Match Report
Match Report - 30 Oct 2016, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 lost to Buckinghamshire
Hertfordshire missed out on a chance to beat Buckinghamshire when they slipped from a winning position to a disappointing defeat in their latest Inter County Championship qualifying group match.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
The points were shared in the first session of play as both pairs won while both singles players suffered defeats.
Apart from the first end, Michael West trailed throughout his game. At ten ends Michael was just 3 shots behind. Dropping two 2s, Michael saw the gap widen to 7-14. He fought hard to claw back the deficit, winning the last three ends, finishing 11-14 adrift.
Alan Hare started well and led 5-0 after three ends. His opponent registered two 3s and a 2 to take the lead before a 3 for Alan levelled the scores. The Bucks player again won three consecutive ends and led 8-13 with two thirds of the game played. Alan closed to within three shots but dropped a maximum 4 shot count on the penultimate end. The final score was 12-18.
Pauline Taylor and Darren Stanford were involved in a low scoring game with the first ten ends settled by single shots. The home pair held the edge at 6-4. The visitors broke the pattern with two 2s to snatch the lead before a finishing burst of three ends for Herts, including a 3 on the 14th end, re-established the advantage and secured a win at 12-8.
Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon had an equally tight encounter. The biggest score was a 3 on the 3rd end for the Herts duo which gave them an early lead. The Bucks pair drew level twice before a five end sequence of winning ends took Audrey and Sam to a 12-6 lead with two ends to play. They could afford to drop a couple of singles and finish 12-8 ahead.
Session 1 result: Hertfordshire 4 pts Buckinghamshire 4 pts
Session 2 (triples and fours)
The second session was very nearly a clean sweep for Hertfordshire, with only one defeat by a single shot.
Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern leapt out to a 7-1 lead after five ends, including a 4 shot count on the second end. The game then settled to a pattern with each team winning alternate ends. A 4 on the 10th end and a single on the next brought the Bucks triple within one shot. In an attempt to break the scoring sequence, the Herts players changed positions for the penultimate end. Their tactical switch worked and, reverting to their original order, they topped off their morning’s work with a maximum 6 shots on the last end. This final flourish was later to prove vital in scoring a bonus point.
Jeanette and Tony Gayler, together with Margaret Regan, scored only once in the first seven ends of their game, a 3 on the third end, and trailed 3-10. They turned the game on its head with five winning ends to go ahead 11-10 with just the last end to play. They couldn’t quite finish off their comeback, losing 2 shots and ending 11-12 down.
Peter Griffiths, Margaret Hare, John Taylor and Gordon Burrow were ahead for most of their game, maintaining the edge by three or four shots. The gap closed to two shots on the penultimate end before a final emphatic 4 count suppressed any jitters to register a win for Herts at 12-6.
Adrianne West, Clive Mark, Alan Spicer and Ted Nolan took an early two shot lead at 4-2 after just two ends and were never headed again. Each time their opponents scored a single shot, they responded with a double of their own and gradually built a decisive position, finishing 10-6 ahead.
Session 2 result: Hertfordshire 6 pts Buckinghamshire 2 pts
With a 10-6 points lead at the halfway point, Hertfordshire were looking good for a positive result against regular qualifying group rivals Buckinghamshire.
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
The singles and pairs reversed their earlier results with both singles winning and both pairs losing.
Michael West got off to a slow start and was 3-8 down after six ends. He got into the game with two big scoring ends. A 3 on each grabbed the lead for a short time before he slipped behind only to go ahead again at 11-10. Scores were levelled yet again on the 12th end; 12-12 with three ends to go. Scoring twice without reply, Michael carried a three shot lead into the last end and held on for a 15-13 win.
Alan Hare started well, leading 5-0 after three ends. His Bucks opponent responded with four winning ends to go ahead 5-6. Alan levelled the scores on the next end, something that was to happen three times in the game. A 2 on the 12th end tied matters at 11-11. Each of the remaining ends was decided by single shots, Alan just having the edge to win 13-12. Combined with the morning scores, the Herts singles players missed out on their bonus points by 6 shots.
The pairs were carrying an 8 shot overall lead into their afternoon session. Pauline Taylor and Darren Stanford couldn’t get started and five consecutive 2s conceded had them 0-10 down. They narrowed the gap to 5 shots with a 2 and a 3 only to see the margin restored with two 3s in three ends. The Herts pair won three of the remaining five ends but could get no closer than 10-18.
A win was required from Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon to maintain Hertfordshire’s overall lead. Unfortunately they could only move the scoreboard on three of their fifteen ends and, despite limiting the scoring of their opponents, lost 3-16.
Session 3 result: Herts 4 game pts + 0 bonus pts Bucks 4 game pts + 4 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
With the loss of all 4 bonus points so far, the match points were now tied at 14-14. Hopes of a repeat performance from the triples and fours were harshly dashed by the final session whitewash for the visitors.
Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern started well enough, leading 6-1 after three ends. A Bucks 3 shot end was followed by a 4 shot count to overtake the home trio. Scores were level again next end but another 3 shots dropped established a lead which Bucks would not relinquish. Two 2s and another 3 dropped and the game was effectively lost with two ends to play. Herts ended the game positively with two 2s and the final score was 13-18. This gave the other Herts triple 2 shots in hand for the bonus points.
Brian Fowler stepped in as a substitute to play with the Gayler husband and wife combo. Hopes were set back early with a 5 shot 2nd end for Bucks. After six ends things were worse at 2-9. The Herts triple responded very positively, scoring three times including a 4 on the 9th end to go ahead 10-9. It was Bucks turn to bounce back with three ends of their own and they led 10-15 with just the last end to play. Brian, Jeanette and Tony dug deep to finish with a 3 shot count which meant that the triples bonus points were shared.
In the game involving Peter Griffiths, Margaret Hare, John Taylor and Gordon Burrow, scoring alternated on the first four ends with both sides scoring a 3 and a 2. Herts led for the first time on the next end but were pegged back and trailed 6-9 after eight ends. A single and a 3 on the 10th end had the Herts foursome ahead 10-9 with the last end to play. Having scored a 3, they conceded the same score and were disappointed to finish 10-12 behind.
The first two ends of the other fours game (Adrianne West, Clive Mark, Alan Spicer and Ted Nolan) proved to be decisive. The home rink dropped two 4s before an exchange of 2s and trailed 2-10 after four ends. Once they got started, they marginally outscored their opponents in the remaining seven ends, finishing with a 7-14 score line. The extra shot was just enough to take both bonus points with an aggregate 39-38 win in the fours discipline.
Session 4 result: Herts 0 game pts + 3 bonus pts Bucks 8 game pts + 1 bonus pt
Match summary
Following such a positive morning Hertfordshire were rightly disappointed not to come away with the match win. The result maintains the county’s top spot in the qualifying group although they have played more games than the other three teams.
Hertfordshire’s next match in the qualifying group is a really tough away fixture against London on the 20th of November. The capital county are formidable at their home venue in Croydon.
Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 17 - 23 Buckinghamshire
| 1 |
Gordon Burrow |
12-6,10-12 |
| 2 |
Mary Chadd |
18-10,13-18 |
| 3 |
Audrey Fowler |
12-8,3-16 |
| 4 |
Jeanette Gayler |
11-12,13-15 |
| 5 |
Tony Gayler |
11-12,13-15 |
| 6 |
Peter Griffiths |
12-6,10-12 |
| 7 |
Alan Hare |
12-18,13-12 |
| 8 |
Margaret Hare |
12-6,10-12 |
| 9 |
Clive Mark |
10-6,7-14 |
| 10 |
Brian McGivern |
18-10,13-18 |
| 11 |
Rosemary Followell |
10-6,7-14 |
| 12 |
Jill Quarterman |
18-10,13-18 |
| 13 |
Margaret Regan |
11-12 |
| 14 |
Scot Salmon |
12-8,3-16 |
| 15 |
Alan Spicer |
10-6,7-14 |
| 16 |
Darren Stanford |
12-8,10-18 |
| 17 |
John Taylor |
12-6,10-12 |
| 18 |
Pauline Taylor |
12-8,10-18 |
| 19 |
Adrianne West |
10-6,7-14 |
| 20 |
Michael West |
11-14,15-13 |
| 21 |
Cherry Nolan |
|
| 22 |
Brian Fowler |
13-15 |