Jack Pye of Wymondham did his club and county proud as he powered his way through to the semi-finals of the SMPT Champions of Champions competition played at the Etheron Bowling Centre in Broadbottom near Hyde. The invitation only event saw both Jack Pye and Chris Mann of Wymondham in the starting line-up and both performed very well in the group stages. Jack Pye opened with a superb 12-10 win against Irish legend Gary McNabb and also added wins in his group against Joel Hager by 10-7, Jonathan Payne by 14-7, Stephen Proctor by 15-8 and James Trott by 12-6. His only defeat in the group stage was by 14-9 against Alex Kley but Jack easily qualified for the knock-out stage. Meanwhile Chris Mann lost his opening game by 8-6 against brilliant Welsh bowler Stephen Williams but recovered well to beat Benny Sjogren 14-5 and followed that up with another 14-5 win against Sibe Laureys. He also beat Sam Harvey 12-9 but lost his second group game against Ireland’s Gary Burke by 11-7. Chris Mann’s results were also enough to qualify him for the knock-out stage where he faced Gary McNabb. A terrific match followed that saw Chris Mann go out by just 12-11 against McNabb. Jack Pye’s first knock-out match was against Sibe Laureys who Jack defeated by 11-6. This saw him into the quarter-finals where he overcame Andrew Leckey by 12-8. This saw Jack Pye up against Gary McNabb in the semi-finals and the match was a classic encounter. McNabb drew first blood on the opening end collecting two shots but this drew an immediate response from Jack who levelled the game at 2-2. A single to Jack on the third end saw him take the lead at 3-2 and after six ends his lead was extended to 6-3 after a brilliant last wood. McNabb pulled two shots back on the seventh end but after nine ends Jack had moved 10-5 ahead. The two continued to trade bowl for bowl in a fascinating game and after a great final wood by Jack on the twelfth end he kept in front by 11-8. McNabb returned the favour with a great final bowl on the thirteenth end to finally level the game at 11-11 with two ends remaining. With a place in the final, and a £1,000 prize beckoning, tension was high. The last two ends saw both bowlers dig deep but it was McNabb who came out on top scoring a single on the penultimate end and another single on the last end to win 13-11 and gain revenge for his defeat to Jack Pye in the group stage. Never-the-less it was a superb performance by Jack Pye over the weekend as he, and Chris Mann, flew the flag for Norfolk in a brilliantly run competition. Some consolation for Jack Pye was the £450 prize for losing semi-finalists while Chris Mann won £180 for making the last 16 round. The final, with a £1,000 prize for the winner and £700 for the runner-up, was an all-Irish affair between McNabb and Mark Beattie who had beaten Ben Pay 16-11 in the other semi-final. Gary McNabb took control of the final on the early ends and led 9-4 after eight ends. After thirteen ends he had increased his lead to 14-6 on his way to a 15-7 win and the £1,000 prize money. The coverage of this event by the SMPT deserves special mention as they continue to show the National Associations the way forward for the sport of short mat bowls.
Jack Pye of Wymondham SMBC does Norfolk proud