Wymondham retained the Norwich Cup after a convincing win against Halvergate at the neutral Tivetshall venue. With both teams having dominated their respective leagues yet again winning games has become second nature to both so a great match was anticipated with much pride at stake. Wymondham captain Jon Sparham elected to start with Debbie Sparham at lead, AJ Brown at two and Jack Pye skipping while Halvergate captain David Lamb was skipping their opening triple with Keith Cooke leading and Jason Woods at number two. A super last bowl by Pye on the opening end sent the jack flying into the ditch to earn Wymondham two shots but Halvergate picked up a single on the second end. After Keith Cooke initially put Halvergate in control on the third end AJ Brown used controlled weight to take the jack back to Wymondham’s back woods. David Lamb though took shot but Jack Pye had the last laugh ditching the jack to give his side a 3-1 lead. Halvergate made an early change on the fourth end bringing in Kerry Greenacre at lead and Ryan Fox at two but a good wood by Jack Pye earned Wymondham another shot. Wymondham played the first of their three wild cards on the fifth end, when any shots scored are doubled, but a last bowl winner by David Lamb spoiled their plans. The sixth end saw Jason Woods come in at skip for Halvergate in place of David Lamb. This was replayed after AJ Brown knocked the jack off the side and on the replayed end excellent bowls by all three Wymondham players saw them score three shots and move 7-2 ahead. Wymondham changed all their three players for the seventh end with Jack Marshall coming in at lead, Trevor Brown at two and Chris Mann skipping while Ray Lamb came in at lead for Halvergate with Robbie Lamb at two while Jason Woods remained at skip. While the replacement players adjusted to the fast mat Wymondham took another single to move 8-2 up. End eight proved to be Halvergate’s best so far as a good bowl by Robbie Lamb put Wymondham under pressure and they failed to respond as Halvergate scored four shots to reduce the deficit to just 8-6. On the ninth end Wymondham took a single, as Halvergate missed chances to take out the opposition’s woods, but Halvergate took a single on the next end and Wymondham now led 9-7. With Jack Pye, AJ Brown & Chris Mann now in action Wymondham played their second wild card on the eleventh end. An attacking final bowl by Pye stopped the wild card being wasted as a single counted as two to move them 11-7 up. Halvergate played their first wild card on the next end but that was wasted as Wymondham took three shots to open up a 14-7 lead. An attacking bowl played by Halvergate’s Jason Woods pulled a shot back on the thirteenth end but the fourteenth end proved vital. With Jack Pye at lead, AJ Brown at two and Chris Mann skipping Wymondham went on the attack with Pye ditching the jack at the start of the end. Kerry Greenacre, Robbie Lamb & Jason Woods found themselves on the back foot as Wymondham scored five shots to establish a big 19-8 lead. They quickly added two more on the next end to move 21-8 up at the break. When play resumed Wymondham remained in control and kept the game tight. The nineteenth end was interesting with both teams playing a wild card but incredibly this finished as a no-scoring end so neither side benefitted. As the twenty-sixth was completed Wymondham had kept their lead intact which now stood at 29-16 and the match was effectively over. With two ends remaining Halvergate conceded and Wymondham’s celebrations began. Halvergate will be disappointed with the result but on the night not many teams could have lived against Wymondham in this form. Wymondham captain Jon Sparham nominated the East Anglian Air Ambulance as their chosen charity for the profits made from the competition. Wymondham’s eight players for the final were Debbie Sparham, AJ Brown, Jack Pye, Trevor Brown, Jon Sparham, Melvyn Barker, Jack Marshall & Chris Mann while Halvergate went with Keith Cooke, Jason Woods, David Lamb, Kerry Greenacre, Robbie Lamb, Ray Lamb, Steve Hall & Ryan Fox.
Wymondham turned up in force to support the eight players chosen for the Cup Final
The Halvergate side pictured after the Norwich Cup Final at Tivetshall
Wymondham's Trevor Brown and Debs Sparham in action last night
Wymondham captain Jon Sparham and Halvergate's Keith Cooke