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POWER IS NOT BAD - HE'S JUST NOT BRITISH

by Martin Bronstein,

The reason why Jonathon Power gets such a hard time from British referees – and he certainly does - is tradition. Squash has such a snotty bloodline that it is hard to believe that it ever made out it of the blue-blood schools and private clubs into the realms of the working class. With that bloodline comes a tacit code of conduct. Remember, the ‘talented amateur’ (now called The Chariots of Fire syndrome) was an English invention. The code meant you never tried too hard to win, and if you did, you never showed that you were trying too hard. You called your double bounces and never, never, NEVER asked your opponent for a let: he had to ask you in the politest terms, or even insist, that you take a let or a stroke and you in turn mumbled something like “Thanks old man, terribly nice of you.”

And then along came commercialism, pay-as-you play clubs and oh no! professionals. People who actually played for money. When I first returned to England in the mid-80’s the English SRA were still drinking stiff gin-and-tonics every time you uttered the word professional. There were members of the board who thought it was disgraceful that decent chaps should want money for playing; aren’t cups and vases good enough anymore?

And then along came Jonathon Power, in my view he is the most inventive man with a squash racket that this sport has even seen. I saw Qamar Zaman who was regarded as THE shotmaker of his era. I saw Rodney and Brett Martin, both capable of hitting incredible winners. But Power has more shots on both sides of the racket than all of them. His use of pace, trajectory and spin is quite unique. He has invented shots not seen before; his mid-court backhand deeply cut cross-court is a winner that bamboozles the best of his opponents. His ability to read the game borders on the clairvoyant – he appears to be on his way before the ball has left his opponent’s racket. What is rarely attributed to Power is his speed. At the British Open earlier this month he played James Willstrop, England’s finest hope in a decade. After losing 3/0, Willstrop said he had never played anybody as fast to the front of the court as Power

On top of all this he is very funny with the timing of a top stand-up comedian. He uses all of the preceding when he plays squash: if Power is the fastest man in the game from a standing start, his tongue is even faster. When he gets into a discussion with a referee he has his response ready even before he has heard what the referee is going to say. He lets his emotions show – most un-British – specially when a referee denies a let saying that he would not have got to the ball. The referee has not appreciated how fast he is and Power gets upset. His favourite response is to clutch his head in his hands and say “Oh my God!”.

Now Brit referees don’t like this sort of carrying on by players and so the word has got around that Jonathon Power, that Canadian chappie, is a bit of handful. Naturally this brings out the “I’ll show him who’s boss here” reaction and so they want the world to know that they will not be bullied by the upstart from the former colonies and they jump on him pretty quickly.

Let me give you an example: he was playing Mark Chaloner in the Super Series in London. Chaloner knows that Power likes to get on with the game: when it his turn to serve he goes to the box immediately and if his opponent is in position and ready, he serves. No messing about, no wiping hands on the wall, no bouncy, bouncy with the ball. He gets on with it. Same thing when he receives – straight to the box and racket up, ready.

Chaloner would walk slowly to the box and bounce the ball , at least a dozen times, s-l-o-w-l-y. It was obvious to everyone what he was up to. Except the referee who should have warned him for time-wasting. By the third game, as Chaloner’s bouncing became ever more extended, the comedian in Power could stand it no more and he leaned on the wall and pretended to snore. Within nanoseconds, the referee had penalised Power a conduct stroke. It was the most blatant act of prejudice I had ever witnessed.

In the Prince English Open final in August the referee could, for all intents and purposes, have been his opponent’s father, so outrageous were his decisions against Power. In distinct contrast Peter Nicol, a model of good behaviour on court, (that is, he almost never shows emotion or argues with the referee) gets the reverse treatment. Playing Martin Heath in the British Open earlier this month, the referee awarded Nicol a let, much to his Heath’s utter disbelief. Nicol simply gave the ball to Heath and said “I never asked for a let.” Now then, how good is Nicol’s PR image when the referees give him lets he doesn’t even ask for?

Jahangir Khan never argued with the refs because of his limited English. The refs liked him so much, the other players complained that they always ruled in his favour.

I hope Power doesn’t lose heart. Let me remind him of another Canadian, a guy called Pierre Elliot Trudeau. When he became prime minister 40 years ago, he was everybody’s darling. He was witty, intelligent and cultural in two languages. And he got the girls - Barbra Streisand, for godsakes! What’s more Trudeau showed that he wasn’t afraid of the press and never pandered to them. Naturally, male journalists to a man were jealous. After a year in power they said the ‘honeymoon was over”. How wrong they were; how very, very wrong. The love affair between Trudeau and the Canadian people lasted until he died - and beyond.

So Jonathon Power, keep on doing what you do with such flair. The referees? They’re just jealous. And British.

(The writer is both British and Canadian)

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