Yorkshire qualify for Tollemache Final
Yorkshire qualify for Tolle Final
For the first time since 2016, Yorkshire have reached the final of the Tollemache Cup, the EBU’s premier competition for teams of eight representing counties. Congratulations to the players and selectors.
30 counties entered the qualifying competition played online on RealBridge over the weekend of 8th and 9th November. The teams were divided into two groups of 15 with each playing a round robin of seven board matches against all the others in the group, with four from each group to qualify for the final. Yorkshire were off to a fast start defeating one of the strongest teams, Kent by 18-2, and they went on to win seven of the eight matches played on Saturday, the only reverse being a 0-20 defeat by the eventual group winners, Surrey. At the end of the day Yorkshire were second and 32 points clear of the fifth placed team.
Things didn’t go so well on Sunday with only one win and two 10-10 draws from six matches. However, there was only one heavy defeat against a strong London team, and Yorkshire never looked in danger of losing their second place, eventually finishing 14 points ahead of third.
Yorkshire’s team comprised five pairs, who all played well – Dave Robinson (captain) & Tony Sowter, Alan Hayward & Steve Raine, Paul Brereton & Frank Dixon, Alan Brosgill & Robin Jepson, and Richard Pike and David Waxman. Steve, a native Scarborough lad, made a welcome return to the Yorkshire fold. Dave Robinson and Richard Pike were also members of the 2016 finalist team. The selectors are Alan Brosgill, Dave Robinson and Nichola Cockerill-Smith.
The final will be played face-to-face in Cambridge over the weekend of 31st January and 1st February. Good luck!
