Hampshire v Kent British Inter-County Fixture
Hampshire welcomed Kent to Hill Park Memorial Club on 17th/18th January, for the latest fixture in the BICC Premier League calendar. After the disappointing result against Oxfordshire, the Hampshire players were hoping to put in a good performance against their latest rivals, but it was always going to be a tough game , with Kent having won the last two meetings 25-14 and 22-17.
Saturday’s games saw the B sides take to the stage. Carole Shinar was welcomed into the Ladies team but was unable to get off the mark with a win. Carole was not alone in defeat, and the Ladies were left disappointed after missed doubles saw them on the wrong end of a 5-1 score line. Gemma Hayter was the sole winner, and claimed her second Lady of the Match award, in only her second game, with a 3-1 win and 17.24 average.
The Men’s side were also unable to register a team win, losing out 7-5 to their opponents. Mark Thorne 3-2 (22.56), Paul Scutt 3-1 (24.25), Ricky Williams 3-2 (23.03) and Dave Bonnett 3-1 (20.60) all secured wins, but the Man of the Match award went to Troy Butler for his 3-1 win and 24.25 average. Paul Reidy made his debut for the side, but found that missed doubles cost him his match, and Kev Murrell was unlucky to come up against their match award winner.
With the score standing at 12-6 to Kent overnight, Sundays A teams were hoping to pull things around. However, it was one of those days where the Kent players seemed not to be missing anything, particularly in their Mens side.
The Ladies had a hard task against a team containing two England internationals, but they showed just why they are top of the Ladies table after grinding out a 3-3 draw. Wins came from Sue Lowther 3-0 (15.49), Sue Smee 3-2 (18.47) and Match Award winner Wendy Reinstadtler. Wendy beat England player Sally Dowell 3-2 with a 20.89 average. Maria Agozzino was unlucky to lose 3-0 despite being on a double each time, and Elaine Harty was unlucky to come up against a very in-form Tricia Wright
Although the Men’s A side suffered the same fate as their B teammates, going down 7-5, the result could have easily gone the other way. Danny Ballard, Nillson Pritchard, Danny Smith and Mark Smith all played excellent, but found that their opponents were just not missing their finishes. Those who did win their games were Rick Lowther 3-2 (26.97), Colin Philpott 3-1 (23.62), Graham Huggett 3-0 (23.86), Andy Mitchell 3-1 (26.11) and Match Award winner Roy Brown with a 3-0 win and 29.47 average.
The overall score at the end of the weekend was 25-14 to Kent, but could have been so much closer. With such good players, Hampshire just need that that little bit of luck to go their way for a change to spark the confidence again and bring the team back to winning ways.
Hampshire remain 5th in the Premier table with their next game Away to Surrey on 14th/15th February.
Alex Brindley
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