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Australia Win Sparks Many Thoughts
by Martin Bronstein Oct 28, 2001 © 2001 Martin Bronstein and Squashtalk
[last update was 30-oct-01 ]

Views on the Teams, forecasts for next time..
 [Men's Knockout Draw] [Men's Teams]

MARTIN BRONSTEIN COMMENTS ON THE WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS.

OCTOBER 28 NOON GMT.

Good On You, Mate. Congratulations to the Australian team on a world beating performance. We all knew from the beginning that they would win and that no other team could come close. Well, that was no quite true. You may remember in my Global Gallery preview that I said that the seeding of Wales at two was ridiculous and Scotland should have had that seeding. With John White and Martin Heath at one and two, they had every right to think they had a chance at the title. After all, White can - and has - produce the sort of brilliance that will better any player, including David Palmer. Martin Heath could also produce the goods to beat Paul Price. The only problem was that Scotland did not have a decent number three.

EGG ON MY FACE? SCRAMBLED, POACHED OR BOILED?
John White promptly lost his first two pool matches, and I sat at my computer wondering whether to resign on the spot and take up Rounders, ( a game that the Brits invented, later stolen by the Yanks and turned into Baseball). How could I prove so wrong? I asked myself a dozen times as Squashtalk readers around the world smirked. But then White settled down, Martin Heath kept on winning and Scotland came second to Malaysia in Pool D, based on countback of games.

A BETTER ROAD.
As it came to pass, this could have worked to Scotland's advantage. Malaysia had to play Germany in the round of 16 and then England in the quarter-finals, where they were beaten 2-1 - because they too had no strength at three. Scotland, on the high road, drew Finland, beat them 3-0 and then beat llth seed South Africa 2-1 in the quarters, to face Egypt in the semi-finals. And this was a match that Scotland, could have, SHOULD have won. John White was now on full song and beat Karim Darwish, who was playing at one for Egypt, in four. Martin Heath then faced Omar El Borolossy, whom he outranks by nine places. Heath should have won this match and as he had been unbeaten all tournament, it looked as though Scotland were in the finals -

AND THUS PROVING ME RIGHT!!
[By the way, I was right about Wales: they got beaten by South Africa in the pools and their second place meant they had to face England in the round of 16. They lost and so instead of finishing second, as their seeding indicated, they were out of the top eight.]

Martin Heath lost and according to reports, was beaten quite handily by Borolossy using his extraordinary reach to control the Scot. With a choice of Amr Shabana and the on-form Mohammed Abbas at number three, Egypt were always going to win at three, which they did to earn their place in the final.

SCOTTISH SQUASH -HAVE THEY LEARNED ANYTHING?
Scotland then lost to England in the playoff for third place. Heath has been at odds with the Scottish squash authorities for a decade or so. It started when Pat Nicol, Peter's dad, was manager of the Scottish team and persuaded - with the help of Peter -Heath to play in the European team champs.

Heath said he was exhausted and did not want to play, but was finally coaxed into playing. He lost a crucial match, Pat Nicol went public saying the Heath had not even tried, Heath threatened litigation and relationships between the Heaths and Nicols have been strained ever since. But both Nicol and Heath have had a standoff with Scottish Squash regarding fees and other things and neither of them have played for Scotland for years. When John White came from Australia, claimed Scottish roots from his mother's grandfather's cousin twice removed, and got a $30,000 grant, Nicol and Heath, who had been refused Lottery grants, were furious. This led to Nicol changing his allegiance to England this and he will be eligible to play for England next year.

Surely Scottish Squash, who have now opened their purse strings to Martin Heath, must be kicking themselves at their lack of foresight and intelligence. With Nicol at number one, White at number two and Heath at number three, Scotland would be world champions today.

HEROES FROM THE PAST
It is not surprising that those two Australian greats from the past, Chris Dittmar and Rodney Eyles, were in Melbourne to cheer their team on. Rodney acted as coach and as advisor and Dittmar, now a big name in Australian television sports commentating, was there to add his encouragement. They are both fiercely patriotic and cared more about playing for Australia than playing for their own ranking points.

ENGLAND A GOOD THIRD
England are betwixt and between; the old guard on the way out and the very sparse new guard just coming in. They almost blew it in the quarter -finals against Malaysia. Ong Beng Hee was always going to beat Mark Chaloner because he is the more complete squash player. Chaloner can be exploited at the front of the court and all the players know that. Ong won in three and Chris Walker tied the match by beating Kenneth Low in four, the 34 year old Walker winning the fourth game 9-0. Then David Pearson made an error that could have been costly: they played Paul Johnson at three instead of Lee Beachill. Now Johnson's form of late has been very suspect, struggling to beat much lesser players in five, while Beachill - who is the current British Champion, we must remember - has been knocking the stuffing out of everybody. Johnson had been rested for two matches and was unwisely brought back for the quarters. In the event he beat Azlan Iskandar in the fifth, coming back from 0/2 down. That, you have to say, was a very close shave indeed. Beachill would have won in three, of that I am sure.

CANADA DISAPPOINTS
I've put my Maple Leaf flag away for another two years, disappointed yet again. Power's injuries seem never ending. His loss to Darwish in three straight was a downright shame - hamstring injury being the cause. But Shahier Razik, who grew up with Barada, Shabana et all in Cairo before moving to Toronto at the age of 12, should have been able to handle Mohammed Abbas after Graham Ryding had beaten Amr Shabana to tie the match. Razik lost in four, which will give him many sleepless night. He will improve, but what of Canada two years from now? Will Power still be around? Will Kelly Patrick ever make it into the world top 30? Is there anybody waiting in the wings?

MORE BRAVE PREDICTIONS
In 2003 Australia will still be seeded at one: After all, they have Stewart Boswell, Anthony Ricketts and Joe Kneipp to fall back on should Palmer or Price falter. England will be seeded at two with Nicol at first string, Beachill at second with Simon Parke, Chaloner, and Chris Walker as back ups.

Sadly England's next generation - Nick Matthew, Adrian Grant and John Russell have failed to make the progress that was hoped. (Simon Parke is back on court training after surgery in September. He will be back at the top, mark my words.)

Egypt will be looking very good with Darwish, Shabana, El Borolossy, Abbas and Hindi to choose from. Probably seeded three with every chance of beating the top two seeds. France will be even stronger with Thierry Lincou as a top five player and Gregory Gaultier, not long out of the juniors, continuing to improve.

Pakistan failed to make the top 16, despite all the talent. But latest news says Rahmat Khan, Jahangir's mentor, has been appointed the new coach of Pakistan's elite program, so we could see a rapid advancement up the finishing order in two years.

The US team will still be green but at least Tim Wyant and Preston Quick will have improved and Julian Illingworth will be ready for the senior team. Will Damian Walker and Richard Chin, both well into their 30's, still be able to earn a place in the team? I think this is where the US coach should put them out to pasture and opt for the young blood to give them as much experience as possible.

Team Final Standings

1. Australia
2. Egypt
3. England
4. Scotland
5. France
6. South Africa
7. Malaysia
8. Canada
9. Wales
10. Ireland
11. Pakistan
12. Finland
13. Sweden
14. Netherlands
15. Germany
16. Denmark
17. New Zealand
18. Hong Kong
19. USA
20. Austria
21. Mexico
22. Norway
23. Japan
24. Kenya

Team Seedings

1. Australia
2. Wales
3. England
4. Canada
5. Scotland
6. Egypt
7. France
8. Malaysia
9. Finland
10. Pakistan
11. South Africa
12. Ireland