Inter County Competitions

After a strong start in our opening game, we faced a different challenge against West Midlands Bears. The first challenge for our captain was selecting the team. With six players unavailable from the first game and one squad player also unavailable, it was not only a challenge to field a team but also to achieve the right balance. That being said, a team was assembled and we marched on. Session 1 – Singles and Pairs Singles 1 Edward Sawbridge got off to a strong start before being pegged back, which led to a nail-biting finish. However, Ed held firm and secured the win, 19 shots to 12. Singles 2 Chris Terry also got off to a strong start before his opponent found the mat and didn’t look back, taking the win 20 shots to 9. Pairs 1 David Ekins and Andrew Smith took control from the start and held firm throughout the game, taking a commanding 23-5 victory. Pairs 2 John Fox and Chris Weston again made a fast start. Their opponents mounted a fightback midway through the game, reducing the deficit to just three shots. Holding strong, they secured the win 18 shots to 8. A very strong opening session saw Northamptonshire win three out of the four games. Session 2 – Triples and Fours Triples 1 Mandy James (making her county debut), Fred Pearson, and Paul D’Inverno got off to a steady start. Despite a very good fightback from West Midlands, they held on to take the win, 13 shots to 12. Triples 2 Maureen D’Inverno, Wendy Kean, and Aaron Clare got off to a very even start before West Midlands edged ahead. With a spirited effort, they brought the game level, leading to four consecutive ends where neither side could gain an advantage. The game was level going into the final end, but Northamptonshire held their nerve and picked up the decisive shot to win 11-10. Fours 1 Sue Gunter, David Bibey, Martin Watts, and Tim Gunter got off to a flying start, racing into a 12-0 lead. Maintaining that pressure throughout, they secured an 18-9 victory. It was a great win, with every member of the team contributing and bringing excellent energy to the rink. Fours 2 Ian Dale, Janice Fox, Alan Lodge, and Margaret Jones also started strongly, taking a 6-0 lead before West Midlands fought back, winning five of the final seven ends. Northamptonshire held strong and secured a 9-6 win. After two sessions, Northamptonshire had won seven of the eight games. With everything still to play for, we moved into Session 3 with the return of the singles and pairs. Session 3 – Singles and Pairs Singles 1 Edward Sawbridge played in a back-and-forth contest, with momentum swinging between both players before Ed took control with some well-timed shots to win 16-8. Singles 2 Chris Terry struggled to get going against an opponent who consistently played excellent shots. Trying to keep the ends tight was all Chris could do on what proved to be a difficult mat, eventually losing 18-5. Across the four singles games, Northamptonshire won two mats and scored 49 shots, while West Midlands won two mats and scored 58 shots, meaning West Midlands claimed the bonus points. Pairs 1 David Ekins and Andrew Smith made a slow start before producing a remarkable fightback to take a one-shot lead into the final end. Unfortunately, a strong final end from West Midlands saw them edge the game 14-13. Pairs 2 John Fox and Chris Weston once again established an early lead and never looked back, running out comfortable 20-7 winners. At the conclusion of the pairs, Northamptonshire had won three of the four games and outscored West Midlands 64 shots to 34, securing the bonus points. Session 4 – Triples and Fours Triples 1 Mandy James, Fred Pearson, and Paul D’Inverno played in a tightly contested game that remained nip and tuck throughout. Despite a valiant effort, they narrowly lost 16-14. Triples 2 Maureen D’Inverno, Wendy Kean, and Aaron Clare were involved in another close game but took a slim lead into the closing ends. Knowing a win was needed to secure the bonus points, they kept their composure and held on for a 12-8 victory. At the end of the triples, Northamptonshire had won three of the four games and edged the shot count 50-46, securing another set of valuable bonus points. Fours 1 Sue Gunter, David Bibey, Martin Watts, and Tim Gunter were unable to carry their momentum from the first game. They struggled to get going, and although they won a few ends, they were unable to score heavily enough to mount a comeback, losing 12-5. Fours 2 Ian Dale, Janice Fox, Alan Lodge, and Margaret Jones produced a superb performance. They won six of the eleven ends, while on the five ends they lost, they only conceded a single shot each time. It was a great example of how to keep a game tight. The difference came on the ends they won, regularly picking up two, three, and four shots, helping them secure a convincing 17-5 victory. At the conclusion of the fours, Northamptonshire had again won three of the four games, outscoring West Midlands 49 shots to 32 and securing the all-important bonus points. Match Summary Northamptonshire ultimately recorded an excellent 28-12 victory on points and 222-160 on shots. Another strong team performance at a tricky venue means that, after two games, Northamptonshire sit top of the group with two games remaining. A special mention goes to Janice Fox, who was named this week’s Most Valuable Player, helping her rink win both of their games. Congratulations, Janice, and well done to everyone who played. It was fantastic to see players supporting one another around the mats, cheering each other on and showing real togetherness and team spirit throughout the day. Come on you roses. One very happy Team Manager, Chris Terry

Match result: Cambs 9 Points; 153 Points v NSMBA 31 Points; 227 Shots Our first game of the season saw us travelling to March Indoor Bowls Club to take on Cambridgeshire. With both teams under new management, it had all the promise of a fresh start and new hope for the upcoming games. It was an emotional game for Northamptonshire, having lost one of our own members the weekend before. Gordon Watts played for the county for nearly 10 years, bringing two of his children into the game and now one of his grandchildren. As a lifelong Leeds United fan, it felt fitting for the whole team to wear yellow wristbands in memory of Gordon. Northamptonshire produced some excellent performances across the singles, pairs, triples and fours, with plenty of competitive ends and some closely fought battles throughout the match. A very one-sided performance in the opening singles saw Edward Sawbridge winning 20 shots to 4 and Chris Terry winning 17 shots to 10. The opening pairs started just as well. Pair One, Dave Ekins and Andrew Smith, started with a tight game that, halfway through, could have gone either way. However, we ran through to victory, 15 shots to 9. Pair Two, John Fox and Chris Weston, got off to a flying start, leading 11 shots to 4 before Cambridgeshire made a fighting comeback. With determination and hard work, we held on to take the win, 16 shots to 15. Onto the triples, with our first triple of Katie Mason, Sarah Watts and Paul D’Inverno. After another back-and-forth first half, they took control in the second half and secured the win, 13 shots to 6. Our second triple of Phil Caves, Wendy Kean and Aaron Clare had a very different game, with Cambridgeshire running away to a commanding lead of 9 shots to 2 after seven ends. The team made the decision to change the playing order, with Aaron and Wendy swapping positions, and wow, did it pay off! Fighting through the ends and picking up three shots on the last end, they secured a fantastic 13–10 victory. Then we came to the fours, with our opening four of Margaret Jones, Janice Fox, Adam Hawkings and Colin Barnes. This game was nip and tuck, with both teams trading ends before picking up two shots on the last end to tie the game at 8 shots apiece. Onto our second four of Sue Gunter, Martin Watts, Tim Gunter and Mike Edwards. Again, it was a very tight game that could have gone either way. Dropping three shots on the penultimate end made the scores all square, but with some superb bowling, we managed to score one shot to take the win, 10 shots to 9. A very strong first-half performance saw us leading 15 points to 1, with a possible 24 more points still to play for. Moving into the second half of the match, our two singles players once again took to the mats.This time, Edward Sawbridge took a few ends to get to grips with a tricky mat but  eventually ran out to a fairly comfortable 16–7 win. Chris Terry’s game was a very different story, playing a couple of early conversion shots to take control of the game and running to victory, 28 shots to 7. The second game for Pair One, Dave Ekins and Andrew Smith, again saw a very tight first half and a nerve-racking final end, with the bonus points going to Cambridgeshire. Some great bowling by Andrew then secured three shots to take the win, 15 shots to 10, and secure the all-important bonus points. Pair Two, John Fox and Chris Weston, couldn’t quite find the same magic from game one and, despite some tight ends, losing 7 shots to 15. Onto the second game for the triples, with Katie Mason, Sarah Watts and Paul D’Inverno carrying on from the first game with a very strong start and finish, taking the game 18 shots to 8. The second triple of Phil Caves, Wendy Kean and Aaron Clare took confidence from their first-game win, started well and played a very steady game to win 14 shots to 11. Finally, onto the second game for the fours. Four One, consisting of Margaret Jones, Janice Fox, Adam Hawkings and Colin Barnes, was a tight game apart from one unfortunate end, where they dropped five shots. Despite a great effort to fight back, they lost 8 shots to 11. Four Two, consisting of Sue Gunter, Martin Watts, Tim Gunter and Mike Edwards, was a similar story. It was a very tight game, apart from two ends that ultimately led to defeat, 9 shots to 13. Taking all of that into account, Northamptonshire ran out 31 points to 9, securing the bonus points in 3 out the 4 disciplines with 227 shots scored.  There were some impressive shot differences on the scorecards, showing the quality of the bowling and the determination of everyone involved. With strong team performances, great teamwork and some crucial shots at key moments, it was a fantastic effort from the Northamptonshire squad.  Taking all of the above into account, we have awarded Paul D’Inverno with the MVP for today’s game. His game management, shot selection and overall approach to the game was outstanding and a credit to the squad. A big thank you to everyone who played, supported and helped make the day a success. A great advert for short mat bowls and a brilliant team effort! 🏆👏 Chris Terry  County squad manager.

A fine day of competitive short mat bowls in this return fixture against very strong opposition. The result was the same as the away leg 20 points each. This, despite Northants achieving the highest number of shots overall. All games were played in a fine spirit right through to the nail biting finish in the final triples match.

Our County team enjoyed a productive day at Harrold versus Cambridgeshire on the 9th November. After a competitive but sporting contest the score was Northamptonshire 30 – Cambridgeshire 10, with every member of our team registering at least one win during the match. Well done all.

Despite a number of illnesses among our ranks, 20 keen bowlers took to the mats for our return with Suffolk. After a series of hard fought, closely matched and sporting encounters, the final result was Northants 16 Suffolk 24. Well done all