On a bitter cold morning Norfolk Premier and “A” team bowlers were up at the crack of dawn to make the long trek to Solihull for their away games against the West Mids in the Inter-County Championships. Norfolk Premier were determined to bounce back after their shock 30-10 defeat away to Kent in their last outing while Norfolk “A” were keen to make it a hat-trick of wins after home and away victories against old rivals Essex. For both teams it proved to be a great day as West Mids Premier were beaten 22-18 while Norfolk “A” raced away to a superb 30-10 win. Norfolk Premier fours had great success taking nine of the ten points on offer in that discipline. Kerry Greenacre, Karl Newby, David Lamb & Jon Sparham won their games by 15-8 & 9-8 while Robin Amos, Ryan Fox, Robbie Lamb & Jason Woods won their opening game 17-5 and later added a 16-16 draw. Another eight points were earned in the pairs where Neil Davidson & Jack Pye won 12-11 & 13-9 while Morgan Warnes & Chris Willies won their second game 13-9 to get revenge for a first session 17-13 defeat. Both Norfolk singles players beat home favourite Josh Hale, with Chris Mann beating him 16-10 and Trevor Brown beating him 17-10. But England international Ross Dunkley, fresh from lifting the British Isles Triples crown, hit back beating Brown 16-5 and Mann by 17-8 to ensure that West Mids collected six points in the singles. The home side did far better in the triples where they earned nine out of ten points where a 13-13 draw for Simon Warnes, Debbie Sparham & Keith Cooke was the only away point gained while Steve Hall, Simon Willies & Gary Best suffered defeats of 19-4 & 16-6. Never-the-less it was a great result for Norfolk Premier and their player-manager Jack Pye who will be delighted with this result to get themselves back on track. Norfolk “A” enjoyed a marvellous result where their pairs and triples both took maximum points. Jenny Walker & Mike Smail won by 17-11 & 12-10 and Robert Howlett & Steve Lamb won 18-9 & 14-9. Clive Eke, Tony Ottewell & Melvin Woods won by 11-7 & 9-8 and Jan Smail, David Blundell & George Hume won by 15-9 & 10-9. Eight out of ten points were collected by Norfolk “A” in the fours. Donna Lamb, Jean Woods, Joy Townsend & Ray Lamb won by 12-5 & 13-4 while Elaine Willies, Glen Hume, Graham Mobbs & Terry Newby added an 11-8 win after losing their first game by just 8-6. West Mids “A” got the upper hand in the singles where Thetford’s Jason Martin won his opening game 15-13 before losing his second game 19-10 while David Dewing lost his games by 21-9 & 15-6. Norfolk “A” will be more than pleased to have now won three matches in a row.
David Lamb & son Ryan Fox both unbeaten in West Mids