Pendle & Craven win the Mary Rose Inter Club Trophy by John Filsak (07/10/07)

Heroic effort by Rob Essler in the deepening Wrest Park gloom won the Mary Rose trophy for Pendle and Craven in the final against Surbiton. Rob’s opponent, David Mooney had started off well, and was way ahead, but Rob crept back into contention. With David losing his so-far-reliable long hitting ability the game was Rob’s and the trophy Pendle’s by 4 games to 2. This also saved the manager the problem of having to finish off the pegged-down doubles in the dark (Pendle were ahead in it, but Surbiton had the innings).

Pendle got off to a good start in the morning. The doubles made slow progress, but John Filsak made light work of his game against Bob Stephens after Bob broke down at 2-back, leaving John an easy finish, and Liz Wilson battled her way from a long way down to beat Ian Parkinson. So Pendle were 2-0 up at lunch time. Liz was first to finish in the afternoon, dispatching Bob fairly rapidly. Peter Wilson’s game with Mary Knapp was neck and neck until Mary got in with a long hit to finish. John got off to a good start against Ian, but an uncharacteristic clang gave Ian the innings, and John’s ability to hit anything above 2 yards deserted him. So it looked as though Surbiton were going to level at 3-all, until Rob got going. The rest, as they say, is history. (Nasty cliche, but, hey, we won!)

Teams:
Pendle and Craven: Rob Essler (2), Peter Wilson (2.5), John Filsak (2.5, captain), Liz Wilson (3)
Surbiton: David Mooney (1), Mary Knapp (2, captain), Ian Parkinson (2), Bob Stephens (3.5)

Pendle reach Final of Mary Rose Competition by Peter Wilson (17/09/07)

Robert Essler (2) & Peter Wilson (2.5) paired up in the morning doubles against David Walters (1) & Alan Mayne (2). The game was a dour tactical battle with very few chances to get going although the quality of the hitting in was very high. In the singles Pendle’s captain, John Filsak (2.5) beat Lorna Frost (4.5) but Liz Wilson (3) lost to John Wastell (3). By this point David and Robert had got to 4 back but Peter and Alan had hardly started so the game was pegged down and lunch taken with the game score at 1 -1.

After lunch both teams were chasing the magic four games to win. Pendle added to their score when John Filsak beat John Wastell but Robert lost to David. The score was now 2 -2. Peter then beat Alan leaving just Liz in play in a very tight game with Lorna. Liz’s nerve held and as she pegged out there was a lawn invasion as her team mates ran on to congratulate her and each other. The doubles game remained unfinished. Final score 4 -2.

Pendle would like to thank Bowdon for their hospitality and sportsmanship throughout the day. We will be trying to bring the Mary Rose back to the North West.