St Andrews enjoy county cup victory at Minehead

A gritty team performance saw St Andrews through the opening round of the Somerset County Wedmore Plate on a difficult green at Minehead.

At the halfway stage, they were six shots down overall and with five ends to go, Minehead were still ahead. However, Gordon Wride’s rink picked up four shots during the rest of the game to draw, while Nick Sell and his men scored seven in five ends to win by one.

Saints’ star men were Malcolm Goddard, Richard Venn, making his season’s debut, Danny Favis and Don Bailey, who finished 12 clear to make the difference in the three-shot victory by the visitors.

Minehead 71, St Andrews 74: R Wootten, G Cooper, A McMillan, G Wride 17-17; M Goddard, R Venn, D Favis, D Bailey 22-10; T Yeeles, J Keay, K Curtis, N Sell 23-22; G Sims, R Brereton, G Webber, B Forse 13-22.

As has happened all too often this season, St Andrews paid for a heavy defeat on one rink as they lost at home to Winscombe in Division 1 of the Weston & District Over-60s League.

The six rinks were shared, with Don Bailey, Brian Reeves and Barrie Forse all skipping successfully for the home team. Winscombe, league champions for the last two years, won by 15 shots.

St Andrews 90 (6), Winscombe 105 (14): G Cooper, B McLeod, G Wride 13-21; T Yeeles, B May, D Bailey 20-14; R Potter, G Webber, B Reeves 17-16; G Sims, J Keay, B Forse 20-11; B Rogers, J Warren, K Curtis 7-25; M Goddard, T Ware, D Favis 13-18.

St Andrews Seagulls look unlikely to reach the next stage of the Fantastic Fives indoor competition after having drawn 4-4 at home to Clarrie Doves.

They needed to take all eight points to have a chance of going through, but lost the singles and triples as their players found the transition from outdoor to indoor bowls tricky.

Results – singles: Ken Uglow 4-16; pairs: Judy Forse/Andrew Owens 7-6; triples: Sue Sinclair, Uglow, Nick Sell 8-10; fours: J Forse, Sinclair, Sell, Owens 8-4.

Mike Davies of Banwell is through to the county singles final and in doing so, will be going to Leamington Spa representing his club and Somerset in the national championships.

The first internal trophy of the season was decided when the club rinks day took place. Once again the weather was kind and the games were played in warm weather to say the least. At the end of the preliminary games, two teams had progressed to the 15-end final, the Villain’s and the 1664s.

The game could not have been more fiercely contested and at the 13th end the scores were level at 12-all. The 1664s picked up a two on the 14th end and it all rested on the final end.

Darrel Johnston bowled a masterpiece with his last wood to pick up a three to win the match, arguably the delivery of the competition. Thanks go to Dean Robinson, whose administrative skills and accurate recording of the scores ensured that the day went smoothly.

Banwell A won their latest home league game against Street, winning on all three rinks and the B team picked up a vital 10 points at home against Winscombe.

With wins also in the Turnbull Cup against Watchet and the first leg of the Parrott Shield against Winscombe, it has been a good run for Banwell.

It was a fine win for the A side and the victory took Banwell up to fourth place in the top division. Mike Davies and his rink took control early on and never looked back, with the other two rinks managing to keep their noses in front, the maximum 12 points were achieved.

Banwell A 67 (12), Street A 46 (0): T Hyde, P Aldus, P Villis, M Davies 26-15; H Woodards, R Smith, K Burgess, C Wilson 21-18; T Garfield, L Pheasant, H Guckian, D Johnston 20-13.

A game of contrasts for the B side as the rink skipped by Jimmy Laurent started well, but could only manage one shot on the last nine ends. Mal Laycock and his team were 15-9 down at the 13th end, but picked up 12 shots over the remaining ends to emerge winners. Alan Vickery and his rink’s win was never in doubt

Banwell B 55 (10), Winscombe B 48 (2): J Evans, S White, J Rickerty, A Vickery 23-13; P Wilfan, T Brice, C Coffin, J Laurent 11-19; T Burnett, J Amos, L Smith, M Laycock 21-16.

Banwell are through to the next round of the Turnbull Cup after overcoming a tense and tough battle against Watchet. Although only winning on two of the four rinks, the win was largely thanks to a 14-shot margin on the rink skipped by Darrell Johnston.

Club captain Phil Villis also skipped his rink to a narrow two-shot victory. The next match is away to Victoria with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Banwell 80, Watchet 75: G Millard, J Rickerty, H Guckian, D Johnston 29-15; T Garfield, A Vickery, P Aldus, M Davies 14-24; H Woodards, M Amos, L Pheasant, J Davies 19-20; T Hyde, K Burgess, C Wilson, P Villis 18-16.

Banwell take a decent lead into the second leg of the Parrott Shield. A pleasant warm evening saw the old rivals and friends contesting the first game in the annual competition.

Banwell ran out winners by a reasonable margin of 20 shots having won on four of the five rinks. But as Winscombe captain Malcom Dorrington laconically stated after the match: “After all, 20 shots is only four shots per rink across five rinks.”

Banwell 104, Winscombe 84: T Garfield, M Laycock, A Vickery, P Villis 13-23; H Woodards, J Laurent, L Pheasant, J Davies 22-18; T Hyde, C Coffin, P Aldus, M Davies 19-10; M Amos, J Rickerty, H Guckian, C Wilson 28-14; G Millard, J Amos, K Burgess, D Johnston 22-19.

Banwell have also been victorious in their last two friendly matches. First up was a home game against old friends from Clarence on a pleasant evening. Banwell won on three of the four rinks with John Davies and his team getting the highest winning rink.

Banwell 82, Clarence 60: J Evans, M Finch, D Robinson, J Davies 26-8; T Hyde, F Woolman, J Amos, H Guckian 25-12; T Burnett, B Keith, M Laycock, J Laurent 22-16; A Cockayne, T Couch, T Brice, A Vickery 9-24.

Last and by no means least was a home friendly against Severn Vale. This was a comfortable win on a sunny afternoon with four of the five rinks triumphant. Youngest skip on the day Chris Wilson together with Carol Broomhall, Brian Keith and Graham Coffin were the highest winning rink with a margin of 27 shots.

Banwell 121, Severn Vale 74: C Broomhall, B Keith, G Coffin, C Wilson 35-8; T Burnett, J Davies, A Cockayne, J Davies 31-9; S White, F Woolman, T Brice, J Laurent 10-31; G Hollier, J Amos, J Rickerty, H Woodards 24-14; T Hyde, M House, P Wilfan, K Burgess 21-12.

More than 50 Ashcombe bowlers competed in the annual Westcliff Trophy tournament.

This competition, sponsored by Westcliff Financial Services, is played as triples over four games of nine ends each making for a fast and exciting day of bowls.

The eventual winners were the team of Ben Benstead, Marcia Shufflebotham and Jim Creasey and they were presented with their prizes of engraved lead crystal glasses by Ashcombe’s chairman, Dave Bleasdale. The day was rounded off by a barbecue prepared by catering manager Martin Paterson.

Ashcombe played Burnham in the North Somerset Knockout Cup in what was to prove to be a closely-fought match. With the lead changing several times during the course of the match, Ashcombe were one shot down after 19 ends, but managed to pull back to six ahead after 20 ends and finished the match seven shots clear.

Ashcombe 98, Burnham 91: M Butt, D Bleasdale, S Hedges, J Taylor 23-16; F Bertram, M Paterson, J Main, J Whitlow 17-21; B Bishop, G Sansam, A Cracknell, M West 19-18; G Pople, B Benstead, R Powell, T Bass 15-26; M Unwin, D Wynne, M Southwood, G Wilkinson 24-10.

In the Weston and District Over-60s League, Ashcombe Knights and Templars were both competing in away matches The Knights were taking on Victoria Vikings and secured an emphatic 109-90 win. The Templars were unlucky not to make any impression against Nailsea, finishing down 86 shots to 106.

Ashcombe Knights 109, Victoria Vikings 90: D Wynne, W Spring, A Freke 10-24; M Field, T Cotterell, E Roberts 19-13; L Cox, G Sansam, A Cracknell 19-11; G Mills, M Paterson, E Hopkins 27-13; F Bertram, M Bass, K Wheeler 18-11; B Benstead, R Counsell, B Jones 16-18.

Ashcombe Templars 86, Nailsea 106: C Vardon, M Unwin, A Tucker 12-21; M Butt, M Badman, N, Shufflebotham 9-12; G Tucker, E Booth, S Andrews 14-20; M Griffiths, J McKenzie, G Fews 15-11; P Marsh, B Duncan, K Davies 15-23; B Bishop, M Tripp, B Miles 21-19.

Playing a friendly match against Bridgwater, Ashcombe’s men pulled off a decisive victory.

Ashcombe 90, Bridgwater 67: M Butt, B Benstead, R Powell, G Wilkinson 27-14; B Bishop, T Morgan, G Sansam, J Main 18-20; G Tucker, M Paterson, A Cracknell, J Whitlow 30-7; D Underhay, W Spring, B Duncan, R Tasker 15-26.

Ashcombe played host to Welsh visitors from Firbank Newport in a mixed friendly match that used all of Ashcombe’s 12 rinks.

Played in glorious sunshine, all players agreed that it was an enjoyable afternoon of bowls that should be repeated next year. The day finished with a two-course meal for the visitors in the Ashcombe clubhouse.

Ashcombe 257, Firbank Newport 219: P March, C Hedges, M Williams, A Cracknell 17-18; M Butt, R Smith, D Wynne, T Bass 11-19; L Cox, J Hughes, J McKenzie, J McInally 27-14; J Sansam, G Sansam, S Weedon 14-25; T Morgan, S Noyes, G Fews, E Hopkins 26-14; L Owens, R Counsell, N Counsell, R Powell 24 20; K Davies, S Bayntun, B bishop, B Benstead 16-28; M Shufflebotham, D Underhay, S Hedges, J Creasey 31-20; A Cox, F Bertram, N Shufflebotham, J Whitlow 21-22; S Appleby, P Sheppard, P Dimmack, G Wilkinson 24-14; P Wynne, P Gaulton, B Underhay, J Wilkinson 16-24; M Unwin, B MacGregor, B Miles, J Main 30-11.

In a break from competitive bowling, Ashcombe were visited by the Somerset County coaching team, who put 36 bowlers through a number of exercises designed to highlight weaknesses and develop bowling skills, including video analysis of delivery techniques.

It was an enjoyable and enlightening session with each of the participants learning more about their individual bowling technique and leaving with specific points for development.

Victoria have found a rich vein of form, winning three cup matches, the Saxons winning two Over-60s games, while the only loss was a narrow defeat by the Vikings.

Victoria beat Clarence in the Turnbull Cup winning on three of the four rinks. Winscombe were the opponents in the NSBA Cup and won the pairs, triples and rink, but Colin Gazzard was outstanding in his singles winning by 14 shots, carrying Victoria to the next round.

Winscombe were the opponents again in the North Somerset Knockout Cup and in a close game throughout, Victoria were again triumphant winning by six shots with Colin Gazzard again leading the way skipping his rink of Pete Lunn, John Newman and Derek Hurst to an 11-shot win.

The Saxons won both their matches against Ashcombe Crusaders and Burnham to remain at the top of the league.

The Saxons won by just seven shots against Ashcombe with an excellent rink win of 14 shots by Roger Rockett, Alan Shattock and Mike Cooper.

Burnham visited Victoria and found that the Saxons were playing outstanding bowls winning on all six rinks. The Vikings were unable to match the success of the Saxons losing to Ashcombe Knights, but collecting four points for two winning rinks skipped by Trevor Broughton and Mike Taylor.

Victoria 75, Clarence 65 (Turnbull Cup): D Beard, J Newman, K Holland, M Stocker 20-15; D Fairhurst, A Yates, C Heal, S Davies 21-15; R Bromet, H Gibbs, C Gazzard, M Cooper 18-17; P Wyatt, A Bray, L Stocker, P Leadbeater 16-18.

Victoria 65, Winscombe 61 (NSBA Cup) - singles: C Gazzard 21-7; pairs: L Stocker, M Cooper 14-16; triples: P Wyatt, K Holland, S Davies 13-18; fours: D Fairhurst, T Bray, C Heal, M Stocker 17-20.

Victoria 97, Winscombe 91 (North Somerset Knockout Cup): D Beard, M Manning, A Yates, M Cooper 21-12; P Lunn, J Newman, D Hurst, C Gazzard 25-14; R Bromet, K Holland, L Stocker, C Heal 17-29; P Wyatt, H Whyte, K Harvey, W Harrison 13-18; B Pocock, T Bray, M Stocker, S Davies 17-18.

Victoria Saxons 102 (16), Ashcombe Crusaders 95 (4) (Weston Over-60s League): H Whyte, M Manning, K Holland 20-16; R Rockett, A Shattock, M Cooper 22-8; R Bromet, T Bray, M Stocker 13-22; J Mingoe-West, D Sealey, C Heal 23-16; B Pocock, D Hurst, A Yates 20-13; P Lunn, J Newman, M Campbell 4-20.

Victoria Saxons 123 (20), Burnham 79 (0) (Weston Over-60s League): A Barnes, J Newman, M Campbell 20-12; P Lunn, D Williams, C Heal 21-13; B Pocock, D Hurst, A Yates 24-13; J Mingoe-West, M Manning, K Holland 20-10; R Bromet, T Bray, M Stocker 18-15; R Rockett, A Shattock, M Cooper 20-16.

Victoria Vikings 90 (4), Ashcombe Knights 102 (16) (Weston Over-60s League): R Jacobs, D Roberts, T Broughton 24-10; J Turton, T Gilbert, G Frost 13-19; G Robbins, B Johnson, E Sage 11-17; A Waygood, J Langridge, J Smart 13-22; B Nicholls, T Gatehouse, G Hodge 11-18; N Robbins, C Chudley, M Taylor 18-16.

Clarence reached the semi-finals of the 4 Dimensions Cup, defeating Nailsea by just three shots.

The tipping point of this match happened on the last end with skip Richard Crawford’s team winning it by three shots.

Clarence 74, Nailsea 71: A Gardiner, B Duffy, R Burrough 11-16; D Towie 22-6; T Mannion, B Ballinger, B Sweet, R Crawford 25-21; M Edlin, D Stott 16-28.

Clarence Blues recorded a fine win against Wedmore, with rink of the day going to skip Don Towie winning by 21 shots

Clarence Blues 113, Wedmore 93: T Mannion, B Sweet, R Crawford 21-17; R Rossitter, J Rogers, D Stott 17-18; A Gardiner, R Burrough 23-11; R Smith, B Duffy, G Barlow 9-16; B Benn, B Ballinger, M Edlin 13-22; T Ward, D Grier, D Towie 30-9.

The Golds were comprehensively beaten by Yatton, with the best losing rink skipped by John Edwards, who went down by two after picking up shots on the last two ends.

Golds 53, Yatton 122: D Thompson, B Coleman, H Sparks 13-20; D Symes, M Turnball, J Edwards 13-15; J Hayes, M Peters, C Tippet 13-16; M Thompson, D Hunt (Yatton), K Marshall 12-25; L Lewis, J Kelloway, M Scoins 7-28; G Andrews, A Newland, D Weston 7-33.

Winning well on two of the three rinks, Mike Davies skipped his side to a superb 32-shot win, as Clarence B defeated Clevedon Prom by 49 shots.

Clarence B 92, Clevedon Prom C 43: B Rossitter, M Scoins, K Marshall, M Davies 38-6; P Lewis, M Peters, M Skyrme, P Williams 32-11; J Edwards, C Tippet, M Turnball, I Phipps 22-26.

Winscombe men’s open triples tournament, sponsored by Avoncrop Amenity Products, was won by Taunton Vivary, who beat the Winscombe C team of Ken Whatling, Mike Nash and Paul Fredersdorff in the final contested over 10 ends.

In the third and fourth play-off match, a strong Banwell triple beat a Wedmore Hopefuls team of Ewan Kindred, Geoff Coombe and Alan Birch. It was another successful tournament, with 28 teams competing from all over Somerset.

Winscombe played an unbeaten St Andrews team in the Weston Over-60s League and despite drawing the rinks, came away with the victory and 14 points.

Winscombe 105 (14), St Andrews 90 (6): J Sprouting, G Neville, M Adams 18-13; D Brown, G Coombe, R Lacy 25-7; B Andrews, R Kibble, T Ellis 14-20; B Paul, M Newing, A Dudley 16-17; G Lloyd, L Collier, W Ainsworth 21-13; K Whatling, M Nash, P Fredersdorff 11-20.

In the return leg of the friendly triples match against Wyrall Park, Winscombe were able to complete the double, taking the match with the same number of shots as they achieved the previous day.

Winscombe 105, Wyrall Park 94: M Newing, P John, P Fredersdorff, J Smith, B Paul, M Nash 17-22; R Lowis, N Hansford, R Lowman 17-13; D Peakall, M Hunter, R Lacy 23-13; R Sapsford, B Weller, W Ainsworth 13-20; M Fletcher, L Collier, M Adams 22-10.

In the North Somerset Bowling Association cup match at Victoria,Victoria put out a strong team, determined to redress their defeat at Winscombe the previous week in the 4 Dimensions.

Winscombe led for most of the game, but lost shots over the final few ends for Victoria to steal the match by nine shots.

Winscombe 91, Victoria 99: D Brown, B Andrews, R Lowman, T Ellis 12-21; B Paul, E Kindred, S Easterby, M Dorrington 14-25; N Hansford, G Coombe, G Neville, A Dudley 29-19; W Ainsworth, L Collier, K Whatling, M Adams 18-17; G Lloyd, J Sprouting, M Nash, R Lacy 18-17.

The annual internal greenkeepers’ competition was well supported with 14 pairs drawn from the hat. The best two pairs played off in a final where the only pair to be unbeaten during the afternoon, Mike Fletcher and Geoff Coombe, kept their unbeaten record against Robin Lowman and Mike Newing. Jill Westlake presented the cup to the winners.

Wedmore men continued their successful season in the Clevedon & District Over-60s with a home win against Nailsea. Eddie Payne led his team to the best win of the day 26 to 10.

Wedmore 126, Nailsea 74: T Hamblin, J Harris, R Hughes 19-12; T Counsell, R Norris, K Pettit 11-14; J Runciman, M Grosvenor, R Newell 23-13; A Birch, D Trow, E Payne 26-10; R Hunt, D Collins, C Moss 26-11; B Aston, S Fisher, T Brown 21-14.

Visitors Clarence Blues beat Wedmore men by 20 shots in the Weston Over-60s League. Keith Pettit and his team had the best win of the day 22-13.

Wedmore 93, Clarence 113: R Bull, M Green, D Stansfield 17-12; J Clark, T Hamblin, K Burt 18-17; R Dearden, I Faulkner, R Barron 11-23; R Hunt, A Birch, C Panchaud 16-9; T Counsell, D Collins, K Pettit 22-13; P Bean, S Newdick, S Fisher 9-30.

A ladies team from Wedmore came second in the Clevedon Prom Open Triples. Ann Hughes, Pam Beard, and Maureen Hordle were one of 20 teams playing and were each delighted to come away £30 richer.

Wedmore ladies visited Victoria for a triples match, winning two out of three rinks but losing overall by six shots. Maureen Hordle and her team had the best rink of the day, winning 18-12.

Wedmore Ladies 42, Victoria 48: J Collins, J Hunt, J Wheller 10-24; B Disbrey, M Fisher, M Trow 14-12; M Barron, D Gallop, M Hordle 18-12.

In a league match played away at Burnham, Wedmore ladies won just one of the three rinks and lost by 13 shots. Joan Hunt and her team were the only successful team with a 18-14 win.

Wedmore Ladies 40, Burnham 53: J Collins, M Fisher, J Hunt 18-14; M Barron, J Wheller, C Pettit 13-16; P Jenkins, B Disbrey, M Trow 9-23.

Wedmore welcomed Paulton for a mixed friendly match, with the visitors winning by 79-59. Clive Wheller and his team had the only win of the day, 18-15.

Finally, the week ended with the president’s day competition which was played in glorious sunshine. The captain’s team led by Alan Birch beat the president’s team led by Ron Barron.

Ron was representing president Brendon Cottrell, who was unable to be present and greatly missed. The event was fully subscribed and ended with a traditional cream tea.

St Andrews Ladies showed all-round excellence as they beat their Burnham counterparts 4-0 away to reach the fifth round of the county Southey Trophy.

It was their second successive clean-sweep victory in the competition and was sparked off by Carolina Venn winning the singles by eight shots.

Pairs duo Imogen Cracknell and Audrey Powell fought back well from 6-13 down to win by six, while Myra Bailey’s triple always held the upper hand and finished winners by 15 shots.

The fours team, having trailed 9-14 at one point, also came up trumps, being 20-18 ahead when Burnham conceded with three ends left.

In the next round, St Andrews will be at home to either Ashcombe or Wessex Ladies.

Burnham 0, St Andrews Ladies 4 – singles: Carolina Venn 21-13; pairs: Imogen Cracknell/Audrey Powell 21-15; triples: Marie McMillan, Jackie Ware, Myra Bailey 26-11; fours: Judy Forse, Monica Pattenden, Jackie Pitman, Ann Campbell 20-18.

St Andrews Ladies earned just four points from their away match with Yatton in the DRT League, despite having finished up on two of the three rinks.

Meg Favis won by four and Monica Pattenden by six but an 11-shot reverse on the other rink meant that they lost the match by one.

Yatton 46 (6), St Andrews Ladies 45 (4): J Forse, D Johnston, M Frost, A Campbell 8-19; B Goddard, A Greenwood, M Bailey, M Favis 18-14; D Baker, S Sinclair, A Powell, M Pattenden 19-13.

The St Andrews club in Weston has had three players selected in the Somerset junior girls’ team for the national Amy Rose Bowl competition at Leamington Spa in September.

Sisters Rebecca and Jennifer McMillan and Imogen Cracknell will all be representing the county in the two-rink event.

Rebecca, aged 23, and 19-year-old Jennifer have both played in the Amy Rose before, but Imogen, who is just 14, will be making her debut.

Club captain Andy McMillan, father of the sisters, said: “For a small club like St Andrews, it is a real honour that three of our girls have been selected.”

Rebecca McMillan was in the Somerset ladies’ team who lost to Worcestershire at Chippenham in the quarter-final of the national Johns Trophy. Her rink won 29-10. Her display earned a call-up to the county team for the regional final of the two-rink Walker Cup at Winscombe, again versus Worcestershire. Somerset lost by three.

Winscombe Ladies played away at Victoria in the Southey Cup, but could only win in one discipline.

In the singles, Carol Hopes lost by nine shots, but the pairs and the triples fared much better, only losing by one and three shots respectively, whilst the Winscombe rink of Maureen Sprouting, Lesley Fredersdorff, Lorna Whatling and Wendy Weller won by five shots.

Winscombe also played Portishead in the North Somerset Triples League and lost on all three rinks.

Winscombe Ladies 38, Portishead 61: M Sprouting, J Rush, W Weller 10-17; M Adams, A Ainsworth, L Fredersdorff 16-17; C Hopes, S Lowman, A Watts 12 -27. Friendly rink: T Darkin, P Burns, S Lowis 8-23.

Wessex Ladies play Ashcombe in the Southey Trophy at Ashcombe on July 24 at 2.30pm.

Wessex Ladies 45 (2), Victoria 53 (8): C Falconbridge, E Williams, B Jones 15-13; P Turner, A Ward, J Duffy 14-16; P Dunn, N Peters, A Fewings 16-24.

Wessex Ladies 31 (0), Clarence 67 (10): V Gardiner, E Wade, B Jones 13-18; E Stott, E Williams, J Davis 12-20; V Edwards, M Hawkins, A Ward 6-29.

Ashcombe Ladies 56 (10), Long Ashton 33 (0): L Paterson, M Tasker, S Weaden 16-11; M Main, J Hughes, J Wilkinson 18-13; N Counsell, M Tucker, A Goacher 22-9.

Ashcombe Ladies 50, Victoria Park, Bridgwater 53 (friendly): P Wynne, L Owens, J Field 11-23; M Shufflebothan, S Bayntun, C Hedges 16-16; M Main, D Norville, L Paterson 23-14.

In the county Fear Cup fourth round, Ashcombe entertain City of Wells tomorrow (Friday) at 2pm. In the Southey Trophy, the ladies are home again, this time against Wessex on Sunday (2pm). Supporters will be most welcome.

Clarence Ladies enjoyed a 10-shot win over Eastover, winning two of the three rinks, with skip Ronnie Jones winning her rink by 10 shots.

Clarence Ladies 46, Eastover 36: J Coles, C Marshall V Jones 20-10; M Southan, S Pritchard, P Hawkins 15-11; P Fowler, S Searle, P Dunn 11-15.

Another good day for the ladies saw them win on all three rinks against Wessex, with the best rink going to V Collicott, with a 23-shot win.

Clarence Ladies 67, Wessex 31: J Colman, P Burrough, V Collicott, A Ward 29-6; S Scoins, M Noddings, C Edlin 20-12; A Ballinger, J Mannion, M Davison 18-13.

Victory over Backwell gave Clarence an unbeaten week of results. Top rink was skipped by M Davison winning by 11 shots.

Clarence 55, Backwell 42: C Marshall, S Searle, J Mannion 18-21; R Francombe, S Ellis, V Collicott 19-14; J Colman, S Pritchard, M Davison 18-7.

Victoria Ladies won all the matches played in the week and have also progressed to the next round of the Southey Cup after defeating Winscombe.

Although the ladies lost two of the rinks against Wedmore in the Mendip League, the triple of Hannah Frye, Fiona Waters and Mildred Chudley won by 14 shots to secure victory.

In the Weston & District Triples League, both Sue Cooper and ladies’ captain Margaret Hillman skipped their triples to wins and the match by eight shots.

The annual mixed friendly against Worcester resulted in a narrow win of six shots, with the best rink skipped by John Newman with Cliff Chudley and the ladies Kay Wilson and Ellen Newport recording an emphatic win of 15 shots.

The ladies played their fixed jack competition organised by Carol Willetts and supported by many of the male members who took on marking duties. There were more than 20 competitors, who each played 4x10-end matches, total shots scored determining the result.

The game was played in a spirit of fun, but nonetheless it was competitive with a close result, with Sue Cooper declared the winner with Chris Sage runner-up, who scored the same shots as Kay Wilson, but won on countback.

Victoria Ladies 68, Winscombe 57 - singles. S Cooper 21-9; pairs: F Waters, M Chudley 18-17; triples: K Wilson, R Cleeves, A Holland 18-15; rink: H Frye, E Newport, S Newman, M Hillman 11-16.

Victoria Ladies 48, Wedmore 42: K Wilson, S Newman, M Hillman 12-14; H Frye, F Waters, M Chudley 24-10; N Whyte, C Stevens, A Holland 12-18.

Victoria Ladies 53, Wessex 45: S Sokol, R Cleeves, M Chudley 13-15; C Stevens, A Holland, M Hillman 16-14; F Waters, B Mangan, S Cooper 24-16.

Victoria 126, Worcester 120 (mixed friendly): J Johnson, C Stevens, M Milliner, M Taylor 10-26; B Cardwell, J Revill, P Coumis, R Bromet 21-20; K Wilson, C Chudley, E Newport, J Newman 24-9; M Slavin, J Langridge, G Richards/ M Chudley, D Fairhurst 18-15; B Williams, B Johnson, F Waters, E Sage 27-16; H Frye, L Kelly, J Mingoe-West, D Hurst 26-14.