Wallasey Crown Green Bowling Association

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Tuesday 31st July

League Results and Tables updated

Three more League results from last week have 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.

Monday 30th July

The Weekly Draw

The weekly draw numbers drawn yesterday were 4, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17. The Jackpot was not won and will be £300 from 16 numbers next Sunday. For full details see the weekly draw page. The £30 consolation prize was paid out.

Sunday 29th July

Robby Hall wins inaugural Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Memorial Trophy

West Kirby Victoria's Robby Hall beat club mate Dave Gilmore 31-27 in an excellent final after a dramatic day's bowling in the first Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Memorial Trophy Competition held at Manor Road this afternoon. Robby bowled consistently well all afternoon and came through 2 titanic struggles against Geoff Lynch 31-30 in the Quarter Finals and then Mark Lynch 31-29 in the semi finals before another hard match in the Final against Dave Gilmore. Robby had certainly proved not only his great ability but also his great fitness to come through these tough matches to claim the Trophy. There was another amazing Quarter Final match that saw Mark Lynch finally overcome his Queens Royal team mate Craig Saville 31-30 in a superb game. Dave had accounted for Alan Bainbridge and Ian Hazlehurst in his Quarter and Semi Final matches to have a more comfortable entry into the Final. The real reason behind the event however was to commemorate the tragic passing of Tony Vyskocil last year and Tony's parents donated a magnificent Trophy to be played for Annually by the District's bowlers. Tony's mother presented the Trophy to Robby Hall at an emotional presentation ceremony witnessed by Tony's partner and their son, Roy, as well as Tony's dad.

Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Competition Sunday 29th July 3-00 pm Start

Robby Hall receives the Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Memorial Trophy from Tony's Mother with Association Chairman Mike Costall in attendance.

Sunday 29th July

League Results and Tables updated

This weeks League results (those in so far) have 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.

Sunday 29th July

"Buzz" light years ahead of opponents in charge to Wallasey Merit Title triumph

Anthony Thompson proved too strong for his opponents in a terrific night's bowling, that saw him win the Wallasey Individual Merit Title at Manor Road last night with a fine 21-13 victory in the Final against West Kirby Victoria team mate John Devlin. "Buzz" provided what might have been described as the best win of the night in his quarter final match against the remarkably consistent Mark Lynch, when after taking an early 12-04 lead and being pulled back by Mark to 17-17, he managed to take 4 of the last 5 points to run out an excellent 21-18 winner. John Devlin had a topsy turvey 21-20 win over Mike Nelson in his quarter final match when after building a big early lead he found himself 19-20 down only to pull out 2 singles at the end to send Mike out, with Mike putting his last wood through the narrowest of gaps between John's wood and the jack to unluckily lose out. The other 2 quarter final matches saw Dave Gilmore defeat John Lloyd 21-08 and Matty Gilmore defeat Geoff Lynch 21-11. The semi finals were both excellent matches with Anthony Thompson coming back from an early 03-06 deficit against Dave Gilmore to eventually go 09-06 up and keep ahead right through to the end and a fine 21-17 victory. John Devlin caused a surprise in his semi final against Matty Gilmore when after being 03-09 down he went 11-09 up and 17-11 up before running out a deserved 21-15 winner after proving almost impassable on a short mark across the green in front of the new Manor Road extension. The final saw Anthony Thompson stride into an early 08-01 lead before being pegged back to 08-09 by John but a run of 10 shots up and down the centre of the green saw Anthony take a 19-09 lead before John managed a run of 4 more to lie at 13-19, Anthony then took the 2 singles required to put his name on the famous old trophy for the first time.

The 2007 Wallasey Individual Merit, Finals Night qualifiers, with Referee Peter Fishwick before last night's Finals at Manor Road

Left / Right Mark Lynch, Mathew Gilmore, Mike Nelson, Geoff Lynch, Dave Gilmore, John Lloyd, Anthony Thompson, John Devlin and Peter Fishwick.

The 2007 Wallasey Individual Merit Winner, Anthony Thompson, receives his Trophy from Association Secretary, Peter Dodd

Thursday 26th July

Wallasey Individual Merit and Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Memorial.

The Finals of the above 2 Competitions take place at Manor Road this weekend with the following line ups.

Wallasey Individual Merit Saturday July 28th 6-00 pm Start

Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Competition Sunday 29th July 3-00 pm Start

Sunday 22nd July

North Derbyshire County Match postponed until September 16th

The British Parks Senior County Championship Division Two match between Wallasey and North Derbyshire has had to be re-arranged because of a clash with the North Derbyshire Senior Individual Merit Championship, in which the majority of the North Derbyshire players will be playing. This match has now been arranged for Sunday September 16th with venue details to be announced nearer the date. Contrary to reports last week that North Derbyshire had beaten Warwickshire to ensure that both ourselves and North Derbyshire were promoted, the match was actually postponed because of the severe weather conditions in the Warwickshire area with travel in and out of Birmingham severely restricted because of heavy flooding. The North Derbyshire / Warwickshire match will now be played on Sunday September 23rd.

Sunday 22nd July

The Weekly Draw

The weekly draw numbers drawn today were 4, 6, 10, 15, 16, 18. The Jackpot was not won and will be £250 from 17 numbers next Sunday. For full details see the weekly draw page. The £30 consolation prize was paid out.

Saturday 21st July

League Results and Tables updated

This weeks League results (those in so far) have 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.

Saturday 21st July

Great Meols retain Sheppick Cup with 36 shot defeat of Grange at Quarry Vikings tonight.

There was a minor miracle tonight when our daily intake of heavy rain this Summer abated between the hours of 6-00pm to 9-00pm to enable Great Meols to retain the Sheppick Cup with a 36 shot defeat of Grange at a heavy Quarry Vikings green. In fact I think Grange were so unused to bowling in the fleeting glimpses of sunshine, that they were overpowered by 8 winners to 4 in a match containing many good performances by both sides. Great Meols took an early 11 shot lead despite both sides having 2 winners each in the first 4 blocks. Steve Casey 21-20 and Mike Casey 21-12 were the two Grange winners but Mick Miller 21-15 and an excellent 21-06 from Dave Gray saw Great Meols take a lead they never lost all night. With only a fine display from John McLoughlin for Grange, who won 21-13, to offset Derek Thomas's 21-12, Tony Cavanagh's 21-17 and another excellent 21-07 winning card from Lenny Wade for Great Meols, the score after 8 blocks stood at 150-120 for Great Meols. There were four exciting and close games in the back four but once again Great Meols had 3 winners to only 1 from Grange.  Les Pate 21-17, Bill Purcell 21-19 and Andy Smith 21-17 claimed good wins for Great Meols with John Barke's 21-17 win being the only response from Grange. At the end of the night Great Meols ran out worthy winners by 230 shots to 194 and Captain, Arthur Fagan gratefully received the Cup from Association President, Keith Etches.

Great Meols Captain, Arthur Fagan, receives the Sheppick Cup from Association President, Keith Etches and Chairman, Mike Costall.

Friday 20th July

Wallasey News Cup Quarter Finals

All the results from the First Round of the Wallasey News Cup are now finally in and have been updated. The draw, venues and handicaps for the Quarter Finals of the Wallasey News Cup can be seen via the Team Competitions, Wallasey News Cup page.

Friday 20th July

Busy time ahead at Manor Road

Manor Road Bowling Club will host a busy period of events over the next few weeks starting on  Saturday 28th July, with the Finals Night of the Wallasey Individual Merit Competition starting at 6-00 pm. The following afternoon Sunday 29th July, the Finals day of the Tony Vyskocil 31 Up Memorial Competition takes place starting at 3-00 pm. Both these competitions are down to the last eight players. On Saturday August 4th, the much awaited Harold Jones Cup Final replay between Queens Royal and West Kirby Victoria takes place with a 6-00 pm start and finally on Sunday 19th August the final British Parks Senior County Championship match against North Derbyshire will also take place at Manor Road starting at 2-00 pm. The winners of this match will take the Division Two title with both teams having already gained promotion.

Tuesday 17th July

Norman Davies (Great Meols)

I am sorry to have to inform that Norman Davies from the Great Meols Bowling Club sadly passed away on Sunday afternoon after a long illness. Norman will be greatly missed on the bowling circuit and our sympathies and condolences go to his family at this sad time. I will post the Funeral arrangements as soon as they are known.

Tuesday 17th July

Elm House Breast Centre receive cheque for £575

The Wallasey Association Charity day raised an excellent £575 for the Elm House Breast Centre at Clatterbridge Hospital and the cheque was presented before Saturday's Harold Jones Cup Final at Manor Road.

Monday 16th July

Magazine Hotel raise £500 for St. Johns Hospice

Once again the Magazine Hotel came up trumps in their Annual Charity Day, with a grand total of £500 being raised by the Club and all the bowlers taking part on the day. The day was such an unusual one for this Summer (unbroken sunshine all day long) that it was a pleasure to be at the event and enjoy the competition which was appropriately won by a pairing from the host club Fred Arnell and Tony Lane. The Magazine Hotel Bowling Club Captain, Sam Robinson, would like to thank all the clubs and players who contributed to making the day a great success.

Magazine Hotel Bowling Club Captain, Sam Robinson, St.John's Hospice Fundraiser, Lynne Hamilton and Magazine Hotel President, Gordon Bailey.

Lynne Hamilton presents a certificate of thanks to Sam Robinson and Gordon Bailey.

Sunday 15th July

The Weekly Draw

The weekly draw numbers drawn today were 3, 5, 6, 12, 14, 18. The Jackpot was not won and will be £200 from 18 numbers next Sunday. For full details see the weekly draw page. The £30 consolation prize was paid out.

Sunday 15th July

Promotion for Wallasey Association in British Parks Senior County Championship

The Wallasey County sides had big home and away wins against Cheshire this afternoon to clinch promotion to Division One next season with a match still to play against North Derbyshire next month. The home side won 11 points to 3 at Quarry Vikings Bowling Club with the away side winning 10 points to 4 at Love Lane Park, Stockport. With the 3 aggregate points available the final score was a resounding 24 points to 7 victory for Wallasey. In the home match Bill Astles 21-04, Anthony Thompson 21-06 and Dave Gilmore 21-08 were the big winners and with 9 winners in total for Wallasey, Cheshire were comprehensively despatched back up the M56 to Stockport. The away side at Love Lane Park, Stockport had 8 winners on the day with Eddie Dutton, fresh from his heroics in the Harold Jones Cup Final last night, leading the way with a commanding 21-03 victory that was closely followed by Neil Sherbrooke's  21-06 win. Craig Bourbonneux had a good 21-10 win and Bill Atkinson had a fine 21-12 winning card to leave Wallasey travelling back to Wallasey in fine fettle despite the lousy weather experienced all afternoon. A special word of thanks must go to Rick Keeley who stepped in as Referee in the away leg at short notice and did a top class job in the difficult conditions. The full scorecard can be seen below.

Saturday 14th July

League Results and Tables updated

This weeks League results (those in so far) have 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.

Saturday 14th July

Pulsating Night's Bowls Sees Harold Jones Cup Final Go To A Replay

The top two Wallasey Association Teams at the moment, West Kirby Victoria and Queens Royal, served up a treat for a big crowd at Manor Road tonight, when the Harold Jones Cup Final finished with both sides on 218 after a terrific match played in an excellent sporting spirit by both sides. On the superb Manor Road green Anthony Thompson 21-16 and Dave Gilmore 21-20 put West Kirby into an early lead but this was pulled back by Mark Lynch winning 21-15 for Queens Royal. Steve Nugent came off with a 21-15 winning scorecard for West Kirby to leave the scores level at 78 each after 4 blocks (Queens Royal receiving a 6 shot start from the handicappers). Queens Royal then stormed into a 27 shot lead after having 3 winning cards in the middle four with Craig Saville and Eddie Dutton giving superb displays with 21-10 and 21-06 wins respectively. Karl Sherbrooke pulled 1 shot back for West Kirby with a narrow 21-20 win but this was undone when Geoff Lynch came off with a 21-19 win for Royal after finishing with 3 two's from 15-19 down. The score after 8 blocks being 161-134 in favour of Queens Royal meant that West Kirby needed a big winner in the back four and once again it was Matt Gilmore who came up trumps with a quick fire 21-07 success followed by the Fitzpatrick brothers, Jamie and Robby, both winning 21-16 to leave West Kirby in the driving seat with Robby Hall leading 17-05 in his match with Frank O'Neill but Frank staged a terrific comeback to eventually only lose out 18-21 and leave the final scores 218-218 after some wonderful bowling that was a credit to both sides.  The likely replay date is Saturday August 4th but this will be confirmed as soon as arrangements have been made.

Friday 13th July

Big weekend of bowls with the Harold Jones Cup Final and British Parks County match.

This weekend sees two big matches in the Wallasey Bowls Calendar, starting tomorrow Saturday 14th July, with the Harold Jones Cup Final taking place at Manor Road Bowling Club at 6-00 pm between the 2 top Wallasey Teams in the 1st Division, West Kirby Victoria and Queens Royal. After what will hopefully be an excellent evenings bowling between these two well matched sides we have the British Parks Senior County Championship, Division Two, match between Wallasey (top of the table at present) and Cheshire, to be played on Sunday 15th July at Quarry Vikings Bowling Club with a 2-00 pm Start. The away leg of this match takes place at Love Lane Park, Stockport also with a 2-00 pm start. I hope as many spectators as possible will try to attend these two matches as a bit of atmosphere makes a big difference to the bowlers taking part.

Thursday 12th July

Funeral arrangements for Sam Hoey.

The Funeral arrangements for Sam Hoey (Marine Park) who tragically passed away last week whilst playing bowls at Manor Road, have been announced and are as follows.

Service at St. Albans Church, St. Albans Road, Liscard on Tuesday 17th July at 9-45 am followed by Cremation at Landican Crematorium. Family flowers only but donations to St. Johns Hospice if desired. For all enquiries please contact John W. Griffiths & Son, Millbank Funeral Home, Mill Lane, Wallasey CH44 3BN  telephone 0151 638 5528

Thursday 12th July

Presidents Cup

The 2nd round results from the Presidents cup have now been updated. The draw, venues and handicaps for the 3rd Round of the Presidents Cup can be seen via the Team Competitions, Presidents Cup page.

Tuesday 10th July

Wallasey County Bowler, Craig Bourbonneux, wins Hurrell Cup.

There is a new name engraved on the Wirral & District Crown Green Bowling Association Hurrell Cup. West Kirby Victoria’s Craig Bourbonneux came through a quality field at Cammell Laird to defeat Gladstone’s Nigel Hughes 21-12 in the final. He beat Bob Edwards (Harrison Park) 21-18 in his quarter-final tie and reached the final at the expense of his mate and fellow Vics bowler, John Lloyd, 21-17.

Craig Bourbonneux

Tuesday 10th July

Wirral Junior Merit

The Wirral Junior Merit scheduled for Saturday 14th July at Lever Club (10-30 am) has been cancelled due to a clash with the Merseyside Junior Merit.

There will however be a practice session at Lever Club at 10-30 am for any Wirral Juniors not playing in the Merseyside Junior Merit.

Monday 9th July

Wallasey Individual Merit down to last eight.

The Qualifying rounds of the Wallasey Individual Merit Competition took place at Central Park tonight on greens that needed to be mown today but unfortunately were too wet this morning to do so. Consequently all the players had to put up with the greens being heavier than usual. This didn't deter the players from producing some excellent matches with 7 games going the full 21-20 distance and the draw for the Finals Day on Saturday July 28th is as follows.

Sunday 8th July

The Weekly Draw

The weekly draw numbers drawn today were 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 18. The Jackpot was not won and will be £150 from 19 numbers next Sunday. For full details see the weekly draw page. The £30 consolation prize was paid out.

Saturday 7th July

League Results and Tables updated

This weeks League results (those in so far) have 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.

Saturday 7th July

Manor Road "C" take Association Cup with narrow nine shot defeat of Royden Hall in excellent final.

Manor Road "C" won the Association Cup tonight when they defeated Royden Hall 210-201 in an excellent final played in a fine sporting manner at the Wallasey Royal British Legion green. The opening four blocks saw four good close games with Tony Hughes 21-18 and John Leece 21-17 winning for Royden Hall and Bob Hughes 21-20 and Carol Dunne 21-15 winning for Manor Road "C",  leaving the scores tied at 77 each. Royden Hall forged 10 shots ahead after the middle four with 3 winners, Bill Braidford 21-15, Geoff Foster 21-16 and Dave Bullock, an excellent 21-09, offset only by John Molley's equally excellent 21-08 victory for Manor Road "C", to leave the scores 148-138 to Royden Hall. With two winners each in the last four it was Jim Hulican's comprehensive 21-04 victory and Mark Bainbridge's comfortable 21-07 win that turned the tide Manor Road's way and despite Gerry Jones winning 21-16 and Alan Storey's 21-14 victory they could not match the two crucial Manor Road single figure wins, leaving Manor Road "C" eventual 210-201 winners and jubilantly claiming the Cup for the first time since 1993. A shy but proud Manor Road "C" Captain, Mrs. Rose Hughes, collected the Cup from Association President, Keith Etches. Plaudits must go to both sides for providing such a sporting match for the good crowd of spectators present.

Manor Road "C"  pictured before their Association Cup win against Royden Hall

Royden Hall pictured before their Association Cup Final loss to Manor Road "C"

Manor Road "C" team Captain, Mrs Rose Hughes, pictured with Association President, Keith Etches and Chairman, Mike Costall after the presentation of the Cup following Manor Road "C" team's win over Royden Hall.

Friday 6th July

Tragic loss as bowler dies during match at Manor Road.

It is with great regret that I have to report the tragic loss of Sam Hoey, who collapsed and died whilst playing for Marine Park "B" against Manor Road "C" at Manor Road on Wednesday night. All seemed well as Sam had been playing for approximately 15 minutes when suddenly he collapsed on the green and despite heroic attempts by two ladies from inside the Manor Road Club and Marine Park bowler Gary Abbott, to resuscitate him, Sam did not regain consciousness and unfortunately was pronounced dead at Arrowe Park Hospital. All our sympathies and condolences go to Sam's family and funeral arrangements will be posted as soon as I know anything.

Wednesday 4th July

British Parks Senior County Championship, Wallasey v Cheshire

The line ups for the next Division Two Senior County Championship Match v Cheshire on Sunday July 15th can be seen below.