Dickie Bond bowls classic at Donnington Wood

Simon Parsonage may be trying to slim down but his wallet had extra weight after the richest tournament in Shropshire came to a conclusion.

Parsonage was left with mixed feelings after reaching the final of the £3,720 Dickie Bond Classic at Donnington Wood, only to be pipped to the prestigious title.

Delighted with the three victories which took him to the final in Saturday's strong 16-man field, the 46-year-old was left frustrated that he wasn't able to reproduce his best form in the showpiece match against Potteries ace Dean Ferris.

But he still pocketed £600 as a consolation for missing out on the top prize of £1,400 and a place on the reserve list for next year's Champion of Champions.

"I was disappointed and pleased at the same time," said Parsonage, beaten 21-10 by Ferris.

"I played three really good games but I lost my weight in the final. No disrespect to Dean but I didn't really turn up.

"But I'm quite pleased with the way the bowls is going. I had a leg infection in the summer and the doctor told me I should lose some weight.

"I've been on a keep fit regime since and it's been going well. In turn, that has helped my bowls."

It was Parsonage's third dose of final heartbreak in 2010.

Teaming up with Wayne Rogers, he was pipped to the County Doubles title by the Castlefields pair of Paul Williams and Clay Flattley, while he was part of the Burway team defeated in the final of the Furrows Shropshire Premier League play-off by Bylet.

But Parsonage, who left Castlefields to join Burway last winter, has vowed to remain loyal to the Tanners League champions.

"I'm stopping at Burway," he added. "I would love to play Premier bowls but I want to do it with Burway.

"I've nailed my colours to the mast and I'm not going anywhere."

Parsonage had looked in supreme form on Saturday as he swept past Staffordshire's ex-St Georges ace Kevin Keary 21-14 before seeing off Mid Shropshire League Merit and averages winner Craig Owen to 17.

A 21-15 triumph over Jason Groom sealed his place in the final, while Ferris ended Pete Farmer's hopes of retaining the trophy in the last four.

It proved one close encounter too many for Childs Ercall's Farmer who went down 21-19 in the semi-finals after edging to 21-20 successes over Steve Pratt and Glyn Cookson.

In-form Castlefields star Rich Goddard lost 21-17 to Groom in the quarter-finals.

By JAMES GARRISON