Maybe the methods are to blame... I have a preference for reversing the meaning of the 2
♦ then 3
♦/immediate 3
♦ sequences, so that responder can use the artificial 2
♦ followed by anything but 2
♠ as gf, with an immediate 3
♦ as 5-5 or better, less than gf.
But one has to fight the war with the army one has, not the army one wishes one had.
If and to the extent that there is any blame, it seems to me that it must lie with North. His hand is surely a gf after the 2
♣ rebid... AJ isn't a bad doubleton, so I think he should have made the gf 3
♦ call.
Presumably this would allow partner to show 3 spades if he held them, so we don't risk missing that fit... it allows for 3N when that is right... the AJ of clubs means that opener will have a source of tricks and increases the likelihood of 2 heart stoppers (especially since we have the J).
Nothing is perfect....in the old days, and, I suspect, for a number of Acol players, the blame rests with S for not reversing into diamonds
As it is, while I think the auction could and should have gone better, I don't think that anyone committed any horrific error.
'one of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God' Johann Hari
Team match