Match Report
Match Report - 23 Oct 2016, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 beat Northamptonshire
Following their victory in Daventry two weeks previously, Hertfordshire comfortably completed the double over Northamptonshire. A solid all round performance saw the home side score aggregate wins, each worth two bonus points, in three of the four disciplines.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
Michael West continued his season’s unbeaten run with a comprehensive 15-4 win. Losing only four of fifteen ends he dominated throughout. The only time he was behind was after conceding a single on the first end. From there on, he scored consistently to secure the two points.
Alan Hare fared less well. He started slowly and was 1-9 behind after five ends. A maximum four count closed the gap and three ends later the same score took him ahead at 11-10. He fell behind again before levelling the scores with four ends to play. His opponent had the better of the deciding ends, scoring 5 shots without reply and the game finished 12-17 in Northants’ favour.
Pauline Taylor and Darren Stanford had a really close tussle with their opponents. At one point five shots behind, they fought hard to level the scores at 10-10 after twelve ends. They took the lead on the 13th end, lost it again on the 14th before scoring a last end 2 to take the win by the narrowest of margins at 13-12.
A new pairs combination of Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon opened their partnership with an impressive win. Winning eleven ends, they never really offered the opposition a chance to press and went on to win 14-7.
Session 1 result: Hertfordshire 6 pts Northamptonshire 2 pts
Session 2 (triples and fours)
Hertfordshire looked to build on their good opening session and didn’t disappoint, performing a clean sweep of the points in the second session of play.
Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern had an emphatic start and led 10-0 after five ends. A brief flurry from the Northants trio had them winning the next three ends before the Herts players responded with a 3 and a 2 to open a 12 shot gap. They cruised home to win 16-5.
Cherry Nolan, Margaret Regan and Ted Nolan had a similar start and were 10-1 ahead after six ends. They powered on with a 3 and three singles before the opposition could make any significant contribution. The Northants triple won the last three ends but were beaten 16-8.
In the fours, debutant Gordon Burrow skipped Rebecca Nightingale, Liz Bradley and John Taylor to a 9-8 victory. The Hertfordshire foursome was behind for most of the game, briefly levelling at 5-5 after seven ends before dropping a 2. A single narrowed the gap and a 3 shot count on the penultimate end gave them a vital two shot lead. They held on, losing the last end but conceding just a single.
Peter Griffiths, Eileen Prior, Robin Quarterman and Bill Gearing faced a similar challenge. They started slowly, falling 0-6 behind. Taking the next four ends, they drew level at 6-6. An exchange of singles saw parity maintained before the Herts quad closed the game out with two winning ends including a last end 3 count.
Session 2 result: Hertfordshire 8 pts Northamptonshire 0 pts
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
Michael West’s fine run finally came to an end in the afternoon session. He trailed all the way in his game and, every time he threatened, his opponent responded with a big score. Michael got within four shots with the last end to play. Needing a maximum to snatch a point from the game, his attacking play went unrewarded and he fell to his first defeat of the season 10-18.
Alan Hare fought hard without being able to break away from his opponent. Alan led after four ends and nine ends but failed to score again, losing out 8-17.
Pauline Taylor and Darren Stanford were briefly level after two ends before falling behind 1-8 at six ends played. They never got closer than six shots down before a last end 3 finished the game at 11-16. These final 3 shots could have been important if their pairs colleagues had slipped up in any way.
However, Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon continued their fine form from the morning. Despite dropping a maximum 4 count on the first end, they went on a seven end scoring burst including two 3s to open up an 11-4 lead. The Northants pair closed to within two shots but were rebuffed when a home team 4 settled the game. The final score was 16-13 and the overall score in the pairs discipline was 54-48, good enough to take the additional two points for the aggregate win.
Session 3 result: Herts 2 game pts + 2 bonus pts Northants 6 game pts + 2 bonus points
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
With 18 points in the bag, Hertfordshire still needed three more for the match victory.
Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern again led from start to finish. Their Northants opponents did get within two shots at eight ends before a 3 and two 2s dashed their hopes. Disappointingly, the Herts trio conceded 5 shots on the last end but finished 15-12 winners.
Cherry Nolan, Margaret Regan and Ted Nolan matched their teammates on the adjacent mat and led by the same score of 8-3 after seven ends. They then dropped two 3s to fall back. With two ends to play, they closed to a single shot deficit but were held off on the last two ends and ended with a 9-14 loss. Their result did maintain the overall lead in the triples and two more bonus points were added to the match score.
Rebecca Nightingale, Liz Bradley, John Taylor and Gordon Burrow contested a low scoring game. Neither rink scored more than a 2 with Northants having the better time of it. The Herts foursome lost 5-11.
The remaining fours game went the way of the home team. Peter Griffiths, Eileen Prior, Robin Quarterman and Bill Gearing grabbed a five shot lead in the first two ends. Their opponents replied with two 2s before four winning ends out of five had the Herts rink leading by 12-5. A 4 shot score on the penultimate end offered some hope to the Northants team which was dashed by a last end double for Herts and a 14-9 win. The two Herts fours outscored their opposition and secured the 2 bonus points.
Session 4 result: Herts 4 game pts + 4 bonus points Northants 4 game points + 0 bonus pts
Match summary
This win puts Hertfordshire top of their qualifying group although they have played more matches than the other three counties.
Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 26 - 14 Northamptonshire
| 1 |
Elizabeth Bradley |
9-8,5-11 |
| 2 |
Gordon Burrow |
9-8,5-11 |
| 3 |
Mary Chadd |
16-5,15-12 |
| 4 |
Audrey Fowler |
14-7,16-13 |
| 5 |
Bill Gearing |
11-7,14-9 |
| 6 |
Peter Griffiths |
11-7,14-9 |
| 7 |
Alan Hare |
12-17,8-17 |
| 8 |
Brian McGivern |
16-5,15-12 |
| 9 |
Rebecca Nightingale |
9-8,5-11 |
| 10 |
Cherry Nolan |
16-8,9-14 |
| 11 |
Rosemary Followell |
16-8,9-14 |
| 12 |
Jill Quarterman |
16-5,15-12 |
| 13 |
Eileen Prior |
11-7,14-9 |
| 14 |
Robin Quarterman |
11-7,14-9 |
| 15 |
Margaret Regan |
16-8,9-14 |
| 16 |
Scot Salmon |
14-7,16-13 |
| 17 |
Darren Stanford |
13-12,11-16 |
| 18 |
John Taylor |
9-8,5-11 |
| 19 |
Pauline Taylor |
13-12,11-16 |
| 20 |
Michael West |
15-4,10-18 |
| 21 |
Adrianne West |
|
| 22 |
Margaret Hare |
|