John Parkinson and Andy Higginson won 1 up against Dave Hedley and Steve Nichols. A see saw match kept the large gallery entertained, or would have done had any spectators bothered to turn up. John and Andy were 3 up after 11 holes. This gave them great confidence which was obviously misplaced as their opponents reached the 17th tee 1 up. Then in desperation our Stoke players won the last 2 holes with some good putts to secure the narrow victory.
Andy Cracknell and Ian Bickers lost 3 and 2 to Andrew Cornish and Andrew Tabrar.  The Stoke players could not overcome the many shots they were giving their opponents. However Andy was not greatly worried as he took the glory for the day by being nearest to the pin in 2 shots at the 17th. Well he took no chances by holing his second shot for an eagle on a difficult hole. What style, what a showman. He will enjoy the wine.
Dave Seymour and Paul Sheffield beat Eric Kiddle and Chris Biggs 1 up.  The report of this match is restricted by an ongoing enquiry into the possible use of illegal drugs which may have been dressed up as painkillers. It can however be reported that the Stoke heroes secured the narrow win by scoring pars on the last two holes including bouncing the ditch on the 17th.
Eric Fisher and Alan Finlayson were walloped 4 and 3 by Conor O'Brien and Paul Tebbutt. The report could be kind and mention the many shots received by the Haverhill players and Conor's unlikely birdie on hole 8 after Eric's sandie par but the Stoke players do not want to make any excuses for their defeat.
Rob Swan and Bob Filer halved their match with Laurie Drysdale and Nigel Taylor. This game started on the 16th. Two players in total played the 16th, three played the 17th and 18th and then miraculously four players played holes 1 to 15. Mind boggling but Bob will explain if you can set aside a full day for the improbable and detailed explanation.
Gordon Bryan and Roger Davies won 1 up against Paul Freeman and Richard Brazier.  At first the Stoke players were disorientated by seeing Bob Filer on the wrong tee (see above) but then Gordon found some demon form to lead his pair to a tight win. Roger was in attendance but wishes to stress that he kept the scorecard very well.
Phil Hickley and Tony Denmead were defeated 7 and 5 by Eamonn Bareham and Nick Clark. Stoke senior players often give many shots to opponents in inter club matches but our players would not wish to use this as an explanation for a heavy loss.

Finally Captain Malcolm won the longest drive of both teams but showed his class by passing on the bottle of wine to his playing partner Graham whose drive was only shorter because of a soft bounce.