After coming through a tight 3–2 quarter-final and a strong 4–0 semi-final win over Harrow, Malvern’s first pair found themselves in the final of the Noel Bruce Cup for the second year in a row. It was a testament to the complementary partnership of Ben Bomford (7.92–97), with his consistent retrieving, and the greater firepower of Will Annetts (9.12–17).
Their opponents this year were Eton’s Rory Giddins and Julius Manton-Jones. With all four players ranked in the world top 20, it was always destined to be a close contest.
An edgy first game was decided by the finest of margins. A let call that went against the Etonians was enough to rattle them, allowing Malvern to take the opening game 17–16. Malvern capitalised on that momentum to take the second game relatively comfortably.
As the match wore on and stamina began to play its part, Eton’s consistently stronger serving allowed them to pick up cheaper points through more aces and shorter rallies. Malvern fought hard, but Eton took the next three games to lead 3–2.
With Malvern at the last-chance saloon, they came out for the sixth game with renewed intensity. A superb service run from Will, well supported by Ben and featuring some incredible rallies, saw them surge into a 10–2 lead. However, with the match now over two hours old, it began to take its toll. Will needed an injury timeout for cramp and, with his movement severely hampered on his return, Eton began to claw back the deficit.
Malvern battled on bravely, briefly halting the Etonian resurgence to lead 14–12, but were unable to close out the game. Eton eventually served out the match to win 4–2.
Final score (Eton first): 16–17, 7–15, 15–9, 15–8, 15–12, 17–14
Huge congratulations to Ben and Will on a fantastic run to the final, and well played to all the Malvern pairs who took part!
Written by Tom Bomford (7.94-99)