Ogier regains Jack Carrington Trophy
PHIL OGIER has regained the Jack Carrington Trophy by overcoming another previous winner, Paul Hainsworth, in an entertaining final.
In the tournament for players who have not competed in the inter-insular Green Trophy in the past two seasons, there was a lengthy hiatus between Ogier’s first win in 1993 and his second in 2016, but he did not have as long to wait for his third.
The final was the expected encounter between the highest ranked players in the event – with Ogier having overcome Ryan Bichar in the semis while Hainsworth saw off Jez Powell – and it did not disappoint, with a number of incredible rallies.
Hainsworth made a strong start by converting the opener 11-8 while Ogier gained the advantage in the second to lead 9-6 but his opponent subsequently won four points in a row.
Then the best rally of the match took place, with Hainsworth well on top with aggressive forehand topspins and smashes and Ogier retrieving. One of Ogier’s retrievals caught the net midway through the rally and Hainsworth did well to react to continue the rally and he once more moved onto the offensive. It looked like he had done enough, but Ogier’s final retrieval just clipped the back edge of the table to force parity at 10-10.
Ogier closed out the set 12-10 and despite Hainsworth’s best efforts, Ogier was too strong on the night and claimed the following ends 11-8, 11-5 to regain the trophy.
