England Ladies vs Armagh Ladies

Played over 2 days on the 1st and 2nd October 2011

Played to the format of the Top Team competition - two each of the individual disciplines - Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours plus a team of 6 Rinks. The only change being the scoring system which was 2 points for every mat won and 1 point for a draw, including the 6 Rink games.

Saturday saw play held at Bridgman Indoor Bowls Club, Harrold in Bedfordshire, where the England team got off to a strong start in the first of the four sessions. They won one of the singles matches, won one and drew one pairs, won both triples and won both fours games to race into the lead by 13 points to 3 with a shot difference of +51.

The Armagh ladies fought back in session 2 with each team winning 3 mats but the England ladies had the better shot difference by +9 shots

After lunch the England individuals lost both singles matches,  won one of the pairs, won one and drew one triples and won one of the fours games to lose the session by 7 points to 9 with -11 shots overall. The Armagh ladies again showed their strength in the final session of the day winning four of the six rinks to bring the closing score on Saturday to 30-26 points and 312-280 shots in favour of England.

To celebrate a great day of bowling, both teams relaxed at a dinner at the Bedfordshire Golf Club, Stagsden followed by entertainment from Irish singer Sean Conroy.

Sunday’s sessions were played at Kempston Indoor Bowls club and once again the England ladies had a strong start, taking the first session of individuals by 12-4 points with +14 shots and continued adding to their lead with an 8-4 points +9 shots win in the second session.

The third session was shared, 4 mats each, which guaranteed the England ladies the overall win in the competition, bringing the scores to 58-42 with only 12 points to play for in the final session.

The Armagh ladies did not give in but the England ladies dug deep and held on to take a further 5 points from the final session to finally win by 63 points to 49 and 609-558 shots.

Well done to all those that played in the competition over the two days. The standard of bowling was very high and the spirit in which the game was played was a credit to both teams.

The shot difference was even better than first thought because, due to miscalculation, I incorrectly announced the shots on the day as 667-662. However, the points were as stated.

The selected players are as follows:

Lesley Fennell     (Cheshire)

Elise Daniell     (Cornwall)

Lorraine Axtell     (Devon)

Bryony Ford    (Dorset)

Babs Morokutti     (Essex)

Sylvia Kendall    (Hants)

Shirley Cox     (Herefordshire)

Isobel Wardley    (Herefordshire)

Jeanette Gayler     (Herts)

Sue Murray     (Herts)

Linda Wynn     (Kent)

Jean Dennington     (London)

Jan Hedges     (London)

Kim Bridge     (Norfolk)

Debbie Phillips     (Norfolk)

Jean Woods     (Norfolk)

Rachel Pedley     (Northants)

Pat Beardsley     (N Yorks)

Rose Haynes     (N Yorks)

Bronagh Malone     (N Yorks)

Jacinta Townend     (N Yorks)

Gloria Smith    (Oxfordshire)

Hazel Berry     (Somerset)

Catherine Cowlin     (Somerset)

Celia Jeans     (Somerset)

Pam Fayers    (Suffolk)

Nora  Martin    (Suffolk)

Pauline Freeman     (Warks)

Kath Hoole     (W Sussex)

Brenda Jones     (W Sussex)

Gillian Weston     (W Sussex)