Brownlee disposes of Canty’s best

Press, 25 September 1980, Page 4

Brownlee disposes of Canty’s best

The star of the “Bruce Brownlee challenge series” stayed on the Christchurch squash club’s glass-back court for 123m1n last night and disposed of Canterbury’s best. Craig Hibbert (34min), Lawrence Skurr (24min) and Rod Hayes (53min) were one after the other sent up to the front line and all eventually had to retreat before Brownlee’s gutwrenching drops and boasts and his superb fitness. After tile final contest one spectator was heard to remark: “He must have about half-a-dozen hearts.” The series (based on a format Brownlee has borrowed from South Africa) is sponsored throughout the country by Scalding and Air New Zealand and he has already taken on a similar assignment in Hamilton and Wellington.

These three best-of-five games tasks are also scheduled against Southland and then Otago players on successive nights this week.

The stamina of Brownlee’s opponents was tested to the full as he frequently employed drops from the back cqurt and dragged high volleys down on his backhand into the front comers. His victories were hardly a

cakewalk, though, all three players making him work very hard at times. But getting a winner past him was a different story. Both Hibbert and Skurr succumbed in straight games after valiant efforts. The first game against Hibbert took 14min and Skurr won long rallies in his second game only to show the effect of the effort by making a relatively simple error in the next. By the time Hayes limbered up, Brownlee had a little taken out of him, though he sought to prove otherwise with five or six on-course press-ups between the third and fourth games. “One arm, Bruce,” quipped Hayes.

Hayes actually walked away with that fourth game, 9-2, in smin, hitting some lovely nicks and hard drives while Brownlee showed a little tiredness with two or three errors.

But Hayes must have been a little more tired than he thought and Brownlee took control in the fifth with his deception at its best. He won eight points in one hand and it was virtually all over.

Scores: B. C. Brownlee beat C. Hibbert. 9-6. 9-3, 9-2; beat L. P. Skurr, 9-4. 9-5, 9-1; beat R. W. Hayes, 8-10, 10-8, 10-8, 2-9, 9-2.