Women's World Teams
The Women's World Teams is in Egypt this year and it's my first time representing England at the World Teams. I was really looking forward to playing our first match. We got here with a day spare, had a practise and got an early night before our first pool match against Hong Kong.We were playing Hong Kong at 2.30pm. They were abit weaker than they might have been because there number 1 was playing a competition in Macau. Our order for the week is Jenny Duncalf at 1, Alison Waters at 2, Myself at 3 and Tania Bailey at 4. We played full strength against Hong Kong so Tania was rested. Jenny went on court first and had a tight match with Annie Au but managed to come through and win 3-2. Next up was Alison. She won 3-0 against Joey Chan 3-0 and I went on last and also won 3-0. A good start for Team England!!!
On Monday we had 2 matches. The first match was at 11am against Spain. This felt quite early becaue we are 2 hours ahead of England. The team against Spain was Alison, me and Tania. Tania got us off to a 3-0 win. I followed and also got a 3-0 win. Then Alison finished with another 3-0 win. Back to the hotel and to the mall for some lunch before our match at 6pm against Austria.
At 6pm the team against Austria was Jenny, me and Tania. Again we all won easy 3-0. Our final pool match is against Frnace on Tuesday.
On Tuesday we played France at 11am. Our team was Jenny, Alison and Tania. I was rested and so watched. France were also weaker than they might have been with Isabelle Stoehr missing through injury. Alison got us off to a 3-0 win followed by Tania and Jenny also winning 3-0. This means we top our pool and play either Ireland or Holland in the Quarter Finals.
Wednesday was a rest day. All the girls plus Stafford (Manager) went to visit the pyramids. It was a great experience to see them and I'm glad I made the effort while being in Cairo. It was a long day and we returned to the hotel about 3pm and went for a practise at 4pm before playing Ireland tomorrow who we were drawn against in the quarters.
We got back down for about 1.30pm for our match against Ireland. I was the first match on against Ireland's number 4 string Tanya Owens. I played quite well and got off with a 3-0 win. Jenny was on next against Madeline Perry. This would be a tough match for her as she is ranked top 10 in the world. Jen played well after losing the first game and won 3-1 to secure us a place in the semi finals against New Zealand. Alison played the dead rubber at 3 against Aisling Blake and won 2-0.
The day of the semi final my dad arrived to support team Egland. The semi was against the kiwi's is on the glass court at 5.30pm when the sun goes in. We had a good practise in the morning and chilled at the hotel before going down the the courts at about 4.45pm. Alison was number 2 and on first against Jacklyn Hawkes. She made a good start going 2-0 up and then lost a tight 3rd before winning 3-1 to put us 1-0 up. Next up was the number 1's Jenny V Shelley Kitchen. She played well and got off with a 3-0 win. Very good considering Shelley's ranking. I then played the dead rubber at 3 against Joelle King and won 2-0. Into the final tomorrow against Egypt who beat Malaysia 2-1.
Finals day and we stuck to the same routine of practise, lunch and chillout before going to the courts to prepare for the match at 4.45pm. The match got started just after 5.30pm. My dad was the only English supporter in the crowd surrounded by hundreds of Egyptians. Jenny was on first aginst Omneya at number 1. She made a nervous start and lost the first game 11-1 quite quickly. I got nervous watching it and had to leave and concentrate on my warm up as I was on court next. During my warm up I could hear that Jenny's match wasn't getting any better and before I knew it she had lost 3-0 and I was due on court. It was one of the most nerve racking matches i've ever played in my life. I HAD to win to keep us in the tournament. I made a nervous start but managed to nick the 1st game. Raneem ranked about 20 in the world was playing really well and the crowd were so loud for her and deadly silent when I won a ralley. It was very tough circumtances to play in espeially with the pressure. My legs were feeling it abit with the nervous pressure. I lost the 2nd game 11-5. In the 3rd I went down about 7-4. I went back to basics not wanting to go 2-1 down. I fought all the way back and eventually won it after a battle 15-13. Pleased to be 2-1 up I really wanted to close out the match now. In the 4th I made a poor start and it didn't get much better. Raneem played really well and was going for all her shots. My length wasn't good enough and so they came off. I lost the 4th and had to re-group for the 5th game. I made a great start with 4 quick rallies. The roll continued and I secured the win for England 11-4 in the 5th. I was relieved to win especially with my dad cheering for me in the crowd on his own. Alison was next up. I think we thought we would win it now. After winning the 1st game it went abit down hill in the 2nd where Engy played well and levelled it 1-1. The 3rd was close which Alison won. The 4th was a complete nightmare and she lost it 11-0. I think she froze alittle which under the pressure we were under was completely understandable. The 5th was tight the whole way and eventually she lost it 12-10 in the 5th. We were devastated as a team to lose the title but the Egyptians played very well. We will be back in 2 years to get the title back hopefully. Thanks to my dad for coming to support us and having the cheek to shout for us surrounded by Egyptian fans.