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Pulborough Players Let Their Hair Down for the ASHES!
A busy final week of play began with a home friendly against Arundel on Tuesday. 3 triples played 18 ends of close bowls, with Terry Chriss, Jeffe Elliott and Ray Knight running away with their win, taking 15/18 ends and scoring consistently to outclass the visiting side to the tune of 26 shots to secure top rink!! The final result didn't represent the quality of play, but Pulborough did squeak the overall win by 71 shots to 32!
Pulborough's final friendly of the 2023 season was at home on Saturday the 16th against the West Sussex Tourists. Of the 4 Pulborough triples, 2 were victorious, with the under 25 side of Christian Bushell, Jacob Pells and Alfie Knight narrowly missing out on top rink by 1 shot despite playing out of their skins to win by 20 shots to 12! Top rink went to Skip Dave Cobbold, with Ray Knight as lead and Brian Maughan as 2, after a 5 on the 13th gave them an insurmountable lead, winning by 21 shots to 9! A close result saw Pulborough win their final friendly of the season by 70 shots to 66.
The forecast of rain for Sunday nearly put pay to the highlight of Pulborough's outdoor season - The Ashes, but after a damp start to the day, the clouds parted and allowed the amazed passers by to view the spectacle of 16 players in red and blue fancy dress attempting to bowl in some less than practical outfits! In the absence of the club Captain, the Ladies Captain, Jane Gray and her team of players in red took on her husband Malcolm's team (President) in blue. After team photos and a lot of leg pulling, play commenced, with 2 teams from Jane's red team facing 2 blue teams of Malcolm's, playing 9 ends before swapping opponents and rinks for a further 9 ends to decide the winners.
The red's began strongly, with skip Phil Floyd leading his team to a 2 shot win over President Malcolm and Trevor Bushell's team of Alfie Fuller, Terry Chriss and Jane Gray taking 6 shots on the 5th end to take a 10 shot lead into the second session. With both pride and crowing rights at stake, the second session was much closer, with Phil's red team of Sylvia Smith, Jenny Millard-Taylor and Jacob Pells leaving it to the final end to take a 4 and win by a solitary shot over Ivan Salmon's team and Trevor's red team confirming the overall win by beating the President in blue by 8 shots to 5! The presentation of the Ashes from President to Captain was a reluctant affair, surrounded by banter and the relief at finally getting out of some very uncomfortable outfits!
With the bowls green now closed for the winter, thoughts now turn to shortmat and indoor bowls, crib and many hours of social drinking on a Friday and Saturday night, before preparing for the 2024 outdoor season and sunnier times!
Pulborough Players Sizzle in the Sun on Finals Weekend!
The penultimate week of play at Pulborough Bowls Club kicked off with a visit from the Sussex Vice Patrons on Monday afternoon. 4 rinks played 21 ends of highly competitive bowls, with the VP's coming out on top with an overall score of 89/56. Top rink for Pulborough went to Skip Terry Chriss, with Jacob Pells as Lead, Nicola Pells as 2 and Trevor Bushell as 3, after some consistent scoring delivered a 21 shot to 16 win!
3 triples from Marine Gardens came to Pulborough on Thursday, playing an 18 end friendly in scorching conditions on a very fast green! A clean sweep for the home side delivered a top rink for Skip Jane Gray, Lead Sylvia Smith and Terry Chriss as 2, keeping their opponents in single figures to win by 22 shots to 7 and overall by 56/30.
The 2023 Finals weekend began with the Drawn Pairs competition at midday. With Dave Cobbold's pairs partner unable to play due to ill health, Brian Maughan kindly agreed to step in and proved to be a worthy opponent for County players Matt Ives and Jane Gray, who were lucky enough to be drawn together in a team! The match went down to the final end with Matt and Jane taking the win by a solitary point, a very close call!
Next up was the 4 Wood Handicap between Paul Leatherbarrow and Matt Ives in his second consecutive match. Matt needed to reach 25 shots and Paul just 21, which proved instrumental in getting Paul over the finishing line first after a thrilling match worthy of Finals weekend!
Dave Cobbold and James Barber played the Novice Salver at 3pm, with James playing out of his skin to match Dave shot for shot, only just falling at the final hurdle, to give Dave his first win of the weekend.
The 2 Wood Handicap at 4pm between Matt Ives and Jane Gray, saw an on-form Matt take his second win by a comfortable margin.
A free members bbq followed, extending the day into the cooler hours and encouraging everyone to stay and enjoy good food, drink and company!
Finals Sunday kicked off at 1pm with the 3,2,1 Diggle Cup between Dave Cobbold and Matt Ives, who faced each other for the second time, after meeting in the Drawn Pairs the day before. Unfortunately Matt came out on top for the second time, but considering Dave hasn't long started bowling, he has many more years to reset the balance!
Dave's fourth match of the weekend saw him face Brian Maughan in the Novice Cup and take his second win of four matches after some quality bowling and banter between friends!
Jane Gray began her defence of the Ladies Championship for the 7th year in a row at 3pm against Jenny Patterson on rink 2. Jenny drew well and after a nervous start, matched Jane for the first half of the match before Jane found the lines of the green and extended her lead to retain the title for another year!
Steve Adsett took the men's Championship after his opponent withdrew due to ill health.
After enduring some scorching temperatures, all the Finalists deserved the free BBQ food, lovingly prepared by Ray Hall and Elora Cobbold and thoughts now turn to the final week of play for 2023 and their fancy dress costumes for the President v Captain's match on Sunday!
Pulborough Celebrate Past President Mike Wood
Bank Holiday Monday finally saw the return of the Mike Wood Memorial Cup to celebrate the memory of a much loved past bowler and President of Pulborough BC. After being postponed twice due to bad weather, play finally got underway at 2pm. 6 randomly drawn triples took to the green to play 3 sets of 6 ends on different greens against different teams, with the highest shot difference taking the spoils. To add a little spice to proceedings, players also had to take the position in which they were drawn, whether it was lead, 2 or skip, which was a new experience for some!
Three teams finished on a positive, with Skip Ray Knight, number 2 Jeffe Elliott and Dave Soutar as Lead, winning 2 matches and drawing a third to finish +4 shots. Junior player Jacob Pells skipped his first match, with Malcolm Gray as 2 and Christian Bushell, another talented junior taking lead and after winning their first session and drawing their second, they had a fantastic final session, winning by 9 shots to finish on +14 overall - an outstanding result for such a young team!
Top spot and the Mike Wood Cup went to Skip and County lady Jane Gray, with County player Matt Ives as Lead and experienced player Jeff Davy as number 2, with 3 winning sessions and a +18 shot difference. Mike's Widow, Ann presented the trophy, which was followed by a buffet, raffle and many drinks at the bar!
After a couple of fruitless matches away against Cranleigh and Southbourne on Weds and Thursday, a home match against Stedham was a welcome reprieve, with the sun shining and the banter flying, 3 triples played 18 ends of light-hearted bowls amongst friends, with the home side picking up one draw and a win, giving them a 49/36 overall win and another top rink for Jane Gray as skip, with Marc Pells as 2 and Jenny Patterson as Lead after a 24 shot to 4 victory, which didn't represent the quality of bowls from the Stedham triple!
Pulborough have just 4 home matches left to play on the 4th, 7th, 12th and 16th Sept and Finals weekend on the 9th and 10th, so if you fancied coming along to watch a match, don't leave it too long!
Pulborough's Penny Rhoder Cup Raises over £2100 for MacMillan!
Sunday the 20th August saw the welcome return of the Penny Rhoder memorial Cup in aid of MacMillan. The day began early for Tara and Jeff Davy who run the Cup each year in memory of Penny, Tara's Mum and Jeff's wife. Registration was from 1pm, with play beginning with a "Spider", a game of skill rolling a bowl towards a mock spider in the centre of the green to win a bottle of fizz, the lucky recipient was club member John Walsh.
The green was packed with 8 triples taking part, each made up of players, family and friends, all intent on winning the Cup! After 3 rounds of 7 ends the runners up were Martyn Ralph, Tara Davy and Olly Grover and the winners were Jeff Davy, Freddie Burry and Dave Soutar. After an amazing raffle, with prizes donated by local businesses, a draw to win an original painting by artist Pippa Edwards, the Spider and generous donations, the amount raised on the day was a fantastic £692! A coin auction raised an additional £1440, giving an overall total of £2132 for MacMillan!
A home match against Ewhurst on Wednesday saw 3 triples play 18 ends of friendly bowls, with Pulborough using home advantage to win 2 and draw on the third rink. Top rink went to Skip Trevor Bushell, with Dave Soutar as lead and Jenny Patterson as 2 with 15 shots to 9.
Pulborough's penultimate match in the Brook's Motors League at home to Petworth on Thursday yielded the full 6 League points for the home side, a top rink for Sylvia Smith, Ray Knight and Steve Adsett and an overall scoreline of 43/21! Pulborough sit top of the table in Div1, with a good chance of winning the League, so watch this space!
5 rinks took to the green for the last West Sussex Bowls League match of 2023 against top of the table Crablands on Saturday at 2pm. A friendly ladies rink, skipped by Jane Gray, played alongside the men's league, taking the honors for the best score of the day 19/4, but the official top rink went to husband Malcolm Gray, with Jeff Elliott as lead, Mark Pells as 2 and Alfie Knight as 3 with a 17 shot to 7 scoreline. With the weather taking a turn for the worst, it was decided to finish after 11 ends, which unfortunately meant the probable end of Pulborough's time in Div 2, but thoughts have already turned to next season and the climb back up!
Congratulations to Pulborough player Matt Ives for reaching the last 16 of the National 2 Wood competition at Leamington Spa! He narrowly missed out to Warwickshire's Mark Ireland, but should be proud to be one of the top 16 players in England!
Pulborough Churches Combine for an Evening of Bowls!
Tuesday the 15th August saw Pulborough travel to Bognor to play their latest round of the Brookes Motor's League in the afternoon. Two League triples and a friendly played 18 ends of close bowls with the friendly going to Bognor, but Skip Ian Younger, with Ray Knight as Lead and Jane Gray as 2, took the early initiative to stay ahead on rink 3 and after a 5 shot win on the 15th, took top rink and the overall League win for the away side by 39 shots to 30. A fantastic win on a tricky green and a further 4 League points to boost Pulborough's chances of winning division 1 of the BML!
Members of all the Pulborough churches combined for an evening of sunset bowls on Thursday the 17th. They were joined by members of PBC and split into groups for some tuition and practice, with some showing promise and others just enjoying the experience, before retiring inside for an extensive buffet and drinks amongst friends! A fantastic time was had by all, with the promise of a repeat date for 2024!
Pulborough's penultimate match in the West Sussex Bowls League away at Goring on Saturday saw 4 rinks from Pulborough take on a side who sit second in the table in Division 2. With the result split down the middle on 2 rink wins a piece, the final 2 League points for the overall win went to Goring by 72 shots to 66. Top rink for Pulborough went to Skip Steve Adsett, with Ray Knight as Lead, Brian Maughan as second and Dave Cobbold as 3, after a 4 on the 10th end put them ahead and a further 9 consecutive winning ends secured their win by 24 shots to 10! Pulborough sit joint 5th with Worthing in the table, only separated by shot difference, so it's all to play for in their final match at home to Crablands on the 26th Aug!
Sunday the 20th will see the return of the Penny Rhoder Cup at Pulborough BC, when friends and family of the late Penny Rhoder will join members of Pulborough BC for an afternoon of fun on the green in aid of McMillan, followed by a friendly at home to Ewhurst on Wednesday and two League matches on Thursday and Saturday to conclude another busy week of bowls at Pulborough!
Pulborough Play to Win in Brooke's Motor's League!
The matches just keep on coming in the Autumn of the 2023 bowls season at Pulborough Bowls Club! With just 5 weeks left to play, every League result is crucial in deciding where the clubs finish in the table and the Brooke's Motor's League is no exception, with Pulborough sitting second in the table and within reach of the overall win, every point counts.
On Tuesday the 8th, Pulborough hosted Chichester in the BML, with 2 League triples and a friendly alongside. Mick Ayling, Sylvia Smith and Christian Bushell kept their noses ahead from the start, winning on the friendly rink by 13 shots to 10. Skip Steve Meadowcroft, with Melvin Green as Lead and Jane Gray as 2, scored a 5 on the 13th end to extend their lead and finish with 19 shots to 10, but top rink went to Steve Adsett, Linda Meadowcroft and Ray Knight, who won all but 6 ends with some heavy scoring to finish 18 shots in front on 30/12, giving an overall score of 49/22 to Pulborough and the full 6 League points!
A trip to Fishbourne on Thursday proved more of a challenge due to the speed and quality of the green, but after some adapting John Brown, Trevor Bushell and Sylvia Smith pulled back a 7 shot deficit to get within 1 shot of the win, whilst Skip Jane Gray, with Melvin Green as Lead and Ray Knight as 2 took top rink with 13 winning ends, a 6 on the 13th and an overall win of 27 shots to 9, which took the match win and 4/6 league points! Not bad on a tricky green!
Division 4 of the Sussex County Vice Patrons had their second match on the Pulborough green on Friday the 11th against Division 2. After 21 ends of competitive bowls under cloudy skies, Division 2 came out on top with 4 winning rinks out of 6. A full spread of both sweet and savoury food followed, with a raffle to raise valuable club funds covering all costs incurred on the day, everyone went away happy!
The final match of the week was a West Sussex Bowls League match away at Middleton, with Pulborough snatching a further 4 League points to hopefully keep them out of the relegation zone in Division 2. Top rink went to Steve Adsett, Ray Knight, Brian Maughan and Dave Cobbold by 22 shots to 11! Two more WSBL matches await Pulborough in August against Goring and Crablands, with every point vital!
Sunday the 20th Aug will see the return of the Penny Rhoder charity Cup match - well worth a watch!
Pulborough Host Prestigious Billingham Cup!
With rain putting pay to most of the week's play, Areas 3 and 4 of the Sussex Vice Patrons took to the Pulborough green on Friday for the latest round of their Billingham League. It is an honour for any club to host these matches, especially two weeks in a row, so all the stops were pulled out to ensure a warm welcome for all the players, good hospitality and a quality green! 6 rinks played 21 ends of top quality bowls, with Area 3 just coming out on top. The next round on Friday the 11th Aug will see Area 4 play Area 2 at Pulborough from 2pm, which will be well worth a watch.
Sunday the 6th Aug saw Pulborough BC play the next round of the West Sussex Bowls League at home to Maltravers from Littlehampton. 4 rinks played League, with a friendly ladies rink alongside. The ladies played a close match until the last 6 ends, when the Pulborough four of Sylvia Smith, Pauline Adsett, Linda Meadowcroft and skip Jane Gray started to pull clear, finally winning by 19 shots to 9.
The men's match looked to be equally as close at midway, with 3 rinks tied, but Pulborough found another gear, pulling clear to win 3 rinks by a clear margin! Skip Paul Leatherbarrow, with James Barber as lead, Ivan Salmon (on his Birthday!) as 2 and Len Adsett as 3, lead from the third end, but didn't let the away side score a single shot in the last 10 ends, winning by an impressive 26 shots to 11 to take top rink! The final score was 83/68 to Pulborough and 8 more League points!
Pulborough host Chichester on Tuesday evening in the Brookes Motor's League, followed by an away match in Fishbourne on Thursday and a WSBL match in Middleton on Saturday from 2pm. This combined with another visit by the Billingham League on Friday afternoon adds up to be another busy week for Pulborough BC!
Pulborough Launch Men's Triples to Rave Reviews!
A challenging week for Pulborough BC began with double success in the Brookes Motor's League, firstly at home to the Witterings on Tuesday afternoon, then at home to Fishbourne BC on Thursday at 2pm. The two triples playing against the Witterings were equally successful, both winning by 6 shots and both teams pulling out all the stops on the last 5 ends to surge clear! Steve Meadowcroft's team of Linda Meadowcroft and Terry Chriss won by 17 shots to 11, whilst Steve Adsett's team of Jane Gray and Ian Younger managed 20 shots to 14. Fishbourne BC added a friendly triple alongside the two League teams, but even that wasn't enough to get them a win, with all three Pulborough teams winning by a good margin! Top rink went to Skip Terry Chriss, with Sylvia Smith as Lead and Jane Gray as 2, after a 7 on the third end and a 6 on the 4th set the scene for what was to become an embarrassingly big win of 33 shots to 11! The final score was 55/18 to Pulborough and a further 12 League points for the week!
Worthing Beach House Park had more success on Sunday, taking 2 rink wins and the top score for their match against Pulborough in the West Sussex Bowls League, but after Pulborough won away on their green, the average points yield is 5 for both teams, so fair is fair! Top rink went to John Brown, Jame Barber, Jeff Elliott and Lenny Adsett by 20 shots to 13.
Saturday the 29th saw the long awaited launch of the Pulborough Greenkeeper's Men's Invitation Triples. 16 teams took part with play starting at 9.30am and continuing in sessions during the day. Each team played 4 sessions of 7 ends with breaks for lunch and refreshments throughout the day, under the watchful eye of National Umpire and club member Ian Phillips.. The teams were split into Red and Blue groups, with the top 2 of each going through to play for prize money. In the Blue group, The Martlets SMBC came second, with 3 wins and 26 points and topping their group with 3 wins and 29 points was the Sussex Under 25's. In the Red group, second place with 25 points and a 31 shot difference was Marine Gardens, with Crablands taking the top spot with 26 points.
The play-off for 3rd and 4th place was a tight game, with the Martlets team, skipped by Pulborough player, Steve Adsett taking the win by 8 shots to 5 over Marine Gardens, whilst the Final was a little more one-sided, with the Under 25's team, skipped by Alfie Knight, scoring heavily, winning by 14 shots to Crablands 3 and taking the winner's shield and prize money of £120.
The day was a huge success, thanks to the hard work of all the club members and raised valuable extra pounds for the renovation fund, whilst putting Pulborough BC back in the spotlight.
County news saw Pulborough player, Jane Gray win the Sussex Ladies Champion of Champions in Preston, Brighton on Saturday the 29th July, after beating Grace Murphy from Pope's Mead 23/8 in the Semi-final at 11am and Sue Willmott from Lindfield in the Final at 2.30pm by 21 shots to 18 in a thrilling 25 end match, another first for both Jane and Pulborough BC!
A hectic week for Pulborough BC began with an away friendly at Horsham on Tuesday the 18th. Of the 4 triples that played, 3 were victorious, with top rink and a win by 10 shots going to the all lady trio of Linda Meadowcroft as Lead, Jenny Millard-Taylor as 2 and Jane Gray as skip 22/12. The final score was 70/57 to Pulborough.
With numbers dwindling, it was sadly likely to be the final time that Pulborough players shared the green with the Worthing Grasshoppers as a team, when they played a 4 rink friendly on Thursday evening. A familiar result of 3 rinks from 4 saw Pulborough take a convincing win of 79 shots to 40, with top rink going to skip Dave Cobbold, Lead Jenny Patterson and number 2 Trevor Bushell, who completely outclassed their opposition, winning by an outstanding score of 30 shots to 3 - ouch!
A fully wet West Sussex Bowls League match at home to Pagham was not a fun prospect, but considering the awful conditions, 2 of the 4 rinks came good and the overall score ended up as a draw of 59 shots a piece and 5 valuable League points to each team! Top rink for Pulborough went to Brian Maughan, Alfie Knight, Ian Younger and skip, Steve Adsett with 25 shots to 12.
The first annual George Lewis Handicap Pairs took place on Sunday afternoon beginning at Midday. Each drawn pair taking part had a joint handicap based on their individual handicaps combined. Teams had a handicap from 4-7 shots, which was added to the scores before each of the 3 sessions of 10 ends that were played throughout the afternoon, with the top 2 teams on shot difference going on to play a further 10 end final! After the first 2 sessions, Jane Gray and Jeffe Elliott were in third place with +15 shots and 2 teams were tied on +16 shots. After 30 ends the two finalists were Steve Adsett/Mick Ayling with +29 shots and new player Ian Usherwood/John Walsh with +25 shots. After a slow start, Steve and John picked up 6 shots in 2 ends to level the score at 15 shots a piece on the 9th end, with Steve delivering the killer shot with his final bowl to win by just 1 shot! A worthy final for the first year in memory of George Lewis who sadly passed away in 2022 after many happy years bowling at Pulborough BC. The engraved pewter tankards were presented by George's youngest daughter Jane and widow Elaine.
In County news, Matt Ives played in the final of the County Two Wood, but narrowly missed out to Start Holland from Spartan and Lakeside, but it's a fantastic result to get to the final, so well done Matt!
Next week Pulborough will host its first Men's Invitation Triples on Saturday the 29th July from 9am, which will be another hectic day for the club, but well worth a watch!
Photos show action from the George Lewis Handicap Pairs at Pulborough BC
Pulborough's Pairs Fight for Final Places!
A quieter week saw Pulborough BC players take two trips to the coast, firstly to Bognor on Monday afternoon, which was a rearranged match from May in the Brookes Motors League. Brian Maughan, James Barber and Mick Ayling, who played on the friendly rink alongside the League, scored 5 shots on the 13th end to catapult them into the lead, where they stayed to finally win by 20 shots to 12 on the 18th end. The two League triples didn't fare as well, but Paul Leatherbarrow's team of Jenny Patterson and Paul Smith fought hard to get to a 17 all draw and snatch 1 valuable League point to add to Pulborough's tally!
Thursday's match away in Littlehampton against Norfolk was unfortunately a one-sided match, but there's always tomorrow!
Sunday afternoon heralded the return of the internal Drawn Pairs competition. 7 pairs took to the green to fight for their place in the club finals on the 9th and 10th of September.
Round one consisted of 6 teams playing a knockout match of 15 ends to progress to the next round. Terry Chriss and Steve Adsett played Mick Ayling and Paul Leatherbarrow, with the former dominating to make it to the next round, Dave Cobbold and Ian Younger had a similar result against Jenny Patterson and Steve Meadowcroft, but the closest match was between Christian Bushell/Ray Hall and Linda Meadowcroft/Malcolm Gray, who pulled back from 16/7 down to take 8 shots on the final 3 ends, just missing out by 16 shots to 15, so Christian and Ray progressed to the Semi Final to play Jane Gray and Matt Ives, who had a Bye in the first round and came in cold with no trial ends, only to win their place in the final by 17 shots to 5! The closest match on paper was Dave Cobbold / Ian Younger versus Terry Chriss / Steve Adsett and it didn't disappoint! Ian and Dave had a 5 shot head start before Terry and Steve got on the board but after taking the lead on the 5th end, they struggled to match their opponents and went on to drop 8 shots in the final 5 ends to pave the way for Dave and Ian to make the final by 15 shots to 12! They will now face Jane and Matt on Finals weekend.
County news sees Matt Ives reach the Final of the County Two Wood competition by beating Kenny Bolton from Spartan BC in the Quarter Final 16-10 and Kevin Yeo from Hollingbury Park BC in the Semi Final 14-13. He will play Stuart Holland in the Final at Lakeside BC in the coming weeks, good luck Matt!
Pulborough face 2 friendlies, a WSBL match against Pagham and the internal George Lewis Handicap Pairs competition on Sunday from midday, spectators always welcome!
Two Out Of Three Aint Bad For Pulborough BC!
The first match of the week was away at the Witterings in the Brookes Motors League on Monday afternoon. Of the 2 triples that played, 1 went to Pulborough, giving them a further 2 points to add to their League tally! Top rink went to skip Steve Meadowcroft, with Linda Meadowcroft as Lead and Paul Smith as second with 19 shots to 17, with the overall score being a close 34/35 to Witterings!
A local Derby against neighbours Billingshurst at home on Thursday at 6pm ended up being a little one sided in favour of the home team, with a clean sweep on all rinks and some very heavy scoring! Alfie Knight, new member Nicola Pells and Len Adsett won all but 5 ends, keeping the away side in single figures and building up a 20 shot lead, winning by 26 shots to 6, but top rink of the match went to on-form skip, Steve Meadowcroft, with Pauline Adsett as lead and Jane Gray as 2, with a 31/7 scoreline, adding to the final result of 90 shots to 38 for Pulborough!
A home match on Friday afternoon against Bognor Blue in the Brookes Motors League saw skip Paul Smith's team of Terry Chriss and Jane Gray score a 6 on the 6th and maintain their lead, winning by 19 shots to 13, whilst Steve Meadowcroft took his third top rink of the week, with wife Linda and Mick Ayling, dominating their opposition and winning by an impressive 21 shots to 7!
Two Pulborough triples represented the club in the annual Storrington Men's open on Sunday the 9th July. Play began at 9.30am, with each team playing 4 sessions of 7 ends with breaks and lunch between. Ray Hall's team of Malcolm Gray and Steve Meadowcroft managed 2 wins from 4, but Steve Adsett, Ian Younger and Matt Ives made it all the way to the final after winning their group! After a close final, Goring Manor took the win by 4 ends to 3 and raised the winners shield, with Pulborough taking home the prize money for second place. Well done to everyone for representing Pulborough on the competitive stage!
Pulborough play next against Bognor Red away on Monday, which is a rearranged match from May, followed by an away match in Littlehampton against Norfolk BC on Thursday and the internal Drawn Pairs competition on Sunday the 16th from Midday, spectators always welcome!
Pulborough Crown New Ladies Triples Champions!
With the club and grounds looking at it's best and legions of members waiting in the wings to welcome, refresh, feed and part players with their pennies, 14 teams took to the green for Pulborough Bowls Club's annual Ladies Invitation Triples on Tuesday the 27th June. 4 sessions of 5 ends awaited the teams that had come from all over West Sussex to take part. Play began at Midday, with each team playing alternate sessions, followed by a Final for the top 2 teams on points. Two teams from Pulborough took part, skipped by Jane Gray and Lorraine Berry, who kindly stepped in from Fittleworth BC, coming in the middle of the table on 14 and 11 points, but after counting back shot difference, the two teams playing in the final were Bognor on 21 points and Crablands A, skipped by Chris Lewendon on 16 points, who were joint second with Witterings and past winners, East Preston. The Final was a close run game with Crablands just sneaking the win by 1 shot, 4-3 and receiving the winners shield and £120 in prize money, (kindly sponsored by Comyn and James of Pulborough). Bognor received the second prize of £60 to share between them. Meals of jacket potatoes and ploughman's followed with strawberries and cream to finish and players took home a plethora of prizes from the enormous raffle that had been supplied by the bowls club members and teams taking part. The event raised over £325 to go back into the club, which will be a welcome boost to our renovation fund for the future!
Friday saw the next round of the Brookes Motors League away at Chichester. 2 triples played 18 ends on a fast, but tricky green, taking the win on both rinks! Top rink for Pulborough went to skip Malcolm Gray, with Sylvia Smith as lead and Dave Cobbold as 2, by 21 shots to 12, with the final score being 34/24 to Pulborough.
The final match of the week was a WSBL match away at Worthing on Saturday afternoon. 4 rinks of players had a challenging match, with the green proving very hard to judge on weight, due to the semi-parched surface, but Pulborough soldiered on to take 2/4 rinks and the overall win by 78 shots to 74! Top rink went to Steve Adsett, Brian Maughan, Paul Smith and Ian Younger, who matched the home side until end 9, before taking off to win by 22 shots to 12!
County news sees 2 further Pulborough players winning their Area Finals for the club: Ian Younger beat John Schools from Tarring Priory 21/4 to progress to the Semi Final and Matt Ives beat Stuart Logan from Tarring Priory 17/14 in the third round of the Two Wood, a fantastic result!
A Busy Week For Pulborough Yields More League Points!
With the summer season in full swing, an evening with our friends at Graffham BC was a real treat! A rural location with a quirky green and lovely players always delivers and the trio of John Brown as skip, John Walsh as lead and Len Adsett as 2, found the green to their liking, taking top rink with 23 shots to 15. The other 2 triples weren't quite so lucky, with the overall win going to the home side by just 2 shots!
A home game against Bognor on Thursday in the Brookes Motors League proved to be a one-sided affair, with Steve Meadowcroft and team fighting hard to keep their noses in front, finally winning by 1 shot, and a convincing top rink went to skip John Brown, with Jane Gray as lead and Ian Younger as 2, with heavy scoring throughout, a 6 on the 16th end and a final result of 26 shots to 8 yielding the full 6 League points!
The annual Cliff Stratton Memorial Cup followed on Saturday afternoon, with 8 drawn triples playing 3 sets of 7 ends on different rinks against different opponents. Adey, Kyle and Nadine represented the Stratton family and found the going tough in their first 2 matches, but went on to take a win in their third! The runners-up were Steve Adsett, Jacob Pells and John Walsh with a strong +12 shots, but the winners for the second year in a row, with +19 shots were Jane Gray as skip and Brian Maughan as 2, with the new addition of Christian Bushell as lead, which proved to be a strong combination! The Stratton Cup was presented by Adey and Kyle Stratton.
The final fixture of the week was an away match at Pagham in the West Sussex Bowls League. Top rink went to skip Malcolm Gray, with Mick Ayling as lead, Paul Smith as 2 and Paul Leatherbarrow as 3, after winning all but 6 ends and finishing with 19 shots to 11! Pulborough take away 2 more valuable League points and look forward to the rematch on the 22nd July!
In County news, Jane Gray played the Area final of the Sussex Ladies Champion of Champions away against Julie Potter from Norfolk BC on Sunday morning, winning a tough match by 21 shots to 18 and will now play in the County Semi Final on a future date.
Tuesday the 27th June sees the return of the Ladies Invitation Triples at Pulborough, with 14 teams taking to the green at midday, let the battle commence!
Double Trouble for Pulborough BC!
A busy week for Pulborough Bowls Club, became even more frantic with the addition of the Rotary Club of Pulborough and Storrington District visiting for an evening's bowling on Monday from 6pm. 27 Rotary members joined existing bowlers for some tuition and a fun evening on the green, followed by a buffet and drinks, with all proceeds going towards the upkeep of the club and green.
Wednesday evening saw the second unscheduled fixture with the Pulborough Sea Scouts. Around thirty 11 and 12 year old's with their Scout Leaders, joined members for an introduction to the sport and an hour on the green rolling up and playing in teams. Many of the Scouts and leaders showed promise for the future, so watch this space!
Tarring Priory travelled to Pulborough for the Area Finals of the Abergavenny Double Fours on Friday the 16th, with 1 rink playing at Pulborough and 1 at Tarring at the same time. A fantastic win at home by Skip Matt Ives, with Steve Adsett, Ian Younger and Steve Meadowcroft in support, by 20 shots to 16, wasn't quite enough to clinch the overall win, so Tarring Priory progress to the Quarter Finals and Pulborough look forward to having another go in 2024!
The first of two home fixtures against Middleton BC on Thursday saw 3 triples take to the green for a Brookes Motors League match with a friendly triple alongside. The friendly, skipped by Brian Maughan for the first time, led by 13 shots to 0 by the 7th end and went on to win by an impressive 20 shots to 10! A very one sided match saw both League triples go on to win by a good margin, but top rink by 1 shot, went to Skip Paul Leatherbarrow, with Sylvia Smith as lead and Terry Chriss as second, with 24 shots to 14. The final result was a full 6 League points to Pulborough and 45/26 overall!
2 days later on Saturday the 17th, Middleton returned to Pulborough for a WSBL match of 4 rinks in steamy conditions. Of the four teams, two were victorious, with Matt Ives, Terry Chriss, Jeff Elliott and Steve Meadowcroft taking top honours, with a 29/15 win and Pulborough take away a further 4 valuable League points to add to their tally. Pulborough currently sit 3rd in the table, 4 points behind Middleton and Crablands.
County news sees Jane Gray progress to the Area Final of the Sussex Ladies Champion of Champions, after beating Chriss Holt away at Fishbourne by 21 shots to 9. She will now play either Julie Potter from Norfolk or Michele Slater from Tarring Priory by the 10th July.
The week ahead will see Pulborough play away at Graffham, at home to Bognor in the BML, at home in the Stratton Cup on Saturday and away at Pagham in the West Sussex Bowls League on Sunday the 25th from 2pm, spectators always welcome!
With the temperatures steadily rising, Pulborough took to the green first on Tuesday, for an away match in the Brookes Motors League against Middleton. 2 League triples and a friendly played 18 ends of quality bowls, with the friendly rink, skipped by Sylvia Smith, going to Pulborough by 22 shots to 7. The two League rinks couldn't have been more different, with a win to both teams by almost the same amount, but Middleton just squeaked the overall win by 2 shots. Pulborough still took away 2 valuable League points and an exceptionally low shot difference, which may help later in the season! Top rink for Pulborough went to Skip John Brown, with Jenny Miland-Taylor as Lead and Jane Gray as 2 by 29 shots to 11.
One of the highlights of the season is an away match with our friends at Sutton. 3 Pulborough triples arrived for a 6pm start on Weds 7th in the beautiful countryside surroundings that make Sutton so special. It was Pulborough's night, with wins on all 3 rinks, but top rink went to Malcolm Gray, Pauline Adsett and Lenny Adsett, who led from the start and finished with an impressive 22/7 scoreline. The final score was 58/33 to Pulborough, but the most important part of the game was the company!
Saturday saw the next round of the West Sussex Bowls League played at Maltravers in Littlehampton on Saturday from 2pm. The players were grateful for the cooler breeze near the coast, as the temperatures were in the high twenties and play was in full sun! The 4 men's rinks were accompanied by a rink of ladies from each club playing an 18 end friendly, which was hotly contested, but eventually went to Skip Jane Gray, Lead Sylvia Smith, number 2 Jenny Patterson and number 3 Pauline Adsett, after a nail-biting last end went to Pulborough, resulting in a16 shot to 13 win for the away side!
Of the 4 Men's rinks, 2 went to Pulborough, with top rink going to John Brown, James Barber, Lenny Adsett and Ivan Salmon, after a strong second half saw them pull back from 12/4 down at half way to win by 21 shots to 16! The final score was 70/75 to Maltravers and 4 more valuable League points for Pulborough!
County results see Jane Gray progress to the second round of the Sussex County Ladies Champion of Champions after beating Liz Campling from Chichester BC on Thursday 21/10.
Pulborough play Middleton BC twice in the coming week; Thursday in the BML and Saturday in the WSBL, both at home. Friday the 16th will see Pulborough play the area final of the Sussex County Abergavenny Double Fours at Tarring Priory and Pulborough - good luck everyone!
A Marathon Week For Pulborough Provides More Positive Results!
4 triples played an away friendly at Henfield on Weds 31st May from 2pm. The Pulborough side pulled out all the stops to win on all 4 rinks, delivering a resounding result of 93 shots to 51! All 4 teams played a strong game but top rink went to skip Terry Chriss, with Dave Suter as lead and Ray Knight as 2, who won all bar 7 ends, taking a 5 on the 8th and a 4 on the final end to win by 28 shots to 11!
After having a Bye in the Prelim rounds of the County Double Fours ( Abergavenny), Pulborough's first round was against the Witterings on Thursday evening at 6pm. 1 rink played home and the second away, with the home team of Matt Ives, Paul Leatherbarrow, Steve Meadowcroft and Steve Adsett scoring a 7 on the second end and holding 20 shots to Witterings 2 by the 8th end, finishing with 41 shots to 11 and the away team of John Brown, Ray Knight, Terry Chriss and Brian Maughan finishing on 28/8, Pulborough progressed to the next round, which due to a County error, ended up being played the following day against Bognor BC!
With the determination of team out to make a point, the away team of Ray Knight, Brian Maughan, Terry Chriss and John Brown, fought hard to hold off the Bognor team and win by 15 shots to counteract the home sides 2 point loss and take the overall win to progress to the third round. A sweet victory in light of the circumstances!
The third match in 3 days was at home to Goring in the West Sussex Bowls League on Saturday from 2pm. 4 rinks played, with the weary Pulborough players managing to resist the onslaught of Goring, holding them to an 81 shot draw, giving them a valuable hawl of 5 points. Top rink for Pulborough went to skip Steve Adsett, lead Ray Knight, second, Brian Maughan and third, Ian Younger with a 28/17 win.
With the County players taking a well earned rest, 4 triples travelled to Steyning for a friendly on a much improved, fast green. Top rink went to Steve Meadowcroft, Linda Meadowcroft and Jeff Elliott, after taking a 5 on the final end catapulted them into the lead, winning by 18 shots to 16!
Pulborough play next on Tuesday at Middleton in the Brookes Motors League, Wednesday at Sutton, Saturday away at Maltravers in the WSBL and Sunday in Chichester for the first round of the PC Products Cup at 6pm.
Pulborough Play County Presidents In A Thrilling 6 Rink Battle!
The bowling week began on Wednesday evening, with Fittleworth Bc playing 2 rinks against Pulborough on an improving green. Lenny Adsett's rink of Jacob Pells, Pauline Adsett and Alfie Knight, won 10/18 ends to finish with a draw, whilst skip Malcolm Gray, with Jenny Patterson as lead, David Suter as Second and James Barber as Third, were level on the 10th, but 5 shots on the 11th catapulted them into the lead, finally going on to win by 20 shots to 14!
An away match in Petworth for the first round of the Brookes Motors League yielded 4/6 points and a top rink for John Brown, Mick Ayling and Jane Gray, after finishing in near dark conditions on Thursday evening! The final score was a tense 37/36 to Pulborough.
Pulborough had the honour of hosting the Sussex County Presidents on Saturday from 2pm. 6 rinks of bowlers took to the green, with Pulborough players being joined by 4 friends from Sutton BC, who kindly stepped in to boost the numbers. Stuart Dallyn and his team had a challenging match, played in the right spirit, with some quality bowling on show. Captain John Brown and team managed a draw, whilst Ray Hall, James Barber, Sylvia Smith and Dave Cobbold, had a strong second half to finish on 24 shots to 16. Top rink of the day went to Steve Adsett, Ray Knight, Brian Maughan and Ian Younger, who scored 4 shots on no less than 5 ends to win by an impressive 29 shots to 15, resulting in an overall win by the Presidents by 125 shots to 116, a narrow margin given the skill on show!
In County competition news, Malcolm Gray played his first round of the Unbadged Singles against Ken Clarke from Witterings BC, winning by 21 shots to 11. He will play his next match by the 12th June at home.
Pulborough play next on Tuesday against Norfolk BC in the BML, followed by their first match in the West Sussex Bowls League away against Crablands on Saturday and an Open day on Sunday the 28th from 2pm, when members of the public are welcome to try bowls for free as part of Bowls England's "Big Bowls Weekend", everyone is welcome.
Locals Enjoy a Second Sunny Open Day at Pulborough BC!
With the first match of the week against Bognor postponed, Pulborough's focus shifted to the home friendly against Cranleigh on Thursday afternoon. Hopes were high for a dry, sunny afternoon, but when the tempest arrived after 9 ends, the players had to run for cover! Firstly the hail hit, turning the green white, closely followed by enough rain to suit the ducks and put pay to any continuation of the match! Top rink from a very short match went to skip Paul Leatherbarrow, with Sylvia Smith as lead and Paul Smith as second, with a convincing win of 14 shots to 3! The final score was 32/19 to Pulborough on a very soggy afternoon!
Saturday the 13th saw the second of 4 Open Days at Pulborough BC, with the public invited to join players on the green for some free bowls coaching and an introduction to the sport. The atmosphere was fantastic, with a lot of potential on show, so hopefully a few more will join Pulborough's ranks in the near future!
With no water supply to Pulborough and the surrounding area on Sunday the 14th, a decision was made with heavy hearts, to cancel the planned Mike Wood Memorial Cup on health and hygiene grounds due to the lack of hand-washing facilities, but hopes are high that it may be fitted in later in the season.
County competition results saw Ian Younger win his first round of the Sussex Men's Champion of Champions against Simon Tooley from Chichester BC. Ian dominated the score sheet from the start, keeping a comfortable lead throughout a highly competitive match, finally winning by 21 shots to 13 after a late surge saw Simon take 7 shots in the last 6 ends.
Pulborough have a further 4 matches to play in the coming week: Fittleworth at home on Weds at 6pm, Petworth away on Thursday at 6pm, a Sussex County Presidential match at home on Sat from 2pm and at home to Steyning on Sunday from 2pm, spectators are always welcome!
Rain Stops Play in Pulborough's Bank Holiday Shield!
The Ron and Eileen Branch memorial shield kicked off a busy week for Pulborough Bowls Club! A charity Spider started 3 sessions of 7 ends for the 10 pairs of players taking part. After the first 6 ends the heavens opened and everyone ran for cover, but not before getting soaked! When play resumed the green dried quickly and the top 2 spots were taken by Paul and Sylvia Smith with + 12 shots and the winners, Ray Knight and David Cobbold on +17, despite only winning 2/3 sessions! The winners shield was presented by Nick Branch, (who played his first bowls as part of a pair) and other members of the Branch family.
A trip to Worthing Pavilion to play the Grasshoppers on Tuesday evening saw 3 of the 4 Pulborough triples return victorious! Top rink went to Skip Steve Adsett, with Linda Meadowcroft as Lead and Matt Ives as 2, after scoring heavily throughout and getting 7 shots on the 15th end to compound their win, finishing with an impressive 25 shots to 9! The final score was 85/55 to Pulborough!
Sutton BC came to Pulborough on Wednesday evening for a 6pm start. 3 triples of friends played 18 ends of competitive bowls, but despite some fantastic shots by the away side, it wasn't to be their night! Top rink for Pulborough went again to Steve Adsett, with Brian Maughan as lead and Jane Gray as 2 by 30 shots to 2! The final score was 62/28 to Pulborough.
The sun came out for Friday's away match at Stedham. 3 triples played and 2 went Pulborough's way, with top rink going to Captain John Brown, James Barber and Jane Gray, who took off on the 13th end after being on 9 shots a piece on the 12th end and taking a further 20 shots in the remaining 6 ends! Final score 59/38 to Pulborough!
Coronation Sunday saw a reduced team of 4 triples travel to Henfield for 18 ends in the sunshine. When play stopped for tea at 9 ends, Pulborough were already 14 shots ahead and despite some strong play by Henfield, the trend continued, resulting in a win on all 4 rinks by an overall score of 92 shots 43, which didn't reflect the closeness of play! Top rink went to Steve Adsett, Sylvia Smith and Dave Cobbold 28/10.
A quieter week ahead will see Pulborough play Cranleigh at home on Thursday 11th, host their next Open Day on Saturday 13th May from 2pm and play the Mike Wood Memorial Cup on Sunday, Spectators are always welcome.
Pulborough Bowls Club Defies The Odds To Open On Time!
After weeks of heavy rain, leading up to the Pulborough Bowls Club Opening Drive on Saturday the 16th April, Malcolm Gray, the club's experienced Greenkeeper, made the call the allow play to begin at 2pm, defying the many doubters! Having cut, aerated, cut again, scarified and finally cut on the morning of play, the green looked fantastic, if a little heavy, which was to be expected!
Twenty bowlers took to the green for 18 ends of educational bowls, after a winter away from play!
The President's team of Malcolm Gray, L.A Feldmanis and Christian Bushell, struggled against Steve Meadowcroft's team of James Barber and Pauline Adsett, who got off to a flying start, scoring 15 shots in the first 9 ends and taking a 4 on the 16th to finish with an impressive 25 shots to 11 and joint top rink! Sharing the top spot was Alfie Knight's team of Ray Knight and Dave Soutar, who kept their opposition in single figures with 23 shots to 9. The third and final match was played as rinks, with skip Steve Adsett leading his team of Dave Cobbold, Len Adsett and Jeff Elliott to a 18/13 win.
The day was an opportunity to get back in the rhythm of bowling in advance of our first away match at Ewhurst on Thursday the 20th, closely followed by the first of 4 Open Days at Pulborough BC on Saturday the 22nd April from 2pm, all ages and abilities are welcome, just wear some flat shoes and we will provide the rest!