The surprise international pairing of Fernando Carti and John Creek (0) emerged from the lengthy round robin stage to take on the orthodox left-right England-England combination of Jerry Staffurth and Tim Handel (-5) in the Handicap Doubles Summer final.
Mike Wright kindly stepped in as referee and point counter, and after a short acclimatisation period getting used to the scoring system and lenient let conventions, he performed his duties passably well.
Fernando's agility and touch at the front of the court, allied to John's flat-footed, laid-back but vastly experienced style, blended well in the first two games which they took 15/8 15/9. The handicapper was looking a touch red-faced.
Tim and Jerry spared some of his blushes in the third as they took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the Arg-Eng pair. From 11/14 three match balls were saved and the sudden death point went to the all-English boys - just as their opponents were preparing to climb the stairs to the packed gallery presentation.
With the momentum in their pockets, Tim and Jerry quickly overturned the 5 point deficit in the fourth and raced to a 7/3 lead. It looked to be going to the wire, when Fernando and John woke up. A few lucky nicks, some errors from their opponents and a return of the Carti touch saw Creek & Carti over the line to cap a most enjoyable climax to the season's tournaments.
