Oxshott's Thrilling Squash Finals 2022

On 7 May some excellent squash was on show as the club held it’s squash tournament finals evening and it was hailed one of the best for some time and it gave those that came down to support alot to cheer and applaud.

First up was the Doubles Plate played out between Julian Clogg/Paul Gregory and Ryan Elgar/Simon Hibbert.  Ryan and Simon fought back from two games down and saw off several match balls before turning the entire match around and coming out on top, 3/2. 

At the same time on the show court, a mighty battle was being fought in the Doubles between Darren Helwick/Nicola Helwick and Stuart Hibbert/James Shattock.  An incredibly long, sweaty and even match saw both pairs make it through to two all and requiring a fifth game to decide the winner.  The final game went backwards and forwards with some silly long rallies but eventually saw Stuart and James take the fifth 15/13 and the match 3/2.

The trick shot final (Open Plate) saw two of the best specialists in this category, Mark Francis and Steve Drye battle it out for King of the Boast.  Steve came through to take the crown and see off his opponent 3/1.

Next up saw the Non Team (under 1,400 squash level points) final take place between Simon Hibbert and David Aldridge.  David eventually got the better of Simon, again 3/2 to take the trophy.

Barrie Brien and Sam Conlan took to the main court to put on a show for their cheering public in the Handicap final.  As is everyone’s right, every year, everyone complained about everyone else’s handicap, never their own though.  I take this to mean the handicapping was perfect as no one was happy.  And to prove this point, the match went to the fifth game as neither player gave an inch.  Sam was able to steal the fifth and come through 3/2.

That just left us with the showpiece final, The Open, being contested between John Gemmell and Stuart Hibbert.  The crowd settled in, the players did not disappoint, every point was fought over with some incredibly long rallies and unbelievable pickups.  Both players had read the script and knew they had to drag the match out for as long as possible to delay the post match curry.  As with so many of the finals it ended up going to the fifth game which Stuart eventually took to seal the victory and become Oxshott Open Champion 2022 and can be seen receiving his trophy.

Presentations were rushed through as there was a curry and beer to consume and a specail thanks to the Squash chairman Rob Butler!