Page 9 - july 2023

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In penultimate Group 6, it was Sherburn and Elmsett that made the early running, both winning their
first two games. Knodishall remained in contention too having won 1 and lost 1. The decisive games
in the group would not come to the later stages. Firstly, Knodishall played their final group game
against Sherburn knowing only a win would keep them in contention to progress/ They were unable
to do so going down to a 7-5 loss. Elmsett had won their first two games, but a heavy defeat to Herts
B in their 3rd game meant that they would need a 13 shot winning margin against their opponents
Sherburn. They were unable to do so as Sherburn took the win 8-3 to progress as one of only two
teams to win all their group games.
The final group started off with narrow wins for Suffolk/Durham over Bottisham (5-4) and Tostock
over Hitcham B (6-4). Those two teams won their remaining games in the group to set up a winner
takes all encounter. Suffolk/Durham could afford a draw as they held a 4-shot advantage over their
opponents. It was Suffolk/Durham that came out on top with an 11-2 victory. That left them top of the
group on 8 points and 40 shots, progressing as the second team by winning all their group games.
Tostock finished in second place (6 points 27 shots) but narrowly missed out (by 3 shots) as best
runner up.
At the quarter finals stage, Claydon/Barking the winners of group 1 played Herts A, the winner
of group 2. The match started closely with singles exchanged over the first three ends to see Herts
A take a 2-1 lead. Claydon/Barking took control of the match with consecutive 3’s on ends 4 and 5
to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Herts A really did need to score on the 6th end to give themselves
a chance in the game, but they dropped a further 2 shots to fall 9-2 behind. They did manage to take
two shots in the final end, but Claydon/Barking were comfortable winners 9-4.
Stanningfield the Winner Group 3 faced the winners of group 4, Lakeside. After dropping a
single on the first end Stanningfield took consecutive 2’s to move 4-1 ahead after three ends. Lake-
side responded by taking a count of 5 on the 4th end to move into a 6-4 lead. Singles were exchanged
over the next two ends meaning Lakeside maintained their two shot advantage going into the final
end. Lakeside managed the final end, taking a single shot and with it an 8-5 victory.
Hundon, group 5 winners played Sherburn, the winner of group 6. A very tight start to the
game saw each side take consecutive singles to make it 2-2 after four ends. From there Sherburn
took control, taking 3 shots on the 5th end and further counts of 2 on the 6th and 7th ends to complete
a 9-2 victory.
Group 7 winners Durham/Suffolk where matched against Suffolk/Sunderland, the best Runner
Up. Despite winning the first four ends Durham/Suffolk had not pulled away from their opponents,
taking singles on each end and they led 4-0. Suffolk/Sunderland picked up 2 shots on the 5th end to
get back into the game at 4-2. They were unable to score on the 6th end, Durham/Suffolk reopening
their four shot advantage by taking 2 in reply to make the score 6-2. Suffolk/Sunderland were not
able to score the big count they needed on the final end, with Durham/Suffolk taking two further shots
and an 8-2 win.
In the first semi-final, the lakeside team of David Templeton, Steve Templeton, Adam Wilson
& Ian Clarke played Sherburn’s Jenny Sanderson, Lavinia McGahan, Colin Young & Frank Froud.
Scores of 2 were exchanged on the first and second ends with Lakeside responding to Sherburn’s
2 on the first end. Lakeside scored what appeared to be a decisive 5 shots on the 3rd end to take a
7-2 lead, Sherburn scored a 3 followed by a 2 to level the scores at 7-7. Lakeside re-established
their lead on the 6th end taking a 9-7 lead into the final end. They were able to see the game out,
taking a further two shots and with it an 11-7 win.
In the second semi-final, Claydon/Barking’s Emma Watling, Marilyn Cook, Clint Watling &
Sam Runnacles played Durham/Suffolk’s Jaxon McKenna, Neal Ridley, Steven Cain & Neil Jolly.
Durham/Suffolk took early control of the game scoring a single on the first end, 2 shots on the second
and followed by a 3 on the third end. Claydon/Barking made some inroads into that lead by taking
singles on the 4th and 5th ends to reduce the lead to 6-2. On the sixth end and holding three shots,
Clint looked to protect with his first bowl by playing short of the head. However, at that point, the
whistle went signalling that this would be the final end. Now requiring a further shot to take it to an
extra end, Clint attempted to draw round his short wood to count for a 4th. Neil Jolly thinking he may
be four shots down attempted to alter the head with his final wood but was not able to do so.