The SRA Cup is a team handicap competition for B and C League teams. Matches are decided on a points basis, each tie being best of five, with the best three game scores for each player going to make the team total. The pre-determined handicap is then applied to the team total to give the final result.
International Divers (222) v Island Exhaust (186)
Target Tools sponsored International Divers met Island Exhausts for the second time in as many weeks. Last time it was a winner-take-all contest for the B League title. This time it was to progress to the second round of the knock-out SRA Cup. Divers went one better than last time out by winning four matches; all by 3 games to 0 but it was points that would decide the tie. John Whitehouse set the tone for Divers, showing no mercy against Phil Shaw who never-the-less managed to accrue a creditable 12 points for Island Exhaust. Next on court was Divers skipper Adam Corcoran who took on Pete Sharples in a rematch from the previous week. Corcoran managed to overturn two previous defeats with a 3-0 victory and limiting his opponent to only 32 points. James Ramsey took on Island Exhausts captain Ian Sheard and, despite a tight first game, Ramsey got revenge after losing the last encounter between the two; giving away only 34 points in the process. Late arrival Chris Moore continued his winning streak against Pat Russell of Island Exhaust. Russell played some great squash, but Moore’s tempo was relentless and proved too much for Russell who was restricted to only 29 points. The closest game of the night was between Gary Corlett and Mike Hebden in an entertaining battle of the big hitters. As with all the previous encounters, Hebden managed to edge the game 45-42 in favour of Island Exhausts.
Island Exhausts had a handicap of 34 points and with this factored in the final score was 222-186 in favour of International Divers who meet Jewel Tech Academy Tigers in the next round.
Bangers & Mash (180) v Jewel Tech Academy Tigers (224)
While International Divers and Island Exhaust replayed their B League title deciding fixture, a combined Bangers and Mash took on Jewel Tech Academy Tigers in an all C League encounter. Dewald Joubert Jnr. started proceedings for Tigers with a 3 – 0 win over Courtney Gilardoni who still managed to pick up 15 points for Bangers & Mash. Edward Batty, for Tigers also managed a 3 – 0 win over Hannah Dixon whose spirited resistance, particularly in the third game, kept Bangers & Mash in the hunt with 20 points. Sam Wilson for Tigers proved too strong for Fiona Baker also taking a 3 – 0 win and in the process restricting Baker to 19 points. Scott Joneses undefeated streak was brought to an end by the soon to depart Chris Dougherty who joins Peterborough United next month. Jones was the underdog of this tie but, such is the measure of his improvement this year that his 44 points pretty much sealed the win for Tigers. Glenn Blacker looked set to pull off an upset taking the first game against Oscar Hill of Tigers. Hill’s 12 points in that game ensured Tigers the tie but neither player was inclined to relax. The remaining games, which were all equally close all went in Hill’s favour and wrapped up a commanding evening for the juniors.
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