Booth signs off with flourish
Ian Booth is making a winning farewell to the Shropshire bowls scene. The 22-year-old Chester Road star - winner of almost everything there is to win locally - leaves the county to take up a new job in Bridgwater, Somerset, next Monday.
And Audlem-based Booth will do so £240 richer after winning the Pontesbury Open on Sunday, beating 1999 champion Clay Flattley 21-20 in a tense final.
Not that the young gun went into finals day with any great confidence, as he explained: "I went out for a few drinks on Saturday as I knew I had Wayne Phillips (twice winner of Pontesbury in the last five years) in the first round and that if he played well he would have far too much green knowledge for me.
"But he struggled and I got through. I was taking it game by game, until I beat Charlie Weaver (his clubmate) in the quarter-finals. It's never easy playing your mates and it wasn't until I beat him that I first thought I could go on and win it."
A 21-15 semi-final win over St Georges veteran Keith Pessall set up the showdown with Flattley, in which Booth trailed 8-3 and then 19-17 before being game against at 20-19.
"I beat a yard bowl on the edge of the green and then played two good 'uns to get out," said Booth, admitting when asked if fate was on his side: "It seemed like it."
The twice Shropshire Junior Merit winner has racked up loads of other open and league honours, including the County Doubles twice with Waterloo hero Andy Moss.
But Booth really came to the fore in the Chester Road team that won the Shropshire Premier League for three years in a row (2003-05), the County Cup twice and the 2004 British Clubs Championship.
That earned him a place in Shropshire's team, but a return of three wins from 13 games is perhaps the one record he will look back at with some regret.
As for now he has his whole future to look forward to, working as a sales rep for boiler company Warmflow covering the south west area - with bowls low on the agenda.
"I am hoping to play in a few competitions next year but, being so far away, I am not going to be able to play in many league games," said Booth.
"But I have told the Chester Road lads that, if they are short and they ring me early in the week, I will try and arrange things so that I can travel up to play."
And before he leaves, Booth teams up with Moss to play in the District Doubles finals on Sunday . . .
Full scores
FIRST ROUND - Stan Lees (Llanymynech) 2, Ben Talbot (Hanwood) 21; Stuart Rutter (Wrock Wd) 21, Mick Rogers (Battlefield) 11; Jonathan Davies (Unison) 21, Mike Dempsey (Ludlow Castle) 18; Phil Talbot (Hanwood) w/o v Ken Marshall (Florence); Adam Jones (Castlefields) 16, Anthony Grey (Ford) 21; Nigel Bound (Ford) 19, Wayne Rogers (Burway) 21; Clay Flattley (Castlefields) 21, Lisa Pessall (Wrock Wd) 8; Nigel Ferrington (Bricklayers) 20, Russell Davies (Burway) 21.
Keith Pessall (St Georges) w/o v Alan Williams (Ford); Callum Wraight (Castlefields) 21, Chris Smith (King George) 10; Simon Parsonage (Castlefields) 11, Rich Goddard (Castlefields) 21; John Griffiths (Sentinel) 12, Kevin Nicholas (Gresford) 21; Ian Booth (Chester Rd) 21, Wayne Phillips (Meole Brace) 13; Derrick Flattley (Wem BC) 21, Mark Thomas (Meole Brace) 13; Charlie Weaver (Chester Rd) 21, Graham Dulson (Meole Brace) 19; Bob Cliffe (Meole Brace) 21, Paul Latham (Chester Rd) 18.
SECOND ROUND - B Talbot 18, Rutter 21; Davies 17, P Talbot 21; Gray 9, Rogers 21; C Flattley 21, Davies 20; Pessall 21, Wraight 20; Goddard 8, Nicholas 21; Booth 21, D Flattley 12; Weaver 21, Cliffe 18.
QUARTER-FINALS - Rutter 21, Talbot 8; Rogers 15, C Flattley 21; Pessall 21, Nicholas 19; Booth 21, Weaver 19. SEMI-FINALS - Rutter 16, C Flattley 21; Pessall 15, Booth 21.
FINAL - C Flattley 20, Booth 21.
