The 2022 Eastern Counties Champion
of Champions was hosted by Essex at Littleport on 26 June, with
some last minute replacements drafted in to the Fours and Singles,
thanks to Covid.
FOURS - Neil & Keith Jolly and Sue & Andy
Gilder
Suffolk started as well as they could possibly imagined, as they
steamrollered their way to a 15-0 win over Norfolk. That perfect
record was gone almost immediately, but a 9-9 draw against Hertfordshire,
who might have been expected to be their strongest opposition,
was not bad by any means, and they still held the lead.
Cambridgeshire were next up,
and Suffolk were back to their winning ways, taking the game
11-4. They still led by a point, now over Norfolk.
Essex proved to be slightly
stermed opposition, but Suffolk still won, 9-5, and with Norfolk
losing to Cambridgeshire, Suffolk were now 3 points clear with
only a game to go, and had already sealed the title.
The rounded the day off with
a 15-3 win over Bedfordshire, finishing on 9 points, with Cambridgeshire
second on 6 points.
TRIPLES - Andy
Pooley and Sally & Jim Goodrich
The day started well, with
an easy 14-3 win over Norfolk, followed by a 9-6 win over Hertfordshire.
Unfortunately things didn't
go so well against Cambridgeshire, with whom they had been jointly
leading. They lost that game 13-6.
However they came back with
a huge 18-1 win over Essex, and with Cambridgeshire stumbling
to a loss against Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs and Hertfordshire were
all on 6 points, althoguh crucially, Suffolk held a shot advantage.
The final game saw Suffolk
take an 8-5 win over Bedfordshire, while Herts beat Cambs, but
not by nearly enough shots. Suffolk finished on 8 points and
59 shots, Hertfordshire were also on 8 points, but only 45 shots.
Suffolk took the title.
PAIRS - Ally Hobbs & Emma Watling
Ally and Emma were off to a disappointing start with a narrow
7-6 loss to Cambridgeshire. But their second game saw them just
beat Essex 7-5. A much more comfortable result against Bedfordshire,
as they won 9-3, putting them onto 4 points, while Cambridgeshire
led the way with 3 wins.
Against Norfolk they suffered
another very narrow loss, 6-5, but they finished the day with
a win over Hertfordshire (9-7), which not only raised them above
Herts, but secured a very creditable runner-up spot, albeit 4
points behind winners Cambridgeshire.
SINGLES - Mick Watkins
Mick opened the day with an 8-8 draw over Cambridgeshire, but
next up suffered an 11-7 loss at the hands of Essex.
It was another loss in the
third game, this time to Bedfordshire, 9-4, and thena frustratingly
narrow defeat at the hands of Norfolk (the eventual, and comfortable
winner on the day).
Happily he was able to finish
the day on a high, with an 8-5 win over Hertfordshire, which
meant that he finished in 5th place.
TEAM
While Suffolk were in the hunt all day, it was Cambridgeshire
who led from the start.
Suffolk were only a point off
the lead through the first 3 sets of games, but with 4 rounds
completed they had fallen to equal third, and were now 3 points
behind Cambridgeshire. However, a perfect final session saw them
leapfrog both Cambs and Herts, finishing on 26 points, one ahead
of Cambridgeshire.
It was the first time Suffolk
had taken the team title since 2015.
Full Set of Results
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