Page 15 - july 2023

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This meant that with a game to go, Herts led both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire by 2 points. Herts
would play Cambridgeshire in their final game, so it was still possible for the title to go one of three
ways. Norfolk’s challenge faltered as they lost heavily, so it was all going to be down to Herts v Cam-
bridgeshire. It should have been a close game, but it wasn’t. Cambridgeshire go their noses in front
early, and pulled away to a comfortable 11-2 victory, to take the overall win by 7 shots. The top two
finished on 10 points, followed by Suffolk and Essex, both just one point behind.

Pairs

Hertfordshire, Northumberland, Sunderland and Durham all began with
wins, with Herts and Northumberland repeating that result in their sec-
ond games, to jointly lead the way. Those two teams made it 3 wins
out of 3, putting them already 3 points clear of the pack. Hertfordshire
continued their runs of winning games, as Saturday came to a close,
but Northumberland finally faltered, suffering a big loss against Sun-
derland. Herts now led the field by 2 points, with Northumberland still
second.
Pairs Winners Sunday began with Hertfordshire continuing their run of wins, and
Craig & Rebecca Hearn extending their lead to 3 points, with Sunderland now moving into sec-
From Hertfordshire. ond. And it was those two teams who would meet in the penultimate
round of games, a win for Sunderland would open the competition up again, but it didn’t go that way.
Herts ticked off end after end, to win the game 9-2, and secure the title.
Having already won, Hertfordshire almost stumbled at the last, having been behind from the
first end, they picked up a 3 on the final end against Northumberland, to grab one final win, and finish
with a perfect record, fully 5 points clear of Cambridgeshire and Sunderland.
Singles

Likely to be the most competitive of the four competitions, Durham, Suffolk,
Northumberland and Norfolk started with wins, and of those, only Northumber-
land were unable to repeat that win, making it a three-way tie for the lead. Suffolk
took on Durham in the third round of games, and won, and with Norfolk falling to
an unexpected loss, it was now Suffolk in the sole lead.
Suffolk and Norfolk played one another in their final game on Saturday,
and it went the way of Norfolk, meaning that they both finished the day on 6
points, to jointly lead the way, while Durham, Sunderland, Essex, Hertfordshire
and Northumberland were all on 4 points. Seven of the eight still in with a shout. Singles Winner
Things became a little clearer as Sunday began, Norfolk won, and Suffolk Ian Clark
lost, meaning that there were now the sole leader, with Durham, Suffolk and from Durham
Essex 2 points behind. Norfolk won again to maintain their 2 point lead. Durham and Suffolk also
won to keep within range. And with Norfolk and Durham facing off in the last round, it was all up for
grabs.
A draw would do it for Norfolk, but it was never going to be that easy, Durham had pulled out
a 4 shot lead with 2 ends to go. Norfolk grabbed back one on the next, and with one final wood to be
bowled by Durham, were holding the 3 needed to pull off a miraculous draw, and take the overall
win. But Durham made that last wood count, doing just enough to get third, and take an 8-7 win.
Suffolk also won, which meant all three were tied on 10 points, but Durham already had a big
shot advantage, and took the title by 11 shots over Suffolk, with Norfolk finishing third.

Team

With two sessions played, it was incredibly close, Hertfordshire, Durham and Essex were all on 10
points, with Suffolk a point behind. The third round was good for Herts and Suffolk, who each col-
lected maximum points, while everyone else struggled, and a big gap opening up over the rest of
the field. Saturday’s final session saw Hertfordshire do well, while Suffolk struggled. Herts were on
25 points, Suffolk 20, and Sunderland and Essex were on 16 points.