Match Report

Match Report - 21 Oct 2018, Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 drew with Buckinghamshire

In a very close match, Buckinghamshire won 9 of the 16 games played but Hertfordshire scored aggregate wins in 3 of the 4 disciplines to take 6 bonus points resulting in a tied match result of 20-20.

In the first session of play, Alan Spicer was engaged in a very tight game. Both singles players matched each other shot for shot until Alan scores a 3 on the 10th end to take a 7-5 lead. With 2 ends to play the scores were tied at 8-8. Alan was unlucky to drop a 3 on the penultimate end and , scoring a single on the last end, finished at 9-11. Meanwhile, Bill Gearing dominated the early stages of his game. With three maximum 4 counts, Bill led 16-3 after 8 ends. The game then turned around with Bill unable to score for 6 ends and the score closed up to 16-15. Bill held on and, with a final end single, won 17-15. Dennis Mack and Jeanette Gayler led their game twice at 9-7 and 11-9 before dropping 6 shots in three ends. They finished 12-15 behind. In the other pairs game, Julia Bruce and Tony Gayler were tied 6 times with their opponents and were ahead 12-11 with the final end to come. They were unlucky to drop a 2 on the last end to lose out 12-13.

Session 1 score: Herts 2 pts Bucks 6 pts

Hertfordshire bounced back in the second session with 3 game wins. Jeff Branch, Toni Gearing and Brian McGivern led from start to finish, winning 8 ends and winning 15-6. In the other triples game Carol Still, Martin Nash and Alan Hare scored on 8 of their 13 ends but, dropping two 3s, they were on the wrong end of a 9-10 score line. Both Hertfordshire fours were successful. Bill Durham, Sue Murray, Ted Nolan and Sam Salmon were trailing at 3-8 but a strategic change of order started a winning streak of 6 ends and a 12-8 win. John Taylor, Eileen Prior, Margaret Hare and Barry Thorogood were also behind early at 2-8. They clawed back the lead, going ahead on the penultimate end and winning out 15-12.

Match score: Herts 8 pts Bucks 8 pts

In the third session, Alan Spicer lost only 4 ends and steamrollered to a 19-5 win. Bill Gearing was always close to his opponent but trailed throughout finally losing 11-14. Alan's big win secured the 2 bonus points from the singles discipline. Dennis Mack and Jeanette Gayler were level at 2-2 after 4 ends but fell behind and couldn't recover the lead, finishing at 10-14. Julia Bruce and Tony Gayler were level at 5-5 after 8 ends. They then lost 6 ends on the trot and finished 6-14 behind.

Match score: Herts 12 pts Bucks 16 pts

In the final session of play, Brian McGivern's triple once again dominated their game, losing only 4 ends and coming out 16-4 winners. Alan Hare's triple suffered some early setbacks to trail 3-13 and went on to lose 5-19. But the triples bonus points were won. Sam Salmon's four, now with Ted Nolan skipping scored a 4 and a 5 on their way to a 14-7 win. Barry Thorogood's four with Cherry Nolan leading (subbing for John Taylor) won 6 of their 11 ends but it wasn't enough to fend off strong opposition. They just lost out 10-12. Despite losing, their close result ensured that Herts won the fours bonus points.

Final result: Herts 20 pts Bucks 20 pts

Hertfordshire County Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship Premier 2 20 - 20 Buckinghamshire

	Name	Details
1	Alan Spicer	9-11, 19-5
2	Bill Gearing	17-15, 11-14
3	Julia Bruce	12-13, 6-14
4	Tony Gayler	12-13, 6-14
5	Dennis Mack	12-15, 10-14
6	Jeanette Gayler	12-15, 10-14
7	Jeff Branch	15-6, 16-4
8	Toni Gearing	15-6, 16-4
9	Brian McGivern	15-6, 16-4
10	Carol Still	9-10, 5-19
11	Martin Nash	9-10, 5-19
12	Alan Hare	9-10, 5-19
13	Bill Durham	12-8, 14-7
14	Sue Murray	12-8, 14-7
15	Rosemary Followell	12-8, 14-7
16	Scot Salmon	12-8, 14-7
17	John Taylor	15-12
18	Eileen Prior	15-12, 10-12
19	Margaret Hare	15-12, 10-12
20	Barry Thorogood	15-12, 10-12
21	Cherry Nolan	10-12
22	Ken Murray