Hertfordshire’s short mat bowlers made it through to the knockout stage of the Inter County Championship after a 23-17 victory over Northamptonshire.

The result last Sunday at Northampton Indoor Bowls Club sees Herts finish second in the Division A qualifying group.

They now face a wait to see if they have done enough to avoid the need for a preliminary match.

In a tight game

Session one belonged to the visitors thanks to the performance in the pairs games.

Greenwood Park’s Audrey Fowler teamed with Darren Stanford and the pair led virtually from start to finish with a 17-10 victory.

It was a similar pattern for Pauline Taylor of Harpenden and her partner Jeanette Gayler, who ran out 17-6 winners.

Northamptonshire recovered to take session two, leaving Herts just ahead at 9-7.

The game swung, in the end decisively, in session three with the bonus points from both the singles and pairs heading to Hertfordshire.

Session 4 ended up in a 6-all tie, enough to send Herts through.

Hertfordshire team:

Michael West, Brian McGivern, Brian Hatherly, Adrianne West (Cuffley Hall)

Tony Gayler, Jeanette Gayler, Darren Stanford, Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths, Graham Yates (St Margaret’s)

Pauline Taylor, John Taylor, Sue Murray, Liz Bradley (Harpenden)

Audrey Fowler, Jill Oakes, Brian Fowler (Greenwood Park)

Margaret Hare, Sam Salmon, Alan Hare (Letchworth)

Full Results

Session 1

Singles:

Hertfordshire (Michael West) 24 Northamptonshire 3

Hertfordshire (Tony Gayler) 10 Northamptonshire 13

Pairs:

Hertfordshire (Audrey Fowler, Darren Stanford) 17 Northamptonshire 10

Hertfordshire (Pauline Taylor, Jeanette Gayler) 17 Northamptonshire 6

Session 2

Triples:

Hertfordshire (Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths, Liz Bradley) 10 Northamptonshire 13

Hertfordshire (Sue Murray, Jill Oakes, Brian McGivern) 18 Northamptonshire 6

Fours:

Hertfordshire (Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor, Brian Fowler) 9 Northamptonshire 9

Hertfordshire (Margaret Hare, Brian Hatherly, Sam Salmon, Alan Hare) 3 Northamptonshire 13

Session 3

Singles:

Hertfordshire (Michael West) 11 Northamptonshire 15

Hertfordshire (Tony Gayler) 16 Northamptonshire 9

Pairs:

Hertfordshire (Audrey Fowler, Darren Stanford) 15 Northamptonshire 11

Hertfordshire (Pauline Taylor, Jeanette Gayler) 11 Northamptonshire 13

Session 4

Triples:

Hertfordshire (Margaret Regan, Peter Griffiths, Liz Bradley) 11 Northamptonshire 7

Hertfordshire (Sue Murray, Jill Oakes, Brian McGivern) 9 Northamptonshire 15

Fours:

Hertfordshire (Adrianne West, Graham Yates, John Taylor, Brian Fowler) 8 Northamptonshire 13

Hertfordshire (Margaret Hare, Brian Hatherly, Sam Salmon, Alan Hare) 11 Northamptonshire 7

To see all of Hertfordshire’s qualifying group results and the group table visit www.hcsmba.hitssports.com.