Warwickshire women go down fighting to favourites Surrey in County Week Group 1 at Eastbourne
It was a case of so near but yet so far for Warwickshire men’s and women’s sides, as both lost 6-3 to powerful opposition on Day 2 of the Aegon County Cup campaign. The women’s side went down fighting to reigning champions Surrey in the elite Group 1 at Eastbourne, while the men bidding for promotion from Group 5 at Felixstowe bowed out frustratingly to West of Scotland in a rain-affected match, in which any rubber that went to set-all was decided by the unpredictable ‘shoot-out’ of a championship tiebreak. With the first day’s play entirely wiped out by rain, the teams were also asked to play 2 rubbers of their second match after finishing the first. Captain Nathan Rooney and the highly-rated Luke Hammond, 19, won two out of three and were only edged out by the top Scottish pair after an achingly close tiebreak. The rest of the inexperienced side could only glean one more rubber, thanks to second pair Richard Partridge and Simon Ferguson who produced the win of the day against the first pair but then lost to the other two pairs in straight sets. Without the stalwart Steve Lee, Rooney first selected 19-ear-olds Oliver Nolan, 19, to play with Luke Simkiss at third pair then replaced Simkiss with Stratford-on-Avon coach Cameron Malik in the third rubber.
The women too came tantalisingly close after the talented Manisha Foster from Birmingham made a last-minute dash from a satellite tournament in Dublin to bolster Katie Shaw’s depleted side, arriving with just seconds to spare. She and Soumeya Anane at first pair lost a cliff-hanger to the aggressive Surrey seconds Lily Miyazaki and Laura Slater, as did the Warwickshire thirds Leyla Ogan and Luisa Cowper. Surrey’s top partnership Candida Reid and Jasmine Ashgar,– bizarrely nominated as their third pair despite winning 15 out of 15 last year – looked invincible and despite some hugely competitive tennis, the only rubbers Warwickshire clinched were against the least experienced of the Surrey partnerships. Despite the defeat, however, Katie Shaw praised all her girls for their fighting spirit and was impressed by how well the new pairing of Foster and Anane combined, staying bubbly and determined in the tightest of situations.
“The girls tried their hearts out,” she said “and all showed terrific teamwork despite being up against the favourites. Manisha looked a class act and she and Soumeya never gave up against experienced, big-hitting opposition. Our youngster Summer Yardley who’s only 17 kept going for her shots and she’s forming a really effective partnership with Natasha Hillyer, while Luisa and Leyla battled bravely and won their final rubber of the day against a strong young pair by cleverly varying their tactics. After beating Middlesex on Day 1, there’s still all to play for – and I’m convinced we can stay up and finish high in Group 1.”
Results: Aegon Inter-County Cup, Women’s Group 1 at Eastbourne
Warwickshire Surrey (Warwickshire names first.)
Warwickshire 1st pair Soumeya Anane/ Manisha Foster beat Surrey 1st pair Christa Victoria Gecheva/ Charlotte Pearce 6-2 6-3
Lost to Surrey 2nd pair Lily Miyazaki/ Laura Slater 4-6 6-3 4-6
Lost Surrey 3rd pair Jasmine Ashgar/ Candida Reid 6-4 6-2
Warwickshire 2nd pair Natasha Hillyer / Summer Yardley beat Surrey 1st pair 5-7 6-1 6-1
Lost to Surrey 2nd pair 2-6 6-4 2-6
Lost to Surrey 3rd pair 3-6 3-6
Warks 3nd pair Leyla Ogan/ Luisa Cowper beat Surrey 1st pair Charlotte Pearce/ Lily Ghodrati 6-3 6-2
Lost to Surrey 2nd pair 4-6 6-3 3-6
Lost to Surrey 3rd pair 2-6 0-6 (ret’d)
Results: Aegon Inter-County Cup, Men’s Group 5 at Felixstowe
Warwickshire lost to West of Scotland 3-6Warwickshire names first.)
Warks 1st pair Nathan Rooney/ Luke Hammond lost to West of Scotland 1st pair Robert Dalgetty/ Gary Thomson 4-6 6-3 0-1
beat W.of Scotland 2nd pair Matthew Stout/ Lee Wishart 6-2 6-2
Beat W.of Scotland 3rd pair David Culshaw/ James Shemilt 6-4 3-6 1-0
Warks 2nd pair Simon Ferguson/ Richard Partridge beat West of Scotland 1st pair 3-6 6-3 1-0
Lost to W.of S 2nd pair 3-6 4-6
Lost to W.of S 3rd pair 4-6 4-6
Warks 3rd pair Luke Simkiss/Oliver Nolan lost West of Scotland 1st pair 4-6 7-5 0-1
Lost to W.of S 2nd pair 3-6 4-6
Cameron Malik/ Oliver Nolan lost to W.of S 3rd pair 4-6 6-3 0-1