Hertfordshire completed their programme of qualifying group matches with a 23-17 away win against Northamptonshire.  The developing strength in depth of the county squad was clearly demonstrated as all players scored points.

The first session proved to be the best of the day for Herts led by an impressive 24-3 win for Michael West in the singles.  Tony Gayler came close but just missed out 10-13.  Both pairs won their games; Audrey Fowler and Darren Stanford 17-10, Pauline Taylor and Jeanette Gayler 17-6.

The second session ended just in favour of Northants.  Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths and Liz Bradley were level with two ends to play but slipped to a 10-13 loss.  Sue Murray, Jill Oakes and Brian McGivern were comfortable winners at 18-6.  Margaret Hare, Brian Hatherly, Sam Salmon and Alan Hare only managed to score on two ends, losing 3-13.  Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor and Brian Fowler lost their last four ends but held on to a point in drawing 9-9.

The last two sessions were shared on game points while Hertfordshire secured the bonus points in three of the four disciplines.

In session 3 Michael West came up against an inspired opponent and went down 11-15.  Tony Gayler won his singles game 16-9.  Audrey Fowler and Darren Stanford won again 15-11.  Pauline Taylor and Jeanette Gayler lost out to the last bowl of their game finishing 11-13.

In the final session Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths and Liz Bradley came from behind, winning the last four ends to win 14-11.  Sue Murray, Jill Oakes and Brian McGivern lost 9-15.  Margaret Hare, Brian Hatherly, Sam Salmon and Alan Hare started very strongly and went on to win 11-7.  Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor and Brian Fowler trailed throughout and lost 8-13.

The overall shots scored were 203 for Hertfordshire and 167 for Northants.

The win ensures that Hertfordshire finish second in the qualifying group and progress to the knockout stage of the competition.  Hopefully the qualifying performance will be enough to avoid a preliminary match.

The only disappointing part of the day was the lack of respect by the Northamptonshire players, as they did in our home game. The majority of the player left before the end of the match  or as soon as they had finished their games, leaving just a couple behind to roll up the mats. It also meant yet again no line up at the end to congratulate both teams. Northants certainly need to sort themselves out as they are not the county they used to be.