Sunday the 10th November and the ICC Squad were at Stevenage for our home game against Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire won the toss and with the four mats in place we got off to an early start at 09.50
Session one
Our ICC manager Darren Brown was playing singles on mat one. Darren started as he meant to go on with a hotshot four. Oxfordshire came back for a single, with two bowls sitting on the jack end three was tied. Darren got going again taking two singles and a triple he had a 9 – 1 lead after six ends. Oxfordshire then held their second single which Darren matched on end eight. Oxfordshire then started a short run and took three singles in succession pulling back to 5 – 10 down after eleven ends. Darren then increased his lead with a single and a double. The penultimate end saw Oxfordshire win their sixth end for a single but Darren came back on the last end for a double and our first win of the match at 15 – 6.
Neil Rixon played singles on mat two. Neil started with a double and followed this with two singles before Oxfordshire got started. Their reply was to take a single and reduce the deficit with a double on end five. Neil came back for a single but Oxfordshire held a double on end seven and it was all square at five all. Neil then started a run of ends taking three singles for the lead. Oxfordshire reduced this with a double on end eleven but Neil resumed his run taking the last four ends for a single and three doubles and Hertfordshire’s second win at 15 – 7.
Mat three had Martin Nash and Jeff Branch playing our first pairs game. Our pair started with a single and followed this with a triple, continuing their run they took five more singles, two triples and a further single and it was 17 – 0 after eleven ends before Oxfordshire got started. They started with a single and then held on for a hotshot four. Unfortunately these were the only two ends they won as Martin and Jeff finished with a single and a double for a 20 – 5 win.
Mat four and our second pairing of Brian Fowler and Mark Spalding got started with a double. Oxfordshire came straight back on end two for the lead with a triple. Our pair came back for a single and it was all square at three all. The next two ends went for a single apiece and it was still all square. Oxfordshire held another single but this time our pair replied with a double and the lead at 6 – 5 after seven ends. Oxfordshire held a further single and it was back to all square at 6 all after eight ends in this close fought game. End nine saw Brian and Mark hold yet another single but this time they followed it with a triple for a 10 – 6 lead after 10 ends. Oxfordshire then started a run of ends, they started with a single and followed this with two doubles for the lead at 11 – 10 after thirteen ends. Brian and Mark got their heads down they regained the lead with a double and followed this with another double on the last end for a 14 – 11 win.
At the end of the first session Hertfordshire could not have done better. Winning all four mats gave us an 8 – 0 lead. We also had significant shot differences, we were 17 shots up in the singles and 18 shots up in the pairs. As this session finished at 10.50 we all waited for 11.00 when you could hear a pin drop during the 2-minute silence for Remembrance Sunday.
Session Two
Our first triple of Wendy Hunt, Bev Stephenson and Jan Rogers played on mat one. Oxfordshire started with two singles. Our three then held two singles of their own and it was two all after four ends. Oxfordshire then took the lead with a triple and followed this with three singles, pulling out an 8 – 2 lead after eight ends. Wendy, Bev and Jan got stuck In and held a four, Oxfordshire pulled back on end ten by holding a single for a three-shot lead. Our three matched this single on end eleven then took the lead at 10 – 9 on the penultimate end with a triple. Oxfordshire fought hard on the last end and held on for a single and the draw at 10 all.
Our triple of Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern played the second triples game on mat two. They started well with a double, this was followed by a tied end with two opposing bowls sitting on the jack. Oxfordshire then took the mat and managed a run of close ends. They held five singles and two doubles for a 9 – 2 lead after nine ends. Alan, Julia and Brian then started a comeback. They held two doubles followed by a single to be only 7 – 9 down gong into the last end. The last end was hard won by Oxfordshire for a single and their first win at 10 – 7.
Mat three and our first fours team of Barry Thorogood, Margaret Hare, Jeanette Gayler and Darren Stanford started with a single. Oxfordshire replied by taking four singles, a double and a triple for a 9 – 1 lead after seven ends. Our four came back taking two singles but this was matched by Oxfordshire holding a double on end ten. Barry, Margaret, Jeanette and Darren held the last end for a single but Oxfordshire had their second win at 11 – 4.
Our second fours team of Audrey Fowler, Sue Knight, Alan Hare and Malcolm Warwick played on mat four. They started well with a single and followed this with three further singles before Oxfordshire managed to win an end. They won end five for a double but our four came back for a single on end six, although Oxfordshire matched this on end seven our four held a double on end eight for a 7 – 3 lead. Oxfordshire pushed hard and held end nine for a four and it was all square at 7 all with two ends to play. Audrey, Sue, Alan and Malcolm pushed hard for the lead with a double and finished this game with a triple for a respectable 12 – 7 win.
The end of session two saw Hertfordshire win one and draw one whereas Oxfordshire had won two and drawn one. Hertfordshire were maintaining their lead at 11 – 5. However the shots were very close with Oxfordshire 3 shots ahead in the triples and only two ahead in the fours.
Session Three
Mat one had our pair of Brian and Mark playing their second pairs game. Oxfordshire started well with two singles. Our pair held end three for a single only to see Oxfordshire hold a third single for a 3 – 1 lead after four ends. Brian and Mark pulled back level at 3 all with a double on end five. Oxfordshire held their fifth single of the game but our pair pulled ahead with a double on end seven for a 5 – 4 lead. Oxfordshire pulled level with a single then ahead with a double on end nine. Brian and Mark matched this on end ten with another double and it was 7 all after ten ends. Oxfordshire came back for a double and following this with a single had a 10 – 7 lead. Our pair then pulled back with a single but the penultimate end saw Oxfordshire hold their first triple of the game for a 13 – 8 lead. The last end and Brian and Mark held a final double but Oxfordshire had another win at 13 – 10.
Mat two had the pair of Martin and Jeff looking for their second win of the day. They started well with a single and followed this with a double. Oxfordshire then got on the mat and held a single on end three. Martin and Jeff matched this and followed it with their third single of the game. Oxfordshire then held a second single which our pair matched. Again Oxfordshire held a single and our pair matched this again and were 7 – 3 up after nine ends. Martin and Jeff then took control, they held two more singles and three doubles to be 15 – 3 up with one end to play. Oxfordshire rallied on the last end by holding a double but Martin and Jeff had their second win at 15 – 5.
Neil Rixon played his second pairs match on mat three. Oxfordshire started with a single and followed this with a hotshot four. Neil came back for a double but Oxfordshire matched this on end four to be 6 – 2 up. With the following two ends going for a single apiece Oxfordshire were maintaining their four-shot lead. End seven saw Neil take a double he followed this with two singles and it was all level at 7 all after nine ends. Oxfordshire then applied more pressure, they took the last six ends for singles giving them the win at 13 – 7.
Darren Brown got ready on mat four for his second singles of the day. Oxfordshire got an early lead with a single on the first end. Darren replied by taking two triples and a single for a 7 – 1 lead. Oxfordshire came back for a single but Darren’s reply was a triple on end six for a 10 – 2 lead. Oxfordshire held a double but Darren came straight back for his fourth triple of the game and a 13 – 4 lead. The following two ends went for a single apiece, this was followed by a double apiece and Darren was maintaining his nine-shot lead. He then reinforced it with his fifth triple to be 19 – 7 up with two ends to play. Oxfordshire finished the game by taking a single followed by a hotshot four but Darren had another win at 19 – 12.
At the end of the third session we had won two and lost two however we had good shot differences and took the bonus points in both disciplines. With the score now at 19 – 9 we only needed one point for the draw, with another twelve points available at the end of the final session things were looking good.
Session Four.
Mat one had our team of Audrey, Susan, Alan and Malcolm playing their second fours game. Oxfordshire started with a single and followed it with a double. Our four reduced the deficit with a double on end three but Oxfordshire came back for a double followed by a single for a 6 – 2 lead after five ends. Audrey, Susan, Alan and Malcolm then pulled back a single and a double and were within one shot of Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire then held a double but our four matched this on end nine and were only one shot down. Audrey, Susan, Alan and Malcolm then excelled themselves, taking two doubles for the win at 13 – 8 and all of a sudden the shot difference for the bonus points looked much better.
Mat two had our last fours game with Barry, Margaret and Jeanette and Trevor Knight taking second and replacing Darren. Our four started with a single. Oxfordshire replied with a double but our four took the lead back with a triple and reinforced it with a second triple on end four. Oxfordshire took a second double on the next end but Barry, Trevor, Margaret and Jeanette matched it on end six and followed it with two singles to be 11 – 4 up with three ends to play. The following two ends went for a single apiece. Oxfordshire then held the last end for a final single but our four had won at 12 – 6 which also guaranteed us the bonus points for the fours.
Mat three had Alan, Julia and Brian playing their final triples of the day. The first end went spectacularly well with them starting with a five, they followed this with two singles and a four to be 11 – 0 up after just four ends. Oxfordshire got in on end five for a single but our threes reply was to take a triple followed by a single and they were 15 – 1 up after seven ends. Oxfordshire then held a double but our three applied more pressure taking a triple and two doubles to be 22 – 3 up with two ends to go. The penultimate end saw Oxfordshire hold on for a double but Alan, Julia and Brian finished with a single on the last end to take a good win at 23 – 5 and those bonus points were looking good.
Our last mat of the day, Mat four had Wendy, Bev and Jan playing triples. Oxfordshire started with a triple. Our three took three singles in succession to level it at 3 all after four ends. Oxfordshire then held their second triple only to see our three come back for a double and a single and it was all square again at six all after seven ends. Oxfordshire then started a short run, holding a single followed by a four and a double they pulled out a lead of 13 – 6. Wendy, Bev and Jan matched the double on end eleven but Oxfordshire continued with a triple followed by a single for the win at 17 – 8.
Well what a session to finish on. With three more wins under our belts and all the bonus points we had added ten of the available twelve points to our total. Giving us a good win at 29 – 11 and for those of you who wish to know the total shots were Hertfordshire 204, Oxfordshire 146. Our next ICC game will be on the 08th of December when we will be travelling to Oxford for the return match. Will we be able to repeat yesterday’s win or will Oxfordshire get the upper hand at their home ground. See the next ICC report for the answer.