Hertfordshire reached the semi-finals of the County Team Championships held on its home courts at the Hertfordshire Sports Village in Hatfield.

In the opening group matches, they beat Kent 5-1, Cheshire 4-2 and drew 3-3 with Gloucestershire to finish top and earn a place in the quarter-final knockout stages.

Essex were the opponents, and Herts wasted very little time in seeing off their local rivals 5-1 to earn a semi-final berth against Yorkshire.

The two doubles matches proved to be the deciding factor in the tie, with both going to a third-game decider. In both, Herts had match points that could have levelled the match score, but came out second in both cases. This gave Yorkshire a 4-0 winning lead and a place in the final.

Yorkshire went on to take the title with a 6-0 demolition of Hampshire.

For further details about badminton in the county, go to www.hertsbadminton.net