Season Reviews

Summer Leagues 2025 – Review

Harry Carr and his Henley 1 side narrowly failed to successfully defend their Summer Leagues Division One crown finishing in the runner up spot behind University 1 who were claiming their first title at this level for longer than anyone can recall!

A change in employment circumstances heralded the arrival in Oxford of Ash Stanton and the new Number One’s seven unbeaten appearances was probably the difference in securing the championship. A great deal of credit must go though to James McCouat who can boast a 12 wins from 12 starts record for the season and to Francois Louw who risked a swift end to his recent marriage by rocking up for a match during his honeymoon!

Doubtless, Brackley (the Winter 2024/25 Champions), Defence Academy as well as Henley will be mindful of the threat the Uni outfit poses for the Winter so it should make for a mouth watering campaign.

Division Two was completely monopolised by Harwell although how harmonious relations are between their 2 teams may be brought into question as the Two’s landed the spoils quite convincingly ahead of their more highly ranked stable mates. Despite the uncertain future at the club, Thame managed a creditable third and hot off the press, they have submitted a side to play in September.

The Spiceball Platypuses and University 3 provided the closest of title races in Division Three with the former prevailing by 3 points (200 to 197) after securing a maximum over Abingdon 4 in their final outing. Andrew Bissell has his troops well marshalled over in Banbury and this success was very well deserved.

Putting out teams for a 12-14 match schedule especially in July/August is very challenging but full credit must go to all the skippers for getting their charges through it with only 2 fixtures being conceded. We may need to make a few changes moving forward but it is important for the sport in the county that the Leagues platform is provided throughout the whole year however tricky it sometimes appears.

Winter 2024/25 Play Offs

It may be a long way from Shrivenham to Brackley but Nev Buckle summoned his Defence Academy troops for one last battle of the Winter Campaign, the Division One Play Off Final magainst Brackley 1 to decide who would be crowned the 2024/25 County Champions.

Having suffered a fairly comprehensive defeat in a dress rehearsal against the same opponents only seven days earlier in the final round of Winter 2 fixtures, the omens were not great but just one change was made to the line up with Adam Oakley coming in for Callum Ray.

Skipper Richard Craven similarly made just the one alteration to his side with James Kettle stepping in for the unfortunate James Harris.

DA brought along a few fans, although to be fair most of their small contingent represent Carterton, only to be greeted by a raucous full house of home fans but with the most genial of welcomings with snacks and drink aplenty.

The attendant masses were not let down either by the quality and excitement of what they witnessed on court.

The opening two Strings were shared with the Brackley Number 4,Tim Melvin getting the better of Ed Hopkins 3-0 whilst Simon Lucas squared matters disposing of Hugh Perks by the same score.

On to court stepped the 2’s and 3’s. Young James Kettle had too much for Callie Smith, winning 3-0 to give the hosts a slender lead. The drama however was taking place next door where Richard Craven and Adam Oakley locked horns in an absolute classic and in what turned out to be the decider.

Following Kettle’s victory it was the turn of the Number One seeds, Brackley’s Odhran Imlah and DA’s Adam Giles. The previous week, the former had got the better of this encounter 3-2, but Giles knew he had to reverse that result this time and in a very tight contest, he did just that, taking the spoils 3-1.

Meanwhile and having finished just a short time earlier, Craven and Oakley took their tie down to the wire. 2 all, 13 points all, Championship on the line, but having squandered match point in the fourth, Craven was not to be denied this time. The cup was staying in Brackley for another 12 months.

A great night of squash topped of with a curry and beers at Chilli & Peppers!

Brackley 1 v Defence Academy 1
Odhran Imlah v Adam Giles 6/11 13/11 7/11 14/16
James Kettle v Calli Smith 11/6 11/7 11/8
Richard Craven v Adam Oakley 5/11 11/3 11/1 11/13 15/13
Tim Melvin v Ed Hopkins 11/6 11/5 11/9
Hugh Perks v Simon Lucas 6/11 8/11 5/11

Hope you like the photos!

Henley Squash Club – A Season in Summary!

As Easter arrives, Henley Squash Club is celebrating the end of an action-packed Winter Season and gearing up for an exciting ‘summer of squash’ across all levels of play.

Over the winter months—both before and after Christmas—the club proudly fielded two teams in the competitive Oxfordshire Squash Leagues and one in the Berkshire Veterans’ League for players aged 45 and over.

Despite grappling with a long injury list, the 1st Team, led by Harry Carr, put in an outstanding performance, finishing 3rd in the fiercely contested County Division 1. The skipper led the way with the most matches played, closely followed by stalwart players Munro Simon Montanus and Andrew Martin.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Team, captained by Steve Dance, made fantastic progress. Pre Christmas, they featured in Division 4 but earned promotion to Division 3 for Winter 2. They fought hard ending with a respectable 7th place. Key contributors included Jim Reay, Tom Tuite Dalton, and Tim Budden.

The club’s Veterans’ Team, captained by Richard Little, wrapped up a challenging but rewarding season in Berkshire League 3 with a brilliant 4–1 win against local rivals Maidenhead. Most frequent faces on the team included Peter Hopkins, Steve Dance as well as the captain himself.

Looking ahead to the warmer months, the Club is ramping things up even more. For the first time, three teams will compete in the Oxfordshire Summer Leagues, which run from May to August. This is one entry more than last year, reflecting the club’s growing momentum.

But it’s not just about the teams. The club is proud to host monthly Internal Leagues and welcomes all to their popular Friday evening Club Nights. These are open to everyone, members and non-members, including complete beginners looking to give squash a try in a friendly, social setting.

And in a big win for community engagement, Henley Squash Club has partnered with Gillott’s School who between them have introduced over 500 local pupils to the sport since September. Thanks to enthusiastic interest, a regular lunchtime squash club is now running at the school.

Henley Squash Club is open to players of all ages and abilities and thrives on the support of the local community. A huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors over the winter season including —Zzoomm, Invesco, Oxfordshire Squash (OSRA), England Squash, Tom Moore, Roger Booker, Dave Wright, GLL/Better, TMS, and Mercers—and to South Oxfordshire District Council for their valued support of our mission to grow the game and create opportunities for everyone to get involved.

With squash officially joining the 2028 Olympic Games, there’s never been a better time to pick up a racket and discover why squash is one of the most accessible, exhilarating sports around. Whether you are new to the game, a returning player, or a seasoned competitor, Henley Squash Club welcomes you to come and join the fun this summer!

Division Four Play Off Final – Victory for a “Paddle” of Platypuses!

Platypuses (collective noun – paddle!) are said to be mysterious, cute but hard to spot. They are, however, also extremely venomous as Nuffield 2 discovered to their cost in their recent Division Four Play Off Final against the Spiceball Platypuses to determine the overall 2024/25 Winter Champions.

Staged at the Banbury Spiceball Leisure Centre, host skipper Andy Bissell opened proceedings against the opposition captain, Juan Medina Abellan, and got off to his customary fast start taking the opener 15 -7. Juan hit back strongly in the second but a string of errors saw that game slip away and although close in the third, Andy took the honours in this 4^th String tie, 3-0.

In the Battle of the 3’s, both players built into the match, finding their range towards the end of a first game which went the way of the home side’s Marius Pantea over Hugh Pendry, 15-10. Dogged as ever, Hugh fought back to take the second 15-11 and despite squandering a 10 – 4 advantage eventually took the third 15-13. Marius replied positively in the fourth (15-9) to force a decider which he won on the tie break, 16-14.

In a complete contrast of styles, Lee Naylor managed to extend the rallies against his rather reluctant opponent Aubrey Bell. In this Second String encounter, these tactics initially paid off as Lee opened a 2 games to love lead but Aubrey is an absolute master at working out people’s games and has orchestrated many a comeback over the years. Forcing his own command of the tee and with an ever improving control of length and width, Aubrey completed a 3-2 victory and offered Nuffield 2 a glimpse of glory.

This was unfortunately for them snuffed out as Christian Jackson defeated Charles Gent 3-0 in their 5^th String match up and the Platypuses bagged the silverware.

An overall 4-1 score line was completed as the top seeded match also went the way of our ‘furry’ friends with William Stewart finally prevailing over Randal Lindsell in a quick moving, clean striking, high quality affair, 14-16, 18-16, 15-6, 15-5.

Full scores of all the Play Off Finals can be found on Sporty HQ – https://osra.sportyhq.com/league/view/1015

To view, simply scroll down to ‘Past Events’.

Enjoy the pictures courtesy of Mike Beck and big thanks to him for rocking up and taking them as well as providing analysis of the match and presenting the awards.

Season Review – Winter 2 2025

Having spent Winter 1 (pre-Xmas) battling their way out of Division Two, Defence Academy 1 blazed out of the blocks to take a commanding lead at the halfway point in the premier league of Winter 2. Despite three defeats on the return journey, they managed to retain their pre-eminence to the end and set up a Play Off Final to decide the overall Winter League County Champions against holders Brackley 1.

The standard in the top flight was arguably the best in depth it has been for a good few years and Nuffield 2, in at this level for the first time, can count themselves a touch unlucky at encountering so many tough sides week on week. Still, they gave a good account of themselves and I’m sure their players will do all they can next Winter 1 to get another crack at the top table.

Abingdon 1 found themselves in the alien environment of Div 2 but fair play to them, their elite level performers rocked up each week determined to erase memories of the previous season’s relegation. They won all 14 matches amassing 247 points from a possible 266. With the growing stature of Kacper Kwiecinski and the return from injury of Nigel Rowe, they will be hopeful of no repeat disasters come the next instalment.

Division Two contained a very odd set up with 3 sides from the Abingdon Club but despite obvious complications with selection etc they managed quite admirably to fill three of the top four positions! They were denied a podium clean sweep by runners up Thame 1 whilst at the opposite end of affairs, Carterton 1 and Hithercroft 2 now face life in the next tier down.

In Division Three, Defence Academy 2 reappeared for the first time in a while and last day heroics at Wallingford ensured they snatched the title from the racquets of Harwell 2. Banbury West End overcame all manner of challenges including flooded courts and a (temporary) new home at Bloxham School to finish a creditable fourth but is was long hard slog for Wallingford in many ways and they will be doubtless grateful for a drop-down next time around.

DA2 will now contest the overall Division Three title against Hithercroft 2.

The most exciting season end finale came at The Oxfordshire Health and Racquets Club where home outfit Nuffield 2 faced off against Abingdon 4 with the two teams locked on 144 points apiece.

The hosts took the honours and will now face Spiceball Platypuses for the Division Four Crown.

Reports on the Play Off Finals will follow.