The Team was: Arthur Attrill, Sam Bird, Jack Curtis, Aaron Dawson, George Day, Julian Godfrey, Ryan Golesworthy, Liam Hignett, Paul Scullard, Luke West
The other counties were: Suffolk, Lincolnshire and South Wales
We went with a slightly depleted team as some of our top players were abroad in tournaments. Our aim was to stay in the Group, as it was quite strong.
Day 1 v Suffolk
The team was:
| 1. Ryan Golesworthy | Doubles: | |
| 2. Liam Hignett | 1. Hignett/Golesworthy | |
| 3. Jack Curtis | 2. Curtis/Dawson | |
| 4. Aaron Dawson | 3. Attrill/Day | |
| 5. George Day | Sub. West | |
| 6. Arthur Attrill |
Suffolk are a Group 1 County Week side so we knew this was a tough first day. We got off to a good start with George and Aaron winning at 5 and 4, two very good matches. Then Jack, Liam and Ryan rolled through theirs to give us a 5/1 lead after singles and with Luke subbing for Liam, he and Ryan beat the no. 1 pair. A great first win for Luke never mind Ryan! We won 6/3.
Day 2 v Lincolnshire
The team was:
| 1. Ryan Golesworthy | Doubles: | |
| 2. Liam Hignett | 1. Hignett/Curtis | |
| 3. Jack Curtis | 2. Golesworthy/Scullard | |
| 4. Aaron Dawson | 3. Day/West | |
| 5. George Day | Sub. Godfrey | |
| 6. Arthur Attrill |
So with a win, we would be safe and could play South Wales to possibly go up on day 3.
After singles we were 6/0 up with everyone winning easily, a great team effort. We ended 8/1 winners after the doubles, now safe and playing South Wales on the last day.
Day 3 v South Wales
The team was:
| 1. Liam Hignett | Doubles: | |
| 2. Jack Curtis | 1. Hignett/Curtis | |
| 3. Aaron Dawson | 2. Attrill/Dawson | |
| 4. George Day | 3. Day/West | |
| 5. Arthur Attrill | Sub. Scullard | |
| 6. Luke West |
We lost Ryan for the final day, so it was going to be tough. Arthur and Luke were beaten in the first two, then George had an amazing win to give us hope. Aaron just lost in 3 to their captain, Chris Lewis, but Jack and Liam had two great wins to make it 3/3 after singles. Luke and George had a tough battle at three doubles but narrowly lost then Arthur and Aaron made an amazing comeback but were pipped at the post in the tie-break third set 10/8 to lose. We lost 5/3 but stayed in the Group.
A great weekend considering the situation days before. A shame we didn’t go up, but it shows a resilience and fight in the team that will be needed if we get up to the top groups. Liam and Ryan are now becoming the best players in each group we go into, they are becoming better and better. Jack, Aaron, Arthur and now George are quickly learning how to compete with some of the best top county players in the country, which is no mean feat, the future for them looks good as they are so young. And it was great for Luke to come in and get that amazing win against the Suffolk no. 1 pair. A great learning experience.
This seems a consolidation of the previous two years and hopefully we push forward next year.
Julian Godfrey – Men’s Captain
