The only way is Walker!
Thurton’s chances of grabbing the runners-up spot in the South Norfolk
League were helped by two good wins. Peter Walker’s Thurton triple reeled off a
thumping 19-3 win at Saxlingham earning the visitors a 6-4 win. Thurton made
home advantage count against strugglers Wreningham as they took all ten points
and scored 85 shots against just 17. Watton won by 8-2 at home to Connaught
with John Hunter’s triple winning 20-4. Connaught held on to second place
though with a 7-3 home win against Horsford the following night. In the
Breckland League Connaught “A” beat Hingham Yellow 8-2 with Russell Hales, Ty
Musk & Sheila Bragg winning 22-15 & Diana Adcock, Derek Liles &
Bill Adcock winning 21-13 to keep their title push on course. Forncett will be
delighted with a 6-4 away win at Banham where Tony Ottewell’s triple won by
27-6. Hingham Yellow won by 6-4 at home to third placed Carleton Rode with M
White’s triple winning 28-7 & K Thomas winning 26-6. Tens League action saw
both title contenders win away. Robert Howlett’s Bob Carter triple won 19-3 at
Connaught earning them a 4-0 win. Hempnall will be thankful for Chris Mann
scoring on the last end against Kirby Bedon’s Joe Brown as they snatched a one
shot victory to record a 2-0 points win.
Posted
20-2-12
19-3 win for Thurton's Peter Walker
Sheila Bragg & Russell Hales won for Connaught "A"
I.C.C giants Cheshire beat Norfolk
A superb second half comeback by Norfolk Premier could not stop I.C.C
giants Cheshire Premier completing a 25-15 victory in Northants to bring
Norfolk’s interest in the competition to an end. Cheshire enjoyed a great first
half to build up a 14-2 points lead and the deficit proved too much for Norfolk
to overcome. It was a good day at the office for Norfolk’s singles players as
Trevor Brown won his games by 15-11 & 18-13 and David Lamb won his second
game by 18-9 as they collected eight of the ten points on offer. Brown trailed
former England singles champion Gareth Stanway by 9-0 in his second match
before storming back to win. Norfolk’s other points were earned by Nigel
Willard & Chris Mann with a 20-9 pairs win, Keith Cooke, Mike Boswell &
Sheila Bragg with an 11-6 triples win, Robbie Lamb, George Clarke & John
Turner with a 15-9 triples win & Mikey George, Jean Woods, Debbie Phillips
& Brian Saunders with a 6-6 draw in the rinks. After the match Lianne Mills
thanked the Norfolk players for their support and efforts during her two years
as county team manager. She has already advised the NCSMBA that she has decided
not to seek re-election to the post.
Posted 19-2-12
Norfolk Premier fought hard but could not give Norfolk Manager Lianne Mills a win in her last game in charge
Norfolk Over 60’s on fire at Carlton Colville
Norfolk Over 60s romped to a massive 38-10 points win at Carlton
Colville against Derek Barley’s Suffolk Select in the return match of their two
game challenge. In their home match at Lakeside Norfolk had beaten Barley’s
Select by 31-17 and were expecting a much closer game in Suffolk but on the day
Norfolk Over 60’s hit a rich vein of form and ran away with the game winning
all six sessions. Four triples earned maximum points with Ted Redwood’s triple
winning by 11-3, 6-5 & 11-5, Rex Cox’s triple winning by 13-6, 10-8 &
10-9, Melvyn Barker’s triple winning by 13-6, 9-4 & 12-5 and Mike Boswell’s
triple winning 13-4, 12-4 & 10-7. It proved to be a super day of bowls with
Suffolk providing the Norfolk team with a lovely pork & ham salad for lunch.
Posted 15-2-12 Mike Boswell - Three wins for Norfolk Over 60's in Suffolk
Bure Cup final date for Coltishall
Coltishall set up a Bure Cup Final showdown with Kirby Bedon after an
excellent finish in their second leg semi-final match at Woodbastwick.
Defending a 17-7 first leg lead Coltishall suffered a poor first half losing
five of the first six games. This left Woodbastwick just 19-17 behind on points
and looking favourites, but a second half recovery saved the day for Coltishall
as only Peter Jablonowski’s triple were able to record a win after the break.
14-3 & 10-1 wins for Martin Edridge, Jean Barnett & Margaret Harman
inspired the visitors and a 6-4 win for Willie Jefferies & a 9-2 win for
John Aggas saw them over the finishing line.
Posted 15-2-12
It’s a joyride for Josh in Under 18’s
15 year old Halvergate bowler Josh Baxter underlined his potential to
be one of Norfolk’s brightest stars as he won
the Norfolk
Under 18’s National Qualifier at Woodbastwick. He beat Wymondham’s talented 17
year old Mikey George, another excellent bowler, into second place. Costessey’s
Jack Barrett, who the previous day made his county debut at Potters Bar against
West Sussex “A” aged 15, came in third while 14
year old Lewis Cranston of County Council was fourth. With Norfolk awarded four
places in the National Under 18 Championships, set to be played on the 18th
March at Kempston I.B.C in Bedfordshire, County Council’s 13 year old Owen
Cranston & RG Carter’s 16 year old Jackie Bridge just missed out on
qualifying.
Disappointment for Norfolk
stars as England
name World Championship team
England have named their team for the World Championships being played
at Ballymoney in County Antrim, Northern
Ireland on the 24/25th March. There
was disappointment for Norfolk’s England Squad
bowlers David Lamb, Chris Mann & Melvin Woods when the team was named at
the weekend.
ENGLAND TEAM
Singles Jon Pitcher & Dom Reed Pairs Ben Render &
Dave Newsome. Steve Proctor & Andrew Beard Triples Gareth Townend, Bronagh Malone & Alan
Williams. Mitchell Young, Mark Jones & Chris Hopkins. Fours Jason McLean, Craig
Burgess, Chris Shakeshaft & Chris Williams. Jacinta Townend, Ben Pay, John
Manley & Roger Wiggins
Across the Leagues
Connaught “A” beat Banham 8-2 to maintain
their Breckland League title push. Chris Musk, Lee Fallows & Sylvia Parsons
again led the way with a thumping 28-5 win while Bill Adcock’s triple won
22-10. J Williamson’s Banham triple took two points off Connaught
with an 18-14 win against Owen Secker’s triple. Carleton Rode’s good form
continued as they beat Banham 8-2 with Jill Davidson, Michael Newby &
Russell Davidson winning 35-9. Bottom of the table Harling beat fellow
strugglers Forncett 10-0 with Betty Murphy, Terry Murphy & Matt Cunningham
winning 19-10. The local derby at Hingham
saw the Yellows take maximum points against the Greens. Rita Oliver, Eric Frary
& Jane Frary enjoyed a runaway 25-5 win against Pat Groombridge. Woodbastwick
moved to the top of the Bure League after an easy 10-0 home win against Anglian
Windows. Brian Frost, Norma Jablonowski & Peter Jablonowski inflicted a
25-4 defeat on Mike Boswell’s triple while Roger Green, Elaine Cole &
Trevor Hallett beat Alan Williamson’s triple 26-11. A 21-11 win for Tony Wright
& an 18-9 win for Jim Couling completed a great night for the home side. In
their previous match Woodbastwick had suffered a 7-3 defeat at East Tuddenham which took Tuddenham into third place.
Posted 14-2-12
Carleton Rode shock for Wymondham
Breckland League champions Wymondham will be bitterly disappointed as
they dropped valuable points in their quest to fend off the strong challenge of
Connaught “A”. At Hingham Green Brian Saunders skipped his Wymondham triple to
a 28-6 win & Debbie Phillips added a 20-10 win but the home side hit back
with wins for John Higgs & Pat Groombridge as the visitors were forced to
settle for a narrow 6-4 victory. At Carleton Rode though worse was to come for
Wymondham as they crashed to a shock 8-2 defeat. Carleton Rode reeled off their
sixth consecutive win with Russell Davidson beating Brian Saunders 23-16, Terry
Newby beating Debbie Phillips 21-12 & Rod Baker beating England’s Chris
Mann 16-15. Strangely the only Carleton Rode skip to lose was Norfolk singles
champion Neil Davidson, who went down 22-15 against Andrew Stratton, and Neil
Davidson was the man Wymondham feared the most in this encounter.
Bure League action saw Coltishall beat Horsford BC 10-0, with John
Aggas and his triple winning 30-6, and beat Kirby Bedon 6-4 on successive
nights. Halvergate moved to just three points behind Woodbastwick in the Thurne League with an 8-2 home win against Bradwell.
Posted 12-2-12
Norfolk “A” beaten at Potters Bar
Norfolk “A” was eliminated from the Inter-County Championships after
suffering a 28-12 defeat against West Sussex in Hertfordshire in the
re-arranged fixture, originally set to be played in Northants before last week’s
heavy snow played havoc with the fixture list. Norfolk made six forced changes
from their original team with players from outside the squad having to be
brought in. Fifteen year old Costessey player Jack Barrett made his county debut
as did Norfolk Over 60’s bowler Margaret Reynolds of RG Carter while former
Norfolk Premier bowlers Phil Watson & Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon were
brought in to the action. West Sussex opened strongly winning both singles
games as Sprowston’s David Dewing went down 18-5 against
Rod McBeth & Colin Coman of First Bus lost a close game 14-11. Steven Lamb &
Phil Watson produced Norfolk’s first win by 14-9 but with Chris Musk &
Elaine Cole losing by 22-5 West Sussex led 6-2 on points. The triples &
rinks shared the points in the second session as Shirley Brown, Elaine Oatway,
Malcolm Reynolds & Ray Lamb won 15-8 while Roger Green, Josh Baxter &
Selwyn Goldsmith snatched a 12-11 win on the final end. A good third session
was needed badly if Norfolk were to keep their hopes alive but the singles
& pairs proved to be a repeat of the opening session with only Steven Lamb
& Phil Watson winning for Norfolk by 18-12. Norfolk needed to win on four
mats and score plenty of shots in the final session if they were to turn things
around but West Sussex were in no mood to let this match slip now and only Shirley Brown, Elaine Oatway, Malcolm Reynolds & Ray Lamb won for Norfolk as West
Sussex earned their place in the quarter-finals where they will face Devon.
Posted 11-2-12
Margaret Reynolds (RG Carter) & Jack Barrett (Costessey) - County debuts against West Sussex "A"
Norfolk “A” team
revamped for West Sussex “A” clash
The I.C.C match between Norfolk “A” & West Sussex “A”, a victim of
the snow last Sunday, will now take place this Saturday at Potters Bar in
Hertfordshire. The usual player availability problems, that always happen with
Saturday matches, has forced Norfolk
manager Lianne Mills to make no fewer than six changes to the team originally
named. The new look team is a mixture of youth & experience with 15 year
old Costessey player Jack Barrett handed the lead spot in Ty Musk’s rink while
another talented young man, Josh Baxter of Halvergate, is also named. R.G
Carter’s Margaret Reynolds is called up to play lead in Peter Smart’s
triple. Former Norfolk Premier players
Phil Watson & Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon, who both stepped down from
the county team some time ago, have also been asked to make themselves available for this
game with Watson skipping a pair & Goldsmith skipping a triple. Having
already announced that this will be her last season as County
Manager Lianne Mills will be keen for Norfolk “A” to earn a place in the quarter-finals against Devon “A”.
Controversy over re-arranged I.C.C fixtures
Following the postponement of seven I.C.C matches, due to heavy snow,
on Sunday 5th February the E.S.M.B.A has re-arranged the Premier
matches, including Norfolk
v Cheshire & Essex v Herefordshire, for Sunday 19th February.
This is on the same weekend as the unofficial South v North charity match
arranged by St Georges Cup chairman Craig Burgess of Essex & England. This
has brought criticism by some bowlers of the E.S.M.B.A and their failure to
avoid the fixture clash. On this occasion it is hard not to feel sympathy for
the national body as they already have venues booked for the quarter-final
stage on Sunday 26th February and need to get the preliminary
matches played before then. It is a fact that the North v South game is not an
official E.S.M.B.A event and does not feature in the E.S.M.B.A diary, although
the National Body somewhat controversially subsidized it the first time it took
place last season. But it is also easy to understand the frustration of the
players chosen for the South v North match who have already booked
accommodation for that weekend and are now expected to turn out for their
county teams instead. There is a fear that some players will choose to turn
their back on their county teams to play in the charity event instead. This
could lead to a backlash from their county associations or their county
managers and even affect such players at international level. It is known that
Essex are likely to have to field a below strength side because of this but
Norfolk stars Trevor Brown & Chris Mann have already indicated that they
will put their county side first and play against Cheshire.
One of the fundamental problems of the I.C.C in its present form is the
closeness of the knock-out rounds which in the event of postponements is
certain to cause major problems. The E.S.M.B.A announced the formation of a
Sub-Committee to look at the I.C.C but came under fire at last year’s A.G.M
when it was revealed that the sub-committee had never met as the E.S.M.B.A did
not deem it necessary. Perhaps this unfortunate episode will cause them to
revisit this issue. With the E.S.M.B.A apparently ignoring its own rules to
permit the inclusion of the Stockport Metro
League into the preliminary round knock-out stage the I.C.C has already proved
a controversial event this season. Without doubt there is a growing feeling
that the entire competition needs to be reviewed.
Posted 10-2-12
Kirby earn Bure Cup Final place
Kirby Bedon went into their Bure Cup semi-final second leg tie at
Hevingham with just eleven players but managed to clinch a place in the final
with a session to spare. Leading 16-8 from the first leg Kirby Bedon’s Jill
Watson, Jimmy Dye & Phil Watson were in great form producing wins of 8-2,
9-2 & 6-4 to spearhead Kirby’s victory. Their 6-4 win against George
Clarke’s triple in the fifth session took Kirby over the finishing line and
Hevingham conceded the match with Kirby leading 25-19 on aggregate. They will
face the winners of the Coltishall v Woodbastwick tie in the final.
Posted
10-2-12
I.C.C Preliminaries savaged by weather
Norfolk bowlers were out of bed early ready to travel to
Northants for the day’s matches against Cheshire Premier & West Sussex “A”
but the overnight snow put paid to their trip as the games were called off
first thing. Only six of the thirteen matches set for the weekend took place
in the end. In the Premier section Oxfordshire pulled off a surprise 22-18 win
against West Sussex at Guildford while Devon blew East Sussex out of the water
by a massive 36-4 score-line. In the “A” section Bucks beat Essex 24-16 at
Northants while Somerset beat West Midlands 30-10. It is believed that the
ESMBA is looking at the weekend of 18th/19th Feb as a
possible date to play the postponed fixtures, the same weekend as the “unofficial”
North v South fixture.
Posted 5-2-12
Bure, City & Thurne Latest
The Bure League title race looks to be the most
open for years after another week of mixed results. Defending champions Kirby
Bedon continue to struggle and dropped more points at home to Woodbastwick who
are looking the most dangerous side in the league. The visitors completed a
league double over Kirby with an impressive 6-4 win. Tony Wright’s triple gave
Woodbastwick a first half win of 17-11 against Gerald Chilvers while Phil
Watson’s triple kept the home side on terms at the break with a 15-13 win against
Peter Jablonowski. Kirby captain Alistair Hunter skipped his triple to a 16-13
second half win against Jim Couling but Trevor Hallett’s triple earned
Woodbastwick the match points with a 14-7 win against Joe Brown. Horsford BC
earned their first win of the season in the Bure after eight straight defeats
beating Hevingham 8-2. Barbara Diggle, Simon Warnes & Ray Ayers inflicted
the most damage with a big 30-9 win against David Sharpe’s triple. Peter
Warnes’ triple added a 19-13 win against George Clarke while Piero Cognetti
beat Vic Woods 18-17. Hevingham’s only win was a 14-11 score-line for Pat
Williamson’s triple. East Tuddenham are looking a side in form with the
addition of Linda Chadwick, Les Chadwick & Peter Smart transforming their
fortunes. Smart’s triple led the way for East Tuddenham
against Coltishall with a 17-6 win against Margaret Harman’s triple. Robin Amos
beat Willie Jefferies by 17-11 while John Turner added a 12-11 win against John
Aggas. Les Harman’s triple kept Coltishall’s flag flying with an 18-5 win
against Russell Harris but the 8-2 points win keeps East
Tuddenham in the mix. In the City of Norwich
League the two team battle for the title
continued in earnest as leaders Sprowston SSC won by 12-2 both at home to Old
Bonds and away at Jarrolds. Second placed RG Carter maintained their title push
with a 14-0 maximum win at Horsford Heroes. Thorpe Marriott inflicted another
defeat on Horsford Heroes by beating them 12-2. A bad week at the office for
British Rail saw them fall down the table after three defeats. Rail were well
beaten by 14-0 at Costessey and their trip to Anglian Windows ended in a 12-2
loss. To complete their misery they suffered a 12-2 home defeat at the hands of
Thorpe Marriott. Deaf Sports also had a poor week losing 10-4 at home to Horsford BC
and going down by the same score-line at Framingham Earl. In the remaining
fixtures Felthorpe won by 14-0 at home to Anglian Windows and lost 12-2 at Old
Bonds while First Bus won by 12-2 at Old Bonds. Thurne League leaders Woodbastwick won by 10-0 at
Stalham and by 8-2 at Hemsby. Second placed Bradwell beat Hemsby 10-0 and also
won by 6-4 at Hemsby.
Posted 5-2-12
Forncett beat Kirby Bedon in Norwich Cup thriller
Forncett & Kirby Bedon were involved in a pulsating Norwich Cup quarter-final
encounter which went down to the last bowl with Forncett claiming a semi-final
place on shots when the match finished level at 12-12 on points. Forncett had
already claimed the scalp of South Norfolk League champions Hempnall in the
previous round and can now add Bure League champions Kirby Bedon to their list
of giant killings. Visitors Kirby Bedon started well at a venue that they had not
played at in years. A surprise combination of Jackie Tunmore, Leonora Chilman
& Selwyn Goldsmith opened with a 6-5 win against Dennis Rumsby’s triple on
mat one while Peter Johnson, Teresa Goldsmith & Gerald Chilvers beat Tony
Ottewell’s triple 5-4 to give Kirby a 4-0 lead. Forncett immediately hit back in the second session with Rebecca Humphreys, Michael Humphreys & Peter
Lock beating Alistair Hunter’s triple 5-3 and Mary Boulter, Linda Preece &
Merv Boulter winning by 6-4 against Phil Watson’s triple to level the score at
4-4. Selwyn Goldsmith’s triple returned to the mat to defeat Tony Ottewell’s triple by
6-3 but Forncett’s Joan Rumsby, David Girling & Dennis Rumsby beat Gerald
Chilvers by the same score-line to keep it all square at 6-6 at the interval.
The fourth session was again shared with Kirby’s Carol Johnson, Jimmy Dye &
Alistair Hunter beating Merv Boulter by 9-2 while Forncett’s Peter Lock triple
beat Phil Watson 5-1 to leave the match level at 8-8. The penultimate session
again failed to separate the teams as Alistair Hunter’s triple beat Dennis
Rumsby 4-3, while Peter Lock’s Forncett triple completed their third win of the
night beating Selwyn Goldsmith 9-5 as the two previously unbeaten triples met. With only two shots separating the teams
who were now level at 10-10 the last session was played out in a great
atmosphere with every good shot being applauded. Kirby’s Jill Watson, Janice
Hewitt & Phil Watson picked the perfect time to record their first win of
the night beating Tony Ottewell’s triple by 4-3 scoring a single on the final end
to snatch two points. The final game to finish saw Forncett’s Merv Boulter
triple facing Kirby’s Gerald Chilvers. The Kirby triple needed just a draw to
snatch victory and went into the last end just one shot behind. Forncett’s lead
Mary Boulter drew shot early on but the jack still remained open to a drawing wood
as the end progressed. Forncett skip Merv Boulter failed to tuck in or shut the
jack down leaving Kirby skip Gerald Chilvers two opportunities to draw in and
win the match for the visitors. To the relief of the home side the Kirby skip
failed to do so and a roar went up from the home team who found themselves in
the Norwich Cup semi-final for the first time in years. They now face a two leg
match with Coltishall while Connaught “A” play Sprowston SSC in the other
semi-final.
Posted
3-2-12
Double blow for Wymondham as Linsdell is injured in cup
defeat
Wymondham suffered a double blow as they were defeated 14-10 by
visitors Connaught “A” in their Norwich Cup quarter-final tie as well as seeing
Norfolk star Mark Linsdell stretchered off after suffering a knee injury midway
through the match. This will also be a blow to Norfolk
who face England’s
number one county team Cheshire Premier this Sunday in a vital I.C.C match in
Northants. Connaught “A” could not have wished
for a better start as they reeled off four straight wins to lead 8-0 on points.
Even Wymondham’s England
star Chris Mann failed to stop Connaught’s
early onslaught as his triple lost by 7-5. Chris Musk, Lee Fallows & Sylvia
Parsons were again in brilliant form for Connaught
as they opened with an 8-3 win against the talented Debbie Phillips. The third
session finally saw Wymondham come good with Chris Mann beating Bill Adcock
14-0 while Mark Linsdell’s triple led 5-1 with an end to go. Then disaster
struck Wymondham as Mark Linsdell fell injuring his knee. After receiving
treatment it became obvious that for him this cup match was over and Andrew
Jackson stepped in as sub to complete a 7-1 win. This left Connaught
leading 8-4 at the halfway stage. The remaining three sessions were all shared
despite Wymondham’s best efforts to close the gap, and Connaught “A” held on to
gain a semi-final place in Norfolk’s
biggest cup competition.