The NCSMBA Summer Cup Final between holders Wymondham and Diss took place at Forncett where the Division Two side pulled off the biggest shock seen in years in the competition. After Wymondham beat fierce rivals Bob Carter in the semi-finals many thought the result of the final would be a foregone conclusion but Diss had other ideas. After a blistering hot day in Norfolk, where the temperature rose to 33 centigrade, the small village hall in Forncett was a very warm place to be but Diss soon turned up the heat even more on their illustrious opponents. Although teams can use up to twelve players in the Summer League it is common in cup finals to use just your six strongest players playing two games each of triples. Knowing that her side were considered unlikely to beat the star-studded Wymondham team the Diss captain decided before the match to give the eleven players who had got them to the final all a game with only skip Graham Mobbs playing in both halves. Wymondham captain Chris Mann brought several players to the final but only named his first two triples for the opening games, preferring to wait until half time before naming his second half triples. The first half saw Roger Steele, Simon Warnes & Chris Mann on mat one for Wymondham and they were up against Morris Taylor, Terry Newby & Karl Newby. On the first end Wymondham skip Chris Mann was forced to attack when Morris Taylor and Terry Newby had put Diss in control of the end. With his first bowl Mann cut the deficit to just one and with his second he took the Diss bowl off the jack to take a single. Again it was Chris Mann who salvaged the second end for Wymondham as he took out the Diss bowl holding shot with his last bowl to move 2-0 up. The third end saw Roger Steele draw in two good woods for Wymondham and Mann later drew in another. This time Diss skip Karl Newby had to attack the head but he could only cut Wymondham down to one shot and the score was now 3-0. But a sensational fourth end followed as Mann’s lead and number two found themselves outdrawn by Diss. Mann was four shots down when he played his first wood but his weight shot found a gap through the head and Karl Newby then drew in a fifth wood. After some deliberation Mann decided to use weight again but it proved to be a replay of the previous bowl as it went through the head leaving Diss still holding five. Newby then drew in his last wood for a full house and his triple led 6-3. Things got worse for Wymondham on the next end as Morris Taylor drew in two good woods but later in the end Roger Steele’s second bowl was tipped in for shot by Terry Newby. But Karl Newby played a super bowl to take out Steele’s wood to hold two and Chris Mann’s attempt to retrieve the situation failed as he wicked away off a short bowl. Simon Warnes switched to lead, with Roger Steele as number two, on the next end but Diss grabbed another single to lead 9-3. On the seventh end Simon Warnes moved to skip with Chris Mann playing at number two. Roger Steele drew in two great bowls from the lead position but Terry Newby used weight to great advantage to hold two shots. But with the jack now almost on the ditch line Chris Mann drew in a super bowl. But Diss now had the bit between their teeth and Karl Newby attacked to ditch the jack while killing Mann’s bowl and Diss moved 11-3 ahead. Wymondham then staged a comeback scoring singles on the next two ends to cut the deficit to 11-5. On the ninth end Chris Mann ditched the jack with his second bowl and Wymondham scored two more shots to leave Diss only 11-7 ahead. Simon Warnes drew shot with his final wood on the next end and it was now only 11-8 to Diss and another single for Wymondham on end 12 cut the lead to 11-9. Wymondham had now won four ends in a row but that came to an end on the thirteenth end as some solid bowling by both Karl & Terry Newby earned two shots and increased their lead to 13-9. The penultimate end was vital for Wymondham if they were to stand a chance of saving the game but it was not to be as Simon Warnes, already one down, gifted Diss another shot and Diss went into the last end 15-9 up. The final end was not a good one as the Wymondham lead overdrew his first wood into the ditch and put his second off the side of the mat as Diss took another single for a 16-9 win. On the other mat Wymondham’s Hayley Stratton, Laura Hawksworth & Debbie Sparham were facing Colin Smith, Trish taylor and Graham Mobbs of Diss. The Wymondham ladies had a good start scoring two on the first end but Trish Taylor drew in a good bowl on the second end for a Diss single. The Diss triple found themselves in trouble on the third end and Graham Mobbs was forced to attack with his last bowl but it was in vain and Wymondham moved 5-1 up and added another single on the fourth end. The fifth end ended with a superb bowl by Graham Mobbs earning them a single and another shot on the sixth end cut Wymondham’s lead to 6-3. It was Wymondham in control on the next two ends as they increased their lead to 10-3. Diss though responded well scoring two shots on the eighth end to keep in touch. The tenth end was a terrific one for Diss. Good woods were drawn in by Colin Smith and Trish Taylor while Laura Hawksworth was short with her second bowl. Graham Mobbs then drew in another shot while Debbie Sparham’s efforts slipped right through the head as Diss scored five shots and levelled the game at 10-10. When Diss scored another single on the eleventh end to move 11-10 up things were beginning to look worrying for Wymondham but they recovered to lead 13-11 with two ends remaining. On the penultimate end it was Graham Mobbs who kept his triples hopes alive with his last wood leaving Wymondham taking a 13-12 lead into the final end. Nerves were evident on the last end and Colin Smith’s opening bowl was too heavy and lost in the ditch. His second bowl was better weight wise but stayed out wide and Hayley Stratton drew in a toucher for Wymondham. Trish Taylor then used weight and although she knocked Stratton’s wood away from the jack it still held shot. Hawksworth was short with her first bowl but drew shot with her second. But with the head still somewhat open Graham Mobbs drew shot bowl. The pressure was now on Wymondham skip Debbie Sparham but she responded brilliantly drawing in a superb backhand bowl that finished sitting on the jack. Graham Mobbs last wood was a weighted forehand that moved the jack but not enough to stop Wymondham taking a single and winning 14-12. The match was therefore level at halftime on points but with Diss holding a five shot lead. For the second half Chris Mann made changes bringing in Billie Barker to lead in Debbie Sparham’s triple in place of Hayley Stratton. He took his entire triple out for the second half replacing them with Steve Easter, Jack Marshall & Melvyn Barker. Diss named Ann Biddulph, Angela Bond & Tony Oram to play against Debbie Sparham’s triple and Keith Buck, Graham Atter & Graham Mobbs to face Melvyn Barker’s triple. The newly formed triple of Easter, Marshall & Barker dropped two shots on the opening end but levelled the game on the second end. Graham Mobbs held shot on the next end but Barker rectified the situation to take two shots for a 4-2 lead and another two on the next end gave Barker’s triple a 6-2 lead. Diss were in trouble again on the next end but superb bowling by Graham Mobbs saved the day and got his triple out of trouble by taking a single. It was Barker’s triple in trouble on the sixth end but Jack Marshall attacked the head and killed the jack forcing a replay of the end. A super bowl by Keith Buck sat just behind the jack on the replayed end that proved to be a loose one and Graham Mobbs had plenty of room to draw in a second for Diss. Barker cut it to one with his last bowl to retain their lead but it was now just 6-4. This lead disappeared on the seventh end as Diss scored two shots to make it 6-6 before scoring another on the next end to lead 7-6. Barker’s triple scored a single on the ninth end to make it 7-7 but on the tenth end a great last wood by Mobbs took four shots and Diss led 11-7. Steve Easter played two great bowls on the eleventh end for Wymondham as they attempted to hit back but could do nothing as Graham Mobbs again played a superb last wood to take shot and a 12-7 lead. The Wymondham triple knew time was running out and they pulled two shots back on the next end to cut the Diss lead to 12-9. Barker’s triple looked on course for a great thirteenth end and looked to hold five shots with only Graham Mobbs of Diss to play his final wood. Mobbs elected to attack on the forehand and remarkably the jack was sliced across the mat to where a Diss bowl was waiting to put Mobbs’ triple 13-9 up with two ends to play as the Wymondham triple looked mon in disappointment and disbelief. The Wymondham triple were desperate for shots on the penultimate end but could only score two shots so they went into the final end 13-11 down. Barker’s triple was unable to get anything out of the last end as Diss scored two shots for a 15-11 win. On mat one a perfect second bowl by Billie Barker took shot and remained in place for the rest of the end to put Debbie Sparham’s triple 1-0 up. Very loose bowling on the second end until Angela Bond drew in a good bowl that remained in place to level the game at 1-1. Ann Biddulph drew in a good opener on the third end as Billie Barker lost her first bowl in the ditch. Biddulph drew in a second but Diss eventually had to settle for a single and a 2-1 lead. The fourth end was a great one for Tony Oram’s triple who scored three shots, they were holding five but Debbie Sparham cut two shots out with her final bowl of the end. Diss took another two shots on the fifth end to increase their lead to 7-1 and things were becoming to look worrying for the cup holders. It got even worse for Wymondham on the next end which was a great one for Biddulph, Bond & Oram who scored four shots to increase their lead to 11-1. For the seventh end Laura Hawksworth changed playing positions with Debbie Sparham and they pulled one shot back. Billie Barker gave her triple a great start to the next end and Debbie Sparham also drew well into the head to put Diss under pressure. Diss eventually conceded two shots but it could have been much worse. Wymondham were beginning to play well now and on the ninth end Angela Bond was forced to open up the head with a running bowl. With Wymondham threatening to score a big end of shots Tony Oram cut them down to just one with his last bowl of the end. A single for Diss on the tenth end gave them a 12-5 lead and they knew cup glory was now beckoning. Wymondham on the other hand knew that they were now deep in trouble. The eleventh end was another disaster for the Wymondham triple who now looked puzzled as to how to turn things around as Oram’s triple scored four shots to move 16-5 ahead with four ends remaining. At this point even the Diss captain Trish Taylor, watching from the side-lines, began to realize that a huge upset was now a probability while Wymondham captain Chris Mann watched the proceedings in disbelief. End 12 saw Diss take a single for a 17-5 lead. Laura Hawksworth found her trouble deep in trouble again on the thirteenth end but produced a solid attack shot to spring the jack into the ditch to earn a single. Wymondham earned another single on the penultimate end but it was too little too late. On the last end, with the match now lost, Laura Hawksworth hit the block with her final bowl which aptly summed up the evening for the talented Wymondham side which for once had to admit they lost to the better team on the night. Diss were then left celebrating a remarkable victory against all the odds. Summer League Chairman Will Hoggan then introduced NCSMBA Chairman Selwyn Goldsmith to present the trophies to the winners and runners-up. Pictured below are the victorious Diss side, NCSMBA Summer Cup winners 2019.
