Three teams comprising of players from three Herefordshire clubs travelled to Bristol IBC on Saturday 7th September to compete in the Avon Open Triples with the Woolhope/Gorsley team of Carol Crisp, John Mills and Joe Loveys taking the title in what was a successful day across the board for the County.
Open to 25 teams, the competition saw teams from Devon, Avon, Gloucestershire, Wales and even further afield competing in a morning group stage before going into the Cup or Plate knockouts in the afternoon.
A fantastic morning of competitive bowls for Herefordshire Clubs saw all three teams making it to the main cup competition quarter-finals where the Woolhope/Gorsley team of Carol, John and Joe were drawn against the St Martins team of Pete Goulding, Kim Wooden and their emergency replacement, sourced by Avon. A slow start saw the teams trading scores before a 5 for Loveys and co saw them take control of the match and book their place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Herefordshire’s final team- also from Woolhope- of Steve Crisp, Sue Davis and Shirley Cox were drawn against a team from mid-Devon. A slow start for Cox’s triple left them with too much to do against some incredibly strong drawing from their opposition as they bowed out to leave one Herefordshire team standing heading into the semi-finals.
The semi-final draw saw Crisp, Mills and Loveys looking to take revenge on the Devon team. In a similar fashion to their previous game, a close start gave way to a Woolhope/Gorsley lead and with their opponents requiring a maximum 6 off the last end. A missed fire from the opposition skip with his first wood saw the Devon club concede the game as the “Wool-sley”/”Gors-hope” team progressed.
The final saw Herefordshire’s strongest test as they faced a team from 2022 Macmillan Competition winners, Llansamlet. A highly competitive final saw strong bowling from both teams as Herefordshire just edged in front heading into the final end. Following some defensive bowls from the Woolhope/Gorsley team, the Llansamlet skip fired with his final wood, narrowly missing the target as Carol, John and Joe took the win, bringing the trophy back to Herefordshire.
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