The above picture of the Harrison Park greens was kindly provided by Shane Farden who is a member of the Warwickshire County Parks Bowling Association.

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Wirral & District C.G.B.A. Team Competitions 2012

We Welcome the North Wirral Bowling League to our Website

(click on the link in the table above to access their page)

B.C.G.B.A. registration cards can be acquired at £6.00 each from
The Merseyside County Registrar, Margaret Gard, 37 Okehampton Road, Liverpool, L16 6AY
Tel: 0151 722 2938

Updated 19/05/2012 16:16

Weather Wallasey

Saturday May 19th

League Results

All the results we have in from this weeks League matches have now been updated along with the League tables. The results and league tables can be accessed via their respective links in the table above.

Saturday May 19th

Wallasey News Cup Draw

The Wallasey News Cup Preliminary & First Round Draws can be seen via the Wallasey News Cup page accessed via the Team Competition page in the table above.

Saturday May 19th

Harold Jones Cup Final

The Harold Jones Cup Final will take place at the Royden Hall Bowling Club on Thursday May 24th starting at 6-30pm. Quarry Vikings will take on Upton Victory Hall and hopefully, with no League matches scheduled, there will be a good crowd attending on the night to witness what should be a closely fought contest. Both clubs must remember that the Dress Code (Cup rule 11), on pages 53 and 54 of the current handbook, must be strictly adhered to.

Saturday May 19th

Sandridge Storm to Sheppick Success

Sandridge stormed to an unexpectedly comfortable 68 shot victory against Division Two leaders, Moreton R.B.L., in Thursday's Sheppick Cup Final at the excellent Upton Victory Hall green. Despite the usual murmurings about handicapping, Sandridge had nine winners to the Legion's three and the writing was on the wall for the unusually subdued Moreton team as early as the first few ends of the match, with the Sandridge bowlers taking a liking to the playing surface far quicker than their opponents. Barbara McBurney led the way for Sandridge with an excellent 21-06 winning performance that many players would have found hard to compete against. Chris Morrison showed us all why he has been included in the Wallasey County squad this season, with a solid 21-12 victory against the experienced Terry Ratcliffe. The eccentric and bouncy Colin Cousins was his usual livewire self and proved too difficult an opponent to overcome in another impressive 21-09 win for the Sandridge team. Moreton R.B.L.'s sole response to this early onslaught came from Dave Walker, who despite finding himself 05-11 down to Mo Saville, managed to respond on a difficult mark Mo just couldn't seem to handle, to eventually post the first winning card for his team and a fine 21-12 win. With Sandridge receiving 12 shots from the handicappers the scores after 4 blocks were 48-87 to Sandridge. Things didn't get any better for the Legion, with Ann Costall racing into an early 08-02 lead against John Dodd before John recovered to be only 13-14 down but Ann was eventually able to withstand John's challenge in a 21-17 win. Tony Ratcliffe responded for the Legion with an impressive 21-13 win against Jim O'Connor in a match in which he always had the lead but Maz Cousins countered straight away with a 21-15 victory to stretch the Sandridge lead again. Naureen Bunting, having seen her sister Barbara McBurney winning 21-06 earlier, gave a stunning display herself to beat the unfortunate Reg Hudson by the same 21-06 winning score and leave Sandridge 163-107 ahead after eight blocks. Martin Goodenough showed the Legion still had some fight left in them when coming from 08-12 down to defeat Grace Mason 21-18 but unfortunately he proved to be only the third and in fact final winner for the Legion on the night. Mark Bunting and Wally Broom provided arguably the game of the night with Mark leading 17-08 before the redoubtable Wally clawed his way back to 19 across and holding the jack. Unfortunately for Wally, Mark took two singles to record a really hard fought 21-19 victory. Another close match saw young Josh Bunting come through 21-17 against Gordon Holt after being 02-07 down at one stage. The final match on saw Rick Murray come from 10-11 down and with the help of five two's in seven ends complete a 21-12 win against Ian Kendrick. Sandridge won the overall match and deservedly took the cup with a comprehensive 244-176 victory. Association Chairman Mike Costall thanked all the people involved in staging the match, especially the Upton Victory Hall Bowling Club, and stated that whatever handicap had been set at the start, there was no way in which we could have foreseen the eventual outcome given the two teams league performances this season.

	Moreton R.B.L.	Score	Score	Sandridge
1	Terry Ratcliffe	12	21	Chris Morrison	1
2	Ron Fletcher	06	21	Barbara McBurney	2
3	Dave Walker	21	12	Mo Saville	3
4	Steve Spence	09	21	Colin Cousins	4
5	John Dodd	17	21	Ann Costall	5
6	Tony Ratcliffe	21	13	Jim O'Connor	6
7	Robert O'Connor	15	21	Maz Cousins	7
8	Reg Hudson	06	21	Naureen Bunting	8
9	Martin Goodenough	21	18	Grace Mason	9
10	Walter Broom	19	21	Mark Bunting	10
11	Gordon Holt	17	21	Josh Bunting	11
12	Ian Kendrick	12	21	Rick Murray	12
	Handicap	Scr	12	Handicap
	Total	176	244	Total

Thursday May 17th

Wirral & District C.G.B.A. Cup Competitions

Results from last night's Dr Dawson Victory & Graham White Cup matches are being updated as and when I receive them. Results & draws for next rounds can be accessed via the Wirral & District C.G.B.A. team competitions link in the above table.

Tuesday May 15th

Wallasey C.G.B.A. Junior Individual Merit

We are looking to hold the Junior Individual Merit competition later in the year and not on the scheduled May 22nd date as in the handbook. Lack of entries and school holidays mean we just do not have enough players next Tuesday to stage the competition. Further news will given out at a later date.

Tuesday May 15th

British Parks Senior County Championship (Travel Arrangements)

The coach for the away match in Sheffield against North Derbyshire on Sunday May 20th, will leave from the Queens Public House, Liscard at 11-00am prompt. Supporters are, as usual, most welcome to travel on the coach.

Sunday May 13th

Sheppick Cup Final

The Sheppick Cup Final will take place at the Upton Victory Hall Bowling Club on Thursday May 17th starting at 6-30pm. Moreton Royal British Legion will take on Sandridge and hopefully, with no League matches scheduled, there will be a good crowd attending on the night to witness what should be a closely fought contest. Both clubs must remember that the Dress Code (Cup rule 11), on pages 53 and 54 of the current handbook, must be strictly adhered to.

Sunday May 13th

Weekly Draw

The Weekly Draw took place today with the £210 Jackpot not being won. The numbers drawn were 3, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16. The £30 consolation prize was paid out to the lovely wife of a Manor Road Club bowler. Next weeks Jackpot will be £230 from 15 numbers. Full details can be seen on the Weekly Draw page accessed via the above table.

Sunday May 13th

King "Growler" Takes Centenary Merit Title To Complete Saville Family Quartet

The Old "Bar Steward" himself, Colin Saville, completed a quartet of Saville Family winners of the Wallasey C.G.B.A. Individual Merit Title at a sunny Harrison Park today, when he defeated Tony Cavanagh 21-10 in the Final. All joking apart, Colin thoroughly deserved to add his name to the previous Saville names on the winners list, having played consistently well throughout his four matches. Colin came through the early rounds with good wins against Barry Smith 21-14 and Tom Davis 21-12 before he met son Craig in a terrific semi final match and found himself 11-18 down only to show the twice former "King of Wallasey" how to close out a match and post a nail biting 21-20 winning card. I think I heard Craig say "well played Dad" in his usual affable way but I might have heard wrong. Tony Cavanagh played his way into the Final by defeating Chris Barton 21-18 and Ian Mitchell 21-17, before coming from behind to beat Association President, Keith Etches 21-14 in his semi final match. Tony had displayed a consistent line and length throughout but found it difficult to reproduce this form against Colin in the final. Keith Etches had provided us all with a glimpse of his former quality with a stunning 21-16 victory against James Fitzpatrick in the quarter finals, with James almost shaking his head off at times with some of the woods Keith pulled out against him. Despite the poor turn out on the day, all the games were played hard and fair and though a touch heavy in places, the number 2 green in Harrison Park was in excellent condition. Previous Saville family winners of the Merit were: 1990 Walter Saville, 1994 & 2011 Paul Saville and 2006 & 2010 Craig Saville. I think all the Saville family have done the Wallasey Association proud during the years, with their continued support of everything we try to do, not just on the greens but also with a lot of our fund raising events and I for one have fully appreciated their support for me since my involvement in Wallasey Bowls. Three years on the trot though for them winning the merit title has to stop !!!!

First Round		Second Round		Semi Finals		Final
Keith Etches	21	Keith Etches	21	Keith Etches	14	Tony Cavanagh	10
Len Wooton	20
James Fitzpatrick	21	James Fitzpatrick	16
Peter Dodd	10
Chris Barton	18	Tony Cavanagh	21	Tony Cavanagh	21
Tony Cavanagh	21
Ian Mitchell	21	Ian Mitchell	17
Malcolm Johnson	13
Andy Wainwright	12	Tommy Davis	12	Colin Saville	21	Colin Saville	21
Tommy Davis	21
Barry Smith	14	Colin Saville	21
Colin Saville	21
Craig Saville	21	Craig Saville	21	Craig Saville	20
Paul Saville	15
Jamie Box	21	Jamie Box	14
Ron Hitchmough	11

Colin Saville receives the Wallasey CGBA Individual Merit Trophy from Association President, Keith Etches

Friday May 11th

Marine Park "B" Win Association Cup After Thrilling Match Against Royden Hall

Marine Park "B" won the Association Cup on the superb New Brighton Cricket & Bowling Club (home of Quarry Vikings) green last night with a thrilling Five Shot victory over Royden Hall. On a dark night weather-wise, both teams lit up the evening with an entertaining and sporting match that went down to the last two matches on the green before the result was finally confirmed in Park's favour. Dave Whiteside gave Royden Hall the perfect start with a hard fought victory against Ray Billyard, Dave proving just too strong over the last half of the game from 09-09 across to post a 21-15 winning card. Marine Park then got off the mark with the "wily old fox" Derek Brierley never being behind, apart from the first end, and showing great skill with a 21-13 win against Tony Hughes. The game of the night saw a determined Roy Cashen overcome a spirited Barry Carter 21-20 in a marathon encounter taking 1hour and 25 minutes to complete. This match was actually a high class game with the last 8 or 9 ends producing some wonderful bowls worthy of any final. Roy had recovered from 08-17 down and 18-20 down before pulling out a magnificent winning wood to claim victory. Marine Park's Graham Egan, with 7 two's on his card, had a more comfortable win against John Leece 21-09 in a game that saw Marine Park, starting with an 18 handicap, take a 95-64 lead after four blocks off. This was a lead they were never to relinquish despite Royden Hall providing 3 winning cards in the middle four. Alan Storey with a 21-14 against Neil Ridyard, proved he is well on the way to recovery after serious eye problems, Doug Taylor forged an early and crucial 08-00 lead in his game with Peter King before winning 21-12 and Joe Morgan defeated Andrew Egan 21-14 coming from 04-09 to complete his win. Peter Cotton provided a crucial relief for Marine Park with a vital 21-15 win against Ian Proctor, recovering from 02-06 down to go ahead 12-06 before eventually winning 21-15. This left the overall score after 8 blocks 156-142 to Marine Park. Am amazing run from Jeff Rickets, who went from 05-05 across in his match against Neil Taylor, to 18-05 up before carding a 21-09 victory was arguably the winning performance for Marine Park, especially when Ted Kennedy then handed in his 21-15 winning card against Barry Thompson to leave Marine Park 198-166 up with just the last two on the green. However, the two remaining Royden Hall "stalwarts" Gerry Jones and Dennis Heenan, were having none of it. Gerry went from 01-04 in his game against Mick Miller to get on a lengthy diagonal mark across the green and completely dominate in a great 21-07 win. Royden Hall then looked to have managed the impossible when "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" otherwise known as the venerable Dennis Heenan piled into the unfortunate John Poultney, to forge into a 19-04 lead before a crucial 4 shots in four ends from John saw that it was only an eventual winning 21-08 card for the magnificent Dennis. After all the excitement had died down and scorecards were checked the eventual outcome was a 213-208 victory for Marine Park "B". I would like to thank both teams and all the supporters who turned out last night on a pretty miserable evening, for making this one of the most enjoyable Finals we have staged for some time. A delighted Marine Park "B" captain Ted Kennedy received the Cup from Association President, Keith Etches and Chairman, Mike Costall, who in his after match speech thanked New Brighton Cricket & Bowling Club, Quarry Vikings Bowling Club, The Referee Peter Fishwick, the measurers and markers and Mary Fishwick & Sandra Astles for their excellent efforts with the raffle. He also thanked Keith Etches and Peter Dodd for their work in organising the Final.

	Marine Park "B"	Score	Score	Royden Hall
1	Ray Billyard	15	21	Dave Whiteside	1
2	Derek Brierley	21	13	Tony Hughes	2
3	Barry Carter	20	21	Roy Cashen	3
4	Graham Egan	21	09	John Leece	4
5	Neil Ridyard	14	21	Alan Storey	5
6	Peter King	12	21	Doug Taylor	6
7	Andrew Egan	14	21	Joe Morgan	7
8	Peter Cotton	21	15	Ian Proctor	8
9	Jeff Rickets	21	09	Neil Taylor	9
10	Ted Kennedy	21	15	Barry Thompson	10
11	Mike Miller	07	21	Gerry Jones	11
12	John Poultney	08	21	Dennis Heenan	12
	Handicap	18	Scr	Handicap
	Total	213	208	Total

Thursday May 10th

Wallasey Individual Merit Competition

The 2012 Wallasey Individual Merit is a One Day, Free To Enter, competition and will take place on the greens in Harrison Park on Sunday May 13th. There is no need to send entries in for the competition as we would like all members wishing to take part in the event, to turn up at Harrison Park by 10-30am at the latest in order for the draw to take place at 10-45am. There will once again be no prize money paid out on the day but the opportunity to try and wrest the wonderful trophy from Paul Saville should be incentive enough to compete on the day. This competition has been running since 1912 and this year's winner will be remembered for winning in our Centenary year.

Thursday May 10th

League Results

Sunday May 6th

Weekly Draw

The Weekly Draw took place today with the £180 Jackpot not being won. The numbers drawn were 2, 4, 6, 10, 15, 16. The £30 consolation prize was paid out to a Manor Road Club member. Next weeks Jackpot will be £210 from 16 numbers. Full details can be seen on the Weekly Draw page accessed via the above table.

Sunday May 6th

Magazine Bowling Club Charity Cup 2012

The Annual Pairs competition at the Magazine Bowling Club will take place on Saturday June 9th. As always, free refreshments will be provided for al competitors and of course the "Home Pub" will be open for business all day, selling the usual selection of beers. wines and good food. The last competition raised £500 for New Brighton Lifeboat and the club are anxious to once again make the Competition a success in raising money for this year's beneficiaries, Elleray Park School. Entry forms should be on all club notice boards by now and should be returned, with the appropriate entry fees by Monday May 21st. A comprehensive list of start times will be provided before the event, which is as usual open to both Lady and Gentlemen bowlers.

If you cannot see any entry forms in your club please contact the Competition Organiser, Sam Robinson, Tel No. 0151 638 0394, email samandmabel@ntlworld,com who will be pleased to help you out.

Sunday May 6th

League Results

All the results we have in from last weeks League matches have now been updated along with the League tables. The results and league tables can be accessed via their respective links in the table above.

Saturday May 5th

Wallasey Individual Merit Competition

Saturday May 5th

2012 British Parks Senior County Championship

The playing order for the Wallasey C.G.B.A. British Parks Senior County Championship teams for the match against North Derbyshire on Sunday May 20th can be seen below. Both matches will start at 2-00pm and hopefully. with some improved weather, we will be able to attract a decent crowd on the day to give the team some deserved support. Last year we managed to reach the semi final stage of the competition, losing narrowly to Greater Manchester.


To be played at New Brighton Cricket & Bowling Club (Home of Quarry Vikings)						To be played at Ridgeway Bowling Club, Ridgeway, Sheffield
Wallasey	Club		North Derbyshire	Club		North Derbyshire	Club		Wallasey	Club
Craig Saville	Queens Royal	v	Jonathan Guess	Burbage	1	Dale Spragg	Old Whittington	v	Neil Sherbrooke	West Kirby Victoria
Les Henderson	Queens Royal	v	Richard Peach	Burbage	2	Ian Eaton	Old Whittington	v	Ian Sherbrooke	West Kirby Victoria
James Fitzpatrick	Upton Victory Hall	v	Peter Conway	Burbage	3	John Marshall	Old Whittington	v	Eddie Dutton	Queens Royal
Geoff Lynch	Queens Royal	v	Chris Bytheway	Bolsover Colliery	4	Tim Sewell	Old Whittington	v	Steve Wharton Jnr	Manor Road
Steve Scott	Queens Royal	v	Chris Adams	Burbage	5	Martin Skeldon	Calow	v	Karl Sherbrooke	West Kirby Victoria
Tommy Walker	Hoylake Central	v	John Golpin	Burbage	6	David Szeniawski	Villacroft	v	Mathew Cunliffe	Queens Royal
Dave Gilmore	West Kirby Victoria	v	Craig Shore	Burbage	7	Adam Stones	Old Whittington	v	Ian Mitchell	Manor Road
Paul Saville	Queens Royal	v	Paul Hawker	Burbage	8	Scott Palmer	Dronfield Woodhouse	v	Frank O'Neill	Queens Royal
Peter Milnes	Queens Royal	v	Willie Owen	Burbage	9	Lee Davies	Old Whittington	v	John Cosgrove	Upton Victory Hall
Anthony Thompson	West Kirby Victoria	v	David Allen	Ridgeway	10	Brian Hill	Old Whittington	v	Bill Atkinson	West Kirby Victoria
Matthew Gilmore	West Kirby Victoria	v	Martin Turner	Ridgeway	11	Stuart Sharpe	Old Whittington	v	John Devlin	West Kirby Victoria
Rob Fitzpatrick	West Kirby Victoria	v	Paul Bradley	Burbage	12	Darren Shaw	Old Whittington	v	John Lloyd	West Kirby Victoria
Reserves (Alphabetical Order)									Reserves (Alphabetical Order)
Tony Cavanagh	Upton Victory Hall								Brian Leonard	Queens Royal
Chris Morrison	Sandridge								Colin Saville	Queens Royal
Barry Smith	Manor Road								Phil Vaughan	Quarry Vikings

Friday May 4th

Association Cup Final

The Association Cup Final will take place at the New Brighton Cricket & Bowling Club (home of Quarry Vikings Bowling Club), on Thursday May 10th starting at 6-30pm. Royden Hall will take on Marine Park "B" and hopefully, with no League matches scheduled, there will be a good crowd attending on the night to witness what should be a closely fought contest. Both clubs must remember that the Dress Code (Cup rule 11), on pages 53 and 54 of the current handbook, must be strictly adhered to.

Friday May 4th

Divisional Cup Semi Final Results

All the results from Tuesday's Divisional Cup Semi Finals have now been updated and can be accessed via the Team Competition page in the above table.

Monday April 30th

North Wirral League

The first North Wirral League tables of the new season have now been updated and can be seen via the North Wirral League link in the above table.

Sunday April 29th

Weekly Draw

The Weekly Draw took place today with the £140 Jackpot not being won. The numbers drawn were 1, 3, 4, 5, 17, 18. The £30 consolation prize was paid out to a Lewis Reed ticket holder. Next weeks Jackpot will be £180 from 17 numbers. Full details can be seen on the Weekly Draw page accessed via the above table.

Sunday April 29th

League Results

Thursday April 26th

Wirral & District C.G.B.A. Cup Competitions

All the Draws, Handicaps and Venues for the Preliminary and First Round Ties in the Sansom, Stott, Dr Dawson Victory & Graham White Cups have now been updated and can be seen via the Wirral & District Team Competition link in the table above.

Tuesday April 24th

Divisional Cup Results & Semi Final Draws

All the results from last weeks Divisional Cup matches have now been updated and can be seen via the Team competition link in the above table. All the Association, Harold Jones & Sheppick Cup Semi Finals are being held on Tuesday May 1st with 6-30pm starts.

Sunday April 22nd

Weekly Draw

The Weekly Draw took place today with the £120 Jackpot not being won. The numbers drawn were 2, 4, 8, 10, 13, 17. The £30 consolation prize was paid out to a Quarry Vikings bowler. Next weeks Jackpot will be £140 from 18 numbers. Full details can be seen on the Weekly Draw page accessed via the above table.

Saturday April 21st

League Results

All the results we have in from the opening League matches have been updated along with the 1st League tables of the new season. The results and league tables can be accessed via their respective links in the table above.

Sunday April 15th

Weekly Draw

The first Weekly Draw of the season took place today with the £100 Jackpot not being won. The numbers drawn were 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 20. The £30 consolation prize was paid out to a Liscard bowler. Next weeks Jackpot will be £120 from 19 numbers. Full details can be seen on the Weekly Draw page accessed via the above table.

Sunday April 15th

Royal Retain Five A Side Cup

Queens Royal "A" retained the Five A Side Cup this afternoon with a close fought 95-90 victory against West Kirby Victoria "A" at Central Park. Queens Royal had two comfortable wins in their Quarter and Semi Final matches against Harrison Park "A" and West Kirby Victoria "B" before going on to claim their third victory in the last four years in this competition. West Kirby Victoria "A" also came through their Quarter and Semi Finals quite comfortably against Queens Royal "B" and Bronze. It was good to see Bronze in a semi final though and with some good new younger players in their team, things should be on the up for that team in the future. In The Final, Queens Royal "A" had 3 winners to the West Kirby Victoria "A" team's 2 winners and the wins from Craig Saville 21-13, Les Henderson 21-15 and Geoff Lynch 21-20 were just enough to out do the replies from Chris Vallender 21-14 and Rob Franklin 21-18, Royal deservedly took the honours against their biggest rivals in the Wallasey Association. Our Chairman, Mike Costall, thanked Keith Etches for organising a competition beset by numerous problems yesterday and thanked Terry Fanning from the Bronze Bowling Club for once again being there for the two days helping out in his usual precise way. A big thank you went to Brenda and Peter Day from the Telegraph Bowling Club for providing welcoming hot drinks throughout the cold weekend. Geoff Lynch, the Queens Royal Captain, praised both sides for the spirit in which the Final was played and wished the Association Secretary well for his forthcoming hospital appointment on Wednesday.

Quarter Finals		Semi Finals		Final
Harrison Park "A"	55	Queens Royal "A"	99	Queens Royal "A"	95
Queens Royal "A"	99
Manor Road "A"	85	West Kirby Victoria "B"	70
West Kirby Victoria "B"	98
Queens Royal "B"	83	West Kirby Victoria "A"	101	West Kirby Victoria "A"	90
West Kirby Victoria "A"	98
Liscard "B"	85	Bronze	79
Bronze	96

Queens Royal "A" Captain, Geoff Lynch, pictured with Mike Costall and Keith Etches after the trophy presentation

Saturday April 14th

Reminder on Start times

Will all clubs please remember that all Cup and League matches next week must start at 6-15pm.

Saturday April 14th

Five A Side Competition News

Despite the disappointing withdrawal of 9 teams from 30 entries for today's Five A side qualifying rounds, there were some excellent matches and good bowling by many Individuals in the matches that did take place on the 5 greens at Central Park today. One of the sad things about the competition this morning was the very late withdrawal of teams, with many clubs not having the decency to even inform me that they were in fact not intending to play. I have explained in earlier posts this week about the timing of this competition and will not dwell any more on the matter other than to say that, at one stage this morning, the Wallasey C.G.B.A. were very close to requiring a new Secretary. I can put up with a lot of criticism and quite often do but for clubs to totally disrespect the efforts put in, not only by myself, but the whole of the Executive Committee, does make me wonder if I want to bother any more. At the end of the day, our sole aim is to provide bowls for the people of Wallasey and if by trying our best to do that, it is not enough, then I am sorry, someone else can have a go. I got home from last night's match at Royden Hall at 11-45pm and was the first person at Central Park this morning at 9-30am only to eventually be confronted by non entries and complaints about the timing of the event. Anyway enough said, the qualifiers for tomorrows Finals Day once again at Central Park, with a start time of 11-00am are:

Harrison Park "A v Queens Royal "A" and Manor Road "A" v West Kirby Victoria "B"

Queens Royal "B" v West Kirby Victoria "A" and Liscard "B" v Bronze

Saturday April 14th

Excellent Entertainment in Royden Hall Thriller

Wirral Ladies C.B.A.		Result		Wallasey C.G.B.A.
1	Sandra Astles & Joan Dewhurst	12	21	Chris Barton & Eddie Dutton	1
2	Margaret Browning & Barbara Hardy	16	21	Tony Cavanagh & James Fitzpatrick	2
3	Carole Dunne & Margie Vickers	20	21	Ian Mitchell & Karl Sherbrooke	3
4	Ann Brown & Sally Povall	21	16	George Stead & Tommy Walker	4
5	Jean Clark & Joan Walker	21	11	Josh Bunting & Mike Costall	5
6	Naureen Bunting & Barbara McBurney	09	21	Craig Saville & Anthony Thompson	6
7	Mary Fishwick & Maureen Saville	20	21	Peter Dodd & Keith Etches	7
8	Paula Benson & Joyce Stead	21	17	Frank O'Neill & Colin Saville	8
9	Pat Crowther & Kath Davies	14	21	Les Henderson & Peter Milnes	9
10	Linda Howard & Jan Meskell	15	21	Bill Atkinson & Mathew Cunliffe	10
11	Glynis Lomax & Karen Smith	21	06	Brian Leonard & Paul Saville	11
12	Margaret Gard & Lynsey Gorman	19	21	John Devlin & John Lloyd	12
	Final Score	209	218	Final Score

An excellent evenings entertainment culminated in a close run 9 shot victory for the Wallasey C.G.B.A. in the Annual "Colin Jones Challenge Cup" match against the Wirral Ladies C.B.A. at the excellent Royden Hall Bowling Club green. Despite Wallasey having 8 winnings Pairs to 4 the match was in the balance to such an extent that, with the last pairing on the green, the Ladies were actually in an overall lead before John Devlin and John Lloyd clawed their way back from 03-13 down to eventually defeat Margaret Gard and Lynsey Gorman 21-19 and seal a fourth victory in a row for the Wallasey C.G.B.A. This last match had been preceded by similar fight backs by the Wallasey team in most of the matches. Chris Barton and Eddie Dutton found themselves 00-09 down to Sandra Astles and Joan Dewhurst before eventually posting a winning 21-12 card. Ian Mitchell and Karl Sherbrooke 00-08, 03-11, 09-17 and 12-20 down, were being given a lesson by Carole Dunne and Margie Vickers before finally getting their act together and proving their class in running out 21-20 winners. The first Lady winners of the evening were the Melrose pairing of Ann Brown and Sally Povall, who quickly forged an early 10-00 and 12-03 lead against George Stead and Tommy Walker, before eventually going on to a 21-16 victory. This was quickly followed by Jean Clark and Joan Walker defeating Josh Bunting and Mike Costall 21-16 after another match were the Ladies had forced their way into a 10-00 lead. Josh and Mike did close the gap to 10-14 at one stage but Jean and Joan bowled consistently well to earn a welcome 21 -11 victory for Wirral. A crucial match, in the overall scheme of the night then took centre stage with Craig Saville and Anthony Thompson showing no mercy to Naureen Bunting and Barbara McBurney in a crushing 21-09 win which was to earn them the "Men of the match" award from the Wirral Ladies team captains. Next match on saw Mary Fishwick and Maureen Saville trying to repeat their victory from last year against Peter Dodd and Keith Etches and after opening up 09-02, 17-12 and 20-13 leads, it looked like they were going to succeed but a timely single in one corner of the green saw the Wallasey pairing unashamedly stretch the Ladies from corner to corner and run out 21-20 winners. The Ladies were not to be outdone however and Paula Benson and Joyce Stead came from 11-15 down against Frank O'Neill and Colin Saville to earn an excellent 21-17 win for their team. Pat Crowther and Kath Davies looked to be on their way to another Wirral win at 14-11 up against Les Henderson and Peter Milnes but 10 unanswered points by the experienced Wallasey duo saw them earn a vital 21-14 victory. Bill Atkinson and Mathew Cunliffe provided another Wallasey win in a match in which they always seemed to have the upper hand against Linda Howard and Jan Meskell before eventually winning 21-15. The surprise of the night then happened in the penultimate match with the Wirral pairing of Glynis Lomax and Karen Smith completely outplaying Brian Leonard and Paul Saville to the tune of 21-06 and putting the Ladies right back into the match. Glynis and Karen bowled wonderfully well and after Brian and Paul won a point on the first end they did not see the jack again until the score was 15-01 to the Ladies. This victory earned Glynis and Karen the "Ladies of the match" award from the Wallasey Captain. With the overall score at the end of a long and eventually cold evening 218-209 in favour of Wallasey, we all then enjoyed an excellent after match buffet before the usual thank you speeches by both teams. I would like to add my own thanks to the Wirral Ladies C.B.A. for being such wonderful hosts, Royden Hall Bowling Club for providing us with welcome hot drinks etc and a wonderful green to play on, the two Referees, Maggie Wheeler and Peter Fishwick for their sterling efforts all evening and of course to all the players and spectators who turned out in force to make it, as I have already said, an excellent evening's entertainment.

Friday April 13th

Starred Player List Alterations

I have been notified of three changes to the originally published Starred Player List

Hoylake Central "A" team S. Fleet replaces T. Rodgers in the main list with R. Davies replacing S. Fleet in the brackets.

Manor Road "B" team S. Wharton Snr. replaces R. Woods

Thursday April 12th

I will be unavailable

I will be in hospital next Wednesday April 18th and will be unavailable for any telephone or email correspondence for 7 days after that date. If you have any queries relating to Wallasey C.G.B.A. bowls from April 18th to April 25th, please contact either our Chairman, Mike Costall or our President and Competition Secretary, Keith Etches, any queries regarding just League matches please contact Colin Jones. All their contact numbers are in the Wallasey section of the current Wirral Handbook.

Thursday April 12th

Bad start to season

We had a bad start to the season on Tuesday night when, out of 6 Preliminary Round matches played in the Divisional Cups, two clubs scheduled to host Cup matches failed to turn up and open up their facilities for the teams competing on the neutral green. It is part of our membership criteria that clubs make their greens available, as well as jacks and measuring equipment when they are asked to host cup matches. Our Competition Secretary, Keith Etches, is following up exactly why the two clubs concerned didn't open up their facilities and I would ask all clubs to check their Cup Match sheets to see if they will be hosting a match on their green.

Thursday April 12th

Five A Side Competition

I have been astounded and just a little shell shocked, at the criticism levelled at myself and the Executive Committee regarding this weekend's Five A Side Competition which unfortunately clashes with the F.A. Cup semi final. I would like to point out, as in a previous post that we arranged this competition for this weekend as far back as last December. I would also like everyone to read below an extract from the letter sent to all Club Secretaries on January 2nd this year asking for entries for both the Five A Side and Pairs League for 2012. As you can quite clearly see, both competitions were not compulsory for clubs to enter but we did receive 30 entries for the Five A Side competition with all clubs being fully aware of the date and timings of the competition. So far we have had 2 clubs withdrawing teams on Saturday even though they did know the date clashed with the F.A. Cup when they sent in their entry, or if they didn't know. then they were in the same situation as the Executive Committee were when setting the dates. We do take into account bowls events not other sporting events when arranging our calendar for bowling competitions even though we try and avoid obvious things like World Cups etc.

Extract from letter to clubs January 2nd 2012.

"The Five A Side Cup competition will be a two day event on Saturday & Sunday 14th & 15th April. With the League Season now finishing in the first week of August weather permitting, the newly formed Pairs Leagues will start on Tuesday 14th August and run until Thursday September 13th. Both the Five A Side Cup and the Pairs Leagues are not compulsory competitions but the Five A Side Cup will be limited to the first 32 entries. "

Sunday April 8th

Colin Jones Challenge Cup, Wirral Ladies C.B.A. v Wallasey C.G.B.A.

The Annual Challenge match between the Wallasey C.G.B.A. and the Wirral Ladies C.B.A. will take place this coming Friday, April 13th at Royden Hall Bowling Club, starting at 6-30pm. This is always an enjoyable and entertaining event and it is well worth coming along to Royden Hall on Friday to join in the fun.

Wirral Ladies C.B.A.		Result	Wallasey C.G.B.A.
1	Sandra Astles & Joan Dewhurst		Chris Barton & Eddie Dutton	1
2	Margaret Browning & Barbara Hardy		Tony Cavanagh & James Fitzpatrick	2
3	Carole Dunne & Margie Vickers		Ian Mitchell & Karl Sherbrooke	3
4	Jean Clark & Joan Walker		Bill Astles & Geoff Lynch	4
5	Ann Brown & Sally Povall		George Stead & Tommy Walker	5
6	Naureen Bunting & Barbara McBurney		Craig Saville & Anthony Thompson	6
7	Mary Fishwick & Maureen Saville		Peter Dodd & Keith Etches	7
8	Gill Sheen & Joyce Stead		Frank O'Neill & Colin Saville	8
9	Pat Crowther & Kath Davies		Les Henderson & Peter Milnes	9
10	Linda Howard & Jan Meskell		Bill Atkinson & Mathew Cunliffe	10
11	Glynis Lomax & Karen Smith		Brian Leonard & Paul Saville	11
12	Margaret Gard & Lynsey Gorman		John Devlin & John Lloyd	12
	Final Score		Final Score

Thursday April 5th

New West Kirby Victoria Website

West Kirby Victoria Secretary, Dave Gilmore, has launched a new "West Kirby Victoria" website which can be accessed via www.westkirbyvics.co.uk. The link also appears in table above via the Links to other sites box.

Wednesday April 4th

North Wirral Bowling League Constitution & Rules

The 2012 North Wirral Bowling League Constitution & Rules have now been updated and can be accessed via the North Wirral League Bowling link in the table above.