Match Report
Match Report - 08 Oct 2017, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 drew with Northamptonshire
Hertfordshire came away from Daventry with a share of the points in their latest Inter County Championship Qualifying Group match.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
Michael West scored 5 shots before his opponent got going with a single. Any relief at getting on the scoreboard was quickly dashed as Michael poured on the pressure with a scoring burst which took him to an 18-2 lead at ten ends played. A three end rally from the Northants player narrowed the gap before Michael closed out the game, finishing at 21-11. In the other singles Alan Spicer was engaged in a tightly contested game which consisted of mainly single shot scores and included a tied end. The players were locked together at 3-3 after five ends before Alan went ahead taking a 4 shot lead into the last third of the game. A finishing flourish from Alan extended his lead into a 14-6 win.
Pauline Taylor and Alan Hare won ten of their fifteen ends in the pairs. They led 7-1 after four ends and 14-7 after ten ends. In a game where they scored 3 shots on an impressive five occasions they won their game 22-8. Cherry and Ted Nolan fell 0-6 behind in the first three ends and couldn’t recover from that start. They managed to prevent the gap widening much further until the last five ends which went the way of the Northants pair. The final score was 5-21.
Session 1 result: Northamptonshire 2 pts Hertfordshire 6 pts
Session 2 (triples and fours)
Adrianne West, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern started brightly taking an early 5-3 lead. After that their performance dropped away and they finished on the wrong end of a 9-22 score line, including dropping a maximum 6 count in the middle of the game. This disappointing showing was offset by a dominant outing for Jill Oakes, Eileen Prior and Peter Griffiths. They scored on each of the first ten ends to lead 16-0. Their opponents managed to win the remaining three ends but the Herts trio ended with a very comfortable 16-7 win.
In the fours two debutants, Bill Durham and Trevor Tharby, played with Sam Salmon and Brian Fowler. They were tied 4-4 with their opposition at five ends but dropped 7 shots in the next three ends. Undaunted the Herts players responded with a final three end run of their own just falling short at 9-11. Marion Cooper, Brian Hatherly, John Taylor and Bill Gearing won fewer ends than their opponents but showed the benefit of strong defensive play. They held the Northants four to mainly single shot scores whilst registering a trio of 3 shot counts for themselves and won their game 12-7.
Session 2 result: Northamptonshire 4 pts Hertfordshire 4 pts
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
For once Michael West didn’t start well falling 0-7 behind in just three ends. He bounced back by winning five of the next six ends but then dropped a 4 shot count to find himself 8-14 adrift with five ends to play. A single was followed by a 4 to close to within 1 shot. The scores were levelled on the next end and Michael went on to complete the comeback, winning all of the last five ends to finish 17-14. Alan Spicer was once again involved in a low scoring contest but led only once at 4-3 after four ends. He was still well in the game with four ends to play (7-10) before a three end run from his opponent put the game beyond reach. The final score was 8-15. Michael and Alan completed an aggregate score win across their four games to take the bonus points for the singles discipline.
Pauline Taylor and Alan Hare were never in contention in their pairs game. 1-8 down after six ends, they maintained the gap for the next four ends before being outscored in the last third of the game to finish at 5-17. Cherry and Ted Nolan started badly and were 1-11 behind at the halfway stage. They rallied strongly, scoring 9 shots without reply. For the last four ends Jeff Branch came on as a substitute for Cherry who was suffering from an injury and Jeff and Ted very nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback. With two 2s they went into the lead at 13-12 with just two ends to play. The tense last two ends were decided with two singles for Northants.
Session 3 result: Northants 6 game pts + 2 bonus pts Hertfordshire 2 game pts + 2 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
Jill Oakes, Eileen Prior and Peter Griffiths continued their fine form of the morning session opening up a 6-2 lead after six ends. Despite dropping two 3 shot counts, they outscored their opponents in the remaining ends and finished with a 14-9 win and contribute a maximum 4 points to the Herts total. In an astute tactical change, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern reversed their playing positions with Mary going to skip. The tactic worked as Mary, Brian and Adrianne West quickly established a 6-0 lead. The result was decided by 5 shots scored on the 9th end quickly followed by a maximum 6 shots on the 10th. The final result was a 25-7 win for Herts. The two wins in the triples and the overall winning score in this discipline secured 2 bonus points.
Bill Durham, Sam Salmon, Trevor Tharby and Brian Fowler dropped a 4 on the first end but responded well to lead 7-4 after five ends. They slipped behind 7-10 before scoring two singles to enter the last end just one behind. They lost a tense final end by the minimum margin and finished 9-11.
Marion Cooper, Brian Hatherly, John Taylor and Bill Gearing were briefly ahead after two ends but fell away sharply, losing seven straight ends. They ended their day taking the last two ends but lost out 6-15.
Session 4 result: Northants 4 game pts + 2 bonus pts Hertfordshire 4 game pts + 4 bonus points
Match summary
Having opened their qualifying campaign with two away matches Hertfordshire currently sit in fourth position of their group but having played a game less than the top two teams. Hertfordshire’s next match is at home (Elm Court Community Centre, Potters Bar) against Oxfordshire on the 22nd of October. A win in this match would lift Hertfordshire to at least second place
Northamptonshire 20 - 20 Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2
| 1 |
Michael West |
21-11, 17-14 |
| 2 |
Alan Spicer |
14-6, 8-15 |
| 3 |
Pauline Taylor |
22-8, 5-17 |
| 4 |
Alan Hare |
22-8, 5-17 |
| 5 |
Cherry Nolan |
5-21, 13-14 |
| 6 |
Rosemary Followell |
5-21, 13-14 |
| 7 |
Adrianne West |
9-22, 22-7 |
| 8 |
Mary Chadd |
9-22, 22-7 |
| 9 |
Brian McGivern |
9-22, 22-7 |
| 10 |
Jill Quarterman |
16-7, 14-9 |
| 11 |
Eileen Prior |
16-7, 14-9 |
| 12 |
Peter Griffiths |
16-7, 14-9 |
| 13 |
Marion Cooper |
12-7, 6-15 |
| 14 |
Brian Hatherly |
12-7, 6-15 |
| 15 |
John Taylor |
12-7, 6-15 |
| 16 |
Bill Gearing |
12-7, 6-15 |
| 17 |
Bill Durham |
9-11, 9-11 |
| 18 |
Scot Salmon |
9-11, 9-11 |
| 19 |
Trevor Tharby |
9-11, 9-11 |
| 20 |
Brian Fowler |
9-11, 9-11 |
| 21 |
Scot Salmon |
|
| 22 |
Jeff Branch |
13-14 |