Our Harding Cup squad of John and Sally, Trevor, Steve M, Lorna, Jarek, Ken B, Debbie and David played ‘home and away’ triples against the local village clubs throughout June, July and August to reach the final for the first time in 6 years. Merrow last won the cup in 2013.

We met Puttenham in the final with a little trepidation, having lost to them in the qualifying rounds, but playing on a neutral ground at Ripley meant both teams had a challenge. On the day Merrow were winners on both rinks for a hard-fought victory.

After the match there was a presentation ceremony, followed by a wonderful tea provided by Mariane for the players and many spectators from all the participating clubs.

We would like to thank Ripley for being fantastic hosts and David P for the organisation of the whole competition.

We managed to fit in out annual President v Chair match, after the first was rained off last month, with four triples and a good number of spectators. This year resulted in a win for the Chair.  We had our picnic indoors as it was rather chilly by the end.

It has been good to see many of our new bowlers having a go at both home and away friendly matches. Internal competitions are continuing and the finals will be held over the weekend 11^th and 12^th September. Keep an eye out for the schedule once finalists are known.

Merrow are through to the final of the Harding Cup and play Puttenham (at Ripley) on 13^th September. Supporters are welcome.

We reached the semi-finals of the West Surrey Midweek League but were narrowly beaten by Godalming. The Tuesday Triple squad have qualified to play on finals day after finishing 4^th in the Guildford Area.

With one game to play it is likely that Merrow will finish in at least 4^th position in their zone for the Knaphill Triples.

The ladies played their first season in the Surrey Ad League and our squad of eight acquitted themselves well with three wins and a draw against some stiff opposition.

The New Bowlers League is very close with all to play for in the last few weeks of the season.

Copied from A Question of Bowls on Facebook.

Despite the weather (either hot or wet!) we have continued to play friendlies and league matches. The internal competitions are now well underway too.

The pictures above are of Merrow against Pippbrook (3^rd July) where we had a narrow loss (56-60) and enjoyed tea outdoors after.

Some of our new players are already applying and playing in matches and Mike took the photo below at Stoke Park (10th July) where Barbara, David, Helen and Steve played their first friendly. An enjoyable afternoon despite a heavy loss.

Club nights continue to be popular with a training league in operation on Tuesdays for new bowlers and general play on Thursday.

The men have reached the quarter finals of the West Surrey Midweek league after finishing top of their division and edging Egham out in the round of sixteen. They play Bramley at Stoke Park on Friday (30th July).

Apologies for the lack of the usual regular updates and photos but here is a round-up of our last few friendly fixtures, starting with the latest against East Horsley which does have a photo!

We hosted East Horsley for two triples on Wednesday 30^th June for a very entertaining match followed by tea and biscuits. We had our usual spectators plus extra, so moved a bench for double tier viewing. We won on both rinks – Lesley was delighted with her win, Ken was just surprised. Final score Merrow 38 East Horsley 29.

Our match against Ottershaw was cancelled as unfortunately they could not raise a team. Members made use of the green and spare time to practise and catch up on internal competition matches.

On Saturday 19^th June we went to Albury with three triples for Debbie’s first time as match captain. We managed to play in the dry. It was a close match, but we managed to win on two rinks and draw on the third. Beginners luck!

Thanks to all who helped welcome prospective bowlers who visited us at our two open events. Over the Friday and Monday we had 16 visitors. The majority of these have returned for our coaching sessions and a number have already joined – it has certainly livened up Tuesday and Thursday club nights!

Despite the forecast we finally managed to play our second weekend friendly of the season.

Milford hosted four triples all of which were played in a friendly but competitive spirt. In the end Merrow were successful on all four rinks. The final score was 77 – 44 to Merrow, with our top rink being Ken, Steve and David F.

We enjoyed a convivial drink post-match, by which time the rain came down again!

A lovely sunny afternoon at Mayford Hall on Wednesday (19th May) was the setting for a close fought contest with two rinks winning and two rinks losing. Mayford Hall were very welcoming and friendly.

We had one illness, but lucky enough our spectator John Wills stood in.

We had one late comer due to an accident with a dog, so one rink started with two in our team. Fortunately enough our third player turned up and everything was back to normal from the third end.

The final score was Mayford Hall 58 – Merrow 59, all in all a very close match.

On Wednesday 12th May, we hosted Oatlands Park for our initial Wednesday friendly of the season. This was the first time we had played Oatlands Park, so we were looking forward to the game.

It was a sunny afternoon following a wet morning, but the playing surface was in splendid condition as remarked on by the Oatlands Park players.

We played three triples, winning on two and losing on one, with a final score of 58 – 49 in Merrow’s favour. Our top triple was led by Wednesday Captain Allen Mead, ably supported by two of our new members Steve M and Allen J.

At the end (thanks to Debbie and David) tea and biscuits were supplied outside on the tables in line with the Covid restrictions. A very enjoyable afternoon and we look forward to playing at Oatlands Park next season.

Our next Wednesday match is away to Mayford Hall on the 19th May.