Wallasey Crown Green Bowling Association

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Thursday 30th August

Wallasey Festival Cancelled

Unfortunately because of the lack of entries for this years Wallasey Festival, due to be held on Sunday September 2nd, we have had to cancel the event for this year. Rather than an increase in entries as hoped, we actually had less than the 24 entries stated on Tuesday because of cry offs. The whole issue of Individual Competitions will be addressed at the Annual General Meeting in November, to try and find ways and means to increase the number of entries, or indeed if we want to carry on with all the Competitions we now run. I must apologise to all the players who took the time to enter the Festival and all entry fees will be returned to those players.

Tuesday 28th August

Division Two play off.

Fridays Division Two play off between Magazine Hotel and Sandridge will be played as a cup tie, meaning that the team that scores the most points i.e. 212-196 will win the match. If the scores are tied on points i.e. 216-216, the team with the most individual winners will win the match. If there is a tie on points and individual winners, there will be a replay.

Tuesday 28th August

Wallasey Festival in danger of being cancelled

Due to the lack of entries for Sunday's Wallasey Festival at Central Park, the event is in danger of being cancelled for 2007. Out of 807 players registered with the Wallasey Association this year, the event has attracted a meagre entry of only 24 players.   Competition Secretary, Keith Etches is prepared to extend the closing date until 5-00 pm on Thursday 30th August but if we do not reach at least 32 entries by then, this years event will, regrettably, be cancelled.

Monday 27th August

Chris completes third Junior Merit victory of the season

On Saturday 25/08 Chris Barton (Queens Royal) was a deserved Winner of the Wirral Junior Merit at Lever Club. This is Chris’s last year as a Junior and he was delighted to win this for the first time to complete a Treble of Junior Titles having also won the Wallasey Junior Merit (four times) and the Merseyside Merit (twice). Chris beat Luke Sandland (Kings 2000) 21-13 in the last 16, Alan Clayton (Bromborough Pool) 21-10 in the Quarter-Final, Tom Lowndes (Ledsham) 21 – 18 in an excellent Semi-Final and Andy Halsey (Greasby) 21-07 in the Final. Andy Halsey had done very well to reach the Final by beating Jack Kieley (Neston) 21-08 in the last 16, Jamie Hankin (Tixall) 21-05 in the Quarter-Final and Steve Dawson (Bromborough Pool) 21-20 in an exciting Semi-Final.

Chris Barton

Sunday 26th August

Weekly Draw

The weekly draw numbers drawn today were 1, 2, 5, 11, 12, 13. The Jackpot was not won and will be £550 from 12 numbers next Sunday. For full details see the weekly draw page. The £30 consolation prize was paid out. The Jackpot will be won next week as there will be continuous redraws until a winning combination is found.

Saturday 25th August

Central complete "Double" as Manor just fail to "keep up with the Jones's" in Wallasey News Cup Final.

An excellent evening's bowling at Gladstone tonight, saw Hoylake Central "A" take full advantage of the handicap to record a narrow 9 shot victory over Manor Road "A". Manor Road did all they could to win the match after conceding 78 shots to the handicappers and in winning the first 9 games they had reduced the deficit to just 10 shots. Jimmy Bunting 21-12, Bill Astles 21-10, Ian Mitchell 21-13 and Chris Morrison 21-14 had pulled back 35 shots from the front four but with Ritchie Davies, Sandra Fleet , Jean Hughes and John Hudson all getting into double figures, Central kept themselves well in the hunt going into the middle four. "Young" Dave Wilson 21-07 and George Stead 21-12 had crucial wins to give Manor a great chance to claw back a huge chunk of the deficit but sterling displays from Bet Pringle 18-21 and John Davies 20-21 against Peter McGregor and Ged Richardson respectively, meant that Central still held a useful 16 point lead going into the final four blocks. Mathew Cunliffe came from 04-12 down to defeat Hoylake Central Skipper, Chris Hegg, 21-15 in a tremendous game and Dave "A" Wilson gave a commanding display to beat Debbie Spark 21-09 and take Manor Road into the lead at 210-208 for the only time in the match. Their was a "sting in the tale" of this final though, when Mother and Daughter, Jane and Nicky Jones both completed deserved victories with fine displays of bowling. Nicky defeated Ken Stocker 21-17 in a game in which she took an early 06-02 lead only to then trail 07-11 and 13-16 before a tremendous surge took her into a 20-16 lead and eventually a 21-17 win. Jane Jones was never behind in her match with Alan Bainbridge and indeed at one time stood 19-09 up before Alan pulled it back to 14-19 only to lose a 2 at the next end to give Jane an excellent 21-14 victory and secure the Cup for Hoylake Central by nine shots. You could say that it was a case of failing to keep up with the Jones's at the end of the night. Hoylake Central Captain, Chris Hegg received the Cup from Association President, Keith Etches and Chairman, Mike Costall at the end of an excellent night of sporting bowling and looked forward to playing Manor Road in Division One next year even though admitting it will be difficult without a handicap !!! Chris also thanked the Officers and Committee of the Wallasey Association for their work in running the Association throughout the season. Congratulations must go to Hoylake Central "A" who completed a League and Cup Double after taking the Division Two Title earlier in the week.

Hoylake Central "A" team pictured with the Wallasey News Cup.

Hoylake Central "A" team Captain, Chris Hegg receives the Wallasey News Cup

 from Association Chairman, Mike Costall and Association President Keith Etches.

Saturday 25th August

Magazine Hotel & Sandridge to play off for promotion to Division One

Magazine Hotel and Sandridge have finished tied on 223½ points each in Division Two and will have a play off to decide who will be promoted to Division One next season. The play off will be at Burton's on Friday 31st August starting at 6-00 pm.

Friday 24th August

Hoylake Central "A" win Division Two Championship

With 2 more results now in from Sandridge v Harrison Park "B" and Wallasey RBL v Sandridge, Hoylake Central have now been officially crowned as Division Two Champions. We do not have the result sheet in yet from Sacred Heart "B" v Sandridge but I can confirm that Sandridge did not gain sufficient points in that match to challenge Hoylake Central "A" for top spot. Congratulations to Hoylake Central "A", who will be looking for a "double" tomorrow when they take on Manor Road "A" in the Wallasey News Cup Final.

Friday 24th August

Late Results, Manor Road "C" & Royden Hall Promoted from Division Three

Some more results have arrived since this morning and in Division Three, Queens 27's loss at home last night means Manor Road "C" and Royden Hall will be promoted. In Division Two Hoylake Central "A" stand 11 points ahead of Magazine Hotel who have completed their fixtures, with Magazine Hotel 26 points ahead of Sandridge who have 3 results to come in yet. Results and tables have been updated with the late results.

Friday 24th August

"Magnificent Seven" for West Kirby Victoria.

West Kirby Victoria completed a magnificent 7th consecutive Division One Title triumph last night with their victory at Harrison Park. The Vics, in gaining 12½ points last night, did enough to open up a 15 point gap over their nearest rivals Queens Royal "A" who only have 1 home match left to complete and therefore can only win a maximum of 14 points. This is a tremendous achievement by West Kirby Victoria despite their Captain's misgivings about the new points scoring system and they must be congratulated for their extraordinary consistency over the last 7 seasons. They have now equalled the previous record held by Marine Park between 1965 and 1971 and will no doubt have their sights set on creating a new record next year.

Friday 24th August

League Results  and Tables updated

The league results from this week that we have in so far have now been updated and can be seen via the League Results page. The League Tables have also been updated and can be seen via the League Tables page. Results from Tuesday's matches are coming in very slowly so I can only presume some clubs are sending Tuesday and Thursday results sheets at the same time.

Tuesday 21st August

Wallasey News Cup Final Line Ups

Wallasey's final Cup Final of the season takes place at the Gladstone Squirrels Bowling Club on Saturday 25th August (5-30 pm Start) with Hoylake Central "A" taking on Manor Road "A". The following teams have been announced and I hope the weather is a great improvement on last Saturday's deluge at Magazine Hotel. Hoylake Central "A" will receive a 78 start from the handicappers and a good match is in prospect for what we hope will be a large crowd of spectators.

Tuesday 21st August

Wirral Borough Council Owned Greens.

I think we can all agree that the majority of the Wirral Borough Council owned greens have been in a disgraceful state this season and in response to pleas from Clubs having to use these greens, I have arranged that a representative from each of the Clubs concerned, attends a meeting to be held at Harrison Park Bowling Club on Wednesday August 29th starting at 7-00 pm. At this meeting we will gather information and form a list of questions that need answering by Wirral Borough Council as to what plans they have for winter work on all the greens. I have also arranged a meeting between ourselves and Mr. A Bestwick (Head of Parks and Countryside Services) and his Associates from Wirral Borough Council, to be held at Manor Road Bowling Club on Wednesday 12th September starting again at 7-00 pm, in order for Wirral Borough Council to answer the questions we will be putting to them. As I stated in my letter to the Clubs concerned, it is vital that we have at least one representative from each Club attend these meetings as I am not prepared to tackle this problem either on my own or without the Clubs full support. I don't want Clubs to feel that it will be alright for just a few people to take on this problem on their behalf.

Sunday 19th August

The Weekly Draw

The weekly draw numbers drawn today were 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,12. The Jackpot was not won and will be £460 from 13 numbers next Sunday. For full details see the weekly draw page. The £30 consolation prize was paid out.

Sunday 19th August

Exciting finish to League season in store in all three Divisions.

An exciting finish is in prospect for all three Divisions this season when, with 2 weeks of the season left, we still don't know who will be Champions or promoted from the respective leagues. The  top of the Division One table stands as below;

Queens Royal "A" team's remaining 2 fixtures are against Sacred Heart "A" and Manor Road "A" both at home with West Kirby Victoria having to play Queens Royal "B" and Sacred Heart at home and Harrison Park away. West Kirby Victoria cannot afford any slip ups in their remaining fixtures if they are to retain their title as Queens Royal "A" continue their pursuit of a third trophy this season.

The top of Division Two can be seen below;

Hoylake Central "A" remaining fixtures are against Bronze and Great Meols at home with a crucial match away at Magazine Hotel. Magazine Hotel have an away fixture at Grange as well as the home fixture with Hoylake Central "A". Sandridge have to play two away fixtures against Wallasey Royal Legion and Sacred Heart "B" as well as their remaining home match against Harrison Park "B". The battle for promotion from this Division has been nip and tuck throughout the season and is going to go to the last match.

The top of Division Three can be seen below;

Manor Road "C" seem to be in pole position to win this League but still have four fixtures to complete. They are at home to Brighton Telegraph, Greasby and Royden Hall whilst their remaining away fixture is at Queens Royal "C". Royden Hall have 3 matches to complete with their last home match being against Great Float and their 2 away matches being against Marine Park "B" and Manor Road "C". Queens 27 still have a chance of promotion with their remaining fixtures being at home to Quarry Vikings "B and away to Greasby.

With the new points scoring system in operation this season anything could happen in these remaining matches and I think that the system has worked out quite well overall but we shall see what reaction we have to the system at our Annual General Meeting in November as I know that some Clubs are still not too happy with the ways things have panned out.

Sunday 19th August

Queens Royal "A" reign ( or is it rain) supreme in Presidents Cup Final as Manor Road "B" are sunk without trace in deluge at Magazine Hotel last night.

Queens Royal "A" produced an overwhelming performance in last nights Presidents Cup Final to complete a clean sweep of victories against Manor Road "B", in a one sided affair at the Magazine Hotel Bowling Club. Manor Road "B" were quietly confident of holding on to a 78 shot lead given to them by the Handicappers but on arrival at the magnificent green at Magazines and one look at the leaden sky, it was plainly obvious that an already heavy green would become much heavier in the following couple of hours. This proved to be so when the heavens opened and the large crowd and players were completely soaked in the continuous downpour that hampered any chance that Manor Road "B" had of causing an upset. Queens Royal "A", with their much younger playing outfit, took to the conditions like ducks to water and with 6 single figure winners quickly overhauled their handicap deficit and forged ahead after the first 8 blocks had finished. The remarkably consistent Mark Lynch set the ball rolling with a supreme display in winning 21-04 and he was quickly followed by Les Henderson's excellent 21-08 win. With Eddie Dutton and Steve Scott piling on the points with 21-10 and 21-11 wins respectively, Queens Royal had pulled back 51 shots after only 4 blocks before the heavens really opened and the deluge from the sky was matched by a torrent of winning points for Queens. Another two excellent single figure winners for Queens came from Craig Saville 21-08 and Geoff Lynch 21-09 and with Ian Hazlehurst 21-11 and Colin Saville, the old man of the Queens outfit, winning 21-14 Royal had already made the match safe with four blocks still to come. Mick Andrews, contrary to the excellent M.C.'s (Gerry Reeves) comments, was actually seen smiling during his match in completing a Birthday party sweep winning, 21-03 victory and with young Chris Barton having the gall to defeat the President 21-09, Queens continued to dominate and with Frank O'Neill, openly defying the monsoon conditions all night by just wearing his short sleeved shirt throughout , winning 21-11 and the Queens Skipper, Mike Nelson completing the rout with a 21-14 win, there was no doubt at the end of the night that Queens Royal "A" were worthy winners of the Cup and a delighted Mike Nelson received the trophy from Association President, Keith Etches. I think a special mention must go to the gallant Manor Road "B" team who accepted their defeat in a fine sporting manner and never complained about having to reach the corners on the heavy green, well not more than a few dozen times anyway !!!!

The victorious Queens Royal "A" squad with the Presidents Cup

Apologies for the standard of the picture but you can see the heavy rain spots on the camera, they are not objects being thrown at Queens Royal by the gallant Manor Road "B" team.

Saturday 18th August

League Results  and Tables updated

6 more League match results added this morning including the re-arranged Hoylake Central "B" v Harrison Park "B" Division 2 match postponed on June 14th. The tables have been updated.

Friday 17th August

League Results  and Tables updated

The league results from this week that we have in so far have now been updated and can be seen via the League Results page. The League Tables have also been updated and can be seen via the League Tables page. Due to heavy rain a lot of Tuesdays matches had to be postponed.

Friday 17th August

Error in Division Two League Table

I made an error in last weeks League Table when I credited Hoylake Central "B" 11 points instead of Harrison Park "B". The error has been fixed and the League Table adjusted. Thanks go to Paul Horner for pointing out my error.

Thursday 16th August

Presidents Cup Final Line Ups

The teams for Saturday's Presidents Cup final can be seen below. Please remember the match starts at 6-00pm at the Magazine Hotel Bowling Club.