Group Six's bid to win the Ashford Cup for the first time since 1969 ended in failure.

Bowlers from the group, which covers Southend, Rochford, Castle Point and the eastern part of Basildon districts, lost their final match for the county silverware 4-2.

The match was the last of a three-way round-robin final that saw Group Six take on Group Two (north-west Essex) and Group Three (Chelmsford).

Having already beaten Group Three, Group Six led Group Two on four of the six rinks early in the final.

But then Group Two picked up and turned the tables to win the match.

"We needed to have a 3-3 tie to win which would have given us 15 points. The other team needed a 4-2 win and they ended up beating us by 14 points to 13," said Group Six chairman Dennis Shrubshall.

"It was a disappointment but it was all down to the last ends, which we could have either won or lost."

Published Tuesday August 24, 2004

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