Hertfordshire’s ICC squad got their first outing this Saturday (04th October) when we all travelled to Suffolk’s county venue in Stowmarket. Following a wet and windy drive we all assembled on the rinks ready for our first match of the 2025/26 season. We had many familiar faces in the squad but there was one new member, Ruzmilla Haque (Rose) of Greenwood joined the squad for her first ever Inter County match. We also had some Hertfordshire supporters come along which adds to the great atmosphere of the day. Read below to see how everyone got on.
Session One.
Our County Manager Darren Brown played singles on mat one. Suffolk got started with a double on the first end, Darren replied for a single. Suffolk pushed and took a triple on end three, with Darren taking a second single he was 5 – 2 down after four ends. Suffolk then started a run of ends, Darren kept cutting the heads down but Suffolk had the edge and by end twelve had extended their lead to 18 – 2. End thirteen (unlucky for some) saw Darren take a hotshot four, he followed this with a single. Suffolk took the last end for a final single and had the first win at 19 – 7’
Martin Nash played the second singles of the day on mat two. As with mat one, Suffolk started with a double. Martin replied by taking a single on end two then took the lead with a double on end three. Suffolk came back for a single and it was all square at three all after four ends. Suffolk followed with a triple and two singles for an 8 – 3 lead after seven ends. Martin went into attack mode, he started with a single and followed this with a double, a triple and a further single to go 10 – 8 in the lead with four ends to play. Suffolk held a single on end twelve but Martin matched this to maintain his two-shot lead. The penultimate end and Suffolk held a triple and took the lead. The last end saw Martin triumph with a double and the win at 13 – 12 in this close fought game.
Mat three had our pairing of Bill Gearing and Mark Spalding. Our pair started well with a double and followed this with a single. Suffolk fought back and held a double on end three. Bill and Mark pushed hard and the next four ends saw them take each for a single in some very tight heads. End seven and Suffolk held on for a single to reduce their deficit to 3 – 7. Bill and Mark pushed again, they took three more singles and a double to increase their lead to 12 – 3. Suffolk managed to take a single on end thirteen but our pair attacked again, taking the last two ends for singles they had a good win at 14 – 04.
Malcolm Warwick and Jeff Branch were playing on mat four. Suffolk started well by taking a triple. Malcolm and Jeff held a single on end two only to see Suffolk come straight back, taking two singles, a double and a further single for a 8 – 1 lead after six ends. Malcolm and Jeff held their second single of the game but Suffolk replied by taking a triple for an 11 – 2 lead after eight ends. Our pair then held a single and a triple to reduce the deficit to 6 – 11. Suffolk increased the gap by holding a double on the following end. End twelve and Malcolm and Jeff held their second triple of the game and increased their score to 10 – 13 with thee ends to play. They then held two singles and it was 13 – 12 to Suffolk with one end to play. In a close fought end, Martin rolled his last bowl onto the jack to hold a single and get a draw for Hertfordshire. What a comeback after being 11 – 2 down.
So at the end of session one Hertfordshire had won two mats and drawn one, with the score at 5 – 3 to Hertfordshire the day had started well. The shots difference for the bonus points looked good for Hertfordshire in the pairs although Suffolk had a good lead in the singles.
Session 2.
Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern played our first triples of the day on mat one. They started by taking the first two ends for singles. Suffolk then took end three for a single of their own. End four saw the umpire called, after many measures it was declared a tied end. With a score of 2 – 1 after four ends our three now upped the pressure. They started with a triple and followed that with two singles and a four for an 11 – 1 lead after eight ends. Suffolk got back on the scorecard with a double but our three came straight back for a triple. Suffolk came back for a single on end eleven. Alan, Julia and Brian took the last two ends for singles and a good win at 16 – 4.
Mat two and the second triples game was being played by Bev Stevenson, Ruzmilla Haque and Jan Rogers. They took the first end for a double. Suffolk then held end two for a single which our three matched on end three. Suffolk pushed again, taking a double on end four it was all square at three all after four ends. Bev, Rose and Jan then held a four, they followed this with three doubles and a single for a 14 – 3 lead after nine ends. Suffolk then started a short run by taking the following three ends for singles. The last end and Bev, Rose and Jan held on for the only triple of the game and another good win for Hertfordshire at 17 – 6.
Audrey Fowler, Susan Knight, Alan Hare and Val Thorogood played the first fours on mat three. Suffolk got in early with a single on end one. Our four matched this on end two and followed this with a double. Suffolk doubled their score with a single on end four only to see our four hold a second double on end five for a 5 – 2 lead. Suffolk fought again, taking a double and a single it was all square at five all after seven ends. Our four held a single on end eight which Suffolk matched on end nine and it was all square again with two ends to play. Audrey, Sue, Alan and Val then held a double, they followed this with a triple on the last end for another Hertfordshire win at 11 – 6.
Doreen Andre, Wendy Hunt, Brian Fowler and Neil Rixon played fours on mat four. They started by taking the first end for a single. Suffolk took a single of their own on end two and followed this with a triple and a second single for a 5 – 1 lead after four ends. Our four took end five for a single which Suffolk matched on end six. Doreen, Wendy, Brian and Neil then pulled back with a double and a single, they then took the lead with a triple and followed this with a double for as 10 – 6 lead with one end to play. Suffolk held onto the last end for a single but Hertfordshire had another win at 10 – 7.
So session two came to an end and Hertfordshire had won all four mats increasing their lead to 13 – 3. With such good wins the bonus points for the triples and the fours were in Hertfordshire’s sights.
Session 3.
Bill Gearing and Mark Spalding were playing their second pairs game on mat one. They started with a single which Suffolk matched. They then took a second single which Suffolk also matched. Bill and Mark then took the lead with a double and a single. Suffolk pulled back with a double on end seven reducing our lead to 5 – 4 after seven ends. Bill and Mark then held three ends for doubles and following this with a triple and a single they had pulled out a lead of 15 – 4 with three to play. Suffolk pushed back, taking a triple and a single they had reduced Bill and Mark’s lead to 15 – 8. The last end and Bill and Mark pushed again taking a double and another win at 17 – 8.
Mat two and the last pairs game of the match was played by Malcolm Warwick and Jeff Branch. Our two started well with a triple and a double. Suffolk then attacked, taking a triple, three doubles and a single, Suffolk had a 10 – 5 lead after seven ends. Malcolm and Jeff pushed back, they held a double then levelled the game with a triple. They then took a double on end ten for the lead at 12 – 10. Suffolk then regained the lead with a four. They followed this with two singles, a double and a triple for the win at 21 – 12.
Mat three and Darren Brown was playing his second singles of the match. Darren started with a single which Suffolk matched. Darren then regained the lead with a double. Suffolk held on for a second single but Darren matched this and then took a double for a 6 – 2 lead after six ends. Suffolk came back for a single, they followed this with a triple and it was six all after eight ends. Darren matched the triple to take the lead but Suffolk came back for yet another triple and it was nine all after eleven ends. Suffolk then took the lead for the first time with a double. It was short lived Darren took his second triple and followed this with a double for a 14 – 11 lead. Suffolk pulled back with a double on the penultimate end. Darren held on, taking the last end for a single he had the win at 15 – 13.
The last singles game of the day saw Martin Nash on mat four. Suffolk started by taking a triple on the first end. Martin took the second for a single but Suffolk came back for three singles and a 6 – 1 lead after five ends. Martin came back, holding a double and a single he had reduced Suffolks lead to 6 – 4. Suffolk held a double and Martin replied taking a single on end nine. Suffolk pushed again taking two singles and a double they had a 12 – 5 lead with three to play. Martin took end thirteen for a double and followed this with a triple. The last end saw Martin hold on for a single but Suffolk had the narrow win at 12 – 11.
With two wins apiece and two losses each the Hertfordshire maintained their ten shot lead at 17 – 7. With the bonus points for the singles going to Suffolk and the pairs onus points going to Hertfordshire there was still a ten point difference in Hertfordshire’s favour at 19 – 9. Going into the last session we only needed two more of the twelve available points for the win.
Session 4.
Mat one and our fours team of Audrey Fowler, Susan Knight, Alan Hare and Val Thorogood started well with a double, they followed this with two singles, a triple and a second double for a 9 – 0 lead after five ends. Suffolk went on the attack. They took a triple followed by a double and then held a four and all of a sudden it was nine all after eight ends. Audrey, Sue, Alan and Val regained the lead with a single on end nine. Suffolk took it back again with a double on end ten. The last end also went Suffolks way for a single and the win at 12 – 10.
Doreen Andre, Wendy Hunt, Brian Fowler and Neil Rixon played the last fours of the day on mat two. They started with a double and then held a magnificent SIX, following this with a double and a single they had a 12 – 0 lead after four ends. Suffolk got on the card with a double which Doreen, Wendy, Brian and Neil matched on end six and followed this with a single for a 15 – 2 lead after just seven ends. Suffolk then started a comeback by taking two doubles. The last two ends came back to Doreen, Wendy, Brian and Neil, finishing the day with two final singles they had another good win at 17 – 6.
Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern played their triples on mat three. They started with a single and followed this with two doubles. Suffolk then held a single but our three came straight back and held the only triple of the game. Suffolk took back the mat and held two successive singles. Alan, Julia and Brian then took a double and, following this with two singles had increased their lead to 12 – 3 after ten ends. Suffolk improved their score with a double on end eleven. Our three then took a single for a 13 – 5 lead with one end to play. Suffolk held on to the last end for a double but Alan, Julia and Brian had another Hertfordshire win at 13 – 7.
The last mat of the day had Bev Stevenson, Ruzmilla Haque and Jan Rogers playing their second triples game. They stared by taking a double and followed this with a single. Suffolk came back for two singles which Bev, Rose and Jan instantly matched with a double on end five for a 5 – 2 lead. Suffolk then held a double and drew level with a single. They then took the lead with two further singles. End ten and Bev, Rose and Jan pulled back with a single. Suffolk attacked and held two doubles for an 11 – 6 lead with one end to play. Bev, Rose and Jan held onto the last end for a triple, reducing Suffolks win to 11 – 9.
Well what a last session, With two wins apiece the score was now 23 – 13. However by keeping their losses low Hertfordshire took the bonus points for both disciplines making the final score a win for Hertfordshire at 27 – 13.
Hertfordshire should be proud of their day, a superb win and a good start to their 2025/26 I.C.C. Competition. As a treat your selection committee arranged for a fly pass by the Red Arrows as we all approached Duxford on the way home. Unfortunately they used red and blue smoke instead of yellow and blue. Never mind the thought was there! Our next I.C.C. game will be at our home ground of Stevenage on Sunday the 09th November against Essex. Why not come along to support. You never know there could be some fireworks involved.