Squash: Jackman back injury: Setback for England's world plans

ENGLAND'S chances of winning back the world title from Australia in two weeks' time suffered a setback when Cassie Jackman had to retire injured from the warm-up tournament, the Talking Pages Open at Windsor yesterday, writes Richard Eaton.

The former world junior champion from Norfolk had been competing, against the recommendation of her coach, the England manager Alex Cowie, following a bout of tonsillitis, but this time she took the advice of Cowie and quit with a bad back after losing the first game to the Australian Robyn Cooper.

'It doesn't feel too bad but I shall take immediate treatment and only then will I know,' Jackman said.

England nearly had an unexpected bonus when Martine Le Moignan, the 31-year-old former world champion who will play her final tournament in Guernsey, nearly brought down the second-seeded Australian Liz Irving. Le Moignan came from two games down to lead 4-0 in the final game only to lose 10-8, 9-6, 6-9, 4-9, 9-4. The top-seeded British champion, Suzanne Horner, did reach the quarter-finals, beating Philippa Beams, of New Zealand, 7-9, 9-0, 9-3, 9-4.