Archive | Match Reports

This home fixture saw the County narrowly losing to Gloucestershire by 18 Points to 22 ( 181 shots for Worcestershire and 186 shots for Gloucestershire )

In the morning session there were wins in the Singles for Richard Rose ( 17-12 ) and Richard Payne ( 11-10 ). Richard Payne won 10 of his 15 ends win Richard Rose winning 9. Unfortunately both pairs teams lost.

Session 2 saw both Triples teams losing but there was a narrow win for Richard Hulbert’s Fours team by 9 shots to 8, and a draw by Ben Mole’s Fours ( 8-8 ).

In session 3 Richard Rose was denied a hard fought win when his opponent snatched an equalising shot with his last bowl of their match. The second Singles match together with the Pairs were lost.

In the final session of the day both Triples won, one of the Fours teams also won with only a narrow 9-11 defeat for the second Fours team. Mark Bourne’s Triples team only lost three ends of their thirteen end match to romp home 17-3 winners. Pete Hopkins with his Triples team also had a comfortable win by 13 shots to 6. Ben Mol’s Fours team were narrowly leading 5-4 with three ends remaining in the match, and then went on to win two of those three ends – each by 5 shots – to become worthy winners 15-5.

A summary of the day’s results is set out below :

West Midlands visited Bromsgrove on the 25th September for Worcestershire’s first home fixture of the season. The West Midlands team was  much stronger than the one the County faced just a week previously at Solihull. In what turned out to be a disappointing match for the County, a strong performance by West Midlands saw them winning by 28 points to Worcestershire’s 12.

The first session saw the County losing the Singles and Pairs matches, but with the Pairs only narrowly losing.. In the second session both Triples teams lost with the only win at the half way stage being achieved by Terry Clifford’s  Fours team, with a 11-10 victory. In the afternoon ( third session ), the County fared slightly better with a convincing Pairs win by Trish Clifford and Richard Rose by 19 shots to 5 against.. Phil Thompson and Jim tingle also won their match, this time by 11 shots to 10. In the fourth session Mark Bourne’s Triples team won comfortably 15-6 and Alan Walters’ Fours team also had a convincing 14-7 victory.

A summary of the results is shown below.

The County’ first match of the season saw them playing away against West Midlands at their home venue of Solihull Indoor Bowls Centre. The West Midlands Premier team were also playing which created an interesting and vibrant setting.

The match was evenly fought with both the County and West Midlands having notable successes. It could have gone either way with the County looking forward to a narrow win only to be denied in the final match of the day. Although the County’s shot score was greater than that of West Midlands  – 193 to 187,  – West Midlands narrowly won the match with 21 points against the County’s 19, having won 8 of the individual matches to the County’s 7 with one drawn.

Session 1  –  Singles and Pairs.

Richard Payne’s delivery on his way towards two match wins..

Richard Payne was in fine form leading throughout his Singles match  –  helped occasionally by his opponent’s mistimed firing shots.

Richard comfortably won his match 21-11.  Pete Hopkins  –  returning to the Worcestershire squad after a lengthy absence – stared his singles match well, leading for the first half. Unfortunately his opposite number eventually overtook this lead with Peter ending up losing 8-14.  The pairs could not find their form with both teams losing.

Session 2  –  Triples and Fours.

The County performed well in this session with two wins, one draw and only one loss 8-9. Mark Bourne’s triples team won in convincing style by 17 shots to 5, with Malcolm Saunders’ team also winning comfortably by 13 shots to 9. In the Fours Terry Clifford’s team narrowly lost 8-9 , with Jim Tingle’s Fours team drawing 9-9

Session 3  Singles and Pairs.

Richard Payne continued his winning ways, again leading throughout his match, to win by 16 shots to 10. Peter Hopkins, in a very hard fought match, narrowly lost 11-12.

In the Pairs Jim Tingle swapped places with Keith Mills and together with Phil Thompson had a very commanding 19-9 win. Richard Rose and Trish Clifford recovered from a slow start but could not quite get a win losing 10-15.

Phil Thompson and Richard Rose get underway in their respective Pairs matches.

Session 4  –  Triples and Fours

Malcolm Saunders Triples team had their second win of the day, with a notable 18-7 victory over their opponents. Mark Bourne’s team only lost by two shots in a close 12-14 finish. In the Fours Terry Clifford’s team had a very convincing 15-5 win with  Tony Crowley’ team losing 6-16.

A summary of the County’s results is set out below.

The County were drawn against Surrey “A” for the preliminary round of the 2016 knockout series. This match was played at Daventry on the 31st January 2016, with the County narrowly losing by 18 points to Surrey’s 22.

During the morning session there were three wins for the county  –   In the Singles Jim Tingle, after a slow start, played a consistently strong game to win by a comfortable margin of 13 shots to 7. There was a very decisive win by Mark Bourne’s Triples team by 18 shots to 4, and a relatively comfortable win for Malcolm Saunders Triples team by 10 shots to 7. At the half way stage of the competition Worcestershire were trailing by 6 points to 10.

The afternoon session saw comfortable wins by Richard Payne ( Singles ) – 13 shots to 8, and by Johnathon Smith/Anthony Ruddy ( Pairs ) – 14 shots to 6. Mark Bourne’s Triples team was in devastating form winning their second match of the day by 22 shots to 6. The only other success during the afternoon was Richard Danks’ Fours team winning by 11 shots to 6.

The final result was a narrow win for Surrey who scored 22 points with Worcestershire on 18 Points. Surrey’s total shot score was 187 compared with 170 for Worcestershire.

The results for each of the disciplines are set out below :

The County hosted Gloucestershire “A” at Bromsgrove on the 19th December in this friendly fixture to determine the inaugural winner of the Two Shires Trophy. – the first leg was  at Churchdown in September. The trophy, pictured below after presentation to the Gloucestershire squad, was donated by the County Captain of the  Worcestershire Squad, Richard Payne, and will be competed for on an annual basis.

The County lost this second leg match by 10 points to 30 resulting in an overall win for Gloucestershire by 58 points to 22. The second leg shots tally was 156 for Worcestershire and 224 for Gloucestershire. Worcestershire were disappointed by the scale of this defeat even if it was against a strong Gloucestershire squad. Notable successes in the morning session for Worcestershire were Jim Tingle’s 18-9 win in the Singles, Richard Dank’s Fours team ( including Carole Arnold, Margaret Powell, and Tony Crowley ) winning by 10 shots to 8, and Terry Clifford’s Fours team ( including Jenny Gibbs, Ann Hough, and Ben Mol ) who won comfortably by 18 shots to 4. In the afternoon session the only county win was by Terry Clifford’s Fours team ( again ) who won by 9 shots to 5.

After the match the Two Shires Trophy was presented to the Gloucestershire  squad and photographs of both squads were taken to mark this inaugural event.

Gloucestershire receive the Two Shires Trophy 19th December 2015

Both Counties look forward to next season’s competition with Worcestershire seeking to achieve a different outcome.