Merrow played two friendlies over the weekend of 25/26th May. Saturday’s match was at Burpham for the first of our local derbies, while on Sunday Merrow entertained Knaphill for our first friendly in recent memory.

Burpham

On a hot Saturday afternoon, Merrow visited Burpham for a match of four triples. We were made very welcome by our hosts and it was good to meet up with a number of players that we know from the indoor sessions at Wey Valley.

The 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. 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 24th August.

Knaphill

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