HERITAGE v SOUTH NORFOLK » 8th July 2012

Sunday 8th July saw teams representing the Heritage League and the South Norfolk Carpet Bowls Federation take on one another at Leiston Leisure Centre.

With the format calling for each team to be represented by 8 rinks both sides struggled to get teams that fully represented their respective leagues owing to the time of year and so many players having outdoor bowls commitments.

As it was Heritage were represented by players from Wenhaston, Sizewell, Knodishall, and Kelsale, while South Norfolk had players from Kenninghall, Roydon, Brockdish, Wortwell, Garboldisham and Alburgh.

The first set of 6 games saw 3 wins for Heritage, 2 for South Norfolk and a draw, taking Heritage into an early 7-5 lead. They followed this up by winning 4 games in the second session to lead 15-9 at the halfway point.

After a break for tea the third session saw Heritage edge further ahead by again taking three wins and a draw to lead 22-14, an 8 point lead with only one session to go and only 12 points to play for.

But despite having what appeared to be an almost unassailable lead Heritage managed to throw it all away as they crumbled in the face of a terrific comeback by South Norfolk.

Heritage could win only one of the 6 games, losing the other 5 to leave the teams tied on 24 points each. The game therefore came down to shots which went the way of South Norfolk who managed to edge it 202-196.

So in the end, after 24 games and 216 ends of bowls the margin was a mere 6 shots, a great end to a great day's bowling at the end of which everyone agreed they were looking forward to a return fixture next year.

FINALS NIGHT » 11th April 2012

KNOCKOUT CUP

While Kelsale came in to the final on the back of their best showing in the League for several years, Walpole & Cookley were coming in having already wrapped up the League title, looking for their 2nd consecutive League and Cup double and 5th consecutive Cup win.

Despite promising starts for Kelsale in both of the first pair of games they each had different results. While one game slipped further and further away to an eventual 11-3 win to Walpole, the other went Kelsale's way 9-4, although but for the Walpole skip's final shot the score would have been identical to the other game.

As it was Walpole held a 3 shot advantage after the first games.

There was a similar story in the next pair of games, one going Kelsale's way as they went on to win 10-2, while the other saw Walpole put on a greast performance to run up an impressive 15-1 victory, extending their lead to 9 shots going in to the break.

Although the lead was hardly massive it did look to be defendable, but such leads can all too easily be swept aside and early on the in the final set of games that proved to be the case as Kelsale at one stage led the games 4-0 and 6-0. But with plenty of ends still to go Walpole came back, to bring their overall lead back up to 7 shots. Kelsale went on to a 6-3 win in the first of the games, finishing with the other game still having 2 ends to go.

With a 6 shot defecit from the completed games Kelsale were 2 up in the remaining game and so needed 4 shots in 2 ends to draw level. And on a carpet which did not offer much in the way of turn, especially when playing with a little extra weight, they managed to pick up 5 shots on the penultimate end to move into the overall lead.

The final end saw Walpole hold the advantage all the way through with Kelsale doing their best to at least secure 2nd wood and take the match to an extra end. With Walpole holding just one shot and one wood from each side still to be played Kelsale pulled off a blocker which looked to be enough to see the match drawn. With a relatively tight head Walpole's final wood, if it was bowled, was not without risk, but the decision to bowl it was take and James sent down the perfect drawing shot to settle in for second. Although the game was lost 12-7, the match was won 42-41.

Yet another Cup win for Walpole to seal the double again and cap another great season for them, but it was a sterling effort from Kelsale who managed to run them closer than anyone has done for many years.

HERITAGE PLATE

With Snape having finished the season in the middle of the Division 1 and Darsham having just missed out on promotion, the Plate final was an opportunity for one of the other to salvage something from the season.

The first pair of games started with an even share of shots, with one going Snape's way and the other Darsham's. But while Snape held on to their advantage in the game which they led, Darsham could not do the same. Snape took both games, 12-7 and 10-6 to hold a 9 shot advantage.

The next set of games saw Snape drive home that early advantage. They took one game 9-5 while the other was an impressive 13-2.

Going in to the break it was 44-20, placing Snape a very healthy 24 shots up with just the final pair of games to go.

While Darsham were able to salvage a 12-9 win the other game went the way of Snape with a huge 17-2 win from the block that had earlier won 13-2.

The end result was an emphatic and well deserved 70-34 win to Snape.

HERITAGE PAIRS » 1st April 2012

This year there were 32 teams playing for the Pairs title.

To make sure that everyone would have 4 group games, the teams were divided up into 4 groups of 8, with everyone playing 4 of the other 7 teams in the group.

The top 4 teams from each group would the qualify for the Knockout stages.

It is probably fair to say that this year's surprise package were the Middleton B team of Basil Baker & Nigel Anderson. They won 3 of their 4 group games, finishing 3rd in their group. Their First Round game against Knodishall I saw them take an early 4-0 lead after 3 ends and finishing with 5 shots in the last couple of ends to win 10-1.

Their Quarter Final saw them come up against another Knodishall team. Again Middleton took an early 4-0 lead, but this time they were pegged back as Knodishall drew level going into the final end. But Middleton held their nerve to take a shot on the last end to continue their progress.

Kelsale were their Semi-Final opponents and they took the first end, but Middleton had a great second end, taking 4 shots which proved to be decisive. They were able to keep their noses ahead throughout the rest of the game, doing more than defending their lead as they took a well deserved 8-3 win to make the final.

The other finalists were the reigning champions, the Walpole & Cookley A team of James Rous & Jon Jordan. The low point of their day was not only the first game, but the very first end of that first game. They lost all of 5 shots on that first end and despite their best efforts they were unable to recover and lost the game. However they won their remaining groups games and actually finished top of the group.

Their First Round game was a repeat of last year's final against Kelsale. And it was a game which Walpole controlled from the start, edging out to a 5-0 lead after 4 ends and finishing 7-3 up. Their Quarter Final opponents Riverside actually led the game 2 ends in, but the third end saw Walpole take a full house of 6 shots after which they never looked back, winning the game 11-5.

The Semi-Final was an all Walpole affair as Jon & James took on Walpole B. 2 shots on the first end and 4 on the second saw the reigning champions take an early 6-0 lead and one which ought to have sealed the game for them, but their opponents did not crack under the pressure as the took the next 4 ends to draw level. The final end though went to Jon & James as they took the early advantage and did not allow their team mates a chance a win the end. The final score was 9-6 to Walpole A.

The Final saw the underdogs Middleton take the early lead, winning the first end with a single shot, but the second end was a disaster for them as they got caught out on a fast carpet and a downhill sloping end. They managed to send every one of their woods off the end of the mat while Walpole lost only one of theirs. It was something from which Middleton would never recover. Walpole took 3 on the next end to take their lead to 8-1. This time heading downhill, Middleton faired better on the faster end, taking shot with their final wood. And although the fifth end saw Middleton with an early advantage and a faint hope that they could claw their way back in, Walpole were able to be bolder with their shots, and dragged the jack away from the opposition woods, eventually taking 4 shots to give them a huge 10 shot advantage with only 2 ends to play. The next end again went their way, Middleton were being forced to chase shots while Walpole were able to simply draw to the jack. The result was another 4 shots to Walpole, putting them 16-2 up. Despite there still being an end to go the result was now certain and Middleton finally waved the white flag.

This was the third year in a row that Jon and James have won the title and the fifth time overall.

HERITAGE FOURS » 25th March 2012

There were 21 teams entered for this year's event. The odd number of entrants meant that the round robin satge was run as a single group with each team having 4 games, after which the top 8 teams went through to the Knockout Stages.

The holders, Walpole & Cookley swept through to the Knockout stages as the only team all their games, amassing 53 shots and conceding only 10 in doing so. And their route to the final was no less impressive, although they were at least made to work for their Quarter Final victory over Darsham which, after a good start saw them pegged back to a 7-5 lead and coming within a hair's breadth of going into the final end only one shot up. As it was they took both of last 2 ends to finish 10-5 winners. The Semi-Final against Sizewell B was more straightforward. It was relatively close at 5-1 after 5 ends, but the last 2 ends saw them double their shot tally as they went on to win 10-1 to make the final for the fourth straight year.

Kelsale had been off to a good start, winning their first 3 Round Robin games, but they lost their last, although by that time they had already done enough to qualify and indeed qualified in second place as other teams also faltered. Like Walpole their passage to the Final was relatively straightforward. The Quarter Final against Knodishall B saw them drop the first end, but they came back with 6 one the next end, follwing by a further 6 unanswered shots over the next 3 ends, finally winning 15-2. Their Semi-Final against Riverside A was closer, in fact 3 ends in they were 3-2 down, but they finished strongly, winning the last 4 ends to finish 10-3 up.

The final saw Walpole take the early advantage, taking each of the first 4 ends, although Kelsale were at least able to keep it down to just a single shot each time. The 5th end again saw Walpole with the initial advantage, but in trying to protect a good position they had the misfortune to move the jack slightly to open up the possibility of a drawing shot, an opportunity which Kelsale took to at least stem the flow of lost ends. The 6th end saw Kelsale take back 2 more shots, bringing Walpole's advantage back to just one shot, going in to the final end. And it was another close end which just went Kelsale's was as, in a packed head, they were fortunate enough to move their wood up to hold, bring the score level at 4-4 and force an extra end. This time both teams struggled to get close enough to hold a decisive advantage, although Kelsale's penultimate wood was close enough to hold and Walpole's finished just far enough away that the last wood did not have to be bowled as Kelsale finished 5-4 winners in what was an epic battle.

HERITAGE MEN » 4th March 2012

This year saw a total of 40 men entering the tournament. The winners and runners-up from each of the 8 groups would qualify for the Knockout Stages.

On his way to the his first appearance in a Final since 2001, when he won the title, Matthew Crane had a couple of close scrapes, clawing his way back into games that were all but lost. His First Round game against Tim Hambling saw him 7-0 down with 4 ends played, but he clawed his way back by taking 8 shots over the final 3 ends for his first remarkable comeback. His Quarter Final was a different affair, romping home against Steve Newson to win 14-0. For his Semi-Final against Michael Easy he chose to do it the hard way again. This time he was 6-1 down after 4 ends, but only 2 ends later he was in front and came home to win 9-6.

Paul Daniels' First Round game saw him up against last year's champion Jon Jordan. He had a comfortable 5-0 margin after 3 ends, but Jon was back in the game, taking 2 on the 4th end. However the lead was back to 5 shots on the next end and with the final two ends shared he took the win 8-3. The Quarter Final against Michael Shipp saw him once again go into a 5-0 lead, but it was back to 5-3 and on a knife edge, going into the last end, however he took that end and finished 6-3 ahead. The Semi-Final against Ollie Whyte once again saw him take an early lead, this time 8-0 after 3 ends, after which he was able to control the game, finishing 10-1 ahead.

The Final saw Paul winning the first 2 ends, but only by a single shot on each, after which Matthew took a shot on the third to trail 2-1. Paul took 2 shots on the fourth, but Matthew had the lead back to just 4-2 with 2 ends still to play. However 2 shots on the penultimate end saw Paul's lead go out to 4 shots and with Matthew having only 4 woods to play on the final end Paul was able to control the end and take another 2 shots to finish the winner 8-2.

HERITAGE LADIES » 4th March 2012

There were a total of 27 entries for this year's Ladies' Singles. With 6 groups, the Group Winners progressed straight to the Quarter Finals, where they were joined by the winners of the games between the 4 best Runners-up.

Judy Easy made her was through to her first ever Singles Final the hard way. Coming through as a Runner-up she first had to see off Margaret Horwood in the First Round, a 7-0 lead after 3 ends gave her opponent little chance and Judy duly won the game 8-3. Her Quarter Final game was a different affair, taking on the other winner from Round 1, she was 7-3 down with an end to go, which she managed to win with a maximum score to take the game to an extra end which she took by a single shot. The Semi-Final against Linda King saw her lead from the very beginning of the game, albeit a slim 3-2 advantage after 4 ends, after that she raced away to an insurmountable lead with 1 end still to go and finally finished 8-4 ahead.

Valerie Game's Quarter Final game against Rita Daniels was a repeat of last year's Final. The first few ends were close, with Rita holding a 3-2 advantage after 4 ends, but the next end saw Val take a decisive 3 shots and although the lead was pegged back to just 1 shot with one end to go Valerie won it to finish 6-4 up and take revenge for last year's defeat. Although Val lost the first end of her Semi-Final against Kay Masters, she was all square on the next end, ahead on the third and never looked back. She was 6-2 up after 4 ends and 7-3 up with an end to go, and although Kay won that last end, it was only by 1 shot as Val made it to her third final.

It was an all Knodishall affair for the final which saw Judy take the early advantage, she was 3-1 up after 2 ends and 5-2 up with 5 ends played and only 2 to go. However Val clearly had something in reserve and timed her run perfectly, taking 2 shots on the penultimate end, to reduce the lead to just 1 shot and then repeating that score on the next end to pip Judy at the finishing post with a 6-5 win to finally take the title.

HERITAGE CHARITY FOURS » 31st October 2011

Many thanks to all 45 teams who entered this year's event, especially to all those from outside the League, travelling from across Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex, who made up more than half of the entry.

We are pleased to say that we were able to raise more than £1100 on the day, added to which Jim & Sally Goodrich from Claydon very generously donated an extra £170 which they had recently raised at a party for their wedding anniversary , bringing the total to more than £1300, all of which will go to the East Anglia Air Ambulance.

The 9 group winners and 7 best runners-up qualified for the knockout stages.