1st Round of rubbers:

After a slightly slow start Penny and Lou T got into their stride, despite Penny coughing for England all over the court, we won our first rubber quite easily; 15-10, 15-4.  

Joan and Fiona went on for their first rubber against what was actually Ernsford Grange’s strongest pairing (tactics here I think!) and played very well unfortunately losing out in closer games than the score reflected; 6-15, 3-15.   So far 1-1.

2nd Round of rubbers:

P & LT went on against the stronger 2nd pairing and prepared for a much harder game.  It was very close in the first game with L & P narrowly losing out at 14-17!  The second two games went much easier, as we had worked out our tactics against them; 15-11, 15-7.

Fiona and Joan went on against the 1st pair and played wonderfully narrowly missing out in the first game, and despite their best efforts ended up; 13-15, 7-15.  2 all at this point!

Splits:

Split 1, was LT and F, they went on with the tactic of Fiona to clear twice and then run in to the net and kill off anything coming over, while LT cleared and smashed from the back.  This worked well at times against the two strongest ladies with us scraping through to win in three. 15-13, 3-15, 17-15. 

Split 2, was J and P, they went on at 10pm, while we were secretly hoping the janitor wouldn’t turn up!  They were yet again very hard fought games with every point seeming to go on forever!  Unfortunately they finally lost out in three 15-17, 15-9, 12-15.

Final result 3-3 draw! 

Well done to everyone – PS: where did all the supporters go to ?!?!

On the whole this was a great match with lots of great rallies and points won on both sides, if this is anything to go by then we are in for more games the same for the rest of the season – wish us luck!

1^st Round of rubbers:

Louise T & Penny went on a 1^st pair against their 1^sts.  This proved to be struggle in the first game and we narrowly lost out at 17-16!  Then unfortunately they got the better of us and will some basic mistakes from both of us we played into their hands and lost badly 15-4.  Enough Said!

Louise B & Fiona went on against the weaker 2^nd pairing and despite losing the first game while working out where the other one was going to play the shuttle, they came back to take them to a decider and won the third game convincingly.  9-15, 15-9, 15-5.  1-1 at this point.

2^nd Round of rubbers:

LT & P went on against the 2^nd pairing and make short work of them, out clearing on many occasions and taking an easy win in 15-4, 15-5.

LB & F went on against the 1^st pairing and fought hard, with the score not reflecting the actual match which was full of great rallies and decisive winning points from both sides.  They finally lost out at 15-7, 15-7.  2-2 at this point.

Splits:

Split 1 was: LB & P.  They went on against the oppositions best split, and played very well indeed with lots of great rallies and points this was a good game to watch.  They took the game 15-12, 15-8. 

3-2 now !

Split 2 was LT & F.  We went on against the weaker split and despite our best efforts they persisted in trapping F at the back and gaining the advantage.  It was a hard fought game and we lost the first 15-12, and were determined to take them to three for the sake of winning the match!  Unfortunately we lost out in a very close second game, and just couldn’t finish the game off despite getting to 14-12 up, we lost out at 17-14 !!!  And that meant the match was a DRAW, rather than a win. 3-3 end result.

Final result 3-3 draw! 

Another tough match, this was a disappointing draw as we had the chance to win, but let the win slip through our hands, by making a few crucial silly mistakes. 

2 matches, 2 draws.  Not bad really considering….. next time we need a win!

1^st Round of rubbers:

With Louise T out due to the curse of Mixed 2, with yet another injury plaguing BCBC this year, Penny agreed to stand in with short notice – Thanks Pen!

Louise B & Penny went on as 1^st pair against their 1^sts.  This seemed to be an easy win as they easily overcame the opposition 15-11, 15-4.  Debbie and Joan went on against the second pairing as despite their best efforts lost out in 2-15, 6-15.  1-1 at this point.

2^nd Round of rubbers:

LB & P went on against the second pairing, who put up a good fight in the first game, but P & LB stood their ground and won convincingly in the second game resulting in a 17-14, 15-0 win!

D & J were then up against the first pairing and yet again played their best unfortunately losing out again in 2-15, 2-15.  2 each at this point and all to play for in the splits, with every point counting!

Splits:

Split 1 was: P & J.  They went on against the oppositions best split, and played very well indeed with the rubber eventually going to 3.  They took the game 15-12, 15-8.  3-2 now!  EEK!

Split 2 was LB & D.  They went on and managed to win the game with relative ease bagging a 15-9, 15-6 score.

FANTASTIC Final result 4-2 WIN! 

Well done to the whole team a great result, I shall have to fall over and leave you to it more often!

1^st Round of rubbers:

Penny and Lou T went on as our usual 1^st pair, and after a shaky start we lost out 17-14 in the first game, which was very annoying as we were 14-7 up and let them win, argh!  We recovered our composure for the next two games and took them easily at 15-6, 15-6.

Debbie and Lou B went on as 2^nd pairing and had almost a copy cat game, while getting used to each other they narrowly missed out on the first game at 12-15, but then played really well winning the rubber in 15-6, 15-7.

2-0 up at this point….

2^nd Round of rubbers:

P & LT went on against the second pairing and with some good solid aggressive play won easily on 15-2, then 15-8. 

D & LB went on against the 1^st pairing and took the first game 15-11 with some great defensive play from both Louise and Debbie, unfortunately the opposition got the better of them in the second game and they narrowly missed out on taking the rubber at 12-15, so off they went for the decider….  This was to prove too much for the opposition as L & D stormed through the game without any issues to win the rubber in a magnificent 15-4!

4-0 at this point, time for the celebrations to be planned for later….

Splits:

Penny and Lou B went on as the 1^st split, they outplayed them easily in the first winning 15-7, but the opposition managed to fight back which meant a tight second game with no-one wanting to give anything away they pulled through to take the rubber 17-14.!

Lou T & Debbie went on against the 2^nd split, and played the tactics that won them their splits last year, Debbie attacking everything from the middle and the net and Lou T covering the back and smashing and clearing to the base line and corners.  This worked again as they managed to take the game 15-6, then in the second game taking it 15-12.

Final result 6-0  a FANTASTIC WIN! 

Although this ended as a wonderful 6-0 victory, the games were actually very close at times, and the entire team played fantastically – especially Debbie!

1^st Round of rubbers:

LT & LB went on as 1^st pair and got to grips with playing with each other fairly quickly to take the rubber an easy 15-9, 15-5.  Debbie and Fiona went on as 2^nd pair and played well against a stronger pairing losing 7-15, 8-15.   1 each at this point.

2^nd Round of rubbers:

LB & LT against the second pair, who were actually the first (but were late arriving!) and again they won the rubber with a closer 15-8, 17-15 this time, after a slight sleeping episode in the middle of the second game!  D & F lost out against the 1^st pairing, with Fiona’s shoulder and arm hurting at this point, 2-15, 5-15.  2 all and down to the splits.

Splits:

Split 2 was LB & F and they went on first.  The opposition played on Fiona’s worsening shoulder and arm and we lost the first game 8-15, then with LB summoning all the extra help from bumpy they took the last two games a wonderful 15-12, 15-12 to win the rubber. 

Split 1 was LT & D, back to the old times from last year!  We took the first game 15-2, and then the opposition remembered how to hit the shuttle!  The next two games were very close at every point with the serve passing round and round with very few points scored and long rallies.  We unfortunately lost out in the tightest of scores at 16-17, 14-17 in the end.  ARGH, to say the least the pair of us were gutted!  Such a shame but we just couldn’t find that last point on so many occasions in the second game, with the opposition crawling back from 14-8 down to win!

Final result 3-3 draw! 

Thanks to the team for their fantastic effort, as always – we will be out for revenge at the home match!!!

1^st Round of rubbers:

LT & LB went on as 1^st pair and took the first rubber very easily, with some excellent smashes and attacking from the net, and soon settled down into their stride, taking the rubber 15-2, 15-6.  Joan & Fiona went on as 2^nd pair and fought a lot harder than the score implies, after both finding it hard being pinned at the back, unfortunately they lost 7-15, 4-15.  1 all at this point.

2^nd Round of rubbers:

LT & LB went on against their second pair who in the first game gave us a bit more of a game; again we easily outplayed them taking the second rubber 15-7, 15-2.  Joan and Fiona went on against their 1^st pair and unfortunately succumbed to their tactics of clearing and dropping to force the spaces, losing (but not without some good rallies I want to point out) 6-15, 0-15.  2-2 at this point.

Splits:

LT & Fiona went on as 1^st split, after a hard fought game on both sides, we managed to keep our heads together with Fiona playing the net and LT covering the rest, we took the first game 15-13 and in the second got the serve back at 10-10 to serve through for the game and the rubber, 15-10.

LB & Joan went on against the second slightly weaker split (planned so they hopefully wouldn’t have too much running to do, especially in LB’s present “condition”)  and played really well taking the rubber 15-7, 15-5.  The opposition looked a bit disheartened by the end of the match !!!

Final Result: WON 4-2.

Fantastic result, as we lost 4-2 to them at their place with rubbish plastic shuttles – so revenge was sweet.  Still only one loss so far this season, so we’re doing great!  Well played everyone.

Team: Lou T, Penny, Lou B, & Debbie.

1^st Round of rubbers:

Louise T & Penny went on as 1^st pair against their 1^sts.  This proved to be struggle in the first game and we narrowly lost out at 17-16!  Then in the second we saw the light and won 15-2, then a struggle ensued, with mistakes beating us 15-13.  0-1 down so far…

Joan & Debbie fought gallantly against the second pairing from Monsoon – (who had put out a stronger team than last time!) and the score of 6-15, 12-15 doesn’t reflect the effort put in by the pair of them.  0-2 down at this point, starting to look a little hairy!

2^nd Round of rubbers:

LT & P went on against the 2^nd pairing and lost the first 10-15, after much swearing from the captain (oops, sorry!) we banded together and pulled back to win 15-7, 3-15 – much more like it !

Debbie & Joan took on their 1^st pair and again fought very hard, with great rallies from both sides.  They finally lost out at 10-15, 11-15.  1-3 down at this point and we need both splits.

Splits:

Split 1 was: Penny & Joan:  After a tough opener at 9-15, they took the second and third 15-5, 15-13 –the last one was getting a little close for comfort!

Split 2 was Lou & Debbie: We managed to take them by storm with some excellent pouncing at the net by Debbie and clearing at the back and took the first game 15-8, the second game however never really got started, with us stuck on a couple of points for most of the game, we lost out at 5-15. 

Down to a decider, a win required to draw the match – no pressure….!  We held our composure and played for every single shot and point….and the result was game 15-5 to us !!!  YAY….

Final result 3-3 draw! 

This was a very tough match, with nearly everything going to three on the rubbers, and a very tired captain afterwards….  Thanks to the men for their support and shouts of “great shot” it lifted our spirits, thanks!  Shame we didn’t win, but they had the advantage of a freezing cold hall and with playing two matches on one night, at one point Debbie and Joan were sat waiting to play for 1h 20mins –so I’m surprised they didn’t turn into icicles!

Thanks to the team for a great effort as usual and well done and a pat on the back to us all!

1^st Round of rubbers:

This week’s “beginner badminton award” goes to Penny for consistently returning the shuttle to the opposition….ha ha!  We (P & L) managed to make really hard work of something that shouldn’t have been.  Hitting it straight to them mid court and high, is not really the easiest way of winning a rubber…..but we do like a challenge!!!  Ha Ha…..  We eventually managed to stop playing like numpties and won with a 15-8, 6-15, 15-11 rubber. 1-0 now…

Fiona and Joan had a very hard fought game against their 2^nd pair, and so narrowly missed out on the rubber with the luck seeming to go to the opposition (aren’t they supposed to be our nets and therefore the shuttle should “lemming itself over” when we hit it not them!!!). 17-14, 9-15, 9-15.

2^nd Round of rubbers:

L & P composed themselves, only for the gremlins to creep in again but we managed to take the game 15-12, in the second one we went for the “head-down, keep concentrating or I’ll smack you with my racket” approach and stormed through for a 15-5 victory.  2-1 now….

J & F took on their 1^st pairing and unfortunately quickly succumbed to them, 3-15, 4-15.  2-2 now and all on the splits…

Splits:

P & J went on as 1^st split and the match was really close, with both P & J playing some great shots. Unfortunately they lost out at 10-15, 15-17 !  2-3 now, and all on the last rubber…

L & F went on against their 2^nd split, which we had seen was actually their strongest lady….expecting a very hard game we dug our heals in, but the opposition lady seemed to have psyched herself out of the game before we started…..  We found them to put up very little fight and easily took the last rubber 15-4, 15-3.

Final result 3-3 draw! 

Another tough match, it was such a shame Joan and Fiona missed out on winning their rubber after going to three…. But a well deserved DRAW.  Well done to the whole team.

Well the last game of the season and we were looking for another win against EG2 to finish the season in style!

Lou & Penny went on as first pairing and despite our best efforts of playing like beginners we managed to struggle through for a win against their 1^st pairing.  There was some truly dreadful play from the Captain herself….eek, sorry Penny! 15-12, 15-14 !  Penny made the brave psychological decision at 14-14 to go straight through, even though they had two serves – it worked, we regained the serve and won the last needed point!  Hats off to the EG ladies, we played rubbish, but they did play very well with some lovely net shots. 1-0 now…

This week’s “beginner badminton award” has been well and truly passed to Lou T for some really pants badminton- can someone tell me what the big end of the racket is supposed to do please !!!

Joan and Fiona took on their 2^nd pairing and played wonderfully taking the victory – unfortunately their win was dampened by the EG lady hurting her knee and bravely soldering on to finish the rubber. 15-5, 15-7.  2-0 now…

Unfortunately the EG lady decided as she could hardly walk at this point she would not be playing the other games and had to concede.  Such a shame as no-one likes to win rubbers with the opposition having to concede.  4-0 now…

This meant that there were only two games left to play.  Fiona and Joan went on against their 1^st pairing: they put up a good fight and the rallies were closer than the score shows.  They succumbed at 11-15, 7-15.  4-1 now…

Then Penny and Joan went on for the split; this was a hard fought game with neither side wanting to give in and the score reflects this: 17-14, 14-15 and 15-8…! 

FINAL RESULT 5-1 WIN !!

Over all not our finest play (captain!) and a shame we didn’t get to play all the rubbers, but we came away with a 5-1 win.

Thanks to all the squad this season, we have all played really well and I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves and the badminton.  WELL DONE TO US ALL.