This Sunday, the 14th December Hertfordshire’s I.C.C. Squad travelled to Falcon Bowling Club in Chelmsford to play Essex. This is our fourth and last game in the initial round robin stage. With two wins and a draw under our belts could we make it a clean sweep of no losses. Read on to see how the day went.
Session one
Neil Rixon was playing singles on mat one. He started with a single but Essex replied with a double to take an early lead and followed this with a single. Neil attacked and took the lead back with a triple on end four. Essex pushed again for a double and had the lead back, he followed this with two singles for a 7 – 4 lead after seven ends. Neil pulled back with a double and regained the lead with a second. End ten saw Essex take the lead back with a double of his own. In a lead swapping game Neil took it back with yet another double. This time he followed on with a hotshot four for a 14 – 9 lead with three ends to play. Essex took the next end for a double and followed this with a single two be two shots behind with one end to play. He continued his run and held a final single on the last end but Neil had held on for the win at 14 – 13.
Martin Nash played the second singles of the first session on mat two. He started with a single. Essex then came to the mat and held a double, he followed this with two singles, another double and a third single for a 7 – 1 lead after six ends. Martin came back on end seven and reduced the deficit with a triple. Essex came back and held a single on end eight but Martin pushed harder and pulled level with two doubles. He continued this run of five ends with three more singles for an 11 – 8 lead with two ends to play. Essex went on the attack and held a double on the penultimate end. The last end saw Essex hold on for his fourth double and take a narrow win at 12 – 11.
Bill Gearing and Mark Spalding played pairs on mat three. They took the first end for a single which the Essex pair matched on end two. Bill and Mark then held a triple and followed this with another single. End five saw the Essex pair hold their second single of the game to reduce Bill and Mark’s lead to 5 – 2. Bill and Mark then started a run, they took three singles in succession and followed this with a triple, continuing the run they took two more singles to be 13 – 2 up after eleven ends. The Essex pair then held their third end and their third single of the game. Bill and Mark went back into end winning mode, they took the last three ends for a double, a triple and a final single for a comprehensive 19 – 3 win.
Our new pairing of Bev Stevenson and Darren Brown played doubles on mat four. Essex drew first blood with a double and followed this with a hotshot four. Bev and Darren got on the scorecard with a single on end three which Essex then matched. Bev and Darren came back to the mat and got a hotshot four. Essex then held a single which Bev and Darren matched on end seven. They then took the lead with a triple. Essex took the lead straight back with a triple of their own on end nine for an 11 – 9 lead. Bev and Darren drew level with a double and followed this with a triple and a second double for a 16 – 11 lead with three ends to play. The Essex pair then held a double on end thirteen but Bev and Darren held the last two ends for singles to maintain their five shot lead and take the win at 18 – 13.
At the end of the first session Hertfordshire had six points and Essex had two. The shot difference for the singles was zero and all to play for but Hertfordshire had a plus twenty one shot lead in the pairs.
Session two
Mat one had our trio of Alan Spicer, Julia Bruce and Brian McGivern playing the first triples of the match. Alan, Julia and Brian started with a single which Essex matched on end two. Essex followed on with a double to take the lead. Alan, Julia and Brian then levelled the game with a double of their own. Essex came straight back and took the lead with a single. Again Alan, Julia and Brian matched this and it was all square at four all after six ends. They then took the lead with a double. This time Essex matched it and we were back at six all on end eight. Alan, Julia and Brian pulled the lead back again with a double on end nine. This time Essex held on for a four and followed that with a double. They continued their run by taking the last two ends for singles and had the win 14 – 8.
Mat two had Audrey Fowler, Jeff Branch and Jan Rogers playing the second triples of this session. Essex started by taking the first end for a double and followed this with three singles for a 5 – 0 lead. Audrey, Jeff and Jan then held a single and followed this with a triple to reduce Essex’s lead to 5 – 4 after six ends. Essex increased their lead with a double but Audrey, Jeff and Jan pulled back with a single on end eight. Essex matched this and followed on with a four and another single to be 13 – 5 up with two ends to play. Audrey, Jeff and Jan held the penultimate end for a double but taking the last end for a single Essex and taken the win at 14 – 7.
Mat three and Trevor Knight, Andrew Miles, Malcolm Warwick and Alan Hare were playing fours. Essex started by taking the first end for a double and followed that with a second. Trevor, Andrew, Malcolm and Alan then held a triple only to see Essex take a four for an 8 – 3 lead after four ends. Trevor, Andrew, Malcolm and Alan pulled back with a single and a double but Essex held end seven for a triple and an 11 – 6 lead after seven ends. Trevor, Andrew, Malcolm and Alan now held a double and then drew level with a triple. They then took the lead with a single on the penultimate end. Essex pushed back, taking a single on the last end we had a drawn game at twelve all.
Mat four and Doreen Andre, Barry Thorogood, Sue Knight and Brian fowler were playing the second fours of this session. They started well by taking the first end for a single. Essex fought back, they took the second end for a single and followed that with another and a triple to be 5 – 1 up after four ends. Doreen, Barry, Sue and Brian came back for a double on end six. Essex attacked again and held a four for a 9 – 3 lead at the half-way stage. Doreen, Barry, Sue and Brian then held another single but Essex held a second triple and followed that with a second four to increase their lead to 16 – 4 with two ends to play. Doreen, Barry, Sue and Brian came back on the last two ends to hold a triple and a single but Essex had another win at 16 – 8.
At the end of the second session the table had been completely reversed. Essex had turned it round and were now in the lead with a score of 9 – 7. At the moment both sets of shot difference were in Essex’s favour.
Session three
Bill and Mark were now playing their second pairs game on mat one. They started well with a double and followed this with two more. Essex came to the mat on end four and held a single, they then took a second on end five. Bill and Mark then took their fourth double for an 8 – 2 lead after six ends. Essex held their third single which Bill and Mark matched on end eight for a 9 – 3 lead. Essex replied by taking a double, they followed this with a single and a triple and it was nine all after eleven ends. Essex then took the lead with a single and a double. Bill and Mark pushed hard on the penultimate end, holding a hotshot four they had regained the lead. They finished this game with a double for a 15 – 12 win.
Bev and Daren were playing the last pairs game of the match on mat two. Essex started with a double but Bev and Darren came straight back for a single. The Essex pair then increased their lead with a triple on end three. Bev and Darren then held a hotshot four and it was all square at five apiece. They then started a run, taking two doubles and a single they had taken the lead at 10 – 5 after seven ends. Essex went on the attack, they started with a double and followed on with three singles to make it all square at ten all after eleven ends. Essex then continued their run and took the lead with a single, they followed this with a double, a triple and a final single for a 17 – 10 win.
Mat three and Neil was playing his second singles of the day. Neil started with a single and followed that with a triple. Essex came back for a single and got closer with a double. Neil came straight back and increased his lead with a triple and followed that with a double and a single to be 10 – 3 up after seven ends. End eight saw Essex fight back and take a triple. Neil cancelled this out by taking a run of three singles to maintain his seven-shot lead. Essex pushed again and held a double but Neil maintained the pressure taking a single the following end. With the last two ends going for a single apiece Neil had taken another win for Hertfordshire at 15 – 9.
Mat four and the final singles of the day had Martin playing on mat four. In a copy of Neils game Martin started with a single and a triple followed by Essex taking a single and a double. Martin then took a double which Essex matched, Martin then increased his lead with a single but with Essex then holding a further double on end eight it was seven all. Martin came back for a single but Essex slipped into the lead with a double. Their lead was short lived as Martin held a triple on end eleven for an 11 – 9 lead. Although Essex held a single on end twelve Martin reinforced his position with a double and followed that with a triple. The last end saw Essex hold on for a single but Martin had the win at 16 – 11.
At the end of session three the three wins had put Hertfordshire back in the lead with a score 13 – 11. Not only that we had a positive shot difference in both disciplines. This meant we had taken the bonus points for both the singles and the pairs with the score now 17 – 11 in Hertfordshire’s favour the last session was about to begin.
Session four
Mat one and the fours team of Trevor, Andrew, Malcolm and Alan were playing on mat one. They started with a single but Essex came straight back for an almighty five and followed that with a triple and a single for a 9 – 1 lead after four ends. Trevor, Andrew, Malcolm and Alan held a double on end five but Essex came back again, taking a single and two triples they had pulled out a lead of 16 – 3 with three ends to play. Trevor, Andrew, Malcolm and Alan held on and took the last three ends for a double, a triple and a final single but Essex had the win at 16 – 9.
Mat two and a revised fours team of Doreen Andre, Brian Fowler, Wendy Hunt and Barry Thorogood played the final fours game of the match. Essex started with a single, Doreen, Brian, Wendy and Barry matched that on end two then took the lead with a second single on end three. Essex pushed hard and regained the lead with a four, they followed that with two singles and a triple for a 10 – 2 lead after seven ends. Doreen, Brian, Wendy and Barry then started to pull back they started with a triple and followed that with two singles to reduce Essex’s lead to 10 – 7 with one end to play. The last end was hard fought but Essex held on for a double and another win at 12 – 7.
Mat three had Alan, Julia and Brian playing their second triples game. Essex started well and took a five on the first end. Alan, Julia and Brian fought back they started with a triple then took the lead with a four and followed that with a single to be 8 – 5 up after four ends. Essex regrouped and held a double they then took the lead with a second. Alan, Julia and Brian came back, taking a single on end seven it was all square at nine all. Essex attacked again and took the lead with a four and followed that with a single. Alan, Julia and Brian pulled back with a double on end ten. Essex matched this the following end then continued with a triple and finished on a single for a 20 – 11 win.
Mat four and Audrey, Jeff and Jan were playing the last triples of the day. They started well with a single and followed that with a second. Essex took end three for a single but Audrey, Jeff and Jan matched that on end four for a 3 – 1 lead. End five and Essex broke the pattern of singles, taking a hotshot six they took the lead at 7 – 3. Audrey, Jeff and Jan pulled back with a double but Essex pushed harder and took a run of three triples and followed that with a double to extend their lead to 18 – 5 with three ends to play. The last three ends saw Audrey, Jeff and Jan take two doubles and a triple to reduce Essex’s win to 18 – 12.
With Essex winning all four mats, not only did they take the full eight points they also took the remaining bonus points for the triples and the fours. So Essex had taken the win at 23 – 17. The total shots were Essex 212 and Hertfordshire 192. This was the last of Hertfordshire’s games in the initial round robin stage. Hertfordshire currently top their group with 91 points. We will have to wait for the result of the game between Suffolk and Essex to see if we remain in first place. This will take place on the 11th January when all the other ICC groups will also complete their round robin stage. Our next game will be the quarter finals which will be held over the weekend of 14th/15th February. Until all the results are in and the prelim games of the 01st February have been held we will not know who we will be playing or the venue. Watch this space for future announcements.