Sunday, 10th September was the culmination of our club competitions, and a number of different matches were played throughout the day. One match was held over due to the number of matches to be played.
Here are some photos of the day, the match results will be published in a forthcoming post. If you’d like a copy of any photos, please contact David on merrowbowls@gmail.com or call 07979 803944.
On Saturday, 9th September, Merrow hosted the return match with Heathervale. We played three rinks of triples over eighteen ends on our penultimate outdoor match.
The weather was somewhat changeable: a brief shower before we started play, a heavy shower during tea and quite a downpour just as the last end was being played. However, between the showers, it was nice and sunny.
Your correspondent chose to act a non-playing captain, as we were over-subscribed for the match, with Lorna substituting for David F at the interval. It was a hard-fought match, with each side doing their utmost to win. However, despite winning on two of the three rinks, Merrow lost on points to Heathervale by just two points.
The main thing is that everyone had a very enjoyable afternoon’s bowling and we look forward to our final outdoor match of the season, when Shere visit us on 16th September.
Thanks to Colin for providing the teas. Here are a few photos of the match.
Three bowlers from Merrow contributed to the success of our area (Area 4) in winning the Walter Cross Trophy this summer. This is an inter-area competition with 3 matches played against the other 3 Areas on Sunday mornings during the summer.
At a celebration evening last night the Captain, Graham Robinson of Godalming, praised the team for their clean sweep, beating all the other areas and totting up 56 points from a possible 66 (10 points per win and 2 points per winning rink per game).By comparison, Area 1 at the bottom, achieved only 9 points.
Rodney Morrison and Tony Fry both played in all 3 games, with David Ewins stepping in for the crucial win against Area 2 at Tolworth.
Although there were no prizes, the rink in which Rodney played at No. 2 claimed “top rink” winning all 3 games with the highest combined shot difference. The reward for the team is a match at West End on the 1st July next year against the Surrey Presidents Team.
Hopefully Merrow bowlers will again be contributing to more success for Area 4 next year.
Ripley were our hosts for a match of four triples on Saturday, 2nd September. This was the second of two matches with Ripley, with Merrow winning the first encounter.
The day was unexpectedly hot and sunny (I should have taken a hat) and we were given a very warm welcome by the Ripley team. The match was hotly contested but, although the end result was two rinks each, Ripley squeezed a win by just two points. Congratulations to Lesley, David F and Brian, who won their rink by 13 points, and to Andy, Joan/Lorna and David E, who won by 10 points.
After a most enjoyable match, we were treated to a light tea by Ripley. Thanks to those organising the refreshments.
Here’s another useful page found on eBay. This one covers cleaning and maintaining your bowls:
http://www.ebay.com/gds/How-to-Clean-and-Polish-Lawn-Bowls-/10000000206362988/g.html
I also found another article on WikiHow:
On Saturday, 26th August, Merrow visited Burpham for our return match. When we played Burpham at Merrow, we had a very good win and were hoping to repeat that success.
On a very hot afternoon, four teams of triples were in action. The onlookers certainly had an enjoyable time as the scores mounted. Sadly for Merrow, Burpham won on three of the four rinks, with an overall score of 66-59, a winning margin of just 7 points.
Special mentions go to Sue, Debbie and Brian, who came back from an 11 point deficit to finish only 2 points down, and to Mark, David and Rodney, who won by a very respectable 6 points.
I came across a very useful article, on eBay of all places, describing how to choose the best bowls.
Here is a link to the article: http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/The-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-a-lawn-bowl-/10000000177205862/g.html
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new members: Len Marshall, Julian Ellis, and Bernard Callanan.
Be sure to say hello when you are next at the club.
Over the weekend of 19th-20th August, Merrow played two friendlies. Match reports for each follow.
On Saturday, 19th August, Woking Park visited Merrow. Due to some issues around numbers, Merrow loaned Woking one player and we were able to play two triples and one rinks matches.
The day was bright and both sides were soon engaged in hard-fought matches. The resulting scores gave Merrow a win by two rinks to one and a points win of 55-39. Commiserations to our losing rink, who came back strongly to lose by just two points. However, the team playing rinks; David, Debbie,Lorna and Colin had a tremendous win, with their score of 21-8.
Thanks to Nicky Hughes for laying on a lovely tea for us at the halfway mark.
On Sunday, 20th August, Merrow travelled to Elstead for a match of three triples. Although cloudy, it was a warm day. However, we did experience some light rain during the last two ends.
Generally, Merrow players found it hard to read the Elstead green. However, things did improve as the match progressed. At the final reckoning, Elstead ran out winners two rinks to our one and on points, 56-40. Special mention goes to the Merrow team of Ken, Lorna and Bob who prevented a whitewash with a fine win, 19-14.
At the interval, we enjoyed tea in the lovely barn. Thanks to the Elstead ladies for their hard work.
Merrow Village Bowls Club 