Old Westminsters 1 defeated Old Salopians 1 2-1 at Westminster in Division 1 last night.

John Reynolds reports:

Harry de Quetteville (yes, the grandson of the first Kinnaird winner) made his debut at the Westminsters' first pair and very nearly helped to pull off an upset against former Kinnaird finalist Ed Taylor and recent national schools' winner Tom Cox. In a fluctuating five-setter, Taylor had just enough fire power, reach and touch to earn the visitors a point but fellow lanky left-hander de Quetteville was a revelation on his home courts, returning a high percentage of cuts from under the front wall, playing early volleys beyond the Salopians' reach and sending down some mighty slams back court. Tom Cox returned a high number of cuts and repeatedly managed to turn defence into attack with some sharp volleying out of the buttress.

Ed Rose and Saul Albert (just off the aeroplane from his honeymoon in Hawaii) had too much for Craig Webster and Harry Turnbull; Conrad Shawcross and Andrew Joyce were also comfortable winners at three against Dan Howie and Ian Mitchell.

The Westminsters' win puts them an agonising half a point off the top of the table – but they have played nearly all their matches and must now wait to see if the Olavians' first team and the Harrovians can overhaul them in the second half of the season. Last year, 17 points was needed for third place in the division; will the Wets (with 13.5) just fall short of earning a top-half finish for the second season running? Salopians 1, for their part, earn a valuable point in their quest to avoid last season's wooden spoon; they already have many more points - five - than the measly half they ended up with then.