SQUASH: Allen sees off Basham to land title

George Allen, left, was crowned champion

It was one of the burgeoning number of junior members who took the senior crown in the shape of George Allen.

The players were split into A and B grades, with both grades looking close on paper.

League A saw Patrick Brown and Scott Richardson both record victories over Paul White, with their match deciding who would progress to the final.

Richardson took the first in a tie-break, the effect of this seeing Brown implode in the second game as his many unforced errors saw Richardson win in straight games.

League B’s deciding match was in the middle of their fixtures as Will Chambers-Ostler took on David Sowerby.

Having already beaten Sheraz Mir in his first match, a victory for Sowerby would see him reach the final, only to lose 2-1 to his opponent.

That meant Chambers-Ostler only had to beat Mir to progress, which he did.

Despite both Richardson and Chambers-Ostler being in the LDS box leagues for a while, the B grade final was their first competitive match.

Richardson seized the early advantage,taking the opening game and although Chambers-Ostler tried to fight back, he was beaten in straight games.

The first round of grade A matches saw the top four seeds progress.

In round two, Craig Basham eased to victory over Scot Adam, while Allen had another straight games victory over Amir Jafri to book his place in the final against Basham.

In the bottom half of the draw, Carl Bates saw off Colm McNelis while Sean Davies beat Alex Axford.

Bates and Davies had a close match for fifth/sixth spot, with Bates edging it, while Axford condemned McNelis to a hat-trick of defeats in the seventh/eighth play-off.

Jafri and Adam had a closely contested third/fourth match, with Jafri narrowly edging it.

The final was a seesaw affair for the best of five, as Allen moved 1-0 up, before Basham pegged him back. Allen then eased 2-1 ahead, only for Basham to make it 2-2.

In the decider, Allen faced four championship balls, only to win five straight points and claim the title with a 12-10 victory.