Entries Close on 31st of January 2024

Written by Mikey Titcombe

We have arrived at the final weekend of action at the Bowls England National Finals. This weekend, the last two competitions with Wiltshire involvement took place, with Keith Sanders of Amesbury and Sue Cooke of Box in action in the Men’s and Women’s Senior Singles respectively.

First up, we go to Keith Sanders of Amesbury, who after battling through several rounds to qualify for Leamington, faced off against Essex’s Senior Singles champion, Graham Easterbrook. A closely fought contest took place, with both players racking up shots. However, it was Graham who secured the win, unfortunately ending Keith’s run in round 1 of the national finals, 16-21.

Over on E Green, Sue Cooke took on Gill Crossley of Northamptonshire in her opening match. Putting the vast experience she had on these greens over the last 18 days to good use, Sue recorded an impressive 21-5 victory to book her place in the last 16, to take place later that same day.

Next up for Sue was Middlesex’s Hannah Hollis, who had edged out Isle of Wight representative Sandra Aldridge in round 1. This proved a tougher test for Sue, however she still passed with flying colours, recording a 21-11 victory. This booked her a spot in the Quarter-Final, and a spot in day 18, the final day of the championships at Leamington!

This brings us nicely onto day 18, with Sue as the last Wiltshire player standing at the championships. Sue would face a tough test in Surrey’s Margaret Smith in the Quarter-Final. In what was always going to be a challenging game, Sue battled hard, but could not get the better of Margaret on this occasion, eventually bowing out of the competition at the last 8 stage, 15-21. A great effort by Sue to reach the Quarter-Final!

That rounds off my coverage of Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington, I hope you have enjoyed following the progress of our competitors! Thank you to all who have taken the time to read any of my reports, it is much appreciated!

We are now almost at the conclusion of this year’s National Finals. Days 15 and 16 saw 3 competitions taking place with Wiltshire representation. First up, Westlecot’s Senior Four, Robbie Ferguson, Brian Whittingham, Kev Carter and Neil Smith resume their quest for national glory, with a semi-final fixture against Surrey. The Men’s and Women’s Two Bowl Singles gets underway, with Kyle Anderson of Royal Wootton Bassett in action, plus Westlecot’s Kev Carter, once he has finished his Senior Fours title challenge obviously! Sue Cooke of Box will also be in action in her early rounds in the Women’s Two Bowl.

Our Senior Four had enjoyed a fantastic run to this point, impressively coming through three tough rounds to make it to the Semi-Final. With stiff opposition from Surrey, this match was no different to the others, tightly contested right to the very end. As the match drew to a close, it was clear that there was going to be little between these two sides. However, it was unfortunately the Surrey quartet who would edge the match and book their place in the final. A brave effort by Robbie, Brian, Kev and Neil to round off a fantastic run, just missing out by a single shot, 14-15.

The opening round of the Women’s Two Bowl Singles saw Box’s Sue Cooke face Alex Tymon of Hampshire. Sue has been involved in various events at Leamington this season, including the Women’s Singles and the Mixed Pairs. She put this experience to good use, getting her campaign off to a very impressive start, recording a 17-7 victory to book her place in round 2.

Next up for Sue, almost immediately following the conclusion of round 1, was Judy Drewer of Worcestershire, who had edged out Amica Fordy of Yorkshire 15-14 in her previous match. Continuing the strong form from her opening round, Sue managed to wrap this one up quickly, securing a 17-5 victory with 5 ends to spare to book her place in round 3 of the competition.

Onto the last 16, and the competition was certainly heating up with a strong field still standing after two matches. Sue faced a very tough draw in Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist, Sian Honnor of Kent. Sue gave an excellent account of herself in this match, but eventually bowed out of the competition, losing 13-16 in a close contest.

No rest for Kev Carter, who just hours after his Senior Fours Semi-Final, competed in the Men’s Two Bowl Singles. He faced a tough first round opponent in Mark Ireland of Warwickshire. Unfortunately for Kev, on a tricky rink, it was not meant to be, losing out on a place in the second round, 7-17. It would become apparent the next day just how tough a draw this was.

Kyle Anderson of Royal Wootton Bassett got his campaign underway against Tim Phillips of Cornwall. It has been an excellent season for Kyle, this being the fifth competition he was involved in at Leamington, alongside the Men’s Triples and Fours, Family Pairs and Balcomb Trophy. Tim proved to be tough opposition, but it was Kyle who managed to prevail in a very close game, winning 14-12 to book his place in round 2.

After a quick break inbetween games, Kyle was back out to face former Wiltshire player, Dave Lambert, now of Herefordshire. Full of cofidence from his first round victory, Kyle managed to make quicker work of this contest, and advanced to the last 16 with an emphatic 17-8 win.

Another tough game awaited Kyle in round 3 later that day, with a matchup against Neil Corbyn of Northamptonshire. A close start to the match saw Kyle leading 5-4 early on, but by 10 ends he had managed to stamp his authority on the contest, extending that lead to 11-6. Kyle held onto this lead for the remainder of the contest, and secured a 17-12 victory to book his place in the quarter-final and the final day of the competition.

This moves us nicely into Day 16, with Kyle being the only Wiltshire representative in action. His Quarter-Final match was certainly going to be a tough one, as he faced Harry Goodwin of Kent. As to be expected with two players in fine form, this was close througout, with Kyle holding a slender lead at 8-6 after 10 ends. At 15 ends however, Harry had rallied to draw level at 11-11. Kyle once again edged in front at 18 ends, 14-12. From here, he managed to see out the match, and recorded a 16-13 victory to advance to the Semi-Finals.

In the Semi-Final, Kyle faced the man who beat Kev Carter in the opening round, Mark Ireland of Warwickshire. It was a tight start to the match and although Mark had the upperhand, Kyle was still right in the contest at 10 ends, trailing 5-8. Unfortunately the next 5 ends would see Mark forge ahead, extending his lead to 14-6 at 15 ends. Mark would win the next two ends to secure a 17-6 victory and book his place in the final. An absolutely brilliant run for Kyle, recording 4 impressive wins before losing to the eventual champion, as Mark went on to win the final 16-10.

That wraps up Days 15 & 16. I have one more report to bring you, as the final weekend of action sees the Men’s and Women’s Senior Singles represnentatives in action!

Written by Mikey Titcombe

Day 14 sees a busy day of action, with 4 competitions taking place with Wiltshire involvement.  The Men’s Junior Singles and Senior Fours continues following yesterday’s successes, whilst Supermarine’s Ann Andrews, Cheryl Walker, Nicki Kemble-Young and Susan Griffiths are in Women’s Senior Fours last 16 action against Middlesex. Also, the Women’s Junior Singles gets started, with Royal Wootton Bassett’s Louise Rose and Devizes’s Ellise Ambridge in action.

First off, Alfie Holland took to the green to take on the tough test of Somerset’s Oli Collins, with a place in the last 16 of the Junior Singles at stake. A positive start saw Alfie take an early lead, at 5-2, but unfortunately Oli was certainly not going to be denied, and came back strongly, eventually pulling away to record a 21-7 victory. A great effort from Alfie to reach the second day of the competition. Oli would go on to reach the final, becoming the 2023 Men’s Junior Singles runner up.

Next up, our Men’s Senior Four returned to the greens, taking on Sussex’s Charles Wright, Graham Lavender, Alec Martin and Shaun Godfrey. With both rinks full of confidence, it looked as though this match was going to go down to the wire. That was before a big count stopped Sussex in their tracks, and Wiltshire recorded a brilliant 18-11 victory with an end to spare to book their place in the Semi-Final, and the final day of the competition tomorrow.

Now onto the Women’s Senior Fours, where our Supermarine quartet had an opportunity to book their place in the National Quarter-Final, as they took on Tina Cooper, Angela Cumine, Cathy Taylor and Ann Halliday of Middlesex in the last 16. With a place in the last 8 in the sights of both sides, this was a close encounter but unfortuately it was Middlesex who booked their place in the next round, our Wiltshire four losing out 12-17.

In the Women’s Junior Singles, Ellise Ambridge of Devizes faced a tough opening match against Sussex’s Joanna Watt. In what was Wiltshire’s only appearance on the Bowls England live stream, Ellise gave a good account of herself, putting up a good fight against a strong opponent, unfortunately eventually losing out on a place in round 2, 12-21.

Royal Wootton Bassett’s Louise Rose was also in action, as she faced Zoe Pratley of Oxfordshire in a somewhat local derby. Unfortunately for Louise, Zoe had enjoyed a good run in the Women’s Junior Pairs last week, and she put this experience to effective use in this match, Louise battling hard but unfortunately ending up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, 13-21.

A mixed bag today for Wiltshire. On Day 15 we will see the conclusion of the Men’s Senior Fours, with our Westlecot foursome just two wins away from the title. Also, our representatives in the Men’s and Women’s Two Bowl Singles will be in action, aiming for 3 wins to secure a spot in Friday’s Quarter-Final line-ups.

Written by Mikey Titcombe

We are now into the final week of competition, but there is still plenty to play for from a Wiltshire perspective! For today, it was the turn of the Juniors and the Seniors. In the Men’s Junior Singles, Alfie Holland of Avon and Jake Webster of Westlecot took to the green for their opening rounds, whilst the Men’s Senior Four consisting of Robbie Ferguson, Brian Whittingham, Kev Carter and Neil Smith of Westlecot also got their campaign underway.

The Women’s Senior four – Ann Andrews, Cheryl Walker, Nicki Kemble-Young and Susan Griffiths of Supermarine were also due to get their tournament started, however received a walkover, therefore they will now play tomorrow morning in round 2.

First off to the Junior Singles, where Westlecot’s Jake Webster took to the green to face a tricky first round opponent in Sussex’s Ben Fairhall. This was close throughout, but unfortunately towards the end of the game it was Ben who built momentum, and eventually managed to see the game out, winning 21-18. A strong effort from Jake in what looked to be a challenging part of the draw.

Next up, Avon’s Alfie Holland took on Dorset’s William Scammell over on E Green. Alfie got off to an ideal start, leading 6-3 early on. In control throughout, Alfie managed to keep his opponent at arm’s length, and recorded a 21-13 victory to book his place in round 2, and day 2 of the competition. Tomorrow, Alfie will face the tough challenge of Somerset’s Oli Collins, one half of the 2023 Men’s Junior Pairs winners.

Moving over to the Senior Fours now, where our Westlecot quartet faced Derbyshire’s Colin Abbott, Garry Watts, Nigel Chaplin and Bernie Greenough in Round 1. This was a hard-fought contest, but Robbie, Brian, Kev and Neil were up to the task, grinding out an 18-14 victory to book their place in the second round, which would take place almost immediately following their win.

Round 2 saw a tough test in Berkshire’s Mike Blizzard, Bob Harris, Andy Piper and Trevor Broad. Having qualified from a strong county which includes the current British Isles Senior Fours Champions, this was bound to be a tough game. This proved to be the case, with both sides battling away over 18 ends. However, it was Wiltshire who came out on top, managing to prevail with a 17-14 win, advancing to the Quarter-Final, and day 2, of the competition.

A positive day for Wiltshire today all in all. Tomorrow we will see both Alfie Holland and our Men’s Senior Four continue their Leamington journeys, whilst the Women’s Junior Singles and Women’s Senior Fours competitions will also commence for our Wiltshire representatives!

Day 11 saw a busier day of action for Wiltshire, with representation in three separate competitions.

First up, we go to the second round of the Men’s Fours, where after an excellent win yesterday, Holt’s Andy Young, Tony Keating, Justin Davis and Wayne Snook faced a tough Durham quartet. The Holt four battled hard throughout the game, but unfortunately it was their opposition that proved to be the stronger of the two sides on the day, Durham advancing to round 3 with a relatively low scoring, 17-9 victory with one end to spare.

Next, Nicki Kemble-Young took to the green for her opening round in the Women’s Singles. She was dealt a tough draw, facing Essex’s Elaine Score. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for Nicki, Elaine advancing to round 2 with a 21-5 victory. Nicki will be back in action however, when the Women’s Senior Fours gets underway on Tuesday.

Later that day, Sue Cooke took to the green, and also faced a very tough draw in Bedfordshire’s Jayne Christie, a two-time finalist in this competition. Unfortunately, Jayne was in good form and produced a strong display against Sue, who despite her best efforts could not stop Jayne from advancing to round 2, losing 8-21.

We move onto the Balcomb Trophy, as Wiltshire faced Cumbria in the National Semi-Finals. Wiltshire had come through three tough tests to book their place in the National Finals, and yet another big challenge awaited them here.

Graham Shadwell’s rink got off to a strong start, but unfortunately it was constrasting fortunes nextdoor, as Russell Francis’s quartet struggled to get going. Wiltshire battled away throughout the match, and with a few ends to go there was very little separating the two teams. Unfortunately, over the closing stages of the match Cumbria managed to pull away slightly, leaving Russell’s rink needing a 5 on the final end to force an extra end. A one was dropped, meaning a 6-shot loss overall.

You can find Team Manager Dave Godwin’s report on the match on the link below:

Balcomb Trophy – Team Manager report | Bowls Wiltshire

That’s all for Day 11. There is no Wiltshire representation on Day 12 of the championships, therefore we will be back for Day 13, when the Men’s and Women’s Senior Fours, and the Men’s Junior Singles get underway!