The Credit Suisse Jersey team won the men’s doubles 8-1, lost the ladies’ doubles
5-4 and then took the mixed doubles 7-5 for overall victory.
Manager and team selector Kim Ashton said: ‘It was an excellent result by a well balanced team who thoroughly deserved their win.
We had a great team spirit and I’m pleased for everyone – it emphasises the underlying strength of Jersey badminton.’
The three Jersey men’s pairings combined well from start to finish.
Tim Noel and Chris Beechey, who played a fast and attacking game, were the most impressive, registering straight-set victories against Martyn Barbet and Daryl Tapp 21-16, 21-19; Chris Le Tissier and Nick Merrien 21-15, 21-16; and Harry Southwell and Jed Le Page 21-15, 21-15.
Despite dropping a set to Le Tissier and Merrien, Jersey’s third pair of Colin Hardwidge and Rob Cottignes also impressed to win their three matches.
Although Jersey’s top pair of Steve McGrath and Tom Gibbs lost to Le Tissier and Merrien 16-21, 22-20, 10-21, they took their other two matches comfortably.
Guernsey were strong in the ladies’ section, but Jersey did well as both Cara McGinnigle and Katherine Thornton and the newly married Dimple McDonald (n?e Mukti) and newcomer Jane Cleaver won two of their three matches.
McDonald and Cleaver combined effectively to come from behind and inflict a 12-21, 21-15, 21-13 defeat on Guernsey’s first pairing of Jane Torode and the talented young Kiara Green.
Although they were unable to record a win, Jersey’s Jean Cross and the young Jade Coombs-Goodfellow put on a good performance together.
Jersey took a 12-6 lead into the mixed doubles, requiring four victories from the remaining 12 matches to win overall.
Noel and Beechey again led by example and both claimed another two victories as they battled it out for the individual trophy for the best performance.
Playing in the B section Noel and Cleaver proved a strong combination as they beat Merrien and Stuart 21-13, 21-17 and Barbet and Torode 21-13, 20-22, 21-11.
In the C section Beechey and Cross beat Southwell and Green 21-14, 24-22 and Knight and Le Page 21-11, 18-21, 21-13.
There were also vital straight-set wins for McGrath and McGinnigle and Gibbs and Thornton in the A section and Hardwidge and McDonald in the B section.
In the C section, Cottignes and Coombs-Goodfellow were unfortunate to have lost 19-21, 21-23 and 19-21, 19-21 in their matches.
JBA present Steve Watson presented the RSL Shield to Jersey captain Steve McGrath and the Trustum Individual Trophy to Jersey’s Noel, who clinched it by justthree points from the equally impressive Beechey.
