The 2011 Premier Nationals, featuring the top eight teams from this year's National Softball League, will be played on September 3-4 at Farnham Park -- and a surprising number of teams will think they have a chance to come away with the title of National Champions and the right to play in next year's European Slowpitch Cup.
A lot of people will fancy H2O, who were such clear winners in the National Softball League that they didn't even need to play in the final event. But what about the Chromies, who are used to winning the title and who bounced back from a poor start to win both the Diamond Series and the European Slowpitch Cup this season?
No one should write off the 2010 National Champion Pioneers, who may have lacked consistency this year but can still outplay anyone at times. And what about the new team Blue Steel, who almost won the Diamond Series and pulled off a lot of upsets throughout the season?
Two teams that some may regard as ageing -- Dragons and Slammers -- still have the players, and the experience, to beat the more fancied teams at times. Can they do it over a whole weekend?
Few people would bet the house on the Mariners or Marvels, but both have pulled off upsets this season, especially the Mariners, and both teams are dangerous if you take them lightly.
It should be noted that this is probably the first A-grade national championship since the early 1990s not to feature Baker Tomkins, who once upon a time won the title in four years out of five but this year could only manage tenth place in the NSL, five points away from a Premier Nationals place.
It all adds up to a potentially fascinating weekend of softball, and one that deserves to draw a lot of spectators to Farnham Park. Slowpitch softball has never really been regarded as a spectator sport in this country, even by the people who play it -- but maybe it's time for that to change, and where better to start than with what could be a very open tournament this weekend?
Team by team
To whet your appetite, we've had scouts watching the eight competitors over the course of the season. Here are their thoughts about each team going into the big event, in the order in which they finished in the NSL standings.
H20
A real power-house team when they have a full squad, and when they do their team seems to have more young, strong players than anyone else. But H2O have threatened before over the past few years at A Grade and Premier Nationals only to fall short on the day, so maybe their real barrier is psychological. Among their numerous key players are Steve Hazard, Dan Armstrong, Roger Grooms, Vicky Chapman and Chiya Louie, plus the evergreen Brian Connolly from Ireland. It's hard to identify any obvious weaknesses with H2O, but they can be a streaky team: if they're hot, they're unstoppable; if not, the wheels can fall off.
Chromies
This is still British softball's outstanding team on paper, but the Chromies can sometimes fail to live up to their promise, especially when they struggle to get a full squad out, which will presumably not be the case at the Premier Nationals. Their weakness is that they can sometimes just play badly for no apparent reason, much to the chagrin of Managers Dougie Clouston and Paul "Rocket" Riley, but they have the talent and experience to beat anyone at any time and they have won more recent Championships than anyone else. Key players (among many) include Danny Gunn, Moe Flett (if healthy), Paul Gough, the Czech contingent (Misha and Marketa Sulcova and Milada Zolobova), Hillel Horvitz and ageless pitcher Pat Hoey.
Pioneers
Last year's Premier Nationals Champions can't be written off despite an inconsistent year, and Pioneers will be looking to avenge their ambush by the Chromies at the recent European Slowpitch Cup. The Pioneers' core squad has remained unchanged for some years, based on local Kent players the Spinks brothers, Liz Keaveney, Kim Akehurst and Michael "Pie" Lee. Most of them are still at their peak and notable additions have been players such as Steve and Amy Rice. But Pioneers can be another up-and-down team and, Dan Spinks aside, may lack the power of some of their rivals. Their first experience in Europe this year might stand them in good stead.
Dragons
Dragons were National Champions three years ago, but their line-up seems older than most and this can be both a weakness and a strength. As a team, Dragons often seem to play better better than the sum of their parts, but they often start tournaments more strongly than they finish them. Elder statesmen Mark Saunders and David Lee give them a canny pitching staff, and Martin Digon adds speed and athleticism. But will the Dragons have enough offense or depth to make a real run at the title?
Mariners
The Solent team maintained a very high position in the NSL standings until they faded a bit towards the end of the season, and they are a team that can base-hit the opposition to death. Rather than having many star players, Mariners are a good solid outfit that plays decent defense and hits consistently through the order. This kind of team can certainly cause a few upsets, and one of our scouts fancies them to go a lot further than most people will expect.
Slammers
Like the Dragons, Slammers feel like a bit of an ageing team, and they certainly have some weaknesses. But they are full of current and former GB players in Ruth Macintosh, Fiona Hunter, Richie Brown, Bruce Saunders and Liz Warner, while Grant Macintosh is an excellent pitcher -- all of which makes them dangerous, especially if they can control their emotions. Slammers have won the title within living memory, and this group of players may be motivated to have a real go this year.
Blue Steel
This is the new team on the block in 2011, but the players have been drawn from a host of top B-grade teams including Muppets, Spartans, Comets Black and SPAM. Blue Steel has done incredibly well in its first season to qualify for the Premier Nationals and has taken a number of notable scalps along the way. The team missed out on winning the Diamond Series title by the skin of its teeth and will certainly win some games this weekend. But can they get hot and make a run for the title?
Marvels
Manchester wins more national championship titles than any other region in the country, but has never quite managed to do it at A-grade level. This is a talented team that can make great plays but also has the capacity to self-destruct. Key players include Zaq Hak and Linda Horan now that Ben March is injured, but they have plenty of support. If they can find real self-belief at this level, the Marvels could be a dark horse this weekend.