At the recently held Inter - County Trophy Final, Cumbria were up against Lancashire (hosts), Hampshire and Buckinghamshire at Prestwich, Manchester.

The competition was played as two semis, with the winners of both meeting in the final, and the losers playing off for 3^rd and 4^th positions.

Cumbria drew Hampshire in their semi, and first on court were Ashleigh Hunter (Carlisle) at number 5 and Victoria Watson (Penrith)at number 3.

Ashleigh is new to County squash this season, but has acquitted herself well with steady improvement over the season, and she was up against Jordan Russell. In a very tight first game Ashleigh moved around court well to pick up everything Jordan played, and her willingness to retrieve won her the opener 16/14, as her opponent couldn't finish off the rallies. The second was easier for Jordan as Ashleigh tired a little after the first and the Hampshire girl levelled with an 11/7 game. The third saw Ashleigh come back into the match and was unlucky to lose it 12/10 after a great fight back from a few game points down, making it 2-1 to Hampshire. Alas for Cumbria and Ashleigh, a very tight fourth also went in favour of Jordan as she sneaked an 11/9 game for a 3-1 win, but Ashleigh played her part in a great tight match.

Victoria (National ranking 42) was up against Alisha Bhanot (46) so a close contest was anticipated, however Victoria's previous County experience and exposure to National competitions meant that the tie was never really in doubt as Victoria powered her way through a comfortable opener 11/3. Alisha had no answers to Victoria's accurate powerful drives, and well timed drops, and the second soon followed for the loss of only 6 points. The third was more of the same as Victoria pressed home her superiority around the court winning again 11/3, for a great 3-0 victory, levelling the match at 1 tie each.

Team number 4 Megan Singleton (55, Windscale) was against Carmen Alexander (59) in another game that on paper would be close. However Megan who has improved all season long soon had other ideas, never letting Carmen get a foothold in the game, and it was Megan who took the first game 11/3. The second was a carbon copy of the first, with Carmen unable to break Megan's game down, and the second game was Megan's 11/4. In no mood to hang about, Carmen was quickly dispatched in the third also as Megan put Cumbria 2-1 up in the tie with a comfortable 11/5 third game for a 3-0 victory.

Jessica Winder (13) at number 1 was up against the Hampshire left hander Katherine Jensen (15), and on known form Jessica was confident her two previous wins would stand her in good stead. Katherine was first into her stride as she pushed Jessica all round the court with well thought out squash, never letting Jessica dominate, and it was Katherine who claimed the opener 11/8. The second was more of the same from both girls, Katherine dominating play, and Jessica doing all the running and retrieving, and it was no surprise that the game again went to Katherine 11/6 and a 2-0 lead. With it all to do Jessica tried to find her length and touch, but Katherine was more than a match for her, and it was while Jessica was chasing down another well positioned shot that Jessica pulled up with an injury that forced her off, the game awarded to Katherine for a relatively comfortable 3-0 win. This made the tie 2 all with the all important number 2's to finish the match. Cumbria's Luisa Mc Gregor (43) was up against Hampshire's Lydia Hume (21) so a tough match was expected. Lydia was steady in the first, nothing spectacular, just the right shot when required and this gave her the first game 11/9 as Luisa hung in playing under pressure. The second should have been Luisa's as she had three game balls to level the match. Nerves and a few wrong shots from Luisa got Lydia level, and it was the Hampshire girl that sneaked the second 13/11. Two games down with it all to do, Luisa started to push her larger opponent around the court, taking her chances and playing more controlled squash, deservedly taking the third game comfortably 11/6. Now she had her opponent on the ropes she needed to play the same in the fourth and this she duly did, although Luisa couldn't quite get far enough ahead to be safe. Lydia dug in when needed and at 10-9 to Luisa employed a bit of gamesmanship when a serve was close to the service line, pressurising the marker into a tough call. This went in the Hampshire girls favour, levelling the game at 10 all, and Luisa lost her concentration, and consequently the game and match 14/12, 3-1, and Cumbria were out of the Final having lost the tie 3-2.

Buckinghamshire easily beat inexperienced Lancashire 4 ties to 1 in the other semi, so Cumbria would play Lancashire for 3^rd/4^th place.

Ashleigh carried her momentum from the mornings match through into the afternoon with a great first game winning easily 11/2 against her opponent Amie Comer. A tighter second saw Amie improve and Ashleigh needed to work harder to sneak the second on the tie break 12/10. Amie's resistance was broken and more steady squash brought Ashleigh her just reward with the third game 11/5, for a 3-0 win.

Victoria (42) was against Chloe Harrison (47) a girl with quite a bit of experience on the national circuit, but Victoria was again too powerful for her opponent, although she could never get comfortably clear of her in the first winning it 11/9. The second and third were somewhat easier as Victoria was determined to keep her unbeaten status for the day, wrapping up the second and third games 11/6, 11/5 respectively, for a good 3-0 win.

Megan (55) played Ruby Wood a girl new to County squash and made her form count. A close start meant that Megan had to work hard to get away from Ruby later in the game, coming through 11/7 to take the initiative. An easier second followed for Megan as she pushed her opponent all round the court with some well executed lengths and lobs, winning the second 11/4. Ruby pushed Megan all the way in the third as she gave it a go trying to get back in the match, but it wasn't to be as Megan won a very tight third 12-10, for a 3-0 win, and more importantly a victory and well deserved 3^rd place in the play off.

Jessica (13) recovered from her morning's injury, was against newcomer Ellie Cowie (52), and needed to be careful not to injure herself further. This meant she was more thoughtful and accurate with her shots, so as to not give anything to Ellie that meant she herself was going to have to do more than was required to gain points. Ellie won the opener 11/9, as Jessica was somewhat tentative when moving around. The second saw Jessica more comfortable on court levelling at one game all 11/5. A very tight third developed as both girls tried to dominate, and it was Jessica that sneaked ahead with a tie break winner 12/10 for a 2-1 lead. Ellie brought out her final effort in the fourth but it wasn't enough as Jessica put all her experience on display to win the game and match 11/7, 3-1.

All that remained was for Luisa (43) to play Leah Molyneux to finish the tie. All the disappointment from the morning was put aside as Luisa outplayed Leah in the opener, forcing her game onto Leah and making her play unforced errors through chasing the game, Luisa winning the opener 11/5. The second was more of the same as Luisa never let Leah get into the game, and although she scored a couple more points, Luisa was always in command winning it 11/7. The third got no better for Leah as she had no answer to Luisa's good squash, and the match was over shortly after as Luisa won comfortably 11/6 for a good 3-0 win.

This was a good 5-0 win to Cumbria, against an inexperienced Lancashire team who gave it their all. Thanks to Pam Graham for helping out with coaching/mentoring duties on the day, as well as Linda Winder for all her efforts throughout the season with these girls.

For the record Buckinghamshire beat Hampshire 4-1 to win the Trophy.