On Saturday, 11th August, Merrow played host to Ewhurst for a friendly match of three triples.

With the end of the recent heatwave, the day was overcast and cool, with the threat of rain ever-present.

The match was played in good spirits on both sides, but Ewhurst were soon in the ascendancy. We had a welcome break for tea at the halfway stage, with delicious cakes provided by Debbie going down a treat.

After tea, Merrow started to fight back. However, the fates decreed that Ewhurst would win overall with a score of 35-58. Well done to Merrow’s team of Sue, Mike, and Colin, who managed to overcome their opposition, winning 19-16.

The Harding Cup is a competition for local villages and, since the demise of Shere BC, consists of Albury, East Horsley, Puttenham, and Merrow.

Each side is made up of two triples, each containing at least one lady bowler. One team play at home, the other away. The scores are aggregated to discover the winning team. At the end of all matches a final is played on a neutral ground. in 2017, Merrow bowlers made it to the final, which was played at Puttenham, sadly losing by just a single point.

On Monday, 6th August, Merrow played Puttenham in the 2018 competition. On a sweltering afternoon, the away team of Debbie, David R, and Bob travelled to Puttenham, while the home team of Tony C, Lorna, and David E entertained our opponents.

The result was extremely close, as the away team lost by eleven points. However, the home team won by twelve points, giving Merrow an overall win.

On an extremely hot Saturday, 4th August, Merrow travelled to Liphook to play a return match of four triples. As ever, we received a warm welcome from Liphook, and is often the case, met up with some fellow Wey Valley bowlers. During the match we were blessed with a light breeze which helped to keep us a little cooler, but the temperature was quite testing and any shade was greatly appreciated!

Liphook’s green proved to be very fast with lots of movement, so much so that it was almost like an indoor rink. After a good start, Merrow were holding their own. However, the break for tea at nine ends seemed to take away some of our impetus and we ended the day losing by 56-71 points. It wasn’t all bad news though. Although not managing a win, Judy, Debbie and Colin came back strongly to post a very respectable score. Our only victors on the day were Mark, Ken and David E, with an eight point victory; well done! As a club, we gave a good account of ourselves and our results will reflect that. To put that in context, we beat Liphook handsomely when they came to Merrow, so we can hold our heads high.

… On Sunday 22nd it’s our annual match against the Village Club! Don’t forget to put your name down, or at least come along and cheer us on. Remember, they beat us last year, so let’s do our best to win.

There will be a barbecue and raffle too.

On Wednesday, 11th July, Merrow played host to Holloway Hill for a friendly of four triples.

The weather, while warm and sunny, was a little cooler than of late, which was most welcome.

As the match developed, Holloway Hill were in the ascendancy, with only your correspondent’s rink ahead for Merrow. But, as you know, we Merrow bowlers never give up and recovery was on the cards. At the culmination of the match, Holloway Hill came out on top 57-60. However, Merrow won on two rinks and drew on a third, so we can be pleased with our performance, particularly as we had some inexperienced bowlers playing.

We stopped for some very welcome tea and cake at half time, provided by David Foster.

Merrow’s best rink, winning by two points, were Lorna, Debbie, and Ken. Good performances by Bernard, Julian, and Robin are also to be conmended. Well done to all our bowlers.

We had a clear-out at the club today and uncovered a lot of interesting documents and photographs, plus the odd trophy or two.

I shall be scanning and uploading the documents and photos over time, but for now, I’ve uploaded a letter confirming our acceptance into the Surrey County Bowling Association. All the uploads can be found under the menu item “Club History“, so why not take a look.

On Wednesday, 4th July, Merrow hosted a friendly match of three triples with Mayford Hall.

We were fortunate that, with so much hot weather, there was a nice breeze to stop us overheating. With the ongoing lack of rain, the ground was very hard and dry, which resulted in a fast green, albeit a little bumpy.

After a shaky start, Merrow were soon in control. We managed wins on all three rinks, giving us a score of 61-38. Top rink was Mike, David R, and David E. It was great to have two of our newer bowlers in action; well done Bernard and Julian on a fine performance.

At the half-way mark, we all tucked into delicious home-made cakes and tasty watermelon. Our thanks to Lorna and Lesley.

Sunday, 1st July, saw Merrow travel to Ripley for a match of three triples.

The day was hot and overcast, making for very sticky conditions. Fortunately, there was a ready supply of cool drinks by the green to keep us hydrated.

The match was very hard fought, with an outstanding win of 22-8 for Merrow’s Lesley, Len, and John. Well done to them. Sadly, we could not emulate that performance on the other two rinks, and Merrow lost by the slimmest of margins; 44-45.

Because of the heat, we had played the eighteen ends without a break, so the tea provided by Ripley was most welcome.

We look forward to our return match on Saturday, 1st September.

Earlier in the year, we were forced to cancel a couple of home matches because of the torrential rain. On Saturday, 30th June, we hosted a rescheduled match with the Pippbrook club from Dorking.

A shortage of Pippbrook players resulted in a match of three triples, played in scorching heat with only a little shade available.

The match fluctuated with each side taking and relinquishing the lead. Eventually, Merrow managed to win on two of the three rinks, and winning overall by just two points with 44-42.

Our best rink turned out to be that of the captain, your correspondent. Well done to Tony (who stepped in at the very last minute), John, and David R, who won by nine points in a low-scoring game.

Rodney provided everyone with a very welcome tea at half time, which was taken in the shade of a convenient gazebo.

Well done to all the Merrow players.

The Fixtures list, which details our Friendly matches, has been revised.

You can now see match results throughout the year, although historical entries have yet to be entered.

Be sure to check each week!