Selection blunder costs dearly

Press, 7 August 1981, Page 4

Selection blunder costs dearly

A selection blunder has cost Canterbury any chance of playing in the final of the men's inter-districts' teams’ squash championship. The Canterbury manager (Mr Alan Dunlop) picked his side to come second in yesterday's match against Auckland and he was not disappointed. Rested from the side to play the top seed was Craig Hibbert. Canterbury’s No. 3 and ranked sixteenth in. New Zealand. It seemed strange to rest players while the side was undefeated and today's schedule involves a match against the bottom side and a bye. In yesterday's morning game against Bay of Plenty, Hibbert played at three with Chris Wasley at four. In the afternoon Wasley moved up one spot and Robbie Burnett, who has been suffering from 'flu, was brought in at four.

Canterbury's case was helped by the non-availability through injury of Auckland's No. 2, Neven Barbour.

Bryan Simpson gave Canterbury’a tremendous start with a 9-5, 9-2, 9-7 victory against Shane Smith. Rod Hayes helped by almost pulling off the impossible when he lost to Ross Norman. 92. 9-3, 3-9, 6-9, 5-9. and he

actually led 5-2 in the final set. Hayes played superbly and had a magnificent length throughout. Mistakes through tiredness cost him valuable points in the final set.

With such a lop-sided points advantage all that was required was a 3-2 victory by one of the other players. Burnett lost. 0-3. and Wasley, 1-3. Because of Barbour's injury Wellington looks likely to take the title. The team is very strong and has Tony Naughton at five. Trevor Colyer (Northland) caused the first upset of the teams' event when he beat Dean Lovett (Waikato) and then surprised everyone by taking two sets off Bruce Brownlee in an entertaining and often lighthearted affair.

Any side which plays Jennv Webster (New Zealand's fifthranked player) at three looks invincible. ’Auckland yesterday had a bye in the morning and defeated’ Southern. 4-0. in the afternoon. Annette Owen produced her best squash of the week to beat Joanne Milne. 9-5. 9-3. 9-4.

The Canterbury women's team had an easy win. 4-0. against the seventh-seeded Northland in the morning but bowed to Bay of Plenty, 0-4, the No. 2 seed.