Squash: Stafford to play Binnie in eighth Caribbean final; Cayman gets three doubles medals

Four-time national squash champion Cameron Stafford will aim to end the near decade long reign of Jamaican Chris Binnie in the finals of Men’s Singles competition Tuesday night (20 August) at the 2019 Caribbean Amateur Squash Championships in Georgetown, Guyana.

On Monday, Stafford knocked off Bermudian Richard Chin 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-5) to book his fifth appearance all-time in the regional men’s final, while Binnie will aim for his unprecedented ninth Caribbean title after a 3-0 semifinal win (11-2, 11-4, 11-1) over Bermuda’s Chayse McQuan.

This will be the fifth time in eight years that Stafford and Binnie will play for the Caribbean title.

“That was probably the best squash I played (versus Chin) since I’ve been in Guyana,” Stafford said. “I am excited to focus on my game and what I need to do.”

In 2017, Stafford lost in straight sets to Binnie 12-10, 11-7, 11-4. The Caribbean Championships was skipped in 2018 due to the XXVIII Pan American Squash Championships, held at the South Sound Squash Club on Grand Cayman. Stafford made the Round of 16, while Binnie lost in his first finals appearance to Peruvian Diego Elias.

“I am really looking forward to this match,” Binnie said. “It is always a tough battle when we play each other. I am just looking forward to having a good battle. I am have been slowly improving as the tournament has gone on. I have a game plan, and I am going to out of and execute it, and hopefully it’s good enough to win.”

“It will be pretty special to win another one,” he said. “I know Cameron is going to come out firing as he always does. He is going to put up a strong challenge, so we will see how it goes tonight.”

Cayman gets three medals in Doubles

Stafford and partner Marlene West took gold in the finals of Mixed Doubles winning 2-0 over Charlotte Knaggs and Chayse McQuan of Bermuda. In the semifinals of Men’s Doubles, the team of Julian Jervis and Jake Kelly won bronze after a 2-0 loss to Guyana, while in the semifinals of Women’s Doubles the team of Eilidh Bridgeman and Jade Pitcairn also won bronze after losing 2-1 to Barbados.

View all the results here.