Norfolk’s County teams were busy at the weekend with Norfolk Premier playing Surrey Premier and Norfolk “A” facing Kent “A” with the new home and away I.C.C format having another outing. Norfolk Premier emerged with a satisfying aggregate 25-23 win with both Norfolk and Surrey making home advantage count. At Hingham Sports and Social Club Norfolk Premier enjoyed a great start with singles specialist Neil Davidson storming to a 28-6 win against M Walydrag while Robbie Lamb beat B Garland 14-8. The triples extended Norfolk’s lead as Ray Lamb, Karl Newby & Jack Pye won 15-8 and David Lamb’s triple drew 15-15 and with the bonus points being earned by Norfolk in both disciplines they led 11-1 at the halfway stage. The pairs session saw Karl Newby & Jack Pye win 22-11 but a 20-6 win for Surrey’s S Tuttle & J Phillips against Ryan Fox & David Lamb saw Surrey pick up the two bonus points. Surrey further narrowed the gap in the fours by earning the bonus points again. Donna Lamb, Robbie Lamb, Ryan Fox & David Lamb won their game 14-5 but Ray Lamb, Neil Davidson, Karl Newby & Jack Pye went down 16-4 as Norfolk Premier got over the line with a 15-9 points win. In the away leg at the impressive Wye Valley venue Surrey enjoyed a superb first half taking maximum points in both the singles and triples sessions. In the singles Surrey’s D Gillings beat John Turner 26-3 while B Barefield defeated Robert Howlett 19-5. The triples session produced much tighter games with Jason Woods, Robin Amos & Chris Willies losing 10-8 while Keith Baker, Simon Willies & Keith Cooke lost by 11-5. The third session saw Norfolk Premier hit back taking maximum points in the pairs, Simon Willies & Keith Cooke won by 14-11 while Jason Woods & Chris Willies won 16-15. The fours session saw Norfolk reduce the deficit further with Robin Amos, Robert Howlett, Jason Woods & Chris Willies winning by an excellent 20-1 margin to ensure Norfolk collected the bonus points. In the other fours game Keith Baker, John Turner, Simon Willies & Keith Cooke lost by 17-4.
Norfolk “A” lost ground in their I.C.C group after Kent “A” inflicted a damaging 41-7 aggregate defeat. At Hingham the visitors dominated throughout as a Norfolk side failed to pick up a single point for the first time conceding 141 shots while scoring 55. In the singles Andrew Jackson lost 14-8 while John Jeffery lost 17-11. Kent extended their lead in the triples as Jenny Walker, Elaine Willies & Peter Harvey went down 32-0 and Jason Martin, Mick Colledge & David Blundell lost 18-5. The pairs games were closer with Jason Martin & David Blundell losing 14-12 and Jenny Walker & Peter Harvey losing 17-9. Kent “A” completed what had become a one-sided encounter as Elaine Willies, Jenny Walker, Peter Harvey & John Jeffery went down by 17-3 and Andrew Jackson, Jason Martin, David Blundell & Mick Colledge lost 12-7 as the visitors celebrated a 24-0 points win. The away leg in Kent saw the home side win two close singles games, David Dewing lost by just 12-11 to D Ford while Will Townsend lost by 10-8 to P Finnis. The triples session followed and was shared as Joy Townsend, Mike Smail & Terry Newby won 18-5 and Mike Tate, Tony Ottewell & Steve Hall lost 17-4. Norfolk “A” had a good third session with Mike Smail & Terry Newby winning 24-4 to clinch the bonus points as Steve Hall & Tony Ottewell lost by just 12-11. This left Kent leading by 11-7 going into the last session with Norfolk still in with a chance to win the away leg. But the home side had other ideas as they won both fours games. Will Townsend, Mike Smail, Terry Newby & Joy Townsend went down by 17-9 and David Dewing, Tony Ottewell, Steve Hall & Mike Tate lost by 10-9 to leave Kent with a 17-7 home win on points. Norfolk Manager Simon Willies was left frustrated at not being able to field his strongest sides due to illness and last minute work commitments forced him into last minute changes weakening sides all round.
A 28-6 singles win for Neil Davidson against Surrey at Hingham