Match Report

Kent County Pool Association Conquer Region 7!

Kent County Pool teams have ended the 2022 season by dominating pool across the categories. They delivered their best ever outcomes in region 7 by winning five of the seven categories available, finishing runner up in one and third in the other. In total we played 2528 frames winning 1602 to 926, so winning 63% of all frames.

This means we will have 5 teams attending the national finals in March next year, a remarkable achievement. But we are definitely not finished yet is the message from myself and the committee. Since I became county manager 4 years ago I have been fully supported by the committee members, captains and players in delivering the success so far. I believe we can still get better and that our most successful season is ahead of us. In short We want to win every category.

So starting with the A team, runners up after beating Surrey for the second time this year, Surrey being champions. The Kent lads squeezed out Berkshire by one frame in the end so will go to the Nationals after last years runners up performance in confident mood. 26-18 final score against Surrey.

A team top performers this year were Josh Patel and Dave Fernandez.

Our B team are national and regional champions and when you look at their development you can see the formation of a solid unit. They finished off their campaign with a 29-15 win over Surrey with no other than Captain Andy Redsull signing off with 4/4. Top performers over the season were Ash Hind and Charlie Minta.

The C team have shown the strength and depth of Kent Pool by winning all of their matches and winning their final game 24-20 against Surrey.

Jamie Hughes and Scott Woods were the top performers with Jamie winning the region individuals in his first season. Congratulations.

Ladies are again champions and there has been evidence of the new players coming in when needed and winning frames to enhance their reputations. They signed off in style with a 27-17 win with World Champion Barbara Taylor winning 4/4. Jo Herrington also delivered 4/4 and has clearly improved her game across the season. Well done to all our ladies including season top performer Vanessa Ledger who also topped the region. Fantastic achievement Vanessa.

U23 top performers were Jasper Simmonds who also topped the region and Jake Lloyd as they took the title for the first time. Jake was also top performer in the juniors and we look forward to seeing how he progresses in the coming years.

Juniors dominated the division and ended the season with a 35-1 victory which evidences the improvement that has come in the team. There are other notable exceptions with Callum Britt joining Jake in joint first, also winning the individual region, with James Goldsmith coming a close second. Another team that can go well in the nationals in March.

The Seniors had a winner takes all match against Surrey to take the title but sadly for us it didn’t happen and the seniors lost 22-14 in the end. A consolation was that Martin Prime finished top of the region and will go ahead for England trials.

Congratulations to the following players who have earned their first county medal:

100 frames – Kev Saunders

100 frames – Shaun Castle

As usual you can find the updated County Rankings and Medals Table by following these links.

Finally I would like to thank Lee and his team for significantly enhancing the playing experience for the players. The staff have been excellent all year catering for our every need and there have been many compliments with regards the standard of the club.

We will now plan for next season with trials and selection knowing the Kent County team is in a good place.

Very best wishes to you all.

Wilbo

Final Scores

u23s	no match
Seniors	22:14 LOSS
Juniors	35:1 WIN
Ladies	27:17 WIN
A	26:18 WIN
B	29:15 WIN
C	24:20 WIN

Match Report

The Kent Seniors won their game in hand 19-17 against London at Spots and Stripes to set up a winner takes all final match v Surrey at home in Chatham on November 6th.

The seniors won the first two sets 6-3 to take a 12-6 lead into the next set. London began to eat back into that lead and things got rather nervy but Graham Thrower potted the all important black to take the win.

Thanks to Gary Kingsnorth and Steve Jepson for stepping in, winning 6/8 between them.

Big game next…

Regards,

Wilbo

Match Report

Looks like the Kent are marching in!!

What counts as success in Kent – 5 out of 7 of our teams already region winners with one match to go?

Kent teams made the journey to Hampshire dominant in the combined efforts of all teams – evidencing once again the strength in depth of our players:
B team regional winners 9 wins 0 losses
Ladies team regional winners 9 wins 0 losses
Juniors regional winners 6 wins 0 losses
Under 23’s Regional winners 5 wins 1 draw
C team regional winners 9 wins 0 losses
Kent A sitting second with one match to go and
Kent Seniors, still with a chance of winning the region if they ended with 2 wins in their final 2 games.

As team manager it gives me great pride to be part of such a powerful squad but I feel there is still improvements to be made. Improvements in our development of younger players, enhancing opportunities for our improving players and rewarding consistency of performance. Our medals table will be produced this month and what is evident is the blend between youth and experience that creates the opportunity for succession planning with stability. I look forward to reflecting on more of the season following our final game at our Chatham home on the 6 November where we will welcome our Surrey opponents.

As usual you can find the updated County Rankings and Medals Table by following these links.

So Hampshire saw no games for either the Juniors or Under 23s so the Seniors took to the stage earliest. With 3 games to go the Seniors knew that only 3 wins would take them back to the nationals next year. Willie Anderson (me) led the way in a 24-12 win by winning 4/4 and by the end of the game thoughts had moved to other possibilities with the news that Sussex had beaten Surrey. A rearranged fixture in London on 16 October will determine what the Seniors will be playing for in their final start against Surrey.

The A team delivered a slightly disappointing 24-20 win, saying that because at one point were 19-10 in front so let slip some potentially crucial frames. The A team is equal on points with Berkshire with an 8 frame advantage, now knowing they have to beat champions Surrey for the second time this season next time out to stay second, Jasper and Adam both delivered 4/4.

The Ladies had their closest match of the season and at one point were 20-18 down. A shock was on the cards then but a five frame winning streak, Lauren Bolt, Barbara Taylor, Mel Clements, Jan Spinner and Vanessa the legend Ledger made it 23-21 and secured the victory. Well done ladies on your resilience.

The B team regained their title with a dominant 29-15 victory with Ben Morgan winning 4/4. Looking back across this season this team does have a history of players stepping up when needed and from across the board – 4 years regional winners gives you this resilience I am thinking.

The C team did what they do best – start well – perhaps some advice to the A team would help here. 6-0 up at the start they raced to 19-10 and ended up winning 27-17, Patrick Linyard took the honours with 4/4.

So in total that’s 56 matches we have played so far this season, 49 wins 2 draws and 5 defeats , I guess that’s progress. To finish this month I would like to wish all our Kent players the best of luck at the World Championships in Ireland in the next couple of weeks. That’s Dave Fernandez, Adam Bassoo, Barbara Taylor, Katie Martyn, Jasper Simmonds, Makhan Notay, Jake Lloyd, Aaron Bhat, Willie Anderson and England Under 23 Manager Jason Simmonds.

Bring back some big prizes!!

Regards

Wilbo

Final Scores

u23s	no match
Seniors	12 :24 WIN
Juniors	no match
Ladies	21:23 WIN
A	20:24 WIN
B	15:29 WIN
C	17:27 WIN