04 December 2021
The third and final round of the first stage of the ICC competition was played on Saturday. Currently in first place, Hertfordshire played second place Surrey. The away game was played at The Wey Valley Indoor Bowls Club, with the home game being played at Jimmy Macs, the first time this venue has been used for an ICC competition.
Home Match at Jimmy Macs
Session 1
Bill Gearing played on mat one, getting off to a good start by taking two singles and a three, before Surrey got started by taking two doubles. However, Bill replied with another three singles to go 8 – 4 up after eight ends. Surrey then took a single, with Bill coming straight back for a double. With Surrey taking a further double, they narrowed Bill’s lead to three shots. Bill then took three doubles in succession and although Surrey managed to take the last end for a single, all the damage had been done by Bill’s doubles, giving him a comfortable win of 16 - 8.
Darren Brown played on mat two. Darren started with a single and Surrey replied with a single of their own. Darren then took command of the mat taking the next nine ends for four singles, two doubles and three, triples. After playing eleven ends Darren led 18 – 1. Surrey then managed to take an end for two shots to much cheering from the Surrey supporters. However, Darren came straight back to take a three. The last two ends went for a single apiece giving Darren a comprehensive win of 22 – 4.
Winning both mats and taking the bonus points, Hertfordshire had a nice lead of 6 – 0.
Session 2
Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern got the triples started on mat one by taking the first end for a double. Surrey responded taking a single, but this was the only end Surrey won. The following ten ends all went Alan, Julia and Brian’s way, taking six singles, two doubles and two triples. Another commanding win of 18 – 1.
Jan Rogers, Tony Gayler and Jeanette Gayler played triples on mat two. End one saw our three start by taking a triple, with Surrey replying by taking a triple of their own. Although Jan, Tony and Jeanette took a single to regain the lead, Surrey took a triple on end four to go 6 – 4 up. Our three then took a double to level the game after five ends. Surrey now dug in and took a triple, a double and two singles to go 13 – 6 up with three ends to play. Jan, Tony and Jeanette then replied by taking a three to reduce Surrey’s lead to 13 – 9. However, Surrey came straight back, taking a matching three to regain their advantage. Although our three took the last end for a single, Surrey had their first win at 16 – 10.
Although we had lost the second mat, the aggregate score meant we still won the bonus points.
Winning one mat and taking the bonus points, Hertfordshire increased their lead to 10 – 2
Session 3
Jan Rogers and Jeanette Gayler played pairs on mat one. Surrey got the first blood with a single. End two saw Jan and Jeanette take a three and a small lead. End three and Surrey got a double to level the game at three all. Our pair now took a double and two singles with Surrey taking a single so by end seven Hertfordshire had a lead of 7 – 4. Ends eight and nine went for a single each, so did ends ten and eleven. Ends twelve and thirteen then saw both teams take a triple. The penultimate end went Jan and Jeanette’s way for a single and an increased lead of four. The last end saw Surrey take a triple. By one shot Jan and Jeanette had the win at 13 – 12.
Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern played the other pairs on mat two. They started well taking the first three ends for singles. Surrey came back taking a two followed by a three giving them the lead. End six saw Alan and Brian take a double to level the score at five all. Ends seven and eight went for a single each so they were level again at six all. The next six ends all went Surrey’s way with them taking three singles, a double and two triples. Alan and Brian took the last end for a single but the game was Surrey’s winning 17 – 7.
This time the aggregate score was in Surrey’s favour and they took the bonus points
Winning one mat, Hertfordshire kept the lead with the score now at 12 – 6
Session 4
Julia Bruce, Toni Gearing, Bill Gearing and Brian McGivern played fours on mat one. Surrey got off to a good start by taking the first two ends for doubles. Our four then took a single and a double to reduce Surrey’s lead to one shot. Surrey now took two singles and a three shot lead. End seven saw our four take a triple and the game was back level at six all after seven ends. End eight saw Surrey regain the lead by taking a double. Ends nine and ten went our four’s way for a single each. With one end to go it was all square at eight all. Julia, Toni, Bill and Brian took the last end for a single, winning their game 9 – 8
Jan Rogers, Mike Eccleston, Tony Gayler and Darren Brown played the final fours on mat two. The first two ends saw Surrey and Hertfordshire take a single each. Jan, Mike, Tony and Darren then took a triple. The following two ends saw Surrey take a double and a single. So, after five ends it was back level at four shots all. End six saw our four take a single. End seven had three bowls sitting on the jack and it was declared a dead end. End eight now went to Surrey for a single. So there we were at end eight with it level again at five all. End nine saw our four take a single and the lead. End ten, the penultimate end and Surrey took a double and the lead for the first time in this game. In a tightly fought last end Jan, Mike, Tony and Darren held two shots to take the second fours win by a single shot at 8 – 7.
Winning both mats and taking the bonus points. Hertfordshire had the match win at 18 – 6
Away Match at Wey Valley Indoor Bowls Club
Session 1
Jeff Branch played singles on mat one. Jeff started well taking the first six ends for a single, three doubles and two triples to go 13 – 0 up after six ends. Surrey then got started by taking a double and a single. Jeff replied taking a single and two more doubles to go 18 – 3 up after eleven ends. Surrey then got in to take a triple. Jeff replied taking a hot shot four followed by a double to go 24 – 6 up with one end to play. Surrey took the last end for a single but Jeff had a comprehensive win at 24 – 8
Darren Stanford played on mat two. Surrey got the game started by taking a triple. Darren then took a single but with Surrey replying with a further triple and two singles, they were 8 – 1 up after five ends. Darren now took Hertfordshire’s second hotshot of the afternoon, with Surrey coming back for a single. Then Darren got in again with a double and a single and reduced Surrey’s lead to 9 – 8. Surrey now took a double but Darren responded by taking a double also. He followed this with a further double and took the lead for the first time at 12 – 11 after twelve ends. Surrey came back regaining the lead with a double followed by a single and a lead of two shots with one end to play. Darren took the last end for a triple giving him the win at 15 – 14.
Winning both mats and taking the bonus points. Hertfordshire had the lead at 6 – 0
Session 2
Audrey Fowler, Margaret Hare and Brian Fowler played triples on mat one. Surrey started by taking a triple. Audrey, Margaret and Brian came back to take a single. The following five ends all went Surrey’s way with them taking three singles and two triples to go 12 – 1 up after seven ends. End eight saw our three take a hot shot four to reduce Surrey’s lead to 12 – 5. The remaining four ends all went Surrey’s way for a single and three doubles and a good win of 19 – 5
Alan Hare, Trevor Knight and Dennis Mack played on mat two. Starting well by taking the first three ends for a single each, our three went into the lead. Surrey replied by taking a double. The following two ends went for a single each. So Alan, Trevor and Dennis had a narrow lead of 4 – 3 after six ends. Ends seven and eight went our three’s way for a single each, taking Hertfordshire’s lead to 6 – 3. Surrey then got in for a single. However, Alan, Trevor and Dennis replied coming straight back by taking a triple. Although Surrey took a further single, our three replied by taking the last end for yet another triple and the win at 12 – 5
With the aggregate score in Surrey’s favour and they took the two bonus points.
Winning one mat, Hertfordshire kept the lead at 8 – 4
Session 3.
Audrey and Brian Fowler played pairs on mat one. Getting off to a good start Audrey and Brian took the first three ends for two doubles and a single. Although Surrey then took a single our pair came straight back taking a triple. Surrey responded with a further single and a double, reducing Audrey and Brian’s lead to 9 – 6 after nine ends. The last six ends all went Audrey and Brian’s way. Taking four singles and two doubles, Audrey and Brian comfortably won 17 – 6.
Alan Hare and Dennis Mack played the other pairs on mat two. Surrey started by taking a single and a double. Alan and Dennis also took a double. Surrey replied taking three singles, going 6 – 3 up after six ends. Ends seven and eight went for a single each, followed by Surrey taking end nine for a double, going 9 – 4 up. Alan and Dennis then took three singles to reduce Surrey’s lead to 9 – 7. Surrey took a further single with our pair following by taking a double. The last end went Surrey’s way and confirmed their win at 11 – 9.
Although we only won one game, aggregate score was in Hertfordshire’s favour and we had the bonus points.
Winning one mat, Hertfordshire improved their lead to 12 – 6
Session 4
Alan Hare, Trevor Knight, Dennis Mack and Darren Stanford played on mat one. Surrey started by taking a single. With our four taking a single followed by a five, they had a good lead of 6 – 1 after three ends. Surrey replied by taking a single, then a triple followed by a double giving them the lead at 7 – 6 after six ends. Our four then took a single to level the game after seven ends. Surrey now took two singles and a double. Alan, Trevor, Dennis and Darren took the last end for a single but Surrey had the win at 11 – 8.
Audrey Fowler, Margaret Hare, Jeff Branch and Brian Fowler played fours on mat two. Starting with a magnificent five they followed this with two singles and a four to go 11 – 0 up after four ends. Surrey then got going taking a three, a single and a double to reduce our four’s lead to five shots. Audrey, Margaret, Jeff and Brian now took a single. Surrey came back taking a three, reducing their deficit to three shots. Audrey, Margaret, Jeff and Brian took the last two ends for a triple and a double giving them a good win of 17 – 9.
Again, the aggregate score was in Hertfordshire’s favour giving them the two bonus points.
Winning one mat, Hertfordshire had the match win at 16 – 8
Hertfordshire top the Group three table with six clear wins. We are now waiting for the draw on the 11th December, to see who will be playing in the Quarter finals. This match will be played on either the 12th or 13th of February. This will be in the same format Home and Away. Keep an eye on the website for further announcements.