Inconsistent refereeing left its mark on the women's quarter-final clash between 14th seed Rebecca Mcree and fellow English woman Tania Bailey in the Al Ahram International Squash Championships in Cairo late Tuesday.
Bailey ran out the 0-9, 9-5, 9-4, 5-9, 10-9 winner but the referee did not help Mcree's cause one jot-making so many questionable decisions, most of them to her disadvantage.
Referee Tony Parker managed to get both opinion and reasons wrong.
Perhaps it was because he was placed 30 yards behind the back wall, or maybe it was just a bad day at the office.
The effect of inconsistency in awarding lets and strokes is that players ask for lets at every possible opportunity just on the off-chance they'll be rewarded.
After a good first game in which Macree played forceful hard hitting squash to win 9-0 against a nervous Bailey, the match gradually became a scrappy affair with lets being called almost every other rally.
A firm order from the referee to play the ball would have put an end to this unhappy spectacle and allowed both players to show us their skills.
Bailey is former world junior champion and has matured very well, putting out number four seed Linda Charman in the previous round. She hits very good length and height to put her opponent in the back corners and still lacks the imagination to use all the court.
She settled down for the second game and gradually took the upper hand to win it 9-5 and then take the third 9-4 - CAIRO (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
