PALMER'S KNEE KILLS SEMI-FINAL

David Palmer, the world number one, was actually a spectator tonight but his knee had a devastating affect on the outcome of the semi-final between Lee Beachill of England and Stewart Boswell of Australia.

What had been an engrossing squash match between two young turks suddenly fell apart when Beachill's right knee seized up, the result of being accidentally knee'd in the calf during his match with David Palmer in the quarters. Because of the dead leg, Beachill had been overcompensating and the knee had suffered. Half way through fourth game, Beachill started giving points away and it was obvious his day was finished.

FINE SQUASH AND NO ARGUMENTS
This was a great disappointment because these two young players were giving the sold- out audience a marvellous display of squash skills and sportsmanship. And for the first two games there were probably no more than five unforced errors. Mind you Beachill started off playing like a drain, bad length and no width. Boswell, one of the best pupils to come out of the Australian Institute of Squash for some time, needed no second bidding to put the loose stuff away while managing to play impeccable length to put even more pressure on the lanky Yorkshireman.

Boswell won the first game 15-10, but as Beachill had lost his first game against Mark Chaloner in the first round and David Palmer in the quarters and still came out victorious, it wasn't surprising that he came out for the second game and with four points he was back in his groove, relaxed, taking charge and finding perfect length. He was taking his time on the shots, beautiful tight lobs and volley drops and in 15 minutes had tied the match, winning 15-9.

IT'S ALL IN THE HEAD, YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE EYES
Beachill now had the same look in his eyes that he had against Palmer: it said I'm going to win because I can't possibly lose. He went to a 6-2 lead in the third and looked to run away with it but Boswell will never give up and got back to 4-6 before Beachill out manoeuvred him and hit to hit two unplayable backhand drops. He was really cooking and led 9-6 when he lost the control.

SELF INFLICTED WOUND OF THE INTIMATE KIND
Boswell got a couple of strokes, hit some winners and Beachill hit three unforced errors. Suddenly its 13-10 for Boswell, and then he was at game ball 14-12. He tried to finish it with a backhand drop but hit tin: 14-13. Beachill hit the ball down the middle of the court and Boswell had no choice but a through-the-legs shot. He missed the ball entirely and his follow through with the racket made contact with other spherical objects of the human kind. He winced and went down, his hands heading towards his crotch to rub them, but realised 750 Gentlefolk were watching him and you don't do that kind of thing in public. As there were no offers to kiss them better, he could only grin sheepishly until the pain (and the laughter) had subsided. Worse still he had lost the point and it was 14-all. Boswell chose set three and Beachill took the first point with a stroke, gave away the next with an error on a forehand drop to make it 15-all and then Boswell hit a clean winner to get to game ball, 16-15. The next point should have been Beachill's, a wonderful backhand cross court cut which Boswell dived to hit - luckily - just above the tin, A surprised Beachill recovered enough to flick it across court but by this time Boswell was up and he hit another drop to take the point and the game - incredible stuff.

WHAT'S A JOINT LIKE THIS DOING IN A GAME LIKE SQUASH?
These two fine young players continued to match each other all over the court until 7-7 and then it all fell apart. Suddenly Beachill didn't attempt to go for a Boswell drop and then the errors came thick and fast; obviously something was wrong and soon Boswell had the game 15-7 and the match 3/1. A disappointed Beachill said that he was happy with the way he played, but his knee tightened up. "I'd had physio on the calf and they told me that the knee had been affected probably by overcompensation. It was alright until the fourth, although there was a niggling ache," he said.

YMG Capital Classic - Semi Final
Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Lee Beachill (Eng)15-10,9-15, 17-15, 15-7. 73 minutes.