2022 Finals Day

Sunday 18th September saw Bilton Bowling Club hold its Competitions Finals Day. The day started for the Club, founded in 1926 the same year as the birth of our late Monarch & Patron of Bowls England Queen Elizabeth II, with a minute silence in remembrance of our late Queen.

The day started slightly overcast with an autumnal chill in the air as the 5 Finals of the morning session got underway. 

The Finals played in the morning were Ladies 91 Up, Gentleman’s Scotter Cup, Ladies 2-Wood Singles Cup, Gentleman’s Handicap Cup, and the Mixed Pairs Cup.

The Ladies 91 Up Final was contested between Pat Dahlgren & Lai Parsons. With 10 points available each end between the 4 nearest woods to the jack it kept the Marker, Sarah Harding, on her toes. The scoring starting off evenly over the first 5 ends. Ends 6 and 7 saw Pat take a hold of the match as she took 9 and 10 points from the two ends. This made the score after 7 ends 51 – 19. The remaining 8 ends that were played saw Pat and Lai share the points evenly between them though the large gap Pat had built up proved too much for Lai to overturn, Pat winning the match 93 – 57.

The Gentleman’s Scotter Cup Final was played between two of the elder statesmen of the Club, Derek Lines & Warren Cox, with the Marker being the Gentleman’s President, Richard Stocking. Played to the first to 21 shots, both players started off slowly over the first 3 ends picking up a single or a double. Ends 3 to 7 saw Warren unable to gain the shot wood and Derek built up a lead of 8 – 2. Warren hit back in end 8 taking a full house of 4 shots. He continued this good vein of form in ends 9 to 11 overturning Derek’s lead and taking a four shot advantage (12 – 8). Derek hit back in the next 2 ends taking 3 shots each end so regaining the lead (14 – 12). Warren, undeterred, took a single shot on each of the next 2 ends to level the score (14 – 14). This mini comeback by Warren sparked Derek into overdrive and he took shots off the next 4 ends and ran out Winner 21 – 14. The Gentleman’s President, Richard Stocking, would like to apologise to the spectators that he inadvertently mis-led them by having the match score the wrong way round on the scoreboard! 

The Ladies 2-Wood Singles Final was contested between Elaine Cresswell & Sandra Harrison, with the Marking being undertaken by Margaret Kinder. Played over 21 ends it is vital that Players find their rhythm quickly as a match can soon run away from you. Sandra was the player who found her rhythm first, building up a lead of 7 – 2 in the first 6 ends. Sandra built on this lead over the next 6 ends to make the score 14 – 2. With ends running out Elaine rallied and took shots on the next 5 ends. This made the score 14 – 9 after 17 ends. Sandra then took a single shot on the 18th end to make the score 15 – 9. This left Elaine with the uphill task of scoring two shots on each of the remaining 3 ends to level the score. It was not to be as Elaine could only pick up a single shot on the 19th end. This meant that Sandra was the victor 15 -10.

The Gentleman’s Handicap Cup Final was played between Martin Sandwell & Richard Pope, with the Marking Duties being carried out by Dave Harrison. This competition is the first to 21 shots whilst taking into account the Players handicap score. In this match Martin started on 0 with Richard starting on -4. It took 2 ends for Richard to clear his handicap, so from the start of end 3 both players were level 0 – 0. Martin built a 4 shot lead over ends 3 and 4 (4 – 0). Richard then started a run of scoring on the next 7 ends that took him into a big lead 17 – 4. Martin made a valiant effort at a comeback reducing the lead to 17 – 11 over the next 3 ends. It was not quite enough and Richard won the match 21 – 11 on the 16th end.

The Mixed Pairs Final was a contest between Helen Scott & David Winn against Colin Marsden & Pauline Lines. This Final was played over 21 ends. This was an unusual Final as both Ladies were playing with different partners to their earlier rounds. The first 7 ends of this match were low scoring as all the players settled into the match and became used to their partners style of play. Colin & Pauline holding a one shot lead 6 – 5. The next 5 ends saw Helen & David click as a team and they built up a healthy lead 18 -6. From this point Colin & Pauline dominated the match and the next 6 ends saw them regain the lead with some heavy scoring 22 – 18. With the game delicately poised with only 3 ends remaining Helen & David managed 1 shot on the19th end to make the score 22 -19. This was their last shot scored in the match and Colin & Pauline scored 3 shots on the final two ends to take the Final 25 – 19.

Two of the Finals which would have been played on the day had to be played prior to Finals Day to accommodate those players that had reached more than one final. These were the Ladies Pairs Final & the McPhee Cup Final.

The Ladies Pairs Final was played on the afternoon of Saturday 17th September between Pat Dahlgren & Pauline Lines against Lai Parsons & Denise Judge. The match being played over 18 ends.  Pat & Pauline built up a lead of 6 shots over the first 9 ends, 11 – 5. The next 3 ends saw shots shared making the score 12 – 7 to Pat & Pauline. It was at this point in the match that Lai & Denise found their game hats and the momentum started to swing their way.  Ends 13, 14, & 15 saw Lai & Denise score ten unanswered shots to take a lead 17 – 12. End 16 saw Pat & Pauline score four shots to make the score 17 – 16. Lai & Denise then took three shots on the final 2 ends to win the match 20 – 16.

The McPhee Cup Final was played on Tuesday 30th August between Martin Winn and John Greer, with Sam Bridges being the Marker. By all accounts this was a closely contested match with both players taking the lead throughout the early ends. As the game neared its close John kept his nerve and triumphed 21 – 15.

Earlier in the Season the gentlemen held their 2-Wood Singles Competition Day. By all accounts an enjoyable day was had by all competitors. Sam Bridges was crowned 2-Wood Champion, with Tony Edwards a gallant runner up.

The 4 afternoon Finals got under way with sunshine bathing the Green, though it did cloud over as the matches progressed. The four matches contested were, Gentleman’s Pairs, Ladies President Cup, and the two main contests of the Ladies Singles Championship and the Gentleman’s Singles Championship.

The Gentleman’s Pairs was played between Peter Winn & Richard Pope versus Derek Lines & John Greer. This match was played over 21 ends. The first 6 ends saw the scoring evenly distributed with Peter & Richard holding a one shot lead, 7 – 6. Ends 7 and 8 saw Peter & Richard extend their lead to 13 – 6. The next 3 ends Derek & John closed the gap to 13 – 12. In a close fought game ends 12 to 18 saw the two sides share shots which meant that Peter & Richard had a one shot lead, 18 – 17. The final 3 ends saw Derek & John pick up one shot , whilst Peter & Richard gained three shots. This gave Peter & Richard a hard earnt victory 21 – 18.

 The Ladies President’s Cup Final took place between Sheila Wragg & Christine Cox, two of the newer lady members. Sandra Harrison was Marker for this match. This match was played to the first to 21 shots. Christine started the game in fine form and after 9 ends had built up an impressive lead, 14 – 2. Sheila fought back over ends 10 to 13 to cut the deficit to 14 – 7. Ends 14 & 15 saw Christine back in charge, gaining 4 shots to extend the lead again to 18 – 7. With the target of 21 shots near to being reached by Christine, Sheila rallied again and ends 16 to 19 saw her take 5 shots to Christine’s one, making the score 19 – 12. End 20 saw Christine make the two shots required to gain victory, 21 – 12.

The Ladies Singles Championship was played between Denise Judge and Elaine Cresswell. The Marker was the Ladies President Helen Scott with the assistance of Sheila Hussey. This match was played to the first to 21 shots. Elaine started the better of the two players and after 7 ends had Denise in trouble at 10 – 3. Denise, with her years of experience did not panic and over the next 4 ends fought back to reduce Elaine’s lead to one shot, 10 – 9. Ends 12 to 19 saw the ladies trading shots which led to the scores being tied at 14 each. At this point Denise took the match over, and over the next 3 ends scored the 7 shots required to win 21 - 14

The Gentleman’s Singles Championship was contested between Martin Winn and Colin Marsden. The Gentleman’s President, Richard Stocking was the Marker for this match. This match was played to the first to 21 shots. Colin started off by taking a 4 – 0 lead after 2 ends. Martin then came back with a string of shots over ends 3 to 5 to lead 9 -4. Colin then took a single shot off each of ends 6 & 7. This made the score 9 – 6 to Martin. Ends 8 to 11 saw shots being shared between the two players with Martin maintaining his slender lead 11 – 9. At this point Martin came to the fore and over the next 6 ends restricted Colin to one shot, whilst scoring 10 for himself. This gave Martin a resounding victory 21 – 10 and meant that he had retained his Champions title from 2021. 

All 9 Finals produced some fine bowls and kept the spectators engrossed throughout the day. The Tombola also entertained the crowd with various mystery prizes being talked about.  It was a fitting finale to the Season.

The Ladies & Gentleman’s Presidents (Helen & Richard) would like to congratulate all the Winners and commiserate with the Runners Up. They would also like to Thank all the people who worked tirelessly in the background to make the day the success it was. Another Thank You to all the Members who came to spectate, your support to the players was appreciated.

Following this report ...
- Gallery of Finalists and Winners - click on photo to see caption
- Results Table
- Gallery of photos during play