Four Harpenden bowlers and three from Greenwood Park in St Albans were selected for the Hertfordshire Short Mat bowling team that just missed out on qualifying for the final.
Harpenden’s quartet of John Taylor, Pauline Taylor, Liz Bradley and Eileen Prior, and the Greenwood trio of Jill Oakes, Audrey Fowler and Brian Fowler were part of a 20-strong county squad who took part in a unique version of the sport.
Short mat is described as the ‘Twenty20’ of the bowls world. It is played on a mat which is just 45 feet long and six feet wide. A 15 inch block across the centre prevents easy shots.
The qualifying round of the Inter County Team Fours competition saw Herts face Buckinghamshire, Suffolk and Surrey.
The games involved four rinks of 12 ends each, with overall aggregate scores deciding the winners.
Herts battled to a 47-40 victory over Buckinghamshire. Prior was part of a quartet who came from being six shots down at the midway point to win 15-10.
However, that was as good as it got for Herts who went on to lose 69-40 to Suffolk and 49-34 to Surrey.
Suffolk showed their strength, qualifying as group winners. However, with one win each, shots difference decided the final qualifying place. That went to Surrey.
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