Lively week at Hurst culminates in thriller
Billingshurst Bowling Club
gave a very warm welcome to Southwick for their friendly afternoon match under very cloudy and cool conditions.
Southwick turned up with a very strong and talented side and after five ends were seven shots ahead.
However, Billingshurst were not going to just make up the numbers and by tea after ten ends, the home side had turned the game around and lead by five shots. With some excellent play by both sides, Billingshurst kept their lead to the end and won by seven shots, 66-59.
Scores: Sonia Redman, Robert Daykin, Geoff Weller (L) 13-22, Roger Moore, Marion Clark, Alan Knight (W) 17-13, Ray Sutton, Chris Laker, Alan Readshaw (W) 16-10. Top rink: Carole Neal, Barry Gilbert, Ray Neal (W) 20-14.
Billingshurst then travelled to the South Coast for a friendly match at the Marine Gardens green which they found tricky and difficult; home advantage certainly was the order of the day here.
After five ends the visitors found themselves 10 shots a drift, however with a couple of fives just before tea managed to end the first session just five shots down.
But Marine Gardens refreshed and regrouped pushed on, even with the untimely intervention of a local seagull, who wanted to be part of the action could not come to Billingshurst’s aid. The final score was 83-59 to
Marine Gardens.
Scores: Roger Moore, Marion Clark, Ray Neal (L) 8-27,Eddie Stevenson, David Deles, Robert Daykin (L) 15-23, Linda Stevenson, Barry Gilbert, Alan Readshaw (L) 14-2. Top rink: Carole Neal, Chris Laker, Geoff Weller (W) 22-9.
Billingshurst Bowling Club’s final competition, The Betty Weir Trophy, took place on a bright sunny afternoon.
The Betty Weir Trophy is awarded to the player with the most woods within a yard of jack brought out some excellent and accurate bowling by all the competitors taking part. With the field split into two groups and each player
playing 18 ends.
Winner of Group A, Barry Gilbert scored 37 shots, while winner of Group B, Robert Daykin scored 39 shots.
A close call final played over six ends between the two, saw Robert Daykin run out the winner 16-14.
Billingshurst welcomed The Drive, based in Brighton, to their green, in what turned out to be a most enjoyable, but very competitive game.
Mixed fortunes across the three rinks with one home rink up 15-1 and two rinks down 0–10 and 8-23 at various stages of the proceedings.
Surprisingly, at tea after ten ends the home team were just two shots ahead.
The topsy-turvy match continued after tea, with a final shot win on one rink, a comeback for the away side on another and a valiant rear-guard action effort on the third.
The final outcome a small victory by six shots to the visitors, winning 51-57.
Scores: Marion Clark, David Delves, Alan Knight (L) 14-27, John Lucas, Barry Gilbert, Ray Neal (W) 14-13. Top rink: Carole Neal, Alan Readshaw, Robert Daykin (W) 23-17.
It was extremely hot when Horsham Park Bowls Club played away and were roundly defeated by East Grinstead last Wednesday.
After their recent winning streak, Park were brought down to earth and never got off the ground, losing on all three rinks and by 51 shots, 27-78.
The Park bowlers found the unpredictable green difficult to master, which definitely favoured the home team.
Park’s only rink to scrape into double figures was skipped by Phil Claridge who still lost by 15 shots, 11-26.
Both Park’s other rinks lost by 18 shots, Wood’s team 7-25 and Banfield’s team 9-27.
The weather continued its warm spell when Park returned to winning ways on Saturday.
Park, playing away at Bramley, won on only one of the three rinks but were still able to win by 12 shots, 55-43.
The win was due to Park’s top and only winning rink which was skipped by Phil Claridge, who with David Turley and Beryl Noble, started well and continued in the same vein, scoring well, and winning by 25 shots, 29-4.
David Peters with Brenda Thompson and Marie Davies had a much closer game. They were ahead by a shot at the half-way point but then went down seven shots over the next three ends. They then came slowly back, but couldn’t quite close the deficit, losing 18-19.
Park’s third rink, skipped by Bryony Wood, were behind from the start and lost by 12 shots, 8-20.