Norfolk suffered a double blow at the New Line Academy on Sunday as both Kent Premier and Kent “A” completed the double over Norfolk in this season’s Inter-County Championship group stages. The results put pressure on Norfolk to achieve good results in their final two group games if they are to qualify for the main I.C.C knockout competitions. Norfolk Premier lost the opening session with only the pairing of Kerry Greenacre & Keith Cooke gaining a win as they showed their class in an excellent 18-5 victory. Tony Ottewell & David Lamb lost their opening pairs game by 20-6 while in the singles Jason Woods went down 17-8 and Jamie Forster lost by 17-8. The second session went the same way with Norfolk’s only win a 17-13 result for Donna Lamb, David Blundell, Robert Howlett & Bob Oatway with Oatway taking out a Kent bowl to score seven shots on the penultimate end. The other rink of Jean Woods, Melvyn Barker, George Hume & Melvin Woods went down by 14-9. In the triples Jack Marshall, Ryan Fox & Simon Willies lost 14-9 and Robin Amos, Robbie Lamb & John Turner lost by 18-10. The third session gave Norfolk Premier a chance of turning the match round as they collected three wins and also collected the bonus points for shots in the pairs. Both pairs played well with Greenacre & Cooke scoring their second win of the day by 19-13 while Ottewell & Lamb won by 17-9. Jason Woods added an 18-15 win in the singles with the only defeat a 15-8 loss for Jamie Forster. This left Norfolk with something to aim for in the final session but their hopes were extinguished as Kent won on all four mats to complete a 28-12 points win, 243-175 on shots. Bob Oatway’s rink went down 21-6, Melly Woods’ rink lost 20-4, John Turner’s triple lost by 21-9 while Jack Marshall, Simon Willies & Ryan Fox lost by just 12-10 with the game going all the way to the wire. Norfolk Premier’s next game is away to Northants Premier on 1st December.
Norfolk “A” avoided any heavy defeats in their first session against Kent “A” but still went down on all four mats. In the singles John Jeffery lost 17-12 and Mike Smail lost by 16-12. The pairs produced similar score-lines as Will Townsend & Steve Easter lost 13-10 and Angela Bond & Ann Biddulph lost by 13-9. By the interval Norfolk trailed 14-2 as only Jenny Walker, Jack Gray, Peter Harvey & Graham Mobbs won in the second session by 12-5. Billie Barker, Kieran Suffolk, Glen Hume & Steven Lamb lost their rinks game by 10-6. In the triples Joan Costello, Keith Baker & Ray Lamb lost 14-10 and Elaine Willies, Jill Hayman & George Clarke lost by 14-7. The third session saw Norfolk “A” lose more ground as only Forncett’s Mike Smail won by 13-10 in the singles while John Jeffery lost his singles game by 14-9. Kent collected all ten points in the pairs as Will Townsend & Steve Easter lost 22-9 and Angela Bond & Ann Biddulph lost by 13-9. Back came the triples and fours for the final session and Graham Mobbs’ rink scored their second win of the day by 10-9 taking four shots over the last two ends. Steven Lamb’s rink, with Chloe Suffolk subbing for Billie Barker, lost their game by 21-9. Kent earned all ten points in the triples as Ray Lamb’s triple went down 23-6 and George Clarke’s triple, with Nigel Bevan subbing for Elaine Willies, lost by 12-7. The final score was 34-6 to Kent “A” on points, 227-154 on shots. Norfolk “A” are next in action on 1st December when they travel to Suffolk. Manager Simon Willies praised the “A” team for showing true grit and determination as they fought for every shot and said that they gave the County plenty to build on for the future. Before the game Norfolk’s Vice President Bob Oatway presented certificates to those players having made their third appearance for Norfolk County and the photo taken with their plaques is shown.
