The HIBA Selection Committee have selected the team for the upcoming Liberty Trophy 2nd Round fixture versus Essex IBA, being hosted at Riverain IBC on Saturday 16th December 2023 at 10am. Please come and show your support and get behind the Hertfordshire team as it can make all the difference in was promises to be an exciting match.

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The team has also been selected for the upcoming friendly match against East Herts Bowls League being hosted at Cheshunt IBC on Saturday 9th December 2023 at 2.30pm

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Please check the Selected HIBA Teams link on the website, club notice boards and the HIBA Facebook page for further details

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The 2023 HIBA County League kicked off on Sunday 5th November and it saw wins for Watford, Herts and Riverain in the opening round of fixtures. Watford top the league with 13 points and top shot difference following their win against Cheshunt. Herts are close behind also on 13 points, winning on all four rinks against Harpenden. Defending Champions Riverain secured 11 points winning three of their four rinks against Hatfield and are sitting in third place. Latest results and league table can be found in the Competitions Portal. Next round of fixtures is on Sunday 3rd December 

The last time Hertfordshire IBA fielded a Liberty Trophy team was in 2015 and in that year suffered a loss to Bedfordshire in the First Round, therefore getting a team together for this season was a daunting prospect for the selectors, but thanks to unprecedented support from across the County, over 40 nominations were received. 

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On Saturday 28th October 2023, players from Hatfield, Herts, Riverain and Watford stepped onto the green to take on Middlesex IBA in the First Round of this year's Liberty Trophy. Hosted by Riverain IBC, an enthralled crowd witnessed some excellent bowling and a superb victory by Hertfordshire who ran out 135-95 winners.  

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Rink 1: Sam Andrews, Hayden Chambers, Jamie Claydon & Matt Hayzelden - WON 34-13 

A fast start from the ‘Youngsters’ rink saw them lead 11-0 at 5 ends. Despite dropping a five on the sixth end, the Herts four were always firmly in control of the match. Whilst dropping just seven ends in the entire game and picking up several "counts" along the way, the Herts four ran out comfortable winners. 

Rink 2: David Payne, Harry Undrell, Steve Budge & Paul Andrews - WON 21-15 

The game was close from the start and throughout the first half with the scores level at 9 ends. Middlesex then won three consecutive ends to build a small lead at 15-9. The Herts four however finished strongly and won the remaining seven ends to turnaround a 6 shot deficit into a 6 shot win at 21-15. 

Rink 3 : Richard Chunn, Alan Harman, Phil Russell & Paul Fuller - WON 20-18 

The most diverse rink with representation from Herts, Hatfield and Riverain. Middlesex took an early lead and maintained this until the 13th end. The Herts four fought back well and then took the lead themselves. The game was all square playing the last end, with the Herts four picking up a double to secure a well-deserved win by 2 shots. 

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Rink 4 : Terry Godden, Alan O’Reilly, Paul Haskings & Darren Hickin  - LOST 14-22 

Playing against the strongest Middlesex skip, the Herts rink were faced with a tough task. The team stuck in and battled from start to finish and kept the "counts" to a minimum, picking up some vital shots themselves along the way. Turning around a deficit of 14 shots at 13 ends to lose by just 8 proved a commendable effort. 

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Rink 5 : Dean Simpson, Marco Casotti, Richard Smith & Martin Coles - WON 28-8 

The Watford rink started fast and lead from beginning to end, not giving Middlesex a chance to get into the game. Herts were 15-3 up at the halfway point and dropped just two ends in the second half of the game, winning by a comfortable margin, delivering a commanding performance. 

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Rink 6 : Jonny Stokes, Chris Sage, Mike Bertrand & Jim Allen  - LOST 18-19 

A slow start for the Hertfordshire four saw them 14-9 down at eleven ends. Slowly they grew into the game and gradually pulled the deficit against Middlesex back drawing level on the 20th end, just losing out by 1 shot on the final end in a battling performance.

Hertfordshire will next play Essex in the 2nd Round on Saturday 16th December 2023 at 10am hosted by Riverain IBC. The team will be published in due course. Thank you once again to all those who nominated and the supporters who played their part in cheering the team on. Same again for the next round please! 

Matt Hayzelden 

The HIBA Selection Committee have selected teams for the upcoming Liberty Trophy fixture against Middlesex  (Saturday 28th October, 10am, at Riverain IBC), and friendlies against Bedfordshire (Wednesday 18th October, 2.30pm at Herts), London Irish (Sunday 22nd October, 2.30pm at Watford IBC) and Norfolk (Wednesday 1st November, 2.00pm at Herts IBC).  Please check the Selected HIBA Teams link on the website, club notice boards and the HIBA Facebook page for further details. Please come and show your support at these matches if you are able to. . 

Your new HIBA Website is now up and running. We hope you enjoy the new layout and design. If you have any issues with the new website or would like to suggest any new areas or improvements please drop Jamie Claydon (Website Manager) an email on jclaydon81@googlemail.com

The draws for the HIBA Competitions for the 2023/2024 Season have now been completed and are live on the Competitions Portal on the new-look website.  Your new Competitions Secretary is Matt Hayzelden (Riverain IBC). 

Hertfordshire have entered the Liberty Trophy for the 2023/2024 season after a number of years of not entering the competition. Hertfordshire have been drawn at home to Middlesex  on Saturday October 28th and Riverain IBC will be hosting the match. Club Secretaries will be sent nomination forms before the start of the season and should encourage as many nominations as possible.