Battling performances, perfect starts, dominant displays, and unbeaten records remain as Hampshire lose only 1 of 9 against Hertfordshire at home!
Hampshire Open ‘A’ 22-14 Hertfordshire ‘A’
The Open ‘A’s made it 3 from 3 with another superb win. After sharing the first 6 frames, Hampshire kicked into gear, as Chris Collings, Ryan Houston and Wayne Lee-Buckland ensured we took a 6-3 lead into the second set.
Set 2 started in the same manner as the first finished as Swaffy, Benno, Gareth, Clarke Randall & Captain Mick rolled off the first 5 frames to take a commanding 11-3 lead. Herts rallied to split the last 4 frames of the set as Collings and Houston confirmed 13-5 at the halfway point.
Set 3 saw a reverse of the opening of Set 1, as losses for Swaffy and Gareth were flanked by wins for Benno and Clarke Randall. The next 4 were split, not before Collings and Houston made it 3/3 for themselves on the day, with another Buckland frame sealing the set 5-4 and putting Hampshire on the hill with a set to play. It took just 2 frames to seal the win thanks to Swaffy. And when Harris and Randall backed it up, it looked like Hampshire would run away with the set, but Herts battled back, taking 4 of the last 5 frames to close the gap.
Player of the Match: Chris Collings & Gareth Harris
Mick Warner, Open ‘A’ Captain: Both new additions to the team and settled in well, both delivered 3/4.
Hampshire Open ‘B’ 20-16 Hertfordshire ‘B’
Neil Brooker led his side to a third straight win with another battling performance. Nick Chilton got them off to a great start, backed up by Ollie Davies and Liam Cheverton as the first 6 frames were shared. Herts took the initiative before the returning Phil Percy ensured the B’s were only 1 behind at the end of the first set.
Charlie Croucher marked his return with a win, along with another for Nick Chilton and a first from Adam Wadmore as they got back on level terms at 8-8. Captain Brooker, Ollie and Dave Howes gave Hampshire the edge 10-8 at the halfway point.
Set 3 didn’t start well, despite another Phil Percy frame win, Herts took the next four frames to lead by 1. With the game in the balance, Murgy, Croucher and Wadmore clinched wins to edge the Hammers in front again by one with the last set to come.
Herts took the first frame to level is up, but Cheverton and Wadmore clinched back to back frames, and despite Herts grabbing another, Chilton, Howes and Croucher sealed the win, with Percy taking the last of the day and seal a great win on his return.
Player of the Match: Phil Percy
Hampshire Open ‘C’ 18-18 Bedfordshire ‘C’
The C’s were looking to build on their previous win, and despite going 2-0 down, a superb clearance from VC Phil Capel and Big Frazier Miller levelled it up. The match ebbed and flowed, as Herts took the next 2, only for Alex Morgan and Marc Anderson to level the tie again. Herts took the last to take a slender lead into set 2.
Herts continued their momentum, taking the opening 3 frames of the second set to open up an 8-4 lead, but the C’s rallied, with the young guns stepping up as Logen Harper and Xander Carter played brilliantly alongside Martin Locock and Marc Anderson to level it up again, but Herts would again take the last 2 of the set to go 10-8 up at the halfway point.
The opening 4 of the third set were shared, with Gareth Preston opening his account for the season and Pete Hopkins getting his first of the day before Logen and Xander again stepped up back by another win for Marc Anderson as Hants took the lead for the first time, and with the last two shared, Hampshire went into the last set 14-13 ahead.
The final set got off to a bad start as Herts took the opening 3 frames to lead 16-14, and yet again it was Logen and Xander who repaid the faith in them to level it up. At 17-16 down, Marc Anderson again delivered for his side, making it 4/4 on the day, but Herts would edge the penultimate frame to put them on the hill. Up stepped James Hammond, who pulled out a superbly composed finish to clinch the draw at the end of a thrilling contest.
Player of the Match: Xander Carter
Richard Clarke, Open ‘C’ Captain: Some standout performances, Marc Anderson proved his importance to the side with a superb 4/4, with Logen also delivering 3/3, but young Xander has been superb since his nervy first game and proved why he earned his spot in the side.
Hampshire Female ‘A’ 18-10 Hertfordshire Female ‘B’
Kirsty lead her National Champs into a crucial double header, and despite losing the first frame of the day to Herts B, wins for Suzie Q, Tucky and Cath ‘Vaneking’ Vane put the ladies in front. Herts took the next two to level it up, but Chloe White ensured the Hammers would lead at the end of the first set.
Set 2 saw wins for Desmond, Suzie Q and Tucky, and despite loses for Rach and Cath, VC Aimee and Chloe delivered the last 2 frames as the A’s went 8-6 ahead at halfway.
Suzie Q continued her superb run of form as she, Tucky, Captain Kirsty and Vicki Turner won 4 of the first 5 to take command of the match. Defeat for Firkins was backed up by another win for Chloe to take a 13-8 lead into the final set.
Rach got off the mark at the start of the final set to put Hamshire on the hill, before the dominant Suzie Q made it 4/4 to seal the win. Tucky joined the 4/4 club, along with another win for Kirsty to ensure they went 5/5 before the second match of the day.
Hampshire Female ‘A’ 21-7 Bedfordshire Female ‘A’
Match 2 of the day, and Rach got the A’s off to the perfect start, followed up by another win for Tucky, and despite Suzie Q’s magnificent 18 frame run coming to an end, frame wins for Kirst, Hayley, Firkins and Chloe gave the Hammers the perfect start.
Set to again saw Rach deliver another win, with Cath getting her first of the match. Tucky’s first defeat of the day saw Herts get one back, before taking another from Kirsty. Another for Desmond and Firkins either side of a Turner loss had the ladies in complete control at 10-4.
Herts took the first frame of the 3rd set, but a 3rd of the match for Desmond alongside wins for Suzie and Cath left Hampshire two away. Herts grabbed another before Firkins put the Hammers on the hill and left it to Chloe to seal the win.
The final set saw wins for Kirsty, Suzie and Tucky. Herts edged another which left it to Hayley, Firkins and Chloe to bring it home and seal a big win and make it 6/6 for the season.
Hampshire Female ‘B’ 16-12 Hertfordshire Female ‘A’
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Hampshire Female ‘B’ 14-14 Hertfordshire Female ‘B’
Nickie Boyd, Female ‘B’ Captain: –
Captain’s Match Report: Grit, Banter, and a Win and a Brilliant Draw!What a day at the tables! If I could hand out Player of the Match awards to the entire squad, I absolutely would. Every single player dug deep and left it all on the green baize, regardless of the frame scores.
We originally thought our opening clash against Herts A would be our toughest test of the day but winning 18-10 was truely fantastic.As it turned out, the Herts B squad brought some serious firepower and gave us a massive run for our money!
POM’s
Dani (Herts A match): Played out of her skin. She dug incredibly deep to bag a crucial 3 out of 4. Then, against the B team, she showed nerves of steel in the final frame of a grueling day to secure us a well-deserved draw.
Shelly (Herts B match): Absolutely on fire! After a stellar performance in the opener, she carried that momentum forward to hit a brilliant 3/4 against Herts A, and a flawless 4/4 against Herts B. And yes, she did all this despite the entire team mercilessly teasing her for accidentally playing the wrong rule set against the A team. (Hey, if it works, it works!)
As captain, I honestly couldn’t be prouder of what the team achieved yesterday. Onto the next one!
Hampshire Seniors 18-10 Hertfordshire Seniors
Mark Benzey’s Seniors were another side with an unbeaten start to preserve, and they started in superb form, winning the opening 6 frames thanks to Swaffy, Wayne, Benzey, Warner, Brooker and Vane.
Another 2 frames from Wayne and Swaffy had Hampshire in a superb 8-1 lead, but Herts didn’t sink and they rattled off 3 of their own to halve the gap. But another win for Kev Vane and first for Housty saw Mark’s side take a 10-4 lead at halfway.
The Wayne and Swaffy show continued as they made it 12-4. Herts took 3 of the next 4, but another win for Vaner meant Hampshire needed just 1.
Up stepped Wayne and Swaffy again, this time backed by Chris Collings to seal the win, and despite another Herts run of 3 on the bounce, Housty took the last frame to complete the win and leave Hampshire unbeaten for the season.
Player of the Match: Richard Swaffield & Wayne Lee-Buckland
Hampshire Masters 11-17 Hertfordshire Masters
The Masters up-and-down season continued against Hertfordshire. Jimmy Ely and Dave Howes gave them the perfect start, but that would be the only positive for the next 10 frames as Herts took complete control.
Tony Stone finally ended the onslaught, and when Anthony Buss grabbed another Hampshire found themselves 10-4 down at the halfway point and everything to do.
The third set didn’t start well as we lost the first 2. Jimmy Ely grabbed another and a first for Richard Clarke Senior alongside wins for Bussy and Ian Eggar got us back to 13-8.
Herts took the first of the last set to move on the hill, and despite another for Senior, Herts sealed the win. Hampshire didn’t sink though, and split the last 4, with wins for Locock and another for Tony Stone.
Player of the Match: Jimmy Ely
