Match Report
Match Report - 18 Oct 2015, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 lost to Buckinghamshire
Hertfordshire opened their 2015-16 Inter County Championship campaign with a narrow loss to Buckinghamshire.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
The first session of play returned just one win for the Hertfordshire. Michael West got off to a great start, winning the first 5 ends to take an 8-0 lead. He continued in the same vein, dropping shots on only four ends and winning 16-6.
Tony Gayler led after 5 ends. He dropped shots on the next four ends which opened up a 5 shot deficit which he was unable to close, finishing 7-12.
Pauline Taylor and Jeanette Gayler slipped behind early and were 1-7 behind at 5 ends. They stormed back, scoring a 2 and a 4 to tie the scores and remained level after 10 ends. The loss of a maximum 4 shot count on the 11th end proved decisive and, despite winning three of the remaining four ends, they finished 12-14.
Audrey and Brian Fowler were well in contention for the first half of their game, leading 7-5 after 7 ends and drawing 7-7 after 9 ends. However, the visiting pair dominated in the home stretch and the game finished 9-19.
Session 1 result: Hertfordshire 2 pts Buckinghamshire 6 pts
Session 2 (triples and fours)
The second session of the morning followed a similar pattern to the first. Jill Oakes, Peter Griffiths and Liz Bradley raced away to a 9-0 lead before their opponents scored on the 7th end. A short lived fightback by the visitors was abruptly halted with the Herts trio scoring two 3s to lead 15-4 with two ends to play before finishing 15-9.
Rebecca Nightingale, Brian Hatherly and Brian McGivern exchanged shots with their opponents for the first 6 ends and led 5-4. But they lost five of the next six ends and trailed by 8 shots with just one end to play. A big count of 5 shots on the final end made the scores more respectable at 12-15 but, more importantly, proved decisive in the battle for bonus points.
Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor and Alan Hare had a very close encounter with their opponents. Both sides won five of the first ten ends, a 3 count on the 3rd end giving the home rink the edge at 10-8 with only the final end to come. But a final end 3 snatched the game points for the visitors 10-11.
Sue Murray, Eileen Prior, Margaret Regan and Darren Stanford were level at 7-7 after eight of their eleven ends but failed to score again and finished at 7-13.
Session 2 result: Hertfordshire 2 pts Buckinghamshire 6 pts
At the end of the morning sessions, Hertfordshire had scored only 4 points to Buckinghamshire's 12. However, a positive shots difference in both the singles and triples made the home team favourites to take the bonus points in these disciplines.
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
Michael West continued his fine form, opening a lead of five shots at 9-4 after eight ends. His opponent clawed back the lead and their scores were tied after 11 ends. But Michael powered home, scoring on each of the remaining ends to win 14-9.
Tony Gayler was level at 5-5 after seven ends. A dropped 4 was quickly countered with 3 on the next end. Both players remained locked together and were locked together at 12-12 with one end to play. Tony couldn't quite bring the game points home, losing 12-14 but that was good enough to secure the singles discipline bonus points.
Pauline Taylor and Jeanette Gayler put their morning session behind them winning all but one of the first eight ends to lead 15-3. The visiting pair fought back in the second half of the game but Pauline and Jeanette held firm for the 18-11 win.
Audrey and Brian Fowler fell behind early and were six shots adrift at 5-ll after eight ends. They battled back to be a single shot short of their opponents after the penultimate end. They just failed to pull off a comeback win, losing 12-14.
Session 3 result: Hertfordshire 4 game pts + 2 bonus pts Bucks 4 game pts + 2 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
With the final session to play, Hertfordshire needed a maximum return from the last four games and, in a thrilling session, very nearly pulled it off, winning three of the games on the final end.
Rebecca Nightingale, Brian Hatherly and Brian McGivern started badly, dropping 4 on the first end and were 3-10 behind after five ends. They managed to get back to within one shot before dropping 2 shots and trailed 9-12 with three ends to go. A 4 shot count on the 11th end put the home triple in front for the first time but they were immediately knocked back and were one shot behind with one end to play. A final end 2 secured a win and 2 points for Hertfordshire.
Jill Oakes, Peter Griffiths and Liz Bradley were tied at 8-8 after seven ends. Their opponents scored on the next four ends to open up a 6 shot gap but a big 5 shot haul on the penultimate end brought a Hertfordshire win back into the frame. Unfortunately the comeback couldn't quite be completed and Buckinghamshire won 13-16. However, the two triples had done enough to take the triples discipline bonus points by a single shot.
Sue Murray, Eileen Prior, Margaret Regan and Darren Stanford won four of the first five ends to lead 6-1. The Buckinghamshire four hit back with two 3 shot counts to take the lead. This lead changed hands twice more before the teams started their last end locked at 9-9. The Hertfordshire quartet scored the single they needed and won 10-9.
Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor and Alan Hare dominated the first eight ends to lead 9-1. But Buckinghamshire wouldn't lie down and counts of 5 and 3 levelled the scores with the final end to play. In a thrilling end, the shot changed hands several times but the Hertfordshire rink finished with 3 shots to win 12-9. The two Hertfordshire fours fell just 3 shots short of sharing the bonus points.
Session 4 result: Hertfordshire 6 game pts + 2 bonus pts Bucks 2 game pts + 2 bonus points
Match summary
Despite losing 18-22 to a strong Buckinghamshire team, Hertfordshire can take great heart from the fact that, in 11 of the 16 games, they entered the final ends in a position to win. The discipline bonus points were shared and the two counties were so closely matched that the overall shots score was 194-195.
Full Results
Session 1
Singles:Michael West 16, Buckinghamshire 6
Tony Gayler 10, Buckinghamshire 12
Pairs: Audrey Fowler, Brian Fowler 9, Buckinghamshire 19
Pauline Taylor, Jeanette Gayler 12, Buckinghamshire 14
Session 2
Triples:Jill Oakes, Peter Griffiths, Liz Bradley 15 Buckinghamshire 9
Rebecca Nightingale, Brian Hatherly, Brian McGivern 12 Bucks 15
Fours: Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor, Alan Hare 10 Bucks 11
Sue Murray, Eileen Prior, Margaret Regan, Darren Stanford 7 Bucks 13
Session 3
Singles:Michael West 14, Buckinghamshire 9
Tony Gayler 12, Buckinghamshire 14
Pairs: Audrey Fowler, Brian Fowler 12, Buckinghamshire 14
Pauline Taylor, Jeanette Gayler 18, Buckinghamshire 11
Session 4
Triples:Jill Oakes, Peter Griffiths, Liz Bradley 13 Buckinghamshire 16
Rebecca Nightingale, Brian Hatherly, Brian McGivern 15 Bucks 14
Fours: Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor, Alan Hare 12 Bucks 9
Sue Murray, Eileen Prior, Margaret Regan, Darren Stanford 10 Bucks 9
Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 18 - 22 Buckinghamshire
| 1 |
Elizabeth Bradley |
15-9, 13-16 |
| 2 |
Audrey Fowler |
9-19, 12-14 |
| 3 |
Brian Fowler |
9-19, 12-14 |
| 4 |
Jeanette Gayler |
12-14, 18-11 |
| 5 |
Tony Gayler |
7-12, 12-14 |
| 6 |
Peter Griffiths |
15-9, 13-16 |
| 7 |
Alan Hare |
10-11, 12-9 |
| 8 |
Brian Hatherly |
12-15, 15-14 |
| 9 |
Brian McGivern |
12-15, 15-14 |
| 10 |
Sue Murray |
7-13, 10-9 |
| 11 |
Rebecca Nightingale |
12-15, 15-14 |
| 12 |
Jill Quarterman |
15-9, 13-16 |
| 13 |
Margaret Regan |
7-13, 10-9 |
| 14 |
Eileen Prior |
7-13, 10-9 |
| 15 |
Darren Stanford |
7-13, 10-9 |
| 16 |
John Taylor |
10-11, 12-9 |
| 17 |
Pauline Taylor |
12-14, 18-11 |
| 18 |
Adrianne West |
10-11, 12-9 |
| 19 |
Michael West |
16-6, 14-9 |
| 20 |
Jen Holding |
10-11, 12-9 |
| 21 |
A.N. Other |
|
| 22 |
Roy Duke |
|