British National Squash League Tuesday 18 February 2003 9th round Group A: HLW Solicitors Hallamshire 4 Manchester-Pontefract 1 Anthony Ricketts beat Lee Beachill 3-9, 9-6, 9-5, 7-9, 9-5 Nick Matthew beat Nick Taylor 9-4, 8-10, 9-3, 10-8 Hadrian Stiff lost to Marcus Berrett 2-9, 5-9, 2-9 Mike Hopkins beat Yawar Abbas 9-3, 6-9, 9-5, 9-6 Jenny Tranfield beat Janie Thacker 9-2, 9-0, 9-1 FPD Savills Nottingham 5 Benz-Bavarian Duffield 0 Simon Parke beat Paul Hargrave 7-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-3, 9-7 Renan Lavigne beat Kevin White 7-9, 9-4, 9-5, 9-2 Jason Nicolle beat Neil Reddington 9-1, 9-1, 9-5 Sam Miller beat Joel Hinds 9-2, 9-2, 9-2 Wendy Maitland beat Jenny Knibbs 9-4, 9-2, 9-0 Wolverhampton 2 Edgbaston Priory 3 David Palmer beat Stewart Boswell 7-9, 12-10, 14-12, 9-6 Mark Cairns beat Del Harris 14-12, 9-6, 9-7 Scott Handley lost to Adrian Grant 5-9, 6-9, 6-9 Joey Barrington lost to Paul Lord 4-9, 7-9, 9-5, 9-5, 5-9 Dominique Lloyd-Walter lost to Sarah Fitz-Gerald 0-9, 2-9, 4-9 Group B: UK Packaging 3 Tek Sing Lexden 2 Peter Nicol beat David Evans 10-8, 9-5, 8-10, 9-4 Ong Beng Hee beat Stefan Casteleyn 9-4, 9-6, 9-5 Tim Garner beat Lee Drew 9-4, 9-4, 10-8 Steve Richardson lost to Tony Hands 8-10, 3-9, 9-5, 5-9 Lauren Briggs lost to Rebecca Macree 9-6, 0-9, 1-9, 4-9 Lee-on-Solent 1 TVS Broxbourne 4 Bradley Ball beat Mark Chaloner 9-3, 9-7, 3-9, 9-6 Mike Elford lost to Danny Meddings 6-9, 5-9, 1-9 Chris Simpson lost to Mark Woodliffe 9-2, 7-9, 4-9, 12-10, 7-9 Dean Watson lost to Kim Lee Wong 6-9, 9-5, 6-9, 8-10 Tina Rix lost to Alison Waters 5-9, 2-9, 1-9 UniSport Guildford 2 Chichester 3 Stephen Meads lost to Tim Vail 2-9, 6-9, 9-6, 4-9 Stacey Ross beat Ritwik Bhattacharya 9-5, 11-9, 9-7 Neil Frankland beat Ben Ford 9-1, 11-9, 3-9, 11-9 Mick Biggs lost to Chris Tomlinson 9-5, 2-9, 3-9, 5-9 Fiona Geaves lost to Linda Charman 0-9, 4-9, 10-8, 5-9 Nottingham, Chichester & Broxbourne Secure Play-Off Places With the final round still to play, Chichester, FPD Savills Nottingham and Hertfordshire's TVS Broxbourne have already secured their places in the semi-final play-offs of the National Squash League after victories in Tuesday's ninth round clashes. While Chichester and Broxbourne are certain to take the top two qualifying places in Group B, the runners-up position in Group A behind guaranteed leaders Nottingham is a three-horse race between Birmingham's Edgbaston Priory, Sheffield team HLW Solicitors Hallamshire and Manchester-Pontefract. Nottingham, champions in 1999, soared to a 5-0 home win over Derbyshire's under-strength Benz-Bavarian Duffield to ensure an end-of-season top place finish in Group A. Only the visitors' squad No5 Paul Hargrave, playing at top string for the first time this season, offered any serious resistance to the Nottingham charge - taking the opening two games against the hosts' No1 Simon Parke, a quarter-finalist in last week's British National Championships, before the world No18 fought back to win 7-9 6-9 9-7 9-3 9-7 to ensure maximum points for the home team. Edgbaston Priory maintained their slender hold on second position in the Group with a 3-2 away win in a fiercely-contested West Midlands derby clash at Wolverhampton. In her first match since announcing her withdrawal from the women's international circuit, Australia's world No1 and five-times world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald crushed Wolverhampton's Dominique Lloyd-Walter 9-0 9-2 9-4 to set Edgbaston on the way to their crucial win. It was London's Halifax-based Adrian Grant who sealed the victory, however, making up for his disappointing first round National Championships' exit by beating Scott Handley 9-5 9-6 9-6 to give Priory an unassailable 3-0 lead. Wolverhampton restored some pride - and two valuable points to lift them off the foot of the table - when newly-crowned British Over-35 champion Mark Cairns beat Del Harris, recovering from a virus, 14-12 9-6 9-7, and world champion David Palmer defeated Australian compatriot Stewart Boswell 7-9 12-10 14-12 9-6 in a 62-minute battle between the world numbers three and five, respectively. The two other semi-final play-off contenders in Group A contested a near full-strength clash in Sheffield, where hosts Hallamshire claimed a 4-1 win over Manchester-Pontefract. Sheffield-raised Jenny Tranfield gave Hallamshire a remarkable early lead, defeating Yorkshire county team-mate Janie Thacker 9-2 9-0 9-1 in just 16 minutes - and taking the second game in an almost certain record one minute 45 seconds! The visitors picked up their consolation point when Marcus Berrett extended his season's victory run to seven matches after trouncing Hallamshire's Hadrian Stiff 9-2 9-5 9-2. Lee Beachill, the Yorkshireman who lost his British National crown to world No1 Peter Nicol in the final on Sunday, was unable to make amends in the top string clash against Hallamshire's Anthony Ricketts, going down to the Australian world No7 3-9 9-6 9-5 7-9 9-5 - despite having a 5-0 lead in the final game. New British champion Nicol was in action in Group B, where he led London's UK Packaging to a 3-2 win over reigning champions Tek Sing Lexden - a loss which put the Colchester club out of contention for a defence of their title in the play-offs. With the tie poised at 2-2, Nicol survived a close encounter with Welshman David Evans, beating the former British Open champion 10-8 9-5 8-10 9-4. Fielding their weakest line-up of the season, Chichester looked likely to jeopardise their lead in Group B in the away fixture at UniSport Guildford. Sussex's world No4 Linda Charman secured an early lead, however, beating England team-mate Fiona Geaves, winner of the National Over-35 crown for the first time, 9-0 9-4 8-10 9-5. But the Sussex club's hero was squad No3 Tim Vail, leading the team for the first time in the absence of Chichester stalwart Peter Genever. The 25-year-old, a loser in only one of his maximum nine matches this season to date, outmanoeuvred Guildford's experienced top string Stephen Meads to claim an impressive and decisive 9-2 9-6 6-9 9-4 win which guaranteed his club their first play-off place for five years. 2000 champions Broxbourne made sure of their play-off place with a 4-1 away win at Lee-on-Solent - with both teams introducing new blood as team regulars were unavailable. Promising Malaysian junior Kim Lee Wong showed no signs of being overawed by the occasion as he beat experienced Lee on Solent coach Dean Watson 9-6 5-9 9-6 10-8, while Gloucestershire's Nationals Over-40 semi-finalist Mark Woodliffe defied his years in his Broxbourne debut with a 2-9 9-7 9-4 10-12 9-7 victory over the hosts' British U-17 champion Chris Simpson. Broxbourne captain Mark Chaloner, out of action since last year with a shoulder injury, made a satisfactory comeback despite losing 9-3 9-7 3-9 9-6 to Lee on Solent No1 Bradley Ball. "It was a good night for the team and I was pleased to get a good competitive game under my belt before flying off to New York for the Tournament of Champions," said Chaloner afterwards. "Bradley is always a tough opponent, especially up to nine points, so it was good to come through with a good positive result for the team." The tenth and final round line-up (on Tuesday 4th March) features Manchester-Pontefract v FPD Savills Nottingham; Benz-Bavarian Duffield v Wolverhampton; Edgbaston Priory v HLW Solicitors Hallamshire; Tek Sing Lexden v Lee-on-Solent; TVS Broxbourne v UniSport Guildford; and Chichester v UK Packaging. LEAGUE TABLES (after ninth round ties) (best viewed with 'Courier New' font) Ties Matches Games Pts P W L W L W L Group A: NOTTINGHAM 9 7 2 32 13 109 66 46 Edgbaston Priory 9 6 3 26 19 96 76 38 Hallamshire 9 5 4 24 21 88 86 34 Manchester-Pontefract 9 5 4 22 23 85 85 32 Wolverhampton 9 2 7 16 29 67 101 20 Duffield 9 2 7 15 30 68 99 19 Group B: CHICHESTER 9 8 1 30 15 100 73 46 BROXBOURNE 9 7 2 30 15 104 60 44 Lexden 9 5 4 24 21 88 80 34 UK Packaging 9 3 6 18 27 74 88 24 Guildford 9 3 6 17 28 68 104 23 Lee-on-Solent 9 1 8 16 29 69 98 18 For more details, visit the official website: www.nationalsquashleague.co.uk