November 2017 BOWLS INTERNATIONAL 27TOP CLUB
DEVON club Kings and Cumbria’s
Wigton both retained their
respective titles at the Bowls
England Top Club finals at
Leamington.
Kings lived up to their name
in every sense of the word as
they completed a national club
double – Club Two Fours and
Top Club – for the second year
running, while Wigton became
the first club to win the women’s
title three times.
The Torquay-based Kings
club, littered with current
England internationals, were in
devastating form throughout
the weekend, dropping just one
rubber out of 15 in the three
matches.
They brushed aside Sandy
Conservative (Beds) 5-0 in the
quarter-finals, conceding just
44 shots in the five disciplines,
toppled 2014 runners-up
Kingsthorpe (Northants) 4-1 in
the semi-finals – Mick Sharpe’s
triple dashing Kings’ hopes of a
clean sweep – and then routed
Reading 5-0 in the final.
England star Sam Tolchard
conceded only 18 shots in his
three four-bowl singles victories,
while fellow international
Louis Ridout dropped just 22
in winning his three two-bowl
singles matches.
Reading had thwarted a repeat
of last year’s final by defeating
Royal Wootton Bassett (Wilts)
4.5-0.5 in the semi-finals.Wigton were equally
commanding in their final
against Parkway (Hunts), winning
all four disciplines – the women
don’t feature a two-bowl singles- although three of their four
victories were by margins of five
shots or less.
Parkway, with five players in
their squad who had tasted
success twice in this event with
Peterborough & District in the
early days of the event, had
denied Kings the chance of
avenging last year’s final defeat
by Wigton by upsetting them
3-1 in the semi-finals, which
featured prize scalps for Sarah
Newson, 21-16 against Sophie
Tolchard in the singles, and for
Hannah Overton and Catherine
Popple against Kelly Atkinson
and Natalie Chestney, 18-16 in
the pairs.
Wigton had to rely on shots
difference to defeat 2008 beaten
finalists Sutton (Surrey) in the
semi-finals following a 2-2 tie,
the margin being just two shots,
with Carol Baxter’s 21-9 victory
in the four-bowl singles proving
decisive.
Sutton were also involved
in a tie in the opening round
against Swinton (Yorks) before
going through 80-66 on shots
difference, the other quarter-final
ties, Wigton against Cove (Hants),
Kings against Norfolk (Norfolk)
and Parkway against Box, all
having 3-1 scorelines.
WOMEN’S TOP
CLUB RESULTS
Quarter fi nals
Sutton (Surrey) bt Swinton (Yorks) 2-2 (80-
66): (Sutton names fi rst):
Singles: Sharmishta Patel 20, Sue Allen
21; Pairs: Christine Chambers & Margaret
Smith 18, Margaret Roberts & Lynn
Metcalfe 25; Triples: Stephanie Crates,
Margaret Webb, Pat Bourne 23, Barbara
Gill, Judith Hill, Sue Sleightholme 7; Fours:
Penny Coombes, Virginia Smith, Margaret
Swan, Maureen Vandrau 19, Marlene
Brookes, Margaret Harrison, Margaret
Watson, Michelle Sykes 13.
Wigton (Cumbria) bt Cove (Hants) 3-1
(Wigton names fi rst):
Singles: Carol Baxter 21, Karen Cranham
14; Pairs: Abbie & Nicola Bowe 18, Donna
Marsland & Donna Taylor 17; Triples:
Christine Wharton, Pauline Yates, Kath
Baxter 13, Carol Eichen, Jan Allen, Sarah
Bowen 11; Fours: Karen Westwood, Anne
Daziel, Penny Peile, Jeanette Bell 15, Ann
Guerin, Sue Dickie, Sue Sharpe, Allyson
Flint 22.
Kings (Devon) bt Norfolk (Norfolk) 3-1
(Kings names fi rst):
Singles: Sophie Tolchard 21, Louise
Knights 8; Pairs: Kelly Atkinson & Natalie
Chestney 21, Emily O’Hanlon & Rebecca
Field 16; Triples: Sarah Ashton, Ruth
Rogers, Lorraine Hackett 12, Carole Baker,
Julie Walmsley, Jackie Devitt 22; Fours:
Pat Hicks, Charlotte Aspinall, Jan Boyt, Sue
Bywaters 17.
Parkway (Hunts) bt Box (Wilts) 3-1
(Parkway names fi rst):
Singles: Emma Thurston 15, Jean Collier
21; Pairs: Hannah Overton & Catherine
Popple 20, Karen Funnell & Alex Jacobs
18; Melanie Randall, Karen Martin, Julie
Masters 19, Lolly Braddon, Kathryn
Yeoman, Sue Cooke 14; Fours: Sarah
Newson, Merisha McKernan, Val Newson,
Pat Reynolds 24, Kara Little, Jane Taylor,
Debbie Shadwell, Michele Williams 8.
Semi fi nals
Wigton bt Sutton 2-2 (74-72): (Wigton
names fi rst):
Singles: Carol Baxter 21, Patel 9;
Pairs: Bowe & Bowe 12, Chambers &
Smith 25; Triples: Wharton, Yates, Kath
Baxter 20, Crates, June Hope, Webb 16;
Fours: Westwood, Dalziel, Peile, Bell 21,
Coombes, Smith, Swan, Vandrau 22.
Parkway bt Kings 3-1 (Parkway names
fi rst):
Singles: Saran Newson 21, Tolchard 16;
Pairs: Overton & Popple 18, Atkinson
& Chestney 16; Triples: Randell, Martin,
Masters 9, Ashton, Rogers, Hackett 24;
Fours: Thurston, McKernan, Val Newson,
Reynolds 22, Hicks, Aspinall, Boyt,
Bywaters 20.
Final
Wigton bt Parkway 4-0 (Wigton names
fi rst):
Singles: Carol Baxter 21, Sarah Newson
16; Pairs: Bowe & Bowe 18, Overton &
Popple 16; Wharton, Yates, Kath Baxter
22, Randell, Martin, Masters 5; Fours:
Westwood, Dalziel, Peile, Bell 18, Thurston,
McKernan, Val Newson, Reynolds 17.MEN’S TOP CLUB RESULTS
Quarter fi nals
Royal Wootton Bassett (Wilts) bt Gerrards
Cross (Bucks) 3-2 (Royal Wootton Bassett
names fi rst):
2b singles: Kevin Embling 14, Dave
Simpson 15; 4b singles: Neil Smith 21,
Alan Price 20; Pairs: Kyle Anderson &
Mel Biggs 26, Tom & John McGuinness
12; Triples: James Nobbs, Tom Walkley,
Gary Morphet 9, Matthew Hyde, George
Reid, Andrew Briden 15; Fours: Barry
Sictorness, Chris Cheesley, Dave Godwin,
Steve Snell 26, David Ross, Michael
Gomme, Kirk Smith, Richard Reid 13.
Reading (Berks) bt New Lount (Leics) 4-1
(Reading names fi rst):
2b singles: BJ Byles 10, Alistair Hollis 17;
4b singles: Lloyd Sabatini 21, Michael
Simpson 19; Pairs: Darren Holder &
Robert Newman 23, Nick Wardle & David
Simpson 10; Triples: Tom Moore, Neil
Gauld, Gary Stacey 16, Mick English,
Patrick Hulbert, Ady Smedley 9; Danny
Clarke, Paul Bunting, Simon Jones, Jon
Stradling 19, Liam English, Bradley Freer,
Ryan Rowe, Darren Allsop 15.
Kingsthorpe (Northants) bt Bromley (Kent)
3-2 (Kingsthorpe names fi rst):
2b singles: Ben Sharpe 15, David King 8;
4b singles: David Iddles 11, Tim Bishop
21; Pairs: Andrew Manton & Neil McKee
7, Tom Outram-Haskins & Chris Smith
20; Triples: Jason Bryan, Mark Tompkins,
Mick Sharpe 22, Gareth Kirby, Bob Shields,
Gary Brock 14; Mick Spear, Ray Castle, Jim
McKee, Vernon Gearey 28.
Kings (Devon) bt Sandy Conservative
(Beds) 5-0 (Kings names fi rst):
2b singles: Louis Ridout 16, Chris Beard 3;
4b singles: Sam Tolchard 21, Luke Allaway
4; Pairs: David Evans & Jamie Chestney 19,
Wayne Humberstone & Glyn Milbourne
15; Triples: Phil Hackett, Michael
Woodbridge, Adrian O’Neill 32, Dale
Phillipson, John Hils, Graeme Howard 11;
Fours: Rob Honeywell, Craig Down, Matt
Bass, Harry Goodwin 16, Mick Cooper,
Brian Rouse, Richard Beard, Mike Sale 11.
Semi fi nals
Reading bt Royal Wootton Bassett 4.5-0.5
(Reading names fi rst):
2b singles: Byles 15, Embling 14; 4b
singles: Sabatini 21, Smith 13; Pairs:
Holder & Newman 25, Anderson & Biggs
13; Triples: Moore, Gauld, Stacey 16,
Nobbs, Walkley, Morphet 16; Fours:
Clarke, Bunting, Jones, Stradling 20,
Sictorness, Dave Snell, Godwin, Steve
Snell 13.
Kings bt Kingsthorpe 4-1 (Kings names
fi rst):
2b singles: Ridout 16, Ben Sharpe 9; 4b
singles: Tolchard 21, Iddles 11; Pairs:
Evans & Chestney 21, Manton & Neil
McKee 18; Hackett, Woodbridge, O’Neill
10, Bryan, Tompkins, Mick Sharpe 16;
Fours: Honeywell, Down, Bass, Goodwin
20, Spear, Castle, Jim McKee, Gearey 17.
Final
Kings bt Reading 5-0 (Kings names fi rst):
2b singles: Ridout 16, Byles 10; 4b singles:
Tolchard 21, Sabatini 3; Pairs: Evans
& Chestney 24, Holder & Newman 16;
Triples: Hackett, Woodbridge, O’Neill
22, Moore, Gauld, Stacey 20; Fours:
Honeywell, Down, Bass, Goodwin 26,
Clarke, Bunting, Jones, Stradling 12.
Kings men won the Top Club for the second year runningWigton retained the women's Top Club title26-27_BI_BOWLSENG_Nov2017_cc.indd 27 12/10/2017 14:26