Our I.C.C. Squad arrived at Stevenage nice and early this Sunday the 05th January for our last I.C.C. match of the initial round robin stage. Our Opponents West Midlands travelled down to us and despite the bad weather arrived in good time ready for the match.
Session One
Neil Rixon was playing singles on mat one. He started this game well with a single, West Midlands replied with a triple and followed that with a single to go 4 – 1 up. Neil came back on end four for a double and followed that with a triple to take the lead back at 6 – 4. West Midlands attacked again taking two singles to draw level at 6 six all after seven ends. Neil took back the mat, holding two singles and a double he had pulled out a 10 – 4 lead. West Midlands attacked again narrowing Neil’s lead with a triple and then taking the lead with a double they were 11 – 10 with three ends to go. Neil took the lead straight back with a double, following this with a single and finishing with a triple it was our first win at 16 – 11.
Martin Nash played the second singles game on mat two. He started well with a hotshot four and followed this with two singles. West Midlands then held a single on end four but Martin came straight back for a double. West Midlands then held a second single but Martin matched this to be 9 – 2 up after seven ends. West Midlands reduced their deficit with a triple on end eight but Martin kept up the pressure by taking two more singles for a six-shot lead. With the following two ends going for a single apiece Martin was maintaining his six-shot lead. West Midlands then held a triple and followed this with a single. The last end saw Martin take back control and hold a double for a 14 – 10 win.
Bill Gearing and Jeff Branch played pairs on mat three. They started well with a double and followed this with a hotshot four. West Midlands then started a run of ends, taking a single, double and a triple to draw level. They then pulled ahead with a further single and followed this with a triple for a 10 – 6 lead after seven ends. Bill and Jeff dug in and held two doubles to level the score at ten all. End ten saw West Midlands take the lead with a hotshot four. Bill and Jeff started to pull back taking three singles in a row. The penultimate end saw West Midlands hold their second hotshot and finished this game with a single for a 19 – 13 win.
Bev Stevenson and Jeanette Gayler were playing the second pairs game on mat four. They started well with a double. West Midlands replied with a single and then took the lead with a triple. They followed this with a second single and a hotshot four for a 9 – 2 lead after five ends. Bev and Jeanette pulled back with a double and a single but West Midlands matched this with their own single and a double, restoring their seven-shot lead. The following two ends went for a double each and West Midlands still had that seven-shot lead at 14 – 7 after eleven ends. West Midlands then held two further singles, Bev and Jeanette pulled back a single on end fourteen but West Midlands finished the game with a double for an 18 – 8 win.
At the end of the first session the match was drawn with two wins apiece.
Session Two
Mat one had our triple of Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern. West Midlands took a triple on the first end of this game and followed that with a single and two further triples before Alan, Julia and Brian got on the scorecard with a single on end five. West Midlands continued the onslaught with a single and two fours for a 19 – 1 lead after eight ends. Alan, Julia and Brian managed to take two more singles but with West Midlands taking a triple and two more singles they had a good win at 24 – 3.
Mat two had Audrey Fowler, Jan Rogers and Wendy Hunt playing the second triples game. Our three started well with a double. West Midlands then held a single which Audrey, Jan and Wendy matched for a 3 – 1 lead after three ends. West Midlands then started a run of ends starting with a double to level the score they followed this with a four, a six, two singles and a double to build up a lead of 17 – 3 after nine ends. Audrey, Jan and Wendy then got control of the mat taking the last four ends for three singles and a double but the damage had been done and West Midlands had won a second triple with a score of 17 – 8.
Mat three had our first fours of the day. Lisa Miles, Val Thorogood, Margaret Hare and Darren Stanford started well with a triple and followed this with a double and two singles for a 7 – 0 lead after four ends. West Midlands held end five for a single but Lisa, Val, Margaret and Darren came straight back and took two singles followed by a triple for a 12 – 1 lead with three ends to play. West Midlands then took their second end of the game for a double. The penultimate end saw Lisa, Val, Margaret and Darren come straight back for a triple. West Midlands held the last end for a single but our four had a comprehensive win at 15 – 4.
Mat four saw Barry Thorogood, Andrew Miles, Alan Hare and Brian Fowler play the second fours of the day. They started well with a single and followed this with a double. West Midlands then held a double followed by a single and it was all square at three all after four ends. Barry, Andrew, Alan and Brian then held a four. West Midlands matched this on end six and it was all square again at seven all. Our four then held two singles, West Midlands then held two singles as well and it was all square again at 9 all going into the last end. The last end saw West Midlands fight hard, holding a three they had won this close-run game.
The end of session two and West Midlands pulled into the lead. Winning three mats the score was now 10 – 6 in their favour.
Session Three
As West Midlands wanted to leave early because of the poor weather we run straight into session three. Mat one had Bev Stephenson and Jeanette Gayler playing their second pairs game of the day. They got started by taking a single which West Midlands instantly matched. Bev and Jeanette then took two further singles. West Midlands held end five for the fifth single of this close game. Bev and Jeanette then broke the pattern and held a triple on end six for a 6 – 2 lead. With the following two ends going for a single apiece our pair were maintaining their four-shot lead. West Midlands pulled back with a double on end nine but Bev and Jeanette came back for a triple and extended their lead to five shots on end ten. West Midlands then took control of the mat starting with a single they followed this with a double and two further singles and the score was ten all with one end to play. The last end saw Bev and Jeanette hang on for a single and the close win at 11 – 10.
Mat two had the pairing of Bill Gearing and Malcolm Warwick. They started well with a double, however West Midlands matched this then followed it with a triple and a single for a 6 – 2 lead after four ends. Bill and Malcolm pulled right back with a triple on end five. With the next two ends going for a single apiece West Midlands were holding on to that one shot advantage. West Midlands then held a double and followed that with two singles for an 11 – 6 lead after ten ends. Both teams then held a single and West Midlands were still in front at 12 – 7. The next two ends saw Bill and Malcolm hold a single followed by a triple and were only one shot behind at 11 – 12 going into the last end. West Midlands held on to the last end, matching our pairs previous triple they had the win at 15 – 11.
Martin Nash played his second singles on mat three. West Midlands started this game by taking the first three ends for singles. Martin held a single on end four which West Midlands matched in this game of very close heads. End six and Martin held the first double of the game and followed that with another single and it was four all after seven ends. West Midlands then held their first double, they followed this with a single to pull out a three-shot lead. Martin pulled back with a single on end ten but West Midlands held on for a double the following end. Martin matched this on end twelve and was only two shots behind at 7 – 9. West Midlands then pulled out a lead by taking two doubles in succession. The last end and Martin fought back, he held a triple and reduced West Midlands win to 13 – 10.
Neil Rixon played the last singles of the day on mat four. He started well, taking the first three ends for singles. West Midlands then held a double on end four and followed this with two singles and two more doubles for an 8 – 3 lead after eight ends. Neil held a double on end nine. West Midlands then held a single. Neil pushed hard and held a triple on end eleven reducing West Midlands lead to one shot at 9 – 8. West Midlands then pulled away again, taking two singles and a double they had a 13 – 8 lead going into the last end. Neil held on for a single on the last end but West Midlands had another win at 13 – 9.
At the end of session three we had another win. With both singles being kept close we also managed to take the bonus points. West Midlands, however, had the bonus points for the pairs. Going into the last session West Midlands had increased their lead to 18 – 10.
Session Four
The last session of the day started with Barry, Andrew, Alan and Brian on mat one. West Midlands took the first end for a single. Our four matched this on end two. West Midlands took a further single but Barry, Andrew, Alan and Brian held a four on end four taking the lead at 5 – 2. West Midlands then started a run of four ends taking two singles, then the lead with a double and a further single for a 7 – 5 lead after eight ends. End nine and our four made it all square with a double. The penultimate end saw West Midlands regain the lead with single. The last end saw our four hold on for a magnificent six giving them the win at 13 – 8.
Mat two had Lisa, Val, Margaret and Darren playing the last fours game of the day. West Midlands started well with a triple but our four came straight back on the second end to hold a double. West Midlands then took two singles, they followed this with a double, a triple and a third single for an 11 – 2 lead after seven ends. Lisa, Val, Margaret and Darren then started a short run of three ends, taking two singles and a triple they reduced West Midlands lead to 11 – 7. The last end saw West Midlands take control, holding a five they had the win at 16 – 7.
Mat three had our triple of Audrey, Jan and Wendy. In a slightly one-sided game our three managed to hold onto two ends for singles. West Midlands held the other eleven ends, they held some singles and took a few other ends for a few more. The final result being a win for West Midlands at 30 – 2.
Mat four had Alan Spicer, Sue Knight and Julia Bruce playing the last triple of the day. West Midlands started this game by taking a five, they followed it with a triple, a single and a double for an 11 – 0 lead after four ends. Alan, Sue and Julia now started a fight back. They started with a single and followed this with a four. They then took a second single and had reduced West Midlands lead to 11 – 6. West Midlands pushed again and took a double followed by a single to extend their lead to 14 – 6. Alan, Sue and Julia pushed again they held a double and followed this with a four to reduced West Midlands lead to 14 – 12. The penultimate end saw West Midlands hold on for another double. Alan, Sue and Julia held the last end for a single reducing West Midlands win to 16 – 13.
Well what a day we had had. The last session we had another win in the fours which also gave us the bonus points. West Midlands had won the other three mats and had the bonus points for the triples. The final toting up showed that West Midlands had the win at 26 – 14. Hertfordshire should be proud of this score, it is an improvement on our last match against West Midlands when we were beaten 29 – 11. Although we only won on five mats many of the losses were very close. This is shown by the fact that we gained the bonus points in both the Singles and the Fours.
This result places Hertfordshire second in our group. We now progress to the knockout rounds of this competition. Our next match will be against Dorset on either Saturday the first or Sunday the second of February. We await advice from the ESMBA for the exact fixture arrangements. As soon as we get a confirmed date and venue all ICC members will be contacted.