Bowls Match Reports: Burpham And Merrow Clubs

Published on: 28 May, 2019
Updated on: 28 May, 2019

Burpham Bowling Club v Merrow Village Bowls Club, Saturday, May 25

Joint report by David Raison (Merrow) and Ian Mackrell (Burpham)

We were made very welcome by our hosts, writes David Raison, and it was good to meet up with a number of players that we know from the indoor sessions at Wey Valley.

Clouds, but hot – Burpham v Merrow. Picture supplied by David Raison.

The friendly match started well, with Merrow bowlers giving a good account of themselves. We stopped for a cup of tea at the halfway stage to slake our thirst, which was much appreciated given the hot weather.

Measuring doesn’t get much tenser than this! Picture supplied by Ian Mackrell.

The final outcome was a win for Burpham by 6 points with a score of 73-67, with each side winning on two rinks.

Merrow’s top rink with the highest margin was Lesley, Richard and David R, winning 16-12 but special mention goes to Sally, Brian R and Bob who won 23-21, giving them the highest scoring rink overall.

We look forward to our return match on August 24.

Burpham captain Vince Hopkinson (left) welcomes Merrow captain David Raison. Picture supplied by Ian Mackrell.

Burpham’s Ian Mackrell adds: Burpham’s team didn’t include several key players, who were playing in Surrey competitions that day.

Both teams had many supporters, which was splendid to see – and the four-rink triples match went down to the wire – providing a really great spectacle.

Merrow v Knaphill. Report by David Raison

On Sunday, May 26, Merrow hosted Knaphill for an inaugural friendly of four triples.

All systems go – Merrow v Knaphill.

Unlike Saturday, the sky was overcast and we had a heavy shower just before the match started. However, despite the lowering clouds, the match was played in dry but cool conditions.

Knaphill had brought a strong side, and Merrow were under pressure from the outset. There was spirited play from two of the Merrow teams, with Mark, Allen, and Bob losing by a single point.

The high point of the match was on rink 1, where Jarek, Debbie, and David E won by a magnificent 23-12.

Mark leads – Merrow v Knaphill.

Overall though, Knaphill were convincing winners by 81 points to Merrow’s 52. Man of the match must be Jarek, who only joined Merrow as a new bowler a couple of weeks earlier and played a great game.

We all enjoyed the interval tea and cake, which this time was a joint effort by several members.

We only play Knaphill once this season, so we hope for a better result next year.

Burpham reports by Ian Mackrell

We seem to be alternating between home and away matches at present. Fortunately the car pooling system we have is working well.

On Sunday, May 19 we traveled to Westfield, up the road, to inflict a 50-46 shot defeat on our hosts in a three-rink triples friendly match.

Our mid-week match on Wednesday, May 22 was also away, at Cranleigh – a club that has an enviable reputation for attracting good players.

It gave us much pleasure, in a four-rink triples friendly match, to inflict what for the host club must have been a jaw dropping 83-44 loss.

Skip Peter Challens at Tongham on May 23 demonstrating a perfect delivery.

Next day, May 23 we visited Tongham in the Knaphill Triples League Zone 1. For much of the match the scores were balanced between the two rinks – but home advantage finally counted, and, perhaps, greater concentration, as Tongham edged it.

On Sunday, May 26, Burpham, again with a substantially weakened
team through a further Surrey competition that day, traveled to Woking Park for a four-rink, triples friendly match.

This match, too, went down to the wire, and the hosts won by one single shot. Great effort Burpham with eight key players unavailable.