SquashTalk>Columns>Team Kneipp > Commonwealth Games '06 Preview

Palmer and White find themselves in the same quarter in Melbourne (photo © 2006 Debra Tessier.

As we mentioned in the brief history of the Commonwealth Games, 71 different nations are taking part in this sporting event, all connected via Britain’s conquering and exploration era.

We don’t have 71 nations being represented in squash, but a lot that you certainly don’t normally see. The twenty-five nations vying for three medals
are:

Australia (4), Bermuda (2), British virgin islands (1), Canada (4), Cayman Islands (1), Dominica (2), England (4), Fiji (2), Guernsey (1), Guyana (2), Jamaica (1), Kenya (4), Malawi (2), Malaysia (2), Malta (1), Mauritius (1), Northern Ireland (1), Pakistan (2), Scotland (2), South Africa (4), Sri Lanka (2), St Vincent & The Grenadines (2), Trinidad and Tobago (2), Wales (3), Zambia (1).

Can you tell me the last time you saw a squash player from Malawi in the draw? Or half of those countries?

The biggest team by far is Bye (11), with most seeded players getting an easy start. Unlike all professional tournament (or at least those tournaments worth more than US$1000) this tournament begins with two matches on the first day, making a bye considerably more valuable. But like some of the pool matches at the World Team Championships, a lot of the victories in the first couple of rounds will be fast and very one sided.

Here’s how each quarter pans out:

1st Quarter
(1) David Palmer (Aus) - bye
David Evans (Wal) v Hardeep Reel (Ken)

(14) Shahier Razik (Can) v Yasir Issadeen (Sri)
Chris Simpson (Gue) v Navin Samarasinghe (Sri)

(6) John White (Sco) - bye
Nicholas Kyme (Ber) v Chikumbutso Mkutumula (Maw)

(16) Joseph Kneipp (Aus) v Joseph Chapman (Bvi)
Joseph Desira (Mlt) v Shawn Badrinath (Guy)

David Evans hasn’t played PSA for a few years now, but he can still hit a mean ball. Although he won’t beat Palmer, he may cause him some trouble if Palmer hasn't recuperated from the illness that sidelined him in New York.

Razik will get a good work out, playing Simpson who is ranked 1 in Britain for U19. White will have to work, but won’t be troubled by Kyme, and the battle of the Josephs (nice of them to put us all together) should go to Kneipp.

Who can win gold out of this quarter? White should be considered here, but if I was a bookie I’d only put Palmer down as the option. The 9 scoring system used in WSF events gives an advantage to the attritional players who only concede hand outs. This is not Whitey (although it’s not Palmer either, but his game is more adaptable and consistent)

2nd Quarter
(3) Anthony Ricketts (Aus) – bye
Maxim Weithers (Guy) v Colin Ramasra (Tri)

(10) Stewart Boswell (Aus) – bye
Steve Richardson (Nir) v Joshua Pinard (Tri)

(5) Lee Beachill (Eng) – bye
Craig van der Wath (Rsa) v Nadeem Hosenbux (Mri)

(13) Alex Gough (Wal) v Colin Alexander (Svg)
James Stout (Ber) v Joseph Karigithe (Ken)

Willstrop and Matthew are drawn in the same quarter (photo © 2006 Debra Tessier.

The England camp was reported to be very happy with the draw they received, whooping and shouting when it was announced. I don’t get this. I think it’s a particularly bad draw for both England and Australia, with both teams’
four players bunched up in the same half, with the exception of Beachill. I can only interpret England’s reaction to be a response to a pessimistic worry of two Australia’s making the final (which doesn’t make sense to me on the strength of the English team, so I’ve probably misinterpreted it) because the chances of an all-England final are lower with only one player holding the fort at the top half. If Beachill does make the final he will have done a mammoth job to get there, having to get past a tough South African, a rejuvenated Welshman, Ricketts and then Palmer (in theory of course).

Ricketts and Boswell are seeded to meet each other (again!) in the second round. A bad draw for two mates, but it’ll be a tough, enjoyable match.

Who can win gold out of this quarter? It's a tough quarter to come out of.
Boswell hasn’t shown the consistency lately, so I’d only put Ricketts and Beachill down, but they’d deserve two medals if they can do it.

3rd Quarter
Clinton Leeuw (Rsa) v Jeffery Broderick (Cay)
(12) Graham Ryding (Can) v Karl Nassief (Dmn)

Christopher Binnie (Jam) v Leonard Bedneau (Dmn)
(8) Mohd Azlan Iskandar (Mas) - bye

Matthew Giuffre (Can) v Andrew McGoon (Fij)
(11) Shahid Zaman (Pak) - bye

Rodney Durbach (Rsa) v Chirag Shah (Ken)
(4) Peter Nicol (Eng) - bye

Ryding has a tough second round in upcoming, but relatively unknown South African player Clinton Leeuw, a player who took a game off Nick Matthew at the World Teams last year (never an easy task). The winner will take on an in-form Iskander. Nicol will have some work to do, but he should comfortably meet Ryding or Iskandar in the quarters.

Who can win gold out of this quarter? Nicol. If he does it wouldn’t surprise me if he hung his PSA boots up immediately, finishing on a major high.

4th Quarter
Shawn Delierre (Can) v Sonalmeet Nagra (Fij)
(9) Ong Beng Hee (Mas) - bye

Lazarus Chilufya (Rsa) v Aubrey Taulo (Maw)
(7) Nick Matthew (ENG) - bye

Hartaj Bains (Ken) v O'Neil Chilambwe (Zam)
(15) Mansoor Zaman (Pak) v Gavin Jones (Wal)

Harry Leitch (Sco) v James Bentick (Svg)
(2) James Willstrop (Eng) – bye

Ong Beng Hee will have his work cut out preventing this quarter being a Willstrop versus Matthew showdown. Both these players are capable of winning gold in Melbourne.

Squashtalk.com All materials © 1999-2005. Communicate with us at info@squashtalk.com.
Published by Squashtalk LLC, 6 Franklin Place, PO Box 2918, Acton MA 01720 USA, Editor and Publisher Ron Beck,
Graphics editor Debra Tessier Send comments, ideas, contributions and feedback to the webmaster.
Global Gallery Articles Copyright © 1999-2005 by Martin Bronstein and SquashTalk, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form except for one-time personal use.