Our 2^nd match of the season was away against our old rivals Warwickshire at Robin Hood GC. The weather was again kind to us and course looked in excellent condition. 

The morning foursomes saw Phil Krone and Tom Wakeman lead the team out against England international Seb Cave and ex professional Warren Bladon, a close encounter all the way around unfortunately ended in a 2&1 defeat with a little bit of a sour taste left in our mouths after events on 17! Matches 2, 3 & 4 brought much better news with all 3 matches gaining a winning point, Nathan Slater and Giles Blakely managed a superb win in their match on the 18th 2up, Kris Allen and Cassius Blake maintained their unbeaten foursomes record winning 4&3 in match 3 and match 4 was another close game going down 18 but the experience of Richard Sadler and Steve Lane shone through to win 2up. Match 5 involved last minute call up Matt Brookbanks and recent u18 boys champion and 1^st team debutant Mark Hewlett Jnr, unfortunately things didn't quite go Worcestershire's way and lost 6&4. Nevertheless another fantastic foursomes showing coming away with a 3-2 lead going into the afternoon singles.

Warwickshire are a very strong side and sent out their big guns at the top of the order so it was always going to be a tough challenge in the singles, matches 1, 2 & 3 all had some excellent golf in there but unfortunately for Worcestershire these all went Warwickshire's way as Krone lost 3&1 with Blakely and Slater both going down 4&3. Matches 4 & 5 got us back on track with points coming  from debutant Hewlett Jnr (conceded after 8 holes) and Wakeman producing 6 birdies and an eagle in 14 holes to win 5&4. The match was tied at 5-5 with 5 matches left on the course. An unusual defeat for Lane (3&2) in match 6 was counteracted by wins in match 8 and 9 from Brookbanks (4&2) and Blake (2&1) to take us back in front 7-6. Matches 7 and 10 were very close all the way around, Allen lost 1 down in match 10 to make the score 7-7 so it was down to the ex professionals in match 7, Sadler vs Bladon. Sadler 1up standing on the 18^th tee hits his drive OOB, a head in hands moment as Bladon found the fairway. Sadler reloads and finds the fairway. A par or bogey looks enough for Bladon to gain a half point to tie the match and shanks his 2^nd shot OOB! A half in double bogey 6 was enough for Sadler to take his match 1up and WORCESTERSHIRE WIN 8-7! 

A superb performance from the whole team. 

Thanks to Matt Brookbanks and Richard Sadler (vice captains) for stepping in for me as I was away on holiday and kept me updated throughout the entire day. Thank you to past presidents David Mcgillivray and Brian Peplow for their continued support.

The matches don't get any easier as our next game is at Holinwell GC vs Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire have also won their opening 2 matches so this game could go a long way in deciding the league this season.

Adam Norman (Captain)

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