Greenleys Princes 5-5 Mursley Hawks
League
Division Two
Wednesday 14 December 2022
Muhammad Hamza played on loan from Greenleys Moghuls in Division Three.
| Date | Wednesday 14 December 2022 |
|---|---|
| Start time | 19:30 |
| Competition | League |
| Division | Division Two |
| Venue | Greenleys Junior School |
| Season | 2022-2023 |
| Games played | 37 |
| Points played | 713 |
Published 23/03/2025 07:37 by Martin Johnson.
Top of the Table Clash - As You Were
It was the last week of scheduled matches of the year, as well as the last week of the second 'third' of the season, and third placed Greenleys Princes took on second placed Mursley Hawks, although with Princes having a match in hand and being just two points behind, the realistic positions are reversed, but nevertheless a big win/loss either way could affect promotion positions. Despite this, both teams were missing their top player in the Averages, with no Saravana Kumar for Princes and no Mick O'Mahony for Hawks - two of the in form players of the moment. For Princes it was Gary Viner, Tom Davey and reserve Muhammad Hamza, whilst for Hawks it was Ian Spanswick, David Bartlett and Martin Johnson.
Princes started off the stronger, and moved into a 4-1 lead at the halfway point. Tom started off the night by coming through in straight games against Ian, although he needed deuce in both games 1 and 3, after which Martin hit back with a tight four game win over Gary, although Gary was unlucky not to take it to a decider, missing a couple of chances - just going down 16-14 in game 4. Princes moved ahead as Muhammad's attack and spin proved too good for David, and then in the doubles, Muhammad was again in good hitting form, as he and Tom defeated David & Martin in four games. Gary then collected his first win of the night, defeating Ian in four games, to complete the first half of the match with Princes looking good for a win.
However, the Hawks fightback started with David beating Tom in three straight games, as David found more fluency than in his opening encounter. Martin narrowed the gap further, containing Muhammad's attack to win in three games. Gary stemmed the tide with his second win of the night, in a very tight five games against David with plenty of long rallies, just taking it 11-8 in the decider, to ensure that Princes would at least get the draw. Another super contest followed, as Ian battled back from 2-1 down against Muhammad, to edge it in five, at 11-7 in the fifth leg. The final set ended with a third win on the night for Martin, as Tom could not quite get his attack going, and so the match ended up all square at 5-5, to leave things finely balanced at the top of the Division.
With Hasbeens narrowly defeating Lagondas 6-4 in the other top of the table clash, it effectively means there are probably only about five points separating the top four, after allowing for matches in hand, as the season moves into the final third in the New Year, with every point likely to be vital. Princes are due to catch up their oustanding fixture next Monday, against Wooden Tops, and a win of 7-3 or better would take them top, but it seems very likely that the final order at the top may not be decided until the final week of the season, when the current top four will play each other for the final time?
Player of the Match : Martin Johnson
It was the last week of scheduled matches of the year, as well as the last week of the second 'third' of the season, and third placed Greenleys Princes took on second placed Mursley Hawks, although with Princes having a match in hand and being just two points behind, the realistic positions are reversed, but nevertheless a big win/loss either way could affect promotion positions. Despite this, both teams were missing their top player in the Averages, with no Saravana Kumar for Princes and no Mick O'Mahony for Hawks - two of the in form players of the moment. For Princes it was Gary Viner, Tom Davey and reserve Muhammad Hamza, whilst for Hawks it was Ian Spanswick, David Bartlett and Martin Johnson.
Princes started off the stronger, and moved into a 4-1 lead at the halfway point. Tom started off the night by coming through in straight games against Ian, although he needed deuce in both games 1 and 3, after which Martin hit back with a tight four game win over Gary, although Gary was unlucky not to take it to a decider, missing a couple of chances - just going down 16-14 in game 4. Princes moved ahead as Muhammad's attack and spin proved too good for David, and then in the doubles, Muhammad was again in good hitting form, as he and Tom defeated David & Martin in four games. Gary then collected his first win of the night, defeating Ian in four games, to complete the first half of the match with Princes looking good for a win.
However, the Hawks fightback started with David beating Tom in three straight games, as David found more fluency than in his opening encounter. Martin narrowed the gap further, containing Muhammad's attack to win in three games. Gary stemmed the tide with his second win of the night, in a very tight five games against David with plenty of long rallies, just taking it 11-8 in the decider, to ensure that Princes would at least get the draw. Another super contest followed, as Ian battled back from 2-1 down against Muhammad, to edge it in five, at 11-7 in the fifth leg. The final set ended with a third win on the night for Martin, as Tom could not quite get his attack going, and so the match ended up all square at 5-5, to leave things finely balanced at the top of the Division.
With Hasbeens narrowly defeating Lagondas 6-4 in the other top of the table clash, it effectively means there are probably only about five points separating the top four, after allowing for matches in hand, as the season moves into the final third in the New Year, with every point likely to be vital. Princes are due to catch up their oustanding fixture next Monday, against Wooden Tops, and a win of 7-3 or better would take them top, but it seems very likely that the final order at the top may not be decided until the final week of the season, when the current top four will play each other for the final time?
Player of the Match : Martin Johnson