Veni Vidi Vici

That was the objective, a swift and conclusive victory for iPubs against The AELTC. However as all military personnel are aware, no plans survive past the first contact with the enemy, and so it came to pass.

On what can only be described as a glorious summer’s day set in the magnificent grounds of the AELTC, iPubs had the privilege of trying to defend the Cup they had won in the previous meeting. The AELTC clearly wanted revenge and fielded a very strong 4. James Cluskey partnered Ali Felton whilst Matt Kirby paired up with Ben Rogers who was making his debut for AELTC. Due to some late pull outs the iPubs were a slightly more eclectic team than originally planned, balancing youth with some more “experienced” players.

The first round saw one match that would have graced the courts during the Championships. Oli Nunn and Paul Martin put in a magnificent display against Ben and Matt, edging a very close first set. However Ben Rogers was in defiant mood and certainly wasn’t going to loose his debut match for AELTC without a fight, and fight he did. He and Matt played some blistering tennis in the second set that at times was quite simply untouchable. The match was headed to its inevitable conclusion and so to the Championship breaker to decide the outcome. Neither pair appeared to be in the mood to concede ground or lower their standard. The lead changed hands several times, but neither side was able to gain a clear advantage and it remained unbelievably close right to the end. Both pairs held match points, both pairs saved match points, and the capacity crowd of 8 were going wild! If one point were to sum up the quality of the entire match, then it came right towards the end. Ben Rogers fired in a big serve to the ad court, Oli nailed a cross court return to the incoming servers feet. Paul delayed his cross to intercept Bens half volley pick, only to see Ben hit a superb half volley down the line into the space just vacated by Paul. Oli scampered across and hammered a forehand down the line, Ben punched the volley back, and another epic rally ensued. However in a match that neither side deserved to loose, AELTC managed to cross the finish line and won the breaker 14-12.

Although some good tennis was played in the other matches, that was the standout match, so I won’t bore the reader with any more "match reports".

THE INDEPENDENT AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS OLD BOYS' L.T.A.

THE PETER JACKSON TROPHY

VERSUS: ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS CLUB

MATCH PLAYED AT: AELTC, WIMBLEDON DATE: 01/08/2026 WARM UP: 11:00 MATCH START: 11:10

iPubs OPPOSITION		I.P.S.O.B.L.T.A
		1ST PAIR BEN MERCER MILES EDMESTON		2ND PAIR OLI NUNN PAUL MARTIN
		SCORES (iPubs - OPP)	WINNER	SCORES (iPubs - OPP)	WINNER
AELTC	1ST PAIR ALI FELTON JAMES CLUSKEY	2-6 2-6	AELTC	3-6 2-6	AELTC
	2ND PAIR BEN ROGERS MATT KIRBY	1-6 2-6	AELTC	6-4 1-6 12-14	AELTC

RESULT: ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS CLUB WON 4 RUBBERS TO 0

The iPubs have some fabulous fixtures, however I suspect that this fixture really is the Jewel in the Crown. The hosting and hospitality show by the AELTC was quite simply exquisite, consequently as a team we felt it would be a little churlish to keep the Cup, so we let them have it for this year.

Miles Edmeston - The most "experienced" player on court by quite some years.