Match Report
Match Report - 09 Dec 2017, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association ICC Rinks Competition beat Essex
The match against Essex did not start well with the Herts team dropping a 5 and a 6 on the first end. After two ends Herts were already trailing by 16 shots. Then the fight back began.
Michael West's rink opened by losing a 6 and a 3. Undeterred, they responded with four scoring ends to close to 8-9. A single to Essex was followed by another four end run from Herts including a 5 on the 9th end. Despite the early setback, Michael's four scored on eight of the twelve ends and won 17-11.
In the first half of the game for Brian Fowler's rink the opposing fours were evenly matched and tied at 5-5. Herts edged ahead to 11-5 before a 4 for Essex closed the gap. The 11th end was hugely significant for the overall match position as Herts scored a 5 and went on to win 16-10.
Bill Gearing's four were quickly 0-6 behind and things got no better as they slipped to 1-12 at the halfway point. With the overall match score getting closer all the time it was important that the Herts foursome limited their opponents' scoring and their final end 2 shots were to prove vital.
The final rink skipped by Brian McGivern started well and led 8-1 after four ends. They were still 10-5 ahead after eight ends before a dropped 3 and 2 levelled the scores at 10-10. Essex went ahead on the penultimate end with a single and the final end of the match was set to decide the result. With this last end to play, Essex held a 1 shot overall lead. With this end complete it was down to an umpire's measure to determine the match winners. The umpire ruled in Herts' favour and 2 shots turned into the match win 51-50.
Essex 50 - 51 Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association ICC Rinks Competition