Sussex and Cheshire win ICC final titles

Sussex and Cheshire took home the trophies after hard-fought finals at the Inter-County Championships in Manchester.

World No.136 Oliver Pett pulled off the shock of the day to beat Surrey’s Charles Sharpes, who recently played in the main draw of the Allam British Open.

While former World No.15 Sarah Campion beat Yorkshire’s Lauren Siddal 11/5, 11/3, 11/8 to help Cheshire clinch the women’s title.

The country’s premier county competition was concluded at the National Squash Centre in Manchester at the weekend, where a young Sussex team faced Surrey in the men’s final.

Sussex were represented by juniors Tom Walsh and Josh Atwell, both 18, and Curtis Malik, 17, as well as Oliver Pett and Miles Jenkins. With Pett beating Sharpes 11/3, 11/5, 3/11, 11/3, Malik brushing aside James Simpson 11/9, 11/3, 11/5 and Atwell defeating Neal Brooker 11/6, 11/6, 12/10, Sussex claimed the title for the second time in three years with a 3-0 victory.

The women’s final between Cheshire and Yorkshire was a closer affair, with Cheshire taking the spoils with a 3-2 victory. Olivia Howell gave Cheshire the advantage with an 11/5, 11/6, 11/9 win against Hannah Shipley at string three before Cheshire’s Hayley Openshaw-Blower won a tense five-setter at string five against Julie Field, 11/8, 9/11, 11/8, 11/13, 11/5 to make it 2-0.

Lauren Grey then beat Kirsty West 11/9, 11/8, 11/8 to make the score 2-1. Next, it was the turn of former England international Sarah Campion and Lauren Siddal. Campion claimed a convincing 3-0 win to level the match again at 3-1. The final match was between Katie Smith and Rachael Chadwick. With the match evenly poised at 1-1, Chadwick took a tight third 14/12 before sealing the victory for Cheshire 11/6 in the fourth, with the final score 11/7, 10/12, 14/12, 11/6.

Inter-County Championships results

Men

Final

Sussex 3-0 Surrey

Oliver Pett beat Charles Sharpes 11/3, 11/5, 3/11, 11/3

Curtis Malik beat James Simpson 11/9, 11/3, 11/5

Josh Atwell beat Neal Brooker 11/6, 11/6, 12/10

3^rd/4^th Play-off

Lancashire 3-1 Gloucestershire

Julian Tomlinson lost to Jonathan Harford 11/4, 6/11, 8/11, 8/11

Matthew Siddaway beat Matthew Bedwell 8/11, 12/10, 6/11, 11/5, 11/8

Peter Billson beat Mark Broekman 11/4, 11/4, 11/4

Charlie Cowie beat Mark Toseland 11/4, 11/4, 11/2

Women

Final

Cheshire 4-1 Yorkshire

Sarah Campion beat Lauren Siddal 11/5, 11/3, 11.8

Rachael Chadwick beat Katie Smith 11/7, 10/12, 14/12, 11/6

Olivia Howell beat Hannah Shipley 11/5, 11/6, 11/9

Kirsty West lost to Lauren Grey 9/11, 8/11, 8/11

Hayley Openshaw-Blower beat Julie Field 11/8, 9/11, 11/8, 11/13, 11/5

3^rd/4^th Play-off

Warwickshire 4-1 Surrey 1

Leonie Holt lost to Alison Thomson 9/11, 11/5, 10/12, 4/11

Alicia Mead beat Shayne Baillie 11/8, 11/6, 6/11, 11/6

Libby Corke beat Clare Wright 11/2, 11/3, 8/11, 11/6

Kim Johnson won by a walkover