26/08/2026
# Day 5: Recovery Day or False Dawn?
The day started a little ominously.
We arrived at the courts and Beau discovered he had left his playing shorts behind. Duh! Gareth let him wear the pants for the day instead. Quite literally. Then Lakisha broke her strings and the racquet frame at the same time. Impressive efficiency.
Liberty was still sick, and we were still awaiting a response from the radiologist to find out whether Bihandu’s foot was fractured or merely being dramatic.
With all this going on, Queensland were breathing down our necks, smelling an upset and perhaps the first chance to get their hands on the Trans Tasman Challenge Shield. At present, the shield is decorated entirely with the names of New Zealand teams, which is exactly how we like it.
The third day of matches brought the final round of switcheroos. This time, the number ones played each other again, the twos and threes swapped, and the fours and fives swapped. Simple really, once you stop trying to understand it.
The senior boys started well. Eamon and Jack recorded relatively comfortable 3 nil wins over their Queensland opponents. Brodie, with his new shoes becoming acquainted with Brodie’s holey socks, moved well and completed a quick win over the Queensland number three. It appears the shoes have accepted their new living conditions.
With Bihandu still warming the bleachers while waiting for news about his foot, it was up to Ciaran against Queensland number one James Boswell. Ciaran played well, but James is a good player and won in three close, hard fought games. A 3/2 win for the senior boys.
The senior girls followed a similar script. Casey Ellery, of Greymouth fame, began with a comfortable win over Timi from Norfolk Island. According to Timi, she is part Kiwi, part Norfolk Islander and very little Australian. Her words, not ours. She is also training to become a barber. I’m not going anywhere near her when she has sharp objects in her hands!
Brooke and Charlee then finished off their opponents with relative ease. With Liberty fast asleep on the couch after a course of sleepy sleepy flu medication, it was left to Amalia to have another crack at Queensland number one Sarbani.
Not this time. Sarbani showed a little more class than our own classy Amalia and took the match in three. Just like the boys, it was a 3 to 2 win to us.
The junior boys have been the chief entertainers when it comes to lengthy matches this week, and once again they did not disappoint. Beau continues to tower over his opponents and frighten the bejesus out of them. He began with a 3 nil win and has shown some real improvement this week. Perhaps forgetting his shorts was the final piece of the puzzle.
Hemi continued his good form with another comfortable 3 nil win. Hugo played for time, but time was not particularly nice to him. He showed some lovely touches but came out on the wrong side of a 3/1 result.
Then there was Levi.
What can we say about this match? He lost the first two games 14 - 12 and 12 -10, then found himself 9 - 1 down in the third. At that point, most people would start thinking about the next match.
Levi had other ideas.
Something blew up inside him and he rattled off 10 unanswered points to steal the third game. He then won the next two as well to complete an extraordinary 3/2 comeback. Never in doubt. Apart from nearly all of it.
Caleb had a rollercoaster match against the Queensland junior number one. The games went back and forth, but Caleb ran slightly out of steam at the end and lost 3/2. So, just like both senior teams, the junior boys recorded a 3-2 win.
The junior girls struggled, losing all their matches, but we are seeing improvement every day as they come to grips with the speed and style of the Aussies. Games were won. Just not in groups of three, which is apparently the important bit.
Overall, while it was an 11 - 9 loss, we drew on points.
The players then had a break while NSW and Queensland slugged it out in the second round of the day.
Sushi runs, which finally woke Liberty, and a trip to the radiologist for Bihandu filled the time.
Then came the good news.
Bihandu’s foot is still entirely attached. With some strapping tape and painkillers, he should be back on court tomorrow. Although the massive doughnut I bought him may slow him down a little. Medical science can only do so much.
In the final round of the day, we played NSW.
I will keep this part of the report a little shorter because, while I watched the matches, brain fog from very little sleep meant I took fewer notes. The eyes were watching. The brain had clocked off.
The situation was simple. We needed 40 points to retain the Challenge Shield. We got them, and played some awesome squash along the way.
The junior girls showed plenty of fight, grit and steel. Their determination resulted in wins for Nami and Ivana, with Ivana clinching her match 12-10 in the fifth. Nothing like doing it the easy way.
The senior girls won all four matches they played while Liberty remained fast asleep. There is not much to report from those matches except that they dominated. Turn up, win, leave. Very efficient.
The junior boys kept doing what the junior boys do. Five from five.
Well done, lads.
The senior boys also continued putting pressure on the Australian selectors and making Friday’s selection decisions even more difficult. Ciaran strengthened his case by winning a tight five game match against Henry Kross. Brodie, Jack and Eamon also recorded wins, with the only NSW victory coming from the walkover.
All in all, it was a strong 15 to 5 win over NSW to complete the singles.
Tomorrow we move on to the unpredictable doubles, where absolutely anything can happen. Our singles form is very good, but do not count your chickens yet.
Oops. Sorry, Charlee.
There may still be some strange results tomorrow.
After the day’s play, it was back to the holiday camp to prepare for the final culinary surprise, presented by the junior boys. They put so much effort into the details that their timing became more of a loose guideline. Many of the players resorted to leftover spag bol and sausages to ease the hunger pains while they waited.
In fact, there was enough time for Eamon and Bihandu to clean the pigsty of a unit they were staying in. Their room was covered in ants, so a serious cleaning operation began. Bihandu initially apologised to every ant before carrying out the ex*****on. After apologising to each ant each time he squashed them, he shortened the process to simply yelling, “Die, die, die.”
I am not sure PETA would approve of his methodology, but their room is now the cleanest at camp.
Perhaps that deserves a bonus point. Or perhaps not.
The juniors finally delivered their entrée of mini spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce, followed by chicken and mushroom pesto pasta. Dessert was store bought sticky date pudding with ice cream. The food was good once it eventually entered our time zone.
All that remains in the competition is the TikTok videos, after which the judges will come together to select a winner.
And, perhaps more importantly, a fourth placed team.
There is still another day to comment on yesterday’s photo. We have had some absolute crackers so far, but the winner will be announced tomorrow.
The players are all in bed, dosed up where necessary and looking forward to a slightly later start tomorrow.
Ka kite anō, and keep cool till after school.
