English Carpets Bowls Association
National County Championships 2024
The Annual National County Championship took place at Potters Resort Hopton over the weekend of Friday 25th to Monday 28th October 2024.
8 Counties took part with 3 from the North & 5 from the Eastern Counties.
The Essex Team played well throughout the weekend but still finished in their normal 5th place. However they managed to score 43 points (39 in 2023) and the final league table is shown below.
The Essex team was made up of 6 Rinks
Peter Marchant/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord who had an excellent weekend scoring 11 points for Essex with 5 wins & a draw from 7 games played
Terry Marsh/Rob Myall/Andrew Searle/Diane Orrin also played well throughout scoring 9 points for Essex with 4 wins & a draw from the 7 games played
Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Paul Young/Don Poulter were able to achieve a 50% return with 3 wins and a draw for 7 points
The Rinks of Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin + Val Kidd/Jacky Brown/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker both won 3 games for 6 points each
Darren Wrenn/Graham Evans/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe had 1 win & 2 draws for 4 points for the team
The Team took points from all Counties - losing 4 - 8 to Sunderland - losing 5-7 to Norfolk - drawing 6 - 6 with Durham - losing 4 - 8 against Hertfordshire - winning 11 - 1 against Northumberland - winning 8 - 4 against Cambridgeshire & losing 5 - 7 against Suffolk (an outstanding performance against the eventual champions)
Well done to all who took part and the four reserves/supporters who attended.
Click the image for Full Results details.
Six Counties Charity Teambowl 2024 - Littleport Leisure Centre (hosted by Norfolk) - Sunday 6th October 2024
Team Essex took part in the Annual Eastern Counties Team Bowl event at Littleport Leisure Centre.
The format for the day includes 4 x Singles + 4 x Pairs + 4 x Triples with 24 players per County and Six Counties taking part.
It is the first event of the Eastern Counties season, with league matches now to follow.
In the build up to the event Team Essex lost 5 of the selected team through illness & accidents which meant many changes, & some players called in at the last moment, with others playing their first ever event for Essex. However despite the changes, mostly in the Triples, the whole team played well on the day and after a slow start finally finished a credible 4th, just 1 point from 3rd place. All who took part should be proud of the way they played with all scoring points for the Team.
The Essex team who eventually took part were;
Singles - Colin Lord (who won 3 games & drew the other two) + Darren Wrenn + Trevor Holbrow + Mervyn Bushe
Pairs - Trevor Kidd & Don Poulter + David Wallis & Helen Tucker + Terry Marsh & Diane Orrin + Sue Parrish & Rob Myall
Triples - Jim McLintock (making his debut) /Ashley & Paul Perkins + Brenda Kettle (making her debut) /Glenyce King & Peter Orrin + Jacky Brown/Michelle Lane & Maxine Poulter + Paul Young/Graham Evans & Greg King.
Essex started slowly in the first session against Norflok losing 6-18. A much improved performance against Cambrigeshire resulted in a 14 - 10 victory. Next up were the eventually winners Suffolk with a 8 - 16 defeat, which was followed by a similar result against eventual 2nd place Hertfordshire. However in the last session against Bedfordshire Essex were in outstanding form to win 19-5.
Well done to all with the Team next playing in the National County Championship at Potters Resort Hopton, to be played over the weekend of 25th October.
Eastern Counties Champion of Champions - Sunday 12th May 2024
The Eastern Counties Champion of Champions was held at Litlleport Leisure Centre Cambridgeshire
The Essex team was represented by the four Essex discipline winners:
Singles - Don Poulter (Hunters)
Pairs - Peter & Diane Orrin (Highwoods)
Triples - Lin & Ron Hill & Trevor Holbrow (Dedham)
Fours - Terry Marsh & Graham Evans (Paxman) and Paul & Ashley Perkins (Chignals & Mashbury)
It was a hard and competitive day with each discipline playing five games of nine ends. The Essex team played well against strong opposition but did not have the success that they had hoped for. There were many close games which mostly went against the Essex players including several lost on the last end. All disciplies contributed points but overall Essex finished fourth out of the six Counties taking part and no discipline finished higher than fourth place in the individual competitions.
The players will now go onto the National Champion of Champions played at Stanley in Durham on 1st & 2nd June when they will hope for a better outcome.
Eastern Counties Championship - held at Littleport Leisure Centre on Sunday 14th April 2024
The last event of the season was played yesterday at Littleport Cambridgeshire, but with Bedfordshire dropping out only five Counties took part.
The Essex team was much changed with five regular players not available including four last minute drop outs (all for valid reasons). Thanks to the support of the reserves who came in at the last moment, Essex were able to field a full team of 24 to keep up their record of never having played short. It still proved to be a long day with each Rink playing four matches of nine ends including two back to back matches at the start of the day.
The Essex team after the changes were;
E1 Val Kidd/Sarah Richards/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker
E2 Jacky Brown/Paul Young/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord
E3 Terry Marsh/Ron Hill/Rob Myall/Diane Orrin
E4 Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin
E5 Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Trevor Holbrow/Don Poulter
E6 Gordon Brown/Sophie Tucker/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe
It started well for Essex with a good performance in the first session against Suffolk winning two of the six matches played. Team E1 won comfortably 10-5 and Team E4 had an outstanding 13-2 win. The overall result was 4 - 8 but with three of the other four matches close it could have so easily have been an overall winning start.
The second match v Cambridgeshire continued the momentum with a 6 - 6 draw with three comfortable wins by Team E1 13-5 Team E2 20-6 & Team E5 11-3. Again narrow defeats by E3 & E4 could so easily have seen the ideal start.
It was the third session that was poor for the team, after a promising start. Playing against Norfolk only one win was recorded by Team E4 by 8-3 with close defeats in the other five games. It left the team struggling after a promising start losing overall 2 - 10
The final matches against Hertfordshire saw the Essex team pick up, with two wins and another 4 - 8 defeat. Wins from Team E2 & Team E5 and close defeats in two of the other four matches
Essex finished 5th with 16 points on the day, which with the changes was credible after an excellent League Season. There is now a break before the new season begins in early October
Well done to all who took part
Essex v Hertfordshire - Eastern Counties League Match Report - 17/3/2024
The Essex Team played their Final League match away against Herfordshire at the Applecroft School, Welwyn Garden Centre on Sunday 17th March 2024.
After a long journey at a difficult venue, it proved another good day for the Essex Team. They continued their improved form to only lose out in the last session, to a strong Hertfordshire team. Essex went into the match 4 points ahead of Hertfordshire and knowing that if they were able to match them on the day that they would finish runners up in the League.
The Essex Team was;
Essex 1 - Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin
Essex 2 - Peter Marchant/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord
Essex 3 - Val Kidd/Sarah Richards/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker
Essex 4 - Darren Wrenn/Graham Evans/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe
Essex 5 - Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Trevor Holbrow/Don Poulter
Essex 6 - Terry Marsh/Rob Myall/Andrew(Ginge) Searle/Diane Orrin
The first three sessions saw Essex win one game (out of 3 played) in each session to be 6 -12 down at the half way stage.
It was sessions 4 & 5 when the team came back into the match, winning four points on session 4 and five points on session 5 to go into the last session all square at 15 - 15 and needing just two points to clinch the runners up spot.
Throughout the day matches had been close with all playing well and it proved the case in the last session.
Unfortunately Essex were not able obtain the 2 points needed with the final result coming down to a close & perhaps contentious measure on the last end. The team losing on the day 15 - 21.
It left Essex in 3rd place with 92 points, with Hertfordshire with 94 points and Cambridgeshire in 4th place on 90 points. For many past years Essex have finished 4th or 5th.
The team should be proud of what has been achieved this season and the improvement made. Well done to all who played, all who helped and all who supported.
Essex now go to the Final Eastern Counties Championship event at Littleport Cambridgeshire on Sunday 14th April 2024 when they play all the other five counties during a long day.
Good Luck
Essex v Norfolk - Eastern Counties League Match Report - 18/2/2024
The Essex Team played Norfolk at their Gt Saling Home venue on Sunday 18th February 2024
It proved to be an outstanding day for the Team, recording their largest win for many a year by 27 - 9. All of the Rinks were on top form from the very start and contributed to an excellent day
The Essex Team was
Essex 1 - Val Kidd/Sarah Richards/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker
Essex 2 - Terry Marsh/Rob Myall/Andrew (Ginge) Searle/Diane Orrin
Essex 3 - Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin
Essex 4 - Darren Wrenn/Graham Evans/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe
Essex 5 - Peter Marchant/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord
Essex 6 - Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Trevor Holbrow/Don Poulter
Session 1 could not have started better with E1 E3 & E5 all recording large wins to give the team a flying 6 - 0 start. This was consolidated in Session 2 with E2 winning a close match and E4 having a comfortable win. Although E6 lost out the Team was looking good with a 10 - 2 lead
Session 3 was a repeat of the second session with E3 having another convincing win and E5 winning a close match on the last end. E1 struggled to get into their game and lost out but at the half way Essex were in a good position leading 14 - 4. Session 4 saw another excellent performance with E2 E4 & E6 all winning close matches with the Team moving into a 20 - 4
Session 5 looked to be another clean sweep after a third comfortable win by E3 and a large win from E1. E5 looked until the last two ends if they were to win their third match of the day but some good bowling by the Norfolk Rink in the last two ends saw this match drawn giving Essex a 25 - 5 lead going into the last session. Session 6 saw three close matches but with only E6 winning the final result was a most pleasing 27 - 9 win for the Essex Team
The team should all be proud of the way they competed on the day with Rinks E1 E2 E4 & E6 all winning two of their three games played. Rink E5 won two and drew one game and E3 won all three of their games
Essex now move into 2nd place in the league with 77 points and 4 points ahead of third placed Hertfordshire. Essex play Hertfordshire away on Sunday 17th March 2024 in a match which will decide the runners up spot. Good luck to the team and whatever happens it has been a really good season for Essex
Essex v Bedfordshire - Eastern Counties League Match Report - 21/1/2024
The Essex team visited Barton Le Clay to play their match against Bedfordshire
The Team were without two Regular Skips and one Regular Lead but put in an excellent performance to win by 25 - 11
The Team was
Essex 1 - Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Paul Young/Trevor Holbrow
Essex 2 - Jacky Brown/Sandra Strange/Peter Marchant/Paul Perkins
Essex 3 - Val Kidd/Sarah Richards/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker
Essex 4 - Sophie Tucker/Graham Evans/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe
Essex 5 - Martin Bennet/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin
Essex 6 - Terry Marsh/Rob Myall/Andrew(Ginge) Searle/Diane Orrin
The first session proved to be just the start that Essex needed with E1 & E3 winning comfortably. However E5 had started slowly and were 4 shots down going into the last end but some excellent bowling saw them take 5 shots to win their match and give the team a 6 - 0 start
The second session was nearly as good with both E6 having a convincing win by 20 shots to three. E2 won a close match on the last end but E4 just lost out to see Essex at 10-2 after two sessions
The third session proved to be the worst of the day with only E3 winning, the other two losing by the odd shot, which reduced the Essex lead to 12-6
The fourth session got the team back to a good position with E6 & E4 winning the latter team by a big margin, but E2 suffered a defeat leaving Essex still in a good position with a 16-8 lead
The fifth session proved to be the best of the day with E3 E5 & E1 all comfortably winning by large margins to give the team 22-8 lead
The sixth and final session has in the past been poor for the Essex team this season but was a little better with a comfortable win for E4, a draw for E6 which perhaps should have been a win but for a lack of concentration on end eight and defeat for E2 leaving the team with a comfortable 25-11 win
All of the six rinks contributed well to the team score with E3 winning all three matches played and E 6 winning two and drawing one match
Teams E1 E4 & E5 all won two of their matches and E2 one match. It takes the Essex team into 4th place in the league but just a few points short of the second and third teams
A most satisfactory performance, great team spirit, well played to all
The next match is at home at Gt Saling on Sunday 18th February against Norfolk
Essex v Cambridgeshire - Eastern Counties League Match Report - 10/12/2023
The Essex Team played their second Eastern Counties League match on Sunday 10th December 2023 when they visited Cambridgeshire. The match was played at the Ross Peers Sports Centre, Soham as their normal venue at Littleport was not available.
It proved to be another tough match for Essex against a strong team, but Essex did much better and were leading into the last session, eventually losing 16-20
The Team selected was
Essex 1 - Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin
Essex 2 - Sophie Tucker/Graham Evans/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe
Essex 3 - Val Kidd/Maxine Poulter/Trevor Holbrow/Helen Tucker
Essex 4 - Peter Marchant/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord
Essex 5 - Terry Marsh/Rob Myall/Andrew(Ginge) Searle/Diane Orrin
Essex 6 - Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Paul Young/Don Poulter
The first session needed a good start and E1 provided a good comfortable win for the team. However E3 & E5 were involved in close matches but both losing out by just 2 shots leaving Essex 2-4 down
Session 2 saw a better result with E2 winning comfortably, well backed up by E4 winning by one shot on the last end, to leave the scores level at 6 - 6
Session 3 was another good one for Essex with E3 & E5 both winning well & E1 losing by one shot. The result took Essex to a 10 - 8 lead
Session 4 followed with another good result with E2 & E4 both winning close matches and E6 losing out by 2 shots. This saw Essex building a good 14 - 10 lead
Session 5 was not so good with two losses but E5 kept up their good day with a big win to take the Essex team going into the last session with a 16 - 14 lead
Session 6 proved a disappointment with all three losing and especially with two of the Essex teams leading into the last end.
However overall this proved a good competitive day for Essex only just losing out 16 - 20 to a strong team with many positives, especially Sophie Tucker making her League debut and contributing well to E2 who won two of their three games played
Essex next travel to Bedfordshire on 21st January 2024 and will be hopeful of further progress
Essex v Suffolk - Eastern Counties League Match Report - 26/11/23
The Essex Team played their first Eastern Counties League match of the season on Sunday 26th November 2023 at Gt Saling against a strong Suffolk team.
As expected it was a tough match and the Essex team eventually lost 9 - 27. However despite what looks on paper a heavy defeat the Team can take many positives from the match with most games close, several lost on the last end. It proved that against the best we can be competitive and the main difference was the game management towards the end of many of the games played. The Essex Team are in a transitional period with many newcomers involved and if progress can be maintained the results will improve.
Well done to all who took part and those who helped with the Teas & Coffees and to Anthea Bushe for doing the raffle which raised £130 for the Essex squad funds.
On the day all of the six Rinks played well and all had close matches which could so easily have been wins. Two of the Rinks had a outstanding day winning two of their three games played. Well done to the Rinks of Val Kidd/Maxine Poulter/Trevor Holbrow/Helen Tucker and Peter Marchant/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord.
The Essex Team now play their second league match on Sunday 10th December when they visit Cambridgeshire at a 'new' venue, Ross Peers Sports Centre Soham. It will not be easy BUT if they show the team spirit as displayed against Suffolk they should be involved in a much closer match.
National County Championship at Potters Resort Hopton on Sea - 4th & 5th November 2023
The Essex Team took part in the above event, a long weekend of Bowls with seven other Counties taking part from the Eastern Counties and from the North.
With six rinks (24 players) all playing seven games of nine ends over the two days
Essex finished in their normal mid table position of 5th just 2 points below fourth placed Durham and 1 point ahead of sixth place Sunderland. Despite some close games and no heavy defeats over the two days they could not match the points of the three leading counties Suffolk/Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire but were comfortably ahead of Norfolk & Northumberland.
The overall results saw some good outcomes especially against the eventual winners Suffolk when they drew 6-6
Essex won 10-2 against Northumberland Won 8-4 against Norfolk Drew 6-6 against Suffolk Lost 5-7 against Hertfordshire Lost 4-8 against Durham Lost 3-9 against Sunderland & Lost 3-9 against Cambridgeshire
All six Rinks made a good contribution to the Essex score, with the best Rink over the weekend being Terry Marsh/Glenyce King/Rob Myall/Diane Orrin closely followed by the rink of Val Kidd/Gordon Brown/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker. The other four Rinks were Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Paul Young/Don Poulter + Anthea Bushe/Peter Marchant/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe + Jacky Brown/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord + Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Graham Evans/Peter Orrin with Glenyce & Anthea standing in at the last moment following two late illnesses from the team originally available
Well done to all who took part
The Essex team now move onto to the start of the 'new' Eastern Counties league season when they entertain Suffolk at Gt Saling on Sunday 26th November 2023
Eastern Counties Teambowl played on Sunday 1st October 2023
The first event of the County calendar for the season 2023/4 took place on Sunday 1st October 2023 at Littleport Leisure Centre, Cambridgeshire
The Teambowl format consists of 4 Singles 4 Pairs & 4 Triples for each of the Six Counties who take part. The event was last played pre covid in September 2019.
The Essex team started off in fine form, against Bedfordshire winning overall 16-8. The Team followed up with an outstanding win by 17-7 against Norfolk and at that stage where the leading overall team. However some more difficult games were to follow and this proved to be the case when they next played Cambridgeshire. All disciplines were poor and Essex lost this session by 4-20 to drop down to third place. The 4th Session saw them take on the 'favourites' Suffolk and produce only a marginal better performance losing 6-18 to drop further down to fourth place just below their next and final opponent Hertfordshire. Thankfully the Essex team restored their performance level which resulted in a 13-11 victory. However this was not quite enough and saw them remain in 4th place overall just 3 points below Herts, with Suffolk the winners and Cambridgeshire the runners up.
Overall it was a good day for the Essex team with all players and disciplines contributing well especially with a number of the players 'new' to the County team
In the Singles 20 points (out of 40) were gained with Greg King (Highwoods) winning 3 of his 5 games. Colin Lord (Sewards End) also winning 3 of his 5 games. Mervyn Bushe (Langham) winning 2 of his 3 games & Trevor Holbrow (Dedham) also winning 2 of his 3 games
In the Pairs 16 points (out of 40) were recorded. Andrew Searle & Darren Wrenn (Helions Bumpstead) winning 3 of their 5 games. Val Kidd & Maxine Poulter (Hunters) winning 2 games & drawing 1. Cliff & Lynda Richardson (Helions Bumpstead) winning 1 game and drawing 1 and Sophie & Helen Tucker winning 1 game on the day.
The Triples scored 20 points (out of 40) with both the Triple of Sue Parrish (Sewards End) + Paul Young (Braintree RC) + Don Poulter (Hunters) & the Triple of Ashley Perkins (Leaden Roding) + David Wallis (Sewards End) + Peter Orrin (Highwoods) winning 3 of their 5 games. The Triple of Peter Marchant (High Easter) + Graham Evans (Paxman + Paul Perkins (Leaden Roding) winning 2 games & drawing 1 and the Triple of Terry Marsh (Paxman) + Rob Myall (Sewards End) + Diane Orrin (Highwoods) winning 1 game and drawing 1 game
Well done to all who took part with the next event being the National County Championship at Potters Resort which takes place over the weekend starting on 3rd November 2023
National Champion of Champions
The National Champion of Champions was held at Stanley Indoor Bowls Club, Durham over the weekend of 3rd & 4th June 2023
Essex were represented by the County discipline winners (or runners up) as follows:
Single - Colin Lord (Sewards End)
Pairs - Diane & Peter Orrin (Highwoods)
Triples - Trevor Kidd & Don & Maxine Poulter (Rayne)
Fours - Val Kidd + Sarah Richards + Graham Evans + Terry Marsh (Paxman)
Against high quality Carpet Bowlers from the Eastern Counties and the Northern Counties all of the Essex disciplines played well throughout a long day on Saturday. With wins recorded by all disciplines, both individually and collectively the Essex players were doing well and overnight were placed in the top half of the overall + the Triples & Fours.
However the Sunday was a poor day for most with only 3 wins recorded - 1 by the Single and 2 by the Triples and it dropped the league standings for the Single, Pair & Fours + the overall to nearer the lower placings. However the Triples kept up their performance levels to finish a credible 4th. It is a long way to go but they should all be proud that they are able to compete at this level.
Eastern Counties Champion of Champions 2023
The Eastern Counties Champion of Champions took place at Littleport Leisure Centre on Sunday 14th May 2023. The winners of the four Essex disciplines (Singles/Pairs/Triples/Fours) took part playing five games each of 9 ends against the other five counties taking part (Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire/Hertfordshire/Norfolk/Suffolk). Competitions were held throughout the day with Trophies for the winners of each individual discipline and the overall highest scoring Team.
Essex were represented by;
Single (Don Poulter - Rayne)
Pairs (Peter & Diane Orrin - Highwoods)
Triples (Ron & Lin Hill & Trevor Holbrow - Dedham)
Fours (Sarah Richards/Maxine Poulter/Terry Marsh & Graham Evans - Paxman)
It proved to be an outstanding day for Team Essex with all disciplines just missing out on winning the individual Trophies but collectively WINNING the Team award with 25 points out of a possible 40 points available. All disciplines won 3 of their 5 matches played with the Fours also drawing one of their matches. Well done to all who took part to record the first win by Essex at this event in the last eight years.
The discipline winners will also play in the National Champion of Champions which takes place over the weekend of 3rd June 2023 at Stanley Indoor Bowls Club, Durham. Good luck to the team taking part.
Subsequently and following the above report - Sorry to report that Essex were advised a day after the event that there had been a scoring error (not spotted/picked up on the day) which meant that Suffolk should have had an extra two points and put them equal with Essex for the Team event. As Suffolk had a few more shots, Essex have now been relegated to 2nd place in the Team event.
Eastern Counties Championship played on Sunday 16th April 2023
The final Eastern Counties event of the 2022/3 season was held at Littleport Leisure Centre, Cambs. on the above date with all Six Counties taking part.
It proved an extremely good day for the Essex team who performed better than many years past, to finally finish in third place, having led for most of the day and with just the last session against Cambridgeshire a disappointment. The team were missing 6 more experienced players who had played most of the season but this allowed the newer team members to have more game time and included Sophie Tucker & Andrew (Ginge) Searle both making their debuts for the County. All of those should be proud of how they played throughout a long day and with most at a younger age it looks good for the future of the team in the seasons to come.
In addition to having just 24 players available it was also the turn of Essex to Host the competition throughout the day and thanks go to all the squad who chipped in to make sure that all these duties were covered through a long and tiring day.
The competition itself sees the six rinks from each County all playing five games of nine ends including some consecutive matches.
It started well against Bedfordshire with the Essex team winning 4 of the six matches winning 8 - 4 on points
This was followed up by a further 8 - 4 win against Hertfordshire and took the Essex team into 2nd place
It was the third match against Norfolk that really set the team up with an outstanding result winning all six matches to record a 12 -0 win and took Essex four points clear at the top of the league.
It was expected that the next game against Suffolk would be the hardest of the day and would prove if Essex could win this event having only done so once back in 2011. It proved to be a close match with 3 matches lost on the last end and two matches only won, to lose by a respectful 4 - 8. It allowed Suffolk to take over in top place on shots scored.
What was needed was a good result against Cambridgeshire to at least consolidate a runners up place but it was not to be. The tiredness crept into the team who had the extra burden of extra duties and no time to rest and a poor overall performance from all six rinks saw a 0 - 12 defeat which allowed Cambrideshire to overtake with Essex having to accept a very respectful third place.
All of the Rinks contributed and it was a great day all round despite the last session.
Four of the Rinks won 3 of their 5 matches played - The Rinks of Sophie Tucker/Rob Myall/Peter Marchant/Helen Tucker + Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin + Graham Evans/Sue Parrish/Trevor Kidd/Don Poulter + Val Kidd/Maxine Poulter/Ron Hill/Trevor Holbrow
The other two Rinks won 2 of their 5 matches played - Terry Marsh/Sarah Richards/Darren Wrenn/Diane Orrin + Andrew Searle/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord
Well done to all who took part throughout the season, with the Essex team still sitting second in the Eastern Counties League with one outstanding game still to be played which will likely move the Essex team down to a respectful third place. It has been a transitional period for the team but the future looks quite exciting with the blend of 'younger' new players mixed in with the 'more experienced' players the most likely way forward.
Eastern Counties League Match - Sunday 19th March 2023
The Essex team played their fourth & final match of the Eastern Counties League season away at Wortwell against Norfolk on Sunday 19th March 2023. It proved to be a highly competitive and close match with the Essex team finally losing out by 16 - 20 after many close games.
With some regular players not available, it meant that two 'newcomers' to the Essex squad, Sue Parrish & Rob Myall were making their debuts for the County team and they both played well throughout the day.
The first session started slowly for the Essex team with just 1 win (2 points) from the three games played but the second session brought the teams level with two wins recorded. Session three saw a further two wins and at the halfway stage the Essex team was leading 10 - 8. However session four was the worst of the day for the Essex team with just one draw and 1 point added and Essex losing overall by 11 - 13 after all Rinks had played two games each. Session five saw a win and a draw and another 3 points added for the team to go into the last session trailing 14 - 16. Some close games in the last session saw Essex winning just one game and finally losing by 16 - 20 after a hard fought match.
All six Rinks were able to record points for the Essex team;
The Rink of Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin were the best on the day with 2 wins and four points
The Rinks of Peter Marchant/Ron Hill/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe & Val Kidd/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker/Trevor Holbrow had 2 win and 1 draw each and three points each for the team.
The Rinks of Sarah Richards/Rob Myall/Terry Marsh/Diane Orrin & Jacky Brown/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord & Trevor Kidd/Sue Parrish/Paul Young/Don Poulter each had 1 win and two points each for the team
It has been a good season for the Essex team with 5 'new' players introduced, all proving that they are able to play at this level which must look good for the future. Well done and thank you to all players who took part.
Essex are currently in 2nd place in the league but with two outstanding games still to be played involving three of the other Counties, realistically it is likely to be the mid table spot for the Essex team in this season of change, after a long spell off following the 'covid' shutdown period.
However the Essex team go to the final Eastern Counties Championship event at Littleport, Cambs. on Sunday 16th April 2023 with expectations of a good result and also to give a further debut to a 'new' player for the Essex team - Sophie Tucker (the sixth debut this season)
Eastern Counties League Match - Sunday 15th January 2023
The Essex Team played their third league match of the season on Sunday 15th January 2023 at Home at their Gt Saling venue against Cambridgeshire. It proved to be a good day for the team and they were back to winning ways with a 20 - 16 victory. Well done to the team and the many supporters who turned up. Special thanks to Anthea Bushe for doing the Raffle and raising nearly £100 for County funds.
The first two sessions were good for Essex winning two of the three matches played in each session and even better in the third session when all three matches were won. There were many close matches but Essex got the better in most, and were leading 14 - 4 at the mid way point. However a strong Cambridgeshire side came back well in the second half once they had the feel of the carpets and the Essex team were only able to win one match in each session. It was a disappointing finish but still a very good overall victory for the team leaving them in third place, just one point behind 2nd place Cambridgeshire with one match each to play.
All six Essex Rinks played well (some better than others) in what was a very close and competitive match
The Rink of Val Kidd/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker/Trevor Holbrow won all three matches to record 6 points for the team
The Rink of Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin & the Rink of Jacky Brown/Sandra Strange/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord & the Rink of Trevor Kidd/Cliff Richardson/Paul Young/Don Poulter all won two of their three matches to contribute 4 points each for the team
The Rink of Sarah Richards/Ron Hill/Terry Marsh/Darren Wrenn won one match to record 2 points for the team and the Rink of Peter Marchant/Lynda Richardson/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe were involved in close matches but just lost out in each match.
The Essex team now have a free February month with the drop out of Bedfordshire, and then travel to Wortwell on 19th March 2023 for their final game against Norfolk.
Eastern Counties League Match - Sunday 11th December 2022
The Essex Team played their second league match of the season on Sunday 11th December away at Needham Market against Suffolk. The Essex team had good preparation after their excellent first match win and went full of hope for a good result. The first four sessions were meeting expectations against a strong team and Essex managed to win one out of three matches in each of these sessions and although 8 -16 down were still hopeful of a good result. However the final two sessions was poor for the team despite some close matches and Essex were unable to gain any more points and lost 8 - 28
It was a disappointing end to the day and as a result Essex drop to 4th in the League
The next match is on Sunday 15th January 2023 when the Essex team will be at Home to Cambridgeshire at their Gt Saling venue.
Eastern Counties Championship - Sunday 25th September 2022
Essex took part in the Eastern Counties Championship at Littleport on Sunday 25th September 2022.It was the first competition for the Essex team since February 2022. Only five Counties took part with Bedfordshire having problems in raising a team. Despite some last minute changes the Essex team put up a good performance throughout the day and finished fourth. Well done to all who took part.
Eastern Counties League Match - Sunday 27th November 2022
After a 2 1/2 year break the Essex Team were back in action on Sunday 27th November 2022 with a Home League match against Hertfordshire.It proved to be a good day for the Essex Team after a close match winning by the narrow margin of 19 - 17
The first two sessions started slowly for the Essex team winning 1 of the 3 games played each session and trailing by 4 - 8. However session 3 saw the Team take the lead after winning all 3 games to lead at the half way stage by 10 - 8. Session 4 saw the Essex team again only winning the 1 game with the scores then level at 12 - 12. A further win and a draw in session 5 saw the two teams going into the final session still level at 15 - 15. The final session 6 saw close and exciting games with the Essex team coming out with 2 good wins to record a 19 - 17 victory. It was a great start to the new season with all playing well and sees Essex in 2nd place just 3 points behind Cambridgeshire.
The four of Trevor Kidd/Cliff Richardson/Paul Young/Don Poulter won 2 & drew 1 game to record 5 points for the Team. The fours of Ashley Perkins/David Wallis/Lin Hill/Peter Orrin + Tony Bareham/Lynda Richardson/Greg King/Mervyn Bushe + Jacky Brown/Peter Marchant/Paul Perkins/Colin Lord all won 2 games to record 4 points each for the Essex Team. The four of Terry Marsh/Sarah Richards/Darren Wrenn/Diane Orrin won 1 game to record 2 points for the Team and although the four of Val Kidd/Sandra Strange/Maxine Poulter/Helen Tucker were not able to win a game they played well despite missing their normal skip
Congratulations also go to Ashley & Paul Perkins & Sandra Strange whom were making their League debuts for the Essex Team
Essex visit Suffolk in two weeks time, which will be a difficult match but the Essex players are ready for the challenge