Taylor Support Shropshire Premier Bowls League
Bottom two at home, Meole aim to close gap
The bottom two are both at home in week 23 of the Flowfit Shropshire Premier Bowling League as the race to avoid bottom spot and the dreaded playoff nears its climax. Bylet are one point behind Archibald Worthington but face the easier home tie this week as they take on 9th placed Bowring, but the visitors have won their the last 3 times they’ve been there. Bowring are also on a good run with a 12-2 hammering of Archie last week along with their narrow win over Burway the week before. Bylet though won their last home game against St Georges 9-5 so will be hoping they repeat the trick as Archie have a tough task taking on 4th placed Sir John Bayley. It’s been 10-4 the last four seasons, twice to Archie and twice to the Bayley so this game could go either way. The Bayley are competing for 3rd though so will be hoping for a big win to overtake St Georges, who face a tough trip to Wrockwardine Wood. Wrockwardine are also eyeing up 3rd place for their highest ever finish so this will be a hotly contested game being a local derby too. Away captain Tony Rhodes is “expecting a tough game this week as Stuart Clee has the Wrockites on a roll as of late and always appears to have them sharp for our visit whatever our league positions. However I was chuffed with the fight against Castlefields last week and have Glyn Picknell and Alan Palin back so hopeful of picking up a couple of points.”
5th placed Ifton also harbour hopes of a top three finish but with only one home game remaining, and that being against the champions, they will be looking for a win at 12th placed Hadley USC to keep their hopes up. They did get a good 6 there last year and will be hoping to take advantage of a weaker Hadley side this season, but who have produced better performances lately than their results suggest. Two teams that will be looking for a place in the top 6 are Castlefields and Burway, who are both on 158 points, and both meet each other at Queen Street in Shrewsbury. Home captain Keith Walton comments “after last Friday’s effort of 4 winners (at St Georges), which didn’t reflect the way we played, I fully expect the team to carry on performing in a confident manner with a good home win.” Away skipper Duncan Pressley is “looking forward to the game Friday, hopefully it will be dry, but it’s not a green where we’ve had much success on in previous years but we will go with our usual hope of picking up 4 or 5 games.” It’s been 11-3 the last two seasons they have met so both teams will be looking for a better result to move their way up the table.
At the top of the table Meole Brace will be hoping to take a sizable chunk out of Newport’s 19 point lead if they are to have any chance of winning the 2015 title. They take on Chester Road at home, who at 11th place are looking at their worse ever finish in the league. But they have scored 4 or 5 points there the last 5 years and Meole know they will have to improve on their result if they are to catch up Newport, who face a tricky tie to Wem USC. Wem were unbeaten for two years before their last home game, when Meole won there 9-5, and captain Mike Dulson is “looking for any home win as we know it will be a difficult task against the champions elect.”
Week 23 Fixtures:
Wem USC v Newport
Meole Brace v Chester Road
Archibald Worthington v Sir John Bayley
Wrockwardine Wood v St Georges
Hadley USC v Ifton
Castlefields v Burway
Bylet v Bowring