High Standard Expected In Inter-Club Squash

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29798, 14 April 1962, Page 9

High Standard Expected In Inter-Club Squash

yyiTH only six A grade teams, and several new players with ability when they reach top form to extend the best, it will be surprising if the A grade interclub matches wiiioh begin on Tuesday, fail to provide immediate evidence that the standard of squash rackets in Christchurch this season will be the highest yet. The four clubs with A grade teams Christchurch and University with two each. Officers’ club and Collegiate —have in the main a surplus of candidates available for selection, with most of last season's A grade players keen to retain that status The individual games between the top players will provide much fine squash.

and already there is speculation as to the likely winner of the Christchurch closed title this season. At the head of the various teams will be players of the calibre of G. A. Davidson, a former national junior cuampion, L. Milne, a New Zealand representative in 1953, H S. Gair. the Christchurch club champion. R. G. Pattinson, Christchurch title-holder for the last two years, D. J Triggs, winner in 1959, P M. Hill, perhaps tne best youngster produced in Christchurch, and B. J. Sliirlaw, the only player last season to play in all eight inter-club matches and gain eight wins

Davidson and Milne are returning to competitive play after an absence of several seasons, but with two complete rounds of inter-club play and a number of tournaments in Christcnurch and Timaru, they should quickly reach their best form.

The champion last season, University A, will be headed by Davidson, while Hill will

first round at least, will be completed by M. Simons, a leading player from Dunedin, who convincingly won the 1961 Canterbury open B grade championship, and C. C. Kissling and D. D. M. Sitewart, successful players last season.

For University B, Hill will be supported by R. Goodall, previously top player at Invercargill, J. G. Foulds. leader of the Christ's College team which has won the B grade inter-club for the last two years, and R. A. Lathem. A major loss is D. R. Preston who is in Dunedin, and it seems unlikely that L. J. Walpole will be available, at least for the early part of the competition.

The Christchurch club with many more players to select from than the others, will have two even teams, although it has lost G. D. Moss to Auckland. Pattinson in the A team will be supported for the first round

by M O. Holdsworth. N W. McGillivray and P. R. Hadley. and with Gair not available on Tuesday, M.lne will be at the top of the B team. M. D. Grant, a very good young player who catne from Timaru towards the end ot 1961, will play for Chris’church B. as will W. Thom.

Several A grade players from last year will be competing for places in the Christchurch teams. and fourth place in the B team could be adequately filled by any one of M. Sugrue 'from Timaru), j. G. Dre® ver. E. R. Morris. K. J. Brown. S. K. Henderson. or G. H Gould. The merit of reducing the number of A grade teams can already be seen by the competition for places that has been created, and it is evidenit that the B grade competition will also be much stronger.

Triggs is reported to be very ft:—-there are few who can match his court coverage and determination —and his return from Wellington is a major gain for Officers' Club, which, however, will be without M L. Rooney, top player until he suffered an injury. M. R. Blank has been playing a lot of squash and is likely to prove as difficult to beat as ever, while G. C. P Beadel and J. F. Cotter will again form a strong lower bracket.

The sixth team, Collegiate, is formed from a combination of the Christ’s College masters, Shirlaw and J. H. N. Pine, both unbeaten last season in inter-club games, and two promising college boys. R. M. Garrett and J A. Anderson. In the firs: round Christchurch A will meet Collegiate at Christ's College, and at Chester street, University A will play Officers’ club and University B will oppose Christchurch B.

The top games, between Pattinson and Shi Flaw, Davidson and Triggs, and Hill and Milne, with close contests likely in the other positions, should see the 1962 inter-club season away to a very good start.