Strings & Chichester Deride PSL North/South Divide

Southern teams Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury and Team Chichester shocked Churchill Edgbaston Priory and Benz-Bavarian Duffield, respectively, in tonight's first semi-finals legs of the Premier League (PSL) - taking their fancied northern opposition the full distance at home before each going down 2/3 in dramatic ties 48 hours before the teams meet again in the reverse second leg fixtures.

Strings Tewkesbury, runners-up in the South Group, entertained the mighty Priory squad which won all but one of its North Group ties over the season and finished way out in front of all-comers in the end-of-season group table.

The Birmingham club opened up an early lead when England international Vicky Botwright, the world No5 from Manchester, beat the home team's Pakistan number one Carla Khan 9-5 9-0 9-2, and Hadrian Stiff defeated Welshman Rob Sutherland, also in straight games.

But the Oberthur-sponsored underdogs fought back in dramatic fashion. On adjacent courts, home heroes Daryl Selby and Alex Stait faced higher-ranked England internationals Adrian Grant and Peter Barker. Selby, the 23-year-old world No46 from Essex, climbed back from two games down to beat Grant, the world No15, 8-10, 3-9, 9-7, 9-5, 12-10 - and Stait, the Manchester-based world No58 prevailed in five close games against Barker, the world No23, to win 10-8, 11-13, 6-9, 10-8, 9-5.

Both matches were decided on strokes - and both finished almost simultaneously!

The visitors' Australian international Stewart Boswell denied a fairy-tale ending for Strings, beating fellow Australian Cameron Pilley 9-1, 9-7, 9-7 in the top string decider as Edgbaston Priory secured their 3/2 win.

"I'm really proud of my team - the way they all played was magnificent," said Strings manager Wendy Maitland. "The crowd was treated to brilliant squash here tonight - and it was certainly one in the eye for those who thought we would be hammered by Priory!

"I was especially pleased for Daryl and Alex, who produced fantastic results - in both cases probably the best scalps of their careers," added Maitland.

The other fixture also produced its share of outstanding results - with the top string encounter again providing the tie-decider. The opening women's match between Chichester's Linda Elriani and Duffield's Tania Bailey was always certain to set the tone for the evening's entertainment ahead - and the England team-mates did not disappoint.

Elriani, the world No8 from Eastbourne out for revenge for her defeat by the Lincolnshire lass from Stamford in this year's British National Championship final, took the first game. But Bailey, who replaced Elriani as No1 in the latest England rankings, fought back to take the next three games - and the match - 7-9, 9-1, 10-8, 9-0.

Yorkshire's Laurence Delasaux stretched the Derbyshire club's lead by beating the hosts' Tom Richards in five games - but Chichester came back with a vengeance, club stalwart Peter Genever beating world-ranked Jonathan Kemp 9-7, 6-9, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7, and club coach Tim Vail overcoming Duffield's French international Renan Lavigne 9-5, 11-9, 3-9, 11-9.

It would have been a tall order for Chichester's Ben Garner to make a serious impression against the visitors' world number seven-ranked Nick Matthew - but the world No39 from Surrey took a close-fought second game to level the match before Matthew, Duffield's second British National champion, imposed his authority to win 9-4, 8-10, 9-4, 9-6.

Semi-finals, 1st leg

Team Chichester 2 Benz Bavarian Duffield 3
Ben Garner lost to Nick Matthew 4-9, 10-8, 4-9, 6-9
Peter Genever beat Jonathan Kemp 9-7, 6-9, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7
Tim Vail beat Renan Lavigne 9-5, 11-9, 3-9, 11-9
Tom Richards lost to Laurence Delasaux 9-5, 3-9, 7-9, 9-4, 5-9
Linda Elriani lost to Tania Bailey 9-7, 1-9, 8-10, 0-9

Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury 2 Churchill Edgbaston Priory 3
Cameron Pilley lost to Stewart Boswell 1-9, 7-9, 7-9
Daryl Selby beat Adrian Grant 8-10, 3-9, 9-7, 9-5, 12-10
Alex Stait beat Peter Barker 10-8, 11-13, 6-9, 10-8, 9-5
Rob Sutherland lost to Hadrian Stiff 8-10, 8-10, 5-9
Carla Khan lost to Vicky Botwright 5-9, 0-9, 2-9