The latest Mid-Cheshire bowls news and results

I SKIPPED a feature Friday night game so that I could go and watch the Cheshire Merit.

The first two games on were just to qualify for the last 16 – Jon Gurney beat Ben Holbrook 21-11 and Owen Cookson beat Mark Winnington 21-12.

Full results from the competition below;

Last 16: Owen Cookson 21-13 Jon Gurney, Andy Hamman 21-9 Noel Burrows, Kevin Duncalf 21-20 Jamie Bramley, Lee Johnstone 21-1 Gerald Merry, Lee Fletcher 21-14 Ashley Blackburn, Danny Nixon 21-14 Anthony Garwood, Tom Vickers 21-18 Glynn Cookson, Ben Phillips 21-17 Robert Winnington.

Quarter-finals: Owen Cookson 21-15 Andy Hamman, Lee Johnstone 21-15 Kevin Duncalf, Lee Fletcher 21-16 Danny Nixon, Tom Vickers 21-16 Ben Phillips.

It was at the semi-final stage we lost our last two Mid-Cheshire bowlers – Owen Cookson and Tom Vickers – as they lost to Lee Johnstone and Lee Fletcher respectively, with both matches finishing 21-17.

The two Lee’s had both played well all day and had a close match in the final, with Johnstone winning the Cheshire Merit just four days after his Dad Tommy had won the Cheshire veterans Merit.

In the Mid-Cheshire League, Crewe PO were the biggest scorers in the Premier – playing at home, Crewe had nine winners against Owley Wood A to take the match 207-116. Their best winner was David Bamford, who won 21-3.

Comberbach A hosted Shavington A, with the home side taking best advantage to win 201-162. Comberbach bowler Jon Gurney (21-7) had their best win.

Kingswood BC had eight winners – the best of which was Bernard Mclean at 21-5 – against Castle Sports B to take the match 195-155 while Castle Sports A also had eight victors in their 192-110 victory over Rudheath A, with Neil Ocego’s 21-3 win the best of them.

Frodsham Red Lion A had a rare home loss as Victoria A, with six winners, won the match 180-167. Victoria’s Stuart Sutton (21-7) had the best win.

Newly promoted Barnton CC A had two winners in their home match against Wharton Bowls Club A, but Wharton won the match 197-136 – Mathew Worde’s 21-1 win was the best on the night.

It all meant Wharton A stayed top of the league with Victoria in second and Castle A third, but the trio are separated by only 51 points.

In Section One, Castle Sports C had a home victory against Moulton RBL A, with the final score being 169-137. Moulton bowler Mark Woodyatt and Castle bowler Steve Wakefield shared the best win at 21-4.

Rudheath Bowls B made the journey to Castle Sports D and the home team, with eight winners, won the match 201-148. Castle bowler Richard Cain had the best win at 21-5.

Wharton Bowls Club B had a home match against Castle Sports C and had eight winners in their overall 208-143 victory while Crosstown won 196-151 against Barnton CC B. Crosstown bowler Dave Rogerson shared the best win with team member Bob Downs at 21-8.

Owley Wood B had nine winners in their 195-153 home victory against Frodsham Red Lion B, for whom Peter Dolan (21-6) had the best win of the night.

Victoria B had six winners including 21-8 victor Andy Moore in their home match against Meadowbank A, which they won 190-151 while Moulton RBL A bested Comberbach B 186-155.

In Section Two, both Comberbach C and visitors Helsby B won five games each but it was the hosts who won 182-161 thanks in part to James Williams’ 21-4 win, but Davenham A were much more convincing against their visitors Kersall as Bob Floyd and Bob Griffiths both won 21-7 in their 208-134 victory.

The theme of home wins continued throughout the section with Middlewich RBL A beating Tarporley A 207-145, Owley Wood C winning 204-158 against Davenham B and Fern Villa A claiming a 187-141 win over Sandbach Park A.

Section Three saw some tighter games, with Wharton Rec A and Owley Wood D both winning five matches each in a 181-155 win for hosts Wharton, but Barnton C’s trip to Crowton was even closer still.

Despite having only four winners, it was Crowton who claimed a narrow 171-168 victory.

Elsewhere, there was a win on the road for Fern Villa B – 187-139 at Tarporley B – while Winnington A were also victorious away from home as they won 187-156 at Meadow Bank B.

Section Three’s two other games saw the home sides take the spoils – Winnington B beat Cuddington 190-155 while Shavington B were 166-155 victors over Delamere.

Five of the six games in Section Four ended in home victories, albeit three of them were close affairs.

Rudheath C had seven winners to beat Comberbach D 189-172, while Davenham C beat Owley Wood E 183-160 in a contest that saw both teams win five games each.

Davenham D were edged out 180-162 by hosts Castle C but the other two home wins were much more dominant – Hartford A beat Barnton D 203-126 while Sandbach Park B were 200-136 winners over Hartford B.

The only away win came from Moulton RBL B, who won 161-142 at Norley thanks in part to Nickolas Gardner winning his match 21-1.

Meanwhile, it has been another busy week in the Mid-Cheshire Ladies League.

Division One saw Lady Owls A edge out Moulton in a very close game, with June Collins’ 21-7 win aiding an overall 138-132 victory while Norley’s clash with Winnington Ladies was also close – despite a 21-5 win for Winnington’s Andrea Bell, it was hosts Norley who won the match 137-129.

Red Lion’s unbeaten run continues after Nicola Boulton’s 21-3 win helped them to beat Castle 162-106 while Barrow were 161-102 winners over visitors Barnton B.

In Division Two, there was a dominant away win for Crowton as Linda Roberts’ 21-2 win helped them to a 165-89 victory at Hartford while Bostock also won on the road – Sandra Martin (21-5) was their best performer in a 138-119 win at Rudheath C.

Marilyn Lloyd’s 21-3 win was Rode Heath’s best in their 152-105 home win over Cuddington while Lady Owls B edged out Davenham 151-142 with Jane Price (21-11) their top performer.

Mid-Cheshire Federation vs Furness

After a week of trying to get two teams out for Mid-Cheshire, we were lucky enough to have some new bowlers stepping in for us.

Our away team went to play at Lindal – one of the trickiest bowling greens – and unsurprisingly, we lost the first eight games before Cedric Bancroft gave us our first win and soon after, Nick Walker gave us a second.

Our away team captain reported there was great team spirit and everyone gave their all. The standout bowlers were the two winners and Craig Burbonaux and Kevin Saywell.

Away results as follows with Mid-Cheshire bowlers listed second;

Barry Lowden 21-4 Mark Ball, Chris Irvine 21-20 Craig Burboneaux, Paul Thompson 21-15 Simon White, David Jones 21-8 Martin Simcock, Mike Hool 21-10 George Riley, Zach Walker 21-11David Steer, John Reilly 21-15 Chris Cooper, Tommy Richardson 21-15 Darren Kerr, Sam Brannon 20-21Cedric Bancroft, Billy Harding 16-21 Nick Walker, Darren Mountford 21-4 Andy Booth, Liam Howard 21-17 Kevin Saywell

First of all, the Federation would like to thank Wharton Cons for offering us a green in great condition and for support around the green.

With knowledge of the away team playing on Lindal, to have any chance of winning the match we would have needed ten or eleven home winners, which was a tough job seeing how many county players they sent.

Having said that, there was standout bowling by the Mid-Cheshire side on the day, notably the three bowlers who won to single figures.

Results below, Mid-Cheshire players listed first;

Jamie Bramley 21-17 Ethan Lowden, Matt Thurlwell10 -21 Sam Blackstone, Kevin Duncalf 21-5 Dave Leach, Paul Drinkwater 21-5 Steven Waugh, Jake Bramley 18-21 Reuben Macpake, Graham Donnelly 21-8 Graham Law, Chris Morris 21-14 Jack Harris, Darran Beardmore 21-18 Harry Preston, Nick Hamman 11-21 Paul Knott, Darren O Hanlon 19-21 Kristian Ogilvie, James Gurney 21-19 Tony Whitehouse, Dave Bamford 21-16 Adam Miller