Anita won through to the Middlesex Women’s Unbadged Singles final in dramatic style at Ashford on Saturday. She came from behind in both her quarter-final and semi-final matches to level the score at 20-20 and went on to get the winning shot in both games on the deciding end. As for JenB, competing in the same competition, on her own admission and standards, it was a bad day on the bowls green! Karen put up a great effort fighting it out amongst the county’s women club champions on Sunday losing to an eventual finalist in her quarter final in Champion of Champions.
Anita plays her final on Saturday 10th August at Cambridge Park .. all support welcome.
We enjoyed a good afternoon of bowls at Ember on Sunday in the latest team friendly. Despite some traffic headaches we all got there on time, beating the opposition in one case as she went to Sunbury by mistake! The rinks were shared 2-2 but we nicked the win 55-54 on overall shots. Congratulations to John who picked up the prize money for the shot nearest the spider, a novel change to the raffle.
It wasn’t quite the same story in our SML game at Staines on Saturday, with the “green” being the challenge. The start was delayed due to traffic issues (a recurring theme!) and in the end we came away contented with an 8-2 loss. We move onto the next game on Sunday 21st at Fordbridge Park.
Friday Triples resumed this week with wins for the teams led by AlanP, Eileen and Nikki. In a complete reversal of fortunes, this leaves last year’s winning captain at the bottom and the wooden spoon holder on top! .. Nikki (8pts); Alison (6); Eileen (6); AlanP (4); Karen (4); Diane (2)
After being pelted with around a month’s worth of rain over the last few days, the green is now fully open. Activities are returning to normal with Friday Triples resuming after last week’s postponement. The green will also get its regular cut on Friday evening, but please be aware it may need swishing before any play. If you treat it like a warm-up before bowling it isn’t so bad! You may also notice a few changes taking place inside the club chalet with plenty of clear boxes on show .. let us know what you think.
The reigning Men’s and Women’s champions negotiated tricky opening games this week to progress to the quarter-finals. Dennis saw off Nathan and Karen beat Eileen; both games proved to be a great watch .. but perhaps not great for the competitors’ nerves! There’s been lots of other games played in all competitions and without any concessions which is great testimony to the enthusiasm afforded by all .. win or lose!
We were blessed with yet another sunny day for the latest club competition, the Presidents Plate. An unprecedented number of entrants saw ten teams of triples play a series of four short games according to a swiss-system format. Despite some mighty close games, and numerous draws, two teams finished clear of the chasing pack and qualified for finals weekend. Hats off to Andrea who has been in fine form of late and qualified for her first final, alongside more seasoned teammates Cassie and AlanP. The second spot went to Pat, Keith & Dennis with a vital win in their last game. Thanks once again to Nikki, overcoming some particular challenges yesterday, to provide refreshments and lunch. Everyone is welcome to enter the last of our day-long competitions on Saturday 20th July, the grandly named Presidents Cup. It’s a singles 4-3-2-1 scoring format which favours those who may get close to the jack but tend to get pipped to shot wood!
Sunbury enjoyed some success in this week’s Middlesex county competitions. Anita beat the woman who Tracy lost to in the previous round and JenB beat Karen to progress to the quarter-finals of the Unbadged Singles. If both win their next games they will face each other in the semis! In the Women’s Triples there was a fine 19-16 win for Tracy, Jenny and JenB against a team from Bishop Duppas and next face a tricky visit to Ashford. Unfortunately, Karen, Nikki & Eileen lost out 21-20 at Cambridge Park.
BobH finished the day as the only unbeaten player at Sunday’s Mixed 2-wood Singles competition. Played on a blazing hot day it was Bob and JenB who won through to finals weekend with semi-final wins against other group winners/runners-up Jenny and AlanP. It was good to see some notable wins for less experienced players and even a couple of draws in the 52 games played. The day went on a little longer than anticipated but was kept in control under the guidance of Gary. Thanks are also due to Nikki and Dennis for sorting out refreshments throughout the day. Lastly, thanks to all who participated, every match was played/marked in great spirit. 
Alison’s team remain unbeaten in the Friday Triples after pipping Eileen’s team on the final end in the latest round of games; Nikki’s team continued their good form with a comfortable win against Diane’s team; Alan’s team prop up the table after a battling loss against Karen’s team! The next games continue on Friday 28th.
This week’s team matches didn’t quite go Sunbury’s way .. losing both the midweek friendly to Teddington and Saturday’s SML match to last year’s champions Fordbridge Park. Rosie the dog didn’t seem to mind though!