Norfolk pair too strong in Cambs

Norfolk's top two, Ian Murphy and Katherine Cooper, brushed aside all the opposition in winning the mixed doubles title at the Cambridgeshire Open, beating the top seeds and nationally ranked 12 and 14 pair, Jack Molyneux and Gemma Whiting 21-14,21-12 in the final. The Norfolk team showed their class throughout the tournament with Cooper playing particularly well in the second set of the final. However, she and Julie Pike just missed out on the top spot in the ladies doubles final.

* The county Under 17s side played superbly to beat Suffolk 19-1 to reach the Shires League "play-offs" and meet the "top dogs" of the competition Essex, Bucks and Herts in the final round of matches. It will be a tough call, but team spirit and enthusiasm is very high and a surprise could be on the way. Representing Norfolk at the weekend were Andy Carrier, Luke Cox, Mark Robinson, Ashley Robb, Serena Verney, Louise Thacker, Sophie Piper and Holly Bowen.

*Not to be outdone, the Over 45s team continued their winning run in the Veterans League with a storming 11-1 victory over Lincolnshire. David Guy and Steve Thacker, Eddie Simmons and Mark Bennett and Andrea Berger and Jane Sheldrake won all their games, with one of Andrea and Jane's sets going to 26-24. Suzanne Benton and Jenny Longmore narrowly lost their first game in a tight three setter, but fought back to win the second. Then Norfolk completed the rout by winning all four mixed doubles. But luck was not with the Over 40s., who lost their match against Cambridgeshire 9-3, with narrow defeats in all four of their mixed doubles. The three Norfolk victories went to the ladies , with Liz Cubitt and Sarah Williams winning both their games, with one set going to a marathon 28-26. Melanie Love and Jo Wilson came out on top in a tough three setter, but lost to the strong Cambs' first pair. But the men, Geoff Roff and Krishna Kumar and Julian Sharman and Andre Minnis found the going too tough and lost all four of their games. If only those close mixed matches had gone the other way!