No rest for Bandit Bowls regulars - bowls round-up
There’s no rest for Bandit Bowls regulars as the bandwagon rolls on with three promotions in the next five days, writes Malcolm Fletcher.
Boxing Day sees a one-day competition at Meole Brace and there’s another 24 hours later at Allscott Heath before round 11 of the winter series continues back at Meole on Sunday.
The two greens at the Shrewsbury club have been the regular go-to place for organiser Jamie Brookes and his team this winter – as it was for round 10 of the series at the weekend.
“Again we had a brilliant pre-Christmas turnout of 66 bowlers and the weather was pleasant, which is always pleasing,” said Brookes.
Series points table leader Callum Wraight was at it again, retaining his unbeaten record by winning his 13-up round robin group along with overall title rivals Liam Badwick and Meurig Davies.
Brookes’s right hand man, Michael Cooper, was a table-topper to climb to seventh in the table and Daz Fielding is now up to 11th and Lee Walmsley 12th.
Dan Corbett and Jack Peach starred again and other group winners were Chris Elsbury, Rich Lockett, Nick Jones, Angela Howard, Gareth Davies, Vicki McNally, Elaine Hall and Darren Matthews.
Meanwhile, leading Shropshire junior Corbett claimed the notable scalp of the Shropshire No.1 in the last Bandit Bowls one-day competition before Christmas.
But Corbett, who this year won the first British Boys Merit, could not repeat the feat when he faced Wraight again in Saturday’s final at Allscott Heath.
The Castlefields giant beat Corbett 21-9 on the artificial green after the St Georges bowler had won their round robin group clash earlier in the day 13-10.
Wraight beat Scott Harries in a re-run of the previous Saturday’s final 21-18 in the semi-finals to claim the largest chunk of a £140 prize fund as Corbett raced past John Rawlinson 21-8.
There were 20 entries and the quarter-final scores were – Corbett 21 John Lea 14; Rawlinson 21 Donna Larke 14; Wraight 21 Jan Wakefield 4; Harries 21 Chris Dodds 6.
Spen Victoria one-dayer
Sir John Bayley's Joe Dicken battled hard in his first appearance in a Spen Victoria one-dayer.
He lost 21-19 to Neil McCabe Snr in round one on Saturday as Gareth Coates took the £160 first prize at the Yorkshire venue.
