Bat & trap

A sudden death bowl out was needed to decide the Festival Cup first round tie between holders Evenhill Crusaders A and 2012 winners Dover Castle. Evenhill eventually clinched victory and a place in the semi-finals after the original bowl out had ended 2-2. Castle’s Lee Fitzgerald had hit 31 runs in the opening leg, while Crusaders Andy Mitchell claimed four traps. In an all-premiership clash, Littlebourne reached the last four with a 2-1 win over league champions Golden Lion. Division 2 side Kestrels beat Two Brothers 2-1 and Smugglers B won their match with Broomfields Huntsman and Horn by the same margin. In the Premiership, the 2016 big guns clashed with Artichoke A beating Golden Lion A. Alan Hopkins batted up 20 runs and took five traps in just nine bowls, while Kevin Cooper hit 23 and Scott Goldup 17. Catholic Club beat Littlebourne Rec 2-0 and Dove Inn B overcame Dover Castle 2-0 to continue their good early season run. In Division 1, Black Pig and the Castle A drew 1-1 as there were no traps in their bowl out. Pig’s Keith Stout hit 30 runs with team-mate Dave Garrett taking three traps. Lee Coombes hit 19 runs and Steve Smith took four traps in 10 bowls but it was to no avail as the Gentil Knyght B lost 2-0 to the Smugglers B for whom Shane Wilson was man-of-the-match. Castle B were indebted to Tim Field’s 60 runs in the first leg as they beat Red Lion B in Division 2. Only two games were played in Division 3 with Golden Lion C (Mick O’connor 42 not out) defeating Artichoke B 2-0 and Evenhill Crusaders B beating Dove Inn A 2-1.