Tavistock 1 The Gardens (Torpoint) 4 HAVING started the season brightly the Tavistock 2 squash team were looking forward to a stern test against the highly rated Gardens team from Torpoint. First on court at number 5, was Robin Burdfield who cruised to 3-0 victory giving Tavistock the perfect start. However, angst and anguish was to follow. At number 4 Peter Walshe was playing against an old adversary and after two games the honours were even. As the game progressed it was only a couple of marginal shots and his opponent?s ungentlemanly tactic of making Peter run around the court, which saw Peter go down 3-1. At number 3 Mike Gray, Tavistock?s captain, started slowly and was soon two games down. However, he clawed his way back into the match with a heroic comeback to win the next two games. At 2-2 the clever money was on Mike to finish the job off, but the fates went against him as crucial shots went awry. At number 2, Dave Ruffell knew he had to win if Tavistock were going to take the fixture. Like most of his team mates he started slowly but won the second game convincingly 9-3. Dave played the next two games at his opponent?s pace and style which in hindsight was his undoing. He lost 3-1. At number 1, it was left to John Jameson to restore the team?s pride. John?s height and reach gives him a languid look, which combined with ferocious power, unsettles many opponents. In this instance, alas, it was his opponent who did the unsettling and John seemed to be too often on the back foot at the back of the court - and then inevitably back in the changing room with team mates who knew that a match they could have won had been taken from them by opponents who better imposed themselves, both physically and mentally.
