03rd April 2022
Sunday the 03rd April saw the conclusion of this season’s ICC competition. The format was played on four mats but set as two separate halves with the bonus points being awarded on each pair of mats. Your selectors were kept very busy as various people had to drop out. Some due to covid and others due to injury. It just shows what a strong team Hertfordshire are as we still managed to field a full strong team of sixteen main players and two substitutes on hand, should anything else untoward happen. Our team was well supported. We had Hertfordshire supports both at the venue and on the end of the phone on our WhatsApp supporters group. Anyway, following a supportive team talk from Alan Hare the clock ticked round to 10.30 and play began.
Singles
Darren Stanford started us off on mat one. Darren lost the first end for a double but came straight back to take the lead with a double of his own followed by a single. West Mid’s regained the lead taking end four for a triple. Darren then applied some pressure taking a double and three singles for an 8 – 5 lead after eight ends. West Mid’s then took end nine for a single. Darren’s answer was to take a single of his own followed by a triple and a double to go 14 – 6 up with three ends to play. West Mid’s then halted Darren’s run by taking a double. The interruption was short as Darren took end 14 for a further double to be 16 – 8 up with one end to play. West Mid’s held on taking the last end for a double but Darren had a good win at 16 – 10.
Martin Nash played on mat two. Martin drew first blood taking a single. West Mid’s reply was to take a triple followed by a single. Martin dug in taking a double followed by a single to be 4 all after five ends. West Mid’s then held a double followed by a single and were three shots up. Martin now regained the lead with a hotshot four to go 8 – 7 up after eight ends. In a back and forth match West Mid’s then held on for a triple and a double for a four shot lead at 12 – 8 after ten ends. The following two ends went for a single apiece. Martin now held a three to reduce West Mid’s lead to one shot. He followed this with a second hot shot four and had a three shot lead with one end to play. The last end saw West Mid’s hold on for a double. However, Martin had the win at 16 – 15.
Winning both games guaranteed us the bonus points so after two mats we were 6 – 0 up
Darren Brown played on mat three. Darren held the first end for a double followed by West Mid’s matching this, taking a double of their own. Darren now took a triple followed by a double to go 7 – 2 up after four ends. Ends five and six went for a single apiece. West Mid’s now took three singles to reduce Darren’s lead to 8 – 6. This was the last time West Mid’s managed to score in this match. Darren held the last six ends for a triple, two doubles and three singles for a magnificent win at 18 – 6.
Bill Gearing played on mat four. West Mid’s took the first four ends for two doubles and two singles to go 6 – 0 up after four ends. Bill now took a single. However West Mid’s took a further two doubles and two singles to go 12 – 1 up after nine ends. Bill now bowled for a hotshot four. West Mid’s held on for a single, but with Bill taking a further triple he had reduced West Mid’s lead to 13 – 8 with three ends to play. Ends thirteen and fourteen saw each player take a single. West Mid’s took the last end for a single giving them their first win at 15 – 9. Keeping his loss as low as possible meant that we also gained the bonus points on these two mats.
So after all singles were completed we had a healthy lead of 10 – 2.
Triples.
Jeff Branch, Margaret Hare and Dennis Mack played on mat one. In a very tough match West Mid’s took control taking the first five ends for a double and four singles. Our three then held a triple to reduce West Mid’s lead. Both teams now took a single, so after eight ends West Mid’s had a 7 – 4 lead. The last four ends all went West Mid’s way, taking a four followed by a triple, a double and then taking the last end for a five. West Mid’s had a strong win at 21 – 4.
Jan Rogers, Trevor Knight and Neil Rixon played on mat two. Starting well our three held the first three ends for singles. West Mid’s then came back for a double and a single to level the match at 3 all after five ends. Jan Trevor and Neil then regained the lead taking a magnificent five. They followed this by taking three singles to go 11 – 3 up with three ends to play. The following two ends went for a single apiece so going into the last end our three had the lead at 12 - 4. Taking the last end for a double Hertfordshire had a good win at 14 – 4.
Winning one mat but losing the other and the bonus points Hertfordshire’s lead was reduced to 12 – 6
Mark Spalding, Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern played on mat three. Starting well, our three held a double, a triple and a single to go 6 – 0 up. West Mid’s now got going taking a double and a single. Mark, Alan and Brian then took their own single and double to go 9 – 3 up after seven ends. West Mid’s now went on the attack taking a triple followed by two singles. They followed this with a double and regained the lead at 10 – 9 with one end to play. The last end saw our three hold on for a triple and the win at 12 – 10.
Jeanette Gayler, Mick Thrush and Alan Hare played on mat four. Wets Mid’s started with a double. Our three came straight back for a single. The next three ends saw West Mid’s take three further singles and a 5 – 1 lead. Our three now held a single. But with West Mid’s following this with a double their lead increased to 7 – 2 after eight ends. Our three again held on for a single. The last two ends went for a single apiece giving West Mid’s the win at 10 – 5.
Repeating the first two mats we had won one mat but lost the other and the bonus points Hertfordshire’s lead was further reduced to 14 – 10
Going into lunch Hertfordshire still had the lead. Following some refreshment play recommenced at 13.25 with the fours.
Fours.
Jeff Branch, Margaret Hare, Dennis Mack and Darren Stanford played on mat one. West Mid’s started by taking the first end for a single. Our four now got going by taking a four, they followed this with two singles to go 6 – 1 up after four ends. West Mid’s then came back for a single. Jeff, Margaret, Dennis and Darren now applied some pressure taking a triple, two singles and a double to go 13 – 2 up with two ends to play. The penultimate end saw West Mid’s take a double. To reinforce their win our four took the last end for a single and a good win at 14 – 4.
Jan Rogers, Trevor Knight, Martin Nash and Neil Rixon played on mat two. Our four started well by taking a triple. West Mid’s reply was to take a five and the lead on end two. Our four then regained the lead by taking a further triple. West Mid’s now reclaimed the lead with a double to go 7 – 6 up after four ends. Our four held end five for a four followed by a single to go 11 – 7 up. West Mid’s then evened it all up by taking a four. They followed this with a single and a double to go 14 – 11 up after nine ends. Jan, Trevor, Martin and Neil held the penultimate end for a double to reduce West Mid’s lead to one shot. The last end saw West Mid’s hold on for a single and the win at 15 – 13.
Although we had only won one mat, shot difference meant that we held onto the bonus points and Hertfordshire’s lead stretched out to 18 – 12.
Jeanette Gayler, Mick Thrush, Alan Hare and Bill Gearing played on mat three. West Mid’s started well taking three singles, a double and a triple to go 8 – 0 up after five ends. Our four now started a comeback taking two singles. West Mid’s reply was to take a triple and an 11 – 2 lead after eight ends. End nine saw Jeanette, Mick, Alan and Bill take a double. The last two ends went for a single apiece giving West Mids the win at 12 – 5.
Mark Spalding, Alan Spicer, Darren Brown and Brian McGivern played on mat four. Our four started well with a double. West Mid’s replied by taking end two for a four. Our four now reduced West Mid’s lead by taking a single. West Mid’s then increased their lead to three by taking a double. Our three now held on for a double and a single and the match was all level at 6 all after six ends. West Mid’s then got going taking a four followed by a double and a single to go 13 – 6 up with two ends to play. Mark, Alan, Darren and Brian took the last two ends for a single and a triple to reduce West Mid’s win to 13 – 10.
Losing both mats and the bonus points the score now stood at 18 – 18. Going into the last session tied it was all to play for.
Pairs.
Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern played on mat 3. The first end went our pairs’ way by taking a single. West Mid’s then took the lead with a double. However, our pair now regained the lead taking a double of their own. End four saw West Mid’s take a hotshot four and a three shot lead. The following two ends went for a single apiece. Alan and Brian then held on for a triple and it was all square at seven all after seven ends. Ends eight and nine went for a single apiece so, again it was all square at eight all after nine ends. Our two now held two ends for singles and a 10 – 8 lead with four ends to play. End twelve and West Mid’s took a three to take a one shot lead. They then increased their lead by taking a single. The penultimate end saw Alan and Brian take a single to be one shot behind. The last end saw West Mids take a three and the win at 15 – 11.
Alan Hare and Jeanette Gayler played on mat four. West Mid’s came straight in to take a triple, they followed this by increasing their lead with a single. Our pair now held end three for a single. The following four ends went for two singles apiece giving West Mids’s the lead at 6 – 3. Alan and Jeanette then took two singles to reduce West Mid’s lead to two shots. West Mid’s now took two singles to stretch their lead back to four shots. Ends eleven and twelve saw our pair take two doubles and it was all level at eight all with three ends to play. End thirteen saw Alan and Jeanette take a triple. They followed this up with a double to go 13 – 8 up with one end to play. The last end went West Mid’s way for a single. Our pair had the win at 13 – 9.
Winning one and losing one split the main points with the aggregate shots at 24 – 24 the bonus points were also split so the score was now 21 – 21 with two pairs left.
Jan Rogers and Neil Rixon played on mat one. West Mid’s got on the card first with a single. Our pair replied by holding a triple. West Mid’s came straight back for a double and it was 3 all after three ends. West Mid’s now took back the lead by taking a triple. Jan and Neil then applied some pressure taking a double followed by a single, a triple, a double and a further single to go 12 – 6 up after nine ends. West Mid’s now came in for a hotshot four. They followed this with a single to reduce our pairs lead to one shot. Ends twelve and thirteen went for a single apiece so with two ends to play they had a one shot lead at 13 – 12. End fourteen and Jan and Neil pulled of a hotshot four. Although West Mid’s took the last end for a single Our pair had the win at 17 – 13.
Jeff Branch and Dennis Mack played on mat two. Our pair started with a triple. West Mid’s replied by taking a double, our pair got in for a further triple and a 6 – 2 lead after three ends. West Mid’s reduced our pairs lead by holding a single. Jeff and Dennis now started motoring, taking two triples, a double and two singles to go 16 – 3 up after nine ends. West Mid’s now turned the tables taking a triple followed by two singles to reduce our pairs lead to 16 – 8 with three to play. End thirteen and Jeff and Dennis took a single giving them a nine shot lead with two to play. End fourteen and West Mid’s now got their own hotshot four to reduce our pairs lead to 17 – 12. The last end also went West Mid’s way for a single but Jeff and Dennis had the win at 17 – 13.
Winning both mats and taking the bonus points Hertfordshire now had the win and the cup with the score of 27 – 21. Total shots on the day were Hertfordshire 194 – West Midlands 185.
Congratulations to the whole team for Hertfordshire’s first ever win in this competition. Apart from the sixteen players listed above we must also congratulate the following Hertfordshire county players who have played in various rounds of the competition during this season. They include Tony Gayler, Toni Gearing, Julia Bruce, Ken Murray, Sue Murray, Pauline Taylor, Jill Quarterman, Brian Fowler, Audrey Fowler, Carol Still, Mike Eccleston, Michael West and Elizabeth Bradley. We should all give thanks to Derek Lewison who has been our Umpire for all home games at Elm Court and Jimmy Mac’s. And we should also remember those that help with the organisation and paperwork, which includes last year’s ICC captain Ken Murray, this year’s ICC captain Alan Hare and their selectors Brian Fowler, Jan Rogers and Paul Bruce. And finally for Rebecca Stanford and Alexis Mack who have assisted with completing paperwork on match days.
Looking forward to next year when we can do the whole thing all over again.