31 Oct 2021
Here we go again, round two of the 2021/22 ICC competition saw Hertfordshire playing West Sussex. The home game was played again at our old faithful Elm Court whilst the away game was played at Six Villages Sports Centre in Chichester. Hertfordshire have been eagerly awaiting this game as West Sussex have not been in our group before so it was with mixed expectations that all team members travelled to their venues.
Home Match at Elm Court
Session 1
Mat one had Jeff Branch playing at home this time. Jeff got off to a good start for Hertfordshire taking the first end for three shots. West Sussex came back with a double, however Jeff came back strongly with two more triples to go 9 – 2 up after four ends. Ends five to nine saw West Sussex slowly pull back although Jeff retained a slim lead of 10 – 9 after nine ends. Jeff then took a triple to increase his lead to 4. The next two ends went West Sussex’s way reducing Jeff’s lead to one. Jeff took a single but with West Sussex taking a two on the penultimate end it was level at 14 shots all. The last end went Jeff’s way for a single and first blood to Hertfordshire 15 – 14.
Darren Stanford played on mat two and started well taking the first two ends for singles. West Sussex replied with a two to even the match with Darren coming straight back taking a three. West Sussex replied with a three of their own making the score five all after five ends. Ends six and seven went for a single each, followed by ends eight and nine going for a triple each. End ten saw West Sussex taking a three to go into the lead for the first time. Ends eleven and twelve both went Darren’s way for a single each, the first two consecutive wins of the match since end two. West Sussex then took a single to retain a two shot lead after thirteen ends. End fourteen went Darren’s way for a double and, as in Jeff’s game the score was level with one end to play The last end saw Darren take a double giving Hertfordshire our second win at 15 – 13.
Winning both mats and taking the bonus points, Hertfordshire had a nice lead of 6 – 0.
Session 2.
Pauline Taylor, Carol Still and skip Brian Fowler played triples on mat one. They started with a single then West Sussex replied taking two singles and a double to go 4 – 1 up after four ends. Our three then took a single followed by a triple to go one shot in front. West Sussex replied by taking a single and levelling the match at five all after seven ends. West Sussex then took two singles and the lead. The last three ends saw our three taking a triple followed by two singles giving them a win of 10 – 7.
Mat two saw Jan Rodgers, Trevor Knight and skip Jeanette Gayler get off to a good start taking two doubles. West Sussex then took a single but our three piled on the pressure taking the next four ends for two singles, a double and a three to go 11 – 1 up after seven ends. West Sussex held the next three ends for a double and two singles. Our three then took a double on the penultimate end. The last end went West Sussex’s way with them taking a single but the damage had been done in the middle of the match with our three winning 13 – 6.
As in the first session, winning both mats and taking the bonus points, Hertfordshire had a comfortable lead of 12 – 0.
Session 3.
Jan Rodgers and Jeanette Gayler played pairs on mat one. After losing the first end for a single they came back strongly with a ‘Hot Shot’ taking a four to go in the lead. The following two ends went for two shots each. West Sussex then then took a double and a single to level the match at six shots all after six ends. End seven saw West Sussex take a three to go back in the lead. Our pair replied taking a two but West Sussex came straight back taking two singles and restoring their lead to three shots with the score at 11 - 8 after ten ends. Our pair then fought back taking a two followed by a three then two singles to regain the lead with a score of 15 – 11. The last end was a drawn end so our pair had the win at 15 – 11.
Pauline Taylor and Brian Fowler played the other pairs game on mat two. West Sussex started well taking a single and a three followed by a further single to go 5 – 0 up. Our pair then took a single but West Sussex came straight back taking a three. Pauline and Brian then took two singles to narrow West Sussex’s lead to 8 – 3. The next two ends went for a single each. This was followed by two ends for a double each so at end eleven West Sussex still had the lead at 11 – 6. The following end went to West Sussex increasing their lead to six shots. Pauline and Brian then turned the match around taking a double, a triple and a single on the last end to bring the result to a draw at 12 all.
Winning one and drawing the other not only gave Hertfordshire three points but it also ensured that they took both bonus points Hertfordshire’s lead had increased to 17 – 1
Session 4
Mat one saw Pauline Taylor, Carol Still, Mike Eccleston and skip Brian Fowler start well in the fours by taking a three. However West Sussex came straight back by taking a three of their own. Our four then took a single, a double and a further single to take a 7 – 3 lead after five ends. End six went West Sussex’s way for a single. Our four then took two singles to go 9 – 4 up after eight ends. West Sussex then started to fight back taking two doubles to narrow Hertfordshire’s lead to 9 – 8 with one end to play. Our four fought back taking the last end for a double and winning their match at 11 – 8.
Mat two had Jan Rodgers, Tony Gayler, Trevor Knight and skip Darren Stanford playing the last fours match. West Sussex started by taking a three. our four replied by taking end two for a double but West Sussex came straight back taking a double of their own. Hertfordshire then took end four for a single followed by a three to go 6 – 5 up after five ends. West Sussex got straight back in there regaining the lead by taking a four. Hertfordshire then narrowed West Sussex’s lead by taking a double. West Sussex came back again by taking a single and a five to go 15 – 8 up with two ends to play. Hertfordshire then gained a double to reduce the lead to five shots. Our four then played a magnificent last end taking five shots to level the match at 15 all.
As in the pairs, winning one and drawing the other not only gave Hertfordshire three points but it also ensured that they took both bonus points.
Not losing any of their matches gave Hertfordshire a splendid win of 22 – 2.
Away match at Six Villages Sports Centre.
Session 1
Martin Nash played singles on mat one. Losing the first two ends for a single and a double Martin got straight back with a single and a double of his own to bring the score back to three all. Ends five and six went for a single each with West Sussex taking end seven for a single and going one shot in the lead. Martin then took end eight for a ‘Hot Shot’ four to regain the lead. West Sussex replied with a double to narrow the gap but with Martin taking five of the remaining six ends for singles and doubles he bought the Away team’s first win at 16 – 8.
Bill Gearing played on mat two. West Sussex started strongly taking the first five ends and taking an 11 – 0 lead. Bill then started coming back taking a double and a triple. West Sussex replied with two triples and a four and by end thirteen they had an unassailable lead. Bill fought back taking the last two ends for a single each but unfortunately lost the match 10 – 22.
Winning one and losing one and losing the bonus points gave West Sussex a lead of 4 – 2
Session 2.
Alan Spicer, Ken Murray and skip Brian McGivern played on mat one. West Sussex started strongly taking a four. Our three came straight back taking a double but West Sussex replied by taking three of the following four ends to go 8 – 3 up after six ends. Hertfordshire now took a triple to narrow the gap to two shots. The next three ends saw West Sussex increase their lead to 12 – 6. Although our three took the penultimate end for a single, West Sussex took the last end for a single of their own winning this match 13 – 7.
Neil Rixon, Margaret Hare and skip Alan Hare played the other triples on mat two. Although West Sussex started by taking a double, our three replied taking the next three ends for two singles and a double to go 4 – 2 up after four ends. West Sussex then took a double to level the match. Our three then won the following five ends for three singles, a double and a four to take a 13 – 4 lead with two ends to go. West Sussex took the last two ends for a double and a single. In an exact reversal of the first triples score Hertfordshire won 13 – 7
Winning one and losing one, but with a shots difference of zero both teams scored three points. West Sussex still had the lead at 7 – 5.
Session 3.
And to the pairs. Mat one saw Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern taking the first end for two shots. West Sussex replied taking a single and a triple to edge into the lead. The following two ends went for a single each followed by our pair taking a double to level the match after six ends. West Sussex took a double on end seven but our pair replied with a ‘Hot Shot’ four followed by a two to 11 – 7 up after nine ends West Sussex reduced the deficit by two shots on end ten. The following three ends all went Hertfordshire’s way for a single each. Although West Sussex took a double on end fourteen, Alan and Brian took the last end for a single and won the match 15 – 11.
Mat 2 had Neil Rixon and Alan Hare starting well by taking a double and a single. West Sussex then took a triple and a double to go 5 – 3 up after four ends. End five and six went for a single each. This was followed by West Sussex taking a double to go 8 – 4 up. The following four ends saw our pair taking a single and two doubles with West Sussex taking a single and the scores being level at nine each after eleven ends. Ends twelve and thirteen went to West Sussex giving them a lead of 12 – 9. Neil and Alan took the last two ends for a single each and narrowly missed the win with West Sussex winning this match 12 – 11
Winning one and losing one gave two points apiece however by reducing the loss to a single point we retained both bonus points bringing the score to 9 – 9 and all to play for.
Session 4.
With excitement rising, mat one saw Neil Rixon, Margaret Hare, Alan Hare and skip Bill Gearing looking for a win. West Sussex took the first end for a single but Hertfordshire came straight back taking a double. End three and West Sussex took a four to regain the lead. Ends four and five saw Hertfordshire take a double and a three to regain the lead. West Sussex then came back with another four taking a two shot lead. The following three ends resulted in two shots apiece, so at end nine West Sussex had a two shot lead. Hertfordshire now turned the tables by taking a four of their own and a two shot lead with one end remaining. West Sussex took the last end for a single but Hertfordshire had won 13 – 12.
Last match of the report, Alan Spicer, Ken Murray, Martin Nash and skip Brian McGivern were on mat two. Starting strongly the first four ends went Hertfordshire’s way for a double, two singles and a four giving us a strong start of 8 – 0. West Sussex then broke their duck taking two singles. The following two ends went for a single shot apiece. At end eight Hertfordshire had a respectable lead of 9 – 3. Winning the last three ends with a three, a two and a magnificent seven, Hertfordshire comfortably won 21 – 3
Winning both of our fours and gaining the bonus points Hertfordshire had another good win at 15 – 9.
By winning both home and away Hertfordshire remain at the top of the table, the only team not to lose a game. We are all waiting for round three on Saturday the 04th December when the final positions for this group stage will be decided. Turn up to support this game if you can. In a change of venue the home game will be held at The Hive (Jimmy Mac’s) play starts at 14.00