Norfolk County Short Mat Bowls Association

County Squad named for 2016/17

Norfolk Team Manager Selwyn Goldsmith has named the County Squad for the 2016/17 season when Norfolk will defend their Premier Inter-County Championship title. Two new members of the squad are expected to be pushing for places in the Premier team after relocating to Norfolk. Gary Best, formerly of Kent, and ex West Mids bowler Simon Willies have a wealth of talent & experience between them which is sure to give the manager a selection headache after his team’s stunning performances at the end of last season. An unchanged team lifted the title beating Hampshire, Cheshire & Essex and while doing so generated an incredible team spirit not equalled for years. Under normal circumstances all twenty players would have been confident to start the season in an unchanged team but the presence of Best & Willies in the squad must put a question mark over that. Three new squad members earned their places by finishing in the top thirty of the Norfolk Points table. They are Trish Taylor of Diss, Billie Barker of Wymondham & Donna Lamb of Halvergate. Good performances on Trials Day have earned places for Dave Blundell of Wortwell, Hayley Stratton of Wymondham and talented young bowler Jack Shepherd of Connaught.  

                                                                                                                                               Posted 14-6-16 

Carter’s new dream team crush Diss

Defending Norfolk Summer League Division One champions Bob Carter stormed to an emphatic 8-0 maximum home win against Diss. Carter dominated play in a one-sided first half as former England international Nigel Willard and current internationals Jamie Forster & David Lamb combined to beat Morris Taylor, Trish Taylor & Terry Newby 32-6 while Carter’s trio of former England internationals Melly Woods, John Turner & Simon Willies made their experience count as they beat Bill Francis, Graham Attoe & Graham Mobbs 19-5. After the break Carter wrapped up proceedings with Simon Willies’ triple beating Terry Newby’s triple 17-11 and David Lamb’s triple beating Graham Mobbs’ triple 17-12. Bowlers with long memories will recall the Bob Carter “dream team” put together many years ago under the captaincy of Dick Stenton in the now defunct Wensum League and history seems to be repeating itself with their current line-up which could easily become known as the new dream team. It is now difficult to imagine any team other than Carter winning the title while Wymondham, Kirby Bedon & Halvergate are likely to be left to fight it out for the runner-up spot. Kirby Bedon recorded a solid 7-1 away win at Horsford Heroes where Shirley Brown, Jimmy Dye & Joe Brown beat David Davitt, Russell Hubbard & Sue Fox 14-8 and then beat Nigel James, Carol Kemp & Mark Tuttle 18-7. Carol Aggas, Gerald Chilvers & John Aggas were also unbeaten with an 18-9 win against Richard Hart, Jane Crosby & Chris Woodhouse and a 10-10 draw against Mally Kemp, Jo Turner & former Cromer skip Jane James. In Division Two Hingham were held to a 4-4 draw by visitors Forncett. Martin Humphreys, Tony Ottewell & Rebecca Humphreys led the way for the visitors beating Mike Groombridge, Trevor Curry-Smith & Eileen Herbert 22-12 and then beating Will Townsend, Gordon Wilcox & Keith Thomas 17-10. Hingham earned a draw courtesy of an 18-11 win for Jackie Capell, Pat Groombridge & Ron Harvey against Peter Lock’s triple and a 17-13 win for Cynthia Powell, Graham Tweed & former Cambs county skip Andy Sindle against Peter Lock’s triple. In the Summer Cup Watton progressed into the next round after a 6-2 home win against Hingham. Mike Conran, Bryan Dibble & Daphne Braham beat Graham Tweed’s triple 19-10 in the first half and followed that with a second half win of 17-16 against Andy Sindle. A 13-10 win for Pam Pagett, Richard Adams & Roger Braham against Eileen Herbert’s triple sealed the victory for the home side. Hingham’s only win was claimed by Cynthia Powell, Gordon Wilcox & Andy Sindle who beat Roger Braham’s triple 19-9 in the first half.  

                                                                                                                                          Posted 12-6-16 

Diss come close to cup upset at Halvergate

Diss came close to causing an upset at Halvergate in the Summer Cup but the home side made it through to the next round on shots mainly due to a 19-5 win by Keith Baker, Roy Walker & R Lamb. Morris Taylor, Trish Taylor & Terry Newby were on great form for the visitors beating Kerry Greenacre, Steven Lamb & Keith Cooke 19-14 in the first half and followed that up with a 15-10 win against Robbie Lamb’s triple. A 15-10 win by Keith Cooke against Russell Davidson left the match level on points with the home side going through 58-51 on shots. Three days later the teams met again in a Summer League Division One match at Diss and once again finished level on points. Morris Taylor, Trish Taylor & Terry Newby opened with a 17-15 win against Ryan Fox, Roy Walker & R Lamb but Halvergate’s Kerry Greenacre, Steven Lamb & Keith Cooke replied with a 15-8 win against Graham Mobbs’ triple. The second half was also shared with Keith Cooke beating Terry Newby 21-15 while Graham Mobbs beat R Lamb 16-9 as the match finished 4-4 on points. Bob Carter won 5-3 at Kirby Bedon in another tight Division One clash. Former Kirby Bedon player Nigel Willard, Simon Willies & Jamie Forster had a great night for Carter as they beat Carol Aggas, John Aggas & Phil Watson 20-9 and in the second half beat Gerald Chilvers, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown 12-7. Kirby’s Jimmy Dye, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown beat ex Kirby player George Clarke, Melvin Woods & Jason Woods 14-10 in the first half but Jason Woods’ triple, with John Turner subbing for Melvin Woods, earned an 11-11 draw against Aggas, Aggas & Watson to ensure an away win for Carter. Kirby Bedon had a great start at home to Halvergate with Carol Aggas, John Aggas & Phil Watson beating Robbie Lamb’s triple 32-3 but Keith Cooke’s Halvergate triple won their games 14-11 & 16-9 and Lamb’s triple bounced back in the second half winning 19-6 to clinch a 6-2 away win for their team. In Division Two Deaf Sports enjoyed a 6-2 home win against Forncett. Rosemary Hall, Laura Hawksworth & John Jeffery won both their games beating Peter Lock 15-9 and R Humphreys 22-5 and Robin Amos added a 21-5 win against R Humphreys. Forncett’s two points were gained by Mike Smails, Jan Smails & Peter Lock who beat Robin Amos 20-7.

Two Norfolk players named in England Squad

The England Squad has been named for the 2016/17 season and two members of Norfolk’s successful I.C.C winning team have been named in the squad. Jamie Forster of Bob Carter has been called up for the first time while Halvergate’s David Lamb retains his place in the squad for another year. Nineteen squad players named are from just three counties with Cornwall having eight players selected, Cheshire six and Essex five. West Mids & North Yorks each have four players selected while Gloucestershire & Oxfordshire each have three players named in the squad. West Yorkshire & Northants, like Norfolk, also have two players each selected.    

                                                                                                                                                          Posted 5-6-16 

Winning start for Kirby & Halvergate

Both Kirby Bedon & Halvergate opened their Summer League Division One campaigns with 6-2 wins. Carol Aggas, John Aggas & Phil Watson opened for Kirby with a 23-6 win against Jo Turner, Carol Kemp & Mark Tuttle of Horsford Heroes but Mally Kemp, David Crosby & Sue Fox hit back by beating Jimmy Dye, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown 18-15. The second half belonged to Kirby as Jill Watson, Phil Watson & John Aggas beat Jane James’ triple 20-7 and Joan Costello, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown beat Mark Tuttle 19-8. Halvergate’s Kerry Greenacre, Steven Lamb & Keith Cooke were in terrific form at First Bus as they beat Bob Oatway’s triple 25-5 in the first half and after the break stormed to a 27-7 win against Colin Coman’s triple. Keith Baker, Roy Walker & Ray Lamb edged to a 13-12 win against Bob Oatway to secure the away win while Elaine Oatway, Rex Cox & Colin Coman earned First Bus two consolation points beating Ray Lamb’s triple 14-8. In Division Two Thorpe Marriott proved too hot for visitors Watton to handle as they collected a maximum 8-0 home win. In the first half Tony Turner’s triple beat Daphne Braham’s triple 18-3 while Marjorie Hall beat Roger Braham 14-10. One way traffic continued in the second half as Sylvia Turner’s triple beat Daphne Braham 21-12 and John Jarvis beat Roger Braham 23-6.  

                                                                                                                                                     Posted 28-5-16 

Dot Dawson Rest in Peace

The NCSMBA is saddened to learn of the death of Dot Dawson. Dot was a founder member of Kirby Bedon SMBC and won many league winners trophies, and cup winners trophies, while playing for the club. Dot was also a member of the Norfolk Over 60s Squad and went on bowling holidays with them to Cyprus & Malta among other trips. She will also be remembered as an excellent cook who often provided tasty food for club events such as friendlies against March Braza etc. The funeral will be at Earlham Crematorium on Monday 13^th June at 3.45pm and the wake afterwards will be at Trowse White Horse where she recently celebrated her 90^th birthday which was attended by family, friends and members of Kirby Bedon SMBC.

Dot Dawson

No return trip for First Bus

Visitors First Bus kept things tight at Thorpe Marriott in the Summer Cup but could not stop Thorpe Marriott’s home advantage proving decisive in the end. In the first half a strong Marriott triple of Peter Walker, Ted Redwood & John Jarvis were held to an 11-11 draw by Elaine Oatway, Lesley Crowe & Rex Cox but a 16-10 win for Dorothy Muttitt, Richard Perkins & Marjorie Hall against Linda Tooes, Betty Cox & Colin Coman gave the home side a 3-1 interval lead on points. Eddie Costello, Lesley Crowe & Rex Cox beat Sylvia Turner’s triple 12-10 to level it up but Sheila Redwood, Mandy Marshall & Tony Turner saw Thorpe Marriott over the line and into the next round by beating Colin Coman’s triple 17-13 for a 5-3 points win. Summer League Div One action saw Horsford Heroes held to a 4-4 draw by visitors Diss Green. Diss had the better of the first half with Morris Taylor, Trish Taylor & Terry Newby beating Russell Hubbard’s triple by one shot while Colin Smith, Keith Buck & Graham Mobbs beat David Davitt 15-11. The home side salvaged a draw after the break as Jane James, Mally Kemp & Russell Hubbard beat Graham Mobbs 15-9 and Mark Tuttle, Carol Kemp & Nigel James beat Terry Newby 16-14. In Div Two Thorpe Marriott won 6-2 at Hingham with Tony Turner’s triple beating E Wilcox’s triple 14-9 and former Cambs’ star Andy Sindle by 19-10. Windows drew 4-4 at home to Forncett with away skip Peter Lock beating Mike Boswell 17-11 and drawing 12-12 against David Walker. The top score of the night was achieved by Windows’ Pam Daynes, Diane Halford & Keith Halford who beat Tony Ottewell’s triple 19-9.  

                                                                                                                                    Posted 26-5-16 

Summer Season starts

Summer Cup champions Wymondham progressed safely through the first round with a 6-2 home win against Windows. They did suffer a first half wobble though as David Walker, Mally Woodhouse & Avril Walker beat Chris Mann’s triple 12-10 after scoring a five on the third end but with Jack Pye’s triple winning 24-7 & 21-7 and Mann adding a 20-12 second half win the holders emerged unscathed. Bob Carter progressed on shots at Horsford Heroes where the match finished 4-4 on points. A 25-8 win for Jamie Forster, Jason Woods & Simon Willies proved a vital factor in their victory. Division One action saw Horsford Heroes held to a 4-4 draw by visitors Diss. In Division Two Thorpe Marriott won 6-2 at Hingham. Watton Yellow were less successfull on their visit to Hingham where they lost 5-3. Former Cambridgeshire skip Andy Sindle led the way for his new club beating Roger Braham 22-10.

Nearly sixty players took part in the Norfolk Squad Trials and they included two former internationals who have relocated to Norfolk. Former Kent star Gary Best & former West Mids regular Simon Willies were both impressive on the day at Hingham while young Connaught bowler Jack Marshall also caught the eye.                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                      Posted 19-5-16 

Bold plans for Harling Bowls Club expansion

Harling Bowls Club are planning to increase their short mat bowls capacity as this thriving bowls club continues to attract members. Currently they have their own short mat bowls room containing two mats that stay down permanently, but bold plans with former Chairman Matt Cunningham at the helm will see a new clubhouse built with room for four short mats for members to use. Harling Bowls Club began life as an outdoor bowls club in 1973 but in 1995 members decided to build a short mat bowls room so they could continue playing throughout the winter as well. With their own club house, including a bar, the club have continued to expand and their facilities allow them to arrange fund raising events on a regular basis keeping members active and involved. Their membership, of approximately 70 members, come not only from Harling but from many surrounding towns & villages as well. Norfolk SMBA Chairman Selwyn Goldsmith and Norfolk Over 60’s Organiser Teresa Goldsmith visited the club this week to talk about the club’s plans with Matt Cunningham and Club Contact Pauline Barsby and were most impressed by the plans they saw. Anyone interested in joining the club, either for short mat bowls or outdoor, should contact the Treasurer Pauline Barsby on 01953-717275. One thing for sure is that you are assured of a warm welcome at this delightful bowls club that is at the heart of the community.    

                                                                                                                           Posted 18-5-16

EAST COAST OVER 50’s WEEK AT POTTER’S RESORT

The annual Potter’s East Coast Over 50’s Cup Week attracted a record number of entries with Kent bowlers dominating the East Coast Triples Cup while North Yorkshire & Durham bowlers won the East Coast Pairs with Paula McCallum retaining her pairs title with a different partner. The winners earned Potter’s Holiday vouchers worth up to £200 each with Potters also presenting vouchers for the next three teams in both events.
EAST COAST TRIPLES - Kent take the Cup

The triples event was played over four days in four groups with the winners of each group gaining a place in the semi-finals. By the end of the first day’s play Paula McCallum & Mac McCallum of Murton Glebe in Durham, playing with North Yorkshire’s Arthur Jackson of Easingwold at number two, led the Red Group with maximum points while one point behind them was Laurence Rolfe, Babs Water-Newman & Peter Toombs of Kent and another point behind were fellow Kent bowlers Pauline Friel, Peter Richards & Tony Friel. By close of play on Wednesday Tony Friel’s triple had moved top with McCallum second while Wendy Tweed, Maureen Bell & Graham Tweed had moved into third spot. Going into the final session on Thursday Friel’s triple still led but had completed all their games while McCallum’s triple were level on points with them with a game to play against Brian Holman’s triple. A draw would have been enough to see McCallum snatch the semi-final place but a surprise 9-4 defeat sent them crashing out. The Blue Group was incredibly tight throughout. By Tuesday’s close Maureen Richards, Jan Davey & Jim Davey led on shot difference ahead of Morris Taylor, Trish Taylor & Terry Newby of Diss, Billie Barker, Keith Baker & Melvyn Barker of Wymondham & Bradwell and Gwen Brown, Richard Brown & Colin Hadler. By Wednesday’s close Jim Davey still led on shot difference but now from Thelma Price, Paul Whitcombe & John Price and Colin Hadler. Jim Davey’s triple held on to win the group on the last day one point ahead of triples skipped by Terry Newby, Colin Hadler, John Price & Maureen Fyson. In the Green Group Elaine Oatway, David Chadwick & Bob Oatway of First Bus swept to four straight wins on the opening day to top the group with Roy Toms, Tony Drew & Alan Clarke one point behind. Wednesday though was a different story as Oatway’s triple collected just one win to drop to third while Clarke’s triple moved top of the group with Alice Payne & Geoff Payne of Saxlingham, playing with John Jarvis of Thorpe Marriott, moved second. By the end of the next day’s play though Alan Clarke’s triple had moved three points clear to win the Green Group outright with Geoff Payne’s triple three points behind in second place. In the Black Group it was group favourites Anne Baker of Bradwell and Derek & Margaret Barley of Carlton Colville who finished one point ahead of Brian Sayer, Sue Banner & Veronica Copland on Tuesday but Copland’s triple pressured Barley throughout pushing them all the way. By the finish of the group on Thursday afternoon Copland’s triple were still just one point behind Barley and can be delighted with their performance. Brenda Sizer, David Walker & Avril Walker of Windows were never far off the pace and finished third two points behind Copland’s triple.

In the semi-finals Margaret Barley’s triple then met Alan Clarke’s Kent triple and despite winning the opening end they eventually went down 11-6. The other semi-final was an all Kent affair with Tony Friel’s triple beating Jim Davey’s triple by just one shot after a terrific match. In the East Coast Triples Final Roy Toms, Tony Drew & Alan Clarke took a single on the first end against Pauline Friel, Peter Richards & Tony Friel in the all Kent encounter. That proved to be the only time they led as Tony Friel’s triple, with Peter Richards in great form at number two, took two shots on the second end and held a narrow lead throughout. Four shots on the penultimate end took them into a 10-4 lead and the two shots scored by Clarke’s triple on the last end proved just a consolation. In the third place play-off Maureen Richards, Jan Davey & Jim Davey beat Margaret Barley’s triple 9-8.
EAST COAST PAIRS - Paula McCallum wins again!

The East Coast Pairs saw defending champion Paula McCallum of Durham this year playing with Derrick Johnson of Easingwold, North Yorkshire. Paula again displayed great form throughout and they reached the East Coast Pairs final where they met surprise finalists David Chadwick of Norfolk Over 60’s and Keith Baker of Bradwell. Chadwick is still a relative newcomer to short mat bowls and is currently President of Wymondham Dell BC and still playing long mat while Baker certainly did not expect to reach this stage. The final was a superb match which went down to the last bowl of the final end. After David Chadwick had opened with two excellent bowls the Norfolk pair looked on their way to victory but Paula McCallum had other ideas. A great attacking forehand took the jack back to take shot. Keith Baker’s last bowl of the end looked likely to take shot until it fell away right at the end and this left McCallum holding one shot which would have forced an extra end. The feisty Durham skip though did not settle for this and she took on a dangerous & brave backhand shot with her last bowl. As it came down the mat it looked set to push in Baker’s wood and lose the match but she had played it to perfection and her bowl sent Baker’s rolling out of the head to earn three shots and a 7-5 win. The Third Place Play-off was won by Keith Buck & Bill Francis of Diss who led throughout beating Peter Richards & Tony Friel of Woodpeckers, Kent by 8-3. In the semi-finals Derrick Johnson & Paula McCallum had beaten Peter Richards & Tony Friel 10-6 while David Chadwick & Keith Baker had beat Keith Buck & Bill Francis of Diss 4-3 after a low scoring game was decided by an extra end. Pairs who narrowly missed out on a semi-final placing were Maureen Fyson & Maureen Bell, Joyce & Keith Hughes and Morris Taylor & Terry Newby.

Richard Beare, well known on TV for his past work as Master of Ceremonies at the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible and as Compere at the World Bowls at Potters, conducted an entertaining Presentation Ceremony with East Coast Week organiser Teresa Goldsmith that sent bowlers home with smiles on their faces. On behalf of the bowlers Richard Beare also presented Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith with a generous gifts in appreciation of their work running the event. Anyone wishing to book for next year’s event, which begins on the 1st May, are asked to contact Teresa on 01603-403628 at the earliest opportunity as the event is expected to sell out early. For details please click on Potters May Break
                     EAST COAST OVER 50's WEEK PRESENTATION PHOTO-CALL

                                                     EAST COAST TRIPLES

Cambs announce Fours Comp for June

Tony Hart of the Cambridgeshire SMBA has announced that a Fours Competition will take place at March IBC on Saturday 11^th June 2016. Entry fees will be £26 per team and the competition will have a £100 prize for the winners. It will be open to all ESMBA affiliated bowlers. Details can be found by clicking on Cambs Events 

Halvergate win Norwich Cup

Halvergate lifted the Norwich Cup for the first time after making home advantage count against visitors Thorpe Marriott. With a four point lead from the first leg Thorpe Marriott needed to make a good start but their triples, who had performed heroically in both the first leg and against Kirby Bedon in the semi-finals, failed to maintain their momentum in the first session. Ryan Fox, Ray Lamb & Robbie Lamb overcame Bob McPherson’s triple 11-7 while Jackie Smith, Roy Walker & Simon Warnes stormed to a 13-2 win against John Jarvis’ triple on Halvergate’s tricky mat two. That left the teams level on points and so they remained after the pair’s first session. Sylvia Turner & Tony Turner put on a superb show of bowling as they outplayed Steven & David Lamb to win their game 10-3 to score Thorpe Marriott’s first win of the night. But on mat one David Knights & Keith Cooke were never in any trouble as they beat Kath Frost & Richard Perkins 13-2. Cooke has been on fire in recent weeks and again displayed the form that earned him an England call-up. Everyone knew that the penultimate session would prove vital and Halvergate knew they were close to their first ever Norwich Cup triumph as they won on both mats. Margaret McPherson, Ted Redwood & John Jarvis came so close to keeping the match level before going down by just one shot against Robbie Lamb’s triple but a 9-4 win for  Simon Warnes’ triple against John Jarvis brought the end in sight for Marriott’s cup dreams. In the last session Marriott needed to win both games and outscore Halvergate by 21 shots, realistically this was never going to be on the cards. Keith Cooke’s pair won 11-2 and David Lamb’s pair won 9-5 to give Halvergate a 14-2 win on the night and a 20-12 aggregate points win to lift  the cup. The Presentation Ceremony was conducted by Norfolk Chairman & Norwich Cup organiser Selwyn Goldsmith who congratulated both teams on reaching the final of Norfolk’s biggest cup competition.

                                                                                                              Posted 30-4-16  

Halvergate - Norwich Cup winners 

Thorpe Marriott - Norwich Cup Runners-up

Thorpe Marriott draw first blood in Norwich Cup Final

Thorpe Marriott will take a 10-6 lead into the second leg of the Norwich Cup Final tonight at Halvergate after another sparkling performance by their triples. Richard Perkins, Kath Frost & Marjorie Hall opened with a 9-7 win against Simon Warnes’ triple and followed up with a second half 9-3 win against Robbie Lamb. Sheila Redwood, Bob McPherson & John Jarvis beat Robbie Lamb 12-4 in the first half before adding an 8-5 win against Simon Warnes. Michael Savage & Keith Cooke kept Halvergate’s hopes alive with two wins of 12-4 & 17-3 which also earned their team a narrow 59-56 lead on shots.  

Hempnall lift Tens title for Syd

Hempnall are the new Tens League champions after beating Bob Carter 3-0 at their South Norfolk venue. Lewis Cranston, Jon Sparham & Chris Mann gave them a great start with a 20-8 win against Melvin Woods’ triple while Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye drew 12-12 against John Turner & Jason Woods. Simon Willies’ triple clawed back the twelve shot deficit beating Paul Baker’s triple 19-7 but the match and title were decided as Hempnall’s Roger Parker & Neil Davidson won their pairs game by 16-6 against Nigel Willard & Jamie Forster. Hempnall SMBC have dedicated the win to the memory of Syd Harman. Halvergate slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against Kirby Bedon with Jan Hewitt & Phil Watson beating Donna Lamb & Josh Baxter 15-8, Joan Costello, Jimmy Dye & Gerald Chilvers winning 16-12 against Mike Tate, Ray Lamb & Roy Walker and Wendy Tweed, Graham Tweed & Keith Thomas beating Robbie Lamb’s triple 16-15. In an otherwise less than average season for Kirby their home & away double against Halvergate proved to be a rare highlight.

                                                                                       Posted 28-4-16  

Horsford BC are City of Norwich champions again

Horsford BC have retained the City of Norwich League title finishing two points clear of second placed Thorpe Marriott. Horsford clinched the title with a 12-2 away win at County Council. Thorpe Marriott had put the defending champions under intense pressure beating them 11-3 and adding a 13-1 win against third placed Costessey but Horsford BC made sure of the top spot in their final match.

Jack Pye wins 2 Bowl Masters Plate Final

Jack Pye of Wymondham won the World Masters 2-Bowl Plate Final in Northern Ireland with a 7-4 victory over Michael Beattie. This followed a 12-3 semi-final win against Ryan Abraham and a 17-5 quarter-final win against Stephen Marks. Jack edged out Dom Reed of Essex for a place in the England team for the SMPT World Cup in August with Lee Toleman, Bronagh Toleman & Paul Pomeroy. It is believed that main sponsors Dales Sports are meeting Jack with a view to a possible sponsorship deal. The World 2-Bowl Masters title was won by Don McNamara who beat Aiden Corrigan after a tie-break. The Henselite World Masters title was won by Gary Burke who defeated Andrew Leckey 8-7 in the final. Eddie Crawford beat Gerard Moen to win the Plate while Jonas Hager beat Jonathan Payne to win the Shield.  

                                                                                                                                             Posted 24-4-16                     

Simon Willies stars in Bure Cup win for East Tuddenham

After suffering two Bure Cup Final defeats in successive years at the hands of Halvergate this time it was East Tuddenham’s turn to celebrate after a  superbly entertaining two leg final that went all the way to the wire. Halvergate started the first leg well winning both opening games as Keith Cooke’s triple won 7-2 and Simon Warnes’ triple won 9-1 but East Tuddenham dug deep and by the end Halvergate had a narrow 14-10 points lead to take into the second leg. Michael Tate, Roy Walker & Keith Cooke played a big part in this producing three wins for Halvergate. For East Tuddenham triples skipped by Simon Willies & John Jefferys both scored four points from six. In the second leg East Tuddenham were level after just one session as Chris Mann’s triple won 6-5 and Melvin Woods’ triple won 8-3. Halvergate were not going to surrender without a battle though and Jamie Forster and Robbie Lamb promptly restored their lead with wins of 7-4 & 6-4 respectively. The third session saw East Tuddenham reduce the points deficit again to 19-17 with Melvin Woods’ triple winning 9-1 while Chris Mann beat David Lamb 7-2. John Jefferys’ triple won 10-8 in the next session but Halvergate’s Robbie Lamb replied with a tight 4-3 win to keep his side two points ahead. In the penultimate session East Tuddenham finally made home advantage count with two big wins. Geraldine Potter, Gerald Potter & Chris Mann beat Mike Tate, Josh Baxter & Robbie Lamb 11-1 while Elaine Willies, Laura Hawksworth & John Jefferys beat Jackie Smith, Steven Lamb & Jason Woods 11-3. This left East Tuddenham 23-21 up on points with one session remaining. Lewis Cranston, Rob Cranston & Jamie Forster gave Halvergate hope with an 8-5 win against Melvin Woods’ triple but East Tuddenham won the cup as Chris Turner, John Turner & Simon Willies scored a narrow 5-4 win against David Lamb’s triple in a game that went down to the last bowl.

Bure Cup winners East Tuddenham

Carter knockout defending champions

Bob Carter are through to the final of Challenge cup after they overturned their first leg 13-7 defeat at Wymondham to win 15-5 at their Drayton venue. The first session singles were shared as Jack Pye beat Jason Woods 8-7 but Jamie Forster levelled for Carter beating Chris Mann 7-8. In the fours Carter then started to make ground with a 10-4 win for Sue Hunt, Nigel Willard, Robert Howlett and Melvin Woods against Pat Saunders, Roger Steele, Debbie Sparham and Mark Linsdell while Elaine Willies, Jean Woods, John Turner and Simon Willies beat Billie Barker, Andy Jackson, Melvyn Barker and Jon Sparham 10-8 which gave Carter an 8-2 first session win. The singles were again shared as Jack Pye won his second match of the night against Jamie Forster 11-6 but Chris Mann could not find a win but did come from 11-1 down to lose by 9-12 against Jason Woods to keep the shots close in what was a big session of fours to come. The Wymondham fours battled but came up just short in two tense match's which saw Simon Willie's block beat Mark Linsdell's four 7-3 and a 6-6 draw for Melvin Woods' four against Jon Sparham's rink was enough to send them through to the final where Hempnall await. 

                                                                                                                 Posted 23-4-16

Northants host Eastern England League Presentation Day

Northants hosted this season’s Eastern England Over 60’s League Presentation Day at their four mat Cosgrove venue. Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire & Norfolk were all represented by sixteen bowlers who played in a friendly mixed triple competition which was won by Catherine Robbins of Northants, Lonnie Fyson of Cambridgeshire & Mike Boswell of Norfolk. Northants provided a nice buffet lunch for all who attended. Northants Over 60’s manager Eleanor Winters presented Norfolk Over 60’s organiser Teresa Goldsmith with the league trophy which Norfolk had won for the first time since 2005 after winning all their matches. It is the fourth time that Norfolk have finished as champions since the league was formed in 2001.   

                                                                                                                                                     Posted 23-4-16

Eleanor Winters Of Northants & Teresa Goldsmith of Norfolk

Catherine Robbins, Eleanor Winters, Mike Boswell & Lonnie Fyson

Norfolk Over 60s - Eastern England League Champions

Great efforts but no silverware for Norfolk in Nationals

As always the successful Norfolk bowlers from the County Championships headed for Derbyshire to compete in the National Championships with hope in their hearts but sadly there was to be no gold, or silverware for that matter, at the end of the rainbow this year. There was though some notable performances and with just a little of that famous “rub of the green” we might have had some interest in the final stage. On Thursday the four day’s bowling began with the National Singles. Bob Carter’s Jamie Forster is not an experienced singles player but put on a great performance reaching the quarter-finals. He qualified from his group in second place with three points and a +5 shot difference ahead of Hampshire’s Callum Goodman in a group where Adam Sultana of Essex made an early exit. Forster then beat Gavin Wood of East Sussex 10-5 in the last 32 before completing an 11-6 victory against Daniel Peach of Warwickshire. In the quarter-finals he faced Barry Hedges of Essex. A tight start saw Hedges edge into a 4-2 lead after four ends which became 7-2 after seven ends. Forster pulled a single back on the next end but Hedges increased his lead with a full-house and there was no way back for the Carter bowler. Jamie Forster can be proud of himself though and will be motivated by an excellent showing in the National Singles. Simon Warnes of Horsford BC qualified as runner-up in his group after beating David Gander of Bucks and Brian McGiven of Herts. But in the last 32 he found young North Yorks ace Danny Langdon too hot to handle as he was beaten 13-4. Norfolk Singles Champion Neil Davidson of Hempnall finished his group level on points with Chris Willies of West Mids and James Trott of Devon but was eliminated on shot difference. Wymondham’s Jon Sparham had three tight games in his group but lost them all. The National Singles Final was won by Jon Pitcher of West Mids who beat Gloucestershire’s Jake Atrill.

The National Pairs on Friday proved disappointing for Norfolk. Wymondham’s Mikey George & Jon Sparham finished third in Group 9 with a 9-3 win against a Dorset pair their only success. Halvergate’s Kevin Watson & Steven Lamb could only gain a 10-10 draw against a Cornwall pair in their group and also made an early exit. Wymondham’s Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye won Group 14 with wins against Somerset & Bucks pairs. In the last 32 stage they went down 14-4 against Surrey’s Del Jones and Richard Nicol. Norfolk Pairs Champions Kerry Greenacre of Haddiscoe & Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon qualified as runner-up in Group 12. In the last 32 game they faced North Yorks young stars Ben Render & Danny Langdon who are making a name for themselves in the sport. The Norfolk pair got the better start but with one end to go they had fallen one shot behind. With the final bowl of the last scheduled end the Norfolk skip drew shot to force an extra end. The North Yorks pair ditched the jack with the opening bowl but there was just enough room to draw shot close to the ditch line. A backhand draw by the Norfolk skip just broke the ditch line by a couple of inches and the North Yorks pair were through and went on to claim the title beating Dorset’s Alex Clay & Sam Harvey 11-9 in the final.

In the National Fours on Saturday Wymondham’s Chris Mann, Debbie Sparham, Jack Pye & Jon Sparham, Norfolk Fours Champions, qualified as runners-up in their group. They scored a good 8-2 win against Hampshire’s Jason McLean in the last 32 before beating Ben Pay’s Hampshire rink 8-5 in the last 16. In the quarter-finals they played Stephen Proctor’s Cheshire rink and came so close to reaching the semi-finals before a running wood drove the jack along the ditch to where a Cheshire bowl was waiting. It was a fascinating final end with Chris Mann getting a toucher into the ditch leaving the jack just live a few inches away. Both Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye looked likely to trail the jack into the ditch to score the two shots they needed for victory but incredibly their woods just missed the jack as did efforts by Cheshire. Finally the fatal blow was struck by Cheshire as a running wood took the jack the opposite direction of where Chris Mann’s bowl was situated. The Cheshire rink went on to win the title beating Staffs in the final. Mikey George, Morgan Warnes, Jamie Forster & Neil Davidson went out at the group stages on shot difference. Nigel Willard, Jason Woods, John Turner & Melvin Woods won their group but lost 14-1 to Chris Hopkins’ Northants rink in the last 32 stage. Jill Watson, Teresa Goldsmith, Phil Watson & Selwyn Goldsmith qualified from their group but lost 7-3 against Chris Willies’ West Mids rink in their last 32 game.

The last day of the championships was on Sunday with the National Triples Championships being played. Norfolk Triples Champions Jamie Forster, Robbie Lamb & Jason Woods scored one win and one draw in their group but this was not enough to see them through. County Council’s Owen Cranston, Lewis Cranston & Rob Cranston qualified as runners-up in their group but came up against the strong Oxfordshire triple of Gareth Davies, Roger Wiggins & A.J Brown in the last 32 and lost 9-3. Kerry Greenacre, Keith Cooke & Selwyn Goldsmith qualified as runners-up in their group and faced Martin Simcock’s Staffs triple in the last 32. After a tremendous match they went into the last end drawing 5-5 but Staffs scored the vital shot on the final end to win 6-5. Nigel Willard, John Turner & Melvin Woods looked in great form in their group which they won. They then beat a Cornwall triple 9-7 in their last 32 game and romped to a 17-4 win against another Cornwall triple in the last 16. But their bid for the title sadly ended in the quarter-finals with an 8-3 defeat against Ben Pay’s Hampshire triple. The final was won by Barry Hedges, Adam Sultana & Matt Dillon of Essex who beat Cheshire’s Adam Smith, Simon White & Grant Soller.         

                                                                                                                                                               Posted 10-4-16

Wymondham make it to National Mixed Fours semis

Wymondham’s Debbie Pye, Debbie Sparham, Jack Pye & Jon Sparham got within touching distance of a National Mixed Fours Final in Derbyshire before losing against North Yorkshire’s Joyce Perry, Jayne Rudd, Danny Langdon & Ben Render in the semi-finals. The North Yorkshire rink went on to lift the title beating Malcolm Beard’s East Sussex rink in the final. Sparham’s rink defeated a Hampshire rink 8-7 in the Last 16 stage before beating Darren Stanford’s Hertfordshire four in the quarter-finals. Jenny Walker, Kerry Greenacre, Peter Walker & Selwyn Goldsmith were eliminated in the Last 16 stage. In the National Under 18’s Championships Halvergate’s Morgan Warnes reached the quarter-finals before losing to Alex Klay of Dorset. Morgan beat Benny Bass of Devon in the quarter-finals. Ryan Fox of Halvergate reached the Last 16 stage before losing a tight match 10-7 against Andrew Johns of Surrey. Owen Cranston of County Council failed to make the knock-out stages after finishing third in his group but went on to win the Plate Competition. This week sees Norfolk bowlers heading for Derbyshire again to compete in the National Singles on Thursday, the National Pairs on Friday, the National Fours on Saturday and the National Triples on Sunday.

Halvergate are making it look easy in the Bure League as they extended their incredible unbeaten streak. They won 6-4 at Thorpe Marriott where Simon Warnes won 27-6 and won 8-2 at home to Kirby Bedon with Keith Cooke winning 21-7. The battle for second place appears to be between East Tuddenham & Kirby Bedon yet again. Tuddenham won 8-2 at Woodbastwick where Geraldine Potter, Gerald Potter & Simon Willies won 15-10 and Kirby Bedon won 6-4 at Heroes where Teresa Goldsmith, Janice Hewitt & Selwyn Goldsmith won 26-4. In the City of Norwich League the leading two teams both collected maximum points. Heroes won 14-0 at Windows while Thorpe Marriott won 14-0 at Framingham Earl.

                                                                                                                                                         Posted 3-4-16

Wymondham still kings of the Breckland

Wymondham are Breckland League champions again after an 8-2 home win against Forncett made sure of the title. Jack Pye’s triple opened with a 20-16 win while Jon Sparham’s triple completed a perfect first half with a  21-14 win. Debbie Sparham’s triple added a 26-7 win but Forncett collected a consolation win courtesy of Peter Lock’s triple who beat Melvyn Barker 27-14.

Shock defeat for Horsford BC at Sprowston

A shock 14-0 defeat at Sprowston has damaged the title prospects of Horsford BC in the City of Norwich League while rivals Horsford Heroes took advantage with a 12-2 away win at Framingham Earl to move eleven points clear at the top. Thorpe Marriott are also piling on the pressure after a 14-0 maximum win at home to Jarrolds. Other results saw Costessey beat Deaf Sports 11-3 and Windows beat Taverham 12-2.

Hempnall eight points clear in Tens

Laura Hawksworth, Owen Cranston & Paul Baker won by 21-11 at Hevingham as Hempnall moved eight points clear at the top. Bernie Cudden, Rob Cranston & Chris Mann added an 18-10 win and Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye won 15-11 in the pairs as Hempnall earned a 3-0 away win.

                                                                                                                                                            Posted 26-3-16

Coastal double for the Owls

Following this weeks results Woodbastwick Owls can celebrate a Coastal League & Cup double after Bradwell Dynamos failed to collect enough points to keep their cup hopes alive. Despite winning at home to both Hemsby Harvesters & South Walsham by 12-6 the points dropped in those games, plus a 10-8 home defeat against Woodbastwick Eagles, cost the Dynamos any chance of challenging for the title. They will now need to collect 33 points from their remaining three games if they are to overtake the Eagles for the runners-up spot. Other results saw Hemsby Beachcombers beat Hemsby Harvesters 11-7 in a local derby while Bradwell Beacons were held to a 9-9 draw by visitors South Walsham. Bradwell Beacons scored a narrow 10-8 home win against Hemsby Beachcombers but the Beachcombers won 13-5 at home to South Walsham.  

Another twist in 3 horse Tens race

Bob Carter suffered their first Tens League defeat of the season when they went down 4-0 at Halvergate. A tight first half saw Halvergate’s Josh Baxter & David lamb beat Jamie Forster & Jason Woods 15-8 while Carter’s Sue Hunt, Steve Bridge & Rob Howlett beat Donna Lamb, Roy Walker & Steven Lamb 11-10 to cut the deficit to six shots. The second half belonged to Halvergate though as Michael Savage, Ray Lamb & Robbie Lamb inflicted a 20-4 defeat on Elaine Willies, Jean Woods & Simon Willies and David Knights & Keith Cooke beat Nigel Willard & John Turner 16-12. League leaders Hempnall will welcome the result that leaves them five points clear of Halvergate with a game in hand and six points clear of Bob Carter.  

Hempnall head South Norfolk League

Hempnall now look on course to win the South Norfolk League again after an 8-2 home win against Saxlingham and ten points being awarded to them when Wreningham conceded their home match against them. Saxlingham’s Geoff Payne triple stopped Hempnall picking up maximum points in their match but with no available dates at Wreningham’s venue that match was unable to be played. Connaught’s hopes of finishing in the top two places were not helped as they were held to a 5-5 draw at Saxlingham. Pat Meale, Mary Hobbs & Geoff Briggs beat Owen Secker’s triple 21-9 to save Saxlingham from defeat.

                                                                                                                                     Posted 24-3-16

This year’s tournament was held on 13^th March at Hingham, the morning session comprised of singles and fours whilst the afternoon session was comprised of pairs and triples. 8 singles playing in 2 leagues, winners of the leagues were league 1, Jon Sparham from Wymondham, league 2 John Winup from Connaught B. Jon Sparham opened the final with a 3 and a single, John Winup scored a two on end 3, but Jon immediately hit back with a 4 on end 4 to lead 8-2, John responded well by taking 3 on the next end but Jon took the next 3 ends by a 2 and two singles to lead 12-5 with 2 ends to play. In an attempt to ditch the jack Jon took it off the side and under the competition rules it was 1 shot away, Jon took the last end to win 15-6. There were 9 fours played in a league, each team playing 4 games after which there were 4 teams on 6 points, Harling Unicorns +7, Hingham +7 , Runners up Connaught A +19, Mike Parsons, Bill Adcock, Steve Barclay and Steve Hall and Winners Wymondham +31, Hayley Stratton, Mary Fisher, Andrew Jackson and Jack Pye. There were 9 teams in each of the pairs and triples playing 4 games each  after which in the pairs there were two teams on 6 points runners up Wymondham, Pat Saunders and Debbie Sparham +21 and the winners Connaught A Tyrone Musk and Sylvia Parsons +26. In the triples The runners-up on 6 points were Connaught B, Peter Hambling, Malcolm Southgate and Peter King. The winners on 7 points were Banham C. Smith, Bill Francis and Will Hoggan.The Dennis Moore trophy for overall shots for was won by Wymondham with 148 and Runners up Connaught A with 126. Thanks to Hingham for hosting, to all who helped putting the equipment out and away, Steve Hall and Cynthia Powell for hovering the mats, Wendy and Pam for the refreshments and to Bob Oatway for organising.

                                                                                                         Posted 22-3-16

Halvergate pull clear in Bure

Halvergate pulled fourteen points clear in the Bure League after a maximum 10-0 home win against Hevingham. Jason Woods’ triple opened with a 20-7 win against Aleck Haynes while Simon Warnes weighed in by beating Maurice Kemp 19-7. After the break David Lamb’s triple beat David Sharpe 17-9 and Robbie Lamb beat Alan Bunn 19-7. In their previous match Halvergate had won 8-2 at Coltishall. East Tuddenham have not given up the chase yet though and they won 10-0 at Horsford Heroes with Geraldine Potter, Gerald Potter & Simon Willies scoring the biggest win beating Mark “The Marvel” Tuttle 14-10.  Thorpe Marriott won 6-4 at Horsford BC with Trevor Pinchen’s triple winning 20-9. Woodbastwick recorded a good 8-2 home win against Hevingham with Lianne Mills beating Rex Cox 16-11.

                                                                                                       Posted 20-3-16

Wymondham win 5 Pairs Final

Wymondham cruised to victory in the final of the 5 Pairs event at Shropham. After two tight opening games left Connaught with a one shot lead Wymondham took control and by the end were out of site of their rivals. A massive 18-1 win for Mark Linsdell & Jack Pye against Owen Secker & Chris Musk, and a 14-2 win for Andrew Jackson & Melvyn Barker against Steve Hall & Elaine Oatway, demonstrated Wymondham’s ability to play Shropham’s fast mat better than Connaught.

                                                                                                                                       Posted 18-3-16

Norfolk Over 60’s are Eastern England League Champions

Norfolk Over 60s completed their Eastern England League season with a 26-24 home win against Northants to win the title for the first time in several years. The result completed a perfect season for the team who won all their matches to win the league by a mile. Jenny Walker, Sue Fox & Mike Boswell won twice and drew their other game as did Margaret Reynolds, Malcolm Reynolds & Colin Coman. Norfolk Over 60’s organiser Teresa Goldsmith was delighted for the players who completed home and away wins against both Northants & Cambridgeshire.

Norfolk Over 60's organiser Teresa Goldsmith with Northants' Elenore Winters

It’s that Mann again!

Mann beats Lamb in cracking final

Chris Mann of East Tuddenham is the new Bure Singles Champion after beating Halvergate’s David Lamb in an excellent final at Kirby Bedon that went down to the last wood. Chris Mann started the game well drawing in his woods on the opening end and putting David Lamb under intense pressure. With his last wood though Lamb finally found his weight and drew in to take shot. Mann continued to impress on the second end taking two shots and a 2-1 lead. Lamb came close to taking shot with his final wood on the third end but it fell away from the jack leaving Mann with a 3-1 lead. The fourth end followed the same pattern with Mann holding two shots before another superb last wood by Lamb took shot. Chris Mann continued to outdraw Lamb on the fifth end but once again Lamb produced a good last bowl to cut the damage to just one shot. On the sixth end Mann drew in three good woods before an accurate attacking bowl by Lamb took shot cutting the deficit to just one shot. A cagey seventh end finished with David Lamb levelling the game at 4-4. Lamb was short with his opening bowl on the next end and Mann took advantage drawing around it and on to the jack. Lamb managed to open up the end but Mann drew in a perfect wood just behind the jack. David Lamb then conjured up a superb backhand to take shot and a firing shot by Mann failed to change anything and Lamb took the lead for the first time in this low scoring final by 5-4. A forcing bowl by Mann earned him a shot on the penultimate end to level the game at 5-5. Mann was disappointed to drop about eighteen inches short of the jack with his opening bowl while Lamb drew around it onto the jack. Mann resorted to weight with his second bowl but missed while Lamb drew in a back wood. Mann again failed to retrieve the situation with his third bowl while Lamb drew yet another back wood in. A tremendous last wood by Mann took shot leaving Lamb with one wood left to play. Lamb went for the jack and got it but used too much weight cutting the jack off the side of the mat forcing a replay of the end. A tight replayed end saw Lamb holding shot just off the jack with Mann’s wood two inches behind when Chris Mann stepped up to play his last bowl. A perfectly paced shot left Mann holding shot with just David Lamb’s last bowl to be played. Lamb attacked on his backhand and was so close to success as it brushed Mann’s bowl but left it in place and Chris Mann was the new Bure Singles champion. In an all East Tuddenham semi-final Chris Mann beat John Turner 11-4 and got revenge for his defeat in last season’s final. In the other semi-final David Lamb beat East Tuddenham’s Melvin Woods 9-7.

Pairs final goes down to last wood

Halvergate’s Morgan Warnes & Keith Cooke lifted the Bure Pairs title at Hevingham after a hard fought final against Thorpe Marriott’s Jenny Walker & Richard Perkins. After the Thorpe Marriott pair took a single on the opening end the Halvergate pairing immediately replied with four shots on the second end to establish an early lead. Not to be outdone Richard Perkins produced two superb woods on the next end to close the gap to 4-3. Another single followed for Warnes & Cooke but again Walker & Perkins dug deep to level the game on the fifth end as they took two shots. Once again though it was the Halvergate pair who moved ahead with three shots on the next end to edge themselves nearer the title. On the penultimate end the Thorpe Marriott pair kept their hopes alive with a single to go into the last end just two shots behind. Excellent bowls by Jenny Walker and Richard Perkins left them holding two shots but Cooke had been deadly on his backhand all night and again drew in a good second wood to ensure an 8-7 win. In the semi-finals both matches were tight with Warnes & Cooke beating Woodbastwick’s Norma & Peter Jablonowski 7-6 and Walker & Perkins beating fellow Thorpe Marriott pair Sylvia & Tony Turner by the same score-line.

Now Mann skips triples winners

Mother & son Geraldine and Gerald Potter of East Tuddenham, skipped by Chris “The Blazer” Mann, lifted the Bure Triples title at Horsford BC beating Window’s Brenda Sizer, Diane Boswell & Mike Boswell in a final that was decided on the last end. The neutrally positioned mat for any final at this venue always presents challenges to the finalists and this year was no exception. But it was former European Open champion Chris Mann who always looked likely to be the deciding factor in this close match and so it proved to be as he produced two class woods on the final end to clinch a 9-8 win for his triple. Going into the penultimate end Mann’s triple led 7-5 and were holding shot until Mike Boswell’s final bowl. He appeared to be too tight with his forehand attempt but glanced off a short wood, hitting the jack and taking it across the mat to score three shots. This left Windows with an 8-7 lead to take into the last end and after Brenda Sizer & Diane Boswell had drawn in their woods an upset looked on the cards. East Tuddenham’s skip Chris Mann though produced two perfect woods to add the triples title to the singles title he had already collected. In the semi-final Chris Mann’s triple had defeated defending champions Chrissie Turner, Melvin Woods & John Turner 6-5 while Mike Boswell’s triple had won by 13-4 against Richard Perkins, Mandy Marshall & Tony Turner of Thorpe Marriott.  

                                                                                                                                       Posted 19-3-16

                                                    Chris Mann - Bure Singles Champion
                       Gerald Potter, Geraldine Potter & Chris Mann - Bure Triples Champions

Halvergate on course for Bure title

Halvergate are well on their way to retaining the Bure League title after a 10-0 home win against Horsford Heroes. David Lamb’s triple led the way beating Mark Tuttle 21-10 while Jason Woods’ triple added a 21-12 win against Chris Woodhouse. Halvergate are just four points behind league leaders Kirby Bedon with two games in hand. Kirby Bedon also won 10-0 at home against Thorpe Marriott with Gerald Chilvers’ triple beating Richard Perkins 17-11. East Tuddenham’s title hopes took another blow at Coltishall where they were beaten 8-2. Peter Barnett’s triple did the most damage beating Simon Willies’ triple 19-11 while Vic “Quiet Man” Woods beat John Turner 15-12 and Les Harman beat Melvin Woods 14-11. John Jefferys’ triple earned East Tuddenham their two points beating John Aggas 15-12.Coltishall also won 8-2 at Horsford BC with Margaret Harman’s triple winning 21-3. Windows suffered an 8-2 defeat at Woodbastwick where Willie Jefferies’ triple won 22-8. Wymondham lost their first Breckland League match of the season going down 6-4 at Connaught “A” but are still hot favourites to win the title yet again. A 22-8 win for Mike Parsons, Ty Musk & Bob Oatway against Irma Lowe, Andy Jackson & Jack Pye was the crucial result that earned the bonus points. Connaught “A” also won 10-0 at home to Watton while third placed Carleton Rode won 6-4 at Forncett. In the South Norfolk League Hempnall won at Hingham but only by 6-4. Paul Baker’s triple did major damage for the visitors beating Graham Tweed’s triple 28-3. At this time of the season it is normal to see Hempnall lead the table by quite a margin but this season Diss hold a nine point lead over Hempnall. Diss recorded a 10-0 home win against Wreningham, with Karl Newby winning 27-5, and beat Saxlingham 7-3 with Keith Buck & Terry Newby earning nine shot wins. Hempnall do still have two games in hand though over the leaders. City of Norwich League leaders Horsford BC won 14-0 at home to British Rail. The two teams behind them met with County Council winning a tight match 10-4 at Horsford Heroes. Jarrolds suffered a 12-2 home defeat at the hands of Horsford Heroes while fourth placed Costessey beat British Rail 12-2, In the City Shield semi-finals Horsford BC beat Thorpe Marriott 9-7 while Horsford Heroes beat Costessey 10-2. Tens League title chasing Bob Carter took maximum points at home to Kirby Bedon with Sue Hunt, Steve Bridge & Melvin Woods beating Gerald Chilvers’ triple 34-3. Halvergate’s unbeaten record came to an end at Kirby Bedon despite the visitors winning three of the four games. A 16-5 win for Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith against Jackie Smith & England’s David Lamb proved enough to give Kirby Bedon a 2-0 home win.

                                                                                                                 Posted 11-3-16

Norfolk are I.C.C Premier Champions!

Norfolk Premier are England Inter-County Champions after another superb performance saw them crush Essex Premier 24-8 with a session to spare in the final at Daventry. Norfolk, unbeaten all season, lifted the title that has eluded them for the last twenty years and did it in style with their supporters loudly cheering them on from the side-lines. It proved to be a tight first session that was drawn with both teams winning a singles and a pairs game each. Norfolk’s wins came from Hempnall’s Neil Davidson with a 16-10 win against England’s Barry Hedges and the pairing of Halvergate’s David Lamb & Wymondham’s Jack Pye who came from behind to win 14-9 after winning four of the last five ends. Norfolk continued to pressure Essex when the triples & fours played their opening games. Haddiscoe’s Kerry Greenacre, Wymondham’s Debbie Sparham & Halvergate’s Keith Cooke won a tight triples game 11-9. Both Norfolk rinks won to move Norfolk 10-6 up on points at the interval with Owen Cranston, Phil Watson, Nigel Willard & Selwyn Goldsmith beating former England Singles champion Craig Burgess and his rink by 10-8 while Laura Hawksworth, Lewis Cranston, Rob Cranston & Bob Oatway beat Anthony Fautley’s rink 11-10. Essex needed to make inroads on Norfolk’s lead when the singles & pairs returned to the mats but instead found out that there was no-way back as Norfolk won on all four mats. Chris Mann, still recovering from a recent operation, was in cruise control as he inflicted a 19-8 defeat on Barry Hedges while Neil Davidson made it two wins from two games beating Adam Sultana 13-11. David Lamb & Jack Pye added their second pairs win of the day by 17-11 and with Horsford’s Simon Warnes and captain Jon Sparham of Wymondham winning 11-10 it was all over as Norfolk celebrated a famous victory. Player-Manager Selwyn Goldsmith commented afterwards that every Norfolk player was a hero on the day and that the incredible team spirit was a major factor in their success. Norfolk will now go forward to take part in the annual top team event between the champions of Ireland, Wales and England that will be hosted by Wales in December.     

Norfolk Premier - new England I.C.C Premier Champions!

Norfolk captain Jon Sparham, ESMBA President George Clarke & Norfolk Manager Selwyn Goldsmith

Norfolk Player-Manager Selwyn Goldsmith enjoying the moment

Two wins for Jack Pye & David Lamb played a crucial part

Phil Watson, Nigel Willard, Selwyn Goldsmith & Owen Cranston

Halvergate and Marriott reach Norwich Cup Final

Halvergate & Thorpe Marriott will contest this season’s Norwich Cup Final after the semi-finals were completed this week. Halvergate visited Wymondham for the second leg of their semi-final tie protecting an 11-5 points lead from the first leg. A stubborn first half performance by Halvergate saw them share the points to keep the pressure on Wymondham. David Knights, Steven Lamb & Simon Warnes won a low scoring game by 5-3 against Mikey George, Mark Linsdell & Chris Mann while Morgan Warnes & Keith Cooke beat Roger Steele & Jack Pye 11-4. Wymondham wins came from Andrew Jackson & Jon Sparham who beat Robin Amos & David Lamb 13-4 while Pat Saunders, Melvyn Barker & Debbie Sparham beat Michael Savage, Ray Lamb & Robbie Lamb 10-7. Wymondham started the second half in fine form to cut the deficit to just two points with Chris Mann’s triple beating Robbie Lamb’s triple 9-4 and Debbie Sparham’s triple beating Simon Warnes by 11-6. The all important last session of pairs was to decide the match with Wymondham needing to win both games to be sure of reaching the final. Roger Steele & Jack Pye delivered the first win beating Robin Amos & David Lamb 9-4 but Halvergate’s heroes were England internationals Morgan Warnes & Keith Cooke who took their team over the finishing line with an impressive 11-2 win against Andrew Jackson & Jon Sparham. In the other semi-final Thorpe Marriott entertained Kirby Bedon in the first leg and their triples earned them a valuable four point lead to take to Kirby Bedon for the second leg. Margaret McPherson, Bob McPherson & Marjorie Hall beat Phil Watson’s triple 11-7 and Gerald Chilvers’ triple by 6-4 while Sheila Redwood, Kath Frost & George Clarke beat Phil Watson 8-7 and drew 5-5 against Gerald Chilvers. Kirby Bedon had the better of Marriott in the pairs with Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith beating Jenny Walker & John Jarvis 8-5 and drawing 6-6 with Sylvia & Tony Turner while Carol & John Aggas beat Walker & Jarvis 8-5 but lost by one shot to the Turners. Kirby Bedon’s hopes of a good start in the second leg on their own mats were shattered as their triples both went down in the first session. Marriott’s Janet Pinchen, Ted Redwood & John Jarvis beat Joan Costello, Jimmy Dye & Gerald Chilvers 10-6 while Sheila Redwood, Trevor Pinchen & Richard Perkins beat Jill Watson, Jan Hewitt & Phil Watson by an impressive 11-2 margin to open up an eight point lead. Kirby’s pairs kept the home side in the match winning both second session games with Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith beating Kath Frost & George Clarke 12-1 and Carol & John Aggas beating Sylvia & Tony Turner 10-3 to cut the deficit to four points again. Kirby’s apparent inability to match Marriott’s triples continued though in the penultimate session as John Jarvis beat Phil Watson 9-5 and Richard Perkins beat Gerald Chilvers 7-4 to secure a place in the final for Thorpe Marriott against Halvergate. The stats will show that Thorpe Marriott’s points tally of fifteen out of sixteen in the triples was the key to their success in this encounter.

                                                                                                               Posted 4-3-16

Owls flying high

A 15-3 home win against Martham and a 14-4 home win against Hemsby Harvesters have earned Woodbastwick Owls a 41 point lead in the Coastal Cup table over second placed Woodbastwick Eagles. The Eagles also had a winning week visiting Hemsby Harvesters where they collected a 12-6 win. Other results saw South Walsham record a maximum 18-0 home win against Martham but then lose 11-7 at home to Hemsby Harvesters. Hemsby Beachcombers won 14-4 at home to Bradwell Beacons and Bradwell Dynamos won 12-6 at Hemsby Harvesters.

                                                                                                                                       Posted 1-3-16

Hempnall firm favourites for final

Hempnall look almost certainties for the challenge cup final after they cruised to an 18-2 points win at home to Deaf Sports in their semi final first leg. Both home singles produced wins as Neil Davidson beat Robin Amos 15-3 while Roger Parker beat Laura Hawksworth 8-3. Hempnall made it a perfect first session as both fours won as Owen, Lewis and Rob Cranston with Paul Baker beat G. Amos, J. Robertson, R. Thomas and R. Sutton 13-3 while Bernie Cudden, Mike Pearce, Richard Harrowing and Joan Cann beat K. Atkins, R. Hall, C. Mohammed and J. Jeffery 8-5 to seal a 10-0 first half win. Second session saw the singles shared as Roger Parker beat Robin Amos 11-7 but a 9-8 win for Laura Hawksworth against four time county singles champion Neil Davidson shows the step up in opposition this season is paying off for the young lady. However both Hempnall fours finished off with two wins a piece on the night as Paul Baker's four beat John Jeffery's four 16-6 while Joan Cann's four beat Richard Sutton's four 7-3. Deaf Sports now have a big task to overturn such a big defeat but their home venue can pose difficulties for opposition as Hingham found out in the previous round. 

Bure, Tens & City League action

Bure League

Despite Halvergate remaining favourites to retain the Bure League title both East Tuddenham & Kirby Bedon continue to press their claims. Kirby Bedon entertained East Tuddenham and looked on course to win after a good first half but it all went downhill later on. Joan Costello, Jan Hewitt & Selwyn Goldsmith beat Madge Meachen, Laura Hawksworth & Melvin Woods 14-9 while Jill Watson, Melvyn Barker & Phil Watson staged a great comeback to win 15-12 against Geraldine Potter, Gerald Potter & Nigel Willard after Barker moved to skip changing playing positions with Watson. After the break though the home side suffered a meltdown as East Tuddenham’s Gillian Amos, Robin Amos & John Jeffrey romped to a 23-4 win against Peter Johnson, Jimmy Dye and home captain Gerald Chilvers while Chrissie Turner, John Turner & Rob Howlett enjoyed a comfortable 17-7 win against Billie Barker, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown to clinch a 6-4 away win. East Tuddenham recorded an easy 10-0 home win against Windows with Laura Hawksworth, Gerald Potter & Chris Mann beating Russell Daynes’ triple 32-2 while Albert Palgrave, Simon Willies & John Turner beat Mike Boswell’s triple 22-4. Kirby Bedon won 10-0 at Horsford BC with Peter Johnson, Jan Hewitt & Selwyn Goldsmith beating Dennis Seaton’s triple 24-3 and Joan Costello, Jimmy Dye & Gerald Chilvers winning 22-5 against Tim Blackman. Hevingham won a close match 6-4 at Coltishall with Maurice Kemp’s triple win of 19-3 against Malcolm Reynolds made sure of the match points. Hevingham also won by 8-2  at home to Horsford Heroes with Janet Kemp, Pat Hall & Alick Haynes leading the way winning 16-6. Horsford BC won their local derby by 8-2 against Horsford Heroes with Dot Loftus, Cathy Fiddy & Tim Flack winning their game by 25-6.

Tens League

In the Tens League Halvergate won 4-0 at Coltishall with Morgan Warnes & Keith Cooke beating Carol Aggas & Margaret Harman 26-7 while Simon Warnes’ triple won 16-6 against Les Harman’s triple. Hempnall made it eight wins from eight games beating Hevingham 4-0. Bernie Cudden, Joan Cann & Paul Baker were in fine form winning 32-3 against Alan Bunn’s triple. Kirby Bedon also took all four points at home to Hevingham with Joan Costello, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown beating Alan Bunn’s triple 27-6 and Jan Hewitt & Selwyn Goldsmith beating Pat Williamson & Maurice Kemp 22-6 in the pairs.

City of Norwich League

With two games in hand on table toppers Horsford BC it is Thorpe Marriott who probably have the best chance of anyone to stop them claiming the title again. Although Thorpe Marriott won 10-4 at home to Sprowston they will be disappointed to have dropped four points on their own mats. County Council’s 14-0 home win against Sprowston puts them into second place. Deaf Sports are still in the title race and a 12-2 away win at Taverham and another 12-2 win at home to Horsford Heroes will boost their confidence. First Bus won 10-4 at Jarrolds in a mid table clash while Windows lost 12-2 at British Rail in a basement battle.

                                                                                                                                           Posted 28-2-16

Coach booked for I.C.C Final in Daventry

Following Norfolk’s thrilling 24-16 Inter-County Championship semi-final win against Cheshire Premier plans are now in place for the much anticipated final against Essex Premier at Daventry Indoor Bowls Club on Sunday 6^th March. A coach has been arranged for Norfolk’s big day so that other squad members, family & supporters will be able to book seats to support Norfolk Premier in their attempt to lift a title that they last won twenty years ago. At the beginning of the season not many would have predicted that two teams from the old Eastern Region would reach the final of the Inter-County Championships. But after eight years of total domination by Cheshire Premier, followed by the surprise win of Hampshire Premier last season, it is Norfolk Premier & Essex Premier who will share the stage to battle for the biggest I.C.C prize on the short mat calendar. Anyone who wishes to book a place on the coach should contact Selwyn Goldsmith to reserve their seat. The cost will be £5 per person to help offset the cost of hiring the coach. Seats will be reserved on a first come first served basis. The coach will pick up all passengers at the bus-stop near Attleborough Queens Square car-park and will leave at 6.55am. As normal at Daventry I.B.C only food purchased at the venue can be consumed inside the premises. Also taking place on the day is the I.C.C “A” Team Final between Kent “A” & Somerset “A”. Kent “A” reached the final after defeating Cambridgeshire 26-14 in the semi-finals while Somerset “A” won a tight match against North Yorkshire by 21-19. Both Consolation Finals will also be played with Northants Premier facing Herefordshire in the I.C.C Premier Consolation Final and London playing Shropshire in the I.C.C “A” Team Consolation Final. 

                                                                                                                 Posted 24-2-16

Norfolk Premier defeat Cheshire to reach I.C.C Final

A fantastic fighting performance by Norfolk Premier saw them defeat eight time champions Cheshire Premier in a tense semi-final at Daventry IBC that threatened to boil over on more than one occasion. Norfolk had not taken an easy route to the semi-finals having beaten defending champions Hampshire in the quarter-finals and West Sussex in the preliminary round but these results, and a home and away double against West Mids in the group stages, have instilled a spirit in the team not seen since twenty years ago when they went on to win the title for the only time. The first session of singles & pairs was shared with Wymondham’s Chris Mann beating Steve Proctor 18-9 and Hempnall’s Neil Davidson beating Grant Sollar 12-11. Cheshire got the better of both pairs games leaving the match level at 4-4 but even those games produced their moments of drama. The second session was also drawn as Carter’s Jamie Forster, Jason Woods & Melvin Woods beat Noel Burrows’ triple 13-6 and Owen Cranston, Phil Watson, Nigel Willard & Selwyn Goldsmith beat Robert Mellor’s rink 10-7. Back came the singles & pairs for the third session and Chris Mann fought back from 10-4 down to beat Grant Sollar 14-13, an incredible feat for a young man that was so determined he ignored medical advice not to play after being in hospital three days earlier. In the pairs David Lamb & Jack Pye were involved in a hard battle against John Manley’s pair. Trailing 5-1 after four ends they fought back to lead after ten ends before falling behind again. But Lamb & Pye dug deep to win the last three ends to clinch a 14-12 win. Another great battle saw Simon Warnes & Jon Sparham also win 14-12 after trailing 11-9 with four ends to go. With the scores level on points the last session of triples & fours was to decide the match and Norfolk Premier sealed their place in the final by winning on all four mats but not after four tense games. Melvin Woods’ triple were level with two ends to go before scoring singles on the last two ends for an 11-9 win. Keith Cooke & Debbie Sparham changed playing positions to great effect on their way to a 10-9 win. Selwyn Goldsmith’s rink held on to win their second game of the match by one shot and Laura Hawksworth, Lewis Cranston, Rob Cranston & Bob Oatway also won by one shot to give Norfolk Premier a 24-16 points win. After the match Player-Manager Selwyn Goldsmith was full of praise for every player in the Norfolk team. He said that they all played their part in a victory that will probably come as a surprise for many who doubted if Norfolk Premier were strong enough to compete against a team who blew them away when they last met at this stage of the competition.In the final they will face Essex Premier who beat Devon Premier 22-18 in the other semi-final.

Weakened Wymondham team keep cup hopes alive

Despite fielding a weakened team Wymondham kept their Norwich Cup hopes alive going down 11-5 at Halvergate in the first leg of their semi-final clash. With, among others, Jon Sparham, Chris Mann & Brian Saunders all missing from the Breckland League giants team it was always going to be a struggle for the Norwich Cup holders away to Bure League champions Halvergate. The home side started off with two wins in the opening triples session with David Lamb’s triple beating Debbie Sparham’s triple 6-4 after taking two shots on the final end while Robbie Lamb’s triple beat Irma Lowe, Derek Sheldrake & Andrew Jackson 12-5. Wymondham’s first win of the night followed in the pairs session as Roger Steele & Jack Pye scored a 15-6 win against Morgan & Simon Warnes but David Knights & Keith Cooke kept up the pressure with a 13-6 Halvergate win against Billie & Melvyn Barker who had led 6-0 early on before falling away. The second triples session was shared as Pat Saunders, Terry Newby & Debbie Sparham beat Robbie Lamb’s Halvergate triple 7-6 with home skip David Lamb beating Andrew Jackson’s triple 18-0. Morgan & Simon Warnes won their final game by 10-6 against the Barkers while Knights & Cooke drew 6-6 with Steele & Pye. Wymondham will hope to field a full strength side for the second leg at home which should prove an interesting encounter.

Big win for Bure favourites Halvergate

Visitors Horsford BC had no answer to the questions posed by Bure League champions Halvergate as they succumbed to a 10-0 maximum defeat, 131-10 on shots, on their visit to Halvergate’s Upton venue. David Knights, Morgan Warnes & Simon Warnes reeled off a huge 40-1 win, Keith Cooke’s triple won 32-2, Robbie Lamb’s triple won 31-4 and David Lamb’s triple won 28-3 in a one-sided encounter.  

                                                                                                                                              Posted 21-2-16

Norfolk Over 60’s close in on title

A superb 34-16 home win for Norfolk in the Eastern England Over 60’s League against Cambridgeshire saw them almost over the finishing line in the title race. The result leaves them 42 points clear of Northants Over 60s who Norfolk will play at Hingham Sports & Social Club in the final match of the season. Two of the eight Norfolk triples scored maximum points with Wendy Tweed, Graham Tweed & Keith Thomas of Hingham SMBC winning by 16-4, 7-5 & 10-8 and Billie Barker of Wymondham, John Jarvis of Thorpe Marriott & Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon winning by 11-8, 16-3 & 7-4. The only Cambs triple to finish with maximum points was Marianne Taylor, Lonnie Fyson & Maureen Fyson who won by 14-7, 12-5 & 11-7. Norfolk will entertain Northants on 17-3-16 and need to score just five points from fifty to clinch the title. The Presentation Day this year will be hosted by Northants at Cosgrove on 21-4-16.

                                                                                                          Posted 18-2-16

Cambs players line-up at Hingham

Keith Thomas, Wendy Tweed & Graham Tweed - maximum points

John Jarvis, Billie Barker & Selwyn Goldsmith - maximum points

Derek Barley gets revenge

Line up before the Derek Barley's Select v Norfolk Over 60's match

Eddie Costello, Joan Costello & Gerald Chilvers - Norfolk's top triple with three wins out of three

Pye pairing are City Pairs champions

Mother & son Debbie & Jack Pye of Costessey teamed up to lift the City of Norwich League Pairs Championship title played at Sprowston’s venue in Blue Boar Lane. The Costessey pair, both Norfolk County Squad players, beat Jane James & Mark “The Marvel” Tuttle of Horsford Heroes in the quarter-finals with an end to spare. In the semi-finals they faced Bernard & Steven Andrews of Jarrolds and once again won the game with an end to spare. In the final they played Veronica Copland & Karl Bunn of Framingham Earl and ran out 12-1 winners.

                                                      Debbie & Jack Pye - City League Pairs winners

Thorpe Marriott edge closer

Only Thorpe Marriott look to have a realistic chance of catching Horsford BC in the City of Norwich League and their chances were improved with a 10-4 away win at Costessey. This leaves them 33 points behind with two games in hand but in a league that still awards fourteen points a game they could be in touching distance of Horsford if they can produce a couple of big wins. Sprowston continue to improve their position with two more wins and its easy to forget that this was a club that was close to folding at the beginning of the season. Their last two league games at home saw them defeat British Rail by 10-4 and Horsford Heroes by 12-2. Taverham are still bottom of the table and becoming totally detached from the rest. They suffered two more 14-0 defeats at both County Council and Jarrolds and have only one win to show from seventeen matches. Other games saw First Bus win 8-6 at Windows, courtesy of a 42-41 shots win, and a 10-4 home win for British Rail against Deaf Sports. Woodbastwick Owls are flying high in the Coastal Cup table following a couple of huge 16-2 wins. They won at home to Hemsby Beachcombers and followed that up by clipping the wings of local rivals Woodbastwick Eagles with an identical 16-2 result when they visited them five days later. The Eagles remain in second place though after winning 11-7 at Hemsby Beachcombers. Martham lost their seventh match in eight games after going down 16-2 at Bradwell Beacons. In the Tens League Hevingham crashed to another 4-0 away defeat, this time at the hands of Kirby Bedon. A first half pairs win of 22-6 for Jan Hewitt & Selwyn Goldsmith and a 27-6 second half triples win for Joan Costello, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown left Hevingham in all kinds of trouble.

                                                                                                                       Posted 17-2-16 

Norfolk Premier knock-out champions Hampshire

Norfolk Premier produced another terrific performance in Daventry as they stormed to a 28-12 win against Hampshire Premier to send the defending Inter-County Championship champions crashing out of the competition at the quarter-final stage. Norfolk’s singles and pairs stunned Hampshire in the opening session as they took all eight points. Wymondham’s Chris Mann got on top of the highly rated Ben Pay in the early stages to lead 13-3 after eight ends and despite a spirited comeback held on to win 19-12. Hempnall’s Neil Davidson found himself trailing early on against Jason McLean but scored two shots on the last end to snatch a 13-12 win. Halvergate & England’s David Lamb & Wymondham’s Jack Pye enjoyed an excellent 13-8 pairs win against Wendy Ford & Paul England and Simon Warnes & Jon Sparham completed a perfect opening session with an 11-10 win. Young Hampshire lead bowler Callum Goodman had made life very difficult for Warnes & Sparham with a faultless display of lead bowling which made their win even more creditable.The second session of triples & fours was shared although Norfolk put valuable shots on the board in the fours. Owen Cranston, Phil Watson, Nigel Willard & player-manager Selwyn Goldsmith hit a rich vein of form as they put Martyn Bubb’s rink to the sword winning 19-4. In the triples Kerry Greenacre, Debbie Sparham & Keith Cooke dominated in their game against Ian Ford’s triple as they won 18-7. After an interval break Norfolk’s singles stars continued where they left off with Chris Mann beating Jason McLean 16-8 and Neil Davidson beating Ben Pay 14-6. Norfolk’s pairs though both suffered narrow defeats but held on to earn the bonus points leaving Norfolk Premier needing just one point from the final session to seal victory. David Lamb & Jack Pye had held the shot they needed for victory after Pye’s last bowl but Leah Wood played a good final wood to win the game and keep Hampshire’s hopes alive.  Bob Carter’s Jamie Forster, Jason Woods & Melvin Woods had lost their first half game and were soon deep in trouble in their second game trailing 10-0 after just three ends. But a remarkable recovery was achieved after Jason & Melvin Woods changed playing positions and the Norfolk triple turned the game on its head to win 14-13 and take Norfolk into the semi-finals. Both Norfolk rinks also produced wins to take their team out of sight of Hampshire. Laura Hawksworth, Lewis Cranston, Rob Cranston & Bob Oatway beat Martyn Bubb’s rink 12-9 with Laura Hawksworth of Deaf Sports putting in an impressive performance on her Norfolk Premier debut. Selwyn Goldsmith’s rink scored their second win of the day beating James Bucknall’s rink 10-9 in a tight match. Norfolk Premier return to Daventry next Sunday where they will face Cheshire who beat Somerset in a dramatic three singles sudden death playoff after they finished level on points. Devon also knocked out West Mids in another singles shoot-out and will play Essex who ran out 28-12 winners against Kent.

                                                                                           Posted 14-2-16

                         Jamie Forster, Jason Woods & Melvin Woods - brilliant comeback

                                                      Smiling Norfolk faces all around at Daventry

                                       Norfolk's  Chris Mann & Simon Warnes focussed on their games

Kirby Bedon move top of Bure

With two wins this week Kirby Bedon have moved top of the Bure League on shot difference ahead of Halvergate. Kirby Bedon were slow off the mark at Woodbastwick where both away triples were trailing badly halfway through the first half but a fighting comeback on both mats saw Peter Johnson, Janice Hewitt & Selwyn Goldsmith beat Willie Jefferies’ triple 14-10 while Jill Watson, Phil Watson & Graham Tweed went down by just two shots to Lianne Mills’ triple after looking completely out of the game earlier. After the break Wendy Tweed, Shirley Brown & Joe Brown beat Derek Sheldrake’s triple 14-9 with Peter Jablonowski replying for Woodbastwick with a one shot win against Gerald Chilvers leaving Kirby Bedon 6-4 winners. Visitors Horsford Heroes went down on three mats at Kirby Bedon with Phil Watson’s triple winning 18-5, Joe Brown’s triple winning 22-8 and Gerald Chilvers’ triple winning 21-13. Chris Woodhouse grabbed a consolation 13-11 win for Horsford Heroes as Kirby collected an 8-2 home win. East Tuddenham’s title push was slowed at Hevingham where they suffered a surprise 6-4 defeat. For Tuddenham new signing Simon Willies produced a 14-11 win while John Jefferys added a 17-13 win. But Hevingham earned the bonus points as Maurice Kemp’s triple beat John Turner 20-8 and Alan Bunn’s triple beat Melvin Woods 16-11. Tuddenham suffered another setback at Thorpe Marriott where they were beaten 7-3 in a tight match. Jenny Walker, Kath Frost & George Clarke led the way for Marriott beating John Turner’s triple 18-10 and Richard Perkins added a 14-12 win against Melvin Woods while John Jarvis drew 10-10 with John Jefferys. Chris Mann grabbed a one shot win for East Tuddenham against Sylvia Turner. Marriott had a great run of wins as they also beat both Windows & Horsford Heroes 8-2 to move up to third in the table. Horsford Heroes will be delighted with a 7-3 win at Coltishall where Vic Webster’s triple beat Vic “Quiet Man” Woods 20-8.

                                                                                                         Posted 14-2-16

Finally the I.C.C diary is out – and its congestion ahead!

Looking at the ESMBA diary dates that have just been issued for the 2016/17 season leaves me with the same impression as tackling Norwich’s forever worsening road system, severe congestion up ahead. Gone it seems are the days when our National body concentrated on the I.C.C, the National Championships and the England team. In those days you had a reasonable chance of fitting in all the county competitions and national qualifiers and still have a date or two free for a charity event or some other competition on a free Sunday. Along with England days and ESMBA Committee meeting days etc that all have to be avoided, the task of fitting in County Championships & National Qualifiers on spare weekends is becoming an almost impossible task. Its like trying to complete a puzzle with too many pieces! We don’t always agree with everything that Bob Weafer says in his excellent magazine Short Mat International but in the latest issue he asks why the ESMBA seem determined to add one event after another into an already crowded winter fixture list. If short mat bowlers want to enter well run individual events the SMPT already provide a wealth of opportunities to do so, if short mat bowlers want to take part in bowling holidays Potters Resort, Bob Weafer etc all ready provide a range of dates at various locations. The ESMBA should be concentrating on the National Championships and the Inter-County Championships, they are the core events of the ESMBA. As it is they are in danger of getting lost among the many other events appearing such as the ESMBA Pairs, the I.C.C Rinks, the ESMBA Open Fours, the ESMBA Triples, the TLH events, the ESMBA Open Singles etc. And that’s without the I.C.C Fives that happily disappeared without ever seeing the light of day. Enough is enough Guys!

It is time the ESMBA returned to its core values, too many years have been wasted in pursuing an array of lost causes such as its expensive, and thankfully now discontinued, involvement with the BDA and the determination to appoint an Administrator in place of separate Officers to run some of the functions of the ESMBA. Keith Hawkins’ resignation has shown the disadvantages of this move. If, say for example a Membership Secretary resigns, you just have to find a replacement to do a single job. In the wake of the Administrators’ resignation the ESMBA has a major job on their hands trying to cover the many functions he carried out. I personally feel sorry for Barry Hedges and Brandon Whittaker as they take on more and more work trying to steer the Association through to the next AGM and they both deserve praise for the time they are putting in for our sport. Our advice, for what its worth, is get back to the basics. Simplify the diary, drop all these extra events and get the I.C.C working properly again. Too many counties are allowed to enter their single team into the “A” Team event, this was never the intention of having an I.C.C “A” Team event. We now have the situation where genuine “A” teams find themselves playing so-called “A” teams with internationals in their ranks, this can’t be what was intended. Just 18 counties now enter the I.C.C Premier section but 27 counties enter the I.C.C “A” Team Championships, that’s just plain daft.

Next season Norfolk Premier are playing in Group 2 with Northants Premier, Essex Premier & Surrey Premier. Norfolk will be delighted to have Surrey back in their group, their Wye Valley venue in Guildford is one of the best in the country, and also delighted to see proper groups with four teams in them. We would have been even happier to see groups of five or six teams at the expense of all these new competitions cluttering up the calendar. West Mids have been moved back into familiar territory in Group 1 with Cheshire Premier and Herefordshire Premier after a season with Northants Premier & Norfolk Premier that brought them mixed results. Norfolk “A” play in Group 2 and will face Essex “A”, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire so we will see a resumption of the rivalry between Norfolk & Essex in their lively double headers. The Norfolk SMBA is unable to publish the I.C.C dates at this time as the dates sent to the previous Administrator detailing when the Norfolk venue was unavailable have not been acted upon. This means that Norfolk have had to contact Essex, Cambs & Northants in an attempt to arrange different dates for some I.C.C matches. As soon as those dates have been agreed the fixture dates will be announced.

NCSMBA re-appoints County manager

Norfolk County Team Manager Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon SMBC was re-appointed as Norfolk County Team Manager for another two year term at a meeting of the NCSMBA Management Committee held at Thorpe Marriott. NCSMBA President Brian Saunders praised the manager for his work over the last two years and his commitment to encouraging young players in the county team set-up. The Committee also voted to upgrade the County equipment by replacing the “Verde” mats used by the county during the summer in time for the next winter season. A decision was made to move forward with the installation of a trophy cabinet at Hingham Sports & Social Club. Assistant Membership Secretary Teresa Goldsmith clarified the situation regarding membership cards for new members who have joined for the 2015/16 season. Teresa Goldsmith told the meeting that all new members have been allocated membership numbers but cards are still awaited from the ESMBA. This could in part be due to the resignation of ESMBA Administrator Keith Hawkins which has obviously caused workload problems at National level. In the meantime any queries regarding the membership of any player in the NCSMBA can be addressed by contacting either Lianne Mills or Teresa Goldsmith. Following the meeting the NCSMBA was also able to announce that the NCSMBA Annual General Meeting will take place at North Wymondham Community Centre on Sunday 26-6-16 at 10am.

                                                                                                                                         Posted 12-2-16

Membership Cards for new members still awaited

As previously announced, following the resignation of ESMBA Administrator Keith Hawkins, the duties previously carried out by him have been allocated among other members by ESMBA Chairman Barry Hedges. While existing members are all in possession of the new permanent membership cards, issued the previous season, new members who have since joined the NCSMBA & ESMBA have still not received their membership cards and rule books. Until the NCSMBA receive these cards from the ESMBA they can of course play and have been allocated membership numbers. If there are any queries regarding membership please continue to contact either Lianne Mills or Teresa Goldsmith who can provide you with membership number details if required. What the NCSMBA cannot do is provide these players with their new cards, these will be sent by the ESMBA in due course.   

Hempnall edge past Marriott

After their 13-7 win at home, Hempnall drew the second leg at Marriott 10-10 to seal a semi final tie against Deaf Sports in the challenge cup. In the first singles match however Marriott's Majorie Hall produced a big upset defeating four time county singles champion Neil Davidson 10-6 while Hempnall captain Paul Baker beat John Jarvis 10-8. A big 10-1 win for Bernie Cudden, Mike Pearce, Richard Harrowing and Joan Cann in the fours gave Hempnall a 25-31 shots win to secure the first session 6-4. Second session saw Majorie Hall subbed for George Clarke as he beat Paul Baker 9-7 to keep Marriott in the tie but Neil Davidson returned to form scoring the tie winning points beating John Jarvis 11-6. Jenny Walker, Richard Perkins, Peter Walker and Tony Turner secured their second win of the night beating Joan Cann's four 11-3 which did see them take the overall shots in the second session  31-30 but this was just consolation in the end.

                                                                                                                Posted 10-2-16

Potters February & May Short Mat Bowls events sold out

The Potters Resort Late Booking Deal advertised for the February Short Mat Bowls Break run by Greg Harlow’s team has sold out in record time. Bookings are also now closed on the Potters East Coast Triples & Pairs week in May. Bookings are now being taken for the Potters Short Mat Bowls Cup Weekend in September where a special price, considerably below Potters normal brochure price, is again being offered to short mat bowlers. The long weekend of short mat bowls, which includes a performance by Jane McDonald in Potters Atlas Theatre, is now in its 16^th year and the bowls is organised by NCSMBA Officers Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith. For full details a link to the booking forms and fliers is available by clicking below. 

           FOR FULL SEPTEMBER WEEKEND DETAILS CLICK HERE Potters Cup

                 Potters International Arena - where the Potters Cup Weekend matches are all played

Presentation Table

Presentation time with Potters Resort Richard Beare of World Bowls fame

Chris Mann records another end at the Potters Cup

Six in a row for Carter

Bob Carter made it six straight wins in the Tens League as they brushed aside Hevingham at Drayton scoring 89 shots against 34. Glynis Willard, Jean Woods & Rob Howlett led the way with a terrific 43-6 scoreline while Elaine Willies, Simon Willies & Melvin Woods won 20-6 and Sue Hunt & Jason Woods won 15-9. David Sharpe & Rex Cox scored a consolation 13-11 win for Hevingham against Nigel Willard & John Turner. Coltishall won 3-0 at home to Connaught with Jean Barnett & John Aggas scoring a 21-11 win, Carol Aggas & Margaret Harman winning 15-10 and Vic Woods’ triple winning 18-12. Bill Adcock’s triple scored Connaught’s only win beating Les Harman 18-9. South Norfolk League action saw defending champions Hempnall visit second placed Connaught and come away with a valuable 8-2 win. Connaught won 8-2 at Wreningham though with Steve Hall’s triple winning 17-10. Table toppers Horsford won 6-4 at home to bottom of the table Saxlingham. Bure League champions Halvergate continue to impress, they won 8-2 at home to Thorpe Marriott with Steven Lamb, David Knights & Simon Warnes winning 17-10. East Tuddenham were also in good form beating Kirby Bedon 8-2 with a 24-5 win for Linda Chadwick, Les Chadwick & Melvin Woods their best result. Joe Brown’s triple picked up Kirby’s only win beating John Turner’s triple 15-10. Kirby Bedon did better at home to Horsford BC winning by 9-1 with Phil Watson’s triple winning 20-5. In the Breckland League Harling Griffins beat Shropham 10-0 and Connaught “A” won 8-2 at Connaught “B”.

Woodbastwick Owls head Eagles in Coastal Cup  

Woodbastwick Owls remain top of the Coastal Cup League after a solid 14-4 home win against struggling Bradwell Beacons who have only won once in six outings. Woodbastwick Eagles are just ten points behind their local rivals after smashing Hemsby Harvesters 15-3 and winning 12-6 at Bradwell Beacons. Bradwell Dynamos are well placed in third position after a 16-2 home win against Hemsby Beachcombers.

Coastal Pairs win for Bradwell

The annual Coastal Pairs attracted sixteen teams from the Coastal League and was played in four round robin groups comprising of four teams in each. The winners to emerge from the round robins were Jenny Walker & Derek Sheldrake of Woodbastwick Owls, Gail Hodgson & Mick Hodgson of Hemsby Beachcombers, Norma & Peter Jablonowski of Woodbastwick Owls and Josh Baxter & Mike Harvey of Bradwell Beacons. The semi-final pairings pitted Jenny Walker & Derek Sheldrake against Josh Baxter & Mike Harvey which turned out to be a hard fought game, after 8 ends the scores were level at 6-6 and the extra end produced a close finish success by 2 shots for the Bradwell pair. In the other semi- final the relatively new Hemsby pair Gail & Mick Hodgson produced brilliant form to beat the experienced pairing of Norma & Peter Jablonowski and progress to the final. 

The Coastal Pairs Final saw Josh Baxter, at lead for Bradwell, produce some brilliant shots to be on the jack first time throughout the game which left Mike Harvey the job of keeping Mick Hodgson at bay. Although Mick Hodgson had played brilliantly in the earlier rounds he could not penetrate the Bradwell pair’s bowls and Beacons emerged 12-1 winners. It was an excellent days bowling overseen by Coastal League Chairman Terry Nash who presented the trophies.

                                                                                                                Posted 8-2-16

                                Josh Baxter & Mike Harvey of Bradwell Beacons - Coastal Pairs winners

Knock-out stages fatal again in SMPT English Masters

Group Stages - Pye, Davidson & Mann on fire

Five Norfolk County bowlers entered the SMPT Masters in Bromsgrove. Jack Pye of Wymondham enjoyed a perfect set of results in Group 4 winning all his five games to qualify for the knock-out stages. His wins included an 11-7 result against Sweden’s Rosa Albrektsson. Hempnall’s Neil Davidson also won Group 24 with four wins and a draw. He beat Martin Harries of Wales 13-6 and Alannah Howard of Northern Ireland 16-6. Chris Mann of Wymondham became the third Norfolk entry to win their group as he collected four wins with one defeat in Group 7. His biggest win was a 21-7 result against Tony Ealham of Essex. The two Norfolk bowlers making their debuts in a SMPT event were Laura Hawksworth & John Jeffery of Deaf Sports. Laura Hawksworth finished fourth in Group 5 but will be pleased with an 11-7 win against Sam Moore of Northern Ireland, an 8-7 win against Ryan Steadman of England and an 11-11 draw with Lynn Dean of England. John Jeffery will be disappointed with his debut as he lost all his group games but should learn from the experience. The event provided its normal share of surprise casualties in the group stages who failed to make it through to the main event knock-out stages. In Group 22 both Gareth Stanway & James Trott of England were eliminated. The strong Group 20 saw Joseph Beattie of Northern Ireland and Sweden’s Jonas Hager fall at the first hurdle as Tony Bell of Northern Ireland and Somerset’s Lee Toleman took the two qualifying spots. PJ Gallagher of Ireland & England’s Martin Simcock both failed to qualify from Group 19 which was won by Sam Harvey of Wales. A member of the West Sussex team who suffered a torrid time at the hands of Norfolk Premier last week endured another bad weekend. Marc “Bomber” Lancaster lost all his five games in Group 6 conceding 83 shots and scoring 36.

Knock-Out Stages end in all England Final

Chris Mann won his first knock-out round game against Alex Kley by 13-8 but suffered a somewhat surprise 11-9 defeat against Nigel Reed of Essex in the next round. Jack Pye bit the dust in the first knock-out round going down by just one shot against James Smith. Neil Davidson also made a first knock-out round exit losing 14-4 to Graham Jones. It was a disappointment after all three had shown such good form in the group stages, and with the entries including many bowlers not well known on the scene, hopes had been high that one or more of the three would make the final stages. The two Deaf Sports bowlers, failing to make it through to the main event, were now facing lesser knock-out games. John Jeffery went out in the first Shield knock-out round losing 11-7 to Alun Thomas of England. Laura Hawksworth though was now looking for her third win and got it as she beat Malcolm Saunders 8-7 in the first Plate knock-out round. This earned Laura a match against Joseph Beattie of Northern Ireland, winner of both the English Masters and the UK Masters in 2013 as well as the Swedish Masters in 2014. Joseph had been one of the shock casualties in the group stages. The result of the match was 16-6 in Beattie’s favour. But for a young lady totally inexperienced at playing at this level, taking six shots off a world class player like Joseph Beattie and losing by only ten shots is something she can be proud of at this stage of her short mat bowls career. The final of the SMPT English Masters was an all England affair with James Bucknall defeating Dom Reed 9-6 to claim the title for the first time.

                                                                                                                            Posted 7-2-16

  
                                 Syd Harman's family extend their thanks

Following on from Syd's Harman's funeral last week, his brother Les and sons Kevin and Paul want to extend their thanks and appreciation to all the bowlers who attended the church service. They were all taken back by all those who attended and just wanted to say thanks again for the support.

                                                                       Posted 1-2-16

West Sussex Premier swept aside

Norfolk Premier swept into the Inter-County Championship quarter-finals after a massive 27-1 points win against West Sussex Premier. Despite being unbeaten in the group stages, and achieving a double against West Mids, a second place position in their group left Norfolk facing a tricky looking preliminary round tie against a strong West Sussex side in Daventry. Norfolk though made a superb start winning seven of the first eight games and drawing another to lead 15-1 at the interval. Wymondham’s Chris Mann looked in great form as he powered into a 10-2 lead after nine ends in the singles eventually winning 18-7. In the other singles match Hempnall’s Neil Davidson led up to the last end but was forced to settle for a 10-10 draw when his opponent took two shots on the last end. Norfolk took maximum points in the pairs as David Lamb & Jack Pye won 15-8 and Simon Warnes & Jon Sparham won 19-10. Norfolk kept up the pressure in the triples & fours. Jamie Forster made a successful return to county action as lead for Jason & Melvin Woods as the Bob Carter stars won 12-8 and Kerry Greenacre, Debbie Sparham & Keith Cooke won 13-10. Player-Manager Selwyn Goldsmith had made changes to the rinks and they quickly paid dividends as Lewis Cranston, Rob Cranston, Morgan Warnes & Bob Oatway won 16-7 and Owen Cranston, Phil Watson, Nigel Willard & Selwyn Goldsmith won 16-8. Another great session followed for Norfolk Premier when the singles & pairs returned to the mats for their second games. This time it was a clean sweep as Neil Davidson raced to a 22-6 win and Chris Mann won 15-14 while in the pairs Simon Warnes & Jon Sparham won 16-10 and David Lamb & Jack Pye won 15-9. West Sussex decided to call it a day at that point and conceded leaving the final session unplayed. Norfolk Premier will now face defending champions Hampshire Premier in the quarter-finals on Sunday week at Daventry. Norfolk “A” faced North Yorkshire in the I.C.C “A” Team preliminaries and went down 29-11 against their strong opponents. North Yorks had played in the Premier section in recent years but were allowed to drop down to the “A” section this season despite fielding England internationals Ben Render & Danny Langdon in their team. Langdon showed his class in the singles beating Mike Boswell of Windows 17-10 and Robin Amos of Deaf Sports 15-11. Render skipped his pair to wins of 17-8 & 17-7 as Norfolk struggled against a side who have earned considerable experience in I.C.C Premier competition. The rink of Elaine Oatway, Jean Woods, Lesley Crowe and George Clarke hit back for Norfolk winning their first game 15-6 and with Ted Redwood subbing in their second game added a win of 16-5. Norfolk’s other wins were by Karl & Terry Newby in the pairs and Graham Mobbs’ rink.

Hempnall still top of the Tens

Hempnall continue to lead the Tens League with Bob Carter now looking the main opposition. Hempnall won a tight match 2-0 at Kirby Bedon where they came from behind to clinch victory. Kirby’s Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith beat Roger Parker & Neil Davidson 17-10 in the pairs but Chris Mann’s triple hit back by beating Phil Watson’s triple 15-10 leaving Kirby two shots up at the break. In the second half Owen Cranston & Jack Pye beat Shirley & Joe Brown 13-10 while Paul Baker’s triple beat Gerald Chilvers 16-12 to see Hempnall over the finishing line at a venue where they tend to find the going tough. Hempnall earned a maximum 4-0 win in their next match at home to Connaught where Neil Davidson & Roger Parker returned to winning ways with a blistering performance beating Diana & Bill Adcock 31-6. Current West Mids Premier and former England bowler Simon Willies, recently relocated to Norfolk, made an appearance in the Bob Carter side for their away match at Coltishall. Playing at number two, with Rob Howlett at skip and Jean Woods at lead, Simon tasted success on Norfolk soil beating Les Harman’s triple 13-10. Bob Carter took all four points winning all four games as Coltishall found their visitors in great form. Jamie Forster & Jason Woods opened with a 23-6 win against Carol & John Aggas, Nigel Willard & John Turner won 20-10 against Jean Barnett & Margaret Harman and Sue Hunt, Steve Bridge & Melvin Woods beat Vic “Quiet Man” Woods and his triple by 17-6. Halvergate were held to a 1-1 draw at Connaught, a result that severely damaged their title hopes. Simon Warnes’ triple were the only winners for Halvergate recording an excellent 19-6 win but Connaught won all the other three games to leave the teams level at 53 shots each. Diane Quadling, Elaine Oatway & Joe Lirocchi were Connaught’s best scorers beating Morgan Warnes’ triple 20-10. Halvergate improved at Hevingham where a 4-0 away win left Hevingham at the foot of the table. David Knights & Keith Cooke beat David Sharpe’s pair 23-9 while Morgan Warnes & David Lamb beat Maurice Kemp’s pair 24-3. Both triples games also went Halvergate’s way with Simon Warnes winning 17-8 and Robbie Lamb winning 16-9.

                                                                                     

Two miss the bus for visit to Wymondham

Wymondham started as hot favourites at home to First Bus in their Norwich Cup Quarter-Final clash but their task was made even easier as two of the visiting team failed to appear at the venue. This left both First Bus triples having to play with a player short and it was no surprise that Wymondham moved effortlessly into the semi-finals with a 15-1 points win and now face Halvergate over two legs. The visitors only point was actually earned in the triples where Elaine Oatway & Lesley Crowe drew 8-8 with Pat Saunders, Melvyn Barker &  Debbie Sparham.    

                                          

Horsford Heroes close gap on Horsford BC

With City of Norwich League leaders not playing this week Horsford Heroes took advantage to cut the gap to eleven points with a 10-4 home win against Jarrolds. Costessey are third after winning 12-2 at neighbours Taverham.Thorpe Marriott won 12-2 at Windows but will not be happy at losing 12-2 at County Council. Deaf Sports racked up a 14-0 win on points, 76-20 on shots, at home to Taverham while Framingham Earl won 13-1 at home to British Rail.

 

Roy Everitt Trophy at March IBC in April

Cambridgeshire have announced that the Roy Everitt Trophy competition for triples will be held at March IBC on Saturday 2^nd April. The start time will be 9.30am with bowlers booking in at 9am. There will be a first prize of £90, £60 for the runners-up and a third prize of £30. The entry fee will be £19.50 per triple. Cheques should be made payable to C.S.M.B.A and sent to V. Ware, “Homeleigh” Hockland Road, Tydd St-Giles, Wisbech, PE13 5LF. Coffee, tea & biscuits will be available and entries will be limited to 40 triples. E.S.M.B.A rules and dress code will apply for this event with proceeds going to C.S.M.B.A Funds.  

                                                                                                                                                   Posted 31-1-16

Draw kind to Nelson's boys in English Masters

The draw for the SMPT English Masters, being held at Bromsgrove IBC on 6-2-16 & 7-2-16, has been made and Norfolk players who have entered will be quite pleased to have avoided the big guns in the group stages. The first prize on offer is £500 and 144 players have entered and will play in 24 groups of six players. Chris Mann of Wymondham will be playing in Group 7 with fellow Englishmen Tony Ealham, Robert Martin & Del Coates as well as Irish entrants Angus Barnes & Adrian Tanner. If Chris Mann can recapture the form that saw him lift the European Masters in 2013 he should have no trouble progressing into the knockout stages. Group 4 includes two other Norfolk County Squad players, Jack Pye of Wymondham and John Jeffery of Deaf Sports. This group also includes Joshua Woods, Alan Thompson & Barry Whitburn, all from England, and Swedish bowler Rosa Albrektsson. Jack Pye is experienced at competing in SMPT events and the young man from Wymondham will be ultra confident of reaching the knock-outs. This is John Jeffery’s first venture into SMPT bowls and the weekend should be beneficial to his game. Laura Hawksworth of Deaf Sports is also making her first appearance in this kind of event and in her group she will face England’s Lynn Dean, Ryan Steadman, Antony Bull & John Parnell as well as Ireland’s Sam Moore. Like her Deaf Sports team-mate John Jefferys this will be a new experience for Laura but the draw has again been kind to a Norfolk bowler. Neil Davidson of Hempnall, Norfolk’s reigning singles champion, will play in Group 24 with England’s James Neal, Danny Curl & Mark Allen, Martin Harries of Wales and Alannah Howard of Ireland. Neil has shown good form at this level and is a difficult player to beat in the singles discipline. He has probably got the hardest group of any Norfolk entrant but will still be expected to make the knock-outs. Defending English Masters champion Stephen Williams of Wales has been drawn in Group 2 where England’s Ben Pay could prove his most difficult opponent. Group 21 includes Irish Open champion Dimitri Payne of Belgium, Sweden’s Christer Almen, Chris Martin & Nick Evans of Wales and James Smith & Chris Coates of England. On paper one of the toughest groups of the event. Group 9 also looks likely to produce some tasty games with Belgium’s Jonathan Payne, Sweden’s Tommy Dahlgren & Ireland’s PJ McCrossan all involved. Gareth Stanway has entered the event and is in Group 22, if the Cheshire ace is on form he could well go all the way. 

                                                                                                        Posted 25-1-16  

Chris Mann after winning European Masters

Woodbastwick concede

Halvergate will face East Tuddenham in the Bure Cup Final after beating Woodbastwick in the semi-finals. Halvergate powered to an 18-6 victory at Woodbastwick in the first leg with David Knights, Morgan Warnes & Simon Warnes winning all their three games. Woodbastwick decided to concede the tie without playing the away leg. Thorpe Marriott are through to the semi-finals of the Norwich Cup after a 10-6 quarter-final win at Harling. Sheila Redwood, Ted Redwood & John Jarvis won their games by 13-2 & 7-4 in the triples while Jenny & Peter Walker won their pairs games by 9-7 & 11-1. Thorpe Marriott will play Kirby Bedon in the semi-finals. In the City of Norwich League leaders Horsford BC won 11-3 at home to Costessey while second placed Horsford Heroes crashed to a 12-2 defeat at Thorpe Marriott and twenty-one points now separate the teams at the top. Third placed First Bus suffered a shock 14-0 home defeat against County Council. The big match in the Tens League saw Hempnall cruise to a 4-0 home win against Halvergate. Kerry Greenacre, Rob Cranston & Chris Mann beat Simon Warnes’ triple 21-8 with Cranston in excellent form. Paul Baker & Jack Pye beat Robbie & David Lamb 19-7 in the pairs while Charlie Archer’s triple beat Robin Amos 12-7. The visitors gained purely a consolation 12-11 win in the pairs as Morgan Warnes & Keith Cooke beat Neil Davidson & Roger Parker.

East Tuddenham bowlers dominate

The preliminary rounds of the Bure League Singles Championships have been held with East Tuddenham bowlers claiming half of the Finals Night places. Defending champion John Turner of East Tuddenham won the heat at Horsford BC winning three games and drawing the other one with his biggest win being a 13-6 result against Kirby Bedon’s Shirley Brown in his opening game. Mike Boswell of Windows won three games and only lost by one shot to Turner but his total was enough to claim him a Finals Night place as one of the best three runners up over the five heats. Last season’s runner-up, Chris Mann of East Tuddenham, won the heat held at Kirby Bedon scoring maximum points with his best result a 17-1 win against fellow East Tuddenham player Melvin Woods. Woods won his other three games comfortably though and also qualified. At Thorpe Marriott former Norfolk Premier bowler Peter Jablonowski of Woodbastwick won all his games to qualify with East Tuddenham’s John Jeffery’s six points and a +5 shot difference also getting him safely through. At the Hevingham heat David Lamb of Halvergate took maximum points to qualify but runner-up George Clarke’s tally of five points was not enough for him to progress. Thorpe Marriott’s John Jarvis won the East Tuddenham heat winning all games while Brian Frost was runner-up but failed to qualify. The dates and venues of the Bure League Singles, Pairs & Triples Finals Nights will be announced next week.

Finalists

David Lamb (Halvergate), Chris Mann (East Tuddenham), Peter Jablonowski (Woodbastwick), John Turner (East Tuddenham), Mike Boswell (Windows), Melvin Woods (East Tuddenham), John Jeffery (East Tuddenham)

                                                                                                                                     Posted 23-1-16 

                               Defending Bure Singles Champion John Turner through to Finals Night

Challenge cup semi final draw produces potential big tie

With Bob Carter taking an 18-2 lead into their second leg tie at Forncett it looks highly likely they will be up against defending champions Wymondham in the semi finals, while Deaf Sports who put out Hingham will face either Hempnall or Thorpe Marriott with Hempnall only taking a 13-7 advantage to Marriott.  

Norfolk County Points table released

The Norfolk County Points Table, which reflects bowler’s performances in the Norfolk County Championship & National Qualifiers over a two year time period, has been released following the completion of all the Norfolk County Championship & National Qualifiers for the season. The Top 30 in the rankings all receive an automatic invitation into the Norfolk County Squad for the 2016/17 season. The table reveals that Wymondham’s Jon Sparham has retained the coveted number one ranking after winning the Norfolk Fours title and coming second in the Norfolk Mixed Fours. Jon Sparham’s total of 55 points this season was the second highest achieved. His fellow Wymondham skip Jack Pye has moved up one place to number two leap frogging Bob Carter’s Melvin Woods at number three. The top female bowler in the rankings is still Debbie Sparham of Wymondham who remains at number four. After yet another Norfolk Singles triumph Hempnall’s Neil Davidson moves up to number five and in doing so pushed Bob Carter’s Jason Woods down one place to sixth despite Woods lifting the Norfolk Triples title. In seventh place is Kirby Bedon’s Selwyn Goldsmith who with 65 points was this season’s top scorer in the table after skipping both the winning Norfolk Pair and the Norfolk Mixed Four and securing third place in both the Norfolk Triples & Norfolk Fours. Haddiscoe’s Kerry Greenacre, who won both championship titles with Goldsmith, moves up to number eight and joins Debbie Sparham as the only ladies in the top ten. John Turner of East Tuddenham, despite not adding to his title tally this season, actually accumulated seven more points than last season and is number nine. Chris Mann of Wymondham picked up a couple more points this season than last and that kept him in the top ten, his Norfolk Fours title win was vital. There is a 17 point gap between Mann and the player ranked at number 11 but there is only an 18 point difference between the eleventh ranked bowler and the twentieth. Norfolk’s four England Squad players feature in this section of the table with Horsford BC bowlers Morgan Warnes & Simon Warnes ranked at 12 & 15 respectively and Halvergate bowlers David Lamb & Keith Cooke ranked at 14 & 17 respectively. Also in this section of the rankings are Wymondham’s young star Mikey George at 11, talented Bob Carter bowler Jamie Forster at 13 and Thorpe Marriott’s Jenny Walker at number 16. The experienced Nigel Willard of Bob Carter is ranked at number 18 on 36 points. Four players are then on 36 points, Halvergate’s Donna Lamb, Bob Carter’s Robert Howlett, Thorpe Marriott’s Ted Redwood and Carleton Rode’s Ollie Allen with Melvyn Barker of Wymondham and Peter Smart of Sprowston just one point behind. Thorpe Marriott’s Peter Walker is in at number 25, County Council’s Rob Cranston at 26 while Halvergate's Robbie Lamb & Billie Barker of Wymondham fill the next two positions with 29 points apiece. Terry Newby of Carleton Rode fills the number 29 spot while in the Top 30 for the first time is Trish Taylor of Diss. Level on points with Trish Taylor is Thorpe Marriott’s Janet Pinchen who has just missed out on a Top 30 placing due to the points earned by Trish Taylor in 2015/16. Also just missing out on an automatic squad invite are Wymondham’s Debbie Pye & Roger Steele who finished with just one point less than Taylor & Pinchen.

                                                                                                                                       Posted 22-1-16  

Jon Sparham retained top spot in the Norfolk Rankings

Norfolk Manager Selwyn Goldsmith - top point scorer this season

Wymondham winning run goes on

Defending Breckland League champions Wymondham stretched their winning sequence to twelve matches with a 7-3 away win at Harling Unicorns. A great start for Harling saw Maureen Tarrent, Penny Lee & Mike Tarrent beat Jon Sparham’s triple 16-20 but Chris Mann’s triple replied for the visitors with a 21-11 win. Five shots on the sixteenth end proved crucial for Mann’s triple. Melvyn Barker’s Wymondham triple were held to a 16-16 draw by Matt Cunningham’s triple after the break but Wymondham’s win was sealed with a 30-7 win for Jack Pye’s triple. Connaught “A” won 6-4 at Harling Unicorns where Bob Oatway’s triple won 25-10 and Lee Fallows’ triple won 25-11. Connaught “B” won 6-4 at home to Banham with Peter King’s triple winning 18-10, those shots earned Connaught “B” the match points.

                                                                                                            Posted 20-1-16

                                              Syd Harman Funeral Details

The funeral will be held at St Mary's Church, Ellingham, Bungay, NR35 2EP on Thursday 28th January at 1.30pm with a private cremation following the service.

 

Halvergate clear at top

Defending Bure League champions Halvergate are sixteen points clear at the top of the Bure League after an 8-2 away win at Hevingham. Keith Cooke’s triple led the way with a 22-13 win against David Sharpe while the home sides only win was earned by Maurice Kemp’s triple who beat Ray Lamb, Morgan Warnes & Simon Warnes. Hevingham won at home to Coltishall though in a close encounter where only four shots separated the teams. A 14-8 win for David Sharpe’s triple against John Aggas saw Hevingham over the finishing line. Woodbastwick won 8-2 at Coltishall where the home mat knowledge of former Coltishall captain Willie Jefferies paid dividends as his triple beat Les Harman 13-11. Another former Coltishall player also won as Brian Bunting featured in a 17-7 win against his old club. Margaret Harman’s triple scored Coltishall’s only win of the night beating Peter Jablonowski’s triple 16-10. Window’s miserable season continued as they slumped to a 10-0 defeat at Kirby Bedon where Peter Johnson, Graham Tweed & Melvyn Barker stormed to a 26-4 win.

                                                                                                                           Posted 18-1-16

Keith Cooke - tormented Hevingham

City League action

Sprowston’s City League season continued to improve with a 10-4 away win at Framingham Earl. Costessey though saw their title hopes hit as they slumped to a 12-2 defeat at Framingham Earl. Thorpe Marriott will be happy with a 12-2 away win at Taverham. Windows continue to struggle, this time they suffered an 11-3 home defeat at the hands of Costessey. Deaf Sports emerged with a 12-2 home win against County Council.

East Tuddenham in Bure Cup final

East Tuddenham are through to the final of the Bure Cup after a 30-10 win on aggregate against Horsford Heroes. Tuddenham pulled off a 14-10 away win in the first leg at Horsford where Melvin Woods, John Turner & John Jefferys skipped their triples to two wins apiece. In the return leg East Tuddenham reeled off eight straight wins before Horsford conceded.  

Norwich Cup Draw

The draw for the semi-finals of the Norwich Cup has set up a potential clash between Bure League champions Halvergate and Breckland League champions Wymondham. Halvergate are already through to the semi-finals but Wymondham first have City League side First Bus to contend with in the quarter-finals. The other semi-final will be between Kirby Bedon and the winners of the quarter-final match between Harling Rec & Thorpe Marriott.

                                                                                                               Posted 17-1-16

Home leg puts Deaf Sports through

After a 13-7 away defeat at Hingham in the Challenge Cup, Deaf Sports knew they had a decent chance of progressing with them having the home leg to come. They made the perfect start as John Jeffery beat Wendy Tweed 11-8 while Robin Amos inflicted a 13-2 win on Will Townsend. In the fours Laura Hawksworth skipped her four to an impressive 18-4 win which secured the shots while Hingham's only win in the first session came from Keith Thomas' rink as they won by a slim 8-6 margin to go down 8-2 overall. The second session again saw strong performances from the singles as Robin Amos beat Wendy Tweed 14-11 while John Jeffery produced the best result of the night as he beat Will Townsend 18-0! This pretty much meant that both of Hingham's fours now needed two big wins to put them through but neither were able to as C. Short's four drew 5-5 while Keith Thomas secured his second win of the night as his four beat Laura Hawksworth's rink 5-8. 

In another match played this week Thorpe Marriott played their first Challenge Cup match and will be pleased to have come away with a 13-7 defeat against current South Norfolk champions Hempnall who put out Halvergate in the last round. Neil Davidson and Roger Parker looked to be putting Hempnall in a strong position early on as both won by 15-6 and 13-4 against George Clarke and John Jarvis. But a draw and a win in the fours for Thorpe Marriott, which saw Tony Turner's block win 8-5 against R. Harrowing and Sylvia Turner drew 9-9 against Joan Cann, gave them three points in the session. The singles again saw the points go Hempnall's way with wins of 11-7 for Roger Parker and 7-6 for Neil Davidson. An 8-7 win added by Joan Cann's rink looked to put Hempnall in the driving seat going into the second leg but a big 10-1 win for Sylvia Turner's four saw them clinch the shots by 30-27 giving them just a 6-4 session defeat which now puts the tie right back in the balance with the second leg at Thorpe Marriott to come.

                                                                                              Posted 16-1-16

Rest in Peace Syd Harman

The Norfolk Short Mat Bowls Association is saddened to learn of the death of popular Hempnall bowler Syd Harman who died suddenly yesterday. Syd was a great character and one of the nicest people you could have the pleasure of knowing. He was a former member of the Norfolk County Squad and won many titles during his long membership of Hempnall SMBC who play in the South Norfolk League and the Tens League. Syd will be greatly missed by all. The NCSMBA would like to offer its condolences to Syd’s family and many friends. Funeral arrangements will appear on this website when announced.

                                                                                                                 Posted 15-1-16

Massive reduction for Potters Short Mat Break in February

A fantastic late booking offer has been announced for the Monday to Friday Short Mat Bowls Holiday at the five star Potters Resort in February. The normal brochure price of £339, based on a standard bungalow rate, has been slashed to just £199 per person if the break is booked through Teresa Goldsmith of the NCSMBA by phoning 01603-403628. The break includes entry into the short mat bowls competition, comfortable accommodation, four meals a day for each day of your stay, fantastic live evening entertainment, a full daytime activities programme and a huge selection of sports & leisure facilities. The short mat bowls competition will be run by Potters and guests will book in on Monday 22^nd February and leave on Friday 26^th February. For those who have stayed at the superb Potters Resort before, you will know that this special price offers fantastic value. For anyone who has not visited the famous Potters Resort before this is your opportunity to do so at a very special price that may never be offered again.

Short Mat Bowls action at Potters Resort

National Championship allocations announced  

The ESMBA has released the allocations for this year’s National Championships and once again Norfolk will have a strong representation in the sports premier event in England. Norfolk has the maximum four places in each of the main four disciplines, the National Singles, Pairs, Triples & Fours. Norfolk has just two places this year in the National Mixed Fours but three places in the National Under 18s. All the events will take place at Church Gresley IBC in Derbyshire. The National Mixed Fours will be on Saturday 2-4-16 and the National Under 18s on Sunday 3-4-16. The National Singles will be on Thursday 7-4-16, the National Pairs on Friday 8-4-16, the National Fours on Saturday 9-4-16 and the National Triples on Sunday 10-4-16. Norfolk Squad players have clinched the vast majority of qualifying spots with their Manager & Assistant Manager Selwyn Goldsmith & Jon Sparham leading the way qualifying for four events each while Jamie Forster, Kerry Greenacre, Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye are in three events each. Essex has the biggest allocation with four entries in all of the six events while Dorset has four entries in all the events except the Mixed Fours where they have three. Norfolk has the third most allocated spots. At the other end of the scale Avon, Lancashire, London, Merseyside & Isle of Wight have no entries in the Nationals at all while Cambridgeshire have just one single and Shropshire, Warwickshire & Wiltshire have only two entries each.  

 

Norfolk Qualifiers

National Singles

Norfolk 1 -  Neil Davidson

Norfolk 2 – Simon Warnes

Norfolk 3 – Jamie Forster

Norfolk 4 – Jon Sparham

National Pairs

Norfolk 1 – Kerry Greenacre & Selwyn Goldsmith

Norfolk 2 – Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye

Norfolk 3 – Mikey George & Jon Sparham

Norfolk 4 – Kevin Watson & Steven Lamb

National Triples

Norfolk 1 – Jamie Forster, Robbie Lamb & Jason Woods

Norfolk 2 – Nigel Willard, John Turner & Melvin Woods

Norfolk 3 – Kerry Greenacre, Keith Cooke & Selwyn Goldsmith

Norfolk 4 – Lewis Cranston, Owen Cranston & Rob Cranston

National Fours

Norfolk 1 – Chris Mann, Debbie Sparham, Jack Pye & Jon Sparham

Norfolk 2 – Nigel Willard, Jason Woods, John Turner, Melvin Woods

Norfolk 3 – Jill Watson, Teresa Goldsmith, Phil Watson, Selwyn Goldsmith

Norfolk 4 – Mikey George, Jamie Forster, Morgan Warnes, Neil Davidson

National Mixed Fours

Norfolk 1 – Kerry Greenacre, Jenny Walker, Peter Walker & Selwyn Goldsmith

Norfolk 2 – Debbie Pye, Debbie Sparham, Jack Pye, Jon Sparham

National Under 18s

Norfolk 1 – Morgan Warnes

Norfolk 2 – Owen Cranston

Norfolk 3 – Ryan Fox

                                                                                                    Posted 13-1-16

Kirby Bedon into Norwich Cup Semi-Finals

After a tight first half at Sprowston visitors Kirby Bedon took control in the second half to secure a place in the Norwich Cup Semi-Finals. Liz Mason, Les Harman & Terry Fletcher gave the hosts a winning start beating Phil Watson’s triple 8-6 but Peter Johnson, Joan Costello & Gerald Chilvers replied with a 7-5 win against Peter Smart’s triple to ensure the first session was drawn. The second session was also drawn as Sprowston’s David Dewing & Margaret Harman beat Carol & John Aggas 8-3 but the visitors gained an advantage on shots as Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith beat Maureen & George Munford 10-0. After the break Kirby moved ahead by winning both triples games. Jill Watson, Jan Hewitt & Phil Watson beat Peter Smart’s triple 8-6 while Gerald Chilvers’ triple scored their second win of the night beating Terry Fletcher’s triple 8-3. This left Kirby needing just one point from the final session of pairs to secure victory but they took all four points again as Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith beat David Dewing & Margaret Harman 11-2 and Carol & John Aggas beat the Munford pairing by 8-4 to give Kirby Bedon a 12-4 away win. In the South Norfolk League Hempnall look back on track after a 10-0 home win against Hingham. Jack Pye’s triple won 24-6 while Neil Davidson won by 19-6. In the top of the table clash Diss were held to a 5-5 draw at home by visitors Horsford with a great 25-8 win for Graham Mobbs preserving the home team’s unbeaten record. In the other match played Horsford collected maximum points at home to Wreningham. In the City of Norwich League Horsford BC continued their good run with a 12-2 away win at Windows and remain top of the table. Horsford Heroes also had a great week though with a 12-2 win at Taverham and a 14-0 home win against Costessey keeping them in contention for the title. Other games saw Sprowston beat Jarrolds 10-4 and third placed First Bus win 11-3 at home to British Rail. Bure League action saw East Tuddenham maintain their pursuit of leaders Halvergate with an 8-2 away win at Horsford BC where Gillian Amos, Robin Amos & John Jeffery won 23-8. Horsford BC fared better at home to Hevingham where Dennis Seaton’s triple won 25-7 to help them to a 6-4 win. Horsford BC also added an 8-2 away win at Windows who have now lost eleven of their twelve games played. Vic Woods’ triple led the way for Coltishall at Horsford Heroes where the visitors won 7-3. Elaine Cole, Lianne Mills & Derek Sheldrake all skipped their triples to wins at Thorpe Marriott where Woodbastwick won 8-2. Breckland League champions Wymondham won 8-2 at Harling Griffins. Chris Mann’s triple won 30-11 with Irma Lowe putting in a strong performance at lead on her first visit to Harling. Jack Pye’s triple won by 23-9 and Melvyn Barker’s triple added a 23-17 win.

Pye & Davidson take early baths in Swedish Masters

Despite Hempnall’s Neil Davidson & Wymondham’s Jack Pye qualifying through their groups in the Swedish Masters they both made early exits in the knock out stages. Jack Pye reeled off five straight wins in his group but his hopes of glory were dashed as he was defeated 10-8 by Sweden’s Tommy Dahlgren in the first knock-out round. Neil Davidson qualified as the runner-up in his group behind Stephen Gale of the Isle of Man who beat Davidson when they met. In the first knock-out round Davidson lost 13-3 to another English competitor Michael Ivings who went on to reach the final where he lost 11-4 against Sweden’s Marcus Almen.

                                                                                                   Posted 11-1-16

Jason Woods beats his dad in County Triples Final

This season’s Norfolk County Triples Final produced a fascinating father & son battle at Hingham Sports & Social Club and it was the young generation who came out on top as Robbie Lamb of Halvergate and Bob Carter’s Jamie Forster & Jason Woods stormed to an 11-2 win against John Turner of East Tuddenham & Bob Carter’s Nigel Willard & Melvin Woods. Jason Woods plays in the Norfolk Premier team as number two with dad Melvin Woods at skip and it was obvious that Jason has learned much from the experience as he skipped his triple with distinction to the Norfolk County Triples title. The third place play-off also produced a one sided match with Kerry Greenacre of Haddiscoe, Keith Cooke of Halvergate & Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon beating Lewis, Owen & Rob Cranston of County Council 11-1 with an end to spare. In comparison both semi-finals were fiercely fought and both needed an extra end to decide who went through to the finals. A measure was needed to determine the winners of the Jason Woods v Selwyn Goldsmith semi-final with Woods winning by 9-8. Melvin Woods’ triple also took a single on the extra end to beat Rob Cranston 8-7. In the quarter-finals Jason Woods triple beat Morgan Warnes, Simon Warnes & David Lamb by 7-6 after an extra end. Melvin Woods’ triple beat Ryan Fox, Donna Lamb & Roy Walker of Halvergate 10-4, Selwyn Goldsmith’s triple beat Thorpe Marriott’s Jenny Walker, Peter Walker & John Jarvis 12-1 while Rob Cranston’s triple beat Mick Harris of Windows, David Blundell of Wortwell & Chris Mann of Wymondham 9-6.   

Jamie Forster, Jason Woods & Robbie Lamb

John Turner, Nigel Willard & Melvin Woods

Day off for Norfolk County Team

The previously announced friendly at Hingham against the Northants Squad on 17-1-16 will no longer take place so the Norfolk Squad now have a day off.

                                                                                                                Posted 10-1-16

Derbyshire again for Nationals

The ESMBA website has now confirmed Church Gresley IBC as the venue for all six National Championship Final events. The National Mixed Fours will take place on Saturday 2-4-16 and the National Under 18’s on Sunday 3-4-16. The National Singles will be played on Thursday 7-4-16, National Pairs on Friday 8-4-16, National Fours on Saturday 9-4-16 and the National Triples on Sunday 10-4-16. The full address of the venue is Church Gresley Indoor Bowling Centre, Gresley Old Hall, Church Gresley, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 9QW. Hotels in the area include the following.

Travelodge, Burton A38 Northbound, Barton-under-Needwood, DE13 8EH

Premier Inn, Wellington Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 2DQ

Best Western, Appleby Park Hotel, Swadlincote, DE12 7AP

Holiday Inn Express, 2^nd Avenue Centrum 100, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 2WF

Mercure, Newton Solney, Burton-on-Trent, DE15 0SS

Dovecliff Hall Hotel, Dovecliff Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE13 0DJ

Riverside Hotel, Branston, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 3EP

Unicorn Inn, Repton Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE15 0SG

 

Davidson & Pye make Swedish bid

Hempnall’s Neil Davidson & Wymondham’s Jack Pye compete in the SMPT Swedish Masters this weekend. Four time Norfolk Singles champion Neil Davidson should progress through Group 15 which comprises of Norway’s Lars-Rune Lauritzen & Oyvind Amundsen, Sweden’s Sven Erik Almen & Nicolina Borg and Isle of Man’s Stephen Gale. Young Wymondham ace Jack Pye has been drawn in Group 13 and will play Sweden’s Dick Almen, Bente Dahlgren & Stig Albrektsson, Ireland’s Diane Bell and Richard Ivings of England. Pick of the games in the group stages include Mark Beattie of Ireland, current leader in the SMPT World Rankings, against England’s Bronagh Toleman in Group 11 and Belgium’s Jonathan Payne against England’s Essex star Dom Reed in Group 6. England’s Stephen Proctor & James Smith stand a great chance progressing through 2. Defending champion Cecil Dillon of Ireland will be attempting to become the first bowler to successfully defend the title and is almost certain to feature in the latter stages of the event.

 

Daventry IBC confirmed as I.C.C venue

Daventry IBC has been confirmed as the venue for both Norfolk matches in the I.C.C Preliminary rounds that are to take place on Sunday 31^st January. Norfolk Premier will face West Sussex Premier while Norfolk “A” will play North Yorkshire. It is a perfect venue for the matches with the distance from Norfolk, West Sussex and North Yorkshire to the venue almost the same. Other games taking place at Daventry on the same day are Kent Premier against either Cheshire or Gloucestershire and Surrey “A” v Worcestershire “A”.  Hereford will be the venue for the West Mids Premier v Dorset Premier game while Surrey Premier will face Somerset Premier in Hampshire.

                                                                                                     Posted 6-1-16

Wymondham win County Fours title

The Wymondham rink of Chris Mann, Debbie Sparham, Jack Pye & Jon Sparham are the new Norfolk County Fours champions after a dramatic comeback saw them score three shots on the last scheduled end to level the match before winning the extra end against Nigel Willard, Jason Woods, John Turner & Melvin Woods of Bob Carter & East Tuddenham. Melvin Woods’ rink had looked favourites going into the last end 8-5 up but with his last bowl Jon Sparham levelled the game. Melvin Woods’ rink attempted to ditch the jack with the first bowl of the extra end but Nigel Willard missed the jack. Wymondham decided to use the same tactic but Chris Mann also missed with his first wood. Nigel Willard then elected to draw in a toucher with his second bowl but Chris Mann replied with an accurate attacking shot and ditched the jack leaving it about four inches from his bowl which was also in the ditch. Melvin Woods’ rink then had no option other than to try and fire Willard’s toucher into the ditch but Jason Woods, John Turner & Melvin Woods all failed with their attempts leaving the Wymondham rink celebrating a 9-8 victory. The third place play-off also went to an extra end when Kirby Bedon’s Jill Watson, Teresa Goldsmith, Phil Watson & Selwyn Goldsmith drew 4-4 in a low scoring game against Mikey George of Wymondham, Jamie Forster of Bob Carter, Morgan Warnes of Horsford BC & Neil Davidson of Hempnall. Davidson’s rink also used the tactic of ditching the jack early on but the jack and bowl split away from each other leaving both rinks attempting to draw to the line for the winning shot. After several unsuccessful attempts by players on both sides the Kirby Bedon skip drew around a cluster of short woods to the ditch line to take shot and a 5-4 win. Both semi-finals produced one sided matches with Melvin Woods’ rink beating Neil Davidson’s rink 17-1 while Jon Sparham’s rink beat Selwyn Goldsmith’s rink 11-1. In the quarter-finals Jon Sparahm beat Terry Newby 7-5, Melvin Woods beat David Lamb 7-4, Selwyn Goldsmith beat Bob Oatway 11-6 and Neil Davidson beat Paul Baker 13-6. 

                                                                                                                   3-1-16

Norfolk Fours Champions Debbie Sparham, Jon Sparham, Chris Mann & Jack Pye

County Fours R/Ups John Turner, Nigel Willard, Jason Woods & Melvin Woods

Champions move top

Defending City of Norwich League champions Horsford BC are the new leaders after two emphatic home wins. They cruised to a maximum 14-0 win against Jarrolds and then beat bottom of the table Taverham by 13-1. Meanwhile First Bus, who had headed the table the previous week, crashed to a 10-4 defeat at Sprowston Sports. In the other match County Council won 10-4 at home to Windows.

                                                                                                                    30-12-15

Frank Edy Funeral arrangements

We have been advised of the following details regarding the funeral. The service will take place at Taverham Church on Tuesday 5^th January at 10.30am and afterwards at Wensum Valley Golf Club for a buffet at 12 noon. Bowlers who are intending to be at Wensum Valley Golf Club after the funeral are asked to contact Sue Hunt on 01603-868093 or e-mail Sue at

 jimmy.hunt@talktalk.net

Frank Edy pictured in Norfolk Over 60s colours

Heroes halt the Bus run

First Bus remain top of the City of Norwich League but only just after Horsford Heroes ran out 12-2 winners when the teams met at St Faiths. Costessey took full advantage of the leaders slip-up by beating Jarrolds 12-2 and are now only one point behind First Bus in the table. Horsford Heroes are third six points behind the leaders but have a game in hand over both the top two teams. Thorpe Marriott have made a slow start fixtures wise and have four games in hand, their 14-0 maximum home win against Framingham Earl will send out a warning to the leading pack that they are on a roll. At the bottom end of the table County Council won 12-2 at British Rail while Sprowston Sports continue to get their season on track beating Deaf Sports 10-4.

Wymondham all the way

It is still looking like its going to be Wymondham retaining the Breckland League title after another massive win. It was no surprise that new-boys Shropham were unable to avoid a 10-0 home defeat as the far more experienced visitors put their foot on the gas with Jon Sparham winning 31-8 and Chris Mann winning 30-6. In their previous match Wymondham beat Harling Griffins 10-0 scoring 108 shots against just 18. Connaught “A” won 6-4 at Hingham where Lee Fallows’ triple won 18-12. Forncett were held to a 5-5 home draw by Harling Unicorns despite Peter Lock winning 22-9.

Halvergate unbeaten in Bure

Defending Bure League champions Halvergate top the table after an 8-2 win at Horsford BC where Simon Warnes’ triple won 19-9, David Lamb won 19-11 and Morgan Warnes won 15-8. East Tuddenham though are still in contention and will be pleased with a 9-1 home win against Thorpe Marriott in which Melvin Woods’ triple won 14-6, Chris Mann won 16-10 and John Turner won 14-11. Sylvia Turner’s triple salvaged a point for the visitors holding Robin Amos to an 11-11 draw. Thorpe Marriott fared better away to Windows where they won 8-2 with Tony Turner their most successful skip beating Mike Boswell’s triple 17-6 while Richard Perkins added a 17-11 win and Sylvia Turner won 14-10. Avril Walker scored Windows only win beating George Clarke 14-13. Windows also lost 8-2 at Hevingham where Maurice Kemp won 21-6 and Pat Williamson won 22-12. Mike Boswell scored Windows' only win beating David Sharpe 15-9. Woodbastwick beat Heroes 8-2 in a high scoring match that saw Lianne Mills win 25-13 and Peter Jablonowski win 20-2. Coltishall beat Horsford BC 8-2 with Margaret Harman winning 25-7 and George Munford winning 24-7.

Tight at the top in South Norfolk

Although Diss hold an eight point lead at the top of the South Norfolk League their two closest rivals each have a match in hand. Connaught are in second place after a resounding 10-0 home win against Saxlingham Nethergate in which Sheila Bragg produced a 19-11 win. Third placed Hempnall kept up the pressure with an 8-2 win at Horsford where Paul Baker’s triples 20-7 result was the best win of the night. Horsford returned to winning ways at Hingham where Sue Fox won 18-5 and Peter Fox won 21-7 in an 8-2 away win.

                                                                                                            23-12-16

Greenacre & Goldsmith win Norfolk County Pairs title

Kerry Greenacre of Haddiscoe & Selwyn Goldsmith of Kirby Bedon lifted their second county title of the season together after beating Wymondham’s Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye in an entertaining Norfolk County Pairs Final at Hingham Sports & Social Club. The Wymondham pair started brightly moving into an early lead against Greenacre & Goldsmith who had previously looked dominant throughout their previous games but in the final made a slow start. Despite struggling to find the pace of the mat they kept in touch of the confident Wymondham pair. On the penultimate end Sparham & Pye looked favourites to win three shots up and holding on the mat but Goldsmith took the jack through with a backhand wood to collect two shots. This left the Wymondham pairing just one shot ahead going into the final end. Despite Kerry Greenacre playing two good length bowls Debbie Sparham drew in two great woods behind the jack to hold shot. Goldsmith drew his opening bowl onto Debbie Sparham’s bowls to take shot but Jack Pye’s opening bowl was slightly wide of its intended target taking out both Debbie Sparham’s bowls. Selwyn Goldsmith then drew in on the forehand with his final bowl of the match to leave his pair holding four shots. With a Debbie Sparham bowl at the back of the mat Jack Pye attacked on the backhand with his last bowl and the young Norfolk Premier star looked to be dead on target. Unfortunately for Pye it glanced off one of Goldsmith’s woods and despite taking that bowl out of the head he failed to contact the jack and ran through leaving Kerry Greenacre & Selwyn Goldsmith holding three shots and a 9-7 win to earn them the Norfolk County Pairs title, their second county title victory together in three weeks. It was Kerry Greenacre’s first ever County Pairs title and Selwyn Goldsmith’s fourth County Pairs success after previously winning the title in 1997, 2003 & 2004 with Teresa Goldsmith. The third place play-off was won by defending champions Mikey George & Jon Sparham of Wymondham who beat Kevin Watson & Steven Lamb of Halvergate 15-9. In the semi-finals Greenacre & Goldsmith had eased their way to a 13-4 win against the Halvergate pair while Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye had beaten Mikey George & Jon Sparham 10-6 in an all Wymondham clash which pitted husband against wife. Wymondham’s Roger Steele & Hempnall’s Neil Davidson had been fancied by some but they went down 10-3 against the eventual champions in the quarter-finals. Other quarter-final results saw Kevin Watson & Steven Lamb beat Robert Howlett & John Turner 7-6, Debbie Sparham & Jack Pye beat Halvergate’s Donna & David Lamb 10-2 and Mikey George & Jon Sparham beat Owen Cranston & Chris Mann 14-0. It proved to be a perfect day for Kerry Greenacre & Selwyn Goldsmith as they won all their three group games against Jason & Melvin Woods of Bob Carter, Morgan & Simon Warnes of Horsford BC & Wymondham’s Billie & Melvyn Barker before winning their Last 16 match by 10-1 against Lee Fallows & Sheila Bragg of Connaught. Before the start of play bowlers observed a minutes silence in memory of Bob Carter’s Frank Edy who had passed away the previous morning.

                                                                                                              20-12-15

Kerry Greenacre & Selwyn Goldsmith

Jack Pye & Debbie Sparham

I.C.C knock-out rounds announced

The Inter-County Championship knock-out rounds have been announced and Norfolk Premier have been drawn to play West Sussex Premier on 31-1-16 and if they win will go on to face the defending champions Hampshire Premier in the quarter-finals on the weekend of 13/14^th of February. West Sussex Premier, just like Norfolk, finished the group stages unbeaten with three wins and a draw but finished in second place behind Kent Premier. Norfolk “A” has been unfortunate in the draw for their knock-out section. With nine groups of three teams this season two preliminary rounds have to be played to get down to the correct number of teams for the quarter-finals. While the runners-up of groups 1, 3, 4, 6 & 7 go straight through to the second preliminary round the runners-up from groups 2, 5, 8 & 9 all face an extra preliminary round on 31-1-16. The draw has paired Norfolk “A” with North Yorkshire who played in the I.C.C Premier section in previous seasons but this season dropped into the “A” Team competition. The winners of the Norfolk “A” v North Yorkshire match will meet West Sussex “A” on either 6-2-16 or 7-2-16. The venues of the games have yet to be announced.  

Rest in Peace Frank Edy

The NCSMBA is sad to learn that Frank Edy, of the Bob Carter Centre, passed away this morning. Frank was a long time Fixtures Secretary of the Carter club attending AGM’s and arranging league & cup fixtures for Carter. He also served on the NCSMBA Management Committee as Assistant Competition Secretary from 2004 to 2007. He first started playing short mat bowls for Taverham before switching to Bob Carter and was a member of a successful Carter team winning many championship and cup awards. The NCSMBA wish to extend their sincere condolences to Frank’s family as do the Bob Carter club. Funeral details will be published on this site when they are announced.

                                                                                                   Posted 19-12-15

Norfolk Over 60s celebrate at the Clocktower

Not far short of seventy Norfolk Over 60s bowlers enjoyed a three course Christmas Dinner at Castle Carvery. Norfolk Over 60s Organiser Teresa Goldsmith wished all Squad Members a Happy Christmas and made presentations to squad members for their work over the year for the Norfolk Over 60s that meet fortnightly at Hingham Sports & Social Club, compete in the Eastern England Over 60s League and also enjoy friendies and trips away organised by Teresa. Senior Squad member Geoff Payne thanked Teresa for the work she does on behalf of the Over 60s and made a presentation to Teresa, and NCSMBA Chairman Selwyn Goldsmith, for their work on behalf of the squad. A draw was made for a ticket for two to visit Potters Resort for one day of the World Bowls, which was donated to the Over 60s by Potters Resort, and this was won by Tony Oram of Wortwell. Some members arrived slightly late after being delayed by heavy traffic after an accident on the A11. Members were concerned to hear that Eddie & Joan Costello were unable to attend as Eddie had been taken ill and had been admitted to the N & N University Hospital at Colney.

          Graham Tweed, John Jarvis, Peter Fox, Sue Fox & Wendy Tweed at the Over 60s Xmas Dinner 

                                  Diane Halford, Diane Boswell, Keith Halford & Mike Boswell

                                                                         Its Christmas!