Suffolk Carpet Bowls Association

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» 2018 ECBA Champion of Champions

The 2018 ECBA Champion of Champions was held at Stanley, County Durham over 2nd-3rd June.

RINKS
Colin & Peter Fellingham and Sue & Graham Davey
After 2 ends against Cambridgeshire, Suffolk found themselves 3-0 down, but they were never behind from that point on, winning 9-6.

It was a difficult start to their second game, against Sunderland, after 5 ends they found themselves 6-0 down, they were unlikely to win from that point, but they rallied to just 7-4 down. Sadly it was worse in their next game against leaders Hertfordshire, they were always behind and from being only 6-2 down after 7 ends, ended up losing 12-2.

A change of skip, as Colin and Peter swapped round, meant a change of fortune as Suffolk won 8-3. That meant that they finished the day on 4 points, tied for 3rd, 4 points behind leaders Hertfordshire.

Unfortunately Sunday started badly against Durham, they were destined to lose the game when they dropped a massive 7 shots on only the 3rd end. The last 3 ends were better for them, but it was too late by then, the final result a 14-6 loss.

After a good start against Norfolk, Suffolk dropped half a dozen shots across ends 7 and 8, losing 9-7.

Their final game against Essex started well with 4 on the first end and they were never challenged after that, finishing the weekend with a 12-5 win, ending the weekend in 6th place with Hertfordshire overall winners.

Weekend record: W-L-L-W-L-L-W

TRIPLES
Tom & Sam Runnacles and Clint Watling
A good start against Cambridgeshire, 7-0 up after 3 ends, became 7-6 2 ends later and at 7 ends it was 8-8, but Tom held his nerve on the last end and drew shot with his last wood to secure a 10-8 win.

Their second game, against Sunderland also saw them make a good start, but this time they didn't let the opposition even get a start as they took a resounding 17-0 win to already lead the competition by a point.

After a slow start Suffolk rocketed ahead of Hertfordshire with 10 shots scored over ends 3-5, taking them to a 12-5 win. They now lead overall by 2 points.

And it was another win to round of Saturday's play, a comfortable 13-4 over Northumberland finishing the day 2 points clear of Cambridgeshire at the top.

Suffolk started Sunday the way they had finished Saturday, except more so as the ran away to a huge 22-0 win. That now put them 2 points and 21 shots ahead of Cambridgeshire, so one more win would probably wrap the title up.

And win they did, handsomely 21-2 over Norfolk. With one game to go they were now 2 points and 30 shots ahead of Cambridgeshire, which made it somewhat unlikely that they would lose the title from this position.

And so it proved to be, although it was close in the first half Suffolk ran away over the final 3 ends to win 12-2 and secure the title with the weekend's only perfect record across all the disciplines.

Weekend record: W-W-W-W-W-W-W

PAIRS
John Whiting & Doug Adamson
A poor middle part of the game which saw them drop 11 shots over 4 ends meant that Suffolk were always struggling against Northumberland, but they had a good last couple of ends to only finish 12-8 down.

In contrast their follow-up game against Durham saw them off to a rocket of a start, they were 9-1 up after 4 ends and went on to win 12-6.

They were off to a slow start against Norfolk and dropped all 4 on the second end, the second half of the game was better, but they still lost 10-4.

Their final game of the day saw a second win, moving out into an early lead against Essex and taking a 9-3 win, in fourth place and only 2 points off the lead.

After a good start against Cambridgeshire first thing on Sunday they fell behind in the middle part of the game and ended up with an 8-6 loss.

And it didn't look any better in their penultimate game as they fell 6-2 behind Sunderland after 6 ends, but they rallied to draw level and take the last end for a 7-6 win.

Suffolk had the best of their final game against Hertfordshire in that they won 6 of the 9 ends, but unfortunately the ends they lost were costly and they lost the game 9-7 to finish 5th overall with Hertfordshire taking the title.

Weekend record: L-W-L-W-L-W-L

SINGLES
Neil Jolly

Neil started well and was 5-0 up over Northumberland after 3 ends and secured an 11-4 win. His second game, against Durham, was the exact opposite, he was down from the start and wasn't able to get going, eventually losing 11-2.

But he was back on form for his third game, not giving Norfolk a look in as he ran away to a 17-0 win.

Neil's final Saturday game came against Essex who had yet to score a point. It was close at the halfway point, but Neil pulled away for a 9-5 win. That left him in second place overnight (by one shot against), two points behind Hertfordshire who he would be playing on Sunday.

Things didn't start well for Neil on Sunday morning against Cambridgeshire, with 3 ends to go he was 7-2 down and the game looked like it was all over, but the 7th end saw him pick up 3 and he was in the lead with all 4 on the next end and finished with one more for a remarkable 10-7 victory.

After a slow start against Sunderland, Neil ran away in the middle part of the game to win 11-2 and with Hertfordshire losing it was now a three-way tie at the top with Neil, Hertfordshire and Durham all within 5 shots of one another.

Durham lost their final game so it all came down to Suffolk v Hertfordshire. It was desperately close and after 7 ends it was 3-3, but on the 8th end Neil was one down with his last wood to play, he needed to move the jack back, and he did, but to the back of the carpet where it hung for a moment before falling off. A draw would still win him the title but he couldn't make it and lost 6-3 to finish 3rd on shots.

Neil finished 3rd overall, just edged out for second place by a couple of shots by Durham.

Weekend record: W-L-W-W-W-W-L

TEAM
With two rounds completed Suffolk were lying in second place, one point behind Hertfordshire.

After three sessions Suffolk were still in second, sharing it with Northumberland, but they were both now 3 points behind Hertfordshire.

Maximum points in the final session brought Suffolk to within one point of leaders Hertfordshire and just as importantly 5 points clear of the next best teams.

Unfortunately Suffolk dropped a couple of points further back in Sunday's first session, but they were still in a comfortable second place. They caught those 2 points back up in the next session and held it at that in the next, by which time it was only going to be one of those two who would take the win.

And Suffolk had every chance to get the win as they faced Hertfordshire in the Singles and Pairs, unfortunately they both lost and although the Triple and Rink won while Herts lost their games the title was lost by a single point.

You can find a full copy of the weekend's results here.