From Gareth 

The match resulted in a 5 all draw, but only one set went beyond 3 ends, even then it only went to 4. 

The match was best summed up by Chris Herbert when he said, “Pete was on form and Gareth wasn’t”.

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From Neil

One of the stranger matches that I’ve played in for a number of reasons.

Firstly Chris Herbert forgot both his bat and his playing shirt. He borrowed Gareth’s bat and made excellent use of it, in fact you wouldn’t have known it wasn’t his own most of the time. He played in a fetching long sleeve red and white checked shirt.
Pete forgot his shorts which made for an interesting fashion choice of rolled up tracksuit bottoms!

Chris Penrose turned out as the Nat West third player and at that point I’d have taken a draw if it had been offered!

Strangely enough that’s what we got but that was far from the story!
Only the final singles went to four legs, and that took a deuce; even the doubles was three straight. The only other deuce was in the game between Gareth and Norman and probably decided Gareth’s evening.

We finished the match in almost record time and just about at the same time as the EMP v PRO match where PRO had two players so only seven sets.. 

The two Chris’s probably summed it up best with H saying Pete was on form; Gareth wasn’t; whereas P said the order probably decided it for him.

Gareth put Chris H down and left the other two blank so I put down our three which then left Gareth to choose who he played first and, if it had been me, I’d probably have gone with his choice as his best chance was theoretically against Norman but unfortunately for Gareth Norman was in excellent form and having won the second leg on deuce to go two up he won the third easily.
Pete had already dispensed with Chris H who may have been getting use to the strange bat but to be honest I don’t think it made any difference.
I then faced Chris P who had a game plan that worked to perfection leaving me bemused and battered – a state Chris said he might have been in if he’d played  Pete first and suffered as he eventually did.

Games then went with the form book and as expected though players from both sides would have hoped for closer games.

Pete was in the best form I’ve seen, perhaps ever, and was impervious …. until it came to his Achilles heel, the doubles.
The two Chris’s, whilst not being able to trouble Pete, also dished out their own fine displays over Norman and myself. 

Norman and myself took our respective frustrations out on Gareth who’s only consolation was that his team got him 5 points, three of them with his bat :>) 

The doubles was a real non-event with neither myself nor Peter able to trouble the two Chris’s who really did make for a formidable doubles pair.

So, honours even and not really the result either team would have hoped for and leaves the title race still wide open and to be probably decided by who plays when the teams play each other.

Neil