Chris Simpson in full control over Jersey’s new development officer Nick Taylor. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0739440)

GUERNSEY’S seniors took a pasting, but Chris Simpson brought some joy for the home contingent at Beau Sejour with a cracking straight games win over Nick Taylor.

Until Simpson’s late intervention, Jersey were on course for two whitewash wins in the senior inter-insulars, but the world number 53, who nationally is ranked just one below the Caesareans’ new squash development officer, was too sharp and match-fit for the 2009 British over-35s runner-up.

If there was a moment that summed up an entertaining clash of the No. 1s, it came early in the third game with Taylor, now 37 and his best years behind him, failing to reach a drop in the front right-hand corner.

‘Four years ago I would have been all over that,’ he said within earshot of the gallery and at that moment he probably knew that Simpson, just 21 and at the top of his game, had too much in his tank for him to stage a recovery.

Those words from the Lancastrian came at 3-3, but within five minutes he had lost the game without scoring another point.

Simpson was happy with the win and the performance, although he found it odd playing to the old scoring format when the universal scoring method is now the American version where every rally counts for a point.