Taylor Support Shropshire Premier Bowls League
Wem make history, Wrockwardine edge thriller, Bayley win big
Wem USC made history as they won 10-6 at St Georges for the first time in the league’s history in week 1 of the Taylor Support Shropshire Premier Bowling League. Captain Andy Marshall said “we were delighted with the unexpected victory at St Georges. It started bad for us with two 8 losses (by best winners John Cooke and Kevin Keary) and Gareth Davies not scoring again from 16-12 up but I was 19-14 down and ran out which started the momentum shift. We had a strong middle with Colin Smith being the only loser against a very good Tony Rhodes. We continued the momentum in the back and just managed to get over the line for a very good win. We wish St Georges all the best for the rest of the season. They are a good bunch and no doubt bounce back.” Best winner for Wem was Sarah Weaver 21-6.
Wrockwardine Wood won a thriller 9-5 and by one chalk against Castlefields. Skipper Liam Stevens said it was a “brilliant opener, loved it from the first minute to the last – the game was on a knife edge throughout. Green was super difficult and the wind meant a lot of games weren’t pretty, but chuffed to have got over the line – it took a lot of hard graft against a brilliant side. A few top performances to pick out – Jon Palmer, Gary Neal (best winner 6 for Castlefields), Steve Broome (best winner 5 for Wrockwardine), Clay Flattley all superb. A few for me under the radar that made the difference though – Nathan Lacey scrambled to 15 from 10-20 right when we needed it, and Josh Cotton found a top bowl to get us over the line. Greg also managed to trouser a well earned tenner for his chalk by coming back from 12-20 to win. Biggest shoutout for me was Will Childs – 8-1 down against an absolute class act who nearly won our open. Played the green really smartly and got after a few to win when the game was turning against us. I said to the lads that any win would do before the game – chuffed to avoid an early banana skin.” Sir John Bayley gained an early advantage in the title race by winning 12-4 at Hanwood. Best winner was Stuart Rutter 9, with the home’s best being Dave Burton 16.
Bylet will be happy with 5 winners at Adderley, led by Jamie Wyer’s 10 win. Skipper Cheryl Caswell says “it’s a long season and you can’t read too much into week 1. However, as a team I think we are glad to have given them a match and on reflection, maybe could have nicked one or two more but credit to Adderley who dug in on a tricky green caused by varying weight changes.” Best winner for the hosts was Chris Stretch 7. Their rivals Horsehay got 3 winners at Meole Brace, with their best winner being Olly Harris 13. For Meole it was Julian Cooke and Mark Thomas best winners 6. Highley and Burway both won 10-4 over Hanmer and Ifton respectively. At Highley it was Danny Statham best winner 7 for the home side and Matt Beeston 12 for the visitors. Duncan Pressley was best winner at Burway for the home side 5 and Ian Jones best for the away side 12.
Click on date for full results
| Won | Agg | Pts | Home Team | Premier | Away Team | Pts | Agg | Won | H | A | CH | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 227 | 10 | Burway | V | Ifton | 4 | 188 | 4 | ✓ | |||
| 7 | 212 | 9 | Wrockwardine Wood | V | Castlefields | 5 | 211 | 5 | ✓ | |||
| 9 | 237 | 11 | Meole Brace | V | Horsehay | 3 | 163 | 3 | ✓ | |||
| 7 | 218 | 9 | Adderley | V | Bylet | 5 | 203 | 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 8 | 233 | 10 | Highley | V | Hanmer | 4 | 175 | 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 4 | 197 | 4 | Hanwood | V | Sir J Bayley | 12 | 242 | 8 | ✓ | |||
| 6 | 199 | 6 | St Georges | V | Wem U S C | 10 | 202 | 6 | ✓ |