October 09^th 2022

Sunday saw Hertfordshire play their first match of the 2022/23 ICC season. As last year’s winners of the ICC ‘A’ teams competition, Hertfordshire have been promoted to the new ‘Premier 2’ division and are placed in group one with Suffolk, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. Hertfordshire are now playing in their new team shirts sporting the Hertfordshire flag and blue and yellow colours (to reflect our flag), designed by our clothing subcommittee of Margaret Hare and Toni Gearing.

             Some of our Squad at Suffolk this Sunday.

The big question is, will this new kit bring us added luck!! Following some more consultation this Sunday - well a show of hands really, the subcommittee have decided to further enhance our new look by going for black trousers, skirts or even shorts (heaven forbid) as modelled by Carol above. Following the team talk, fashion parade and then the pre match line-up, Suffolk won the toss and put Hertfordshire in to start.

Session one

Mat one saw Darren Brown as our first single, get off to a good start by taking three shots on his first end of this fifteen end game. He followed this with a single and two doubles, before Suffolk took end five for a triple. Ends six and seven went for a single apiece. Darren followed this with a further triple to go 12 – 4 up after eight ends. End nine went Suffolk’s way for a double. However, Darren instantly replied with a single and a triple to go 16 – 6 up with four ends to play. Suffolk took two ends for singles but with Darren taking a further double and a single, it was first blood to Hertfordshire with a healthy win of 19 – 8.

Mat two had Martin Nash playing our second single of session one. Suffolk started well taking the first three ends for singles. Martin now took a single and a double to level the match at three all after five ends. Suffolk held the mat for the next three ends taking three doubles for a six shot lead. Martin then held a single but Suffolk’s reply was a double followed by a ‘hot shot’ four and a 15 – 4 lead with four ends to play. The last four ends all went Martin’s way taking two singles, a double and his own ‘hot shot’ four to reduce Suffolk’s lead to 15 – 12.

Mat three had our doubles pairing of Jeff Branch and Dennis Mack. Suffolk started well taking a three. Jeff and Dennis’s reply was to take the following seven ends for four singles, two doubles and a triple, to go 11 – 3 up after eight ends. Suffolk held end nine for their second triple. Our pair came back taking a double and a single, before end twelve saw Suffolk hold on for a single. Ends thirteen and fourteen went for a double apiece. Jeff and Dennis took the last end for a single and the win at 17 – 9.

Mat four had Audrey and Brian Fowler playing our second pairs game. Suffolk got off to a good start taking two singles and two doubles to go 6 – 0 up. Brian and Audrey then held on to end five for single.   With each pair then taking a single, Suffolk continued their run, taking two more doubles and another two singles to be 13 – 2 up after twelve ends. Brian and Audrey then took two singles. Suffolk finished the game taking the last two ends for singles and a win of 15 – 4.

At the end of session one it was two wins each with the score at 4 – 4. In the singles Hertfordshire had an eight shot lead looking good for the bonus points. In the pairs Suffolk had a three shot lead and although close they looked in a better position for the pairs bonus points. Going into session two it could not have been closer.

Session 2

Mat one and the first triple of Julia Bruce, Jan Rogers and Neil Rixon were under way. The first end saw Suffolk take a single, our three replied by taking a single on the second end but with Suffolk taking a triple they were 4 – 1 up after three ends. Our three then took a further single but with Suffolk replying with a single and a double, they had stretched their lead to 7 – 2 after six ends. Our three then reduced the deficit taking two singles. End nine saw Suffolk take a double with our three then taking a single on end ten to reduce Suffolk’s lead to four shots. The following two ends went for two shots apiece. Suffolk followed this by taking the last end for a single and the win at 12 – 7.

Mat two and our second triple of Bev Stevenson, Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern saw Suffolk take the first two ends for a single and a double. Our three then levelled the match taking a triple on end three. Ends four and five went for a single apiece and it was back level again. End six and taking a double, our three went into the lead. Although Suffolk took a single on end seven, our three then took two fours, they followed this with a triple and a good lead of 17 – 5 with three ends to play. End eleven was declared a drawn end. Suffolk then took the penultimate end for a double and followed this with a four on the last end. However, our three had a good win at 17 – 11

Mat three had our first four of Tony Gayler, Denise Moores, Toni Gearing and Bill Gearing. Suffolk got on the card first taking end one for a double. Our four replied by taking end two for a four. Suffolk came straight back taking a single but our four replied by taking a single and a double and the lead at 7 – 3 after six ends. Suffolk then took a triple and a single to level the match at 7 all after seven ends. Suffolk took a triple however, our four replied taking their own triple and we were back level with two ends to play. The penultimate end saw our four take a single and the lead. The last end went Suffolk’s way for a double giving them the win at 12 – 11 in a closely fought game.

Mat Four and our final team of Trevor Knight, Jeanette Gaylor, Alan Hare and Mark Spalding got on the score card first taking a single. Suffolk replied taking the lead with two singles of their own. Our four then took a triple and following this with a single, they had the lead at 5 – 2 after five ends. End six saw Suffolk levelling the game at five all by taking a triple. Our fours reply was to take two singles, but with Suffolk now taking a double we were back level at 7 all with two ends to play. In this close game our four went into the lead by taking a triple. The last end went Suffolk’s way with them holding on for a single but our four had the win at 10 – 8. 

At the midway point of the match it was another two wins each making the scores 8 – 8. As to the bonus points, Hertfordshire had the minimal lead of 1 shot in both the triples and the fours. Could it be any closer? All looked forward to the remaining two sessions. A quick cup of tea and a pork pie was had by your scorer whilst waiting for session three to commence.

 Session 3

Mat one had our pair of Jeff Branch and Dennis Mack playing their second game of the day. Dropping the first end for a single they came straight back taking a double and followed this with a triple. Suffolk then came back holding end four for a single. Our pair’s reply was to take a double and a single to have an 8 – 2 lead after six ends. Suffolk then took the mat taking two doubles to reduce our lead to only two shots. Our pair then took a single, but with Suffolk holding end ten for a triple it was all square at 9 all. Jeff and Dennis held end eleven for a double and followed this with a single. Suffolk’s reply was to take a ‘hotshot’ four and a one shot lead. Our pair now took the penultimate end for a single and went into the last end level at 13 all. Taking command of the last end Jeff and Dennis took their own ‘hotshot’ four and had the win at 17 – 13.

Mat two and Audrey and Brian Fowler took the first end for a single. Suffolk replied taking a double but with our pair taking end three for a single it was back level at 2 all after three ends. Ends four and Suffolk took a double, end five was declared a draw and then Suffolk took a further double to go 6 – 2 up. End seven and Audrey and Brian halved their deficit taking a double. With Suffolk taking the following three ends for a single, a double and a triple they were edging in front with a lead of 12 – 4 after ten ends. The remaining five ends saw Audrey and Brian hold two more singles. With Suffolk taking two doubles and finishing on a triple they had the win at 19 – 6.

Mat three and Darren |Brown was playing his second single of the day. Starting well with a triple, Darren then followed it with a single. Suffolk then got on the card taking end three for a double. With ends four and five going for a single apiece it was 5 – 3 to Darren after five ends. Darren now took a single and a triple. Suffolk then started a short run taking three singles. Darren was now holding the lead at 9 – 6 after ten ends. End eleven saw Darren take a double; taking a triple on end twelve Suffolk reduced Darren’s lead to two shots. Taking a single on end thirteen followed by a double Darren now stretched his lead to five shots with one end to play. Suffolk held on to the last end for a single, however Darren had the win at 14 – 10.

Mat four had Martin Nash playing his final single of the day. After dropping a double on the first end, Martin got into his stride taking a single and three doubles to go 7 – 2 up after five ends. Suffolk then took a single which Martin then matched. Suffolk came back taking a second single to reduce their deficit to 8 – 5. Martin then got a run of ends, taking two doubles and two triples to go 18 – 5 up with three ends to play. Suffolk now held end thirteen for a double, with Martin replying by taking the penultimate end for a triple he increased his lead to 21 – 7. Suffolk took the last end for a single giving Martin the win at 21 – 8.

At the end of session three the match was starting to go Hertfordshire’s way. Winning three of the four games Hertfordshire pulled a lead of 14- 10. With the singles bonus points going to Hertfordshire and the pairs bonus points going to Suffolk it was now 16 – 12 going into the last session. Come on Hertfordshire.

 Session 4

Mat one had our fours of Tony Gayler, Margaret Hare, Toni Gearing and Bill Gearing. Suffolk started the game holding the first end for a single. Our four now took the second end for a four, following this with two doubles they took the lead at 8 – 1 after four ends. End five saw Suffolk take a single and they followed this with a double to reduce our fours lead to four shots. End seven, taking a double our four increased their lead to 10 – 4. Suffolk now started a comeback, taking a triple followed by a single and a further triple, they now took a one shot lead going into the last end. In a closely fought last end our four of Tony, Margaret, Toni and Bill held on for a single, taking a draw at eleven all.

Mat two had our second fours of Trevor Knight, Jeanette Gayler, Alan Hare and Mark Spalding holding the first end for a single. Following this with a four they stretched their lead out to 5 – 0.  Suffolk now reduced their deficit started a short run of three singles. Our four now started a run of their own taking a triple and two doubles to go 12 – 3 up after eight ends. End nine and Suffolk held on for a single. Our four of Trevor, Jeanette, Alan and Mark now stormed in taking a five on the penultimate end and a healthy lead of 17 – 4. Suffolk managed to hold on to the last end for a double. Our four had a good win at 17 – 6.

Mat three, our triple of Julia Bruce, Jan Rogers and Neil Rixon dropped the first end for a four. They then took the second end for a single. Suffolk now took two singles and stretched their lead to 6 – 1 after four ends. Our three now took a single followed by a triple and a single to level the game. They followed this with a further triple to go 9 – 6 up after eight ends. Suffolk held end nine for a single, however this was to be the last end they won in this match. With our three of Julia, Jan and Neil taking three further singles and finishing with a triple they had a good win for Hertfordshire at 15 – 7

Mat four and our last triples of the day saw Beverly Stevenson, Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern play the last game of the day. End one went Suffolk’s way for a single. Our three came straight back taking end two for a triple. Suffolk now started a short run taking a double and three singles to go 6 – 3 up after six ends. Our three now held a single but with Suffolk’s reply of a four, Suffolk now had a lead of 10 – 4 after eight ends. Beverly, Alan and Brian now took a double. Suffolk replied taking a single, with our three now taking a further double they had reduced Suffolk’s lead to 11 – 8. The penultimate end of the game saw Suffolk take a double to increase their lead. The last end saw our three take a double to hold Suffolk’s lead to only three shots giving them the win at 13 – 10.

So the match was over and the final scores were in. With two wins and a draw Hertfordshire’s score increased to 21 -15. By keeping those loses low Hertfordshire had held the bonus points for both the triples and the fours giving them the win with the final score at 25 – 15.

WELL!! What a fantastic start to the new season. The big question is of course, did we win because of the dedication and skill exhibited by all our players and supporters OR was it all down to our new shirts? Your Scorer and match reporter was proud to wear his new shirt. Our next match against Northamptonshire will be at home at Elm Court on Sunday the 30^th of October. This match will see a further change to our team kit where all players will be wearing black trousers. Come along to support us all and find out. Of course your clothing subcommittee are considering further kit improvements. Are Skirts and Kilts a step too far!!! Watch this space.