BRITISH NATIONAL SQUASH LEAGUE NEWS Tuesday 15 April 2003 National Squash League Final, Abbeydale Park, Sheffield Edgbaston Priory 4-1 FPD Savills Nottingham Stewart Boswell beat John White 9-7, 8-10, 2-9, 9-3, 9-7 (49m) Del Harris lost to Simon Parke 4-9, 4-9, 0-9 (29m) Adrian Grant beat Renan Lavigne 9-5, 9-4, 11-9 (39m) Paul Lord beat Jason Nicolle 10-8, 9-6, 9-7 (36m) Sarah Fitz-Gerald beat Jane Fletcher 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 (16m) Edgbaston Priory Cruise to Second National League Title Birmingham's Edgbaston Priory romped to a 4-1 win over 1999 champions FPD Savills Nottingham in the National Squash League final at Abbeydale Park in Sheffield to claim the title for the second time in three years. A close encounter was predicted after the teams shared 3/2 wins in their two previous meetings in the season. However, the packed gallery around the famous glass-backed Abbeydale showcourt which had staged countless historic British Open and National Championships' battles in the past was treated to a relatively one-sided affair. The invincible Sarah Fitz-Gerald quickly put Priory into the driving seat. The record five-times world champion from Australia faced Nottingham's stand-in woman player Jane Fletcher, replacing the world No4 Tania Bailey who is now known to be suffering from the Epstein Barrs virus. Fletcher, the 29-year-old club champion who is a builder by trade, put up brave resistance - but after 16 minutes went down 9-2 9-0 9-0 to give Priory the lead. "It was good fun, but she attacks the ball so well," said the part-timer from Nottingham who returns to a more conventional role later this month when she captains the club's women's team in the semi-finals of the National Club Championships. Adrian Grant opened up a 2-0 lead for Edgbaston when he made amends for two losses against Nottingham earlier in the season to overpower Frenchman Renan Lavigne in the third string clash. Paris-based Lavigne has just slipped to 25 in the world rankings from a position inside the top twenty while Grant, the 22-year-old Londoner now based in Halifax, has just risen to a career-high 27. Roared on by the Priory supporters, Grant demonstrated grit and determination as he clinched a notable 9-5 9-4 11-9 victory in 39 minutes to claim his seventh successive win for the team. All eyes now focused on the fourth string encounter between 'veterans' Paul Lord and Jason Nicolle - both of whom had lost as many matches as they had won throughout the season. There were never more than three points between the pair as they toiled in this crucial clash for 36 minutes. Priory's Lord, the 33-year-old from Cheshire, kept his focus and ultimately secured a 10-8 9-6 9-7 victory over the Nottingham 37-year-old to seal the title for the Birmingham club. By this time the second string battle was well underway - with club regular Simon Parke fighting for Nottingham pride against Priory's long-time Essex import Del Harris in what was thought to be at least the thirtieth career encounter between the two former British National champions. While world No17 Parke was on song, the former world No5 Harris - now languishing 23 places lower than his opponent - seemed unable to repeat the finesse which has made him a crowd favourite. Parke, who in the 2002 final helped Essex club Lexden to the National League title, finished his Nottingham season in grand style by beating Harris 9-4 9-4 9-0 in 29 minutes to claim his 11th win in 12 matches. The final match could have been thrown away - but Edgbaston's Australian world No4 Stewart Boswell and Nottingham's Scottish world No5 John White fought it out for five games in a fitting finale for both the season and the night. White led 2/1, but Boswell was determined to stretch Edgbaston's tie score to 4-1 and did so with a 9-7 8-10 2-9 9-3 9-7 victory in 49 minutes. "This was a great win for us," said Edgbaston Priory manager Matt Suckling afterwards. "We expected it to be close and felt sure that Stewart and John's match would be the decider - but after great wins by Sarah and Adrian, Paul Lord kept his composure well and came through on the big points for us to settle the tie earlier than we dared to expect. We became National League champions for the first time in 2001 - and we will be back to defend our title next year." For more details, visit the official website: www.nationalsquashleague.co.uk