chris Davey and Eton schoolboy Marcel Mauratille in straight games, despite being roughly 84 years older than their opponents.
