Hertfordshire’s I.C.C. Squad arrived nice and early at Stevenage for our second I.C.C. game of the season. We were playing Essex, a team that we have not played before. Once they had arrived we had the usual lineup, Essex won the toss and took the mat and play got under just after ten O’clock.
Session one
Mat one had Martin Nash playing singles. Essex started with and single and followed that with a triple. Martin held end three for a single then took the lead with a hotshot four on end four. End five and with Essex holding a single it was all square at five all. Martin pulled in front with a single, Essex replied for a double but martin took end eight for another single and it was seven all. With the following two ends going for a single apiece this tight game was now eight all after ten ends. Essex then pulled in front with a single followed by two further singles and a double. The last end saw Martin hold a fifth single but Essex had draw first blood with a 13 – 9 win.
Darren Brown played the second singles game on mat two. Darren started with a single which Essex matched and then followed this with a triple. Darren came back for a single followed by a double and it was all square at four all after five ends. Essex pulled ahead with a double but Darren instantly matched that and it was all square again. Darren then pulled in front but Essex regained the lead with a triple. Darren came back within one shot with another single. Essex matched this then held a double for a 12 – 8 lead after twelve ends. Darren attacked again, he held a double and followed this with a single. The last end saw Darren draw in with the last bowl for another single and the draw at 12 all.
Mat three and Bev Stevenson and Jeff Branch were playing pairs. They started well with a triple. Essex replied for a single but Bev and Jeff matched this and held a double for a 6 – 1 lead after four ends. With the following two ends going for a single apiece Bev and Jeff were maintaining their five shot lead. Essex then held a double and following this with two singles had reduced Bev and Jeffs lead to one shot. Bev and Jeff held a single which Essex matched. Bev and Jeff held another single and again Essex matched it and then took a seventh single to draw level at nine all with one end to play. Essex continued their run, taking the last end for yet another single and the win at 10 – 9.
Bill Gearing and Mark Spalding played pairs on the fourth mat of the session. Essex started with a single which Bill and Mark matched, they then took the lead with a double. Essex replied for a single but Bill and Mark continued with a single and a double for a 6 – 2 lead after seven ends. Essex pulled back with a double but our pair started a run, starting with two singles and a triple and following on with two further singles they were 13 – 4 up with three ends to play. Essex then held a double but with the final two ends going for a single a piece Bev and Mark had the win at 14 – 7.
At the end of Session one we one win and a draw, giving Essex the lead at 5 – 3.
Session Two
Mat one had Lisa Miles, Malcolm Warwick and Darren Stanford playing triples. Essex started with a double, our three replied by taking end two for a single. Essex matched the single for a 3 – 1 lead. Lisa, Malcolm and Darren then held a single, pulled ahead with a triple, taking a further single they had a 6 – 3 lead after six ends. Essex then took the lead with a four, our three regained the lead with a double. Taking a single on end nine Essex had drawn level at eight all after nine ends. Lisa, Malcolm and Darren then took the lead again with a double on end ten. Essex pulled back, they took the lead again with a triple, following this with a second triple and finishing with a four they had the win at 18 – 10.
Mat two and Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern were playing the second triples of the day. Alan Julia and Brian started well with a double and followed this with a second double. Essex came back for a single then levelled the game with a triple on end four. With the following two ends going for a single apiece it was still level at five all after six ends. Essex then pulled ahead with a single, Alan, Julia and Brian took the lead back with a double. Taking three singles in a row Essex pulled out a 9 – 7 lead with two ends to play. Alan, Julia and Brian fought back taking the last two ends for singles they had taking our second draw of the day at nine all.
Mat three and Doreen Andre, Wendy Hunt, Sue Knight and Neil Rixon were playing the fours. Essex got the game started with a single, our four matched this but Essex held a second single for the lead. Our four took end four for (yes you’ve guessed it a single) and Essex continued the pattern taking end five for the lead with the fifth single of this game. Doreen, Wendy, Sue and Neil now broke the pattern and took a double and followed this with a single for a 5 – 3 lead after seven ends. Essex pushed and took their fourth single of the game. Our four then pulled out all the stops and held a five (Yes! Five) on end nine. Following this with two singles they turned what had started as a close game into a 12 – 4 win.
Mat four and Margaret Hare, Trevor Knight, Jan Rogers and Alan Hare were playing another fours game. They started with a single which Essex matched and then took a triple for a 4 – 1 lead after three ends. Essex held a second single which our four matched and then followed up with a double for a 7 – 2 lead after six ends. Essex went on the attack they started with a single and followed this with their fourth single of the game. They then turned up the heat and took a four for the lead at 8 – 7. Then penultimate end saw Essex take a six and extend their lead to 14 – 7. Margaret, Trevor, Jan and Alan held onto the last end for a single but Essex had another win at 14 – 8.
At the end of session two and the half way stage Essex had extended their lead to 10 – 6.
Session three
Bill and Mark played their second pairs of the day on mat one. They started this game with two singles. Essex held a single on end three but Bill and Mark took a double for a 4 – 1 lead after four ends. Essex attacked and took the lead with a hotshot four and they followed this with a double. Bill and Mark matched this double and continued with a single and it was all square at seven all after eight ends. Essex took the lead again with a single. This time Bill and Mark took a double and a single for a two shot lead. Essex pulled back for a single but Bill and Mark took end thirteen for a double and a 12 – 9 lead. Essex came close with a double on end fourteen but Bill and Mark took a single on the last end for the win at 13 – 11.
Mat two and Bev and Jeff played the last pairs game of the day on mat two. Essex started with a single, Bev and Jeff took the lead with a double and followed this with a single. Essex pulled back with another single then levelled the game with a third single on end five. They then took the lead with a triple followed by yet another single. Bev and Jeff reduced Essex’s lead to 7 – 5 with two further singles but Essex went on the attack. They started with a double and followed this with two doubles and two singles to be 16 – 5 ahead with one end to play. Bev and Jeff held onto the last end for a single but Essex had the win at 16 – 6.
Mat three and Darren was playing his second singles game of the day. Essex started well with a triple. Darren took the lead on end two with a hotshot four. He followed this with a double and four singles to be 10 – 3 up after seven ends. Essex took a single on end eight but Darren came back for his first triple of the game. With the following two ends going for a single apiece Darren was leading 14 – 5 after eleven ends. Essex attacked and reduced his deficit with a hotshot four. Darren came straight back and took his second hotshot four, he then finished the game off with two singles and a 20 – 09 win.
Mat four and Martin was playing another singles game. Essex started with two singles, followed this with a double and a third single for a 5 – 0 lead after four ends. Martin held end five for a single but Essex attacked for a hotshot four followed by a three and a 12 – 1 lead after seven ends. Martin then held two singles but Essex matched these two singles and followed up with a second triple for a 17 – 3 lead after twelve ends. End thirteen and Martin came back in for another single but Essex continued taking the last two ends for a double and a third triple and the win at 22 – 4.
At the end of session three with two wins each the score was now 14 – 10. However Essex had a shot difference of plus 11 for the singles and plus two for the pairs giving them four bonus points and extending their lead to 18 – 10. Hertfordshire were now going into the last session needing to win all four mats and take all the remaining bonus points for the win.
Session four
Mat three and Alan, Julia and Brian were playing their second triples of the day. Essex got going with two doubles. Alan, Julia and Brian pulled back with a triple but Essex continued their run with two more singles for a 6 – 3 lead after five ends. Alan, Julia and Brian held a triple on end six and it was all square at six all, they then took the lead with a single. Essex came back and regained the lead with a double on end eight. Alan, Julia and Brian went on the attack, they held a four and followed that with a second four. Continuing with two doubles they had pulled out a 19 – 8 lead with one end to play. Essex held onto the last end for a single but Alan, Julia and Brian had the win at 19 – 9 and had improved the triples shot difference and those bonus points were on the cards.
Mat four and Lisa, Malcolm and Darren were playing the last triples game of the day. They started with a single but Essex came straight back for a four. Lisa, Malcolm and Darren took a double on end three but Essex came back for a single and a double for a 7 – 3 lead after five ends. End six and Lisa, Malcolm and Darren reduced Essex’s lead to 7 – 5. Essex came straight back, taking two singles to restore their four shot lead on end eight. Lisa, Malcolm and Darren held a double and followed this with a second double to level the game at nine all after ten ends. Essex pulled in the lead with a single on end eleven. Lisa, Malcolm and Darren pulled back level with a single on end twelve then took the win at 11 – 10 with a final single on the last end.
With two wins in the triples and the shot difference going positive by three shote we had another six points so the score was now Essex leading 18 – 16.
Mat One and Doreen, Wendy, Sue and Neil were playing their second fours match. Essex started with a single which our four matched. Essex took a second single, Doreen, Wendy, Sue and Neil took the lead with a double. Essex held a single on end five and it was all square at three all. Our four took the lead again with a single only to see Essex take the lead with a double on end seven. Essex followed this with a single and a further double for an 8 – 4 lead with two ends to play. Doreen, Wendy, Sue and Neil held the last two ends of this game for singles but Essex had the win at 8 – 6.
With two points for the win the score was now 20 – 16 to Essex. Hertfordshire had to win the last fours match and take the Bonus points to force the draw.
Mat two and Margaret, Trevor, Jan and Alan were playing the last mat of the match. They started with a single and followed that with a second. Essex then held two singles and it was two all after four ends. Margaret, Trevor, Jan and Alan then took the lead with a triple. Essex pulled pack with a double but Margaret, Trevor, Jan and Alan held a single for a 6 – 4 lead after seven ends. Essex drew level with a double then took the lead with a single. The penultimate end and our four held on for a single and it was seven all going into the last end. Not only was this game drawn the current fours shot difference was zero. Whoever won this last end would take all the remaining points. In a magnificent end with a large audience Margaret, Trevor, Jan and Alan finished the end by taking a four to loud applause
The final score as you have already seen was a draw at 20 points each. For those of you that are interested the total shots were 173 to Hertfordshire, 179 to Essex.
What a great comeback by Hertfordshire, we will be doing at all again in two weeks time when Suffolk come to Stevenage for the return match. Can we get a win against them again or will they turn the tables on us. Why not come along to support and see another great match.