Bowls International — November 2017

22 BOWLS INTERNATIONAL November 2017

TOURNAMENT UNDER 18 TEST MATCH

T

HE legendary David Bryant,

who honed his skills at the

Clevedon club, where he

has been a member since

the 1940's, turned up with wife

Ruth, and watched almost every

bowl.

He was delighted to see so

many youngsters parading

their skills on the green where

he achieved so much, and was

impressed with what he saw.

"The green seemed to be

bowling as well as ever," he said.

"The young players of both sides

showed outstanding skill, and

clearly knew what they were

about. It was great to see."

With 12 players playing for each

country, 12 matches were played

over the two days. England won

eight of them and earned a hard-

fought tie in another.

What's more, of the three

defeats sustained by the hosts,

two were by a single shot, and the

third was by two shots.

There were only two singles

matches - but they turned out to

be cracking affairs that went down

to the wire.

Ethan Humphreys, from

Troedyrhiw, avenged previous

defeats he had suffered at the

hands of Ledbury's Tom Holmes,

21-20, and Rebecca Moorbey,

from Cambridgeshire, edged

home, 21-19, against Lauren

Gowen, who was fresh from her

double triumph in the Welsh

Under 18 and Under 25 singles

championship.

Players of both sides could

have been forgiven for not

knowing who Bryant was - his

glorious international career was

over before they were born-but,

they were delighted to meet the

bowls legend - and, in years to

come, will be able to recall this

special day to their own children

and grandchildren.

"Playing in an international

series like this was a totally new

experience, but it was fantastic to

get the opportunity to bond, not

only with members of our own

team, but with the opposition,

too," said local girl Imogen

Cracknell, who is only 15 and who

plays for the St Andrew's club in

Weston-super-Mare.

Bryant gives

his blessing

When the famous club at the top of Chapel Hill in Clevedon hosted an Under

18 Test Match between England and Wales, it was England who came out on

top by 17 points to 7 - though competition was intense and the margins in the

individual contests were small.

“There were only two singles matches

• but they turned out to be cracking

affairs that went down to the wire.”

David Bryant with the England team

22-23_BI_U18_Nov17_cc.indd 22 12/10/2017 14:22