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ENGLISH CARPET BOWLS ASSOCIATION |
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National Championships
2022
Over the weekend of
4th to 7th November teams representing eight of the member counties
of the ECBA competed in the 29th Annual National Championships,
at Potters, after an enforced 3 year break.
Sadly, Bedfordshire were
unable to field a team this year, having only recently got their
league back up and running.
Each county is represented
by 6 Rinks all of whom play against their opposite number in
each of the other counties, with an even spread of matches across
the Saturday and Sunday.
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Session 1 (Saturday)
Suffolk were off to a strong start, with 3 wins over Norfolk,
although they had to work hard. Cambridgeshire, on the other
hand, racked up a huge number of shots against Northumberland,
although they one of the games ended in a draw.
Hertfordshire got the better of Durham,
winning two, and losing one, and it was the same for Essex over
Sunderland. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
6 |
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Cambridgeshire |
5 |
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Hertfordshire |
4 |
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Essex |
4 |
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Sunderland |
2 |
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Durham |
2 |
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Northumberland |
1 |
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Norfolk |
0 |
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Session 2 (Saturday)
Suffolk dropped their first point, but still came away with 5
against Northumberland, and with Cambridgeshire and Essex sharing
their points, with 3 each, Suffolk were now 3 ahead of both Cambs
and Hertfordshire, who had won 2 and lost 1 against Sunderland.
Meanwhile Norfolk were off the mark with
2 winds against Durham. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
11 |
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Cambridgeshire |
8 |
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Hertfordshire |
8 |
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Essex |
7 |
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Norfolk |
4 |
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Sunderland |
4 |
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Durham |
4 |
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Northumberland |
2 |
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Session 3 (Saturday)
Norfolk now picked up all 6 points against Essex, moving them
up to 4th, while Sunderland got the best of Durham 4-2.
Suffolk won 2 and lost 1 against Cambridgeshire,
while Hertfordshire dropped just one point against Northumberland,
which moved them into a clear second place. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
15 |
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Hertfordshire |
13 |
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Cambridgeshire |
10 |
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Norfolk |
10 |
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Sunderland |
8 |
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Essex |
7 |
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Durham |
6 |
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Northumberland |
3 |
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Session 4 (Saturday)
Northumberland took their first win of the day, against Essex,
who won the other 2 games. Sunderland took 2 games off Norfolk,
to put those two level on points, while Cambridgeshire won 2
of the 3 games against Hertfordshire, leaving just a point between
them.
But while that was happening, Suffolk took
maximum points off Durham, and that extended their lead at the
top, to 6 points. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
21 |
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Hertfordshire |
15 |
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Cambridgeshire |
14 |
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Norfolk |
12 |
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Sunderland |
12 |
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Essex |
11 |
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Durham |
6 |
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Northumberland |
5 |
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Session 5 (Saturday)
A lot of maximum scores this session, for Sunderland, Cambridgeshire,
and Suffolk, over Northumberland, Durham, and Essex respectively.
Hertfordshire dropped one game to Norfolk,
which meant that they fell to third, while Suffolk extended their
lead very slightly, to 7 points, with Cambridgeshire back into
second, and Sunderland now haivng worked their way up to the
back of the fight for second. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
27 |
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Cambridgeshire |
20 |
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Hertfordshire |
19 |
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Sunderland |
18 |
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Norfolk |
14 |
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Essex |
11 |
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Durham |
6 |
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Northumberland |
5 |
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Session 6 (Saturday)
Norfolk, over Northumberland, and Essex over Durham, both picked
up 4-2 wins, while there were 6-0 wins which, while they didn't
change the standings, had a significant effect on the points
gaps between the teams.
Suffolk took all 3 games against Hertfordshire,
and Cambridgeshire did the same against Sunderland.
That mean that the top 2 were still seperated
by 7points, but there was now another 7 point gap between Cambridgeshire
and Herts, who now had bothe Sunderland and Norfolk only one
pint behind them. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
33 |
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Cambridgeshire |
26 |
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Hertfordshire |
19 |
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Sunderland |
18 |
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Norfolk |
18 |
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Essex |
15 |
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Durham |
8 |
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Northumberland |
7 |
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Session 7 (Day 1 end of play)
Saturday closed out with 4-2 wins for Cambridgeshire over Norfolk,
Suffolk over Sunderland, and Hertfordshire over Essex.
This meant that the gaps between the top
3 remained the same, but that Herts had been able to pull 3 points
clear of Sunderland and Norfolk.
The one change in the standings came as
a result of the game between Northumberland and Durham, wth Northumberland
taking 2 wins out of 3, to lift them off the bottom of the standings
for the first time.
Suffolk finished the day having dropped
just 5 out of a possible 42 points, and with a good lead over
Cambridgeshire, but that lead could easily be wiped out when
the two teams face each other on Sunday. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
37 |
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Cambridgeshire |
30 |
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Hertfordshire |
23 |
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Sunderland |
20 |
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Norfolk |
20 |
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Essex |
17 |
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Northumberland |
11 |
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Durham |
10 |
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Session 8 (Sunday)
Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Sunderland all began Day 2 with
maximum points sessions, against Norfolk, Northumberland, and
Essex, respectively.
Meanwhile Durham won 2 of their 3 games
against Hertfordshire, who were much weakened, with two of their
players suffering injuries overnight, which forced them to withdraw.
The top two positions remained the same,
but Sunderland had moved up to third. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
43 |
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Cambridgeshire |
36 |
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Sunderland |
26 |
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Hertfordshire |
25 |
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Norfolk |
20 |
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Essex |
17 |
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Durham |
14 |
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Northumberland |
11 |
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Session 9 (Sunday)
Again, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire,
over Northumberland and Essex, picked up maximum points to stay
well out in the lead. But behind them, Hertfordshire swapped
places with Sunderland, thanks to a 4-2 points win.
And it was another good session for Durham,
winning two out of three against Norfolk, to push themselves
up ahead of Essex. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
49 |
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Cambridgeshire |
42 |
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Hertfordshire |
29 |
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Sunderland |
28 |
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Norfolk |
22 |
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Durham |
18 |
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Essex |
17 |
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Northumberland |
11 |
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Session 10 (Sunday)
This was going to be the crunch session, with Suffolk playing
Cambridgeshire, who would have the change to close down the gap
to just a point. But it was Suffolk who took 2 out of 3 games,
allowing them to stretch the gap to 9 points.
Elsewhere Herts took 5 points of Northumberland,
to pull further clear of Sunderland, who dropped 2 games to Durham,
who had more than doubled their points from Saturday, and Essex
edged closer to Norfolk with a 4-2 win. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
53 |
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Cambridgeshire |
44 |
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Hertfordshire |
34 |
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Sunderland |
30 |
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Norfolk |
24 |
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Durham |
22 |
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Essex |
21 |
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Northumberland |
12 |
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Session 11 (Sunday)
Suffolk were looking comfortable at the top, and with Herts and
Cambs playing one another it looked like the leaders would have
a chance to extend their lead, against Durham. That did happen,
but required Suffolk to snatch one win and one draw on the last
ends of two of the games, to take 5 points, while Herts took
4 points of Cambs.
Sunderland took all 6 points off Norfolk,
and with Essex taking 4 off Northumberland, Essex were up from
7th to 5th.
Suffolk's lead was now 12 points, with
3 sessions to go. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
58 |
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Cambridgeshire |
46 |
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Hertfordshire |
38 |
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Sunderland |
36 |
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Essex |
25 |
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Norfolk |
24 |
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Durham |
23 |
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Northumberland |
14 |
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Session 12 (Sunday)
Suffolk and Cambridgeshire maintained their relative positions,
both winning 4-2, against Essex and Durham respectively. Hertfordshire
took all 6 points off Norfolk, and pulled further away from Sunderland,
who dropped 2 points to Northumberland.
The lead stayed at 12 points, so Suffolk
would need either just 1 point, or for Cambridgeshire to drop
1 point, to secure the title. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
62 |
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Cambridgeshire |
50 |
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Hertfordshire |
44 |
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Sunderland |
40 |
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Essex |
27 |
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Durham |
25 |
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Norfolk |
24 |
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Northumberland |
16 |
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Session 13 (Sunday)
They had to scramble for their wins, but Suffolk got all 3 of
their games against Hertfordshire to confirm the overall win,
while Cambridgeshire took 2 wins over Sunderland to guarantee
the runner-up spot.
Northumberland has their best session of
the weekend, taking 2 wins against Norfolk, and Durham and Essex
both came away with 3 points. |
|
Pts |
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Suffolk |
68 |
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Cambridgeshire |
54 |
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Hertfordshire |
44 |
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Sunderland |
42 |
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Essex |
30 |
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Durham |
28 |
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Norfolk |
26 |
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Northumberland |
20 |
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Final Session
Apart from a couple of session on Saturday, Northumberland spent
the weekend stuck at the bottom of the standings, and that was
where they finished.
Norfolk had a decent Saturday, but a terrible
Sunday, only picking up 9 points from 21 games, meaning that
they went from 5th overnight, to 7th.
Durham, on the other hand, were enormously
improved on Sunday, they only picked up 10 points on Saturday,
but scored 21 points on Day 2, to finish 6th.
Essex had sunk to 7th at one point on Sunday,
but had far and away their best session at the very end of the
weekend, taking 5 points off Hertfordshire, to finish 5th.
Sunderland spent most of the weekend in
4th place, but were closing in on Herts for 3rd, only missing
out by one point.
Hertfordshire were not helped by losing
two players to injury overnight, and so will probably be pleased
that they were able to hang on to 3rd place, having long since
lost contact with the top two.
Cambridgeshire had a chance to close in
on Suffolk on Sunday, but missed it, and as the day went on,
they drifted further and further behind. That they would finish
in the top two was in little doubt from late on Saturday, having
pulled well clear of Herts.
Suffolk led from the very start on Saturday,
they were 7 points clear at the end of the first day, and although
that margin stayed unchanged for quite some time, Sunday saw
the gap widen bit by bit, and by the end they were 15 points
clear at the top.
For Suffolk it was their 8th consecutive
national title, on this very welcome return to Potters after
an enforced 3 year absence, and we hope we'll all be back again
next year for the 30th running of the event.
The full set of results can be found here.
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Sat |
Sun |
Total |
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Suffolk |
37 |
35 |
72 |
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Cambridgeshire |
30 |
27 |
57 |
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Hertfordshire |
23 |
22 |
45 |
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Sunderland |
20 |
24 |
44 |
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Essex |
17 |
18 |
35 |
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Durham |
10 |
21 |
31 |
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Norfolk |
20 |
9 |
29 |
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Northumberland |
11 |
12 |
23 |
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