BOURNE Club’s first team narrowly lost out on promotion back to Division 3 of the Surrey Squash League.

They raced neck-and-neck for the second promotion spot in Division 4B with Colets Club from Thames Ditton. Having beaten Colets to set up a tense last two matches, Bourne could not quite pull it off.

Colets secured maximum points from their last two games, while Bourne, after beating Warlingham 5-0, lost their final match 3-2 to Surrey Sports Park and were denied an immediate return to Division 3.

Bourne 2, after winning promotion to Division 4R last season, could not stay the pace and were relegated. They have been unlucky with injuries, particularly at number one slot.

Much better news, though, for Bourne 3 who won promotion from Division 7R. It was nip-and-tuck all the way and in their final fixture, Bourne had to score 16 points by winning at least four of their rubbers. Numbers 2, 3 and 4 duly obliged with 3-0 wins, but with captain Joe Collett losing 3-0 at 5, it was up to to number 1 David Henderson to see the team home. He was up to the task and Division 6 awaits next season.

Bourne 4 needed a good win from their last match to ensure survival in Division 8. Requiring 16 points, the team edged home with 17 from a tight 3-2 victory over fellow strugglers David Lloyd Hampton. Stuart Croucher, last on at number 5, needed to win to ensure the points tally was enough. He kept his team-mates guessing, but finally got over the line in the fifth.