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News & Views
2023–4 Season
Week 17

On this page:

A League – Full Results
B League – Full Results
A League – Summary
B League – Summary
Cars & Vans 4U Trophy

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For a PDF version of this page, please click here.

News and Views: 2023–4 Season, Week 17 – 9 April 2024

Results and Tables

Congratulations to the Poachers, who beat a weakened Nags Head 'B' team to increase the gap between first and second in the A League to an uncloseable six points, meaning the Poachers retain the title that they won for the first time last season.

Not only did 1st play 2nd in the A League this week, but 3rd played 4th, 5th played 6th and 7th played 8th. The Queens of the Castle were previously above the Dolphin only on goal difference, but they opened up a two–point advantage with a narrow victory (which could easily have been narrower still) this week. The other two matches went against previous form – Waters Green Weavers and Harrington Academicals taking the points. The Weavers' victory lifts them out of the bottom two, meaning that the Nags Head will have to beat Queens of the Castle next week to be sure of retaining their place in the A League. But other things being equal, the Academicals will be playing in the B League next year, as they remain in last place (despite their win) and have now played all of their games.

In the B League, Waters Green Nags were already assured of the title, and the Park Taverners strengthened their hold on second place with a victory over the Chester Road Tavern. Only the Sutton Club can deprive them of it now, and will do so if they beat the Park Timers and the Taverners lose to the Bate Hallers.

Individual

Top scorers this week were Bob Gratton (pb), Ashton Davies and Ian Grieve, all with 48. Alan Hodgson and Tony Browne (pb) both scored 42, and the top scorer in the B League was Mick Graves with 39 (pb).

There were five personal bests this week: two in Seat 4, and one each in seats 3, 6 and 8. But twice as many people failed to better their lowest scores of the season.

Alan Hodgson increased his lead over Alice Walker at the top of the A League Individual table to 12 points. Mark Watson can catch Alan in theory, if everything goes his way, but the only person other than Alice with any real chance is Ashton Davies, who has still only played ten games. If my sums are correct, Ashton's twin objectives must be to score at least as many as Alice and nine more than Alan.

After Week 16 it looked most unlikely that anyone would catch Paul Prior and Ian Musgrave at the top of the B League table, and that is now a mathematical impossibility. Paul and Ian remain neck and neck – their team having not played this week – but (according to my sums) Ian needs to score more than 30, and six more than Paul, to take the title.

Questions

The Waters Green Nags were one of the two teams that drew short straws this season and were asked to set two lots of questions. In Week 8, while the Specialist questions were well received, the General Knowledge proved to be quite difficult and were not popular.

This time there were no such issues. The Specialists are third (out of 34) in the Question Setters' Trophy table, and the General Knowledge are exactly in mid–table.

A couple of minor issues have been raised on the Forum: the descriptions of Dubai as a capital city, and of Exeter as a "city on the south coast". It turns out that Dubai is the capital of the Emirate to which it shares its name, and the most populous city in the UAE; but it is not (as the question implied) the national capital. And Exeter is arguably about ten miles from the coast, although if you count the Exe estuary as the sea (which I have suggested you maybe can) it's a lot closer.

A League – Summary

Results

Note: in this section, the home teams are on the left and the away teams are on the right.

Queens of the Castle 165  160 Dolphin
Alice Walker
Tim Massey
36
36
42 Alan Hodgson
Poachers 194  131 Nags Head 'B'
Bob Gratton (pb)
Ashton Davies
48
48
33 Paul Morrissey
Dolphin Hammers 150 160 Waters Green Weavers
Dave Cooper
Pete Sayers (pb)
36
30
48 Ian Grieve
Nags Head 144 153 Harrington Academicals
Tony Browne (pb) 42 33
33
Dave Partington
Alan James

Table

  Played Won Drawn Lost Total Points
Poachers 13 12 0 1 2293 24
Nags Head 'B' 13 10 0 3 2150 20
Queens of the Castle 13 8 0 5 2204 16
Dolphin 13 7 0 6 2061 14
Dolphin Hammers 13 7 0 6 1975 14
Waters Green Weavers 14 3 1 10 2107 7
Nags Head 13 3 0 10 1860 6
Harrington Academicals 14 2 1 11 2083 5

Individual Top Ten

  Team Played Total Highest Lowest Week 17
Alan Hodgson Dolphin 13 519 54 39 42
Alice Walker Queens of the Castle 13 507 60 36 36
Ian Grieve Waters Green Weavers 14 498 54 36 48
Mark Watson Nags Head 'B' 11 498 54 36
Greg Spiller Poachers 12 489 51 33 27
Haydn Thompson Queens of the Castle 13 486 57 33 33
Ashton Davies Poachers 10 471 60 39 48
Peter McBride Dolphin 13 444 51 36 36
Dave Barber Dolphin Hammers 12 441 48 33
Dave Partington Harrington Academicals 14 429 48 33 33

B League – Summary

Results

Note: in this section, the home teams are on the left and the away teams are on the right.

Chester Road Tavern 113 144 Park Taverners
Tom Radley (pb) 33 33 Heather Wallace
Sutton Club 136 116 Bate Hallers
Simon Rumsey 33 33 Malcolm Asquith
Pack Horse Bowling Club 120 140 Sutton Mutton
Tim Bloor 30 39 Mick Graves (pb)

Table

  Played Won Drawn Lost Total Points
Waters Green Nags 13 12 0 1 1983 24
Park Taverners 13 9 0 4 1806 18
Sutton Club 13 8 0 5 1778 16
Bate Hallers 13 7 1 5 1703 15
Chester Road Tavern 13 5 0 8 1826 10
Sutton Mutton 13 5 0 8 1618 10
Park Timers 131 4 0 9 1641 8
Pack Horse Bowling Club 13 1 1 11 1454 3

Individual Top Ten

  Team Played Total Highest Lowest Week 17
Paul Prior Waters Green Nags 13 441 57 27  
Ian Musgrave Waters Green Nags 12 441 48 30  
John Poyser  Park Timers 13 372 42 27  
Graham Wallace  Park Taverners 12 360 39 24 27
Wynne Keith–Davies  Sutton Mutton 13 357 48 21 30
Heather Wallace  Park Taverners 12 333 51 12 33
Anne Jeater  Bate Hallers 13 333 39 21 18
Shauna Barstow  Park Taverners 11 327 42 12  
Wendy Brown  Sutton Club 11 321 42 15 21
Andrew Fenton  Park Timers 13 303 39 21  
Simon Rumsey  Sutton Club 12 303 39 18 33

A League – Full Results

Note: in this section, the teams that went "first first" (first in the Specialist questions) are on the left in the tables. In the headings, the home teams are given first.

Queens of the Castle vs. Dolphin

Dolphin Spec GK Total Queens of the Castle Spec GK Total
Rossi Albanese 12 15 27 Alice Walker 18 18 36
Alan Hodgson 18 24 42 Haydn Thompson 12 21 33
John Brown 9 12 21 Stuart Orford 12 12 24
Peter McBride 15 21 36 Tim Massey 15 21 36
Conferred 8 14 22 Conferred 8 15 23
Passed over 3 9 13 Passed over 4 9 13
Totals 65 95 160 Totals 69 96 165

Poachers vs. Nags Head 'B'

Poachers Spec GK Total Nags Head 'B' Spec GK Total
Ed Baron 18 21 39 Mark Shaw 9 9 18
Bob Gratton (pb) 24 24 48 Steve Carter 15 15 30
Ashton Davies 18 30 48 Laurence Plant 12 12 24
Greg Spiller 18 9 27 Paul Morrissey 15 18 33
Conferred 3 13 16 Conferred 10 13 23
Passed over 3 13 16 Passed over 1 2 3
Totals 84 110 194 Totals 62 69 131

Dolphin Hammers vs. Waters Green Weavers

Waters Green Weavers Spec GK Total Dolphin Hammers Spec GK Total
Maddy Griffiths 12 12 24 Liz Horrocks 12 15 27
Ian Grieve 21 27 48 Pete Sayers (pb) 15 15 30
Alan Gilday 6 18 24 Keith Duffield 6 12 18
Keith Bebbington 12 3 15 Dave Cooper 18 18 36
Conferred 11 21 32 Conferred 11 18 29
Passed over 3 14 17 Passed over 3 7 10
Totals 65 95 160 Totals 65 85 150

Nags Head vs. Harrington Academicals

Harrington Academicals Spec GK Total Nags Head Spec GK Total
Dave Partington 15 18 33 Neil Drummond 9 12 21
Alan James 15 18 33 Neil Johnson 3 15 18
Rob Parkin 9 15 24 Phil Davies 15 21 36
Steve Dale 18 9 27 Tony Browne (pb) 15 27 42
Conferred 5 11 16 Conferred 8 7 15
Passed over 7 13 20 Passed over 6 6 12
Totals 69 84 153 Totals 56 88 144

B League – Full Results

Note: in this section, the teams that went "first first" (first in the Specialist questions) are on the left in the tables. In the headings, the home teams are given first.

Chester Road Tavern vs. Park Taverners

Park Taverners Spec GK Total Chester Road Tavern Spec GK Total
Nick Crowdy 9 12 21 Tony Moores 6 9 15
Heather Wallace 12 21 33 Chris Moores 6 9 15
Pete Dykstra 12 12 24 Tom Radley (pb) 9 24 33
Graham Wallace 15 12 27 Karl Burgess 9 6 15
Conferred 9 11 20 Conferred 11 12 23
Passed over 6 13 19 Passed over 2 10 12
Totals 63 81 144 Totals 43 70 113

Sutton Club vs. Bate Hallers

Bate Hallers Spec GK Total Sutton Club Spec GK Total
Dave McGuinness 6 12 18 Wendy Brown 15 6 21
Malcolm Asquith 15 18 33 Simon Rumsey 15 18 33
Anne Jeater 6 12 18 John Green 6 12 18
Pat Jeater 9 0 9 Emma Griggs 15 9 24
Conferred 8 16 24 Conferred 10 12 22
Passed over 1 13 14 Passed over 9 9 18
Totals 45 71 116 Totals 70 66 136

Pack Horse Bowling Club vs. Sutton Mutton

Pack Horse Bowling Club Spec GK Total Sutton Mutton Spec GK Total
Reg Bloor 9 6 15 Mike Proctor 18 6 24
Mary Bloor 9 15 24 Mick Graves (pb) 15 24 39
Tim Bloor 12 18 30 Wynne Keith–Davies 9 21 30
Andrew Vickerstaff 21 6 27 (No 4th player)      
Conferred 9 9 18 Conferred 13 14 27
Passed over 3 3 6 Passed over 5 15 20
Totals 63 57 120 Totals 60 80 140

Cars & Van 4U Question Setters' Trophy

  Wk   Setters Difficulty Balance Ent'ment Total Last Yr
1 6 Spec Park Taverners 10.00 9.47 6.83 26.30 26.00
2 1 GK Nags Head 'B' 10.00 8.19 7.16 25.35 21.64
3 5 GK Harrington Academicals 8.22 9.86 5.83 23.91 12.37
4 12 GK Chester Road Tavern 7.34 9.72 6.83 23.88 12.39
5 9 Spec Waters Green Weavers 6.63 9.95 6.93 23.51 24.51
6 12 Spec Chester Road Tavern 7.41 8.00 6.75 22.15 19.64
7 13 Spec Park Timers 7.09 8.22 6.33 21.64 25.21
8 17 Spec Waters Green Nags 7.14 7.23 6.98 21.35 10.58
9 7 Spec Nags Head 5.58 8.49 6.75 20.82 10.58
10 7 GK Nags Head 6.00 8.43 6.25 20.68 15.55
11 8 Spec Waters Green Nags 4.70 8.95 6.16 19.81 15.55
12 2 Spec Sutton Club 4.82 8.21 6.66 19.69 21.98
13 4 Spec Dolphin Hammers 4.00 9.36 6.17 19.53 11.27
14 6 GK Park Taverners 4.52 8.65 5.67 18.84 19.10
15 11 GK Poachers 5.27 6.53 6.41 18.20 18.62
16 9 GK Waters Green Weavers 5.97 5.57 6.46 18.00 18.08
17 17 GK Waters Green Nags 3.88 8.21 5.84 17.94 8.08
18 14 GK Sutton Mutton 4.37 8.86 3.75 16.98 13.50
19 1 Spec Nags Head 'B' 9.41 0.10 7.25 16.77 19.80
20 2 GK Sutton Club 4.22 5.93 6.58 16.73 20.28
21 11 Spec Poachers 5.71 3.94 6.41 16.07 21.07
22 3 Spec Queens of the Castle 2.55 7.52 5.50 15.57 16.72
23 5 Spec Harrington Academicals 4.96 3.93 5.67 14.56 23.24
24 3 GK Queens of the Castle 3.54 5.12 5.75 14.40 13.47
25 13 GK Park Timers 6.35 1.78 6.16 14.29 25.93
26 15 Spec Dolphin 4.46 4.21 5.42 14.10 19.51
27 10 GK Bate Hallers 1.58 7.84 3.50 12.93 8.82
28 15 GK Dolphin 3.12 4.09 5.33 12.54 18.76
29 14 Spec Sutton Mutton 7.12 0.52 3.67 11.31 21.09
30 4 GK Dolphin Hammers 3.34 2.59 5.16 11.09 20.60
31 8 GK Waters Green Nags 0.00 7.55 2.93 10.48 8.08
32 16 GK Pack Horse Bowling Club 5.02 0.00 5.41 10.43 18.91
33 10 Spec Bate Hallers 0.00 5.30 3.75 9.05 8.11
34 16 Spec Pack Horse Bowling Club 1.75 0.00 4.25 6.00 22.08

The Waters Green Nags were one of the two teams that drew short straws this season and were asked to set two lots of questions. The previous time, as the above table shows, the Specialists scored well and are currently in eighth place (out of 34). But most teams struggled with the General Knowledge, which (as the setters later acknowledged) had been made deliberately on the difficult side; and this resulted in poor marks for both Difficulty and Entertainment.

This week saw a noticeable improvement. According to the spreadsheet, the Specialist questions were easier than average, and well balanced, and a decent Entertainment mark puts them in third place on that measure. Overall they're three places higher than the previous set, in eighth. And this time the General Knowledge questions did much better; while still apparently slightly on the hard side, they scored well for Balance and are 19th out of 34 on Entertainment (just outside the top half of the table). Overall they just made it into the top half, ranked 17 out of 34.

The spreadsheet detected a slight bias in both sets towards the teams that started first. Those teams scored (on average) 111% of their average marks in the Specialists, 97% in the General Knowledge, and 103% overall; for the teams that started second the figures were (respectively) 101%, 94%, and 97%.

We should point out that of the teams that went second, one had only three players and at least one other was missing their star player. The former managed to win despite their handicap, scoring 99% of their average mark, but the latter scored only 79% and lost – albeit to the A League leaders, whose victory makes them Champions Elect.

For the full spreadsheet, please click here.

© Macclesfield Quiz League 2024