Session 1
Norfolk were off to a perfect start, winning all 3 games against
Cambridgeshire to lead the way. Essex, Herts and Suffolk all
started off with 4 points against Durham, Bedfordshire and Sunderland
respectively. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Norfolk |
3 |
6 |
|
Suffolk |
3 |
4 |
|
Essex |
3 |
4 |
|
Hertfordshire |
3 |
4 |
|
Sunderland |
3 |
2 |
|
Bedfordshire |
3 |
2 |
|
Durham |
3 |
2 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
3 |
0 |
|
Northumberland |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Session 2
Not such a good session for Norfolk this time around as they
lost all 3 games to Suffolk who went top. Another 4 points for
Essex moved them into second, Cambridgeshire were off the mark
with a couple of wins over Durham and Befordshire got the better
of Northumberland. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
6 |
10 |
|
Essex |
6 |
8 |
|
Norfolk |
6 |
6 |
|
Bedfordshire |
6 |
6 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
6 |
4 |
|
Durham |
6 |
4 |
|
Sunderland |
6 |
4 |
|
Hertfordshire |
3 |
4 |
|
Northumberland |
3 |
2 |
|
|
Session 3
Another maximum haul for Suffolk against Bedfordshire saw them
take a 6 point lead. Cambridgeshire took 4 points off Essex who
nevertheless still sat in second place and Sunderland and Hertfordshire
also had winning sessions which saw them sitting amongst a group
of 4 teams all on 8 points. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
9 |
16 |
|
Essex |
9 |
10 |
|
Norfolk |
9 |
8 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
9 |
8 |
|
Sunderland |
9 |
8 |
|
Hertfordshire |
6 |
8 |
|
Bedfordshire |
9 |
6 |
|
Northumberland |
6 |
4 |
|
Durham |
6 |
4 |
|
|
Session 4
Suffolk won two of their three games against Cambridgeshire to
maintain their lead with Norfolk and Hertfordshire now tied for
second as they picked up maximum points in the session and Essex
fell back having shared the points with Northumberland. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
12 |
20 |
|
Norfolk |
12 |
14 |
|
Hertfordshire |
9 |
14 |
|
Essex |
12 |
13 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
12 |
10 |
|
Sunderland |
12 |
8 |
|
Northumberland |
9 |
7 |
|
Bedfordshire |
9 |
6 |
|
Durham |
9 |
4 |
|
|
Session 5
Another 3 wins for Suffolk extended their lead as Hertfordshire
with two wins over Essex now moved into a clear second place.
They had a session in hand over Suffolk who were 8 points ahead
and Essex who were 3 behind. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
15 |
26 |
|
Hertfordshire |
12 |
18 |
|
Essex |
15 |
15 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
15 |
14 |
|
Norfolk |
12 |
14 |
|
Sunderland |
15 |
10 |
|
Bedfordshire |
12 |
9 |
|
Northumberland |
12 |
7 |
|
Durham |
12 |
7 |
|
|
Session 6
Sunderland who had been sitting in the middle of the table all
day had their best session, getting 5 of the 6 points on offer
against Hertfordshire. Herts stayed second but with Suffolk picking
up another 3 wins their lead was now up to 13 points. Meanwhile
Norfolk and Essex were now just 1 point behind Herts. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
18 |
32 |
|
Hertfordshire |
15 |
19 |
|
Essex |
18 |
18 |
|
Norfolk |
15 |
18 |
|
Sunderland |
18 |
15 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
15 |
14 |
|
Bedfordshire |
15 |
12 |
|
Northumberland |
15 |
9 |
|
Durham |
15 |
7 |
|
|
Session 7
Herfordshire's big chance to catch up came with their session
against Suffolk, but they could only win one of the games. That
allowed Norfolk (3 points against Durham) and Sunderland (6 points
against Bedfordshire) to all come together in second, but the
gap to Suffolk had now grown to 15 points. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
21 |
36 |
|
Sunderland |
21 |
21 |
|
Norfolk |
18 |
21 |
|
Hertfordshire |
18 |
21 |
|
Essex |
18 |
18 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
18 |
18 |
|
Bedfordshire |
18 |
12 |
|
Northumberland |
18 |
11 |
|
Durham |
18 |
10 |
|
|
Session 8
Suffolk's final session of the day saw them pick up another 6,
against Essex. Norfolk took 5 from Befordshire and Herts took
4 from Cambridgeshire, as Sunderland sat out. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
24 |
42 |
|
Norfolk |
21 |
26 |
|
Hertfordshire |
24 |
25 |
|
Sunderland |
21 |
21 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
21 |
19 |
|
Essex |
21 |
18 |
|
Bedfordshire |
21 |
13 |
|
Northumberland |
18 |
11 |
|
Durham |
18 |
10 |
|
|
|
Session 9 (Day 1 end of play)
As Suffolk sat out there was a chance for their nearest rivals
to do some catching up, which they did. Herts took all 3 wins
against Northumberland to go second while Norfolk dropped just
one game against Essex to stay withing a point of Hertfordshire.
Cambridgeshire won all 3 against Beds to
leapfrog Sunderland who dropped 2 games against Durham who themselves
were now level with Essex. While at the foot of the table there
were just 2 points between Bedfordshire and Northumberland. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
24 |
42 |
|
Hertfordshire |
24 |
31 |
|
Norfolk |
24 |
30 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
24 |
26 |
|
Sunderland |
24 |
23 |
|
Essex |
24 |
20 |
|
Durham |
24 |
20 |
|
Bedfordshire |
24 |
13 |
|
Northumberland |
24 |
11 |
|
|
Session 10
Suffolk dropped one of their games to Sunderland but managed
to extend their lead by one. It was now Norfolk who moved into
second with 4 points against Cambridgeshire, with the big surprise
being Hertfordshire who lost all of their games to Bedfordshire
and fell 3 points behind Norfolk. Meanwhile Essex got a full
house against Durham to rise up the table. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
27 |
46 |
|
Norfolk |
27 |
34 |
|
Hertfordshire |
27 |
31 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
27 |
28 |
|
Essex |
27 |
26 |
|
Sunderland |
27 |
25 |
|
Durham |
27 |
20 |
|
Bedfordshire |
27 |
19 |
|
Northumberland |
24 |
11 |
|
|
|
Session 11
Norfolk had a chance to eat into that Suffolk lead but they could
only take one of the points on offer. With Herts sitting out
the session Norfolk stayed second but were now 16 points in arrears.
Essex moved up again by taking 5 off Sunderland. Cambridgeshire
picked up 4 against Durham and moved up to third.
But the crunch match was between Beds and
Northumberland. This would either be an opportunity for Northumberland
to catch up some lost ground or for Bedfordshire to move further
away. And it turned out to be the latter as Beds took 5 points,
moving them up abive Durham in the process. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
30 |
51 |
|
Norfolk |
30 |
35 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
30 |
32 |
|
Essex |
30 |
31 |
|
Hertfordshire |
27 |
31 |
|
Sunderland |
30 |
26 |
|
Bedfordshire |
30 |
24 |
|
Durham |
30 |
22 |
|
Northumberland |
27 |
12 |
|
|
Session 12
The leaders only dropped one point to Bedfordshire and with Norfolk
dropping 2 to Herts the lead was extended a little further. Cambridgeshire
and Essex shared their 6 points evenly which meant that they
fell one point further back from Norfolk, while Sunderland's
4 against Northumberland brought them a little closer. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
33 |
56 |
|
Norfolk |
33 |
39 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
33 |
35 |
|
Essex |
33 |
34 |
|
Hertfordshire |
30 |
33 |
|
Sunderland |
33 |
30 |
|
Bedfordshire |
33 |
25 |
|
Durham |
30 |
22 |
|
Northumberland |
30 |
14 |
|
|
Session 13
And Sunderland did themselves and those around them a favour
by winning 2 out of 3 against Norfolk. But Norfolk stayed second
as Cambridgeshire lost only picked up 2 points against Suffolk
and were leapfrogged by Essex who got 5 against Northumberland.
Meanwhile Durham and Herts took 3 points each, returning Durham
to 7th overall. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
36 |
60 |
|
Norfolk |
36 |
41 |
|
Essex |
36 |
39 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
36 |
37 |
|
Hertfordshire |
33 |
36 |
|
Sunderland |
36 |
34 |
|
Durham |
33 |
25 |
|
Bedfordshire |
33 |
25 |
|
Northumberland |
33 |
15 |
|
|
|
Session 14
While Norfolk sat out the session Essex moved up to second by
sharing the points with Herts and with Cambridgeshire winning
2 out of 3 against Sunderland it mean that second, third and
fourth were covered by just one point and there were only 6 points
between second and sixth. And the fight for 7th saw Durham move
2 points ahead of Bedfordshire.
However, despite dropped one game to Northumberland
Suffolk now moved to the brink of retaining the title, they were
now on 64 points, 22 clear at the top and now only Norfolk could
beat them. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
39 |
64 |
|
Essex |
39 |
42 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
39 |
41 |
|
Norfolk |
36 |
41 |
|
Hertfordshire |
36 |
39 |
|
Sunderland |
39 |
36 |
|
Durham |
36 |
29 |
|
Bedfordshire |
36 |
27 |
|
Northumberland |
36 |
17 |
|
|
|
Session 15
Suffolk needed 2 points for the title and playing Durham they
picked up 4 to secure the win with 3 sessions still to be played.
Essex continued their good day with 6 against
Bedfordshire while Herts did the same against Sunderland, removing
any hope that the Northern team might be able to challenge for
second place.
The big surprise though was that Norfolk
were only able to pick up 2 points against Northumberland, leaving
them in fourth and seeming to dent their chances of finishing
second. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
42 |
68 |
|
Essex |
42 |
48 |
|
Hertfordshire |
39 |
45 |
|
Norfolk |
39 |
43 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
39 |
41 |
|
Sunderland |
42 |
36 |
|
Durham |
39 |
31 |
|
Bedfordshire |
39 |
27 |
|
Northumberland |
39 |
21 |
|
|
Session 16
However, as Essex sat out Norfolk picked up 5 against Durham,
Cambridgeshire got all 6 against Northumberland, but Herts only
came away with 1 point from Suffolk which meant that it could
hardly be any closer between second, third, fourth and fifth,
covered as they were by just 2 points. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
45 |
73 |
|
Essex |
42 |
48 |
|
Norfolk |
42 |
48 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
42 |
47 |
|
Hertfordshire |
42 |
46 |
|
Sunderland |
45 |
39 |
|
Durham |
42 |
32 |
|
Bedfordshire |
42 |
30 |
|
Northumberland |
42 |
21 |
|
|
|
Session 17
In the fight for second the biggest losers were Hertfordshire
as they only won once against Cambridgeshire, although Essex
did the same against Suffolk they were still in touch with Norfolk
who took 4 points off Bedfordshire.
So it would be all to play for in the final
session with Norfolk and Essex playing one another and separated
by just 2 points, although perched between the two of them were
Cambridgeshire who, playing Bedfordshire were suddenly favourites
to finish second given the relative positions between them and
their final opponents and the reasonable expectation that Norfolk
and Essex would deprive each other of points. |
|
Pl |
Pts |
|
Suffolk |
48 |
77 |
|
Norfolk |
45 |
52 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
45 |
51 |
|
Hertfordshire |
45 |
50 |
|
Essex |
45 |
48 |
|
Sunderland |
45 |
39 |
|
Durham |
45 |
34 |
|
Bedfordshire |
45 |
32 |
|
Northumberland |
45 |
25 |
|
|
|
Final Session
So it was all eyes on the three teams vying for second.
And it wasn't looking bad for Cambridgeshire,
two of the games resulted in good wins while the other one could
have gone either way, unfortunately for Cambridgeshire a stubborn
Bedfordshire team wouldn't let the game go and ended up taking
the win by a single shot.
But with 4 points secured it was far from
over as they had to stand by and watch the Norfolk/Essex matches
conclude. With the exception of one of the games, which always
looked like it was going Norfolk's way, there was no telling
how it might finish. But bit by bit Norfolk were edging away.
It had been a good day for Essex up to
this point, but this was their worst by far, they weren't completely
out of the games by any means but they were up against a Norfolk
team who knew exactly what they needed to do and were determined
to do it as they won all three to secure the runner-up spot by
3 points over Cambridgeshire.
Although they had a better day on Sunday
than they had on Saturday Northumberland finished 9th, a position
which looked in little doubt after the lost out to their nearest
rivals early in the day.
Despite only finishing 8th Bedfordshire
were delighted with that result, finishing off the bottom of
the standings for the first time since their debut year in 2011
and outscoring 3 other teams on Sunday.
After a fifth place finish last year Durham
will be disappointed with 7th, overnight they were only 3 points
behind 5th but Sunday did not go well for them, although they
did hold off Bedfordshire having been in danger of finishing
next to bottom.
Having finished in second place in 2016
and run Suffolk close for the Inter-County title on Friday night,
6th place for Sunderland was both a surprise and a disappointment
for them. Fifth overnight they were only 3 points behind Cambridgeshire
at that point and given that Cambs only just fell short of second
Sunderland will know that they could have done much better.
Up until the very end Essex had had a very
good Sunday but their last 6 games yielded only 2 points leaving
them in 5th place. But despite that they still outscored everyone
except Suffolk on Sunday. However if that last session had gone
their way instead of Norfolk's they are the ones would have finished
in second place overall.
There was a faint hope at the very end
that Hertfordshire might, if the results had gone exactly right
for them, have finished second. They did all they could, but
the odds were always against it. While fourth place represented
a big improvement on last year's seventh place, they were second
overnight and may feel a little disappointed with the final outcome.
After finishing 6th last year Cambridgeshire
must be very pleased to have improved to third this year and
to have come so close to finishing as runners-up, particularly
since they had started off pretty slowly on Saturday. It was
a sterling effort to haul themselves up bit by bit across the
weekend.
Norfolk were understandably delighted with
their second place finish, their best ever showing in the National
Championships, so often we see them have a good first day but
fade away on the Sunday, but not this time. And with everything
to play for the in the final session of the weekend they held
their nerve admirably.
But of course the winners by some margin
and for the fifth consecutive year were Suffolk. After a very
strong Saturday, Sunday was not quite so good, but even so they
outscored everyone else on both days and had the title wrapped
up with 3 sessions still to go.
This is the tenth time they have taken
home the trophy, but even so they still have along way to go
before they match Cambridgeshire's tally of 15 wins.
The full set of results can be found here. |
|
Sat |
Sun |
Total |
|
Suffolk |
42 |
35 |
77 |
|
Norfolk |
30 |
28 |
58 |
|
Cambridgeshire |
26 |
29 |
55 |
|
Hertfordshire |
31 |
23 |
54 |
|
Essex |
20 |
30 |
50 |
|
Sunderland |
23 |
20 |
43 |
|
Durham |
20 |
16 |
36 |
|
Bedfordshire |
13 |
21 |
34 |
|
Northumberland |
11 |
14 |
25 |
|
|
