Sidmouth Herald published 30 June 2011
A SIDMOUTH team of four players recently travelled to Cornwall for what turned out to be an exciting Intermediate League match, writes Mike Taylor. With the weather forecast more like late autumn rather than mid-summer, the team of Ian Friedlander (captain), Margaret Piper, Philip Harris and John Dixon were nevertheless in good spirits for the day ahead.
For the captain and Harris, this was another long journey as they had both played in the Federation at Plymouth the day before!
The morning session was made up of two singles and a doubles. The games had hardly started when the rain fell and the mist set in as well to make things even more difficult. The lawns were in good condition with plenty of grass that was a little longer than Sidmouth were used to. The singles were played on a lawn having only a small hut to shelter in; which is where Dixon and Friedlander spent considerable time whilst their opponents went round to peg 26-11 and 26-3 respectively.
Meanwhile, a new doubles pairing of Piper and Harris were involved in a dour struggle against tough opposition, but managed to win 14-9.
The afternoon began badly for Sidmouth with Friedlander having to give four bisques away. His opponent hit in to start, set up a four-ball break, took a bisque and then went right round to peg. With his second ball he only reached three back before the Sidmouth skipper managed a few hoops, but with two bisques still standing, there was no chance of a recovery. Meanwhile, on the other lawn, Piper and Harris, with good steady play, and, despite the rain, managed to win.
Piper secured a 25-13 success whilst Harris won 26-11. With the match score at 3-3, Dixon’s game became critical. With the lead continuing to change hands and with all four clips on Rover, Dixon managed to get in and peg out to win 26-22, giving Sidmouth a fine 4-3 win.