England Reign Supreme In Europe

England maintained their continental supremacy in squash today with victories in the men's and women's events in the European Team Championships at the Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam.

Whilst the men's was a straightforward affair - their sixth successive win over France in the final - the England women were taken to the wire by hosts Netherlands before securing a 2/1 victory and the title for the 28th year in a row.

Jenny Duncalf, the world No10 from Harrogate, put the defending champions into the lead with a 9-0 9-2 9-2 win over Dutch team newcomer Margriet Huisman. To the delight of the jubilant local crowd, already in a celebratory mood in honour of Queen's Day, world champion Vanessa Atkinson brought the underdogs back into contention by beating England's top string Linda Elriani 9-2 10-8 9-6 - marking the British National champion from Sussex's first ever defeat in the tournament.

Just eight world ranking positions separated the two players In the decider - England's Vicky Botwright, the seventh-ranked England No2 from Manchester, and Annelize Naude, the world No15 from Amsterdam.

Botwright had two game balls before clinching the opening game, then sped to a two-game lead after Naude went into "panic mode" in the second, according to Dutch coach Ellie Pierce. However, Naude mounted a mighty fightback in the third to reduce the deficit, but Botwright ultimately clinched the match, and the championship for England, 10-8 9-0 9-10 9-5 in 77 minutes.

"That was undoubtedly the most pressure I've ever been under," said the near-tearful England star afterwards. "I was just thinking of all those years that England has won this title, and I didn't want to be the one to end that incredible run. I definitely nearly cried when I won - it was such a relief," added 27-year-old Botwright.

England National Coach David Pearson was full of praise for Botwright: "When you play for your country, things happen which don't happen when you're playing for yourself on the WISPA World Tour. Vicky really showed her strength in that match - she showed she could do it."

Pearson's opposite number Ellie Pierce is confident that Netherlands success is not far away in this event: "We are much more of a team than we've ever been before - and we're a young team too - and we will make it for sure sometime in the next three years. Vanessa played fantastically, and Margriet put in a brave performance in her debut. And, to Annelize's credit, she put in a Herculean effort to win her third game - but Vicky simply didn't make any mistakes!"

The men's finale was almost resolved after the first two matches when squad No4 James Willstrop and third string Nick Matthew swept to straight games wins over Frenchmen Laurent Elriani and Renan Lavigne, respectively. When Yorkshireman Lee Beachill clinched the first game against world No1 Thierry Lincou - disappointingly, on a stroke - the title became beyond France's reach.

Beachill went on to overcome Lincou 9-4 7-9 9-4 in a 56-minute 'best-of-three' match and team-mate Peter Nicol beat Gregory Gaultier 9-4 4-9 10-8 in a 'dead rubber' which entertained the packed Frans Otten Station crowd as England strode to a 4/0 triumph - the 13th European men's title in a row, and England's 30th crown since the inaugural event in 1973.

Local organisers were delighted with the host nation's performance. In addition to finishing as runners-up in the women's competition for the third consecutive time, Netherlands beat third seeds Wales 3/1 to clinch third place in the men's event - their highest ever finish.

"We did as well as we could have hoped for in the event here - and can now look forward to carrying this success through to the Men's World Team Championships later this year," said Dutch men's team manager Peter Berden.

Fair Play awards were made by the European Squash Federation to Denmark's Ellen Petersen and Ukraine's Roman Dolynych. The men's 1st Division final was won by Hungary, 4/0 winners over Czech Republic in the play-off for 13th place, while the women's 1st Division title was claimed by Austria, who also beat Czech Republic 2/1 in the 11th place play-off.