The opening weekend of the I.C.C took place with a revised format owing to Covid-19. This sees matches being played on a home and away basis on the same day. Norfolk Premier’s opening group game was against Kent Premier and the home leg at Hingham saw Jack Pye make a return to county team action. It also saw former West Mids and England bowler Chris Willies make his competitive debut for Norfolk while David Dewing and Andrew Jackson made a return. The opening session of singles saw Robert Howlett win 16-13 and Karl Newby win 18-10 as Norfolk took all six points. The triples were on next and it proved to be a stalemate as Simon Willies, John Turner and Jack Pye won 10-6 while David Dewing, Jason Woods and Chris Willies went down 11-7 with both teams collecting three points each. Norfolk then stormed ahead in the third session as Simon Willies and Jack Pye beat Richard Stagg and Jody Frampton 17-8 and Jason Woods and Chris Willies added a 14-12 win to give Norfolk a 15-3 points lead. In the final session of fours Kent hit back with a vengeance winning both games comfortably to reduce Norfolk’s lead to 15-9. The away leg in Kent saw Norfolk narrowly lose both opening singles games as Robin Amos went down 12-11 and Robbie Lamb lost 13-10. Kent’s lead increased to 10-2 on points after the triples session with Norfolk’s win earned by Donna Lamb, Ryan Fox and David Lamb with a 10-8 victory. Kent collected the bonus points as Kerry Greenacre, Neil Davidson and Keith Cooke lost by 21-3 to M Doorey, G Allen and E Allen. The afternoon session was more successful for Norfolk with the points being shared in the pairs as Ryan Fox and David Lamb won 11-10 and Neil Davidson and Keith Cooke lost by 12-11. Norfolk finished the day winning the bonus points in the fours after a comfortable 15-4 win for Donna Lamb, Robbie Lamb, Ryan Fox and David Lamb while Kerry Greenacre, Robin Amos, Neil Davidson and Keith Cooke lost by 11-4. This left Kent with a 15-9 home win to level the match over-all after their teams 15-9 defeat in Norfolk. The aggregate score was Kent Premier 24 (183 shots) v Norfolk Premier 24 (176 shots).
Norfolk “A” began their season with a local derby against Suffolk. The match began badly for Norfolk at Hingham where both singles games went the way of the visitors with Derek Adams beating Mike Smail 16-7 and Jo Clements winning by 16-11 against Will Townsend. Norfolk’s first win was by the triple of Mike Tate, Tony Ottewell and Steve Hall who won by 13-9 while Elaine Willies, Joy Townsend and Terry Newby lost 12-6 against Michael Rice’s triple. The pairs session also produced one win apiece with Tony Ottewell and Steve Hall winning 12-9 while Elaine Willies and Terry Newby lost by 19-6 to D Wardley and Bob Cousins to leave Suffolk 14-4 up on points. The final session saw Norfolk reduce the deficit to 16-8 on points as Mike Tate, Mike Smail, Tony Ottewell and Steve Hall produced a great 25-6 win while Joy Townsend, Elaine Willies, Will Townsend and Terry Newby lost a tight match by just 11-9. This left Suffolk with a 16 (98) v 8 (89) win at Hingham. In the away leg at Suffolk’s Meadlands venue in Stowmarket the Norfolk “A” side were captained by Wymondham’s John Jeffery. I know that John was proud to captain the side for the first time and you will not find a more committed and enthusiastic bowler in the short mat bowls world. The opening session of singles were shared with one win apiece but Suffolk picked up the two bonus points. Norfolk’s David Blundell won 14-10 but Suffolk’s David Baker was in blistering form beating John Jeffery 24-4. Norfolk moved ahead in the second session as Mick Colledge, Graham Mobbs and Ray Lamb won 15-6 while Peter Harvey, Keith Baker and Jason Martin held the home triple to a 12-12 draw. Things were looking good for Norfolk “A” as another good session followed which saw them move further ahead by 11-7 on points. Graham Mobbs and Ray Lamb won their pairs game by 15-4, which gained the two pairs bonus points, while Thetford’s Peter Harvey and Jason Martin went down by 18-9 in the other pairs game. Taking a four point lead into the last session a Norfolk win looked on the cards but it was not to be. Despite both fours games turning out to be quite close on shots the home side won on both mats to take all six points to win the match 13-11. Mick Colledge, Graham Mobbs, John Jeffery and Ray Lamb went down by 10-6 and Keith Baker, Peter Harvey, Jason Martin and David Blundell lost by 14-10. There appears to have been some disagreement between the sides on the number of ends that the rinks were supposed to be playing. It appears that the Suffolk captain was not in possession of the updated information from the ESMBA but the matter was eventually resolved. The aggregate score was Suffolk 29 (196 shots) v Norfolk “A” 19 (174 shots).
Steve Hall in great form for Norfolk "A" with three wins