Shropshire Star

Meole Brace youngsters prove their worth

Elated skipper Andy Wigginton enjoyed seeing his young bucks step up to the plate again as Meole Brace delivered a fine home victory against Sir John Bayley.

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Wiggington and vice-captain Nigel Bound sat out as the hosts came out on top 10-4 in the Salop Leisure Shropshire Premier League.

And Meole, whose average age is down on recent years, stood up to the task to take the aggregate 223-209 in a fixture that has historically suited them – despite wear and tear making for a challenging home green.

“I was really, really happy,” said Wigginton. “We always seem to play well against them at home. I left myself and my vice-captain out. We were on the sidelines and it was good to see our younger lads perform.

“Julian Cooke had one of the best results I’ve seen in a long while beating Spencer Clarke 21-6. It was an absolutely unbelievable performance.

“We had four winners in the middle which changed the game and we held on to win a tight match.”

He added: “The green is a bit rough and that takes away a bit of home advantage, it’s a bit bare which is just unfortunate.

“But we’ve got people working on it for the second half of the season. We’ll grin and bear it, we’ve been pretty consistent, drawn one and won the rest against some tough sides.”

Eighteen-year-old ever-present Kieran Jones is an example of seventh-placed Meole’s youthful exuberance while Wigginton says the team’s average age is around 30.

“A lot of the lads are in just their second year in the Premier League,” he added. “It bodes well for the future if we can keep them. To improve and finish in the top half would be a big achievement.”

Bayley, who were top, were leapfrogged by both Castlefields and Newport, who enjoyed 10-4 and 11-3 home victories against St Georges and Burway respectively.

Castlefields’ highlight was Mike Beer’s 21-1 thumping of Michael Wainwright, while Paul Reeves and Sam Millward were in fine form for Newport.

Ninth-placed Bylet put more distance between themselves and third-bottom Wem USC with a 9-5 (237-198) home win while Hanwood were narrowly beaten 7-7 (216-213) at Hanmer despite seven winners.

Wrockwardine Wood beat Chester Road 10-4 (226-193) but Ifton’s clash with Highley fell victim to the weather.