ALL ENGLAND
INTER-COUNTY FINALS 2000

The All England Inter-County Pool Team Championship is without doubt one of the most sought after titles in pool.

There are seven regional areas of the English Pool Association each comprising between six and seven County Pool Teams. In order to be able to qualify for the Finals, a County Team must either first win their Region or be invited back to the Finals as reigning Champions. Suffolk County Pool Association comes under Region 4, which also comprises Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex. Each County runs Men’s A, Men’s B, Ladies and Youths Teams. 1999 saw Suffolk Ladies as the Regional winner and for the eighth time since 1990 qualified to play in the All England Inter-County Pool Finals at Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth.

The Suffolk Ladies’ Team, Captained by Haley Harding, comprised Valerie Adams, Karen Andrews, Angie Smith, Donna Green, Lynne Moore, Leah Willett, Clare Seaman, Zanya Archer, Kim O’Brien, Deb Pullen, Vikki Layton, Carly Smith and Norma Nagle.

The Ladies’ Section was divided into two groups, with four teams in each group. Suffolk Ladies were drawn in Group Two along with Shropshire, Devon, and Hampshire. The matches are played on a Swiss system and the draw saw:-

With all teams reporting for play at an early hour of 8.45am, Suffolk Ladies were ready for the challenge against Shropshire. All games are played first to 23 out of a maximum of 44 frames. Should the match go to 22 frames all, a 3-way tie-break takes place. Suffolk Ladies started off the first session against Shropshire with a tentative 6-5 lead, and after taking the second and third sessions 7 frames to 4, started the fourth session leading 20 frames to 13, only needing three more frames to win which they easily managed winning the match 23 frames to 13.

The next round of the competition saw Suffolk at home to the Devon, who had won against Hampshire. This was a far harder match as Devon were seen as strong contenders for the title. The match started off in Suffolk’s favour, taking the first session 6 frames to 5. The second session went 6 frames to 5 in Devon’s favour. With the third session starting 11 frames all, the games were beginning to go slower with more tactics being employed. However, the third session went Suffolk’s way to go into the final session leading 17 frames to 16. With only 11 games to go it was really anybody’s match. With another round of coffee the Suffolk Ladies got themselves together and eventually took the last session, winning the match 23 frames to 19.

A bright and sunny Sunday morning, and another 8.45am start, saw the Suffolk Ladies in the Semi-Final against London Ladies, who had beaten Cleveland, lost to West Yorkshire and beaten Oxfordshire. This was anticipated to be a particularly hard match as London Ladies have won the title nine times. Suffolk Ladies have played London Ladies on numerous occasions in the past but have never beaten them. However, Suffolk, on a high from the previous two matches went into this match with supreme confidence. With the battle lines drawn, Suffolk won the first session by 7 frames to 4. The second session was a big hurdle to climb as Suffolk knew that they needed to build the lead. With much concentration and support from the other Team Members, Suffolk took the second session 8 frames to 3. Although having a significant lead, Suffolk had been down that road against London and having much respect for the London team, kept the pace up. Going into the third session leading 15 frames to 7, Suffolk were quietly confident that they could beat London and so kept the pressure on. London Ladies are renowned for coming back and winning from a long way behind and so Suffolk, knowing this, pulled out all stops and in the third session took 8 frames to 1 winning the match 23 frames to 8.

Winning this Semi-Final with such a margin put Suffolk a good tip to win the Championship. The Finals commenced at 12 noon on Sunday 12 March. Suffolk Ladies to play West Yorkshire Ladies. This was again a difficult match, the outcome of which could not be predicted. The first session started close with West Yorkshire taking an early lead of 6 frames to 5. In going into the second session Suffolk knew that they had to get ahead but with games going each way, West Yorkshire again took the session 6 frames to 5, leading the match 12 frames to 10. The match was close, two sessions to go. The third session got underway but again West Yorkshire kept the pressure on Suffolk again taking the session 6 frames to 5. The last session, West Yorkshire 18, Suffolk 15. Although not a big margin, it meant that Suffolk needed 8 frames out of the next 11. With three games taking place at the same time it was difficult to put the focus into a frame at a time and the fourth session was won by West Yorkshire Ladies 5 frames to 2. It was a very close match with Suffolk coming runners up 23 frames to 17.

Ladies’ Team Manager, Hayley Harding said "The Team played and supported each other brilliantly. It is impossible to single out any one player who played exceptionally well as all the players played to a high standard. Suffolk Ladies have reached the final of the Inter-County Finals on a number of occasions and have come runners up - perhaps another year it will be our turn to win the title."

Comments etc. Email webmaster@aceserve.co.uk Revision: 1.0 Date: 29.03.1999, Copyright © ACES Limited 1998

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