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Kinnaird Cup 2001

Foreword

As in previous years, the early rounds through to the quarter-finals were played at Eton over a weekend. 31st March 2001 and 1st April 2001 to be precise.

Due to last minute withdrawals, we ended up with twenty-six pairs including the six seeded pairs. On the first day, the twenty unseeded pairs were split into five groups of four with matches played on a round robin basis. The top two pairs from each group then joined the seeds in the second round on the Sunday morning, with the quarter-finals played in the afternoon.

We were also able to run the Pepperpot Trophy on the Sunday in which there were six entries.

kinnaird group 2001

Preliminary Round - Eton

In the Saturday groupings, Group 1 was won by Quinn/Pattison with Leach/Sarmah in second place. Group 2 was won by Williams/P. Dunbar with Ranasinghe/Powell in second place. Group 3 was won by Faulty/Mew with Fenn/Friend in second place (Mike Fenn's 35th consecutive Kinnaird!). Group 4 was won by Sorrell/Yarde-Buller with Boughton/Caudle in second place. Group 5 was won by Bhimjiyani/Lefort with Barter/Rose in second place.

Second Round - Eton

On the Sunday morning, the second round saw wins for all the seeds plus the pairings of Faulty/Mew and Williams/P. Dunbar. All the seeds had comfortable straight games wins with the exception of H.Wiseman/Markkanen who needed four games to see off Ranasinghe/Powell. There was also a titanic battle between Williams/P. Dunbar and Sorrell/Yarde-Buller with the former pair winning through after five games for the privilege of meeting the second seeds.

Quarter-finals - Eton

The results of the quarter-finals proved the top four seedings to be correct. The top three seeds, James Toop/Matthew Wiseman, Ed Wass/Jamie Halstead and Robin Mason/Jonathan Mole all winning comfortably in straight games. However, the fourth seeds, Seb Cooley/Karl Rudman had a tougher time in seeing off the fifth seeds, Howard Wiseman/Pauli Markkanen, needing a hard fought four games. Also the scratch pairing of Tyler/Illingworth played well against former champions Mason/Mole.

Pepperpot Trophy

Whilst all this was going on, the Pepperpot Trophy was progressing and, in the final, Thompson/Ryder beat Arasaratnam/Fletcher. The Trophy was presented by Jim Biggs, four times winner of the Kinnaird and donor of the Trophy in 1984.

Semi-finals - Ludgrove

So the semi-finals at Ludgrove on Sunday 8th April 2001 saw the defending Champions and number one seeds, James Toop and Matthew Wiseman, up against the fourth seeds, Seb Cooley and Karl Rudman, and the second seeds, Ed Wass and Jamie Halstead, up against the third seeds, Robin Mason and Jonathan Mole. Of these pairings, only the Cooley/Rudman partnership not having won the title before.

Ed Wass and Jamie Halstead had a fairly straightforward journey into the final, winning in straight games, 12-5, 12-7, 15-11. Rarely did they look in trouble against their opponents.

It was a different story in the other match where we were entertained to a five game thriller, eventually won by James Toop and Matthew Wiseman but it was not until the last game that they really looked in command, and then only when their opponents understandably tired. In fact it was quite a topsy-turvy match which added to the enjoyment of those watching. In the first game, Toop/Wiseman held leads of 9-4 and 11-7 but, after a series of unforced errors and some magnificent play from Seb Cooley, they lost it 12-13. They then repeated the dose in the third game by turning an 8-4 lead into a 12-9 loss.

The Final - Ludgrove

The afternoon of the final at Ludgrove turned out dry but cold and was watched by some thirty spectators and a film crew filming on behalf of Transworld Sport. With two wins out of five Championship finals Edd Wass and Jamie Halstead were attempting to recapture 'their' crown, last held in 1997, from last years winners James Toop and Matt Wiseman.

Ed Wass had had an exceptional season losing only in one match and to many the odds favoured he and Jamie to regain the title over the number one seeds. The spectators were not to be disappointed with a close hard fought final. In the first game both pairs got off to a nervous start but once ahead the Cholmeleian pair of Wass and Halstead dominated the play winning comfortably 12-5. An excellent start in the second saw them establish a 5-0 lead before the Olavians turned the tide winning the next seven points to establish a lead they were to maintain to take the second game to eight. Good use of the back brick by James, volley interception by Matt and a general tightening of play had lead to the levelling of the scores. The third game turned out to be the turning point with James and Matt failing to build on an early three point lead and going from 5-2 up to 5-9 down in one hand. The continuous return of cut by Jamie, the crisp volleying of Ed and too many errors under pressure by James and Matt were to prove decisive. Losing the third to ten and with another poor run from 4-1 up to 4-7 down in the fourth the writing was on the wall for the Olavians pair. Wass and Halstead demonstrated their superior all round play in an exciting final by taking the last five points in rapid succession and the match 12-5, 8-12, 12-10, 12-7.

Our thanks to Gerald Barber for once again for hosting the final and for providing tea and cakes for those present.

First Round Groups:

Group 1

1st M Quinn & R Pattison 3-0

2nd T Leach & P Sarmah 2-1

3rd C Anderson & P Hennessey 1-2

4th B Thompson & J Mitchell 0-3

Group 2

1st M Williams & P Dunbar 3-0

2nd S Ranasinghe & W Powell 2-1

3rd E Thompson & E Ryder 1-2

4th R Arasaratnam & T Fletcher 0-3

Group 3

1st S Fautly & D Mew 3-0

2nd M Fenn & C Friend 2-1

3rd G Chapman & G Bates 1-2

4th S Parrish & A Burrows 0-3

Group 4

1st W Sorrell & B Yarde-Buller 3-0

2nd P Boughton & J Caudle 2-1

3rd M Quinton & N Bunyan 1-2

4th J Knight & A Knight 0-3

Group 5

1st V Bhimjiyani & J Lefort 3-0

2nd M Barter & E Rose 2-1

3rd A Walters & D Eckley 1-2

4th S Brooke & S Duncan 0-3

Last Sixteen:

J P Toop & M C T Wiseman (1) beat T C Leach & P Sarmah 12-3, 12-2, 12-1

S J Fautly & D Mew beat M Quinn & R S R Pattison 9-12, 12-9, 12-2, 12-7

H M E Wiseman & P Markkanen (5) beat S Ranasinghe & W Powell 11-12, 12-11, 12-8, 12-7

S K P Cooley & K Rudman (4) beat M R Fenn and C K Friend 12-5, 12-2, 12-2

R A Mason & J R Mole (3) beat P V Boughton & J A Caudle 12-3,12-4,12-0

R C Tyler & A H Illingworth (6) beat V Bhimjiyani & J Lefort 12-0, 12-3, 12-0

C M B Williams & P Dunbar beat C W Sorrell & B A F Yarde-Buller 5-12, 10-12, 12-3, 12-8, 12-3

E A Wass and J C Halstead (2) beat M Barter & E Rose 12-1, 12-3, 12-1

Quarter-Finals:

J P Toop & M C T Wiseman beat S J Fautly & D Mew 12-5, 12-4, 12-7

S K P Cooley & K Rudman beat H M E Wiseman & P Markkanen 15-14, 11-14, 12-5, 12-7

R A Mason & J R Mole beat R C Tyler & A H Illingworth 12-7, 12-9, 12-6

E A Wass and J C Halstead beat C M B Williams & P Dunbar 12-1, 12-4, 12-1

Semi-finals - Ludgrove:

J P Toop & M C T Wiseman (1) beat S K P Cooley & K Rudman (4) 12-13, 12-6, 9-12, 12-6, 12-1

E A Wass & J C Halstead (2) beat R A Mason & J R Mole (3) 12-5, 12-7, 15-11

Final - Ludgrove:

E A Wass & J C Halstead (2) beat J P Toop & M C T Wiseman (1) 12-5, 8-12, 12-10, 12-7

Plate:

Semi-finals:

M Barter & E Rose beat S Ranasinghe & W Powell 15-14

R Pattison & M Quinn beat T Leach & P Sarmah 15-13

Final:

M Barter & E Rose beat R Pattison & M Quinn 12-1, 12-4

Pepperpot Trophy:

Group 1:

1st E Thompson & E Ryder 2-0

2nd A Walters & D Eckley 1-1

3rd B Thompson & J Mitchell 0-2

Group 2:

1st R Arasaratnam & T Fletcher 2-0

2nd A Knight & J Knight 0-1

3rd C Anderson & P Hennessey 0-1

Final:

E Thompson & E Ryder beat R Arasaratnam & T Fletcher 12-4, 12-4

Report by Martin Samuel and Mike Fenn