Shaw, who came through the opening Test at Torquay on Wednesday with a 100 per cent record, tasted defeat for the first time yesterday morning, when he and Murphy went down, 23-7, to England’s Commonwealth Games gold medallists, John Ottaway and Robert Newman.Meanwhile, Le Long, who teamed up with Guernsey’s Ian Merrien, finished only one shot adrift of Dean Morgan and Mervyn King.England were delighted with their clean sweep of three out of three in the morning pairs session, but the Channel Islanders – and particularly the Jersey trio – did much better after lunch.Shaw, Le Long and Murphy led an England team skipped by Steve Farish, 9-4, in the triples, and were 15-13 ahead when the last end got underway – at which stage, they had never been behind in the whole match.England built up a match lie of three shots on the 18th end, but Murphy managed to secure second shot, before Farish drew in for a double that tied the match at 15-15.But it was the evening singles session that provided the opportunity for the three Jersey players to shine – and they all came up with wins against world-class opposition.Murphy held Simon Skelton, who helped England strike fours gold at Manchester last August, to a 7-7 scoreline after 11 ends, but took control with a 1-2-3-2 sequence to lead, 15-7, after 15 ends, and won, 21-12.Shaw, who trailed another gold medal winner, Robert Newman, 5-0 after three ends, allowed his young English opponent only nine more shots, as he popwered to a 21-14 victory.And Le Long, who faced England’s Commonwealth Games singles reprentative, and former world indoor pairs champion, Mervyn King, raced into a 16-5 lead after 15 ends, and held on grimly to win, 21-16.With Guernsey’s talented youngsters, Daniel de la Mare, Craig Dorey and Ian Merrien, failing to fulfil their potential, the Channel Islands suffered a 15-7 defeat overall, but there was plenty for their supporters to cheer.
