Caithness well placed to take 'B' team trophy in inter-county clash with Orkney
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The inter-county match between Caithness and Orkney finally went ahead at Wick games hall after being rescheduled three times due to a combination of storms and Covid.
The "A" and "B" team selectors – Mark Mackay, Shona Mackay, Pauline Craig and John Durrand – picked two strong teams of 12 players each to represent Caithness.
Caithness "B" claimed their first victory over the islanders in 14 years with an 8-4 scoreline. It means Caithness are well placed to take the "B" team trophy in the return leg in Orkney on April 16.
The "B" team got off to a flying start with the men's pairings – Mark Mackay and Sam Campbell, Jack Harcus and Aiden Young, and Steve Smith and Taylor Swan – winning all their matches in straight sets and the ladies' pairing of Kate MacNicol and Eilidh Paterson also coming out on top in their encounter.
With the Caithness team going into the mixed doubles leading 4-2, they pulled away with four more victories from the pairings of Eilidh Paterson and Mark Mackay, Lynn Larnach and Steve Smith, Kate MacNicol and Sam Campbell, and Jane Grant and Jack Harcus to finish the match with an 8-4 scoreline.
Junior players Taylor Swan and Chloe Mackenzie made their debuts for Caithness and there were also first appearances for Steve Smith and Eilidh Paterson.
Caithness "A" fought back well from being 5-1 down after the men's and ladies' doubles, with their only win at that stage coming from the ladies' pairing of Shona Mackay and Beckie Gunn.
Caithness went into the mixed doubles with a lot of work to be done to make the scoreline more respectable and give them a fighting chance of retaining the trophy in Orkney on April 16.
They lost the first two games of mixed doubles to go 7-1 down, but the last four pairings showed grit and determination and they managed to reduce the deficit to 7-5 in Orkney's favour.
Wins in the mixed came from the pairings of Shona Mackay and John Durrand, Lauren Gunn and Martyn Cook, Beckie Gunn and Iain Nicolson, and Carole Begg and Mark McCoustra.
It was a first "A" team call-up for both Sean Campbell and Matthew Robertson.
