Under 160s close in on trophy retention

Suffolk, last year’s winners of the EACU Under 160 Counties Championship, are within a whisker of retaining the trophy they won in 2017.   This would be the first time for several years that any county has retained the trophy.   Suffolk was the last county to achieve this, by winning in 2010 and 2011.

On Sunday, Suffolk won both their matches, beating Norfolk in the morning by a convincing 11½ points to 4½, whilst in the afternoon Hertfordshire were beaten 9½ – 6½.   Suffolk now heads the table on eight points, with Cambridgeshire the only challenger on four points.   Suffolk has a substantial margin of game points in hand, so to lose the title Suffolk would not only need to lose both matches on 18 March (and Cambridgeshire win both), but also lose badly!

Here is the current league table:
Suffolk – 8 points / 41½ game points
Cambridgeshire – 4 points / 33 game points
Hertfordshire – 3 points
Norfolk – 1 point

The final matches for Suffolk are against Cambridgeshire (AM) and Hertfordshire (PM).   So by lunchtime on 18 March, Suffolk should know for certain if they are EACU u160 Champions.

Four players won both their games on Sunday: Ed Kirkham (Board 6), Mike Usher (Board 11); John McAllister (Board 15) and Cameron Little (Board 16).   Scoring 1½ points were Martin Fogg (3), Jaden Jermy (4), Bob Stephens (8) and James Pack (14).

Full results for Suffolk can be viewed here.   A strong squad is anticipated for the final matches.