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[ Inter-Counties Championship ]
| Click on images for an enlargement |
Newport, Saturday
24th and Sunday 25th May 2008
Hertfordshire won the
Anderson Shield for the East Anglian county B-level championship for the second
consecutive year.
Meanwhile in the national
Inter-Counties Championship, Suffolk and Hertfordshire came 1st and 2nd in
Division 2 and are promoted to Division 1 for 2009 where they join Essex.
|
Ken Pickett |
The late May Bank Holiday weekend sees two inter-county
croquet tournaments taking place. At Southwick and Compton on the South coast,
some 150 players get together to contest "the" Inter-Counties tournament, while
over in East Anglia, a more select group of players represent their counties in
the Anderson Shield. This competition pits teams of four representing
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk against
each other over two days of competition. In the four years in which the
tournament has been running, a different county has won each year - would it be
Suffolk's turn this time?* The format of the tournament is for
each county to play two games of doubles against each of
the others, to a three-hour time limit. A match win is
counted if a team wins both games; otherwise the match
is drawn. Match wins followed by who-beat-whom would
decide the winners, with game wins and game wins within
time as potential tie-breakers. Following some initial
confusion arising from the tournament referee being
unaware of the rules, the first day's play got under way
in pleasant sunshine.
|
Colin Hemming setting off on a sextuple |
Approaching the end of the first day,
it was clear that this was going to be a close-run
competition. Of the seventeen completed games, no fewer
than four had ended +1 on time, and no team had more
than one match win. The one remaining game on court
proved something of a thriller for the watching crowd,
as Feargal Smith (Norfolk) completed a tough break after
time had been called to send the game against
Bedfordshire into sudden death. Tim Brewer had the first
opportunity, but failed to run 2-back, and Feargal made
rover to win the game and the match for his team, with
yet another +1(T) result. Going into the second day, all
six teams were still in contention.
Day two brought back memories of last year's
competition, with heavy rain falling through the
morning's matches. Hertfordshire beat Cambridgeshire to
record their second match win and set up a deciding
final match against Norfolk. A match win for Norfolk
would give them the shield, while Hertfordshire needed
only a draw to retain their trophy.
|
Rover peel... |
Rover peel... oh dear! |
A half-jump should
sort it out... |
Perfect! |
In
the event, the competition was decided without too much
suspense. Hertfordshire 2 polished off Norfolk 2 fairly
rapidly, securing overall victory and, after an odd
decision by Jeff Race to allow his partner to be pegged
out, Norfolk 1 were also soundly beaten. Despite the poor weather on the
second day, this tournament was once again a great
success, and enjoyment was had by all. Congratulations
to Hertfordshire on retaining their trophy, and thanks
to the Newport club for hosting the event. Maybe next
year, eh, Suffolk? *Apparently no. |
|
Report & photos by Mike Porter |
|
result vs: |
Herts |
Cambs |
Essex |
Norfolk |
Beds |
Suffolk |
Matches
won |
Games
won |
Games
won
within
time |
Position |
| Hertfordshire |
|
1: +21
2: +11
Win |
1: +1T
2: -2T
Draw |
1: +4
2: +20
Win |
1: +23
2: -9
Draw |
1: +20
2: +6
Win |
3 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
| Cambridgeshire |
1: -21
2: -11
Loss |
|
1: -8
2: +3
Draw |
1: +11
2: +5T
Win |
1: +16
2: +6T
Win |
1: +12T
2: -1T
Draw |
2 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
| Essex |
1: -1T
2: +2T
Draw |
1: +8
2: -3
Draw |
|
1: -7
2: +1T
Draw |
1: +14
2: +4T
Win |
1: +24
2: +1T
Win |
2 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
| Norfolk |
1: -4
2: -20
Loss |
1: -11
2: -5T
Loss |
1: +7
2: -1T
Draw |
|
1: +8
2: +1T
Win |
1: +?T
2: +16
Win |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
| Bedfordshire |
1: -23
2: +9
Draw |
1: -16
2: -6T
Loss |
1: -14
2: -4T
Loss |
1: -8
2: -1T
Loss |
|
1: +21
2: +1T
Win |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
| Suffolk |
1: -20
2: -6
Loss |
1: -12T
2: +1T
Draw |
1: -24
2: -1T
Loss |
1: -?T
2: -16
Loss |
1: -21
2: -1T
Loss |
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
Teams
|
Herts: |
Mark Homan, Simon Hathrell,
Terry Mahoney, Jeremy Scotta, Ian Mantleb |
The winning Herts team, left to right:
Simon Hathrell, Mark Homan,
Terry Mahoney, Ian Mantle |
|
Cambs: |
Jim Potter,
Ian Storey,
Bryan Saddington, Alec Osbornea, Ron Atkinsonb |
|
Essex: |
Colin Hemming, Mike Porter,
Ken Pickett,
David Haslam |
|
Norfolk: |
Terrey Sparks, Jeff Race,
Feargal Smith,
Neil Chalmers |
|
Beds: |
Geoff Strutt, Tim Brewer,
Quiller Barrett,
Jon Palin |
|
Suffolk: |
Peter Allnutt,
Celia Pearce,
David Kitson,
Arthur Flutter |
|
|
a Saturday only,
b Sunday only |
Last update:
18 July 2008
|
