Report

INTERCOUNTY REPORT 2020

A record nearly fourteen hundred people attended this years finals at Vauxhall Holiday Park.

UNDER 23s INTERCOUNTY
The Under 23 section commenced on Thursday 27 March and Cambridgeshire, last years KO Cup winners beat the Inter County champions Gloucestershire 11-5 in the first round. Cornwall, and Warwickshire A had 11-9 wins over Worcestershire and West Yorkshire A respectively, while Kent, West Midlands, Leicestershire, Bristol A, and Bedfordshire had comfortable first round wins. In the quarter finals Kent beat Cornwall 11-7, Warwickshire beat Cambridgeshire 11-6, Leicestershire beat West Midlands 11-5. In the other match Jordan Graham and Mitch Hooper won the play-off for Bristol A against Bedfordshire for a 12-10 victory.

In the semi-finals Warwickshire A beat Kent 11-5, and Leicestershire beat Bristol A 11-7. In the final, Leicestershire went 4-1 in the first leg, but Warwickshire reversed the score in the second leg. Leicestershire edged ahead in the third with a 3-2 leg, then won three of the first four games in the final leg to take the title 11-8.

UNDER 23s KO CUP
In the KO Cup Derbyshire and Staffordshire went to a play-off with Kieran Lennon winning one for Derbyshire but Daniel Wright and Jake Cooper won the other two to put Staffs through 12-11 to join Lancashire B, Worcs, and Gloucs In the quarters Worcs, and Cambs went to a play-off and Harrison Wagstaff won for Worcs, but Luke Gilbert and Nathan Sanders won the other two to put Cambs into the Semi-finals. They were joined by Cornwall, Staffs and West Mids. Cornwall and Cambs both won 11-7. In the final last years champions Cambs retained their title with an 11-9 victory

SENIORS INTERCOUNTY
Thursday evening saw the Seniors section get underway. There were some big wins with Lancashire, Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and Leicestershire all going through but Warwickshire A, and West Midlands A went to a play-off. Pat Ward won one for West Mids, but Surinder Singh and Paul Willis saw Warks through 16-15. Berkshire, and Wiltshire also went to a play-off. Dylan Leary and Mick Ferguson saw Berks home 16-14. In the quarters Berkshire went to another play-off, this time with Sussex. Dylan Leary and Videsh Sabharwal saw them through 16-14. Lancs and Notts needed a play-off. John Strange and Liam Stanley steered Notts through 16-14. They were joined by West Yorkshire and Leicestershire.

In the semi's West Yorks had a comfortable victory over Notts 15-6. The other semi saw a real battle with Berks taking the first leg 5-2, then Leics won all seven frames in the second leg to go 9-5 ahead only to see Berkshire win the third leg 6-1 to go 11-10 up and win the first two in the final leg before Leics won five in a row to win the match 15-13. Leics made a poor start again in the final with West Yorks winning the first leg 5-2 and the second 4-3, but then Leics won six frames in the third leg to edge into the lead, and won four of the next five to take the title 15-11.

SENIORS KO CUP
In the KO Cup Norfolk and Essex met in a Region Four derby and this finished with a play-off after Essex had led all the way. It was Neil Toms and Phil Ledgerton who won the two frames for Essex to win 16-14. Tyne & Wear beat fellow Region One team Cleveland. Cornwall A won 15-11 against West Mids A and Wiltshire A beat Somerset A 15-9. In the quarter finals Essex, Lancs, Cornwall, and Warks went through.

In the semi's Lancs beat Warks 15-13, but Essex, and Cornwall went to a play-off. Although Neil Toms won one for Essex, Graham Taylor, and Will Doidge won the other two to put Cornwall into the final, where after losing the first leg, they went on to take the title 15-9.

MENS B INTERCOUNTY
Friday night saw the start of the Mens B section and the first match produced a draw between Warwickshire and GMC. Ian McMullan won the first one for GMC in the play-off, but Dave Neary and Jack Griffiths won the other two to put Warks through. Devon beat Kent, Cornwall beat Northamptonshire, Leicestershire beat Cleveland, and West Midlands beat Surrey all 23-20. South Yorkshire and Staffordshire made up the quarter finals. Devon beat Warks 23-16, South Yorks beat Cornwall 23-15, West Yorks beat Staffs 23-18, and Leics beat West Mids 23-16.

In the semi finals two close matches resulted in South Yorks beating Devon 23-20, and Leics beat West Yorks by the same score. In the final South Yorks edged the first leg 6-5, but Leics came back in the second with a 7-4 win. The third leg went to South Yorks by the same score for them to go into the last leg one frame ahead, but Leics took control down to the final leg to take the title 23-19.

MENS B KO CUP
In the KO Cup, Kent, Northants, Essex and Surrey, after a play off against Cleveland, reached the quarter finals, where Bob Love and Adam Philpott won two play-off frames to put Northants into the semi's. Cornwall, West Mids and Staffs joined them.

In both semi finals the matches took a similar path. Cornwall went 12-10 up against West Mids, and Staffs took a 12-10 lead over Northants. West Mids and Northants won the third legs 8-3 to turn the matches in their favour, and went on to win; West Mids 23-20 and Northants 23-19. In the final Northants seem to run out of steam and the West Mids had a comfortable 23-11 victory.

MENS A INTERCOUNTY
In the Mens A section the following teams all had comfortable wins in the first round: Berkshire, Lancashire, GMC, Staffordshire, Norfolk, Kent, Essex and Leicestershire. In the quarter finals Berkshire beat Lancs, Staffs beat GMC, Norfolk beat Kent, and Essex beat Leics.

In the semi-finals Berkshire won the first leg 9-2 and never looked back as they won the match 23-12. The other semi saw Essex beat fellow Region Four County Norfolk 23-17. In the final Essex made a great start winning the first leg 7-4, but Berkshire hit back hard with an 8-3 second leg win and then followed that with a 9-2 in the third to go on to win the match 23-15.

MENS A KO CUP
In the KO Cup Devon and West Mids finished 22 all, and Mike King and Ritchie Blackmore won two play-off frames to put Devon into the quarter finals where they were joined by Warks, Humberside, and Northants.

Northants had a very close match with Leics, but just missed out 23-21. Warks beat GMC 23-19, Devon beat Kent 23-17 and the other match went to a play-off where Martin Hazel and Chris Scott saw Humberside in to semi's.

In the semi's Warks and Leics won two legs each 7-4. Tom McLean won one for Warks but Callum Singleton and Wayne Gardner won the other play-off frames to put Leics into the final. In the other semi Humberside edged the first leg 6-5, but Devon took the second 7-4, and then the third 6-5 to lead 18-15 into the final leg where Humberside won eight frames to take the match 23-20. In the final they won the first two legs 7-4 and 8-3, and although Leics won the third 7-4, and then the first five in the final leg, they could not stop Humberside taking the match 23-19.

LADIES INTERCOUNTY
On Saturday in the Ladies section, Cheshire and Leicestershire finished 22 all, and Michaela Gardner and Laura Joyce saw Leics through 24-22. South Yorks, Herefordshire, Suffolk, Devon, Lancs A, Somerset, and London all had fairly comfortable victories. In the quarter finals, Suffolk had to rely on Kim O'Brien and Holly Cann to win two play-off frames to beat Leics. Devon had Sophie Gibbs-Nichols and Emma Downes winning two play-off frames to beat Lancs A. Herefordshire beat South Yorks 23-20 and Somerset beat London 23-18 to join them in the semi's.

Devon, and Somerset fought out a Region Six local derby, and it went all the way to another play-off. It was Sophie Gibbs-Nichols and Stacey Graham who saw Devon into the final where they were joined by Suffolk who beat Herefordshire 23- 16. Although the final was a marathon, Suffolk won the first leg 6-5, but Devon hit back to win the second, and third legs and went on to win the title 23-17.

LADIES KO CUP
In the KO Cup, Kent and Staffs battled out a draw, but Barbara Taylor and Julie Fane won two play-off frames to see Kent through 24-22. Beds beat Northants 23-20, Cleveland beat Warks 23-17, and Cheshire beat North Yorks 23-7 to join them in the quarters. Leics overcame Cleveland 23-19, Cheshire beat South Yorks 23-16, Kent beat fellow Region Seven team London 23-12, and Lancs A beat Beds 23-13.

In the semi finals Leics and Kent went to a play-off and it was Barbara Taylor and Julie Fane who saw Kent through 24-22. In the other semi Cheshire won the first two legs, but Lancashire hit back with an 8-3 win in the third, but could not maintain the fight back down the final leg, and Cheshire won 23-20. In the final Kent won the first two legs 6-5, but Cheshire took the lead with an 8-3 win in the third, and went on to win the title 23-19.

JUNIORS INTERCOUNTY
Unfortunately we were one team short In the Juniors section and Bedfordshire drew the bye in the first round. Warwickshire and Sussex had a terrific battle before finishing in a tie. In the play-off Ben Prentice won one for Sussex but Luke Underhill and Jake Gray saw Warks through 24-23. Kent beat Staffs 23-13, Essex had a narrow 23-21 win over Northants, Cornwall beat West Yorks 23-15, Leics beat Somerset 23-9, and West Midlands A proved too strong for Norfolk with a 23-6 victory. Lancs beat Notts 23-10. In the quarter finals Kent beat Beds 23-13, Lancs beat Essex 23-13, Leics beat Cornwall 23-14, and West Mids A overcame Warks 23-15.

In the semi-finals Kent, and West Mids A had comfortable wins over Lancs, and Leics respectfully. The final was an anti-climax as Champions West Midlands A ran away to a 23-8 victory.

JUNIORS KO CUP
In the KO Cup, Staffs received the Bye. Notts beat Northants 23-10, West Yorks just edged home against Somerset 23-21 and Norfolk beat Sussex 23-16. In the semi-final Notts stormed into an 8-3 lead against Cornwall, but Cornwall hit back with a 7-4 second leg win and followed that with an 8-3 third leg, and went on to win the match 23-21. In the other semi Warks went ahead from the start, and never looked back as they won the match 23-20. In the final they won the first two legs 6-5, and 8-3, and although Cornwall took the third leg they could not prevent Warks winning the match 23-18.