Hesketh Arms Bowling Club

Congratulations to Richard Rawcliffe and his Kestrels team on winning the 3rd Division of The Aughton Senior Citizens League.

Please note that the green will be unavailable for use on the following dates :-

Tuesday 28th August – 6.30pm onwards (LV Cup game)

Tuesday 4th September – 6.30pm onwards (LV Cup game)

Thursday 6th September – 6.00pm onwards (St.Cuthbert’s private booking)

Sunday 12th August saw 26 members compete in the last Club competition of the season, The Championship Cup. Despite a shower at the starting time of 1.00pm, play got underway promptly and there were some close games in the preliminary round, the most notable of these being a narrow 21-20 win for Richard Rawcliffe against new member Steve Mann.

The top half of the draw saw Eagles player Mark Rowlinson producing the form that won him The Rose Bowl in 2010, reaching the quarter-finals with wins against team-mates Keith Jones (21-7) and captain Chris Harding (21-17). This was followed by a titanic struggle against last year’s winner Jim Finnimore, who was determined to retain the title. However, following a high quality game, it was Mark who progressed to the semi-finals, winning 21-20. In the semis Mark overcame a strong challenge from Richard Rawcliffe to win through to the final, the score being 21-18.

In the bottom half of the draw, Joe Parker was in fine form, easily overcoming Barry Coates in his first game, followed by a 21-18 success against Jayne Eustace. These wins put Joe through to the semi-final where he was to face Mike Dunlop, who had reached this stage with wins against Len Mann (21-10) and Sue Davies (21-6). Despite these comfortable wins for Mike, it was Joe Parker who was able to maintain his form to reach the final with a 21-15 victory.

In the final, Mark was having to concede a handicap of +4 to Joe and although he won five out of the first 8 ends he found it difficult to claw the 4 chalks back, trailing 13-7 after 12 ends. At this stage, Joe looked to be the favourite but Mark suddenly hit top form to win 8 successive ends, makng a break of 12 to lead 19-13. Although Joe scored a single to make it 14-19, Mark was able to score the two he needed at the next end to win the final 21-14.

Many thanks to all those members who have taken part in the Club’s competitions during 2012, all of which have been well-supported.

A good turnout of 34 members and guests competed on Sunday for The Chairman’s Shield. This is a doubles competition, with the pairings being drawn out randomly. It was pleasing to see that all the Club’s teams were represented at this event.

There were some close games in the early rounds, most notably a 21-19 win for Phil Kitchen and John Stennett over Norman Parry and Ray Sutton and a 21-20 defeat for George Hitchmough and Chris James against Bill Nowell and Rita Stanley. After winning these tight games, both the winning pairs were to fall at the quarter-final stage. John and Phil were defeated 21-16 by Steve Mann and John Unsworth, while Bill and Rita lost 21-18 to Sue Andersen and Pat Miller, having looked likely winners at one stage.

The first semi-final saw Steve Mann and John Unsworth face Jim Huyton and Eileen Rawcliffe, who had enjoyed impressive wins against Richard Rawcliffe and Mavis Thompson (21-7) and Eileen Curtis and Mark Rowlinson (21-10). Despite losing two out of the first three ends, it was Steve and John who established a crucial lead of 16-10 by winning 7 consecutive ends. Although Jim and Eileen fought back with five singles it was Steve and John who went through to the final, winning 21-15. This was an impressive performance as Steve only joined the Club this week, having played in the Conservative Club’s President’s Trophy last Sunday.

The second semi-final saw Margaret Eustace and John McGurk get off to a flying start, scoring four at the first end but it was Sue Andersen and Pat Miller who were able to establish a lead of 16-13 with three successive 2s. At this stage, however, John and Margaret regained their earlier form and were able to score eight chalks in four ends to win through to the final 21-16.

The final was expected to be a close battle but the experienced pair of Margaret Eustace and John McGurk were able to continue in the form they had been displaying all afternoon, scoring five 2s and two 3s to take The Chairman’s Shield by a margin of 21-7.  The Club Chairman, Chris Harding, was on hand to make the presentations and congratulated all those involved in another successful competition at The Hesketh Arms.

Congratulations to Ray Lowe and Jon Roberts, both members of our Club, who won the Churchtown Conservative Club’s B.J.P.O’Malley President’s Trophy on Sunday, beating Tony Livesey and Dave White 21-11 in the final.

15 pairs took part in the event, which was held at The Hesketh Arms. The Consolation competition for 1st Round losers was won by Chris Harding and Steve Mann, who beat Fran Stillwell and John Unsworth in the final

Members are reminded that there are still a few more events to take place at the Hesketh Arms before the season comes to a close.

Details of all the forthcoming events can be found in the Summer Newsletter. Which can be accessed from the website. (Summer12 _2_)

The first event is due to take place this Sunday, 22nd July, starting at 1.00pm, when we will be playing for The Chairman’s Shield.

Members are reminded that guests and friends from other Clubs are welcome to take part in this competition, which is a doubles event where the pairings are drawn at random

In the top half of the draw, Pat Higgins progressed to the semi-final stage with closely fought wins against George Hitchmough (21-17) and Keith Jones (21-17). His semi-final opponent was to be Hesketh Hawks’ Captain Norman Parry, who reached the semis with comfortable wins against Richard Rawcliffe (21-11), Eileen Rawclife (21-8) and Alan Bond (21-9). This semi-final was expected to be a tight game and so it proved. Despite Pat leading 13-7 and 15-12, it was Norman who took the lead at 19-18 but was unable to get the two chalks he needed to reach the final as Pat won the last two ends of the game to win through to his second final of the season.

The bottom half of the draw saw Leo Tobin reach the semi-final with wins against Sue Davies (21-13) and Pat Jones(21-16). Leo’s opponent in the semi-final was the experienced Bill Nowell, who had beaten Eric Groom (21-10) and Joe Parker (21-16). Having an advantage of 2 chalks on the handicap, Leo established an early lead which he was able maintain throughout the match to reach the final by a 21-14 margin.

Both Leo and Pat had been beaten finalists in Hesketh singles competitions before, guaranteeing a new name on the Club’s Roll of Honour. It was Pat who started strongly in the final and after 10 ends had established a 14-9 lead, having scored five 2s. At this point though, Leo found his form and won the next five ends to take the lead at 15-14. Pat was unable to recover the lead as Leo was able to score another couple of 2s in gaining the 6 chalks required, the final score being 21-17.

A Plate competition was held for 1st Round losers and this was won by Richard Rawcliffe who defeated Brian Jones 21-15 in the final.

Another good turnout of 32 members took advantage of a rare sunny day to take part in the Club’s latest event, The President’s Cup. It was particularly pleasing to see five members entering their first club competition.

In the top half of the draw, Club Secretary George Hitchmough was in impressive form, reaching the semi-finals with wins against Gill Atkinson (21-17), Joe Parker (21-13) and Bill Nowell (21-18). George’s semi-final opponent was last year’s winner Sue Andersen, who overcame new member Alex Rimmer (21-10), Dave White (21-6) and Brian Jones (21-20). The semi-final between George and Sue was expected to be a close encounter but it was George who established a 12-7 lead with three 2s in the first 8 ends. Sue was not going to give up her hold on The President’s Cup easily, fighting back to close the gap to 14-13, but George was able to reclaim the jack to run out a 21-13 winner.

In the bottom half of the draw, Tony Wellard reached the semi-finals with victories against Alan Bond (21-20), Jim Finnimore (21-14) and Pat Jones (21-20). Tony’s semi-final opponent was to be the winner of the quarter-final between the two rivals from Crossens, Margaret Langley and Mike Dunlop. As with the other quarter-finals, this game could have gone either way, but it was Margaret who edged into the semi-final with a 21-19 win, having had wins against Pat Higgins (21-13) and Irene Nowell (21-15) in the earlier rounds. Despite having to concede a handicap of two against Tony in the semi-final, Magaret was able to claim five 2s to win through to yet another Hesketh Arms final, the winning margin being 21-14.

This was Margaret’s third consecutive final at the Hesketh this season, having been runner-up in the Rose Bowl and a winner (partnering Eileen Rawcliffe) in the Spring Pairs.

It was George, however, who continued the form he had been showing all afternoon and was able run out a comfortable 21-8 winner to claim his first competition win at the Hesketh Arms, having been runner-up in the Championship Cup in 2010