Old Guard Triumph In English Open Qualifying Finals

Senior British internationals Alex Gough and Mark Chaloner claimed places in the first round of the Mamut English Open, hosted by Sheffield City Council, after overcoming younger opposition in today's qualifying finals in Sheffield.

Welsh international Gough, a 35-year-old from Hampshire who continues to represent his country more than decade and a half after first doing so, dismissed 23-year-old Englishman Alister Walker, from Gloucestershire, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 in 45 minutes.

The Newport-born world No18 will now make his third appearance in the 5-star PSA Tour event which is in its fourth year at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Gough will face top seed David Palmer, the world No2 from Australia.

Chaloner, the 34-year-old former world No7 from Lincolnshire who put his name on the international squash map when he led England to first-time success in the World Team Championships in 1995, twice had to come from behind to defeat Guernsey's 19-year-old British Junior champion Chris Simpson 7-11, 11-3, 2-11, 11-3, 11-4 in a 78-minute marathon.

Chaloner, the PSA President, has been drawn to face local favourite Nick Matthew, the sixth seed from Sheffield who reached the Crucible final twelve months ago.

Essex's Daryl Selby bucked the 'old guard' trend, however. The 23-year-old former England junior international from Witham overcame Gloucestershire's 26-year-old Alex Stait 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 in 30 minutes and will now make his maiden appearance in the main draw of the Mamut English Open, which gets underway tomorrow at the Crucible.

Selby will take on France's seventh seed Gregory Gaultier, the world No8 who is making his debut in the event.

In the final match of the day, Renan Lavigne became the third Frenchman to earn a place in the main draw. The 31-year-old from Marseille twice repelled fight-backs by Cameron Pilley to beat the higher-ranked Australian 11-8, 4-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4 in 71 minutes.

Lavigne will now meet the highest-ranked Englishman - and Yorkshireman - in the draw, world No4 James Willstrop.

British squash legend Peter Nicol begins his farewell campaign on home soil tomorrow when he takes on England team-mate Peter Barker in the third match of the evening's first round session on the all-glass court at 8.00pm. The 33-year-old four-times Commonwealth Games gold medallist from London announced last month that this will be his final competitive tournament in the UK, before finally bowing out at next month's World Open staged by Egypt's famous pyramids at Giza.

Victory for the title-holder and the event's fifth seed would give Nicol his 50th PSA Tour title.

Qualifying finals:
Alex Gough (WAL) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (45m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Alex Stait (ENG) 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (30m)
Mark Chaloner (ENG) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 7-11, 11-3, 2-11, 11-3, 11-4 (78m)
Renan Lavigne (FRA) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-8, 4-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4 (71m)