Taylor Support Shropshire Premier Bowls League
Two derby days and two rivals battle
It is derby day in week 8 of the Flowfit Shropshire Premier Bowling League as two take place this week. Wellington rivals Bowring and Sir John Bayley meet, with Bowring coming off the back of 8 points on their travels from Newport and Chester Road, and will looking to improve on their last home game, a 9-5 defeat of Wem USC. Captain Rich Lawson says “it will be a stern test for us, they’re going well in the league and I’m sure they’ll be looking to get some kind of result. We are going to have to be at the top of our game against them. If we show the same application as last week then we should get a positive outcome. It should be a great match played in what I expect to be a lively atmosphere.” Sir John Bayley have quietly gone about their business this year and sit behind the leading pack in 4th place. Skipper Spencer Clarke comments “we head to Bowring where we will face a young vibrant side hungry for success and who have great team spirit so this will be a good test for the lads. I think we got 3 points there last season, and although they have strengthened, we will be looking to improve on this and keep our good run going. It might be billed as the Wellington Derby, but it’s just another match albeit I am sure there will be plenty of banter between the two sides.”
Over in Shrewsbury, or on the outskirts at least, Hanwood entertain rivals Meole Brace. The two have already met this year in the County Cup, with Hanwood progressing, but this game will certainly be different. Hanwood come off a good 5 at Hadley and hammering Chester Road 13-1 at home, but with the weather being more wet than dry this week, the green might be more suiting the visitors. But joint captain Mark Shore is relishing the clash as “this is the first of four Shrewsbury derbies this season which we are looking forward to. It’s well known that there are plenty of connections between the two teams with friends and family in both sides. That said we treat this game with same attitude to the others. Meole have plenty of quality players with vast experience on our green which we will have to respect and deal with. We will be without two key players in Greg Smith and Phil Lyttle who are both away on holiday but we have some quality home players to bring in to give Mark Thomas and his team headaches.” Meole Brace, apart from their 2 at St Georges, have done well so far this season and find themselves 3rd just behind the top two, and captain Mark Thomas is hoping their knowledge and the weather will help them. “Intriguing fixture, they are getting good results at the Cock Inn. Burty will be double cutting it to improve their advantage. Like most fixtures the draw could be important but we will be giving it our best to stay in contention at the top of the table!”
In Shrewsbury there is a clash between the two most successful teams in the league, 8 times winners Castlefields host 5 times winners St Georges, but neither have won the league since 2010. But St Georges are top of the league after their great 10-4 win at Bylet, and captain Tony Rhodes knows it is a “tough trip on Friday so again points are at a premium. Any points picked up will be a bonus.” Castlefields got a great 6 last week at previous leaders Ifton, and joint captain Callum Wraight will be looking to build on that. “We haven’t been playing badly but we have had one or two average results and one or two where we haven’t got quite what we’ve deserved. Perhaps the greens haven’t suited us because a lot of our lads like it when’s there a bit of run in them. We haven’t been able to get our home green as quick as we would like and that’s maybe why we’ve had one or two disappointing home results. St Georges are a good team and have improved on last year with the signings of Lewis Scott and Pete Grimston but we play better against the better teams. Last year when we played in the County Cup we played the top two teams in Newport and Meole Brace on neutral greens and demolished them both. And last week we were away to a top side in Ifton and had our best result of the season, without a shadow of a doubt. On our day when we all play together as a unit, we will take some stopping.”
2nd placed Ifton look to bounce back from a few disappointing results when they travel to Wem USC. Wem though have picked up since their opening day defeat to Hadley USC, beating Burway 11-3 at home last time out, and will be looking for another win to take them off bottom spot. Ifton will be hoping to bounce back from their 3 at Bylet and regain some momentum that they had the first few weeks. Bylet will be looking to improve from their 10-4 home loss to St Georges last week when they travel to Wrockwardine Wood. The Wrockites have done well at home though, beating Chester Road and Hadley USC 11-3, and apart from getting 6 there in 2012, Bylet haven’t got the best of records there. Hadley USC just sit above Wem USC in bottom spot and will be hard pressed to avoid going back there as they travel to Newport. Newport had their best home result of the season last game, beating Bowring 11-3, and will be hoping to kick on again and start beating teams well like they have done in previous seasons. Chester Road host Burway who come off a good 11-3 home win against the champions last week, but Chester Road beat the champions 13-1 a few weeks back and will be hoping for a performance like that rather than the opening day defeat against St Georges. Burway have done alright away from home, 4 at St Georges and Hanwood and 3 at Wem USC, but will be looking to improve on their best score of 4 in Whitchurch to build on that impressive home win last week.
Week 8 Fixtures:
Bowring v Sir John Bayley
Hanwood v Meole Brace
Castlefields v St Georges
Newport v Hadley USC
Wrockwardine Wood v Bylet
Wem USC v Ifton
Chester Road v Burway