WELSH CROWN GREEN BOWLING ASSOCIATION
There was a bumper helping of Crown Green bowls to enjoy at the weekend. On Sunday 20th September the Welsh Champion of Champions was held at Coedpoeth Bowling Club and the Welsh Ladies squad were in action at the final of the Mavis Dearden Supplementary with the Home leg at Esclusham.
First the Champion of Champions. This event has only been held since 2015 yet it draws much interest. Sixteen ‘Champions’ from a variety of competitions in Wales qualify to enter for an overall champion. Hosted by President, Peter Higham and run by Pauline Lindley the day got underway. Our Referees were DT Evans, Allan Davies, David Cawley and Derek Unwin.
In game 1, Gareth Vaughan Jones led a strong 17-7 at the start of his match with Jimmy Hynes. What looked like an easy ride soon saw Garth’s lead narrowing as each end was played with Jimmy coming back to be 20-18 down. Gareth seized the last points to win 21-18. Young Amelia Northrop found a tough opponent in Gareth Williams, who stretched her out with some deep corner bowling. He didn’t have it all his own way, though, and Amelia replied with some impressive bowling. However, Gareth stormed away to a 21-6 win. In game 3, Jack Dougal and Jake Hall had a great game with few points to separate the two. Jack rose to 19-12 up and ran out 21-12. Haidan Williams struggled with his new bowls in his game with Chris Charlton and lost 21-8. James Todd won 21-18 over Craig Griffiths and John Bailey and Mark Ball had another good match with John beating Mark 21-18. The closest finish was that between Nicky Jones and Kris Fearnley with Nicky winning 21-20 in the end.
In the quarter final games, it was another round of really tight finishes with three 21-20 final scores out of the four. Gareth and Jack Hewitt battled it out with Jack winning 21-20. Jack Dougal and Gareth Willims had another good game. Once again Gareth headed for the corners, but Jack was right with him. Both players tried varying the length of ends after that but Jack ran out game 21-18. James Todd and Nicky Jones had another marathon with both players scoring well. Nicky Jones just managed to finish 21-20. The last match of this round between John Bailey and Chris Charlton was another ‘edge of the seat’ experience. Accuracy and experience from both players saw each of them edging by ones to the final score 21-20 to John.
In the first semi final between Jack Dougal and Jack Hewitt there was no question about the outcome. Jack Dougal played some stunning bowls but couldn’t break Jack Hewitt’s grip on the game. Jack Hewitt was through to the final after a 21-13 win. The second, semi was not so simple. It was another nail-biting match. Nicky Jones bowled both accurate and consistent and was soon 17-12 up. At 19-14 to Nicky the tide turned. Never let your guard down on John Bailey. Nicky stalled at 19 whilst John brought the story to 20 across. John clinched the last end 21-20.
The Final between Jack Hewitt and John Bailey was a joy to watch. The final score of 21-7 to Jack Hewitt belies the brilliant bowling by both players. Jack found a sweet spot across the green of medium length that he mastered to perfection and it was all John could do at times to stay in the game. The match was watched by Dylan Evans from the sponsors Major Owen of Penrhyndeudreath, who was also there to present the trophy. We thank them for their generosity and involvement with Crown Green bowls in Wales.
The standard of bowling was extremely high, and it was often a case of ‘measure for measure’ with not much to separate a cluster of bowls around the jack. This is the second occasion Jack Hewitt has won the title and we congratulate him.
Mavis Dearden Supplementary.
For the second year running, Wales Ladies qualified for the Final of this trophy. As for a County match, there was a Home and Away team, with the Away side playing At Meersbrook BC in South Yorkshire and the Home side at Esclusham in Wrexham. At both venues, Wales had a good start. At Esclusham, Aileen Coleman won her game 21-4, which earned her the Player of the Match award for both Wales and the BCGBA. Both Carron Riley and Amanda Nicolas scored a strong 21-10 over their opponents with Claire Over another sound 21-11 win. At the end of the matches at the Home venue Wales had 239 and South Yorkshire 194. For the Away team Donna Bennett and Louise Dougal both scored well 21-12 and 21-11 respectively. Captain Linda Williams rounded off a successful defence of the title with a 21-9 win. Away score Wales 202 and South Yorkshire 210. Totals were Wales 441 and South Yorkshire 404 which meant Wales had won by 37 points.
Wrexham Museum.
Away from the bowling greens, Wrexham would be officially opening its doors to the Football Museum of Wales and Wrexham History following a Private View invitation to our President Peter Higham and Past President Pauline Lindley on Thursday 17th September. Peter and Pauline have been working on gathering artifacts and information on Crown Green bowls in the North Wales area. Items included old and new bowls, measuring devices past and present, various aids for disabled bowlers, programmes and score cards from the past and a blazer for President of the WCGBA, together with the BCGBA blazer worn by Gwyn Morris in the 1980s. It’s a small exhibition but we should be proud of our long history. The museum is well worth a visit.
