Excellent victory for Clarence Blues

NEWLY-promoted Clarence Blues registered an excellent first victory in Division 1 of the Weston & District Over-60s League when they won by 11 shots at home to Clevedon.

The Blues, who had lost at Clevedon in the first match of the season, finished up on four of the six rinks and earned 16 league points.

Clarence Blues 113, Clevedon 102: M Edlin, T Perry, R Burrough 12-21; J Larvin, J Keay, G Barlow 19-13; J Edwards, T Ward, B Forse 20-15; R Flicker, T Mannion, D Jackman 22-13; B Underwood, J Hicks, P Tubb 19-25; R Rossiter, T Hooper, I Barnbrook 21-15.

Big victories on the rinks skipped by Terry Cockcroft and Harry Sparks earned Clarence Golds an 11-shot home victory over Mark Moor in Division 2 of the Over-60s League. The rinks were shared and the Golds earned 14 points in their second win of the season.

Clarence Golds 92, Mark Moor 81: J Loveridge, M Scoins, C Read 17-11; D Gilbert, R Dodson, T Cockcroft 21-5; L Lakey, I Baker, R Cornwall 7-19; H Dunn, M Phillips, G Kettleborough 16-17; J Norris, M Davies, A Bidmead 6-20; D Urch, D Stevens, H Sparks 25-9.

In the Somerset County League Premier 2 Division, Clarence A won on two of the three rinks but came away with only four of the available 12 points.

Wins for Paul Tubb’s and Roger Burrough’s rinks could not make up for Barrie Forse’s uncharacteristic defeat in the match against Bloomfield A at Bath.

Bloomfield A 57, Clarence A 52: R Rossiter, D Towie, A McMillan, P Tubb 19-15; R Flicker, T Pritchard, I Barnbrook, B Forse 14-25; M Edlin, R Crawford, D Stott, R Burrough 19-17.

Clarence B suffered the same fate in their County League Division 3 North fixture away to Portishead RBL C, as they won two rinks but suffered a heavy defeat on the third, handing the home side victory.

Portishead RBL C 59, Clarence B 47: J Larvin, L Lakey, I Baker, R Cornwall 20-16; G Barlow, M Scoins, D Jackman, B Duffy 17-16; J Hawkins, J Keay, J Burgess, H Sparks 10-27.

Clarence knew that they faced an uphill struggle in the Bowls England National Two-Rink competition. Visitors Clevedon fielded arguably the strongest two-rink team in the South-West and after six ends, against some incredible bowling by James Branfield’s men, Paul Tubb’s Clarence rink were 12-0 down, while Barrie Forse’s four were six behind.

Eventually, a battling performance by Tubb’s men saw them lose by just one, while Forse’s rink went down by eight.

Clarence 29, Clevedon 38: M Edlin, D Stott, R Burrough, P Tubb 16-17; R Flicker, D Towie, I Barnbrook, B Forse 13-21.

Clarence 134, RBL Mears Ashby 96: J Hawkins, L Lakey, D Jackman, C Edlin 30-18; J Larvin, V Edwards, M Edlin, A Powell 23-14; N Peters, J Edwards, I Baker, A McMillan 23-10; M Peters, I Hicks, M Phillips, T Ward 25-11; M Travis, K Bailey, J Burgess, C Peart 12-26; L Oldham, C Beynon, J Duffy, B Duffy 21-17.

Clarence husband-and-wife team Mick and Carol Edlin had a good win in the Somerset County mixed pairs, beating Christine Peart (Wessex) and Pete Palmer (Victoria) 18-4 at Victoria.

Clarence’s Sunday team entertained Cheltenham Whaddon, the visitors winning by 11 shots. Pam Hawkins’ four earned the accolade of Clarence’s highest-winning rink, whilst Bob Cornwall was the recipient of this week’s duck as skip of the heaviest losing rink.

Clarence 101 Cheltenham Whaddon 112: M Waite, L Oldham, D Gilbert, A Bidmead 15-21; N Peters, D Urch, P Dunn, R Cornwall 9-27; M Woods, V Jones, D Jackman, D Stott 18-17; J Hawkins, E Stott, J Hicks, P Hawkins 20-12; J Larvin, P Bidmead, T Cockcroft, B Duffy 26-19; I Hicks, G Aldridge, M Peters, T Ward (J Keay sub) 13-16.

WINSCOMBE won again in the Somerset County League North Division 2 at home against Clevedon Prom by 16 shots.

In the Weston & District Over-60s Knockout Cup, holders Winscombe were drawn away to Isle of Wedmore in the first round. It was a close game with Winscombe securing victory by five shots.

The Over-60s league match against Ashcombe Crusaders at home resulted in a heavy defeat, but Winscombe still managed to secure six points by winning on three rinks.

At Bristol in a friendly four rink match, Winscombe secured a win by one shot thanks to an impressive 21 shot win by Tony Dudley’s rink. Former Bristol bowler Brian Paul had a particularly good game, ably assisted by new bowler Peter John and Ken Whatling.

Winscombe B 69 (10), Clevedon Prom B 53 (2) (SCL North Division 2): J Smith, M Hunter, K Whatling, L Baldwin 29-20; R Knight, G Lloyd, G Neville, M Hunt 14-17; N Hansford, M Roberts, A Pye, A Watts 26-16.

Winscombe 91, Isle of Wedmore 86 (Over-60s Knockout Cup): K Whatling, G Neville, M Nash 17-14; M Roberts, R Wootten, M Hunt 15-12; W Ainsworth, J Lukins, M Adams 20-11; J Smith, M Hunter, L Baldwin 8-19 ; R Lowman, L Collier, T Ellis 14-11; R Knight, A Pye, A Dudley 17-19.

Winscombe 74, Bristol 73 (friendly): G Hill, J Bearman, L Collier, M Nash 10-25; D Beaverstock, J Sprouting, R Lowman, M Adams 17-20; B Paul, P John, K Whatling, A Dudley 31-10; J Smith, D Owen, R Wootten, M Hunt 16-18.

Winscombe 89 (6), Ashcombe Crusaders 122 (14) (Over-60s League): J Smith, M Hunter, L Baldwin 13-29; G Lloyd , J Lukins, M Adams 6-31; R Knight, A Pye, A Dudley 23-16; J Sprouting, R Freegard, M Roberts 10-18; K Whatling, G Neville, M Nash 17-13; B Paul, L Collier, R Wootten 20-15.

AS one of their centenary matches, Ashcombe welcomed the Barbarians, with Ashcombe running out winners overall.

Ashcombe 122, Barbarians 106: A Wilmot, M Parry, A Freke, J Creasey 27-8; N Coombes, T Bass, R Counsell, A Yates 22-20; M MacMahon, R Tasker, B Cracknell, L Day 13-18; M Field, R Smith, J Main, B Webber 31-8; M Adams, Colin Winser, D Bleasdale, J Taylor 9-26; G Tucker, P Gaulton, D Stanton, J Whitlow 20-26.

Ashcombe A slumped to a heavy defeat by Isle of Wedmore in the Somerset League Division 1 North.

Their success made more convincing by the second rink gaining 10 shots on the last two ends to clinch victory and seal a win on all three rinks.

Ashcombe A 43 (0), Isle of Wedmore A 72 (12): P Sheppard, J Horn, I Chesney, J Taylor 11-25; D Stanton, J Main, D Carr, J Whitlow 19-28; M Adams, D Bleasdale, Clive Winser, A Yates 13-19.

This was a disappointing result for Ashcombe B, winning on two rinks but failing to win overall against Bristol in Somerset League Division 2 North.

Ashcombe B 56 (4), Bristol B 59 (8): A Freke, P Fisher, R Simmons, E Hooper 19-15; R Perkins, M Parry, B Underhay, B Webber 21-20; G Fews, A Cracknell, E Roberts, J Creasey 16-24.

Ashcombe Crusaders 85 (6), Burnham 103 (14) (Over-60s Triples League): A Wright, L Day, B Webber 7-19; D Bleasdale, I Chesney, J Taylor 19-12; S Hedges, M Southwood, J Creasey 24-15; G Tottle, R Powell, A Yates 12-16; D Stanton, J Main, J Whitlow 8-29; A Wilmot, J Price, J Hornett 15-12.

Ashcombe Templars 85, St Andrews 47: T Pople, Colin Winser, T Cottrell 28-11; G Tucker, R Tasker, L Cox 22-14; M Tripp, G Kinsey, V Bragg 17-10; R Cole, T Bass, M Adams 18-12.

Ashcombe Knights 76 (3), Clevedon Promenade 136 (17) (Over-60s Triples League): G Mills, B Golding, E Hopkins 6-23; A Morgan, B Underhay, E Roberts 16-16; D Underhay, T Shearman, E Hooper 12-23; A Cracknell, W Spring, G Wilkinson 23-14; R Williams, D Norville, I Shannon 7-34; P Sheppard, R Simmons, R Kibble 12-26.

Ashcombe Crusaders 122 (14), Winscombe 89 (6) (Over-60s Triples League): A Wright, L Day, B Webber 29-13; G Tottle, R Powell, A Yates 31-6; D Andrews, J Price, J Hornett 16-23; S Hedges, M Southwood, J Creasey 18-10; D Bleasdale, I Chesney, J Taylor 13-17; A Wilmot, D Carr, J Whitlow 15-20.

Ashcombe Templars 99 (4), Yatton 110 (16) (Over-60s Triples League): R Counsell, R Tasker, T Bass 16-23; R Lewis, M Tripp, V Bragg 14-15; R Cole, M MacMahon, M Adams 21-11; G Tucker, E Booth, L Cox 24-14; S Ash, R Smith, P Gaulton 16-19; N Coombes, B Alden, R Ford 8-28.

Ashcombe 168, Isle of Wight Tourists 195: M Palmer, D Andrews, G Day, V Bragg 17-13; M Unwin, P Chewins, N Counsell, B Webber 29-19; B Underhay, V Webber, R Tasker, R Simmons 21-21; S Ash, A Bryant, L Cox, S Weaden 21-22; G Russell, A Cox, M Tasker, J Hornett 20-11; D Underhay, S Davies, S Hopkins, L Day 16-19. The four remaining rinks finished 12-24; 12-22; 7-25; and 13-19.

IT was a mixed week of results for Victoria, the A team winning a National two-rink match, while the B team lost, but all three county teams also lost their away fixtures.

The A team lost to Portishead A, who lost all three rinks and are beginning to wonder if they can ever overcome Portishead A.

The B team travelled to Clevedon B and lost on two rinks with Victoria’s only winning rink skipped by Brian Stock.

Victoria D team also travelled to Clevedon to play Clevedon Prom and although losing the game, rink results were shared with one rink drawn and a rink win each with Geoff Stocker being Victoria’s winning skip.

A friendly victory over local rivals Banwell on their green brought some satisfaction for Derek Hurst, who had been a late replacement the previous evening in the two-rink competition. John Howell and Ted Mangan also skipped their rinks to victory.

Victoria hosted the annual friendly game against Somerset Masonic BA and ran out victors by 24 shots, top rink was Malcolm Campbell, Tony Barnes, Mike Fletcher and skip Ken Harvey.

Victoria were soundly beaten away to GB Britton in a mixed friendly losing five rinks, with the only successful rink skipped by Colin Gazzard, including Doreen Owen, Ellen Newport and Terry Gatehouse.

Victoria A 61, Bath A 18 (National two-rink): J Newman, K Curtis, M Cooper, E Mangan 27-10; J Loughlin, A Uccellini, C Gazzard, W Harrison 34-8.

Victoria B 17, Portishead RBL B 40 (National two-rink): H Shepherd, M Manning, J Howell, D Williams 9-18; M Campbell, M Fletcher, K Holland, D Hurst 9-22.

Victoria A 46 (0), Portishead RBL 71 (12) (County League): J Loughlin, A Uccellini, C Gazzard, W Harrison 17-19; H Gibbs, K Harvey, M Cooper, E Mangan 16-22; J Newman, M Manning, K Curtis, M Stocker 13-30.

Victoria B 57 (2), Clevedon B 65 (10): H Whyte, R Fenwick, K Holland, J Howell 24-27; M Fletcher, T Gatehouse, D Sealey, D Williams 13-21; M Campbell, A Barnes, D Hurst, B Stock 20-17.

Victoria D 49 (3), Clevedon Prom C 57 (9): J West, W Osborne, R Sparkes, J Kerr 9-23; A Waygood, W Nicholls, J Griffiths, G Stocker 22-16; T Farmer, J Downing, I Linham, M Taylor 18-18.

Victoria 101, Banwell 67 (friendly): W Nicholls, M Campbell, S Evans, D Jones 9-30; G Richards, P Palmer, M Manning, D Hurst 28-11; J West, R Rockett, P Leadbeater, J Howell 26-13; R Austin, M Willetts, D Sealey, E Mangan 38-13.

Victoria 103, Somerset Masonic (friendly): W Osborne, A Shattock, A Uccellini, M Stocker 12-20; G Richards, R Sparkes, K Curtis, D Williams 12-20; J Codrington, A Waygood, D Avery, M Taylor 25-15; H Whyte, I Linham, R Fenwick, D Jones 29-18; M Campbell, A Barnes, M Fletcher, K Harvey 25-6.

Victoria 87, GB Britton (mixed friendly): M Angove, R Jacobs, K Holland, M Stocker 12-18; R Cleeves, P Newport, D Carr, M Taylor 10-32; M Milliner, T Kelly, P Smith, D Williams 14-29; W Nicholls, R Austin, C Chudley, M Campbell 12-21; M Willetts, J Newman, A Holland, D Hurst 15-23; D Owen, E Newport, T Gatehouse, C Gazzard 24-19.

THERE were disappointing results for the Isle of Wedmore men’s county teams this week when they both failed to win their matches.

The A team came up against St Andrews A team at home and although Dave Nicholls rink had a good win, this was not sufficient to win the day for Wedmore and the team went down by eight shots.

Wedmore 50, St Andrews 58: R Newell, B Cottrell, K Masters, D Nicholls 29-13; G Anniuk, D Trow, I Gallop, R Hughes 15-16; V Matthews, P Rowlett, D Wederell, E Payne 6-29.

The B team fared worse at Banwell, where despite being in touch with the game at the halfway stage, the Banwell team got into its stride and ended by winning all three rinks.

Wedmore 43, Banwell 74: B Treloar, S Fisher, B Andrews, C Panchaud 10-30; J Runciman, R Hunt, P Bean, K Burt 16-25; T Counsell, T Simpson, K Phillimore, C Moss 17-19.

There was a narrow defeat for the Over-60s triples league team when Winscombe visited Wedmore. Although Clive Panchaud and Colin Moss’ rinks won, the home team lost four rinks losing overall by five shots.

Wedmore 86, Banwell 91: T Hamblin, P Rowlett, C Moss 19-8; J Clark, P Brading, D Wederell 11-14; V Matthews, K Burt, C Panchaud 19-17; R Bull, I Gallop, K Pettit 14-17; C Wheller, B Treloar, E Payne 12-15; B Aston, B Andrews, R Hughes 11-20.

A men’s friendly five rink game was played away at Street, where despite a 27-8 win by the trio of Vic Mathews, Brian Aston and Roger Hughes, the match was lost 86-93 overall.

However, all was not as it seems as Street was helped to victory with the help of three Wedmore players, as well as two Street ladies, who were co-opted on their team.

Two four-rink mixed games were played at home and away last Sunday. Chew Stoke were the visitors at Wedmore when two rinks were won, one drawn and one lost, the game ending with an overall 87-62 win for the home side. The away match was at Fosseway where three rinks went Wedmore’s way and a 65-59 victory was enjoyed.

CONGRESBURY 37, Bristol C 38 (National two-rink: R Anniuk, P Reay, R Stewart, R Becker15-19; M Kimmings, T Yearsley, K Hector, J Stone 22-19.