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| Saudi
EXTRAS #3 Pastimes
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 It's
a long tournament, this one, so the players sometimes have to
find something to do ...
Impromptu games of Cricket and Football were played on the open
space just outside the Sunset Beach Sports Centre, and a
mix of nationalities took part.
When Farhan Mehboob came to bowl there were insinuations about
ball tampering, and when he went to square leg some unkind
person suggested he was having a bet!
Several of the players looked useful though, as might be
expected, although Aaron Frankcomb did not look the answer to
Australia's current predicament.
Having take a position at silly mid off to get a shot of the
bowler, your photographer was promptly hit on the head by an
accurate batsman who shall remain nameless.
 The
soccer was just as interesting, with Kiwis Campbell Grayson and
Martin Knight keeping the rest of the world defence tight -
their requests to convert to rugby were politely declined.
Paul Johnson, all energy in an England team that apparently
didn't know how to defend or attack - there were quite tide in
midfield though - objected to Nasser Zahran coming on as a late
substitute, although watching Nasser play, heaven knows why.
On this evidence Hisham Ashour might be the answer to
Newcastle's managerial problems, such was the quality of his
marshalling of the Rest of the World to an emphatic victory. We
understand negations with the Magpies are going well, salary
being the only possible stumbling block ...
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Cricket Photo Gallery
Football Photo Gallery |
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The England v Rest of the world paintball match ended in
a draw. After intense firing and a failed attempt by me, Martin
got the England team's flag, got shot and had to drop the flag
but Kristian Frost took it home to give Rest of the world a
lead.
It was after a clever plan from the England side that Kempy took
our flag to level the score. There was some short range fires
shot which aren't allowed but everything is fair in love and war
- right?!
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| Saudi
EXTRAS #2 Malcolm's
ASIDES |
Ramy's Around
 Ramy
Ashour's withdrawal was by no means unexpected after his
injury in the first round,
but his absence from the
later stages is a major loss for the game.
His following in the Middle East and his charisma make him the sport's
biggest attraction. |
 Pearson
Presence
It was good to see David Pearson representing England in
Al-Khobar, having recently relinquished his full-time role as
National Coach. |
Understated Stewart
 I
personally enjoy what some may see as Stewart Boswell's
serious approach.
He conducts himself immaculately, is dead honest and is as tough
as they come.
He exudes inner strength without all the outward signs some seem
to like. |
 Dear
Ziad ...
The game of squash can hardly express sufficient gratitude for
its greatest benefactor, Ziad Al-Turki. He loves the game
and backs it in a material way.
His support of the World Open and the following World Series
Finals is unparalleled ... he is the darling of the game. |
Smooth Talker
 No
doubt that Hisham Ashour is one of, if not the, most
engaging characters in squash.
Rarely without a smile, entertaining as they come with newfound
fitness and well liked by everyone as far as I can see. |
Wish you were here
One of the pleasures of being in Al-Khobar is the beautiful
weather - lovely warm sunshine and a soothing breeze - as far
cry from the England left behind ...
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Smooth Mover
Thierry Lincou looks and moves as well as ever, and his
two performances against Omar Mosaad and Alister Walker do him
much credit.
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Marvelous Mathieu
Mathieu Castagnet caused
the upset of the first round in beating Cameron Pilley.
He then played very well in a 3-1 loss to Mohamed El Shorbagy. |
Ref on the March
 An
impressive sight was John Massarella powerwalking this
morning.
Someone suggested he might be in training for the 20k walk at
the London Olymoics, so well was he moving. |
Borja's Back
 Borja
Golan, recovered from
long term injury, looks well on his way back towards the top
ten.
He found a sharp James Willstrop too much, but more matches at
that level will help. |
| Saudi
EXTRAS #1
Steve Cubbins @ Sunset Beach |
01-Dec: In the Tent Tonight
 Tonight's
Opening Dinner should be quite something - it's to be held in a
rather large marquee on the beach in front of the Sunset Beach
restaurants and function rooms.
There will be a few attractions apparently, including Camel
rides for those brave enough. |
Hadi's Helicopter
With
64 players in the draw, accommodation at Sunset Beach is
limited so the Golden Tulip Hotel is also being used this
year.
"The hotel's only 7 minutes away from Sunset Beach," we were
assured," and no traffic signals to go through either."
Excellent. Yes, we know that people often tend to underestimate
timings like this, but even so, 10 minutes or so would be more
than acceptable.
Except that Robert Edwards and I timed our first morning trip
from Hotel to Venue, and it was 22 minutes, and traffic
on the return trip made it a fair bit longer than that. Not such
good news then.
Hadi Midri, who has been the master court builder here in
Saudi since the year dot, didn't believe us. "No, 10, 11 minutes
maximum," he claimed.
We challenged him to time himself on his next run, which he did,
but his "10 or 11 minutes" wasn't convincing. "You'd need a
helicopter to do it in that time," we joked, having had our
timing confirmed on two more trips.
Still Hadi wouldn't have it, so on Tuesday morning he offered to
take me there and back to prove it one way or the other.
Now Hadi drives fast, and he changes lanes like an Egyptian
(he's Lebanese), so he would shave a minute or two off our time
due to that, but nevertheless, I was able to get back to
Robert's office and declare the result.
"24 minutes."
"So we were right," beamed the Voice of Squash.
"Not exactly," I replied. "24 minutes there and back."
Turns out that our driver was turning the wrong way out of the
hotel, the wrong way out of Sunset Beach, taking us inland
around two sides of a triangle through the centre of town, while
the best route is a straight road down the coast with virtually
no traffic or holdups.
You live and learn ... |
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No Sunsets yet ... but some nice night views ... |
Black and White BALLS
 Whenever
there's a major tournament, PSA and Dunlop provide the official
balls, and here in Saudi is no exception.
In the tournament office was a substantial box which, on
inspection contained 16 boxes of balls - at a dozen per box
that's 192 balls, more than enough for even a 64-draw event
which will see 63 matches played and a lot of practice sessions.
Of course, some of the early rounds are on the traditional
glassbacks (29 to be exact), so a mixture of Black and White
balls are needed.
 So
we counted out the boxes ... 1 black, 1 white, 2 white, 3 white,
4 white, 5 white, 6 white ... where's the blacks ... 7 white, 8
white, 9 white ... ... we got to 14 white and finally ... 2
black.
 Ah.
24 black balls for 29 matches, 168 white balls for 34 matches.
That's a bit of a problem ...
Fortunately riding to the rescue came our friends Samer Al-Khateeb
of the Saudi Squash Federation, who had a supply of black balls
he could bring down with him from Riyadh.
He duly arrived the next morning, with more black balls than you
can shake a stick at ... problem solved, thanks Samer ! |
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It's a hard life on the PSA Tour |
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