For the second year in a row, this proved to be a challenging season for the Notts 40+ team. The ailing captain failed to play in a single match due to an ongoing shoulder injury and team regulars Jackie Thompson and Caroline Milns, also struggled with injuries during the season. Despite being relegated the previous year from division 1 to division 2, a flurry of injuries meant it would be a struggle for the team to maintain its position in division 2.
The season got off to a tough start, with Claire Poole and Sally Walker kindly stepping in from the Notts 50s county team to play the first away match against Gloucestershire. Despite a valiant effort from Notts, the team went down 0-5.
The second match was thankfully at home and regular 40s players Sam Fox, Caroline Milns, Gina Ofield and wizard volleyer, Elaine Masters from the 50s team, were a solid side; the Cornish were quickly made into pasties at home at West Bridgford, as Notts came away with a 4-1 victory.
Sadly, the winning streak didn’t last as Notts failed to make the most of the home advantage and disappeared down a Wookey Hole as they lost 0-5 to a strong Somerset team.
The penultimate match of the season proved to be no cream tea either as again injuries to 3 team regulars meant a depleted side. However, 2 fantastic new players in Nina Lewis and Dawn Mumby made their Notts county debuts and both put in fantastic performances to contribute to a narrow 3-2 victory for Dorset.
It was essential that the team came away with a victory in the final match of the season, which was away to Cheshire. Despite two good singles victories, Cheshire proved too strong in the doubles and squeezed a 3-2 victory. At the end of the match, Notts were hoping to be grinning like Cheshire cats but sadly this wasn’t to be; this loss means Notts will be relegated to division 3 for the 2020 season, which is a division the team hasn’t been in for a number of years. Hopefully this can be rectified next year with a larger squad and less injuries!
New regular 40s player, Sumitra Fox been a great addition to the team this season and next year bodes well if injuries can be kept at bay! Thanks also to the long list of players who participated in the Notts ladies 40+ county matches this season: Sam Fox, Gina Ofield, Jackie Thompson, Bethan Mallalue, Claire Poole, Sally Walker, Elaine Masters, Dawn Mumby, Nina Lewis and Maia Dunn.
Aldona Greenwood (capt)