15nd JANUARY 2016

It is the Beckenham Club’s 150th Anniversary in 2016 and our annual squash match kicked off their celebrations.

The squash part of the evening consisted of 4 singles matches, an exhibition doubles match and various other doubles games. Due to time restraints – sit down meal at 9pm – all matches were PAR scoring to 11.

Seldom have I seen the gallery as packed as it was on this auspicious occasion.

The GB Vets had to call on a ‘young’ non vet, Darren Beavers, at No.1 who had an excellent hard game against a very useful, youthful Alastair Shapcott but went down fighting 1/3.
Andy Bonner narrowly won his first 2 games 13/11, 12/10 but then gradually ran out of steam and lost out to Trevor Grant in the fifth.
New member Nick Wise was in good form and beat Robin Grant 11/6 in the fifth.
Peter Young played fellow GB Vet Ian Smith but lost in 3 – 14/16 in the third.

So in the singles 3/1 to Beckenham.

Next came an exhibition match consisting of 3 stalwarts of Beckenham – true greats of yesteryear – and…..Robert Smith! Not having played for months, years, perhaps decades and brandishing graphite rackets instead of Dunlop Maxply’s, the 3 great men took to the court – Stuart Courtney, Guy Morgan, Peter Cattrall. What followed was a masterclass of squash, not quite as agile as in their heyday but the devastating shots were all still there.
All other singles players then played doubles.

And so to the après squash. Some 30 players, partners and supporters sat down to an excellent 3 course meal amply washed down with various varieties of liquid.

A few words of thanks from Ian Smith, a reply from Robert Smith and plans for 2016 from the President of the Beckenham Club, Willy Sumner, ended a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Nigel Belle

Smith, Morgan, Courtney & Cattrall	Smiths, Robert & Ian	Sumner, Wiseman & Pollard