Shottery C agreed to fulfill their outstanding fixture by staging a 'double header' which would have seen them simultaneously take on both their own first team and Royal Mail. However the Postmen were subsequently forced to cancel, although they failed to notify one of their own players who arrived all ready to play!
Once proceedings were underway the C team set out with a steely determination aided, at least in the eyes of their opponents, by a lot of luck! Chris Bowles tested the patience of Graham Poole to breaking point, before the senior side player was able to claim victory in the fourth game. Bad luck followed Poole into the usual classic encounter with his son Rob. Amid frequent nets and edges there were some phenomenal rallies with father just edging home in the first two games. From that point Rob's forehand smashing began to prove effective, and the match went to a decider which he won 12 - 10 thereby regaining the family bragging rights. However that was the C team's only success and Graham still had the consolation of a brace, while both Gary Stewart and Stephen Foster recorded trebles for Shottery A as the match finished 9 - 1 in their favour.
In their next fixture Shottery A entertained Henley A, although the highlight of the evening was the piloting of a new style scorecard designed by the visitor's captain Geoff Shephard! Sadly the old cricket fixtures, printed on the reverse, probably proved more interesting reading for his team than the match statistics which were somewhat one-sided. Their only real resistance came from Stuart Ayres who, after initially being two games down to Foster, turned the tables to draw level only to then lose out in the decider. Foster's opening two games with Shephard were close run but, having narrowly squeezed home in both, he seemed to have broken his opponent's spirit and clinched the third with the loss of just two points. Foster, along with Stewart and Graham Poole, all ended the evening with their reputations untarnished as they inflicted the whitewash upon their visitors.
A determined Shottery B side were hoping to run away with the spoils when they travelled to Royal Mail. However Nello Mauri had other ideas as he chalked up all three of his singles matches with the loss of just one game. Not being content with that the Postman then successfully partnered Malcolm Heritage in the doubles as the fixture ended 4 - 6. Dave Milton, Tony Remes and Tim Fell all registered braces for Shottery B, while the latter also endeared himself to everyone by bringing his usual selection of chocolate bars to supplement the half-time refreshments.
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