The 2015 ECBA Champion of Champions
was held at Wolsingham, County Durham on 6th-7th June.
FOURS
Joey, Jonathan & Jack Stones and Neil Jolly (Brockley)
The first end of their opening game against Sunderland saw Suffolk
grab 5 shots, after which it was a matter of controlling the
game, which they did. Their advantage was never less than those
opening 5 shots and they ran out 13-5 winners.
Their second game was one of
two halves. A 4 to Bedfordshire on the second end helped the
opposition along to lead 8-0 after 4 ends and it was no better
with only 3 ends to go, at 9-1 down. However Suffolk finished
superbly, with 3, 4 and 3, in a perfectly timed run to snatch
an 11-9 win.
Next up was Cambridgeshire,
and Suffolk made a great start, winning the first 5 ends to establish
an 8-0 lead, but this time the boot was on the other foot. Cambridgeshire
took 2 on the 6th and 2 on the 7th, but Suffolk took one on the
eight to lead 9-4 going into the last end. Enough of a lead going
into the last end? Sadly no. Cambridgeshire took the 5 that they
needed to save themselves from defeat as the game ended in a
9-9 draw.
Suffolk's final game of the
day saw them come up against Durham, and it started well, although
there was never much in it. By the fifth end they had edged their
way out to a 4-2 lead. However Durham took a shot on the next,
and the next (to draw level), and the next and on the final end
another, with their last wood, just depriving Suffolk of a draw.
They ended Saturday in third,
on 5 points, one behind Northumberland, but with a game in hand,
but 4 points behind leaders Cambridgeshire, albeit also with
a game in hand.
Sunday began with a game against
Essex which started well, 4-2 up after 3 ends. But Essex took
the next 4 ends and although Suffolk pulled back to within 2
shots of their opposition going into the last end, they couldn't
trouble the jack and ended up with a 10-7 loss.
Hertfordshire were next up.
It was a low scoring encounter and there was never much in it,
all level at 7 ends Suffolk took 2 on the 8th to lead 6-4 with
an end to go, but sadly lost those 2 shots back again as the
game ended in a draw.
Against Norfolk, though it
was a different story, they were in the lead and in command from
the very start, they dropped just one end and ran out to a comfortable
12-1 win to take their first win since the early part of Saturday.
Yet another low scoring game
against Northumberland, this time Suffolk ground out a 5-1 lead
by end 5. It was 6-2 with 2 ends to go, 6-4 with 1 end to go,
but they hung on, dropping just one on the last to finish with
another win.
It could easily have been a
much better overall result, in the end they finished in 4th place,
just 2 points behind the eventual winners Cambridgeshire who
they could and perhaps should have beaten. If they had dropped
just 3 instead of 5 shots on the last end of their encounter,
Suffolk would have taken the title. But as it was they shrugged
off some disappointing results for a solid finish.
Weekend Record: W-W-D-L-L-D-W-W
TRIPLES
Keith Jolly and Sue & Andy Gilder (Brockley/Barking)
Sunderland were their opening opponents and although they lost
the first 2 ends Suffolk were 5-2 up after 5. But Sunderland
came back to lead. And although Suffolk brought it back to all
square going into the last, it was Sunderland that took it to
win 8-6.
The next game saw them start
poorly, losing the first 3 ends, but only by a shot on each,
a two on the next brought them closer, but it was a 4 on the
6th end which took them into the lead. The 8th end saw the game
coming back to their opponents who had cut the lead to just one
shot, but the last end saw them take 3 and Suffolk's first win
10-6.
Another slow start, this time
against Cambridgeshire. 4-0 down after 4 ends, they pulled back
to 5-5 after 6, took one on the next to lead and lost one on
the next to be level going into the last end, which they just
edged to take a second win, 7-6, to bring themselves into the
overall running.
Durham were next up and their
opponents had the better start, winning the first 2 ends, however
Suffolk clawed the deficit back and at 5 ends held a 4-3 lead.
However the 6th end was bad, very bad, 4 shots were dropped and
that proved to be decisive. They finished the game with 2 ends
won, but they were too far back and Durham had the win 8-6.
Suffolk finished Saturday only
3 points behind leaders Durham with a game in hand, but so close
was it that they were 6th and with 2 more teams behind them on
the same points.
Sunday's first opposition were
Essex. Finishing the game with 5 ends won and one dead, Suffolk
might be thought to have had the better of the game, but the
ends they lost were devastating, 4 on the second put Suffolk
on the back foot and although they clawed their way backlevel
, a 3 to Essex on the 7th put them behind. And then, having drawn
level again they found themselves pretty much blocked out on
the last to fall to a 9-7 loss.
Their next game, against Hertfordshire,
all hinged on the second end, which yielded 5 shots, sadly for
the opposition. And once behind they never got much of a look
in. Their best end was the last, but by then it was too late.
They lost 11-6.
A brighter start against Norfolk
saw them 5-1 up after 3 ends, but the 6th was a bad end, they
dropped 4 and lost the lead. But Suffolk were back in from on
the next end and it was still all square going into the last,
but it was another dropped shot and another loss, 7-8.
The final game of the weekend
came against Northumberland but didn't start well and they were
4-1 down after 4 ends. However a good middle part of the game
saw them pick up a couple of threes, take a 4 shot lead and hang
on to take an 8-7 win to finish the weekend on a high point.
Overall they finished in 7th
place.
Weekend Record: L-W-W-L-L-L-L-W
PAIRS
Andy Pooley & David O'Brien (Gt
Blakenham)
Their opening game against Essex saw the game level after 5 ends,
but they won 3 of the last 4 ends to take the game 8-4.
Hertfordshire were next up
and might have provided stiffer opposition, but Andy and David
had ground out a 6-0 lead with 4 ends down and controlled the
game thereafter to take the match 11-5.
Against Norfolk, Suffolk won
the first end, but after that it was all downhill, they lost
the next 4 ends to go 7-2 behind, picked up one one the next,
but then lost the next two. The final result was a 13-5 loss.
Their opportunity to bounce
back came against Northumberland in their final Saturday game.
But it didn't start well. The first 2 ends were lost as they
went 4-0 down, the next 2 ends were shared so at 4 ends they
were 5-1 down. However a string of 4 consecutive ends won took
them into the lead, only to drop 2 on the last as Northumberland
knicked a draw.
Five points from 4 games left
them only 2 points behind the leaders Hertfordshire, but with
a game in hand. However between them and the leaders were both
Cambridgeshire and Durham, a point ahead and on the same number
of games as Suffolk.
Sunday's first game, against
Sunderland, started well, the first ends were won, putting them
4-0 up, but two ends later they were behind and they never got
back into the game. They lost 6 of the last 7 games and finished
13-5 down.
The next game started well
and got better, they won the first end and never looked back,
Ends 5, 6 and 7 yielded 11 shots and they ran out 16-3 winners.
At this point Hertfordshire were leading the way on 11 points,
while Suffolk were 4 behind, in fourth place, in the middle of
a pack of 5 teams covered by just a single point.
Next up were Cambridgeshire
who were lying second. It was a close encounter and there was
never much in it, Suffolk took the lead on the second end, Cambridgeshire
drew level on the next and that was the way it went for the next
four ends, but holding a one shot lead going into the last they
took one more a had the win 6-4. That lifted them up to second
place, although they were still 2 points behind Hertfordshire
with just a game to go.
All Suffolk could do was to
win their final game against Durham and hope for the best. And
that they did in style, putting in a dominant performance to
thrash Durham 13-1. In the meantime Hertfordshire faced a tough
game against Norfolk, going into the last end they were 5-6 down
and with the shots that Suffolk had scored they needed a draw,
but it wasn't to be. Norfolk took the win and Suffolk took the
title by the comfortable margin of 4 shots.
Despite a poor end to Saturday
and an equally disappointing start to Sunday, Andy and David
didn't give up and a great finish saw them take the title to
add to their Eastern Counties win.
Weekend Record: W-W-L-D-L-W-W-W
SINGLES
David Ford (Gt Blakenham)
After a losing the first end of his opening game against Essex
(the ECCBA Champion), David didn't look back, he won 6 of the
next 7 ends and took a convincing 12-4 win.
It was an identical start to
his second game, against Hertfordshire, but he was behind until
end 5. A run of 4 winning ends took him into a 7-4 lead, but
it was all wiped out on the 8th end, but he regained his momentum
to take the last end and win 9-7.
And it was a difficult start
against Norfolk. With 5 ends played David was 5-2 down, however
come the 6th end he not only found another gear, but several
other gears, picking up 11 shots in four ends to win 13-5.
With the Northumberland player
having to pull out that was David's last game on Saturday. The
only other undefeated person was Durham. The two would play each
other on Sunday in the final round in what could be the game
that decided the title.
Sunday began with a match against
the reigning champion, Martin Campbell (Sunderland), David bowled
well, but his opposition was even stronger, winning crucial ends
in the middle part of the game as David fell to his first loss
(6-4).
But he bounced right back against
Bedfordshire, although in the early part of the game things seemed
to be going against him. At 4-1 down after 3 ends it looked a
little bleak, but the middle ends were David's as the opposition
went off. All 4 on the sixth end pretty much sealed it. He finished
10-5 up to take his fourth win.
More tough opposition, this
time from Cambridgeshire, David was behind from the first end,
and although he was level after 5 ends he dropped 7 shots over
the remaining 4 to lose the game 5-10.
The final game of the weekend
came against Durham who had led the way all through the weekend,
held a 2 point lead going into this game and needed no more than
a draw. The game was close in the early ends, but David thundered
into the lead with all 4 on the 5th end. It was back to 6-4 with
2 ends to go, but David held his nerve took the last 2 ends and
effectively handed the title to Jamie Smith (Cambridgeshire)
who won by a single shot, while David finished third.
Weekend Record: W-W-W-L-W-L-W
TEAM
Saturday started the well, even though the Triple and Rink had
to sit out the first session of the day. Once they got going
everyone was contributing and Suffolk had edged their way to
the top.
But the end of Saturday was
disappointing as the Pair, Triple and Rink all slipped up. However
no one was completely out of contention and as a team they were
sitting in third place, with games in hand over the two leading
teams Cambridgeshire and Durham.
Sunday began indifferently,
with everyone losing their opening games, and as a consequence
Suffoolk found themselves drifting down the standings.
However the day finished much
as the weekend had started and Suffolk were able to push their
way back up to finish third, just 1 point behind runner-up Hertfordshire,
although the gap to winners Cambridgeshire was much bigger at
7 points.
You can find a full copy of
the weekend's results here. |