SUCH was the tension in the Guernsey Table Tennis Centre that thick condensation seemed to fill the air from sweaty palms and foreheads – and that was just from the many watching ringside.
Jersey won 4-0. A crushing defeat for the hosts on their own patch and a first-ever team win for the Caesareans over their arch rivals coupled with a first-ever Island Games team gold.
It may have been Guernsey’s to lose but Jersey had the edge and they held their nerve when others might not have. Fine margins and a little bit of luck in their favour tell a different tale to the 4-0 scoreline but Jersey showed plenty of flair along with grit and determination not to let the opportunity for a historic win slip.
It all started in emphatic fashion. Jordan Wykes was pumped up to the max for his encounter with Ben Foss and Wykes’s aggressive approach blew Foss away to get Jersey after the mark, winning 11-5, 11-4, 11-5.
Next up was birthday girl Hannah Silcock against Alice Edwards, who she had never before beaten. The pair produced a high-quality game full of excellent rallies with the point often falling against whoever blinked first. It was intense throughout and left the crowd of 250 just as fatigued as the players.
Silcock took the first game handsomely 11-7 but Edwards stepped up a gear, taking the game to her opponent to win the second 11-8. The local favourite seemed to get in her stride but Silcock is nothing if not resolute when her back is against the wall and the Jersey girl took the lead again 12-10.
Edwards turned on the style to win 11-5 and there was a feeling the tide had turned in the Guernsey girl’s favour as it went to the decider. Everyone held their breath for every point. Edwards pushed and got early success but Silcock was dogged and stayed in touch with her. Eventually it was 10-9 and match point for Edwards when she called a time out. But that only helped Silcock regain her composure. She saved the point and then came the luck. A backhand hit the net and trickled over it to give Silcock the opportunity to take the win which she did and sweet success for a sweet sixteenth.
Luc Miller then faced the talismanic Garry Dodd and, although the arena was still recovering from the drama of the previous match, the tension soon ratcheted up again. Miller took the first 11-9 before Dodd levelled things at 14-12 in the second. The pendulum kept swinging – 11-6 to Miller in the third, 11-8 to Dodd in the fourth. The fingernails of fans of both islands went long ago. Dodd, a wily campaigner, tried to use his experience to lean on Miller as the octane levels increased but the Jerseyman held firm and edged the decider 11-9.
It was then left to Silcock sisters, Hannah and Kathryn, to get the job done in the women’s doubles against Edwards and Dawn Morgan. They did so with an airy breeziness and innocent smiles on their faces that betrayed the tautness around them, winning 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 to complete the fairytale win with three matches to spare.
‘It’s amazing. I know it sounds clichéd but I’m genuinely lost for words right now,’ said Miller. ‘It’s so special. We are such a close team. It’s amazing, such an unbelievable feeling.’
Wykes added: ‘We managed to get three close matches go our way and we really deserved it. We’ve got a strong team and we were hungry for it. We really wanted to win it.’
For Hannah Silcock, receiving her first ever Island Games gold medal was the perfect birthday present, and especially to be able to achieve it alongside her sister, who is two years her senior and also making her Games debut.
‘I don’t think anything can top that,’ said Hannah. ‘I was definitely nervous [against Edwards] but at one-nil up I thought “yeah, I can do this’’. When it got to ten-all [in the final game] I was shaking but I knew what to do and I knew what I was going to do and when I won it was just amazing.’
Though they compete against each other in singles matches, there is no sibling rivalry between the pair and the close bond between them was apparent throughout as they saw Jersey over the line with joyful freedom.
‘I love playing with Hannah. It was so much fun,’ said Kathryn. ‘We just had a really good time.’
