Inter Club - Fixtures and Results 2022/23
In season 2022/23 Bishop Auckland competed in the top division of the NEBA Inter Club Championship.
Results and reports below.
NEBA Inter-Club League Rd 1
On Sunday 16th October 2022, the Bishop Auckland team played their first match in Division A of the NEBA Inter-Club League. In an excellent performance they defeated Wearside A by 33 imps which resulted in a match score of 16-4. After one match Bishop Auckland lie in second place.
Team:
Denise Barham-Hall (captain) & John Portwood
Audrey Bainbridge & John Dobson
Alison Young & John Gray
Malcolm Dawson & Brian Myers
NEBA Inter-Club League Rd 2
On Sunday the 20th November 2022 the Bishop Auckland team played Brunton A in their second match in Division A of the NEBA Inter-Club League. Despite two narrow losses in sets 3 and 4 the team lost 18-2 to the league leaders and drop to 3rd in the table with 18 VPs.
Team:
Denise Barham-Hall (captain) & John Portwood
Audrey Bainbridge & John Dobson
Alison Young & John Gray
Malcolm Dawson & Brian Myers
NEBA Inter-Club League Rd 3
On 11th December Bishop Auckland played away against Cramlington and had a significant lead at the end of three of the four sessions, but with their only hope of rescuing some Victory Points, the Cramlington players bid some low percentage contracts which came home and the match finished Cramlington 11VPs Bishop 9VPs. This left the club still in 3rd place in the league two points ahead of Wearside but lagging behind Darlington and Brunton A who were nip and tuck at the top.
Team:
Denise Barham-Hall (captain) & John Portwood
Audrey Bainbridge & John Dobson
Alison Young & John Gray
Malcolm Dawson & Allan Blackett
NEBA Inter-Club League Rd 4
On Sunday the 15th January 2023 the Bishop Auckland team won their interclub match against Durham A team with a score of 12-8 VPs and with Cramlington and Wearside both suffering heavy defeats we would go into the final match against Darlington looking fairly secure in mid-table, ten points ahead of Cramlington but with no hope of challenging the top two being 20 and 21 VPs behind them.
Team:
Denise Barham-Hall (captain) & John Portwood
Audrey Bainbridge & John Dobson
Brian Myers & Roger Carpenter
Malcolm Dawson & Allan Blackett
NEBA Inter-Club League Rd 5
Our final match of the season was played on Sunday 12th March at the St George's Bridge Centre where we faced a strong Darlington team who would go on to win the title at the end of play. Despite suffering a 0-20 whitewash there was little threat to the club retaining its place in the top flight, but Cramlington's 19 VPs at Durham was enough to see them grab 3rd spot by 11 VPs.
Team:
Denise Barham-Hall (captain) & John Portwood
Audrey Bainbridge & John Dobson
Brian Myers & Malcolm Dawson
Peter Whitton & Claudette Whitton
Captain's End of Season Report:
Following an unbeaten season in 2021/22 the team was promoted to Division 1. There were initial concerns that we may struggle to field a team as many of our members also play at other clubs and were therefore unable to make themselves available, but a very big thank you to everyone for stepping up when post Covid circumstances were very different to those experienced previously. A particular thanks go to Peter and Claudette who made themselves available for every match, despite not being needed until the final week and saving me many sleepless nights. Success in Division 1 was mixed with good wins over Durham and Wearside but significant defeats to Darlington and Brunton A who were far and away the strongest teams in the Division.
The other game was at Cramlington when after three stanzas we were on course for a 20-0 VP win, but realising the enormity of the task and with nothing to lose, our opponents pulled out all the stops and against the odds, produced a couple of massive swings, first finding a game and then a slam contract both of which made on the day.
Thank you to everyone for your willingness to play with different partners when necessary and for your support in every other way. In all we used twelve players over the season and if you would like to get involved next year please speak to me or another member of the team.
Denise Barham-Hall (Captain)
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