Match Report
Match Report - 24 Sep 2017, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 lost to Buckinghamshire
Bucks versus Herts, known by some as the Venison Derby, was Hertfordshire’s opening fixture of this year’s Inter County Championship. After a dream start Hertfordshire were ultimately disappointed, coming very close to inflicting a rare home defeat on their Buckinghamshire neighbours.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
Michael West, Hertfordshire’s leading point scorer from last season, opened up an early 6-2 lead. His opponent responded well and with a maximum 4 count went ahead at 8-9 after nine ends. Michael re-established his lead with a three end scoring run and, with 4 scored on the penultimate end, had won the game with an end to spare. The final score was 16-11. In the other singles game Alan Spicer was given the responsibility of solo play for the first time. Things were not looking good at the halfway stage as Alan trailed 1-11. But, in a remarkable comeback, Alan scored on seven of the remaining eight ends. He took the lead on the 14th end and finished in style with a 3 count to secure a 17-13 win.
Husband and wife pair Audrey and Brian Fowler traded shots with their opposition to trail 2-3 after five ends. They took the lead on the next end and did not relinquish it again, finishing 13-9 ahead. Pauline Taylor and Alan Hare won six of the first seven ends and were 9-1 in front. A brief 3 shot reply from the Bucks duo was quickly fended off and Herts took the points at 14-6.
That completed a clean sweep for Herts in the first session and a maximum 8 points.
Session 1 result: Buckinghamshire 0 pts Hertfordshire 8 pts
Session 2 (triples and fours)
In the triples Mike Eccleston of Northiam was making his debut for the county side. Things didn’t start well for Mike, Jill Oakes and Jeanette Gayler. They failed to score until the 6th end but a 4 count had them only 3 shots adrift at 4-7. The Herts trio were even closer at 7-9 after nine ends before a dropped 4 dashed their hopes and the game ended with Bucks ahead 8-16. Adrianne West, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern were involved in a close encounter of the best kind and led 5-4 after seven ends. They dropped a 4 count on the next end, got back to within one shot and before falling back again to be 7-11 behind with just the last end to play. In a thrilling last end, with the final bowl of the game Brian played a Herts bowls on to the jack, moving it enough to count the 5 shots needed for a 12-11 win.
In the fours another debutant, Diana Davies of Harpenden, was involved in a game of two halfs. The Herts quartet of Diana, Margaret Hare, Tony Gayler and Bill Gearing scored 13 shots without reply in six ends. The Bucks foursome turned the game on its head, winning all of the remaining ends but Herts held on for a 13-9 score line. In the remaining fours game Sue Murray, Robin Quarterman, Sam Salmon and Ken Murray opened up with a scoring burst for 5 shots. They led 6-2 after five ends but failed to affect the scoreboard again finishing on the end of a 6-12 reverse.
Session 2 result: Buckinghamshire 4 pts Hertfordshire 4 pts
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
Michael West and his opponent each scored in two end spurts. The most significant end was a 4 shot success for Bucks on the 7th end and the score was 8-10 after eight ends. Michael fell further behind to trail by four with two ends to go. He managed to score a brace on each of the last ends and finished level at 14-14. Alan Spicer looked to be starting as he had in his earlier game losing 5 shots before getting on the scoreboard. He responded to level the scores at 6-6, briefly went ahead after nine ends before dropping back again. But a maximum 4 shots on the 11th end took Alan to 12-9. The remaining four ends were close and included a tied last end for a Herts win at 14-10.
The game involving Audrey and Brian Fowler was level after five ends. With a 3 and a 1 the Fowlers went ahead and opened the gap further to lead 11-6 with three ends to play. The Bucks pair fought back strongly to level on the penultimate end and went on to complete a home win at 11-12. Pauline Taylor and Alan Hare scored a single on the first end but were never ahead again. They were within 2 shots after six ends but steady scoring from their opposition saw the Herts duo losing 9-17.
Despite both Herts pairs losing, they had kept the scores close enough to complete an aggregate win in their discipline which is rewarded by 2 bonus points matching those of the Herts singles players.
Session 3 result: Bucks 5 game pts + 0 bonus pts Hertfordshire 3 game pts + 4 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
With 19 points already secured, a win in any of the remaining games would give Hertfordshire a winning start to their qualifying campaign.
Diana Davies, Margaret Hare, Tony Gayler and Bill Gearing were always behind in their fours game. They scored on three of the eleven ends and finished 6-17 behind. The other Herts quartet of Sue Murray, Robin Quarterman, Sam Salmon and Ken Murray won more ends than their opponents but could only record single shot scores. Significantly, they dropped a 4 at the midpoint of the game and were beaten 6-9.
Mike Eccleston, Jill Oakes and Jeanette Gayler could not get started. They lost shots repeatedly until they finally scored on the 11th end and went down 2-19. Adrianne West, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern opened up with 3 shots on the first end. They slipped behind before a 4 shot haul took them into an 8-5 lead. Another 3 on the 9th end had Herts ahead by 6 shots (13-7) with four ends to play. But the Herts threesome couldn’t close out the game and, with a disappointing 3 shots dropped on the last end, failed to register the points necessary for the match victory.
Session 4 result: Bucks 8 game pts + 4 bonus pts Hertfordshire 0 game pts + 0 bonus points
Match summary
Buckinghamshire are almost unbeatable at home but Hertfordshire came very close to surprising them. The county team members will feel they let this result slip from their grasp but, if they had been offered 19 points at the start of the match they would have gladly accepted.
Buckinghamshire 21 - 19 Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2
| 1 |
Michael West |
16-11,14-14 |
| 2 |
Alan Spicer |
17-13,14-10 |
| 3 |
Audrey Fowler |
13-9,11-12 |
| 4 |
Brian Fowler |
13-9,11-12 |
| 5 |
Pauline Taylor |
14-6,9-17 |
| 6 |
Alan Hare |
14-6,9-17 |
| 7 |
Adrianne West |
12-11,13-14 |
| 8 |
Mary Chadd |
12-11,13-14 |
| 9 |
Brian McGivern |
12-11,13-14 |
| 10 |
Mike Eccleston |
8-16,2-19 |
| 11 |
Jill Quarterman |
8-16,2-19 |
| 12 |
Jeanette Gayler |
8-16,2-19 |
| 13 |
Diana Davies |
13-9,6-17 |
| 14 |
Margaret Hare |
13-9,6-17 |
| 15 |
Tony Gayler |
13-9,6-17 |
| 16 |
Bill Gearing |
13-9,6-17 |
| 17 |
Robin Quarterman |
6-12,6-9 |
| 18 |
Sue Murray |
6-12,6-9 |
| 19 |
Scot Salmon |
6-12,6-9 |
| 20 |
Ken Murray |
6-12,6-9 |
| 21 |
Roy Duke |
|
| 22 |
|
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