Starting their final I.C.C group match Norfolk Premier and Essex Premier were seperated by just eight points in the table in the battle to qualify for the quarter-finals. Norfolk quickly got into their stride in the first session with wins in the singles for Jason Woods and Mike Smail by 16-6 and 17-14 respectively while Kerry Greenacre and Keith Cooke won by 21-8 in the pairs. The only consolation for Essex was an 11-10 win in the pairs against Tony Ottewell and David Lamb. Norfolk wins on three mats in the second session piled the pressure on Essex. Jean Woods, John Turner and Ryan Fox won 13-11, Robin Amos, Robbie Lamb and Karl Newby won 18-11 while Jenny Walker, Jack Marshall, Rob Howlett and Bob Oatway won their fours game by 21-5. Antony Faultey’s four were the only victors for Essex beating Elaine Willies, Melvyn Barker, Melly Woods and Simon Willies by 15-8. Essex bounced back with three wins of their own in the third session. Both Norfolk pairs went down by just one shot with Ottewell and Lamb losing 11-10 and Greenacre and Cooke losing 14-13. The third defeat came in the singles where Mike Smail went down by 19-10 while Bob Carter’s Jason Woods earned a superb 21-6 win in the singles. In the final session Norfolk’s triples again both won their games to secure all ten points in that discipline. Karl Newby’s triple won by 21-5 while Ryan Fox skipped his triple to a 15-12 win. Bob Oatway’s four also secured their second win of the day by 13-4 while Essex won the remaining fours game by 11-7 against Simon Willies’ four. The final score was 28-12 to Norfolk Premier. The Norfolk “A” v Essex “A” match was a dead rubber with Kent “A” and Suffolk having already certain of occupying the two qualifying places in the group. Norfolk “A” finished on a high note though with a 26-14 points victory. Terry Newby won both his singles games, Will Townsend and Graham Mobbs scored a win and a draw in the pairs, Joan Costello, Jill Hayman and Kieran Suffolk won both their triples games while Mick Colledge, Chloe Suffolk, Angela Bond and Steven Lamb won both their fours games.
Bob Carter's Jason Woods produced two singles wins for Norfolk Premier