Match Report
Match Report - 20 Nov 2016, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 beat London
Hertfordshire put in a solid, all round performance in their latest Inter County Championship qualifying group match to snatch a late victory against London.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
Hertfordshire got off to a fine start, taking six of the eight points in the opening session of play. The only person to miss out was Michael West who was up against a formidable opponent with home mat advantage. Michael was quickly behind, trailing 0-6 after four ends. He scored a single to get on the scoreboard but that was only one of four as he was soundly beaten 4-17.
Teammate Alan Hare was involved in a tight game in the other singles. Having dropped a 3 on the opening end, he responded with three scoring ends including a 4 to take the lead at 6-3. The London player drew level two ends later before Alan pulled ahead again; 11-6 after eight ends. Once more his opposite number tied the scores at 11-11 with four ends to play. Outscoring the Londoner by 4 shots to 1 over the next three ends, Alan carried a three shot advantage into the decider and, despite dropping 2 shots, held on for a 15-14 win.
Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon got off to a flier, registering two maximum 4 shot counts to lead 8-0. They maintained their lead and were 13-4 ahead when they scored another maximum and a single to take the score to 18-4. From this seemingly comfortable position, the Herts team were reminded that they could take nothing for granted as the London pair won all remaining ends and finished just two behind at 18-16.
Jeanette and Tony Gayler teamed up in the other pairs game. The opening five ends were closely contested with the Londoners just edging it 2-3. The Herts pair managed to reverse the lead and were 5-4 up after eight ends. They then struck with a 4 shot count to stretch their lead to five shots. Back came London with a 4 of their own three ends later and the advantage was reduced to just one. Jeanette and Tony added a single before losing a 3 and went into the last end one shot down. The husband and wife combo for Herts finished in emphatic style, scoring 4 shots to win 15-12.
Session 1 result: London 2 points Hertfordshire 6 points
Session 2 (triples and fours)
Hopes of building on such a strong opening session were dashed in the triples and fours with Hertfordshire taking just one of the eight points on offer.
After three ends Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern were tied at 3-3 with their opposition. The Herts triple scores a 4 to go ahead but their lead was wiped out in the next two ends. A single to Herts was followed by three ends where 4 shots were scored on each. London took the lead with the first of these before being pegged back by Herts. Another single gave the Herts trio a six shot lead at 17-11 with just two ends to play. However, they let that lead slip with a 2 and a final end 4 count to finish level at 17-17.
Cherry and Ted Nolan were partnered by Alan Spicer in the second triples game which followed a similar pattern to their teammates for the first nine ends. Level at 3-3 after three ends, Hertfordshire scored a 3 and a 1 to open a four shot lead. They carried this lead forward to the eighth end from where they dropped two 3s and a 4. With three ends to play, the Herts trio were six shots adrift and could only narrow that gap by one to end up 10-15 behind.
Pauline Taylor, Brian Fowler, Peter Griffiths and Darren Stanford opened up with three cagey ends decided by single shots. The fourth end was decisive as they conceded a devastating 6 shots, closely followed by another 3. Despite this setback, they showed their fighting spirit winning five of the remaining six ends, giving London a real fright as they closed at just 11-12 behind.
Rebecca Nightingale, Margaret Hare, John Taylor and Bill Gearing shared the first four ends of their game before notching 3 shots to lead 5-2. They were still ahead 7-4 with three ends to go but failed to score again and final score was 7-11.
Session 2 result: London 7 points Hertfordshire 1 point
After such a positive opening, Hertfordshire were disappointingly trailing 7-9 at the half time interval.
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
Michael West bounced back from his earlier reverse and was behind only once; 2-4 after four ends. He scored two 3s to take an 8-4 lead. He lost just two more ends and came out 16-7 on top.
Alan Hare had to endure a similar experience to Michael’s morning in his game. The local singles star was in impressive form again, losing only three single shots in fifteen ends. The score was 3-22 in London’s favour.
Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon effectively lost their game on the opening end. They dropped the maximum 4 shots which proved to be the difference. Audrey and Sam fought hard, levelling at 4-4 before slipping back again. They trailed 6-10 at the two thirds point. London just got the better of the next two ends before a 3 and a single took the Herts pair to within a single shot at 11-12 with the last end to come. They couldn’t quite complete their comeback and lost 3 shots to finish at 11-15.
Jeanette and Tony Gayler had a ding-dong battle in which the lead changed hands five times. They had the better of the first four ends, including a 4 to stand 8-3 ahead. A 4 for London on the 8th end tied the scores at 9-9 and the Londoners added another three shots on the next two ends. The three shot gap was eradicated on the 11th end before London went ahead again with three ends to play. Back came the Gaylers with a 2 to tie the scores followed by scores on the last two ends and a 17-14 win.
The two Hertfordshire pairs had an aggregate win over their opponents and scored two bonus points.
Session 3 result: London 4 game points + 2 bonus pts Hertfordshire 4 game points + 2 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
Still trailing by 2 points overall, Hertfordshire needed a strong finish from the triples and fours who had disappointed in their morning session. The Hertfordshire players pulled out all the stops for a winning final session of play.
The first five ends for Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern were tightly contested, with the Hertfordshire three leading 3-2. The next three ends were very costly; a 2, 3 and 4 dropped meant the London triple led 3-11 after eight ends. The final three ends followed the same pattern as the opening five but the damage had been done in that middle patch and London took the points 6-13.
Cherry Nolan, Alan Spicer and Ted Nolan slipped behind early on and were 0-5 behind after just two ends. They responded very positively, winning the next five ends, including a 3 and a 4 to carry a 10-5 lead into the second half of the game. The London triple won two of the next three ends to narrow the gap to 11-9 with two to play. The two teams exchanged 2 shot ends to finish and Herts came out 13-11 winners.
Pauline Taylor, Brian Fowler, Peter Griffiths and Darren Stanford led throughout their game. They opened up with 2 shots. They scored on ends 3 to 7 and were 13-1 up with four ends remaining. Despite not scoring again, they held their London opponents in check and won their game 13-8.
The match result would be decided by the final fours game. Rebecca Nightingale, Margaret Hare, John Taylor and Bill Gearing started with a non-scoring tied end. They edged the next two ends and then struck a decisive blow with 5 shots on the 4th end. Going 8-1 ahead on the next end, they dropped a single and a 2 but still led 8-4 with four ends left. The 8th and 9th ends were shared with singles before a 3 shot winning penultimate end effectively won the game for the Herts quartet. They could afford to drop two shots on the last end and still come out on top at 12-7.
The Hertfordshire fours had reversed a five shot deficit from their morning games to grab the vital 2 bonus points and confirm Hertfordshire as the winners of this match.
Session 4 result: London 2 game points + 2 bonus pts Hertfordshire 6 game points + 2 bonus pts
Match summary
Hertfordshire had a strong start and finish to the match, recovering from a disappointing second session. All 20 players for Hertfordshire scored points on the day.
London 19 - 21 Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2
| 1 |
Mary Chadd |
17-17,6-13 |
| 2 |
Audrey Fowler |
18-16,11-15 |
| 3 |
Brian Fowler |
11-12,13-8 |
| 4 |
Jeanette Gayler |
15-12,17-14 |
| 5 |
Tony Gayler |
15-12,17-14 |
| 6 |
Bill Gearing |
7-11,12-7 |
| 7 |
Peter Griffiths |
11-12,13-8 |
| 8 |
Alan Hare |
15-14,3-22 |
| 9 |
Margaret Hare |
7-11,12-7 |
| 10 |
Brian McGivern |
17-17,6-13 |
| 11 |
Rebecca Nightingale |
7-11,12-7 |
| 12 |
Cherry Nolan |
10-15,13-11 |
| 13 |
Rosemary Followell |
10-15,13-11 |
| 14 |
Jill Quarterman |
17-17,6-13 |
| 15 |
Scot Salmon |
18-16,11-15 |
| 16 |
Alan Spicer |
10-15,13-11 |
| 17 |
Darren Stanford |
11-12,13-8 |
| 18 |
John Taylor |
7-11,12-7 |
| 19 |
Pauline Taylor |
11-12,13-8 |
| 20 |
Michael West |
4-17,16-7 |
| 21 |
Margaret Regan |
|
| 22 |
Adrianne West |
|