Meole Brace hoping for another Bandit Bowls century - bowls round-up
Shrewsbury club Meole Brace is hoping for another three-figure shot in the arm tomorrow when the Bandit Bowls winter series rolls back on to their two greens, writes Malcolm Fletcher.
A stunning entry of 104 last Sunday earned Meole £1 per player before any profit on refreshments, so club officials are hoping a cold but dry forecast means another bumper turnout tomorrow for round two.
Bandit Bowls promoter Jamie Brookes hailed a ‘fantastic’ first winter series day and declared: “It’s brilliant to be back.”
“We enjoyed a very pleasant autumn day, even though heavy rain was forecast,” said Brookes. “There were brilliant numbers again with 67 in the first session – and the there 20 plus newbies on the day, including James Walsh (Will Childs’ lad) and Callum Wraight’s son Harry.
“The greens ran very well and the atmosphere was very chilled and enjoyable.
“We took the chance to congratulate and present Callum with the Shropshire Champion of Champions trophy as we were one of the comps that earned him a spot in it.
“So it was fantastic all round – and it’s brilliant to be back!”
Wraight, Brookes and fellow BB regulars Alan Boulton, Terry Howard, Peter Spragg, Angela Howard, Gerald Merry, Ed Proudlove, Mark Holden, Joe Killen and Gareth Davies were all group winners as 16 were needed to cope with the 9am numbers.
Other table-toppers at Meole were Nigel Ferrington, Tracy Wraight, Craig Baugh, Meurig Davies, Liam Badwick, Adrian Owens, Joe Dicken, Barry Fairhurst, Colin Pettit, Angela Dawson, Andy Houghton, Dave James, Charleigh Butler and Craig Breeze.
Tomorrow, two sessions of 13-up handicapped round robin games start at 9am and 1.30pm and can take a maximum of 80 in each at £7 per entry.
Brookes did issue a warning ahead of tomorrow though: “Due to the brilliant entry numbers we do need to have bowlers present at least 30 minutes before the start time so that we are as efficient as possible - we need games running at the specified start time.”
Meanwhile, the last of Shropshire’s 2025 open competitions is taking place at Allscott Heath today with a £300 first prize up for grabs by late afternoon.
