3rd Team

Cheshire 3 – ICC Mid Season Review  2011/12

Following the restricted tournament and the announcement of the team selections, the gauntlet was thrown down to the 3^rd team squad by its appointed captain (Steve Carway) – and promotion from division 5 was the challenge!!

Cheshire 3 were placed in the ICC regional division 5A, alongside Ulster, Cumbria 2 and Durham 3. This meant 6 ties were going to be played in total; home and away against each team, with Ulster being a home double-header to  limit travelling.

Each tie consists of 15 best-of-three matches – 2 mens singles, 2 ladies singles, 4 mens doubles, 4 ladies doubles and 3 mixed.

Two points are on offer for winning the tie – with a bonus point if it’s won 10-5 or better. (One point is awarded to the losing side if it’s 8-7 or 9-6.)

Cumbria 2 (home) – 23^rd Oct 2011

The first tie was against Cumbria 2 at home, and proved to be a strong start with an impressive 11-4 win, and all three points.

It was all square after the singles, with Cheshire’s Nathan Walker and Matt Riley both taking their matches; Matt making sure he got his money’s worth by keeping it exciting and using all 3 ends! The ladies singles were both taken by Cumbria, despite battling performances by Lisa Edgar and Claudia Heggie - neither of whom are singles specialists, but both put in a great effort, with Lisa taking her opponent to 3 ends.

The doubles brought more success, with all the mens matches being claimed by the pairings of Steve Carway and Keith Cuncarr, and Nathan Walker and Richard Bergh.

Beth Cubbin and Claudia were involved in a couple of lively ladies doubles matches, both going to 3 ends, but unfortunately losing out in both. Lisa and Cat Mackinlay took both other ladies to open up an 8-4 lead going into the mixed.

This proved to be another strong point for Cheshire, and we took all three matches (Steve and Lisa, Keith and Cat, Richard and Beth) in straight games to seal the win 11-4.

Amid much fanfare, the “Man of the Match Maltesers” award (MOTMM) was born, and after much deliberation, the inaugural recipient was named as Cat Mackinlay, after an impressive showing in both the levels and the mixed – so well done Cat, and sharing of the award is strictly optional!!

Durham3 (away) – 30^th Oct 2011

The second tie was against Durham 3 (away), and unfortunately it proved to be a sterner test - we eventually lost the match 8-7, gaining only a point and slowing the promotion charge somewhat.

We were missing some singles specialists and it showed in the early stages, as Durham fielded some strong youngsters and we lost all 4 singles matches - a couple of which could have gone either way.

This was a difficult start, and put some pressure on the remaining matches, but all the doubles pairs responded well with Steve Carway and Kris Wood taking both their matches, and Richard Bergh and Matt Riley claiming another to win 3 of the four mens on offer.

The ladies again proved to be tough matches, with Lisa Edgar and Cat Mackinlay claiming both their matches, and Rachel Marsh and Jo Minihan narrowly missing out in some close games with several epic rallies.

The mixed turned out to be an erm, mixed affair(!) as we took the first two matches, with Steve and Lisa and Kris and Cat both winning to set the match up at 7-7, but unfortunately, Richard and Rachel’s opponents proved too strong on the day and the match was lost 8-7.

The MOTMM award (see above if you’re confused!), was given to Lisa Edgar, for a great performance in both the ladies and the mixed, and also for battling through a tough singles without too much protest!

Durham 3 (home) – 13^th Nov 2011

The team were looking to reverse the defeat of the previous match and were in determined mood!

Steve Carway was missing due to the birth of his baby girl, so Richard Bergh stepped in as captain, and did a fine job - apart from losing the score sheet that is!!

Luke Tanner and James Paybody made their first appearances of the season, and it helped us get off to strong start in the singles with two wins for the men.

The good run of form continued in the doubles with Luke, James, Richard and Kris all putting in a good shift for the men, and Beth Cubbin and Ruth Flatman, Lisa and Cat continuing the trend for the ladies.

The mixed was again a strong event, and helped to secure an impressive 12-3 win, for maximum points!

The MOTMM award is still to be decided upon, once Steve C sees the official match sheet!!

Looking forward……

The rest of the season is finely balanced with an away match against Cumbria, and the double header against Ulster still to come.

Ulster are a new team in the ICC and showed their intent by travelling with a very strong team in their first outing, beating Durham 15-0, 15-0 which means we’ll have our work cut out when we play them!

The matches are at Kings School in Chester on the 10^th and 11^th of March - if anyone would like to come and support us, it would be much appreciated!

Steve C

3^rd team captain