Macclesfield Quiz League |
News & Views |
2019–20 Season |
Week 15 |
A League |
B League |
C League |
Cars & Vans 4U Trophy |
For a PDF version of this page, please click here.
By Haydn Thompson, with input from Mark Watson.
The stand–out result this week was the Rushton Diamonds' victory over the Dolphin. The Diamonds were one of only two teams that won by going "second first" – the other being the Sutton Club. In fairness we should point out that the Dolphin were a player short, but on the other hand the Dolphin did have the benefit of what seemed to be a distinct bias in the questions.
Also worthy of mention is the Harrington Academicals' 48–point victory over the Waters Green Rams. This was only the Rams' second defeat of the season, and it allowed the Nags Head to replace them at the top of the B League table (albeit only on goal difference, and the Rams have a game in hand).
With just three weeks to go, some issues are beginning to be settled.
The Nags Head 'B' need just one point from their two remaining games to secure their second successive A League title – albeit the first under their new name!
The Royal Oak cannot now escape relegation from the A League, and the British Flag must win their three remaining games and hope that the Rushton Diamonds lose both of their last two. The Flag may not wish to be reminded that they still have to play both of the top two; but on the other hand, the Diamonds still have to play second and third.
The issues that matter in the A League could all be decided in a single game next week, when the Nags Head 'B' play the British Flag.
Waters Green Rams are favourites for promotion from the B League, despite their defeat this week, as they're level on points with the Nags Head and have a game in hand. At least one of these two will go up, but the Dolphin Dragons are not out of it yet.
The Chester Road Tavern will return to the C League next season, but any one of four teams could still join them.
In the C League, the top four all have three games left to play and any two of them could go up; but the Park Taverners and Sutton Club have it in their hands (as they say in football).
It wasn't a great week for scores, either team–wise or individually. The top individual scorer was Alan Hodgson with 45, and there were 42s for Mark Watson and Graham Bailey. Top scorer in the B League was Rob Parkin with 39; in the C League the best score was a 36 for Barbara Taylor. Rob's fellow–Academical Dave Partington, with 33, was the only other person outside the A League to score over 30.
A similar tale is told by the fact that there were only five personal bests (three of them in the C League) and 25 people (fairly evenly spread across the three Leagues) failed to improve on their lowest scores of the season.
I wrote last time that Ashton Davies's lowest score of the season might be enough to put him top of the table this week, and that's exactly what happened. The signs are all in Ashton's favour, but the person most likely to catch him may be Alice Walker. Ashton may be looking for revenge for the outcome of their Brain of Britain duel – not least next week when the Queens host the CHB!
We have a similar situation (table–wise, at least) in the C League, where John Poyser is currently in pole position. Wendy Brown, currently in third place, looks most likely to overhaul him; she hasn't yet played her 'quota' of twelve games. But there are at least three other people who might snatch it at the death.
In the B League, Dave Partington is going to be very difficult to catch.
Nags Head 'B' | 153 | 135 | Church House Bollington |
Mark Watson | 42 | 39 | Ashton Davies |
Dolphin | 125 | 132 | Rushton Diamonds |
Alan Hodgson | 45 | 39 | Brian Bogie |
Royal Oak | 145 | 160 | Weaver |
Alan James | 39 | 42 | Graham Bailey (pb) |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Nags Head 'B' | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2025 | 22 |
Queens | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1852 | 16 |
Church House Bollington | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1729 | 14 |
Dolphin | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1874 | 12 |
Weaver | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1741 | 12 |
Rushton Diamonds | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1740 | 10 |
British Flag | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1476 | 4 |
Royal Oak | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1784 | 2 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 14 | |
Ashton Davies | Church House Bollington | 11 | 513 | 54 | 39 | 39 |
Mark Watson | Nags Head 'B' | 12 | 504 | 51 | 42 | 42 |
Alice Walker | Queens | 11 | 501 | 54 | 33 | |
Alan Hodgson | Dolphin | 12 | 495 | 57 | 39 | 45 |
Haydn Thompson | Queens | 11 | 459 | 51 | 24 | |
Peter McBride | Dolphin | 12 | 420 | 45 | 27 | 27 |
Brian Bogie | Rushton Diamonds | 12 | 411 | 42 | 30 | 39 |
Graham Bailey | Weaver | 11 | 390 | 42 | 27 | 42 |
Alan James | Royal Oak | 12 | 372 | 42 | 24 | 39 |
Ian Grieve | Weaver | 11 | 354 | 42 | 18 | 39 |
Alan Gilday | Weaver | 11 | 354 | 39 | 24 | 27 |
Robin Hood | 112 | 129 | Dolphin Dragons |
Jim Kennelly Jenny Edwards |
21 21 |
27 | Dave Turner |
Chester Road Tavern | 89 | 141 | Nags Head |
Chris Moores Jim Moores |
18 18 |
30 30 |
Andrew Wright Paul Prior |
Harrington Academicals | 150 | 102 | Waters Green Rams |
Rob Parkin (pb) | 39 | 27 | Adum Carr |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Nags Head | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1896 | 20 |
Waters Green Rams | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1769 | 20 |
Dolphin Dragons | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1629 | 16 |
Harrington Academicals | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1816 | 10 |
Plough Horntails | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1487 | 10 |
Robin Hood | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1567 | 8 |
Waters Green Lemmings | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1359 | 8 |
Chester Road Tavern | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1084 | 0 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 14 | |
Dave Partington | Harrington Academicals | 13 | 444 | 48 | 33 | 33 |
Keith Pointon | Waters Green Rams | 12 | 390 | 45 | 27 | 24 |
Liz Horrocks | Dolphin Dragons | 11 | 363 | 48 | 12 | 12 |
Jim Kennelly | Robin Hood | 11 | 354 | 48 | 21 | 21 |
Malcolm Asquith | Plough Horntails | 11 | 351 | 45 | 21 | |
Paul Prior | Nags Head | 11 | 345 | 45 | 18 | 30 |
Jon Thompson | Waters Green Lemmings | 10 | 330 | 45 | 24 | |
Rob Parkin | Harrington Academicals | 10 | 318 | 39 | 24 | 39 |
Andy Johnson | Nags Head | 11 | 312 | 39 | 18 | 18 |
Alasdair Reid | Nags Head | 10 | 309 | 42 | 21 |
Broken Cross Club | 108 | 94 | Sutton Mutton |
Anne Goddard Peter Bullivent |
21 21 |
24 | Wynne Keith–Davies |
Pack Horse Bowling Club | 130 | 94 | Brewers Arms |
Andrew Vickerstaff (pb) Tim Bloor |
30 30 |
24 | Kenny Davenport–Slater |
Sutton Club | 122 | 87 | Harrington 'B' |
Simon Rumsey (pb) | 27 | 15 15 |
John Green Tom Aindow |
Park Timers | 158 | 93 | King's Gambit |
Barbara Taylor Andrew Fenton (pb) Glyn Bradley |
36 30 30 |
15 15 |
Susan Taylor Michael Taylor |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Park Taverners | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1665 | 20 |
Sutton Club | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1641 | 18 |
Park Timers | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1592 | 16 |
Sutton Mutton | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1576 | 16 |
Broken Cross Club | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1473 | 13 |
Pack Horse Bowling Club | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1522 | 12 |
Brewers Arms | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 1521 | 12 |
Harrington 'B' | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1509 | 11 |
King's Gambit | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1172 | 2 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 14 | |
John Poyser | Park Timers | 13 | 345 | 39 | 21 | 24 |
Andy Ridgway | Brewers Arms | 14 | 336 | 36 | 18 | 15 |
Wendy Brown | Sutton Club | 11 | 330 | 45 | 18 | 24 |
John Green | Harrington 'B' | 13 | 330 | 39 | 15 | 15 |
Wynne Keith–Davies | Sutton Mutton | 10 | 309 | 45 | 24 | 24 |
Shauna Barstow | Park Taverners | 12 | 306 | 36 | 15 | |
Graham Wallace | Park Taverners | 11 | 297 | 33 | 18 | |
Geoff Parkin | Harrington 'B' | 12 | 282 | 33 | 9 | 12 |
Jackie Hulme | Broken Cross Club | 12 | 279 | 33 | 6 | 15 |
Mike Proctor | Sutton Mutton | 11 | 267 | 33 | 12 |
Week | Setters | Difficulty | Balance | Ent'ment | Total | Last Yr | ||
1 | 12 | Spec | Chester Road Tavern | 10.00 | 9.79 | 7.03 | 26.82 | -15.29 |
2 | 4 | GK | Waters Green Rams | 7.16 | 9.73 | 6.20 | 23.09 | 18.84 |
3 | 7 | Spec | Royal Oak | 9.45 | 7.87 | 5.15 | 22.47 | 8.43 |
4 | 1 | Spec | Rushton Diamonds | 8.23 | 6.63 | 6.67 | 21.53 | |
5 | 4 | Spec | Park Timers | 9.99 | 4.96 | 6.47 | 21.42 | 18.44 |
6 | 6 | Spec | Queens | 5.71 | 8.98 | 6.03 | 20.72 | 15.92 |
7 | 14 | Spec | Dolphin | 7.86 | 6.28 | 6.39 | 20.52 | 7.84 |
8 | 9 | GK | Broken Cross Club | 6.20 | 9.00 | 4.43 | 19.64 | 18.23 |
9 | 2 | GK | Dolphin Dragons | 5.02 | 8.43 | 5.65 | 19.10 | 17.65 |
10 | 6 | GK | Queens | 6.01 | 6.52 | 5.86 | 18.40 | 21.09 |
11 | 3 | Spec | British Flag | 2.77 | 9.23 | 6.03 | 18.03 | 14.50 |
12 | 11 | GK | Church House Bollington | 4.67 | 7.25 | 6.09 | 18.02 | 11.71 |
13 | 13 | Spec | Weaver | 3.24 | 8.40 | 6.00 | 17.64 | 14.14 |
14 | 2 | Spec | Sutton Mutton | 6.18 | 6.05 | 4.11 | 16.34 | 8.61 |
15 | 1 | GK | Rushton Diamonds | 10.00 | 0.00 | 6.28 | 16.28 | 18.63 |
16 | 5 | GK | Sutton Club | 6.63 | 3.42 | 6.11 | 16.15 | 21.28 |
17 | 11 | Spec | Church House Bollington | 4.60 | 3.54 | 6.67 | 14.81 | 11.85 |
18 | 7 | GK | Royal Oak | 4.05 | 3.97 | 5.98 | 14.00 | 17.10 |
19 | 14 | GK | Dolphin | 6.17 | 2.23 | 5.56 | 13.96 | 20.20 |
20 | 12 | GK | Pack Horse Bowling Club | 6.18 | 1.77 | 5.97 | 13.92 | -21.93 |
21 | 8 | Spec | Brewers Arms | 0.00 | 9.42 | 3.86 | 13.28 | -8.05 |
22 | 8 | GK | Nags Head | 1.59 | 7.38 | 4.08 | 13.05 | -15.49 |
23 | 9 | Spec | Robin Hood | 1.61 | 6.67 | 4.37 | 12.66 | -15.73 |
24 | 15 | GK | Park Taverners | 3.44 | 3.37 | 4.97 | 11.77 | 21.38 |
25 | 15 | Spec | Waters Green Lemmings | 0.80 | 5.76 | 4.29 | 10.84 | 12.78 |
26 | 5 | Spec | Sutton Club | 3.39 | 0.00 | 6.19 | 9.58 | |
27 | 10 | GK | Harrington 'B' | 0.00 | 4.16 | 5.28 | 9.44 | 13.84 |
28 | 3 | GK | British Flag | 3.63 | 0.69 | 5.04 | 9.36 | |
29 | 13 | GK | Weaver | 0.39 | 3.11 | 4.72 | 8.22 | 18.07 |
30 | 10 | Spec | Plough Horntails | 0.28 | 2.84 | 4.19 | 7.32 | -19.31 |
For the full spreadsheet, please click here.
Entertainment marks: | A League | 5.50 | B League | 3.50 | C League | 3.87 | Overall | 4.29 | Last year | 4.97 |
Average team score going "first first": | 52 | Average team score going "second first": | 44 | Season's average: | 54 |
On average, teams going "first first" scored | 92% | of their average for the season |
On average, teams going "second first" scored | 85% | of their average for the season |
On average, the teams going "first first" did | 8% | better than their opponents |
Entertainment marks: | A League | 5.83 | B League | 4.33 | C League | 4.75 | Overall | 4.97 | Last year | 6.72 |
Average team score going "first first": | 83 | Average team score going "second first": | 68 | Season's average: | 79 |
On average, teams going "first first" scored | 101% | of their average for the season |
On average, teams going "second first" scored | 91% | of their average for the season |
On average, the teams going "first first" did | 11% | better than their opponents |
Average team score going "first first": | 134 | Average team score going "second first": | 112 | Season's average: | 133 |
On average, teams going "first first" scored | 97% | of their average for the season |
On average, teams going "second first" scored | 88% | of their average for the season |
On average, the teams going "first first" did | 10% | better than their opponents |
Most teams found this week's questions quite tough – especially those going "second first".
On the Specialist questions, only four of the twenty teams got more than their average scores for the season. Four of those teams were in the C League. On the General Knowledge, seven teams managed to do this.
Overall, five teams did better than their average scores. Four of these teams went "first first", and three of them were in the C League.
The above figures would seem to suggest that there was a distinct bias in favour of the teams that went "first first", who did on average 10% better than their opponents. None of them however won by a margin of less than 10%; there was just one game where the difference was just over this figure, but this is so marginal that on statistical grounds alone, it's difficult to blame the questions for the result.
The Entertainment scores were not great – both sets being in the bottom third of the table. Overall, the Park Taverners' General Knowledge questions did better on Difficulty but the Specialists, set by the Waters Green Lemmings, did better on Balance. The upshot is that there's very little to separate the two sets in the overall table, where they're in 24th and 25th place respectively.
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2020