Fives' Coming Home | Charterhouse School | A private school in Surrey

76 years of hurt…

…never stopped us dreaming

1950.
The year that Old Carthusian Peter Gabriel (of Genesis fame) was born.
1950.
The year that George Orwell died.
1950.
The year that the Korean War began.
1950.
The last time Charterhouse posted a victory in a Senior Eton Fives Tournament, when John May (brother of English cricket captain Peter) won the National Schools U18 Championships with M Burton-Brown.

Sunday 1 February saw an optimistic Charterhouse team of three pairs arrive shortly before 1pm on a drizzly afternoon at Aldenham in, amongst other forms of transport, the usual combination of minibus and Bentley, hoping to make history.

The Runners and Riders

Four other schools were present
Holders: Ipswich
Hosts: Aldenham
Perennial threats: Repton
Pretenders to the throne: Queen Elizabeth’s, Barnet

The Format

First to 15
One set only
Each pair (of three) could score one point per match

First up… Ipswich. Fortunately not at full strength and, in fact, lacking a third pair. Jack & Sacha immediately celebrated their point without having to don gloves at 3rd pair, whilst Jules & Matteo also made short work of their Suffolk 1st pair counterparts with a 15–3 win. Jan & Bertie soon took our third point of the day with a 15–7 perfunctory victory at 2nd pair.

Next up… Aldenham. Jan & Bertie were the first to clean up this time, winning 15–4 at 2nd pair. Not long after, Jack & Sacha at 3rd pair also triumphed 15–6. Taking a bit longer this time, but equally efficient, Jules & Mattie tidied up with a 15–4 win at 1st pair.

Six points out of six… However, still six points potentially to accumulate in the late-afternoon matches against the more dangerous Queen Elizabeth’s and Repton teams.

The convivial lunch break featured smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, Wiltshire ham and Colman’s mustard cobs, and the obligatory pigs-in-blankets. It was with something of a food hangover that we approached our match against Queen Elizabeth’s School.

Jules & Matteo soon found themselves 2–6 behind, with Jan & Bertie 5–6 down, and only Jack & Sacha barely in charge at 4–3 up, before the cholesterol thankfully started to wear off. Within minutes, our 1st pair had re-settled at 7–7, our 2nd pair had stormed into an 11–6 lead, and our 3rd pair were flying at 12–5. Jules & Matteo were the first to convert the comeback, winning 15–12, followed shortly afterwards by Jan & Bertie coming in at 15–8, and only a few minutes later Jack & Sacha polished off their own North Londoners by the same scoreline.

Nine points out of nine… and, barring injury or disqualification, all we needed from our last match against Repton was one win out of three.

Jan and Captain Bertie, fittingly, were the ones to chalk up the required final point first, with a 15–2 demolition of Repton’s 2nd pair to claim the trophy, but Charterhouse now wanted to finish in style. Jack & Sacha accelerated from a 6–4 advantage to put the icing on the cake with a 15–5 victory at 3rd pair. Jules & Matteo, going for the clean sweep, played some excellent Fives at 1st pair, levelling at 2–2, then 6–6, before involuntarily allowing the Reptonians eventually to take an 11–8 advantage that was converted into a 15–10 final result for the Derbyshire duo.

Eleven points out of twelve, then… and the Vargas Silver to be kept in Surrey for the forthcoming twelve months.