THE first two Short Mat Bowls National Championship titles of the season were contested over the weekend, with the Mixed Fours on Saturday and Over 55’s Pairs on Sunday, writes Nicholas Truscott.
Cornwall were represented by two teams in the Mixed Fours.
Elise Daniell (Holmans), Sandra Worton (St Newlyn East), Nigel Nicholls (Newlyn Trinity) and Peter Hore (Holmans) were drawn in Group One where they faced Steve Bailey, Tracey Bailey, Sam Jackson & Linda Reilly (West Midlands) losing 7-8, Mark McHugh, Darren Mather, Maria Mather & Sheila Wilson (Greater Manchester) losing 4-9 and Derek Adams, Joanne Clements, Megan Leeder & Michael Rice (Suffolk) winning 8-4.
They finished third in the group, missing out on qualification for the knockout stages.
Mark Slack, Karen Burton, Caroline Trubshaw & Alan Trubshaw (Duloe) were drawn in Group Five where they faced Tracy McLean, Leah Wood, Jason McLean & Ryan Knight (Hampshire) losing 2-11.
They then beat Viv Morris, Ron Smith, Christine Belcher & Steve Morris (Oxfordshire) 12-5 and Anna Wickens, Graham Wickens, Millie Froud & Nigel Froud (East Sussex) 13-3.
They finished second in the group to qualify for the knockout stages.
In the first round they lost narrowly to Michael Doorey, Robert Doorey, Amanda Doorey & Grace Doorey (Kent) 7-8.
Cornwall were represented by four teams in the Over 55’s Pairs.
Sandra Worton (St Newlyn East) & Nigel Nicholls (Newlyn Trinity) were drawn in Group Five where they faced Ian Sanger & Robbie Gale (Dorset) winning 19-3, Jeff Branch & Dennis Mack (Hertfordshire) winning 9-7 and Karen Kirby & Les Kirby (Wiltshire) losing 6-7.
The two wins were enough for top spot in the group and a place in the knockout stages.
Austen Runnals (Luxulyan) & Steve Smith (St Newlyn East) were drawn in Group Six where they faced Sue Pledger & John Pledger (Essex) losing 8-9, Joy Townsend & Graham Tweed (Norfolk) losing 4-15 and Jean Bridges & Peter Arthur (North Yorkshire) winning 12-7. They finished fourth in the group, missing out on the knockout stages.
Andy Jiggens & Rob D’Agostino (Kensey Vale) were drawn in Group Nine, where they faced Brian Barefield & Rob Edwards (Surrey) losing 7-8, Ron Smith & Chris Beard (Oxfordshire) losing 6-15 and Ian Roe & David Watkins (Herefordshire) losing 1-11. Finishing bottom of the group meant they missed out on the knockout stages.
Jon Read & Martin Boraston (Duloe) were drawn in Group 16, where they faced Chris Escott & Peter Winter MBE (East Sussex) winning 12-3, Bill Gearing & Toni Gearing (Hertfordshire) losing 7-9 and Chris Davison & Shane Davision (Hampshire) winning 11-6. The two wins saw them finish second in the group and through to the knockout stages.
In the first round of the knockout stages Sandra & Nigel lost 5-11 to Sue Tuttle & Steve Tuttle (Surrey) and Jon & Martin won by one shot against Mike Wright & Steve Puttock (Hampshire) 8-7.
The second round saw Jon & Martin win comfortably by 12 shots to three against Brian Barefield & Rob Edwards (Surrey) to progress to the quarter-finals, where they lost by a single shot to Sue & Steve Tuttle (Surrey).
County Leagues
The four area league titles were decided last week with all four area league titles being retained by the 2022/3 season winners. Representing each area in the Bebbington Cup will be West –Newlyn Trinity, Central – St Newlyn East Phoenix, East – Duloe and North – Blisland.