It was a difficult build up to the Aegon Summer County Cup for the Cheshire Ladies who travelled to Cromer to compete in Group 2. A few key players were injured before the event and their prospect of playing was uncertain and several others were unavailable. The final squad was Sam Bolton (2 days), Hannah McColgan, Eden Richardson (3 days), Kim Schmider, Lisa Sutton, Katie Taylor, Beth Taylor, Hanna Wilson (3 days) and Faye Worrall.
After narrow defeats to both Norfolk and Middlesex on the first two days, despite Katie Taylor and Hannah McColgan winning five rubbers out of six, the team had to beat Essex to stand any chance of staying in the group. The squad had been strengthened by the arrival of Eden and Hannah and they helped Cheshire achieve their first win of the week, 7-2.
On day 4 the target was Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, who had also only secured one win, so again another victory was essential for Cheshire. After two rounds the score was 3-3 but Kim, unfortunately, had developed a hand injury as well as a recurrence of her original injury. Hanna came in again as the substitute to play with Eden and Cheshire magnificently won the final three rubbers. Even though the match was won, Lisa and Beth showed amazing determination and focus to battle and beat the Hampshire first pair in three long sets, giving them a maximum tally for the day.
On day 5 we were level on rubbers with Kent, although Kent had an extra win, so if we were to beat Kent we would gain promotion. However, the rain was forecast to intervene, which it did, and only one round was completed. As Cheshire was 1-2 down when play was abandoned, we lost the match and so will compete in Group 2 again next year. However, we would have settled for this at the start of the week!
Congratulations to all the squad for their contributions during the week but special mention must go to Katie Taylor and Hannah McColgan who only lost 3 rubbers in the entire week.