Match Report
Match Report - 13 Dec 2015, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 beat Northamptonshire
Hertfordshire completed their Inter County Championship qualifying group matches with an away win against Northamptonshire. The result sees Hertfordshire finish second in the group which is good enough to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
Michael West got the county off to a great start with an emphatic 24-3 win. He scored 12 shots before his opponent got on the scoreboard and continued to dominate, losing just one more end. Tony Gayler lost the first three ends to trail by 7 shots and wasn’t able to close the gap until the last three ends when a 6 shot flourish brought him back to lose 10-13.
Audrey Fowler and Darren Stanford led virtually from start to finish in their 17-10 victory. Similarly, Pauline Taylor and Jeanette Gayler were never headed. They lost only six of fifteen ends and kept their opponents to singles, running out 17-6 winners.
Session 1 result: Northamptonshire 2 pts Hertfordshire 6 pts
Session 2 (triples and fours)
Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths and Liz Bradley had a close encounter with the lead changing hands five times. Tied at 10-10 with two ends to play they couldn’t quite close out the win and went down 10-13. Sue Murray, Jill Oakes and Brian McGivern went ahead on the third end and never looked back finishing 18-6.
Margaret Hare, Brian Hatherly, Sam Salmon and Alan Hare couldn’t quite got going and won just two ends in their 3-13 loss. Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor and Brian Fowler led 9-3 with four ends to play before their opponents fought back to snatch a 9-9 draw.
Session 2 result: Northamptonshire 5 pts Hertfordshire 3 pts
Hertfordshire went into this match needing just 2 points to qualify for the knockout phase so the job was done very early on but it was important that the players didn’t take their eye off the jack.
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
Tony Gayler had a much better time in his singles game and ran out a 16-9 winner. Michael West, the star of the first session, came up against an opponent who was simply inspired and could do no wrong. Michael finished 11-15 behind.
Audrey Fowler and Darren Stanford slipped 0-7 behind after three ends before clawing back the deficit to be tied at 9-9 after ten ends. A maximum 4 shot count gave them a lead which they didn’t relinquish, finishing at 15-11. Pauline Taylor and Jeanette Gayler lost out to the last bowl of their closely contested game, losing 11-13.
Session 3 result: Northants 4 game pts + 0 bonus pts Hertfordshire 4 game pts + 4 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths and Liz Bradley were behind for most of their game but came back strongly, winning all four last ends and winning 14-11. Sue Murray, Jill Oakes and Brian McGivern started well enough and led by 2 shots after six ends. They then went into reverse gear dropping 9 shots without reply and finished on the wrong end of a 9-15 scoreline.
Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor and Brian Fowler were playing catchup for most of their game and, despite picking up 4 shots on the last end, lost out 8-13. Margaret Hare, Brian Hatherly, Sam Salmon and Alan Hare quickly took a 9-0 lead including a 5 shot count on the second end. The remainder of their game was tightly contested with single shots being traded. The final result was an 11-7 win for the Hertfordshire quartet.
Session 4 result: Northants 4 game pts + 2 bonus pts Hertfordshire 4 game pts + 2 bonus points
Match summary
The developing strength in depth of the Hertfordshire count squad was clearly in evidence with all players contributing points to the winning result.
Hertfordshire finished their qualifying campaign as group runners up and now progress to the knockout phase. With 18 teams left in the competition, Hertfordshire will hope to have done enough to avoid a preliminary match. The draw will take place in early January.
Well done to Hertfordshire players for a good win away from home.
Just very disappointed in Northamptonshire's behaviour at the end of the match yet again.
Northamptonshire 17 - 23 Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2
| 1 |
Elizabeth Bradley |
10-13,14-11 |
| 2 |
Audrey Fowler |
17-10,15-11 |
| 3 |
Brian Fowler |
9-9,8-13 |
| 4 |
Jeanette Gayler |
17-6,11-13 |
| 5 |
Tony Gayler |
10-13,16-9 |
| 6 |
Peter Griffiths |
10-13,14-11 |
| 7 |
Brian Hatherly |
3-13,11-7 |
| 8 |
Alan Hare |
3-13,11-7 |
| 9 |
Margaret Hare |
3-13,11-7 |
| 10 |
Brian McGivern |
18-6,9-15 |
| 11 |
Sue Murray |
18-6,9-15 |
| 12 |
Jill Quarterman |
18-6,9-15 |
| 13 |
Margaret Regan |
10-13,14-11 |
| 14 |
Darren Stanford |
17-10,15-11 |
| 15 |
Scot Salmon |
3-13,11-7 |
| 16 |
John Taylor |
9-9,8-13 |
| 17 |
Pauline Taylor |
17-6,11-13 |
| 18 |
Adrianne West |
9-9,8-13 |
| 19 |
Michael West |
24-3,11-15 |
| 20 |
Jen Holding |
9-9,8-13 |
| 21 |
Ken Murray |
|
| 22 |
Rebecca Nightingale |
|