From: The Racketeer 50, June 2003
Court in Time (1992-2003)
by Vince Selke
AS THIS ILLUSTRIOUS publication celebrates its 50th issue, it seemed only right to contribute something from the tennis institution that is the B team.
The present team was founded in 1992 by Malcolm Turner and has pioneered its own unique style in the Nottinghamshire league. His successors, partners in crime Paul Hacking and Vince Selke, whose mantra is 'unorthodoxy is the new orthodoxy', have carried on from the solid foundations Malcolm laid in those early years.
Paul, Martin ('country gent') Garratt and Chris ('history man') Weir are probably our most capped players. Chris, Paul and Vince are the only survivors from the team's historic first season.
Many players - unfortunately too many to mention - have played at some time or other. Some have gone on to bigger and better things, while some would prefer any appearances they have made to be kept quiet, including, one suspects, our esteemed and revered Racketeer editor, with whom we have never failed to, er, lose.
Probably the B team's greatest moment came with a narrow 9½-8½ win against Newark on grass. At the subsequent match tea, it was difficult to work out who was the more surprised. The worst defeat was an 18-0 mauling at the hands of Musters. The best tea was a delicious feast we had at Grantham, where one of their players was a baker and had made most of the tea himself.
There is no stopping father time and the average age of the players probably has increased. Indeed certain team members have celebrated significant birthdays in recent years, leading to the inevitable question, 'Is he suffering a mid-life crisis or just playing for the B team?' The management have responded by calling in medical help and we now have a trio of highly trained medical staff on hand: consultant geriatrician Harwood, psychologist Korzen-Stocking and 'Doc' Arden-Jones.
What does the future hold for this collective tennis colossus? Well, we are always on the lookout for new blood, and we shall continue not to take ourselves too seriously. Maybe we are not yet quite ready to have our afternoons taken up with coffee spoons and T. S. Eliot.
Editor's note: The original B team was run from 1984 to 1988, playing only in the summer. We believe Frank Raistrick was the first captain, followed by Geoff Firmin. Current [2003] members who played in the first season, when the team won four matches and lost two, include Adam Firmin and comeback kid, Mark Fletcher.