Session 1
Reigning champions Suffolk began the defence of their title by
winning all three games against Norfolk, putting them into an
early lead. Northumberland, Bedfordshire and Sunderland all picked
up 4 points against Herts, Durham and Essex respectively to tie
second place. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
3 |
6 |
|
Sunderland |
3 |
4 |
|
Bedfordshire |
3 |
4 |
|
Northumberland |
3 |
4 |
|
Hertfordshire |
3 |
2 |
|
Durham |
3 |
2 |
|
Essex |
3 |
2 |
|
Norfolk |
3 |
0 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Session 2
Suffolk followed that up by dropping just one point against Sunderland,
putting them 5 points clear of Durham (4-1 over Essex) and Cambridgeshire
(6-0 over Herts), who had games in hand having sat out the first
session. And Norfolk opened their account by taking 5 of the
6 points on offer against Beds. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
6 |
11 |
|
Durham |
6 |
6 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
3 |
6 |
|
Sunderland |
6 |
5 |
|
Norfolk |
6 |
5 |
|
Bedfordshire |
6 |
5 |
|
Essex |
6 |
4 |
|
Northumberland |
3 |
4 |
|
Hertfordshire |
6 |
2 |
|
|
Session 3
Suffolk maintained their 5 point lead by beating Northumberland
4-1, but their closest rivals were now Norfolk (5-1 over Durham)
and Essex (6-0 against Cambridgeshire). Just one point behind
those two were Sunderland who beat Hertfordshire 4-2). |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
9 |
15 |
|
Norfolk |
9 |
10 |
|
Essex |
9 |
10 |
|
Sunderland |
9 |
9 |
|
Durham |
9 |
7 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
6 |
6 |
|
Northumberland |
6 |
6 |
|
Bedfordshire |
6 |
5 |
|
Hertfordshire |
9 |
4 |
|
|
Session 4
Now it was Sunderland's chance to move up the standings as they
took maximum points from Norfolk. Suffolk won two out of three
against Essex and had their lead reduced to 4 points. Elsewhere
Durham and Bedfordshire also took 4 points from their respective
opponents Cambridgeshire and Northumberland. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
12 |
19 |
|
Sunderland |
12 |
15 |
|
Essex |
12 |
12 |
|
Durham |
12 |
11 |
|
Norfolk |
12 |
10 |
|
Bedfordshire |
9 |
9 |
|
Northumberland |
9 |
8 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
9 |
8 |
|
Hertfordshire |
9 |
4 |
|
|
Session 5
As the leaders sat out Sunderland took the opportunity to draw
level with them as they beat Cambridgeshire 4-1. Four points
behind those two teams were Durham (beating Northumberland 4-1)
and Essex (3-3 against Norfolk). Meanwhile Hertfordshire had
their best session of the day, more than doubling their points
tally so far with a 5-1 win over Hertfordshire. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
12 |
19 |
|
Sunderland |
15 |
19 |
|
Durham |
15 |
15 |
|
Essex |
15 |
15 |
|
Norfolk |
15 |
13 |
|
Northumberland |
12 |
10 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
12 |
10 |
|
Bedfordshire |
12 |
10 |
|
Hertfordshire |
12 |
9 |
|
|
Session 6
With a 5-1 win over Bedfordshire, Sunderland moved a point clear
of Suffolk who could only win 2 out of 3 against Cambridgeshire.
They were on 24 and 23 points respectively. Both Essex and Durham
had 6-0 wins (over Hertfordshire and Northumberland) and were
on 21 points. Crucially though, Suffolk had games in hand over
their closest rivals. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Sunderland |
18 |
24 |
|
Suffolk |
15 |
23 |
|
Essex |
18 |
21 |
|
Durham |
18 |
21 |
|
Norfolk |
15 |
13 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
15 |
12 |
|
Bedfordshire |
15 |
11 |
|
Northumberland |
15 |
10 |
|
Hertfordshire |
15 |
9 |
|
|
Session 7
Both Sunderland and Suffolk took maximum points (from Northumberland
and Bedfordshire), to maintain their positions. Essex, with 4
points from Herts were in a clear third place as Durham sat out.
Meanwhile Cambridgeshire won 2 and lost 1 against Norfolk and
were finally raising themselves up the standings. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Sunderland |
21 |
30 |
|
Suffolk |
18 |
29 |
|
Essex |
21 |
25 |
|
Durham |
18 |
21 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
18 |
16 |
|
Norfolk |
18 |
15 |
|
Hertfordshire |
18 |
11 |
|
Bedfordshire |
18 |
11 |
|
Northumberland |
18 |
10 |
|
|
Session 8
Sunderland and Durham shared the points equally in their encounter,
so with Suffolk taking 4 of the 6 points on offer against Herts,
that meant that the two teams were again tied on points, although
Sunderland would have to sit out the final session of the day.
Norfolk took all six against Northumberland while Cambridgeshire
got the best of Bedfordshire 4-1. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Sunderland |
24 |
33 |
|
Suffolk |
21 |
33 |
|
Essex |
21 |
25 |
|
Durham |
21 |
24 |
|
Norfolk |
21 |
21 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
21 |
20 |
|
Hertfordshire |
21 |
13 |
|
Bedfordshire |
21 |
13 |
|
Northumberland |
21 |
10 |
|
|
|
Session 9 (Day 1 end of play)
Suffolk made the most of Sunderland sitting on the sidelines
by winning all 3 of their games over Durham. That put them onto
39 points, 6 points clear.
Essex beat Beds 4-1 to leave them 4 behind
Sunderland and 4 in front of Norfolk who beat Herts by the same
score. Durham were just a point behind Norfolk and one ahead
of Cambridgeshire who had a win, a loss and a draw against Northumberland.
That left the remaining 3 teams a little
adrift of that middle pack, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire were
both on 15 points, 8 behind Cambridgeshire, with Northumberland
2 further back.
Clearly it would be all to play for on
Sunday, with Sunderland hot on Suffolk's heels. Having fallen
6 points behind Suffolk in just the first 2 sessions, they had
matched the reigning champions point for point for the rest of
the day and the deficit would be easy to turn around, assuming
that both of them managed to stay out in front. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
24 |
39 |
|
Sunderland |
24 |
33 |
|
Essex |
24 |
29 |
|
Norfolk |
24 |
25 |
|
Durham |
24 |
24 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
24 |
23 |
|
Hertfordshire |
24 |
15 |
|
Bedfordshire |
24 |
15 |
|
Northumberland |
24 |
13 |
|
|
Session 10
Suffolk and Sunderland matched one another in Sunday's first
session, each winning two out of three against Norfolk and Essex
respectively. Durham took all 6 points off Bedfordshire which
brought them within a point of Essex in the fight for third and
Hertfordshire and Northumberland shared the points evenly in
their encounter. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
27 |
43 |
|
Sunderland |
27 |
37 |
|
Essex |
27 |
31 |
|
Durham |
27 |
30 |
|
Norfolk |
27 |
27 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
24 |
23 |
|
Hertfordshire |
27 |
18 |
|
Northumberland |
27 |
16 |
|
Bedfordshire |
27 |
15 |
|
|
|
Session 11
What might turn out to be the crunch session arrived early in
the day as the two leading teams met one another. A big win for
Sunderland would bring the level and if it went the other way
Suffolk would take a step towards retaining the trophy.
Inevitably they were a hard fought set
of games, two of which came down to the final end. But it was
Suffolk that prevailed, winning two and drawing one, enabling
them to extend their lead to 10 points.
Essex and Durham were as close as you might
imagine, sharing the points with 3 each to stay one point apart.
Hertfordshire and Norfolk both picked up 4 points, from Cambridgeshire
and Bedfordshire respectively. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
30 |
48 |
|
Sunderland |
30 |
38 |
|
Essex |
30 |
34 |
|
Durham |
30 |
33 |
|
Norfolk |
30 |
31 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
27 |
25 |
|
Hertfordshire |
30 |
22 |
|
Bedfordshire |
30 |
17 |
|
Northumberland |
30 |
16 |
|
|
Session 12
Suffolk took a full house against Northumberland which meant
that with Sunderland getting just four off Herts, Suffolk's lead
was extended to 12 points. And a full house for Norfolk over
Durham meant that they were now just a point behind Essex who
took 4 off Cambridgeshire. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
33 |
54 |
|
Sunderland |
33 |
42 |
|
Essex |
33 |
38 |
|
Norfolk |
33 |
37 |
|
Durham |
33 |
33 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
30 |
27 |
|
Hertfordshire |
33 |
24 |
|
Bedfordshire |
30 |
17 |
|
Northumberland |
30 |
16 |
|
|
Session 13
If it was looking like it was all over, then that was far from
the case. Suffolk slipped to their first session loss, against
Essex who were maintaining their push. And with Sunderland getting
4 points off Norfolk that brought them 2 points closer to the
leaders. Meanwhile Durham won all three games against Cambridgeshire
to push themselves back up and in the battle of the final 2 teams,
all the points went to Northumberland to life them clear of Bedfordshire. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
36 |
56 |
|
Sunderland |
36 |
46 |
|
Essex |
36 |
42 |
|
Durham |
36 |
39 |
|
Norfolk |
36 |
39 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
33 |
27 |
|
Hertfordshire |
33 |
24 |
|
Northumberland |
33 |
22 |
|
Bedfordshire |
33 |
17 |
|
|
|
Session 14
With Suffolk sitting out the session Sunderland had their chance
to close the gap even further, but they will have been disappointed
to only get 3 points off Cambridgeshire. They were now 7 points
behind but Suffolk had games in hand.
However the big winners were Essex, winning
all 3 games against Norfolk mean that they were now only 1 point
behind Sunderland and drawing clear of Durham who dropped 2 points
against Northumberland while Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire shared
the points equally in their encounter. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
36 |
56 |
|
Sunderland |
39 |
49 |
|
Essex |
39 |
48 |
|
Durham |
39 |
43 |
|
Norfolk |
39 |
39 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
36 |
30 |
|
Hertfordshire |
36 |
27 |
|
Northumberland |
36 |
24 |
|
Bedfordshire |
36 |
20 |
|
|
|
Session 15
It was a good session for Sunderland who took maximum points
off Bedfordshire while Suffolk continued to stutter, they only
won one out of three against Cambridgeshire, reducing their lead
still further to just 4 points.
Meanwhile Essex too were keeping up the
pressure, taking all 6 points off Northumberland meant that they
too were withing spitting distance of the leaders and with Durham
losing all their games to Herts, Essex now looked locked in to
a top 3 finish. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
39 |
58 |
|
Sunderland |
42 |
55 |
|
Essex |
42 |
54 |
|
Durham |
42 |
43 |
|
Norfolk |
39 |
39 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
39 |
34 |
|
Hertfordshire |
39 |
33 |
|
Northumberland |
39 |
24 |
|
Bedfordshire |
39 |
20 |
|
|
Session 16
With the top two teams playing the bottom two teams you might
expect maximum points hauls for both, but that wasn't the case.
Both Suffolk and Sunderland dropped a game each which meant that
the status quo was maintained. That might have given Essex the
chance to move second, but they could only take 2 points off
Hertfordshire and so fell back. And Norfolk took two wins out
of three against Cambridgeshire which meant that they were now
level with Durham who had to sit out the session. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
42 |
62 |
|
Sunderland |
45 |
59 |
|
Essex |
45 |
56 |
|
Durham |
42 |
43 |
|
Norfolk |
42 |
43 |
|
Hertfordshire |
42 |
37 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
42 |
36 |
|
Northumberland |
42 |
26 |
|
Bedfordshire |
42 |
22 |
|
|
|
Session 17
The weekend's penultimate session would see Sunderland playing
their final set of games against old rivals Durham and then having
to sit out the final session. With a 3 point deficit nothing
less than three wins would do while for Suffolk two wins would
see them retain the title.
Sadly for Sunderland they could only manage
two wins, but at the same time they knew that they had secured
second place their made clear their delight. Meanwhile Suffolk
did exactly what they needed to do, securing 2 wins to retain
the title.
Norfolk also took 2 wins, off Northumberland,
to edge ahead of Durham into fourth and Bedfordshire had their
best session since the very first of the weekend, taking 4 points
off Cambridgeshire. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
45 |
66 |
|
Sunderland |
48 |
63 |
|
Essex |
45 |
56 |
|
Norfolk |
45 |
47 |
|
Durham |
45 |
45 |
|
Hertfordshire |
45 |
39 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
45 |
38 |
|
Northumberland |
45 |
28 |
|
Bedfordshire |
45 |
26 |
|
|
|
Final Session
Sadly it was a last place finish again for Bedfordshire, although
it was their best points tally for 3 years and the last couple
of sessions saw them come desperately close to catching Northumberland
who finished eighth for the fourth consecutive year.
After a very disappointing Saturday Hertfordshire
were the fourth best scoring team on Sunday and only missed out
on sixth by 4 shots.
Cambridgeshire's sixth place finish will
be a huge disappointment to them with their outstanding record
in this competition's history, but the fact is that they struggled
right from the start of the weekend.
Durham were able to improve on last year's
performance, but after looking like they were in the fight for
third place on Saturday, slipped back from their closest rivals
to finish fifth.
Norfolk were the most consistent team over
the weekend, with 25 points on Saturday and 24 on Sunday. That
left them in fourth, one place below last year's finish but still
comfortably in the top half.
With the second best points haul of all
the teams on Sunday Essex should be very proud of their third
place finish, a big improvement on the last 2 years, comfortably
ahead of fourth place and very close to the runners-up spot.
Sunderland produced far and away their
best ever performance at the Nationals to take second place and
were quite rightly delighted at the result, becoming the first
team other than Suffolk or Cambridgeshire to finish in the top
2 for a very long time.
But it was Suffolk who took the win, retaining
the title for the fourth year in succession. However, having
established a comfortable lead early on Sunday they had to overcome
a bit of a wobble in the middle part of the day with Sunderland
and Essex closing in on them. In the end the difference between
the top two came down to the fact that of the 6 games played
between them Suffolk won 4 while the other 2 were drawn. If some
of those games had gone slightly more in Sunderland's favour
the overall result could have been very different.
The weekend's full set of results can be
found here. |
|
Sat |
Sun |
Total |
|
Suffolk |
39 |
33 |
72 |
|
Sunderland |
33 |
30 |
63 |
|
Essex |
29 |
31 |
60 |
|
Norfolk |
25 |
24 |
49 |
|
Durham |
24 |
21 |
45 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
23 |
20 |
43 |
|
Hertfordshire |
15 |
28 |
43 |
|
Northumberland |
13 |
16 |
29 |
|
Bedfordshire |
15 |
13 |
28 |
|
|
