This year's event
was held over 3-4 June at the Stanley Indoor Bowling Centre,
County Durham.
SINGLES
Suffolk and Sunderland both won their opening pair of games and
Durham had won their first game. While Suffolk sat out the third
session Sunderland took their another win. They were now the
only two who had not lost a game.
The next round saw the
two leaders playing one another in a crunch game which went to
Sunderland who were now clear at the top.
Sunderland sat out Saturday's
final session but had still had a clear lead at the end of the
first day. Both Essex and Durham were two points 2 points behind
on the same number of games, but those two would be among Sunderland's
opponents on Sunday.
Both Sunderland and Essex
won their first games on Sunday but Durham lost so it was looking
like a two horse race and what's more the two of them would be
playing one another in the final session.
Finally there was a slip
from Sunderland, losing to Cambridgeshire who were now coming
into contention. And with Essex winning that meant that the top
two were now separated by just a single shot. Cambridgeshire
were on the same points but had played one game extra.
Remarkably both Essex and
Sunderland lost their penultimate games, staying on 10 points,
while Cambridgeshire won their final game to go top on 12 points.
With Essex and Sunderland
playing one another in the final game whoever won would take
the title because of the shot situation, but if it was a draw
Cambridgeshire would win.
Sunderland made a great
start, leaping a 4-0 lead after 2 ends, but 3 ends later it was
6-4 to Essex. With 2 ends to go Essex still led by 2 but on the
penultimate end with the jack pushed back Sunderland took 3 and
regained the lead. On the final end Sunderland held but Essex
had 2 back woods, Essex's third was just about perfect, taking
the jack back to hold 2. Sunderland would need some good fortune
with the final wood but couldn't make contact leaving it 9-8
to Essex.
Essex finished first with
12 points and 73 shots, just 9 shots ahead of Cambridgeshire,
with Sunderland, Suffolk and Durham all on 10 points.
Winner: Don Poulter (Essex) PAIRS
Unfortunately due to illness
Norfolk had to withdraw their Pair, reducing the field to 8 teams.
Cambridgeshire began with
a pair of wins while Northumberland had won their only game so
far. And they made it 3 out of 3 in the next round and were already
the only team not to have lost.
Despite sitting out a session
Cambridgeshire remained on top, a point clear of Hertfordshire
(who had played a game more) and Bedfordshire.
Cambridgeshire picked up
their fourth win of the day in the final session and moved on
to 8 points from 4 games, Hertfordshire were second, 3 points
back having played an extra game, Beds were also 3 points back,
but on the same number of games and with 4 points from 3 games
Suffolk probably had the best chance of challenging the leaders
on Sunday.
The crunch game came in
Sunday's first session with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk playing
one another. A win for Cambs would all but hand them the title,
but it was Suffolk who triumphed bringing them up to within 2
points and still with a game in hand.
The two top teams both
won their next games to maintain the status quo with the rest
of the field out of contention.
As they would be sitting
out the last session a win for Cambridgeshire in their final
game would be vital but they lost while at the same time Suffolk
won. That put both teams equal on points but with Suffolk already
having one shot more and Cambridgeshire having finished their
games and no one else in contention the competition was settled
and Suffolk were champions.
Suffolk picked up another
win in the final session to finish on 12 points, 2 ahead of Cambridgeshire.
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, each with 7 points were 3rd and
4th respectively.
Winners: Steven Cain & David Ford
(Suffolk) TRIPLES
Northumberland started off with 2 wins, Hertfordshire had won
the only game they had played. Both teams won their next games
while Suffolk had won twice and drawn once.
Suffolk won again to move
on to 7 points, Hertfordshire won and went to 6 points, with
a game in hand and Northumberland lost, dropping them down the
standings.
Saturday finished with
the two big contenders Suffolk and Herts playing one another
and it was a game which Herts narrowly took 7-6 to give themselves
a big overnight advantage. They were top on 8 points, one point
ahead of Suffolk and 2 ahead of Northumberland and had a game
in hand over both.
Hertfordshire's unbeaten
run continued on into Sunday with a win over Sunderland while
Suffolk and Cambridgeshire also won to stay in contention.
With Cambridgeshire losing
their next game it was now down to just Suffolk and Hertfordshire
who both won again with Herts still one point ahead and with
a game in hand.
With Suffolk sitting out
Hertfordshire needed only to win their penultimate game to secure
the title, but they suffered a loss at the hands of Cambridgeshire.
Nevertheless they would still go into the last session with a
1 point and 8 shot advantage.
Suffolk did what they needed
to do, establishing a lead and going on to beat Sunderland and
with Hertfordshire 2 down and 2 ends to go there was a chance
the title could slip out of their hands, but they pulled level
with an end to go and a very fine first wood from the skip took
shot on the last end and grabbed them the win and the title.
Herts finished on 14 points,
Suffolk on 13 and Cambridgeshire were third on 9 points.
Winners: Thomas Ellis, Jack Smalley &
Jason Ellis (Hertfordshire) RINKS
Suffolk were off to the best start winning both their first two
games, although Sunderland and Hertfordshire had both won the
one game they had played.
Unfortunately one of Durham's
players was unable to play on and with no substitutions allowed
they had to forfeit their remainign games until he was fit again.
Suffolk moved on to 3 wins
out of 3 while Hertfordshire had only played twice but had won
both. And things remained the same in the next session as both
teams won again.
Saturday's final round
of games saw the top two teams playing one another. Whoever won
it would be odds on for the title. The game went all the way
to the last end which yielded a vital shot for Suffolk to give
them a draw. That left them top with 9 points, 2 points behind
with a game in hand were Herts and third were Cambridgeshire,
one point further back but also with a game in hand.
Unfortunately Durham were
unable to rejoin the competition on Sunday morning so in order
to create a level playing field for all the remaining teams their
results from Saturday were cancelled.
That suddenly made the
situation much clearer with the top 3 teams all on the same number
of games. Hertfordshire led with 7 points and 53 shots, Suffolk
were second on the same points and 46 shots and Cambridgeshire
were on 6 points.
Amazingly the top 2 teams
both lost their first games on Sunday while Cambridgeshire sat
out.
The next round saw Suffolk
lost again to take them out of the running. Meanwhile Hertfordshire
and Cambridgeshire both won which left Herts on 9 points from
6 games and Cambs on 8 from 5.
The top 2 teams played
one another in the penultimate session. Whoever won was going
to take the title. And it was Herts who picked up the win 9-6.
That gave them a 3 point gap, making them champions with a session
still to play, although they had now finished their games.
Hertfordshire finished
on 11 points, one ahead of Cambridgeshire who themselves finished
one ahead of Suffolk.
Winners: Sandra Gammage, Ron Hart, Rebecca
Hearn and Craig Hearn (Hertfordshire) TEAM
With two full sessions completed Suffolk were leading the way
but other teams had games in hand. The third session saw Cambridgeshire
go top but Suffolk were just 2 points behind but with 3 games
in hand.
Cambridgeshire were still
top after the fourth session on 23 points, Suffolk were 2 behind
with 2 games in hand and Herts 4 behind with 1 game in hand.
Cambridgeshire ended Saturday
still out in front on 25 points with Suffolk on 24 points but
no longer with games in hand. Hertfordshire had 22 points but
had played a game extra and Sunderland were on points but had
2 games less than that two leaders.
The opening games on Sunday
saw Cambridgeshire edge further ahead, they were now 3 points
clear of Suffolk and that gap was maintained through the next
session.
Cambridgeshire maintained
that 3 point lead but crucially Suffolk now had a couple of games
in hand and so were back in with a chance.
Suffolk would win if they
won all their remaining games and that was just what they did
to finish on 44 points, Cambridgeshire were second on 41 points
and Hertfordshire third on 34.
Winners: Suffolk
You can find all the weekend's
results here and a list of the previous winners
here. |