Middlesex Junior 2nd team may have given their selectors a problem for next season as they recently won the County Championship Division 1B ahead of Cornwall No 1 with Middlesex No 1 completing the division in third place.
The whole division was played over one weekend at the excellent Cippenham TTC and saw the second team of Middlesex win all seven matches and emerge as champions by three clear points from their South West rivals who won five of their matches but drew with Middlesex No 1 as well as losing in their crucial clash with the eventual winners.
There were three critical matches played over the weekend which were to determine the outcome of the division, the first was played on the Saturday and with Middlesex No 2 winning all their matches comfortably. It was the drawn clash between their own first team and Cornwall first which was of most importance, as both teams needed a win to keep up the pressure on Middlesex seconds and in this most exciting of clashes, neither side were able to achieve this and it was Middlesex seconds who were sitting pretty at the end of the first day.
In the Clash between the first teams of Cornwall and Middlesex it was the latter who got off to the better start and took the opening two sets as Fatlum Sadiku beat Alistair Smith 5, 9 and 9, which was followed by another three game win by Rafia Marom over Jonathan O’Brien 6 3 and 4.
Rachel Trevorrow reduced her teams arrears with a fine five game victory against Megan Sparrey 5 -9 8 -7 6 and when Darren Reid beat Suchira Gallage 11 6 and 4 the sides were now level, but for a further game victory by Lindsey Armstrong 8 8 -11 6 over Kelly Reed restored the lead for Middlesex at 3-2. When Marom beat Smith 8 5 and 9 Middlesex had restored their 2 set lead as they now lead 4-2.
Reed beat Sparrey in three to once more bring the sides to within a set and when Reed beat Sadiku also in three, 8 2 and 11, the sides were level once again at which point Trevorrow gave her side the lead for the first time in the match when she beat Armstrong 8 3 and 11 but in the final set Gallage beat O’Brien 4 7 and 3 to earn a well deserved draw.
With a premier division place up for grabs Sunday was always going to be fascinating and the clash between the two Middlesex teams was eagerly anticipated. It proved to be crucial in more ways than one and for none more so than Cornwall who needed a draw, or a Middlesex No 1 win to have any chance themselves of lifting the title. In the end both Cornwall and Middlesex No 1 were going to be disappointed as it was the second strings that hit the front in the first set and were never overtaken.
In what was possibly the crunch set of the match Middlesex seconds No 2 Ryan Viegas beat higher ranked Suchira Gallage in an opening set 5 game thriller -2 8 10 -8 8, this set the tone for the match. Although the Middlesex first team drew level at one all and then at two all, it was the second team who took four sets on the trot to take the match by the end of the 8th set and although the first team took the last two sets to make the score look respectable at 6-4, the second team were now one draw away from the title with Cornwall No 1 in their way.
Ping Ho gave Middlesex an opening set lead with a 7 9 and 10 victory over Alistair Smith and with Sullivan Morais taking the second set with an emphatic 4 2 5 victory over Jonathan O’Brien. Middlesex had once again established an opening two set lead and once again they lost it as firstly Rachel Trevorrow beat Tin Tin Ho 9 9 -5 10, followed by another win from Cornwall as Darren Reed overwhelmed Ryan Viegas 3 6 and 3.
Susmita Limbu restored the lead from Middlesex with a three game victory over Kelly Reed and their march to the title continued when in the set of the match Morais beat Smith in a five game thriller 4 5 -7 -7 8 to extend their lead to 4-2. It was perhaps fitting that it was their top performing player Tin Tin Ho who gave them their title winning fifth set, as she beat Reed 4 7 -9 and 8.
A draw was all they required as they could no longer be caught by either Cornwall or their own first team and despite dropping the next two sets as Reed beat Ho 10 4 and 8, followed by an 4 -9 5 -8 2 victory by Trevorrow over Limby, it was perhaps right that Middlesex won the match to complete the season with seven straight wins and they did this as Viegas beat O’Brien -7 9 7 and 6 to complete a fine 6-4 victory.
Middlesex have earned their place in the top flight next season and who forms their squad will be up to their county and perhaps some of their players may go over age, so their problem may not be that bad, but I’m sure many counties would like to have the same problem.