STEVE Jackson of Bourne Club led Surrey Over-60s to a successful defence of their Inter-Counties squash title.

The semi-finals and final were held over two days at the Hinckley Squash & Racketball Club. In their semi-final, Surrey met old rivals Yorkshire in a repeat of last year’s final.

First on court, Surrey captain Jackson proved too strong for Roy Robinson and ran out a 3-0 winner.

Paul Ekins needed a victory to ensure a place in the final, but it took him almost an hour to squeeze past the dogged Mark Thompson, 3-2.

Dave Clarke completed the whitewash by beating Steve Williams 3-0.

The following day, Surrey faced first-time finalists Buckinghamshire, who had finished runners-up to them in the preliminary stages. So the weight of expectation was firmly on Surrey.

Jackson, at number 3, made a slow start and got sucked into Rob Ballingall’s soft-hitting game, losing the first narrowly. Strong words from his team-mates stung the Bourne member into action and he romped through the next three games to give Surrey a winning start.

Next on at number 1, Ekins faced a tricky opponent in Phil Alexander and it looked like it might go to five again. But after some long rallies, Ekins squeaked home in the fourth, ensuring that Surrey had retained their title.

With only pride to play for, the last rubber proved a real tussle, with Clark’s opponent, Peter Smith, keen to avenge a defeat of some 30 years ago. He almost managed it, but Clark came back from 2-1 down, playing some tight squash to complete a clean sweep for Surrey.

Semi-final (Surrey named first): Paul Ekins beat Mark Thompson 9-5, 6-9, 9-1, 9-10, 9-1 (48 mins); Dave Clark beat Steve Williams 9-6, 9-3, 9-2 (19 mins); Steve Jackson beat Roy Robinson 9-0, 9-3, 9-3 (20 mins).

Final (Bucks named first): Phil Alexander lost to Paul Ekins 3-9, 9-6, 3-9, 8-10 (34 mins); Peter Smith lost to Dave Clark 6-9, 9-2, 9-7, 3-9, 4-9 (41 mins); Rob Ballingall lost to Steve Jackson 9-7, 4-9, 2-9, 4-9 (27 mins).