Victoria crash out of national fours competition

Victoria’s participation in the National Double Rink competition came to an abrupt end against two strong rinks from Bristol.

Better success came in the North Somerset Bowls Association 4 Dimension with victory over Clevedon Promenade. Although the four disciplines were shared, Victoria went through on a healthy shot difference.

The B team played Nailsea B away and proved too strong for the home team and came away with the full 12 points. There was also a victory for the C team away at Burnham. Again the full 12 points were achieved with a good performance by each rink.

Unfortunately, the D team found the going against the Portishead RBL C team, but managed to scrape two points for the one winning rink.

Victoria 30, Bristol 41: P Wyatt, J Newman, A Yates, S Davies 16-22; P Fisher, D Fairhurst, C Gazzard, M Cooper 14-19.

Victoria 102 (2), Clevedon Prom 65 (2) – singles: L Stocker 18-21; pairs: C Gazzard, M Cooper 20-22; triples: P Wyatt, S Davies, W Harrison 25-10; fours: M Campbell, P Leadbeater, C Heal, M Stocker 39-12.

Victoria C 60 (12), Burnham B 46 (0): R Jacobs, J Mingo-West, A Shattock, D Jones 19-12; N Robbins, M Milliner, A Barnes, G Frost 19-16; Carmine, E Sage, G Hodge, D Sealey 22-18.

Victoria D 50 (2), Portishead RBL C 58 (10): M Payne, W Nicholls, L Langridge, G Raine 23-16; J Griffiths, J Turton, M Milliner, T Gatehouse 16-17; D Parker, A Webb, B Saward, S Evans 11-25.

This week saw Ashcombe play three enjoyable and closely-fought friendlies, despite the weather doing its best to interrupt play.

Ashcombe 62, Knowle 59: M Dew, L Cox, J Whitlow 21-13; T Morgan, M Southwood, J Creasey 17-16; S Noyes, B Benstead, A Little 13-17; D Underhay, M Parry, DA Williams 11-13.

Ashcombe 71, Wrington 67: G Pople, B Duncan, M Paterson, G Sansam 23-9; M Unwin, S Hopkins, L Cox, E Hopkins 20-11; P March, B Alden, D Bleasdale, T Morgan 15-27; M Tripp, J Matthews, J McKenzie, R Tasker 13-20.

Ashcombe 70, Cwmllynfell 89: L Paterson, J McKenzie, B Cullen, R Tasker 20-21; M Shufflebotham, S Noyes, K Davies, T Morgan 17-23, G Tucker, M Tripp, M Parry, S Weadon 14-21; M Main, N Shufflebotham, M Tasker, J Main 19-24.

In the Somerset Bowls League, all three of Ashcombe’s teams were in action and, despite some close results, they were unable to claim any victories.

Ashcombe A 60, Burnham 65 (SBL North Div 1): N Coombes, A Feke, S Hedges, J Creasey 28-15; D Cooper, D Bleasdale, M West, J Whitlow 16-32; G Fews, M Paterson, L Day, R Powell 16-18.

Ashcombe B 56, Banwell B 60 (SBL North Div 2): F Bertram, N Shufflebotham, K Hallett, E Hopkins 16-22; S Andrews, G Pople, G Sansam, DA Williams 21-22; B Bishop, B Miles, J Main, R Tasker 19-16.

Ashcombe C 56, Wrington 57 (SBL North Div 3): C Gerlach, G Tucker, J Bryant, P Dimmack 22-16; M Butt, R Stokes, J McKenzie, G Wilkinson 15-20; R Counsell, W Spring, A Tucker, B Benstead 19-21.

Two of Ashcombe’s teams had matches in the Weston and District Over-60s League, but both were lost.

Ashcombe Knights 89, Mark Moor 102: M Field, E Roberts, R Tasker 6-25; M Paterson, G Mills, E Hopkins 11-17; G Pople, G Sansam, D Carr 16-16; B Jones, R Counsell, J Main 12-12; D Freestone, N Spring, A Freke 26-14; F Bertram, K Hallett, A Cracknell 18-18.

Ashcombe Templars 86, Portishead 138: B Alden, M Tripp, T Pople 14-26; P March, B Bishop, M Badman 20-17; A Tucker, G Wilkinson, S Andrews 11-25; R Smith, J McKenzie, G Fews 12-28; J Bryant, D Cooper, K Davies 20-15; G Tucker, B Duncan, C Vardon 9-27.

St Andrews made it six wins out of six in the Weston & District Over-60s League with a comfortable home victory over Clevedon Prom.

Danny Favis’s triple raced into a 19-2 lead after just five of the 18 ends and won eventually by 16. Gordon Wride had 13 shots to spare when his game ended, while Don Bailey, Tony Steer and Barrie Forse also won to earn Saints 18 points.

St Andrews 127 (18), Clevedon Prom 87 (2): M Goddard, T Ware, D Favis 33-17; T Yeeles, B May, D Bailey 20-11; R Potter, B Reeves, T Steer 16-13; M Simpson, G Guest, K Curtis 14-16; G Cooper, B McLeod, G Wride 25-12; R Wootten, J Keay, B Forse 19-18.

However, Saints’ problems continued in the County League as they went down to their fifth defeat in as many matches, this time by 12 at home to Knowle A.

Barrie Forse’s rink won by five, while Danny Favis and his men lost by just two. But the third rink, 8-6 up at halfway, failed to score again and went down by a decisive 15 shots.

St Andrews 49 (2), Knowle A 61 (10): M Goddard, G Cooper, G Webber, B Forse 18-13; M Simpson, B Cracknell, J Keay, D Favis 23-25; L Yeates, R Wootten, B May, D Bailey 8-23.

A youthful team from Bristol club Willmott Park proved too good for St Andrews in the Bowls England Top Club competition.

The home club’s only winners were the reliable pairs team of Ken Uglow and captain Andy McMillan, victors by six with a five on the last end. Barrie Forse came back well from 12-0 down to lose by just five in the four-wood singles.

St Andrews 1, Willmott Park 4 - four-wood singles: B Forse 16-21; two-wood singles: G Guest 4-15; pairs: K Uglow/A McMillan 19-13; triples: R Wootten, K Curtis, T Steer 9-14; fours: L Yeates, G Cooper, G Webber, D Bailey 16-20.

Clarence defeated Yatton by 11 shots in a hastily-arranged 5 Dimensions Cup, with skip Roger Burrough’s rink winning by 24.

Scores: M Edlin 15-8 (two-wood singles); S Browning, D Grier, G Barlow, R Crawford 17-11; A Gardiner, M Phillips, R Burrough 28-4; R Rossiter, D Stott 7-25; D Towie 21-17.

In a friendly against Yatton, Clarence went down by 38 shots. The only rink showing any resistance was skipped by Chris Read, who lost by a shot after getting a four on the last end.

Clarence 51, Yatton 89: A Bishop, P Williams, N Martin, K Marshall 13-23; M Cerasoli, M Skyrme, I Phipps, R Burrough 10-27’ T Ward, A Newland, R Stacey, C Read 16-17; S Browning, B Watkins, B Duffy, M Edlin 12-22.

In the North Somerset Cup, Clarence won well on two rinks, but badly on three which gave Winscombe a 13-shot victory.

Clarence 92, Winscombe 105: A Gardiner, K Marshall, M Phillips, R Burrough 15-24; T Ward, R Smith, M Edlin, G Barlow 14-21; A Bishop, C Tippett, M Scoins, C Read 16-34; R Rossiter, M Skyrme, D Towie, D Stott 24-15; J Loveridge, J Edwards, B Sweet, R Crawford 23-11.

In the Over-60s League against Portishead, skip Roger Burrough’s 16-shot victory was the difference between the teams.

Clarence Blues 104, Portishead 89: R Smith, B Duffy, G Barlow 16-14; D Towie, D Grier, D Stott 22-11; M Cerasoli, M Phillips, R Burrough 24-8; B Benn, B Underwood, M Edlin 15-21; A Gardiner, B Sweet, R Crawford 18-11; J Loveridge, M Scoins, C Read 9-24.

The Golds were heavily beaten by Yatton in the Over-60s League, the best losing rink skipped by Derek Weston went down by just two shots.

Clarence Golds 77, Yatton 143: A Bishop, D Thomson, K Marshall 10-13; M Turnball, M Skyrme, M Scoins 4-38; M Thompson, P Williams, D Weston 18-20; A Newland, A Cord, R Higgins 19-23; C Tippett, J Atkins, J Edwards 18-25; J Hicks, M Peters, I Phipps 8-24.

In the North Somerset Bowls Association Knockout Cup, Winscombe played Clarence again.

Across the five rinks, while none of the rink scores were close, the match itself swayed backwards and forwards with Winscombe eventually coming out the winners by 105 shots to 92.

The usually popular triples match at Wyrral Park in Glastonbury did not get its usual support this year due to illness and holidays and the match was reduced to five rinks. Despite this, Winscombe managed to come out 88-64 winners.

In the County League matches, the shortage of players led to the club having to field weaker teams in both their A and B team matches. This showed in the results and both teams lost by significant margins with the opposition taking the points on all three rinks.

The A team lost to Nailsea A by 42 shots and the B team lost to Clevedon Promenade B by 34 shots.

Winscombe 105, Clarence 92: B Paul, E Kindred, S Easterby, M Dorrington 24-15; R Lowman, D Johnson, P Fredersdorff, T Ellis 21-14; W Ainsworth, L Collier, K Whatling, M Adams 34-16; N Hansford, M Newing, G Coombe, G Neville 15-24; D Brown, P John, M Nash, R Lacy 11-23.

Winscombe 88, Wyrral Park 64: P Hopes, N Hansford, R Lowman 19-11; D Brown, G Hill, W Ainsworth 19-12; M Hunter, L Collier, M Dorrington 14-18; M Newing, G Coombe, M Nash 20-8; P John, B Paul, A Dudley 16-15.

Winscombe A 45, Nailsea A 87: R Lowman, J Sprouting, P Fredersdorff, T Ellis 15-25; G Lloyd, G Coombe, M Nash, M Dorrington 10-41; W Ainsworth, L Collier, K Whatling, A Dudley 20-21.

Winscombe B 43, Clevedon Promenade 77: M Trenchard, C Bailey, P Cast, G Hill 12-37; D Brown, K Headford, M Newing, B Paul 15-20; D Johnson, D Leach, R Fisher, D Peakall 16-20.

Wedmore men enjoyed a good win against visitors Long Ashton in the Clevedon & District Over-60s Triples, winning the match by 25 shots.

Both Roger Hughes and Colin Moss led their teams to decisive victories ensuring Wedmore’s overall win.

Wedmore 114, Long Ashton 89: C Wheller, C Panchaud, E Payne 21-22; T Hamblin, J Runciman, K Pettit 11-15; V Matthews, D Collins, C Moss 26-8; R Bull, J Harvey, R Newell 15-13; R Dearden, M Green, K Burt 16-24; T Counsell, R Norris, R Hughes 25-7.

Clevedon Prom A team proved a tough challenge when the Wedmore men’s A team played away and lost the match by six shots. Only Eddie Payne and his team managed a win and then by just one shot.

Wedmore 48, Clevedon Prom A 54: D Collins, K Burt, R Barron, D Nicholls 18-22; T Brown, K Phillimore, R Newell, R Hughes 15-18; A Birch, G Annuik, K Pettit, E Payne 15-14.

Wedmore ladies visited Clarence for a WDL match, but found the opposition too strong losing 35 shots to 65.

The ladies rallied and had a good result against visitors North Petherton in the Wessex League with a 21-shot win. Both Marie Trow and Gill Harvey had good victories.

Wedmore Ladies 63, North Petherton 42: P Jenkins, M Green, M Perry, G Harvey 23-14; J Collingwood, M Barron, L Hamblin, M Trow 23-13; J Collins, M Stansfield, C Pettit, M Hordle 17-15.

In the second WLL match, Wedmore lost by just three points to Mark Moor. Gill Harvey and her team had the only win of the day 29-14.

Wedmore Ladies 61, Mark Moor 64: B Disbrey, M Barron, J Hunt, M Trow 18-25; J Collingwood, B Clark, M Fisher, G Harvey 29-14; P Jenkins, A Birch, J Wheller, E Deverill 14-25.

A mixed Wedmore team played at home in a friendly match against Chew Stoke and won with a final score of 103 to 55 John Runciman’s team had the best win of the day 21-6.

Touring team Rhiwbina enjoyed their visit to Wedmore fielding six teams. Although the visitors lost 104-80, their spirits remained high and they ended up giving an impromptu concert after the match.

Wessex Ladies had mixed results last week with a draw, win and a loss.

Wessex Ladies 48, Victoria Bridgwater 48 (friendly): V Gardiner, J Allard, P Taylor 18-12; M Milford, P Turner, M Hawkins 7-31; N Peters, E Wade, A Fewings 23-5.

Wessex Ladies 64, Nailsea 49: R Hinde, C Falconbridge, E Wade, J Duffy 21-15; V Gardiner, L Hedderman, E Stott, A Fewings 30-15; B Hayes, T Langford, N Peters, P Hanson 13-19.

Wessex Ladies 25 (0), North Petherton 76 (10) (league): B Hayes, C Falconbridge, A Crawford, A Ward 9-22; V Edwards, N Peters, D Welfare, J Davis 8-25; J Allard, E Stott, M Davis, P Taylor 8-29.

St Andrews Ladies notched up a comprehensive victory in a three-triple friendly away to Burnham.

They took all three rinks, with Audrey Powell, in her season’s debut, skipping her trio to a 25-shot winning margin. Jane Smith finished 16 shots clear and captain for the day Monica Pattenden won by four.

St Andrews Ladies 73, Burnham 28: S Sinclair, I Tofte, J Smith 24-8; D Baker, A Greenwood, M Pattenden 17-13; S Priory, D Johnston, A Powell 32-7.

Brilliant play by Somerset county ladies’ president Marilyn Gozna was the major factor in St Andrews Ladies’ 29-shot defeat away to Portishead RBL in the DRT League.

Mainly due to skip Gozna, her rink won by 21. The other two rinks were much closer, but Saints failed to take a point from the game.

St Andrews Ladies 31, Portishead RBL Ladies 60: J Forse, A Greenwood, M McMillan, M Bailey 3-24; F Allen, S Priory, J Ware, M Favis 16-20; C Venn, M Wride, B Goddard, M Pattenden 12-16.

The St Andrews quartet of Judy Forse, Jane Smith, Jackie Pitman and Ann Campbell registered an extra-end, three-shot away victory over a strong Watchet team in the Somerset County Fours.

However, when three of the same Watchet team visited St Andrews last week in the County Triples, they gained their revenge, beating Forse, Pitman and Campbell 17-13.

Winscombe Ladies had two Wessex League matches scheduled at Clevedon and Ashcombe.

The match against Clevedon had to be cancelled due to county commitments, so Winscombe claimed the 10 points. Winscombe won the return fixture with Ashcombe on all three rinks and got their revenge for defeat earlier in the season at Ashcombe.

A friendly match at Nailsea continued the winning streak for Winscombe where they won on two rinks to one.

Winscombe Ladies 64, Ashcombe 41: C Hopes, S Nash, L Parfitt, S Lowman 20-16; I Miles, P Heal, E Watts, R Keane 16-13; M Sprouting, D Sapsford, J Rush, L Fredersdorff 28-12.

Winscombe Ladies 40, Nailsea 32: J Kimmins, J Wiles, S Nash, L Fredersdorff 8-13; C Hopes, A Bougourd, L Parfitt, S Lowman 14 -11; A Griffin, L Coombe, J Rush, R Keane 18-8 .

Ashcombe Ladies 36, Wellhall 27 (friendly): M Shufflebothan, D Norville, C Hedges 14-17; A Cox, J Hughes, M Tucker 22-10.

Ashcombe Ladies 41, Burnham 46 (friendly): J Field, M Tasker, M Williams 10-20; L Paterson, N Counsell, S Hopkins 16-13; A Cox, J Matthews, J McInally 15-13.

Ashcombe Ladies 41 (0), Winscombe 64 (10) (Wessex League): A Cox, C Hedges, M Main, J Hughes 13-16; L Owens, S Noyes, S Bayntun, A Goacher 12-28; M Shufflebothan, D Norville, M Tasker, M Tucker 16-20.

Victoria Ladies enjoyed a game against a small touring team from London.

The match was closer than the score suggested and the visitors are hoping to return next year.

A useful eight points was gained away to West Backwell in the WDTL after recent results had not gone their way.

Victoria Ladies 58, London Tourists 25: N Whyte, C Sage, A Holland, M Chudley 27-16; H Chesters, S Milliner, S Newman, M Hillman 31-9.

Victoria Ladies 55, Backwell 50 (WTDL): C Stevens, E Newport, M Hillman 20-16; H Frye, A Holland, M Chudley 9-17; R Cleeves, S Sokol, S Cooper 26-17.

Clarence Ladies lost by 10 shots to Yatton, despite skip C Hooper’s rink winning well.

Clarence Ladies 41, Yatton 51: S Scoins, J Coles, P Burrough 8-25; J Anning, P Phillips, C Hooper 21-13; P Fowler, M Southan, P Dunn 12-13.

Clarence Ladies 54, Portishead 58: R Francombe, J Mannion, M Davison 16-23; P Fowler, S Ellis, P Burrough 12-22; S Searle, V Jones,V Collicott 17-16.

Clarence Ladies 45, Portishead 61: P Fowler, S Pritchard, M Davison 11-16; J Colman, J Mannion, V Collicott 10-23; S Scoins, P Burrough, M Noddins 15-11; R Francombe, A Ballinger, S Searle 18-8.