As has been the case recently it was a pleasure to take another county competition to a "new" host venue and Springfield were very cooperative and welcoming. A few late withdrawals meant that the remaining 8 entrants were perfectly suited to the "Monrad" system and it proved ideal, with everyone primed and ready for action bang on the dot.

The highlight of the early matches was Mike Hyland, after a slow start, giving seed Steve Wakefield a run for his money, Steve just having enough chances in the 3rd to make use of his undoubted shot-making skills and although this was the only match to go the full distance some of the other matches were closer than the final match scores might suggest.

The 2nd round of matches saw some varied and interesting squash, not all of it from the textbook but very entertaining none the less. Nigel Rowe, defending a title he has won for a few years now, was pushed in the 2nd game of his match with Ed Crane and Nev Buckle played a smart match in defeating Steve Wakefield, using his speed and durability to great effect. Tim McQue and Mike Hyland both came through their matches against Ben Sykes and Tony Wienand respectively but, again, the match results didn't necessarily reflect the individual game scores.

The final set of matches again saw some tight competition, Tony Wienand and Mike Hyland coming through in their matches. The 3rd/ 4th playoff saw Ed Crane starting strongly against Steve Wakefield but allowing the following 3 very close games to slip frustratingly through his fingers. The final saw Nev Buckle take a strong early lead against Nigel Rowe, playing well up the court and looking to volley everything. However there are many reasons why Nigel has won a number of county titles over the years and his experience, and all court game, saw him adjust to the threat of the "younger" man and he came through in 4 games, which contained several punishing rallies.

Overall a very enjoyable day, the venue worked well as did the "Monrad" system. But the main thanks go to the players for their efforts both in terms of their squash and the excellent spirit in which the squash was played. Nigel was a worthy winner on a day when everyone who played still looked fresher at the finish than some of those who went past the Leisure Centre early in their quest to complete the Corsham 10k!