| Position | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincolnshire | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Worcestershire | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Staffordshire | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Jan | Staffordshire v Lincolnshire | 1½-10½ |
| 8 Feb | Lincolnshire v Worcestershire | 8-4 |
Staffordshire v Lincolnshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire travelled to Bramcote in Nottingham to play Staffordshire in their first MCCU Minor Counties match of the season. The fixture was part of a double headed match between Staffordshire and Lincolnshire with the U1650 match between the respective counties also being at the same venue. Unfortunately, Staffordshire had confirmed in midweek that they would be defaulting three boards and things got even worse on the morning of the match when their captain withdrew due to illness. So, with Staffordshire starting four points down and Lincolnshire fielding a strong line up the result was never really going to be in doubt. Staffordshire deserve great credit for playing the remaining eight boards when it would have been easier to concede the match. Lincolnshire out rated Staffordshire by quite a margin on all boards but they fought valiantly eventually having to concede defeat by a 10½-1½ margin. There were some nice wins for the Lincolnshire players including debutant Ollie Wilson who has recently moved to Lincolnshire from Sussex. The next match for Lincolnshire will be on Saturday February 8th when we play Worcestershire at Sharnford in Leicestershire.
| Staffordshire (Home team) | Lincolnshire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Mircea Mesesan | Tamworth | 1999 | ½-½ | Samuel Milson | Louth | 2176 |
| 2 | B | Vinod Fernando | Burton | 1948 | 0-1 | Ollie Willson | Louth | 2153 |
| 3 | W | Richard Anderson | Lichfield | 1926 | ½-½ | Jason Dilley | Grantham | 2149 |
| 4 | B | Pavel Nefyodov | Stafford | 1798 | ½-½ | Steve Prior | Grantham | 2134 |
| 5 | W | Andrew Taylor | Tamworth | 1715 | 0-1 | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 2132 |
| 6 | B | Tony Brothwood | Norton Canes | 1675 | 0-1 | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 2123 |
| 7 | W | Michael Hoare | Lichfield | 1619 | 0-1 | Alexandr Klimchik | Lincoln | 2122 |
| 8 | B | Oliver Johnson | Rugeley | 1438 | 0-1 | David Coates | Lincoln | 2073 |
| 9 | W | Default | 0-1 | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 2114 | ||
| 10 | B | Default | 0-1 | Robert K Taylor | Lincolnshire | 1944 | ||
| 11 | W | Default | 0-1 | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 1882 | ||
| 12 | B | Default | 0-1 | Graham Ladds | Newark | 1871 | ||
| 1½-10½ | ||||||||
Staffordshire v Lincolnshire
Report from Nigel Birtwistle
Lincolnshire travelled to the neutral venue at Sharnford in Leicestershire knowing that win would see them top the MCCU group and thus avoid the need to play a preliminary match in the National Stages of the Minor Counties Competition. Lincolnshire were without several regular players for this match but once again there were plenty of people who were willing to step in as replacements for the missing players, emphasising the importance of having a good squad of enthusiastic players who are always ready to play for the team.
Lincolnshire stormed into an early three-point lead and never looked back after that. Worcestershire did manage to win a couple of games late on when the match result was already decided but the final score of an 8-4 victory was nothing more than Lincolnshire deserved. We now advance to the Quarter Final stages of the Minor Counties competition on Saturday 10th May against opponents as yet unknown.
| Lincolnshire (Home team) | Worcestershire (Away team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Colour | Name | Club | Grade | Score | Name | Club | Grade |
| 1 | W | Alexandr Klimchik | Lincoln | 2150 | ½-½ | Joseph Friar | Kidderminster | 2135 |
| 2 | B | Ollie Willson | Louth | 2146 | 1-0 | Daniel Lambourne | Redditch | 2057 |
| 3 | W | Paul Cumbers | Grantham | 2129 | 1-0 | Peter Kitson | Worcester | 2031 |
| 4 | B | Steve Prior | Grantham | 2123 | ½-½ | Lee Davis | Malvern | 2027 |
| 5 | W | Nick Stead | Grimsby | 2123 | ½-½ | Matt Gillings | Worcestershire | 2019 |
| 6 | B | Nigel Birtwistle | Grantham | 2115 | 1-0 | Harry Evans | Redditch | 2013 |
| 7 | W | David Coates | Lincoln | 2067 | ½-½ | Kevin Hurney | South Birmingham | 2011 |
| 8 | B | Robert K Taylor | Stamford | 1939 | 1-0 | John Edge | Halesowen | 2008 |
| 9 | W | Andrew Hebert | Grantham | 1890 | 1-0 | Brian Turner | Malvern | 1975 |
| 10 | B | Daniel Thompson | Spalding | 1882 | 0-1 | Joe Rastall | Worcester | 1939 |
| 11 | W | Eric Gibbon | Lincolnshire | 1864 | 0-1 | Marcus Walsh | Worcestershire | 1904 |
| 12 | B | Stuart MacDonald | Grimsby | 1855 | 1-0 | Ben Attwell | Redditch | 1892 |
| 8-4 | ||||||||