BRITISH NATIONAL SQUASH LEAGUE NEWS Edgbaston Priory & Nottingham in Second National League Title Bids Almost exactly six months after meeting in the very first match of the season, former champions Edgbaston Priory and FPD Savills Nottingham face each other in the 2003 National Squash League final at Abbeydale Park Squash Club in Sheffield this Tuesday (15th April). The two midlands teams met twice in the season, each claiming narrow 3/2 home victories in their Group A clashes. 1999 champions Nottingham replaced the 2001 champions from Birmingham at the top of the Group table in November and held the advantage throughout the remainder of the season. The first round encounter in Birmingham in October was characterised by the ending of Priory number one Stewart Boswell's remarkable 25-match unbeaten run since making his league debut in October 1998. The world No4 from Australia was beaten in five close games by Australian-born Scot John White, the world No5 appearing for Nottingham for the first time. Boswell, aged 24 and now based in Manchester, gained his revenge over White in the final of the Swedish Open in February - and will face White in the final, and perhaps decisive, match at Abbeydale. Edgbaston stalwart Del Harris, the 33-year-old former world No5 from Essex, produced the club's most heroic win in the teams' next meeting when he beat White in four in January in Nottingham. Harris - the only player in the Sheffield final to have played in every tie in the season - led Priory three times during the season and secured perhaps his most valuable win overturning a first leg semi-final loss to beat fast-rising Malaysian Mohamed Azlan Iskandar 3/1 in the second leg against Chichester. Nottingham, unable to compete in last year's National League because of a major refurbishment programme at the club, reached the 2003 final after a nail-biting semi-final victory over 2000 champions Broxbourne. Carrying a 4-1 lead into the second leg at the Hertfordshire club's base, Nottingham immediately lost the first three matches to leave the contest completely open. Long-time club member Simon Parke, with an impressive season record of 10-wins-out-of11, brought Nottingham back into contention with a 3/1 victory over South African No1 Rodney Durbach, then John White bravely fought back from 2/0 down to topple local Broxbourne star and England international Mark Chaloner in five to give the visitors the narrowest of victories. "It was unbelievable," said White afterwards. "Every winner Chaloner got and every ball I hit down was greeted by thunderous cheers from the Broxbourne crowd - it was bedlam in there. The emotion when I finally hit the winner was incredible as I was immediately overwhelmed by all my team-mates." Whilst White, Parke, Frenchman Renan Lavigne and British Over-35 runner-up Jason Nicolle will be in action for Nottingham in the final - both Parke and Nicolle being veterans of the 1999 final success - the club's leading woman player Tania Bailey will be unavailable due to a mystery virus. Bailey, the world No4 who won all but one of her outings this season, will be replaced by club champion Jane Fletcher, who made her league debut in the second semi-final leg. Edgbaston Priory, comfortable 7-3 winners over Group B champions Chichester in the semi-finals, will be at full strength in Sheffield, fielding the same line-up - Stewart Boswell, Del Harris, Adrian Grant, Paul Lord and Sarah Fitz-Gerald - which faced Nottingham in the first round! Indeed, all but one of this team (Grant then played for Duffield) led Edgbaston to victory in the 2001 final. Sarah Fitz-Gerald makes her return to the squad after a brief absence from the second semi-final leg with a calf injury. The record five-times world champion and former world No1 from Australia, who withdrew from the international circuit in February in order to give more time to her league commitments, will be aiming to secure her 22nd successive win for Edgbaston. Sarah made her league debut for the club in October 2000, since when she has claimed 21 consecutive match victories - conceding a mere three games! Tuesday 15 April 2003 National Squash League Final, Abbeydale Park, Sheffield FPD Savills Nottingham v Edgbaston Priory John White v Stewart Boswell Simon Parke v Del Harris Renan Lavigne v Adrian Grant Jason Nicolle v Paul Lord Jane Fletcher v Sarah Fitz-Gerald For more details, visit the official website: www.nationalsquashleague.co.uk