Senior Inter League History

Since the format changed to an 8 a side one day format back in 2009 the Premier League have entered a team in it most years. It wasn’t until 2016 that they finally got their hands on the John Bowers Trophy (pictured below).

2023

Our Senior Inter League team lost out in the groups of this year’s competition. We lost to Whitchurch B by 39 chalks in their first game, Josh Cotton and Tom Roden the two winners 16 and 20. In their second game, we had 7 winners, the best of them Chris Jones 7, as we beat Market Drayton by 56. Whitchurch B won their game against Market Drayton but lost out to their A side in the Final by 12.

Thank you to all 8 players for representing our league today, and to Cheryl Caswell for captaining the team.

Full results are here.

No	Whitchurch B	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Premier League
1	Mike Gilpin	16	16	21	21	Joshua Cotton
2	Tommy Lowndes	37	21	9	30	Michael Wainwright
3	Ben Hinton	58	21	11	41	Reece Farr
4	Joseph Killen	79	21	13	54	Steve Broome
5	Chris Stretch	100	21	20	74	Chris Jones
6	Edward Proudlove	121	21	12	86	Cheryl Caswell
7	Robin Bennett	142	21	16	102	Martin Gaut
8	Dave Ellison	162	20	21	123	Tom Roden
	Games		6	2		Games
	Aggregate		162	123		Aggregate
	Points		2	0		Points

No	Market Drayton	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Premier League
1	Ryan Wrench	16	16	21	21	Tom Roden
2	Jordan Warburton	29	13	21	42	Martin Gaut
3	Emma Broad	42	13	21	63	Michael Wainwright
4	Iain Wilson	57	15	21	84	Steve Broome
5	Paul Edgerton	65	8	21	105	Joshua Cotton
6	Richard Proudlove	72	7	21	126	Chris Jones
7	Jan Wakefield	93	21	12	138	Cheryl Caswell
8	Josh Bailey	103	10	21	159	Reece Farr
	Games		1	7		Games
	Aggregate		103	159		Aggregate
	Points		0	2		Points

2022

FInal – Saturday 27th August

The Salop Leisure Shropshire Premier Bowling White team upset the Blue team to claim the 2022 Senior Inter League Trophy. They stormed ahead early in the first four, with three winners out of the four. Mike Wainwright, who earned player of the match, was 11-9 up on Pete Farmer before virtually running out to win 12. Josh Cotton was always up on Glyn Wellings, finishing the game off in the corners to win 10, while Phil Jones had a great game with Pete Grimston, leading 9-2 before holding off a comeback to win 19. Darren Wellings was the only winner for the holders, having a close game with Cheryl Caswell before winning 20. Into the back four and Ash Wellings added another win to Darren’s for the Blue team, winning 17 against Rob Burroughs after three consecutive 2s in the middle of the game made the difference. Chris Worthington had raced 9-2 up on Jon Lyttle, and Wayne Rogers was 10-3 up for the Blues as the fightback looked on. But Jon got back against Chris, and went 15-13 up and then ran out from 18-16 down, while Martin also came back at Wayne to lead 13-11 and win 19. Mark Thomas was always ahead on Kane Beaman, leading 7-1 and 15-6, and won 14.

Well done to the White Team on their win. Thank you to Local Print Pros for providing the shirts and sponsoring the teams. Thank you to Wem USC for hosting and providing food, and to Mike Potter for running the night.

Pictures will follow in the next few days.

No	Premier League Blue	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Premier League White
1	Peter Farmer	12	12	21	21	Michael Wainwright
2	Darren Wellings	33	21	20	41	Cheryl Caswell
3	Glyn Wellings	43	10	21	62	Joshua Cotton
4	Peter Grimston	62	19	21	83	Phil Jones
5	Ashley Wellings	83	21	17	100	Rob Burroughs
6	Chris Worthington	101	18	21	121	Jon Lyttle
7	Kane Beaman	115	14	21	142	Mark Thomas
8	Wayne Rogers	134	19	21	163	Martin Gaut
	Games		2	6		Games
	Aggregate		134	163		Aggregate

Semi Finals – Saturday 23rd July

Both Premier League teams won tonight to make it a repeat of the 2019 Senior Inter League final. The Blue side beat Whitchurch A with Ash Wellings, Scott Simpson and Chris Worthington best winners 9. The White side defeated Whitchurch B by 57 with Mike Wainwright best winner 6.

Well done to both teams on winning. The two teams will meet in the final on Saturday 27th August.

No	Premier League Blue	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Whitchurch A
1	Darren Wellings	12	12	21	21	Martin Lloyd
2	Ashley Wellings	33	21	9	30	Alan Purcell
3	Scott Simpson	54	21	9	39	Carl Hinton
4	Peter Farmer	75	21	12	51	Mark Holland
5	Glyn Wellings	96	21	10	61	Ben Hinton
6	Kane Beaman	112	16	21	82	Kerry Dance
7	Chris Worthington	133	21	9	91	Phil Scott
8	Wayne Rogers	154	21	10	101	Scott Moseley
	Games		6	2		Games
	Aggregate		154	101		Aggregate

No	Premier League White	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Whitchurch B
1	Mark Taylor	21	21	16	16	Phil Jones
2	Aaron King	42	21	9	25	Jamie Brookes
3	Keiran Buckley	63	21	15	40	Liam Jones
4	Michael Wainwright	84	21	6	46	Chris Elsbury
5	Phil Jones	105	21	17	63	Matthew Beeston
6	Jon Lyttle	126	21	11	74	Will Brookes
7	Cheryl Caswell	147	21	13	87	Richard Proudlove
8	Martin Gaut	165	18	21	108	Will Childs
	Games		7	1		Games
	Aggregate		165	108		Aggregate

1st round – Saturday 25th June

Our two Inter League teams comfortably got through tonight at Donnington Wood on two heavy greens with just one loser in each game. The Blue team won by 55 over Mid Shropshire B with Scott Simpson winning 6 to and from the crown and Glyn Wellings 7 as our two single figure winners. The White team beat the Market Drayton League by 59 with Kieran Buckley winning 3 in the corners after being 17-0 up with Cheryl Caswell also using the corners to her advantage to win 7 last on.

The draw for the Semi Finals on 23rd July is on Thursday.

We were able to wear our new blue and yellow shirts thanks to our team sponsor Local Print Pros, we thank them and Steve Reeves for their support.

No	Mid Shropshire B	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Premier League Blue
1	Anthony Roche	7	7	21	21	Glyn Wellings
2	Will Ohara	24	17	21	42	Darren Wellings
3	Pauline Wilson	37	13	21	63	Ashley Wellings
4	Tony Garmson	52	15	21	84	Peter Farmer
5	Steve Downs	58	6	21	105	Scott Simpson
6	Peter Millington	76	18	21	126	Chris Worthington
7	Rob Clarke	90	14	21	147	Wayne Rogers
8	Les Mumford	111	21	19	166	Kane Beaman
	Games		1	7		Games
	Aggregate		111	166		Aggregate

2019

There was a change in format of the competition with ties being 8 a side still but at a neutral venue in a knockout style. We entered two teams, who both reached the final.

Final

The Premier League Blue Team edged home in the Senior Inter League Final as they beat the White team by 16. But it wasn’t as easy as the score suggests, as the White team led by 8 after 5 games off. The first four saw the White team come out the blocks the quickest, Rob Fuller and Rob Roden led 8-3 and Dan Taylor was 8-4 up. But the blue team got to grips with the green and got back into their games. Wayne Phillips had a 9 break against Rob Roden to go 12-8 up, while Glyn Wellings got back to 10 across with Rob Fuller. Darren Wellings led Liam Stevens 10-7 for the blue team before Liam got up to the crown and went 13-10 up in singles. Darren got back to 17 across but then Liam ran out. Glyn Wellings also ran out from 15-13 down to give the Blue team an early lead, with Scott Simpson edging out Dan Taylor 19 in a good quality game being cancelled out by Rob Roden beating Wayne Phillips 19. So after four the Blue team led by 2.

Into the back four and after a slow start Martin Gaut led 13-7 before Ash Wellings got back to 13-11. But Martin then ran out, meaning the White team led by 8. However Tom Roden was playing very well to be 12-3 up in the corners, but Aaron King had Pete Farmer 13-8 and playing well, and Jamie King led Keith Wall 11-9. But Keith then went 16-11 up on Jamie, and Pete edged his way back to 15-12 down against Aaron. Tom maintained his lead with Darrell not managing to hold the block, and won 8 to put the blue team 5 up. At this stage Jamie King had got back to 17-16 down against Keith Wall down an edge and had led a foot bowl, while Pete now led Aaron 19-15, meaning the Blues needed two to win. Keith played Jamie out first bowl, and then Jamie went through the gap trying to return the favour. Keith then played another perfect bowl to leave himself two and win the game for the Blue team. Keith got out next end to win 16, and Pete won 15, to mean a 16 shot win for the Blue team.

Tom Roden won the man of the match award.

Thank you to the Bowring for hosting and preparing a perfect surface for the match, and thanks to Marg Fletcher for putting on an excellent spread afterwards. Thank you to County President Mike Beckett for putting on the live scores and for doing the Presentation. Also thank you to Jamie King for running the White team this season.

No	Shropshire Premier Bowling Blue	Agg	Score	Score	Agg	Shropshire Premier Bowling White
1	Darren Wellings	17	17	21	21	Liam Stevens
2	Glyn Wellings	38	21	15	36	Rob Fuller
3	Scott Simpson	59	21	19	55	Dan Taylor
4	Wayne Phillips	78	19	21	76	Rob Roden
5	Ashley Wellings	89	11	21	97	Martin Gaut
6	Peter Farmer	110	21	15	112	Aaron King
7	Keith Wall	131	21	16	128	Jamie King
8	Tom Roden	152	21	8	136	Darrell Handley
	Games		5	3		Games
	Aggregate		152	136		Aggregate

Captain Rob Burroughs receives the trophy off County President Mike Beckett.

Man of the Match Tom Roden with County President Mike Beckett.

The two teams before the final.
The Blue team – back from left: Keith Wall, Pete Farmer, Scott Simpson & Tom Roden.
Front from left: Wayne Phillips, Darren Wellings, Glyn Wellings & Ash Wellings.
The White team – back from left: Martin Gaut, Aaron King, Jamie King & Rob Fuller.
Front feom left: Darrell Handley, Dan Taylor, Rob Roden & Liam Stevens.

The two captains, Rob Burroughs and Jamie King.

Semi Finals

We have two teams that have reached the Shropshire Senior Inter League final on Saturday 24th August. Both teams won their Semi Finals comfortably at Old Shrewsbury, but the White side did have a slight scare against Mid Shropshire A. They had three winners in the first four, led by Dan Taylor winning 10, meant a 19 shot lead. But Aaron King and Martin Gaut were both 12-2 down in the back four, but both hit back to get 19, and with our other two players winning it meant a win of 25 overall. The Blue team had an easier time against Whitchurch B, winning by 40 overall with 7 winners. Glyn Wellings was the best of those seven winning 9 in the first four.

Well done to both teams and they will clash at a venue announced soon and most likely in the Telford area.

Full scores are below:

Whitchurch B	Score	Score	Shropshire Premier Bowling B
Andrew Davies	13	21	Darren Wellings
Jamie Brookes	9	21	Glyn Wellings
Will Tyler	21	20	Scott Simpson
Connor Whitehall	12	21	Stuart Rutter
Scott Moseley	18	21	Ashley Wellings
Matthew Beeston	17	21	Wayne Phillips
Jack Hewitt	19	21	Peter Farmer
Tim Jordan	18	21	Tom Roden
Games	1	7	Games
Aggregate	127	167	Aggregate

Shropshire Premier Bowling A	Score	Score	Mid-Shropshire A
Jamie King	21	18	Harry Church
Liam Stevens	17	21	Richard Lawson
Rob Roden	21	12	Phil Craggs
Dan Taylor	21	10	Simon Oldcorn
Darrell Handley	21	13	Michael Cooper
Aaron King	19	21	Steve Lampitt
Rob Fuller	21	19	Phil Jones
Martin Gaut	19	21	Cheryl Caswell
Games	5	3	Games
Aggregate	160	135	Aggregate

Quarter Finals

Both of our Senior Inter League teams got through the 1st round last night. The White team were comfortable winners over Shropshire Ladies with 6 winners. Rob Fuller led the way with a 4 win in a 41 shot win. The Blue team had a tougher time against Whitchurch A as they only led by 1 after four, with the two Wellings leading the way, Glyn 11 and Darren 13. Four winners in the back though, led by late reserve Tom Roden’s 9 win, meant a 25 shot win.

Both teams move into the Semi Finals on Saturday 29th June.

Shropshire Ladies	Score	Score	Shropshire Premier Bowling White
Sarah Weaver	12	21	Rob Roden
Sally Clee	18	21	Liam Stevens
Sian Skelton	13	21	Dan Taylor
Molly Sullivan	21	20	Martin Gaut
Wendy Jones	15	21	Aaron King
Jodie Rutter	15	21	David Lloyd
Angela Gaut	4	21	Rob Fuller
Jackie Rutter	21	14	Jamie King
Games	2	6	Games
Aggregate	119	160	Aggregate

Whitchurch A	Score	Score	Shropshire Premier Bowling B
Mike Dulson	21	9	Scott Simpson
Paul Smith	11	21	Glyn Wellings
Ian Macdonald	13	21	Darren Wellings
Carl Hinton	21	16	Stuart Rutter
Dave Hanson	18	21	Wayne Phillips
Scott Thomas	14	21	Ashley Wellings
Martin Lloyd	19	21	Peter Farmer
Neil Boxall	9	21	Tom Roden
Games	2	6	Games
Aggregate	126	151	Aggregate

The Blue team before their Quarter Final game. Back from left: Pete Farmer, Scott Simpson, Rob Burroughs (non-playing captain), Ash Wellings & Stu Rutter.

Front from left: Darren Wellings, Wayne Phillips, Tom Roden & Glyn Wellings.

2018

We withdrew our teams due to a last minute change in the competition.

2017

The Salop Leisure Shropshire Premier Bowling League retained their Senior Inter League Crown after coming through an almighty scare in the Semi Finals, just like last year! They comfortably got through the group stages with 3 wins out of 3, before having to rely on captain Jamie King to steer them past Whitchurch in the Semi Finals, and then facing the Ludlow League in a repeat of last year’s Final.

The Premier League Blue team had no trouble in the groups on Bowring non premier green, first beating the Tanners Shropshire League team by 26 with 6 winners, Paul Reeves the best of them winning 11. They then faced Shropshire Ladies and had 7 winners, Dave Burton leading with a 21-11, and then beat the Mid Shropshire Friday team by 14 with 5 winners, Dave Lloyd the best with a 21-9. After taking the trip to St Georges top green, they faced the Whitchurch League full of Premier League players. Rob Fuller was first off beating Martin Lloyd 14, making full use of a 13-4 start, but they were 3 down off the first three cards. Dave Lloyd 21-9 win at number four in 13 ends meant they led by 9 and Mark Taylor’s 17 win but them 13 up. But Paul Reeves trailed 11-4 and 17-10, before coming back to get 15, while George Williams led 19-15 after trailing 11-6, but didn’t score again. This meant they led by 5 with Jamie King going on, having to score 17 to win the game. He led 9-6 in the corners before Adrian Smout fought back and led but at 15 across Jamie was just one end away from winning the game. However Adrian played two good ends in the corners and had two bowls two foot away next end. Jamie played up and managed to rest the nearest bowl to score one, then played a great lead down an edge next end and followed it up with a bowl a foot behind. Adrian fired but missed meaning they had gone through despite Adrian then running out.

In the final and it was the Ludlow league again, the same as last year. They played their two county players in the first four and they both won, but Rob Fuller came back from 17-12 down to get 19 off Wayne Rogers and Scott Harries from 15-9 down to get 15 off Kiah Roberts. The other two cards produced winners, Dave Lloyd recovering from 15-12 down to win 16 and player of the match Rob Roden winning 12 from 11-8 down on straight marks. So into the back four they led by 7. Into the back four and Mark Taylor played well over the middle and up to the crown and back to win 13, with Jamie King playing well corners to triumph 14 and seal the match. George Williams came back from 11-6 down to win 16 and Paul Reeves won 15 to cap off a second straight triumph for our league.

The other Premier League failed to get through their group by 23 shots after losing to the Wem League in the first game by 15, Ash Wellings the best of their 3 winners 11. In the second game against the Mid Shropshire Thursday side and they had 7 winners with Colin Beaman and Tony Rhodes the best winning 11. They knew they needed a big win last game against the Market Drayton Seniors team but two losers meant they only won by 34, Craig Wilson the best of the winners 7.

Full results are here.

Well done to the Blue team for winning the Senior Inter League today, especially Jamie King for doing an excellent job in place of regular captain Rob Burroughs. A big thank you to the three clubs who held the competition today, and those who helped feed and water all the players, officials and supporters, and who did the raffle. Thank you to Mike Potter for refereeing the Semi Final and Finals, and to St Georges for doing the buffet at the end of the day. Also thanks to Mike Beckett for doing the online system and entering the results throughout the day.

2016

The Flowfit Shropshire Premier Bowling League today made history by winning the Shropshire Inter League for the first time. We breezed through the group with 3 wins out of 3 but then had to come through a thriller against the Market Drayton League by just 5 chalks in the Semi Finals before beating the Ludlow League in the final by 36.

Game 1 vs. Shropshire Ladies (won by 34)

We played the Shropshire Ladies team first today and had 7 winners to win by 34 overall. Darren Wellings led us off well winning 13 from 11-7 down and then Sam Millward 13. Wayne Phillips recovered from 15-10 down to win 19 and Stuart Rutter winning 14 from 13 across sealed the win. Dave Lloyd ran out from 19-14 down and Tom Roden won 13 last on to seal a comfortable win.

Scores:

Darren Wellings 21-13 Sally Clee
Colin Beaman 21-17 Clair Barker
Sam Millward 21-13 Louise Cotton
Wayne Phillips 21-19 Jodie Rutter
Stuart Rutter 21-14 Karen Bennett
George Williams 16-21 Cheryl Caswell
Dave Lloyd 21-19 Ange Gaut
Tom Roden 21-13 Holly Bishton
Premier League 163-129 Shropshire Ladies

Game 2 vs. Mid Shropshire 2 (won by 13)

We played the Mid-Shropshire team next consisting mostly of Premier League Players and beat them by 13. Darren Wellings gave us a great start winning 7 and Colin Beaman won 12 from 9-4 down to give us a lead of 23. But Jamie King was superb in beating Wayne Phillips 8 to put them back in the game but Dave Lloyd ran out from 16-15 down. Stuart Rutter then won 18 to extend the lead to 18 and after Sam Millward won 13 it was all over despite the two last losers.

Scores:
Colin Beaman 21-12 Matt Rhodes
Darren Wellings 21-7 Dave Brown
Dave Lloyd 21-16 Chris Worthington
Wayne Phillips 8-21 Jamie King
Stuart Rutter 21-18 Ian Gaut
Sam Millward 21-13 Martin Williams
Rob Roden 11-21 Martin Gaut
Tom Roden 18-21 Jamie Fletcher
Premier League 142-129 Mid-Shropshire 2

Game 3 vs. Whitchurch League (won by 36)

We played a winner takes all game with the Whitchurch League, who had also won 2 out of 2, but knew a narrow loss might also put us through as best runner up. But we went for the win and Darren Wellings gave us a great start winning 12 but we were only 1 up after 3 before George Williams won 12, Sam Millward 14 and Rob Roden 11 to win us the game before Tom Roden’s 8 win gave us a big aggregate victory, which ultimately meant the Whitchurch League didn’t go through as best runners up, which was a massive boost to us because they would have been dangerous on the Wem USC green.

Scores:
Darren Wellings 21-12 Clay Flattley
Colin Beaman 19-21 Neil Boxall
Stuart Rutter 15-21 Martin Lloyd
George Williams 21-12 Colin Smith
Sam Millward 21-14 Carl Hinton
Rob Roden 21-11 Ian McDonald
Tom Roden 21-8 Derek Wright
Dave Lloyd 17-21 Adrian Smout
Premier League 156-120 Whitchurch

Semi Final vs. Market Drayton (won by 5)

We were drawn against the Market Drayton League in the Semi Finals and knew they would be strong given they had beaten the holders the Wem League in the groups. We struggled to adapt to a heavy Wem USC green with Darren Wellings and Dave Lloyd both 15-9 down. But both battled back well with Darren winning 19 and Dave getting 17 and with Colin Beaman winning 12 we had a 7 shot lead. Sam Millward also struggled with the pace but battled back to 17 but Stuart Rutter won 16 to put us 8 up. With the last three on it didn’t look to good, with Tom Roden 15-7 down and Rob Roden 12-8 down with George Williams only 11 across. But Rob raised his game to eventually win 20, and with Tom and George both having a good run, Tom back to 18-14 down and George 17-13 up it meant we needed just 2 to win the game. But Tom didn’t score again so it was left to George, and when his opponent got back to lead 18-17 it didn’t look to promising. But George beat a 2 foot lead down the edge and then put one on the block next end second bowl to get to 20 and win us the game before getting out 18 next game to win us the game by 5.

Scores:
Darren Wellings 21-19 Chris Stretch
Colin Beaman 21-12 Jamie Brookes
Dave Lloyd 17-21 Connor Whitehall
Sam Millward 17-21 Cedric Bancroft
Stuart Rutter 21-16 Matt Beeston
Rob Roden 21-20 Gary Whitehall
George Williams 21-18 Matt Blackhurst
Tom Roden 14-21 Ian Atherton
Premier League 153-148 Market Drayton

Final vs. Ludlow League (won by 35)

Into the final and we played the Ludlow League who were made up of all but one of Burway’s Premier League side. Wayne Rogers beat Stuart Rutter 14 at number 1 but it was one way traffic for the rest of the first four as Colin Beaman won 13, Dave Lloyd 15 and Darren Wellings 18 to give us a 10 shot lead. Into the back four and Sam Millward played two marks exceptionally well to win 8 and the man of the match award and with George Williams winning 12 on his mark we had won the trophy! Tom Roden won 15 and Rob Roden got 18 to seal a 35 shot win overall and allow non-playing captain Rob Burroughs to receive the trophy from Mike Caddick for the first time ever!

Scores:
Stuart Rutter 14-21 Wayne Rogers
Darren Wellings 21-18 Adam Dovey
Colin Beaman 21-13 Nick Lewis
Dave Lloyd 21-15 Len Lewis
George Williams 21-12 Steve Burmingham
Sam Millward 21-8 Chris Dovey
Rob Roden 18-21 Kev Dovey
Tom Roden 21-15 Jolyon Partridge
Premier League 158-123 Ludlow League

On behalf of the Flowfit Shropshire Premier Bowling League I would like to thank non-playing captain Rob Burroughs and the players for bringing the trophy home for the first time and proving we are the best league in the county, as well as those supporters who came to watch. Would also like to thank the Wem League and especially Liz Taylor for running the competition so well and efficiently, as well as Deputy President Mike Caddick and referee Mike Potter and to Wem Sports and Wem USC for hosting us so well.

We celebrated our Senior Inter League triumph at our Presentation Evening by giving each of the players and our non-playing Captain Rob Burroughs a medal to celebrate our inaugural success. 5 of the 9 players were present to receive their medal from County President Phil Scott, with pictures below:

Tom Roden (Sir John Bayley)

Rob Roden (Bowring)

Dave Lloyd (Bowring)

Stuart Rutter (Wrockwardine Wood)

Colin Beaman (Meole Brace)

Non-Playing Captain Rob Burroughs receives the trophy.

The squad show off their Inter League shirts with their new badges embroidered by Get Branded. From left: Stuart Rutter, Dave Lloyd, Tom Roden, Rob Burroughs (captain) & Colin Beaman.

2015

The Flowfit Shropshire Premier Interleague team dipped out to the Wem League by 11 shots in the semi finals, this after beating the same team by 24 in their last group game to get through as the best runner-up by 1 shot!

We started off by playing the Market Drayton Seniors team and we had to play well to beat them by 26 after only being 9 up off four. Dave King 21-14 and Rob Burroughs 21-11 provided a good start and once Darren Wellings got 19 from 15-4 down it meant that we still had our noses in front despite Aaron King getting 15. Dave Lloyd 17, Ian MacDonald 20 (from 15-6 down), Craig Ashley 14 and Rob Roden 16 meant we won comfortably in the end.

Full scores:

Premier League vs. Market Drayton Seniors

Dave King 21-14 Pat Davies
Darren Wellings 19-21 Pam Forrester
Rob Burroughs 21-11 Ian Acton
Aaron King 15-21 June Edwards
Dave Lloyd 21-17 Roy Franc
Ian McDonald 21-20 Ray Foster
Craig Ashley 21-14 Pauline Mellor
Rob Roden 21-17 Frank Hodgkin

Totals 160-134

Premier League won by 26

In the second game we faced the Whitchurch League A side, who had lost to the Wem League by 25 in their first game. We didn’t get off to a good start as inspired bowls by Carl Hinton and Colin Smith meant they beat Dave King 14 and Rob Burroughs 10 respectively. But Rob Roden led the comeback beating Derek Wright 15 on marks to the crown and back and Craig Ashley beat Martin Lloyd 12 on a round peg to put us back in it. Ian McDonald though lost 20 from 20-17 up but Aaron King won 20 to cancel this out and then Dave Lloyd won 14 to put us 3 up with Mark Thomas just starting his game. But Paul Bradley played incredibly well over the middle to lead 19-7 and despite Mark Thomas getting back to 14 in the corners it was too late as Paul got the two he needed to win the game for Whitchurch by 4.

Premier League vs. Whitchurch League

Rob Burroughs 10-21 Colin Smith
Dave King 14-21 Carl Hinton
Rob Roden 21-15 Derek Wright
Craig Ashley 21-12 Martin Lloyd
Ian McDonald 20-21 Paul Latham
Aaron King 21-20 Adrian Smout
Dave Lloyd 21-14 Steve Rogers
Mark Thomas 14-21 Paul Bradley

Premier League 141-145 Whitchurch League

In the final group game we knew to win top spot from Wem we would have to win by 40, but also knew that a good win would seal second place and give us a good chance of being the best runner up. We had a great start against the Wem side, despite 18 from Dave King as Rob Roden played some great bowls to win 11, Rob Burroughs won 14 and Darren Wellings won 15 playing to and from the middle of the green. After Craig Ashley came off losing 16 we were 15 up so had to play well to win the group. But Aaron King was 18-9 up, and Ian McDonald about 12-6 up gave us hope but the wem league fought back to gain the shots they needed. Aaron won 17 and then Mark Thomas 18 to leave us 22 up with Ian McDonald 15 across. At this time Whitchurch had beaten the Market Drayton Seniors by 66, meaning they had an aggregate of 45. At that moment we had an aggregate of 44 with Ian left on, so it meant he had to win 19 for us to go through as best runners up. At 17-16 down it didn’t look good but Ian then led 20-17 in the corners before his opponent Mark Shore got in. Mark then chucked the block off so Ian returned to his favoured corners and then put a wood about a foot away from the block for game. But Mark then ran the jack through to leave his wood a foot away but Ian played a perfectly weighted wood which unfortunately ran into the back of Mark’s leaving the game 20-19. But fortunately Mark played two poor bowls last end and Ian won the game and took us through by a single shot!

Premier League vs. Wem League
Dave King 18-21 Sam Millward
Darren Wellings 21-15 Rich Lawson
Rob Roden 21-11 Phil Emery
Rob Burroughs 21-14 Carl Preece
Craig Ashley 16-21 Danny Wornell
Aaron King 21-17 Lee Bowden
Mark Thomas 21-18 Mark Selley
Ian McDonald 21-19 Mark Shore

Premier League 160-136 Wem

Table:
Wem League Won 2 Agg +76
Premier League Won 2 Agg +46
Whitchurch League Won 2 Agg +45
Market Drayton Seniors Won 0 Agg -167

The semi finals were on the other green at Prees and we drew Wem again in the semis.

Rob Roden soon found himself 15-4 down but battled back to 13 which Aaron King virtually cancelled out over the middle in winning 14. Dave King then won 17 to put us ahead before Darren Wellings got 12 to leave us 7 down. Rob Burroughs edged out Danny Wornell 19 to close the gap and with Dave Lloyd 15-8 up it looked like we might take the lead with Craig level. But Mark played some good woods on a round peg against Craig to win 14 and when Dave won 17 it meant we were 7 down with Ian McDonald just going on against John Lumsden, which he had to win 14 for us to go through. But John never let him get away and won 17 to give the Wem League a 11 chalk win.

Premier League vs. Wem League
Aaron King 21-14 Sam Millward
Rob Roden 13-21 Phil Emery
Dave King 21-17 Carl Preece
Darren Wellings 12-21 Rich Lawson
Rob Burroughs 21-19 Danny Wornell
Craig Ashley 14-21 Mark Shore
Dave Lloyd 21-17 Mark Selley
Ian McDonald 17-21 John Lumsden

Premier League 140-151 Wem League

The Wem League beat the Tanners league by 2 in the Final to win the interleague.

I would like to thank on behalf of the Flowfit Shropshire Premier League the captain Mark Thomas for leading us all day and getting the side together, all the players for representing the league and supporting and marking, and to BBranded for providing us with shirts for the first time meaning we had an all together look.

The team picture is below:

Back from left: Ian McDonald (AWC), Dave Lloyd (Bowring), Aaron King (Bowring), Rob Roden (Bowring) & Craig Ashley (Wem USC).

Front from left: Rob Burroughs (Hadley USC), Darren Wellings (Meole Brace), Mark Thomas (Captain, Meole Brace) & Dave King (St Georges).