The 2019 ECBA Champion of Champions
was held at Stanley, County Durham over 1st-2nd June.
RINKS
Paul & Mike Daniels, John Hayward & Keith Jolly
Suffolk began with
a tough game against Sunderland and started well but the game
fell away from them in the middle and they lost 12-6.
The Hertfordshire game started
off with a fortunate end which landed Suffolk 3 shots, unfortunately
5 dropped on the 4th end put them behind. After that it was close
but a 2 shot lead for Herts going into the last end gave them
a buffer which saw them home to a 10-7 win.
Next up were Northumberland
who were leading having won both their games so far. It started
close, 3-3 after 5 ends, but Suffolk then started to edge away,
winning the remaining ends to record a 9-3 win to get off the
mark.
Having won the first end against
Durham, Suffolk proceeded to lose the next 4, putting them 6-2
down. However they chipped a couple back on the next and then
turned the game on its head as Durham struggled and Suffolk
picked up a 5 to retake the lead. Two on the next end gave them
a healthy 5 shot buffer, allowing them to drop 2 on the last
and win the game 11-8. That left them on 4 points at the finish
of Saturday, tied for 4th, 3 points behind leaders Sunderland.
Sunday began with a game against
Norfolk which was as much a fight against the carpet as their
opponents, and at 7-3 down after 5 ends it was drifting away.
But they grabbed 3 back on the next end after which it was a
matter of getting one in and blocking up (or at least trying
to), it was nervy stuff but it got them to a 9-7 win, tying for
second but with Sunderland 3 points ahead.
Finally Suffolk had a decent
start to a game, picking up 5 on the 3rd end against Essex which
gave them a buffer for the remaining ends which they saw out
to win 11-6 and move into second place while Sunderland won their
game to secure the trophy witha game to spare.
Although there was no chance
of taking the title second place was still up for grabs with
Suffolk playing Cambridgeshire, the only team who could realistically
take it off them. It was a game that was as close as expected
and sat at 6-6 after 6 ends but the next 2 ends saw Suffolk pull
a gap on their opponents, giving them a 4 shot advantage going
into the last end, that allowed them to do what was necessary
to win the game, if not the end. The final score was 10-8 to
Suffolk leaving them comfortably in the runners-up spot.
Weekend record: L-L-W-W-W-W-W
TRIPLES
Tom Runnacles and Clint & Emma Watling
The first 3 ends of
their opening game against Sunderland was close, Suffolk 2-1
down. But the 4th end pretty much settled the game as Suffolk
took all 6. Another 3 on the 7th definitely put the game beyond
their opponents reach and they finished 12-6 winners.
It was a topsy turvy game against
Hertfordshire, 4-0 down then back to 6-4 up, but the last 3 ends
didnt go well and Suffolk fell to an 11-6 loss.
Suffolk made a good start against
Northumberland and were 4-1 up after 4 ends, but that wasa s
good as it got as they lost the remaining ends to go down 10-4.
At 5-2 up after 4 ends against
Durham, Suffolk were off to a good start but the 5th end was
a disaster as they dropped 5 followed by another 2 on the next
to trail 9-5 with 3 ends to go, however they pulled back 3 on
the next, drew level on the 8th and another 2 on the last to
record a brilliant comeback, winning 11-9. That left them tied
for 4th overnight, 3 points behind leaders Norfolk.
And it was Norfolk they took
on first thing Sunday, and it started well, picking up all 6
on the second end and leading 11-1 with 3 to go. They lost those
3 but held on to win 11-7 and go to within a point of the leaders.
After being 5-5 after 5 against
Essex, the game fell away from Suffolk and they finished up losing
10-5, finally putting them out of contention.
Although the title was out
of reach Suffolk went on to record their best result of the weekend,
a crushing 14-3 win over Cambridgeshire which saw them finish
in 4th place overall, only 2 points off winners Norfolk.
Weekend record: W-L-L-W-W-L-W
PAIRS
Rita & Pete Runnacles
Suffolk opened against
Durham and after dropping 1 on the first end soon took a comfortable
lead, 7-1 after 5 ends, it was a comfortable lead, enabling them
to drop 3 on the last and still come home for a 9-5 win.
The second game was much closer
but they generally had their noses in front of Norfolk and finished
winners 7-4.
Against Essex they were off
to a great start and led 7-0 after 4 ends, after that it was
much closer but they always had a comfortable lead, finally winning
9-4 to take a clear 2 point lead over the rest of the field.
The first stumble of the day
came late, against Cambridgeshire, 6-0 down after 4 ends they
fought back, but left it a little bit late, running out of ends
and finishing 7-6 down. However they ended Saturday very much
in contention as one of three teams, on 6 points at the top of
the standings, the others being Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
It was a very bad start against
Sunderland to open Sundays play, 8-0 down after 4 ends
but they chipped back and played a perfect end of bowls on the
9th to take 3 and cap a remarkable comeback to win 9-8 and go
top by a point.
After a good start against
Hertfordshire, Suffolk fell behind, losing the game 8-6. That
left them on 8 points, the same as Essex and Cambridgeshire and
a point behind leaders Hertfordshire.
Their final game against Northumberland
saw the first of all fall 4-0 behind only to pull back and head
into the final couple of ends 7-4 ahead, but the game game didn't
finish well for them as they dropped first 3 and then 2 to lose
9-7, leaving them in 4th place overall, 3 points behind champions
Hertfordshire.
Weekend record: W-W-W-L-W-L-L
SINGLES
Sam Runnacles
After a slow start against Durham Sam was level on the 6th but
2 down on the next, however he got back to 7-7 with one end to
go and with the jack pushed to the corner he got to it first
and hung on to win 8-7.
Sams second game was
against Norfolk and it was a result which was never in doubt
right from the start as he romped away to an 18-1 win.
And it was a strong start against
Essex, 10-0 up after 4 ends, enough to resist a comeback by the
opposition as the game finished 11-7 to Sam, continuing to lead
the way along with Hertfordshire.
After a sticky start against
Cambridgeshire - Sam was 4-2 down after 4 ends - he took each
of the last 5 ends to win 10-4 which kept him sharing top spot
with Hertfordshire at the close of play on Saturday with a big
showdown to come on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Sam Sunday
didnt start so well, a close game against Sunderland fell
away from him in the last few ends as he lost 8-4 to fall 2 points
behind the still unbeaten Hertfordshire.
Sams next game would
get him back in the running if he could get a win, but dropping
all 4 on the 2nd end was the killer from which he never recovered,
losing 8-7 while Hertfordshire secured the title with that win.
It was now all about making
sure that he secured second place with his final game against
Northumberland. And he did just that, despite dropping all 4
on the 3rd end, running away to a 13-1 win to get second on shots
ahead of Sunderland.
Weekend record: W-W-W-W-L-L-W
TEAM
With five sessions completed it was extremely close, only 5 points
covered the whole field but Suffolk were sharing the lead with
Hertfordshire, on 12 points.
A couple more sessions in the
field had spread out somewhat but it was still Hertfordshire
and Suffolk leading the way on 20 points, with Sunderland third
on 18.
Saturday came to a close with
Suffolk just falling back from the lead but still very much in
contention. Herts led the way on 24 points, Suffolk had 22 and
Sunderland and Northumberland were next best back on 18 points.
With a session to go Suffolk
had fallen 3 points behind Hertfordshire and were going to need
a bit of a miracle to beat them. It didn't happen.
A strong final session saw
them secure 6 points but it wasn't quite enough as they finished
on 36 points, exactly the same as the year before, one point
behind winners Hertfordshire, also exactly the same as the year
before.
You can find a full copy of
the weekend's results here. |