Match Report: Chantry vs Melbourn 2
15th July 2025 – Chantry Squash Club, Bishop’s Stortford

Melbourn 2 made the trip to Bishop’s Stortford to face Chantry in their latest Herts Summer League fixture. Despite the evening itself not being especially warm, a build-up of heat from the previous few days left the court uncomfortably hot, resulting in an especially lively ball that made touch play and kills difficult — even if the gallery offered some misleading relief.

3rd String: Adam Bassingthwaite (Chantry) vs James Storer (Melbourn)
This was the match of the night for drama and effort. James Storer started strongly, taking a 2–0 lead with steady, composed squash. However, from the third game, Chantry’s Adam Bassingthwaite began to turn the tide, adjusting well to the bouncy court and making life increasingly difficult for James. As fatigue set in, James began to make poor shot choices — playing high drops and loose cross courts that Adam punished with consistency. While Adam was perhaps generous in continuing to serve to James’ stronger forehand side after hand-outs, his comeback was impressive and deserved. After an exhausting five-game battle, Adam clinched his first win of the season, leaving James completely spent. “That’s the highest my heart rate’s ever been in a squash match,” James remarked afterward. “Once I lost the third, I had nothing left in the tank.”
Game scores were (James first): 15-13, 15-9, 13-15, 15-17, 14-16

2nd String: James Argent (Chantry) vs Sean Hamilton (Melbourn)
Sean Hamilton showed great resilience after narrowly losing the opening game on a tie-break. Settling into the conditions, he took control of the match with accurate shots and smart decision-making. There were a fair number of lets and strokes, with some decisions contested by the home player, but both players might have pushed for more decisions overall. Despite this, Sean kept his focus and closed out a 3–1 win in convincing fashion (14-16, 15-9, 15-10, 15-10), giving Melbourn their only individual victory of the night.

1st String: Rory McGurk (Chantry) vs Matt Walker (Melbourn)
Matt Walker found himself edged out in a tight first game and struggled to recover momentum. A poor second game was followed by a much-improved third, but ultimately, unforced errors and some deep court positioning left him vulnerable to Rory’s short game — surprisingly effective even on such a warm court. Matt was visibly frustrated with his shot choices throughout, and while he kept the scoreline respectable, Rory claimed a 3–0 win (14-16, 8-15, 14-16) to seal the overall result.

Final Result:
Chantry won 10-5

Post-Match:
The Chantry squad were excellent hosts as always, laying on plenty of pizza and drinks in the bar (despite delivery issues that required a last-minute rescue mission by their own James). Spirits remained high, and both teams enjoyed a relaxed social to close out a tough but good-natured evening.