Taylor Support Shropshire Premier Bowls League
We have a look back at the last two finals of the Alan Mayhew Trophy which involved both teams in the 2024 finals.
2023:
Sir John Bayley won their second Alan Mayhew Trophy as they ended Castlefields’ 5 year unbeaten run in this competition. They were always ahead in the game, and held off any fightback the Fields tried to put together on a tricky Chester Road green with brown and green patches. They led by 18 off four, but the Fields reduced this to 9 after eight games off, however Josh Hale then dealt the decisive blow when winning 6, which earned him the “Mark Burroughs Man of the Match” award. Please find a review of the games below:
- Scott Simpson raced 15-3 up on Tom Palmer, including a run of five 2s, in the corners, before Tom got back to trail 17-9. However Scott then ran out.
- Alex Jones raced 16-6 up on Dave Peach on round pegs, but Dave played well on a 20m straight mark to lead 17-16. However Alex got the jack back and ran out.
- Ash Gregory, replacing the unfit Paul Evans, trailed Glyn Herbert 6-3 but then went 14-9 up. He kept this lead till the end to win 18.
- Wayne Rogers always held the advantage over Chris Worthington when going 9-4 and 15-9 up, but Chris kept pegging him back and from 20-15 down got back to 20 across, but Wayne managed to get the one he needed.
- Gary Neal went 9-0 down against Dave Lloyd, before then going 13-9 up. Dave got back to 14-13 down before Gary ran out.
- Stuart Rutter was 7-3 down against Hayden Lewis before he went 12-7 up over the middle. He further extended his lead to 17-9, but Hayden got back into the game at 18 across. Despite this, Stuart then ran out.
- Adie Rowe had a good start to lead Ayden Smith in the corners around 14-6, before Ayden got back on a 20m straight mark and got himself back into the game. Adie got the block and went back corners but Ayden got back to get 19.
- Andy Judson had a close game with Spencer Clarke, the biggest lead being 13-9 before Spencer got back to 13 across. Andy then went 20-16 up before Spencer got back to 19.
- Josh Hale played well on a round peg and then over the middle to lead a not 100% Jon Palmer 8-3, and Jon couldn’t put a run together to peg him back, Josh eventually winning 6.
- Kane Beaman trailed Russell Pugh 9-3 and 15-8 before coming back well to lead 18-16. Russell then scored two 2s but Kane got out 20 in the next two ends.
- Tom Roden played very well in the corners to be 9-4 and 16-5 up, before winning 7 against Adam Jones.
- Owen Evans went 9-4 up over the middle against Mark Taylor, and then 14-8. Mark tried to get back at him but Owen kept his lead to win 18.
Captain Dave Lloyd said “this was my first final as captain and it’s great to win a trophy. Commiserations to Castlefields, they pushed us and I’m sure they will do so in the league for the rest of the season.”
Thank you to Chester Road for providing a challenging green and a great selection of food after the match. Thank you to Tony Weaver for refereeing, Barlows for sponsoring the event, and to Alan Mayhew for his continued support for this competition.
| No | Castlefields | Score | Score | Sir J Bayley |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Palmer | 9 | 21 | Scott Simpson |
| 2 | Dave Peach | 17 | 21 | Alex Jones |
| 3 | Glyn Herbert | 18 | 21 | Ashley Gregory |
| 4 | Wayne Rogers | 21 | 20 | Chris Worthington |
| 5 | Gary Neal | 21 | 13 | David Lloyd |
| 6 | Hayden Lewis | 18 | 21 | Stuart Rutter |
| 7 | Adrian Rowe | 21 | 19 | Ayden Smith |
| 8 | Andrew Judson | 21 | 19 | Spencer Clarke |
| 9 | Jon Palmer | 6 | 21 | Josh Hale |
| 10 | Russell Pugh | 20 | 21 | Kane Beaman |
| 11 | Adam Jones | 7 | 21 | Tom Roden |
| 12 | Mark Taylor | 18 | 21 | Owen Evans |
| Games | 4 | 8 | Games | |
| Aggregate | 197 | 239 | Aggregate |
2022:
Castlefields created more records in the 25th final of the Barlows Fire & Security Alan Mayhew Trophy as they won it for the 9th time overall and became the first team to win it three times in a row.
They were never behind after Mike Beer raced to a 21-5 win over Dave Lloyd on the longer marks, despite Rich Goddard being 10-2 down and Adie Rowe being 10-1 down for them early on. Both players got back into their games with Rich getting 14 in a high quality game with Clay Flattley, and Adie using his green knowledge to get back to 18. Paul Williams also had to fight back from 12-5 down versus Alex Jones, who excelled on the shorter marks, using the corners to his advantage to win 20. So Castlefields led by 7 after four games off.
Russ Pugh had a good start to lead Ant Bracken 10-4 but then trailed 12-10. However he regrouped, and was able to win 17. Jon Palmer and Scott Simpson was the best game of the night, with both going for the corners early doors before Jon changed up the length. There was never much in it, with Jon just being ahead, before a late run at the end by Scott Simpson across the middle earned him a 16 win and the “Mark Burroughs” man of the match award. Andy Judson was ahead most of the game against Gareth Herbert, but a late run by Gareth in the corners meant he run out from 19-16 down. Graham Wall was 7-2 down early on but managed to change up the good length Nick Wyer had early on and got back into the game and actually led near the end before Nick managed to get out 18. This meant the Bayley had closed the game to just 1 chalk after eight games off.
Callum Wraight was number 9 and he raced out of the blocks to lead 13-0 on his usual 20m marks. Kane Beaman managed to get in and matched him from then on in but couldn’t put a run together as Callum won 7. When he came off Carl Wear trailed Michael Cooper 14-7 and the other two games were level so it was still all to play for. But joint skipper Adam Jones put together a great run to go from about 10-7 down to run out against Kevin Hocknull in the corners to seal victory for the Fields. Carl Wear had got back into his game and led 19-16 before Michael won 20, while Kevin Price and Jamie Wyatt were 10 across before Jamie had a run to win 15.
Well done to Castlefields on their success, and commiserations to Sir John Bayley on just losing out but were part of one of the best quality finals the league has seen. Thank you to Meole Brace for hosting, doing the refreshments and the raffle. Thank you to Mike Potter for refereeing, measuring and taking photographs. Thank you to Barlows Fire & Security for sponsoring the competition once again, and to Alan Mayhew for attending tonight and continuing to support the competition.
| No | Castlefields | Score | Score | Sir J Bayley |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Beer | 21 | 5 | David Lloyd |
| 2 | Paul Williams | 21 | 20 | Alex Jones |
| 3 | Rich Goddard | 14 | 21 | Clay Flattley |
| 4 | Adrian Rowe | 18 | 21 | Chris Worthington |
| 5 | Russell Pugh | 21 | 17 | Ant Bracken |
| 6 | Jon Palmer | 16 | 21 | Scott Simpson |
| 7 | Andrew Judson | 19 | 21 | Gareth Herbert |
| 8 | Graham Wall | 18 | 21 | Nick Wyer |
| 9 | Callum Wraight | 21 | 7 | Kane Beaman |
| 10 | Adam Jones | 21 | 10 | Kevin Hocknull |
| 11 | Carl Wear | 19 | 21 | Michael Cooper |
| 12 | Kevin Price | 15 | 21 | Jamie Wyatt |
| Games | 5 | 7 | Games | |
| Aggregate | 224 | 206 | Aggregate |