Champions Storm To Successful Season Opener

Title-holders Manchester/Pontefract powered to a home triumph in the first round of the new season of the National Squash League, beating former champions Nottingham 4-1 at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

Fellow Group A club Wolverhampton also got the new season off to a positive start with a 4-1 home win in the West Midlands derby against Edgbaston Priory - the Birmingham club which won the National League title in 2003. In Group B, league newcomers Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury picked up a comprehensive first-time win at Team Solent, beating the Hampshire club 5-0, while Team Chichester, runners-up in the Group last season, started the new season where they left off - cruising to a 4-1 home victory over UniSport Guildford.

Manchester/Pontefract were at full strength in their opening fixture, but Jenny Duncalf was stretched to the limit before overcoming Nottingham's world No20 Pamela Nimmo 7-9 9-0 9-10 9-5 9-1 in 59 minutes. It was a brave performance by Nottingham-based Nimmo, the Scotland No1. Unlike Duncalf, who represented England with distinction, Nimmo was forced to miss last week's Women's World Team Championships in Amsterdam as the result of a tonsil infection.

Alex Stait recorded a notable win for the visitors over Yorkshire's Marcus Berrett, but thereafter Manchester/Pontefract regulars Nick Taylor, James Willstrop and world No1 Lee Beachill led the home team to a solid victory - Beachill overpowering Nottingham's hard-hitting John White 9-3 6-9 4-9 9-6 9-7 in 52 minutes after an eight-minute first rally of the match which was described by team spokesman Taro Nabetani as "awesome".

The standout match in Woverhampton's impressive win over Edgbaston Priory was Scott Handley's significant upset over Priory stalwart Adrian Grant. "Scott simply outplayed him," said Wolverhampton manager Stephen Russell after the world number 70's 5-9 9-7 9-7 2-9 9-5 victory over English international Grant, ranked 13 in the world.

There was also a major fight back by Edgbaston's Hadrian Stiff, who came from 0/2 down to level the match against the home team's Liam Kenny before the Irish international stemmed the comeback to win 9-3 10-9 7-9 10-12 9-5 in over 70 minutes - the longest match of the night.

The biggest cheer of the night in Wolverhampton was reserved for league debutante Rachel Willmott's first point against Shelley Kitchen. The 16-year-old was very much overpowered by New Zealand international Kitchen, ranked 14 in the world, but after her 9-0 9-0 9-2 hammering said that she had enjoyed the match but had to leave at 10:30 to get home to Sussex to go to school the next day!

Fresh from her England success in the Amsterdam World Championships, Linda Elriani swept to 9-3 9-7 9-0 over Guildford's Alison Waters - a last-minute replacement for Elriani's team-mate Fiona Geaves - as Chichester set up their 4-1 win. Guildford saved their best to last as newly-promoted squad No1 Stacey Ross secured a 10-8 9-7 3-9 9-6 win over Malaysian Mohd Azlan Iskandar, who was also making his first appearance as top string for Chichester.

After failing to win a single tie last season, Sue Wright will have been pleased to secure the best result of the night with her 5-0 drubbing of Team Solent away from home. Formerly the driving force behind the Sue Wright Sports Academy in Bicester, Wright now owns the Gloucestershire club Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury. Led by Malaysian star Ong Beng Hee, Strings dropped just three games in their emphatic win at Lee on Solent to give the league debutantes a maximum 20 points from their first outing (the new points system giving five points for a tie win, plus a further point for each game won).

National Squash League

RESULTS: 1st round, Tuesday 5 October 2004

Group A:
Manchester/Pontefract 4-1 Nottingham
Lee Beachill beat John White 9-3, 6-9, 4-9, 9-6, 9-7 (52m)
James Willstrop beat David Evans 9-6, 9-7, 5-9, 9-5 (33m)
Marcus Berrett lost to Alex Stait 7-9, 7-9, 9-5, 2-9 (38m)
Nick Taylor beat Duncan Walsh 9-4, 9-3, 9-7 (25m)
Jenny Duncalf beat Pamela Nimmo 7-9, 9-0, 9-10, 9-5, 9-1 (59m)
Wolverhampton 4-1 Edgbaston Priory
Anthony Ricketts beat David Palmer 9-6, 15-13, 9-4
Scott Handley beat Adrian Grant 5-9, 9-7, 9-7, 2-9, 9-5
Mark Cairns lost to Peter Barker 7-9, 6-9, 3-9
Liam Kenny beat Hadrian Stiff 9-3, 10-9, 7-9, 10-12, 9-5
Shelley Kitchen beat Rachel Willmott 9-0, 9-0, 9-2

Group B:
Team Chichester 4-1 UniSport Guildford
Mohd Azlan Iskandar lost to Stacey Ross 8-10, 7-9, 9-3, 6-9
Peter Genever beat Stephen Meads 8-10, 9-4, 11-9, 9-1
Ben Garner beat Neil Frankland 9-3, 9-6, 9-5
Tim Vail beat Jesse Engelbrecht 9-2, 9-7, 10-8
Linda Elriani beat Alison Waters 9-3, 9-7, 9-0
Team Solent 0-5 Oberthur Strings Tewkesbury
Lars Harms lost to Ong Beng Hee 6-9, 9-5, 3-9, 9-11
Greg Tippings lost to Alister Walker 9-5, 6-9, 1-9, 8-10
Shahid Khan lost to Daryl Selby 10-8, 5-9, 5-9, 3-9
Rob Sutherland lost to Chris Clare 9-11, 4-9, 2-9
Tina Rix lost to Lauren Briggs 1-9, 0-9, 2-9