Match Report
Match Report - 12 Nov 2017, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 lost to Oxfordshire
Hertfordshire’s hopes of topping their Inter County Championship qualifying group suffered a setback with an 18-22 loss against Oxfordshire, compounded by Buckinghamshire’s heavy 30-10 defeat of Northamptonshire.
Session 1 (singles and pairs)
The Hertfordshire singles representatives came up against two Oxfordshire players in inspired form. Michael West started well enough, 6-3 up after six ends, before dropping a 4 and a 3 in quick succession. Michael got back to within a single shot with three ends to play but failed to score again, eventually losing 10-16. Alan Spicer came under early pressure, falling 0-6 behind. The deficit was still six shots at 4-10 after six ends. The Oxfordshire player continued to press the advantage, opening out to 6-17. Alan finished with three scoring ends, losing 11-17.
Pauline Taylor and Alan Hare leapt out to a 6-0 lead after four ends. Their opponents struck back, winning five of the next seven ends to draw level at 9-9 before going ahead. With one end to play, Pauline and Alan trailed 10-12. Pushing for the two shots needed to salvage something from the game, they dropped a maximum 4 shot count and finished at 10-16. The only Hertfordshire points from the first session of play came from the husband and wife combo, Audrey and Brian Fowler. Their game was keenly contested. The 12th end proved to be decisive. With the competing pairs locked together at 8-8, the Fowlers scored a 3 to establish a winning lead. Despite dropping a couple of singles, they won the last end for a 12-10 victory.
Session 1 result: Hertfordshire 2 points Oxfordshire 6 points
Session 2 (triples and fours)
Adrianne West, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern took an early 4-1 lead. In the next seven ends scoring was restricted to singles for both sides. Oxfordshire had the better of the exchanges and the scores were tied at 6-6 with three ends to go. The Herts trio went ahead with a 2 only for Oxfordshire to reply in kind and scores were level again with just the last end to come. Herts finished with a flourish, scoring 4 shots to win 12-8. Jill Oakes, Tony Gayler and Gordon Burrow led briefly at 3-2 after three ends. A four end scoring burst from their opponents placed them at a disadvantage 3-11 behind. The Herts triple fought hard, scoring on five of the remaining six ends but ended at 9-12.
Margaret Hare, Barry Thorogood, Robin Quarterman and Ken Murray dropped a 4 on the 3rd end but got it straight back on the next to lead 6-4. They built on their lead, opening out to 9-4. A tied end was followed by another 4 for the Herts quartet and they finished 14-5 ahead. Jeff Branch, John Taylor, Sam Salmon and Jeanette Gayler led 5-1 after four ends. Their opposition chipped away at the lead and the score was 6-5 with two ends to play. A dropped 2 had the Herts team behind for the first time. Undaunted, they finished with an emphatic 3 count and a 9-7 win.
Session 2 result: Hertfordshire 6 points Oxfordshire 2 points
A much better second session for Hertfordshire had levelled the match points at 8-8.
Session 3 (reverse singles and pairs)
The first five ends of Michael West’s game were close and included a tied end. With the score at 2-3, Michael went ahead with a 3 count. He then scored on the next five ends without reply to lead 11-3. Despite dropping a 3 on the last end, Michael won his game 13-7. Alan Spicer was briefly level at 1-1 before suffering a seven end onslaught, failing to score and falling 1-11 behind. Alan had slightly the better of the remaining ends but finished 5-14 behind.
Pauline Taylor and Alan Hare were 0-4 behind after the first two ends of their game. They levelled the scores with a maximum 4 and added another four shots in two ends to lead 8-4. Their opponents drew level again three ends later at 8-8. Pauline and Alan slipped behind for an end before once more establishing parity at 10-10. The Oxfordshire duo won the next three ends and had the game won at 10-15 after the penultimate end. With than game lost, Pauline and Alan finished with a maximum. The final score was 14-15. The Fowlers were well in contention at 5-6 after seven ends. However, they dropped 7 shots in three ends and trailed 5-13 with five ends to play. They almost completed a remarkable recovery, scoring on all of the last ends, just falling short at 12-13.
Session 3 result: Herts 2 game pts and 0 bonus pts Oxfordshire 6 game pts and 4 bonus pts
Session 4 (reverse triples and fours)
The lead changed hands six times in the game involving Adrianne West, Mary Chadd and Brian McGivern. They scored a 3 to lead 4-2 only to drop the same score on the next end. A 4 count took the Herts trio ahead again at 8-6. They went behind 9-10 with two ends left. With a 2 they led once more but a last end single for Oxfordshire tied the final score at 11-11. Jill Oakes, Tony Gayler and Gordon Burrow took just three ends to establish a 3-1 lead. With steady scoring on seven of the remaining ten ends, the Herts triple finished comfortable 13-5 ahead.
Margaret Hare, Barry Thorogood, Robin Quarterman and Ken Murray only lost five of their eleven ends but a 3 and two 4s dropped meant they suffered a 5-13 defeat. The final fours game involving Jeff Branch, John Taylor, Sam Salmon and Jeanette Gayler was another close encounter. With neither side scoring more than a 2, they were locked together at 3-3, 4-4 and eventually 7-7 although the Herts four needed to win the last two ends to earn the draw.
Both the triples and fours for Hertfordshire registered overall aggregate shot wins over their Oxfordshire counterparts to score 4 bonus points.
Session 4 result: Herts 4 game pts and 4 bonus pts Oxfordshire 4 game pts and 0 bonus pts
Match summary
In the other qualifying match at Daventry, Buckinghamshire beat Northamptonshire 30-10 which puts them in pole position to win the qualifying group. First and second places will likely be decided by the final group match with Hertfordshire at home to Buckinghamshire on 25 November.
Oxfordshire 22 - 18 Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2
| 1 |
Michael West |
10-16, 13-7 |
| 2 |
Alan Spicer |
11-17, 5-14 |
| 3 |
Pauline Taylor |
10-16, 14-15 |
| 4 |
Alan Hare |
10-16, 14-15 |
| 5 |
Audrey Fowler |
12-10, 12-13 |
| 6 |
Brian Fowler |
12-10, 12-13 |
| 7 |
Adrianne West |
12-8, 11-11 |
| 8 |
Mary Chadd |
12-8, 11-11 |
| 9 |
Brian McGivern |
12-8, 11-11 |
| 10 |
Jill Quarterman |
9-12, 13-5 |
| 11 |
Tony Gayler |
9-12, 13-5 |
| 12 |
Gordon Burrow |
9-12, 13-5 |
| 13 |
Jeff Branch |
9-7, 7-7 |
| 14 |
John Taylor |
9-7, 7-7 |
| 15 |
Scot Salmon |
9-7, 7-7 |
| 16 |
Jeanette Gayler |
9-7, 7-7 |
| 17 |
Margaret Hare |
14-5, 5-13 |
| 18 |
Barry Thorogood |
14-5, 5-13 |
| 19 |
Robin Quarterman |
14-5, 5-13 |
| 20 |
Ken Murray |
14-5, 5-13 |
| 21 |
Rosemary Followell |
|
| 22 |
Diana Davies |
|