Perfect 10 sets Callum up for Festival challenge

Winning tournament title No.10 for 2026 has put Callum Wraight in the perfect frame of mind for another assault on next week’s Isle of Man June Festival.

The 39-year-old who lords it over the Shropshire bowls scene had a double finals day on Saturday - and ended it by retaining the £3,060 Royle Summer Classic crown in Castleton.

The Castlefields king’s first appointment was at St Andrews in Burnley to try and defend that title, but he lost 21-15 to Ryan Clark in the semi-finals and had to be content with a £250 prize.

A quick switch to the Rochdale area venue saw Wraight shake off that disappointment in super style to end up with an £800 jackpot and another ticket to the new Blackpool Masters in September.

“I had a fabulous night and managed to retain the title that I won last year, to my surprise winning all three games fairly comfortably,” said Wraight. “I led Jack Dyson 18-7 before he managed to get back to 16 and in the semis I played consistently throughout to beat Kris Fearnley from Wales 21-4.

"In the final I got passed Jonny Wood from Leeds 21-7, running out from 10-7 and playing all three games on an extremely fast, tricky mark on what is a particularly small green.

“So I’m over the mood to win my 10th tournament of the season and to retain such a massive comp just fills me full of confidence ahead of the Isle of Man next week.”

But before he heads to the Festival, Wraight will try and qualify for the finals of the £4,000 Pudsey Classic – a title he won in 2011 and 2024 – on Saturday night alongside Wrockwardine Wood duo Aaron King and Tom Killen.

County Father & Son

It’s mission finally accomplished for Gary and Connor Whitehall in the County Father & Son.

Having lost in two previous finals, the Adderley combination got their hands on the historic bowls trophy by reeling off five wins on Bowring’s two greens.

The Whitehalls were winners in Wellington thanks to a 21-12 victory over 1999 and 2001 title winners, John and Rob Clarke (Wrockwardine Wood-Horsehay), in Saturday’s final.

“Both pairs were playing their fifth game of the day in the final and showed signs of fatigue, but Gary and Connor Whitehall began the stronger and took an early 9-4 lead,” said county competition secretary Mike Potter.

They vital moment came when a strike by Connor clipped the counting bowl out, leaving them with three shots as they surged into a 17-8 advantage en route to winning in 19 ends.

“At the third time of asking, Gary and Connor finally got over the winning line to become Shropshire Father & Son Champions for 2026,” added Potter.

“Despite the poor weather forecast, an anticipated drop in entries from last year’s 26 was actually topped as the enthusiastic field of 29 pairings.”

County President Andy Jones made the presentations after both semi-finals had ended with 21-16 scorelines – the Whitehalls against Richard & Ed Proudlove and the Clarkes versus Dave & Russ Turner.

Weekend action

It may not have started the way North Shropshire Ladies would have hoped on the British stage, but this season’s positive vibes in the camp remain.

The bowls association holds the first of two big qualifying competition tonight with nine entries heading to Whixall for a 6pm start to its British Ladies Merit qualifier.

At stake are places in the British finals at Penn, near Wolverhampton on Saturday, July 11, as the county team looks to shake off last month's narrow defeat to Cumbria in the President's Cup.

That’s followed by North Shropshire’s Dorothy Piearce Pairs qualifier on June 28 with the body’s secretary Leah Marshall hoping for another decent entry.

Meanwhile, six teams will contest the Shropshire junior inter-league title at Wem BC tomorrow from 10am while the Wem League’s singles is at Old Shrewsbury with £5 entries taken before an 11am start.

And some Shropshire bowlers will already be on the Isle of Man by then for its June Festival.

The ladies have a pre-Festival singles they can enter at Peel tomorrow before the main action starts on Tuesday with the likes of Premier League big guns Callum Wraight, Ash Wellings,Rich Goddard, Jon Palmer, Reece Farr and Joe Dicken in the hunt.