“Then there were five, well almost!”
Eight invitations were extended to physically able Welsh men of retirement age to travel to Edinburgh. A Hirwaun resident had not recovered from a knee injury picked up in the Welsh Masters Open, so it was seven. Plantar fasciitis caused a pensioner from Caldicot to reluctantly decline his invitation. A week to go and a recent retiree from Swansea pulled his calf muscle! Despite a few last-minute appeals for replacements, it was just five of us who ventured north;
Adrian Alderton (Hexham) Dai Lewis (Carmarthen), Richard Barrett (Bridgend) Chris Owen (Prague) and Ceredig Emanuel (Carmarthen).
The order of play was Scotland, England and Ireland. Chris Owen had the privilege to open our account against Scotland but within five minutes had pulled his calf muscle! Despite this Chris stayed on court and managed take the third game before losing 1-3. Adrian Alderton was in majestic form against David Gillies with a 3-1 win to level the match. Dai Lewis playing at no.3 earned his first Welsh cap against Robert Blair in a very tight match. Leading 2-1 and 10 all in the fourth, Dai came tantalising close to securing a win. It wasn’t to be with Gillies recovering to win the match 3-2. Richard Barrett was also making his international debut at no.1 seed and played the talented Robin Ridley. Robin was in great form and was unbeaten all weekend, with an inevitable 3-0 win against Richard. The same fate awaited Ceredig Emanuel at no.2 seed with Alan Thomson proving too strong with a 3-0 win. Wales 1- 4 Scotland.
England fielded a strong five Saturday morning to secure a 5-0 win. To his credit and despite limited mobility, Chris Owen took to the court again at no.5. The outcome was a 0-3 defeat, which was also experienced by Richard, Adrian and Ceredig. Dai Lewis however had yet another very close match against Nick Gollaglee before losing 1-3. Wales 0 – 5 England.
A wooden spoon awaited the loser of the final match against Ireland! Chris Owen fulfilled his fixture with the same movement limitations and conceded the opening match 0-3 to Martin McDonnell.
Dai Lewis faced Michael Roden who towered over him on court. The match was a real physical challenge as both players were desperate for success with Michael taking the first game. Dai dug in and squeezed a 15-13 win in the second game. The match swung back to Michael as he won the third. Dai was not daunted by this however as his superior fitness and mobility eventually dominated the match as he took the final two games to win his first international squash match 3-2.
Richard Barrett also won his first international squash match with a 3-1 win against the Irish no.1 seed James McSweeny, despite losing the opening game 10-12. James struggled to cope with Richard’s pace around the court and attacking shots.
Adrian Alderton’s comfortable win against Shay Hickey secured the match for Wales, and the spoon for Ireland! Adrian played with the composure and confidence he’d showed against Scotland and won 3-0. The same scoreline was the final result of the weekend with Ceredig Emanuel defeating the Irish no.2 seed Donal Coughlan. Wales 4 – 1 Ireland.
Despite some injuries and late withdrawals, the weekend in Edinburgh proved to be a great venue and a highly enjoyable experience. Richard Barrett and Dai Lewis achieved international honours at 65+, and long may they reign.
Ceredig Emanuel
Wales MO65 Captain
