Over the past 2 and a half weeks, Mikey Titcombe has been putting together reports for each day of action at the Bowls England National Finals that Bowls Wiltshire had involvement in. Please find the full collection of reports below:

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 1 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 2 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 4 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 5 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Days 6 and 7 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 8 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 9 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 10 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 11 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 13 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Day 14 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Days 15 and 16 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Bowls Wiltshire at Leamington – Days 17 & 18 Report! | Bowls Wiltshire

Day 10 sees us past the halfway stage of the Bowls England National Finals. Today we see the Men’s Fours get underway, with Royal Wootton Bassett’s Kyle Anderson, Mike Snell, Dave Godwin and Steve Snell, and Holt’s Andy Young, Tony Keating, Justin Davis and Wayne Snook both in first round action, looking to seal a place in round 2, and day 2, of the competition.

Over on E Green, our Wootton Bassett quartet faced a tricky opening fixture against a Leicestershire side skipped by Alistair Hollis. This was a close matchup throghout, with both sides in with a chance of securing the win heading into the final stages of the game. Unfortunately, it was not to be for the Wiltshire rink, who went down by the finest of margins, 13-14 as Leicestershire moved onto round 2.

On D Green, it was a more positive start for the Holt side skipped by Wayne Snook, who moved into an early lead over the rink skipped by Jack Larter of Norfolk. They managed this lead well throughout, meaning the Norfolk quartet needed to score a 5 on the final end to force an extra end. They were unable to do so, and the Holt four moved into round 2 with a 21-15 victory, where they will face a tough test against Durham’s Colin Boston, John Lynch, Andy Kirtland and Barry Hopkins.

Another quiet day of action, but Day 11 certainly sees business pick up from a Wiltshire perspective. The Men’s Fours continues as Andy, Tony, Justin and Wayne resume their campaign, whilst Nicki Kemble-Young of Supermarine and Sue Cooke of Box take to the green as the Women’s Singles gets underway. Also tomorrow, it is a momentous day for Bowls Wiltshire Men, as Wiltshire play in the Balcomb Trophy at the National Finals for the first time since the conception of the double rink format, as they face Cumbria in the National Semi-Finals.

It’s Day 9 of the Bowls England National Finals. At the conclusion of play today, we will officially be at the halfway mark for this year. Today for Bowls Wiltshire, we saw two more competitions begin, with the Men’s and Women’s Senior Pairs getting underway. For the Women, we were represented by Ros Corke and Glenda Hibberd, whilst our competitors in the Men’s competition were Chris Moore and Tony Keating.

We start with Ros and Glenda, who commenced their campaign on C green against the Northumberland pairing of Jacqui Donnelly and Maggie Peart. Ros and Glenda got off to the ideal start, and eventually sealed a comfortable 17-6 victory with 2 ends to spare. This booked their place in round 2 against Valerie Ford and Diane McCullough of Gloucestershire.

Taking place later that afternoon, the second game of the day provided far more difficult opposition for Ros and Glenda. Unfortunately, this would be the end of the road for our ladies in the competition as the Gloucestershire pair advanced to the third round, final score 8-20.

Moving onto our Men’s pairing of Chris Moore and Tony Keating, who faced a tricky opener against Cornwall’s Colin Allen and Kevin Butler. This was a hard fought clash, with nothing to separate the two pairs. As the game drew to a close, it was clear that this game was going to the wire, and unfortunately it was the Wiltshire duo who came up just short by the smallest of margins, losing 18-19.

A short report for today, as that was all in terms of Wiltshire involvement for Day 9. Day 10 will see another quieter day, with the only competition with Wiltshire involvement being the Men’s Fours, where rinks from Royal Wootton Bassett and Holt will get their title charges underway.

Written by Mikey Titcombe

Onto Day 8 as we approach the halfway mark of this year’s National Finals. A busy day for Wiltshire today, with action from 4 competitions to report on.

We start with Linda Young and Jo Hicks, who after two excellent wins yesterday, moved into the second day of the Women’s National Pairs. In the last 16, they faced a tough tie against Devon’s Gill Grantham and A Spreadborough. Unfortunately for our ladies, they were unable to continue their momentum from yesterday and missed out on a place in the Quarter-Final, losing 8-18. It would be fair to say that both our Wiltshire pairings were dealt tough sections of the draw, as the Devon pairing went on to lose in the final to Oxfordshire’s Gaskins and Grant, who recorded a win over our other Wiltshire duo in round 1.

Next up, we move onto the Men’s Triples, where Andy Blake, Mel Biggs and Mike Snell took on Cornwall’s Kevin, Freddie and Alasdair Williams. In a very closely fought contest, it looked as though Wiltshire had the upperhand, however Cornwall fought hard, and managed to advance to round 3 with a 14-13 victory over our Wiltshire trio. A fantastic effort from Andy, Mel and Mike.

In round 2 for Kyle Anderson, Dave Godwin and Steve Snell was a very tough test against Kent’s powerhouse trio of Isaac Jenner, Lewis King and Harry Goodwin. As you would expect, this was a tight game throughout, but it was Wiltshire who seized control late on in the match, and managed to hold onto the lead, securing a fantastic 17-12 victory to advance to round 3, which would take place in the afternoon session.

In round 3, they faced another tough fixture against Huntingdonshire’s Ed Elmore, Matt Saunders and Lewis Baker. Again, it was no surprise that this was a very tight encounter. Heading into the last end, the Royal Wootton Bassett triple required a 2 to force an extra end, and came up just short, only picking up a single, which sent Huntingdonshire into tomorrow’s Quarter-Final. A great effort from Kyle, Dave and Steve, securing an excellent second round victory before just being edged out by another strong side.

In the Mixed Pairs, after a tough battle yesterday, Chris Moore and Sue Cooke took on Gloucestershire’s Pauline Tuckey and Pete Stinchcombe. With a place in the Semi-Finals up for grabs, there was absolutely nothing to separate these two pairings. This was the case throughout the match, and unfortunately it was the Gloucestershire pair who managed to advance by the finest of margins, 15-14 to end our hopes in the Mixed Pairs. A great run for Chris and Sue, a National Quarter-Final is certainly something to be very proud of!

Finally today, we look at the National Mixed Fours, where Debbie Shadwell, Kathryn Yeoman (Box), Neil Yeoman and Russell Francis (Spencer Moulton) took on Devon’s Andrew Hibbitt, Chris Dolmore, Ella Crouch and Natalie Heath. With a place in tomorrow’s Quarter Final at stake, it was unfortunately the Devon quartet who came out of the blocks stronger, and secured an 18-14 victory to take their place in day 2 of the competition.

That wraps up Day 8. Day 9 sees a slightly quieter day of action, as our Men’s and Women’s Senior Pairs get their title campaigns underway!

Written by Mikey Titcombe

Days 6 and 7 of 18 at the National Finals saw more competitions with Wiltshire interest begin. On Day 6, Tom Warner commenced his quest in the Champion of Champions.

Tom was due to play Yorkshire’s Vinnie O’Neill in his opening match, however unfortunately his opponent was unable to compete and Tom received a walkover into the Quarter-Finals. This could be seen as a positive in that it meant Tom was one step closer to the title, however his next opponent Fraser Ham had secured a strong win in the Last 16 and was brimming with confidence. Tom got off to a very difficult start, trailing by a large deficit early on. However, Tom rallied and began to reduce the gap. Unfortunately, the early gap was a little too big to bridge, and Tom lost out on a place in the Semi-Finals, 12-21.

On Day 7, we saw a busy day of action, as the Women’s Pairs, Men’s Triples and Mixed Pairs all got underway.

First up in the Women’s Pairs for Jean Collier and Marcia Easton of Box was the strong pairing of Carol Gaskins and Donna Grant of Oxfordshire. This was a very competitive first round fixture, with both pairs seemingly evenly matched throughout. Unfortunately for our Wiltshire duo, it was Carol and Donna who managed to secure a 15-12 win and advance to round 2. Interestingly, the Oxfordshire pair would go on to become the Women’s National Pairs Champions for 2023.

Linda Young and Jo Hicks of Highworth took on the Hampshire pairing of Sue Hurley and Ngaio Mapes in their opening fixture. The Wiltshire ladies would waste no time in getting off the mark with a strong win, securing a 21-11 victory with an end to spare to book their place in the second round later that day.

Next up for Linda and Jo was the Yorkshire pairing of Maria Whittle and Eva Dayes, who were coming into this game full of confidence after a strong win over Hertfordshire’s Devon Cooper and Rachel Tremlett in their opening game. However, our Wiltshire pair refused to be denied a spot in the last 16, and recorded a 16-9 win, once again with an end to spare, to move forward to the second day of the competition.

Moving on now to the Mixed Pairs, where following a gruelling one shot victory in the last 32 a few weeks ago, Chris Moore of Holt and Sue Cooke of Box took on Middlesex’s Karen Ryan and Paul Wilsher in their opening match at this year’s championships. In what was a closely fought contest, it was Chris and Sue who managed to emerge victorious and book their place in tomorrow’s Quarter-Finals, winning 20-17.

In the Men’s Triples, we were represented by two strong Wootton Bassett trios. First up, we go to Andy Blake, Mel Biggs and Mike Snell who faced a tough opening round match against an Essex trio skipped by Jamie Holmes. Not to be denied, the Bassett trio recorded a hard-fought 16-10 victory to move onto round 2, and day 2 of the competition. Next up tomorrow morning will be a Cornwall trio skipped by Junior International Alasdair Williams.

Kyle Anderson, Dave Godwin and Steve Snell also faced a strong trio in round 1, taking on the Lincolnshire combination of Carl Cherry, Chris Mycock and Alan Cherry. It was good news all round when it came to the Men’s triples, as a strong display from Kyle, Dave and Steve meant a 22-14 victory, putting both the Wiltshire trios into round 2. Next up tomorrow morning, a titanic clash with Kent’s Isaac Jenner, recently crowned National Singles champion Lewis King, and Harry Goodwin.

That was all for Day 7 at Leamington. Tomorrow we will see Jo and Linda continue their campaign, as well as both our Bassett trios facing tough second round fixtures in the Men’s Triples. The Mixed Pairs continues as Chris Moore and Sue Cooke will be in Quarter-Final action, hoping to go all the way as the competition reaches its conclusion. Also, our Mixed Four of Box’s Debbie Shadwell and Kathryn Yeoman, and Spencer Moulton’s Neil Yeoman and Russell Francis, will take to the green to commence their National Mixed Fours title charge.