This home fixture was the first leg of the “Two Shires” competition held annually with Gloucestershire. This competition was first held in 2015 with Gloucestershire winning the first four matches and ,therefore, holding the trophy which was donated by the Worcestershire County captain.
With four wins behind them Gloucestershire might have been confident of increasing this total. Worcestershire, however, performed magnificently winning this match by 29 shots to 11 . The county won 11 of the 16 matches played, and in two of those lost, the shot difference was only one. The county scored 222 shots compared with 152 by Gloucestershire.
It is likely that the second leg of the competition will be played at Churchdown in March.
Session 1.
This was the least successful session for the county with only one win out of the four matches played. Johnathon Smith, having taken the lead in the 8th end, maintained that lead and went on to win 15-12. Jim Tingle had a narrow defeat 9-13. Both pairs teams lost with Richard Rose /Leah Thompson only losing by one shot.
Session 2.
This session consisted of 4 “fours” teams. The county won three of the four matches played in the session. Richard Payne’s team led throughout their match, losing only three ends, eventually winning 15-5. Keith Mills team led from the third end winning the match 13-6 and Alan Walters’ team won 11-8. Terry Clifford’s team lost by only one shot in the last end of their match.
At the half way stage the two counties were level on points
Session 3.
Another good session for the county winning three of the matches played. Johnathon Smith went on to win his second match of the day, leading from the 6th end, scoring 7 shots off the last two ends, finally winning by 21 shots to 7 – an impressive shot difference of 14. Both pairs teams won. Pete Forster/Richard Payne won 12-9 and Richard Rose/Leah Thompson took the lead in the 4th end and powered their way to a 20 shots to 8 win, another impressive shot difference win – this time 12 shots.
Session 4.
All the fours teams won with some very impressive performances. Terry Clifford’s team took the lead in the second end and went on to be comfortable winners 15 shots to 7. Keith Mills team had another 13-6 win, having led throughout the match. Richard Payne’s team led after the 5th end to win 17-4, another impressive shot difference win. Alan Walters’ team led throughout their match, winning nine of the eleven ends played, going on to win by 17 shots to 3 – yet again another impressive shot difference win (14), equalling Johnathon’s in session three.
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All the county squad should feel pleased with a successful and inclusive performance which made the squad worthy winners of this first leg of the “Two Shires ” competition. The county’s thanks also go to Gloucestershire for agreeing to play this match at short notice, and also for the friendly and good natured atmosphere that prevailed throughout the day.
A summary of all the scores and results is shown below :
