Match Report
Match Report - 27 Nov 2016, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 beat London
For the second week running Hertfordshire came back from a losing position to win their final qualifying group match at home to London.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
Having suffered at the hands of London’s star singles bowler seven days earlier, Michael West was determined to respond positively and he dominated his game from start to finish. A maximum 4 on the 4th end gave Michael a 6-2 lead. This was part of a five end run which opened the gap further to 10-2 after seven ends. His opponent had a brief comeback for two ends before being rebuffed by a 3 on the 10th end to restore the margin. Michael conceded three singles but finished in style with another 3 to end the game 17-8 in front.
Alan Hare was 0-4 behind after two ends. He replied with three winning ends and took the lead 6-4. However, the next four ends went to London and the score was 6-12 with six ends to play. Each of these ends was settled with a single shot scored with Alan having the edge but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 10-14 defeat.
Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon were only ahead once, leading 2-1 after three ends. Their opponents won six ends on the trot and held a 10 shot advantage with six ends left. Audrey and Sam fought hard for the remainder of the game, winning five ends and giving London a real fright, finishing just one shot down at 12-13.
Jeanette and Tony Gayler were engaged in a real tussle for the first half of their game. They led once, were level twice but trailed 5-7 at the halfway point. A maximum 4 count for the home pair was followed by three more scoring ends and the Gaylers were back in front at 13-7. The Hertfordshire pair went on to win 14-10.
Session 1 result: Hertfordshire 4 points London 4 points
Session 2 (triples and fours)
In the previous week’s encounter the second session had been very poor for Hertfordshire and in this match it was only marginally better.
The only positive result came from Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern. They had a dream start, scoring on all of the first six ends, including a 6th end 4 to lead 11-0. The visitors could only score on three ends and the Hertfordshire trio romped home 18-3.
In an almost mirror image of this game, Cherry Nolan, Alan Spicer and Ted Nolan were 0-9 down after just four ends. Having got on the scoreboard with a 2, things went downhill from there. A 3 and two 4s were dropped in a patch that saw London build their lead to 2-22. The Herts triple did score again but were well beaten at 3-24.
Rebecca Nightingale, Brian Hatherly, John Taylor and Liz Bradley had a similarly slow start, trailing 0-7 after four ends. They closed the gap to 4-7 before conceding seven unanswered shots. They won the final two ends and lost 8-14.
The pattern of the session continued in the other fours game. Adrianne West, Pauline Taylor, Peter Griffiths and Darren Stanford were 1-7 behind after five ends. They too narrowed the gap to three shots at 4-7 and were within two with two ends remaining. However, their opponents took both of these and the final score was 6-12.
Session 2 result: Hertfordshire 2 points London 6 points
With two sessions of play to come, Hertfordshire were behind 6-10.
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
The comeback started in this session and was led by Michael West. With 3 shots on the third end he took the lead which he was not to relinquish. He added a 4 and three singles to open up an eight shot gap at 10-2. His opponent closed to 11-5 but any hopes were quickly dashed with 8 shots in three ends for Michael. The game ended with 2 points for Hertfordshire at 19-8.
The first half of Alan Hare’s game was very even. Both players held the lead twice and the scores were tied twice; 7-7 at seven ends played. The game slipped away in the next four ends and Alan was behind 7-11. The final six ends were low scoring with the London singleton having the better of things as the game closed out at 9-15.
Audrey Fowler and Sam Salmon were involved in a thrilling encounter. The scores were tied at 2-2, 3-3, 7-7 and 8-8. The scoring sequence included a tied end where the umpire was unable to separate the two nearest bowls. The Herts pair took the lead at 9-8 only to see it disappear with 3 shots to their opposition and two ends left. Audrey and Sam wrenched the lead back with a maximum 4 count and finished off with a single to win 14-11.
The husband and wife pair of Jeanette and Tony Gayler completed their day’s play in style. The closest their opponents got was at 4-3 after five ends. From there on there was a steady stream of scoring from the Herts duo, mainly 2s and a single 3. They ended 20-5 ahead to complete a maximum haul of 4 points from their games plus the 2 bonus points for an aggregate win across all four pairs games.
Session 3 result: Hertfordshire 6 game points + 2 bonus pts London 2 game points + 2 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
Entering the final session of play in their qualifying group, Hertfordshire were level with London at 14-14. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the earlier session the Hertfordshire team management made some tactical positional changes which proved ultimately to be successful.
In the game involving Jill Oakes, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern the momentum swung backwards and forwards. The Herts triple were 1-4 down before a six end spell gave them the lead at 8-4. They then proceeded to lose four ends and trailed 8-10 with just the last end to come. A last bowl drawing shot gave the home team 2 shots and a drawn result at 10-10.
Rebecca Nightingale and Liz Bradley joined Ted Nolan in the other triple and led from start to finish. They were 5-0 up after just three ends. They maintained a clear advantage until the 11th end when they dropped a 5 and were only 10-9 in front. However, they held their game together and the final score line was 13-9.
Cherry Nolan, Brian Hatherly, John Taylor and Alan Spicer looked like winners for most of their game. They took a 5-1 lead into the fifth end. Their opponents closed to 5-4 before the Herts quartet went 7-4 ahead. A 3 for the visitors levelled the scores but Herts responded with a single to lead again with two ends remaining. The Londoners then struck a devastating blow with 7 shots on the penultimate end and had turned their game around to win at 8-16.
The match result hinged on the final fours game and Adrianne West, Pauline Taylor, Peter Griffiths and Darren Stanford could hardly have started worse; 0-7 behind after two ends. Having dropped a 5 on the 2nd end, the Herts foursome replied with a 4 of their own on the 4th to trail 5-7. The Londoners scored a single and then the Herts players grabbed the initiative. They scored on five consecutive ends to lead 12-8 and only one end to go. They closed out their game at 12-9, a result which also ensured the bonus points from the fours discipline went to Hertfordshire.
Session 4 result: Hertfordshire 5 game points + 2 bonus pts London 3 game points + 2 bonus pts
Match summary
This win was the fourth win from Hertfordshire’s six games in their qualifying group. This would normally be enough to guarantee a top two finish but the group is tightly balanced. Hertfordshire have finished their qualifying campaign ahead of the other teams and must wait on the results of the others. At the moment, Hertfordshire top the group although Buckinghamshire look certain to finish with more points and be the group winners.
Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 21 - 19 London
| 1 |
Elizabeth Bradley |
8-14,13-9 |
| 2 |
Mary Chadd |
18-3,10-10 |
| 3 |
Audrey Fowler |
12-13,14-11 |
| 4 |
Jeanette Gayler |
14-10,20-5 |
| 5 |
Tony Gayler |
14-10,20-5 |
| 6 |
Peter Griffiths |
6-12,12-9 |
| 7 |
Alan Hare |
10-14,9-15 |
| 8 |
Brian Hatherly |
8-14,8-16 |
| 9 |
Brian McGivern |
18-3,10-10 |
| 10 |
Rebecca Nightingale |
8-14,13-9 |
| 11 |
Cherry Nolan |
3-24,8-16 |
| 12 |
Rosemary Followell |
3-24,13-9 |
| 13 |
Jill Quarterman |
18-3,10-10 |
| 14 |
Scot Salmon |
12-13,14-11 |
| 15 |
Alan Spicer |
3-24,8-16 |
| 16 |
Darren Stanford |
6-12,12-9 |
| 17 |
John Taylor |
8-14,8-16 |
| 18 |
Pauline Taylor |
6-12,12-9 |
| 19 |
Adrianne West |
6-12,12-9 |
| 20 |
Michael West |
17-8,19-8 |
| 21 |
Margaret Regan |
|
| 22 |
Jen Holding |
|