WILTSHIRE Ladies have made an excellent start to the new outdoor bowls season with victories away in Wales in their opening friendly match of 2018 while the junior women notched a success in their first Amy Rose trial game of the year away against Hampshire.

Under the stewardship of 2018 county ladies president Dawn Edwards (Avon, Melksham) Wiltshire ladies made a highly successful venture over the Severn Bridge to defeat West Glamorgan by 16 shots (129-103) at Brynhfrid Bowls Club, Neath.

Wiltshire took the honours on five of the six rinks with the Wendy Anderson’ rink the only team to taste defeat suffering a 13-shot reverse.

They never recovered from losing the first six ends and trailing 8-0.

Wiltshire generally made a slow start and trailed overall 28-23 after five ends but had drawn level at 34-34 on the next. From that point onwards they never looked back and were always in control of the match.

They led 71-52 after 10 ends, 99-76 after 15, 108-91 and finished with a flourish to score another 21 shots and finally win 129-103.

Top rink honours went to the two Jones skips Mary from Devizes and Pat from Supermarine. Both recorded 10 shot victories closely followed by Margaret Annetts (nine shots), Babs Salter (seven shots) while skip Ruth Gerrish (Bradford-on-Avon) edged home by three shots.

The next county ladies friendly match is away to Oxfordshire at Witney Town next Tuesday, May 22.

Wiltshire junior ladies made a fine start to their first Amy Rose trial match of the 2018 campaign, a 15-end friendly, against Hampshire at Andover last weekend.

They led on both rinks after five ends. Joanna Hicks’ quartet were 5-3 up while Charlie Godwin’s foursome held a 6-2 advantage.

However after 10 ends Wiltshire trailed 14-16 as Hicks’ rink struggled with the tricky conditions and were 12-5 down but Godwin’s four found conditions a little easier on their rink and led 9-4.

Hicks’ team fought back to cut the gap to only four shots 16-12 down after 15 ends with a strong finish.

Godwin’s rink held their nerve maintaining their five shots advantage to post a 15-10 win at 15 ends and ensure that Wiltshire made a perfect start to the new Amy Rose campaign with a narrow 27-26 overall victory.

RESULTS

Wiltshire v West Glamorgan

Rink 1: Yvonne Savin (Chippenham Town), Jill Webb (Wroughton), Lesley Trattles (Wilton) & Ruth Gerrish (Bradford-o-A) beat M Cowley 21-18. Rink 2: Margaret Cooke (Broughton Gifford), Mo Price (Spencer Melksham), Janice Bull (Amesbury) & Margaret Annetts (Salisbury) beat W Evans 26-17. Rink 3: Jenny Couch (SM), Dawn Edwards (Avon), Mo Woolley (Alderbury) & Babs Salter (W’ton) beat Y Davies 22-15. Rink 4: M Pratt (Trowbridge West). Ros Corke (Wilton), Rosemary Fitzpatrick (Chip T) & Pat Jones (Supermarine) beat K Hawes 22-12. Rink 5: June Corbett (W’ton), Jean Buckland (Avon), Marilyn Kilburn (S’Marine) & Mary Jones (Devizes) beat M Davies 26-16. Rink 6: Ann Hindley (Wilton), Lynne Stanford (Ames), Jane Taylor (Box) & Wendy Anderson (Stratton Churchway) lost to G Thomas 12-25.

Score: Wiltshire beat West Glamorgan 129-103.

Amey Rose: Wiltshire v Hampshire at Andover, Rink 1: Louise Rose (Rod Cheney), Kerry Hatherall (Royal Wootton Bassett), Georgina Newman (Avon) & Charlie Godwin (RWB) won 15-10. Rink 2: Emily Jacobs (Trowbridge West), Alison Wells (Avon), Maisie Daniell (RWB) & Joanna Hicks (Highworth) lost 12-16.

Score: Wiltshire junior ladies beat Hampshire 27-26.

COMBINATIONS from Devizes, Spencer Melksham and Box will be bidding on Saturday to reach this year’s ladies national championships at Royal Leamington Spa.

The Wiltshire women’s county championships started in earnest a fortnight ago as two rounds in the county fours event were played with the third round and last 16 held around the county last Friday evening.

In the southern section the quartets to miss-out in the sectional last eight were Box skipped by Jean Collier who had to give second best to Spencer Melksham led by Marilyn Jay. And Avon skipped by Marcia Hartley who went down to the Box foursome of Carol Grenfell, Kathryn Yeoman, Sue Cooke and Alex Jacobs, the 2017 winners, as well as Winsley who lost against Amesbury.

Joining southern representatives Devizes, Spencer Melksham and holders Box in the last eight from the south of the county are Amesbury.

The four teams in the northern section to qualify for Saturday’s fours quarter-finals and semi-finals at Amesbury are Stratton Churchway (skip Janet Willis), Highworth (skip Joanna Hicks), Supermarine (skip Susan Griffiths) and Wroughton (skip Babs Salter).

Chippenham Town who have featured in the fours quarter-finals in recent season’s went down to a surprise loss to Supermarine skipped by Susan Griffiths in the last 16, whose rink are all newcomers to this stage of the fours championships.

The quarter-finals will be played this Saturday morning at Amesbury with the four winners progressing to the semi-finals in the afternoon.

The two winning semi-finalists will qualify for the county fours final at Avon on Saturday, July 28 on Wiltshire ladies county finals day.

But more importantly the two winning semi-finalists will have the distinction of being the first two teams to book a place at the 2018 national championships at Royal Leamington Spa and representing Wiltshire in the fours championship.

FOURS DRAW

Quarter-finals at Amesbury (Sat, May 19) at 10.15am: Spencer Melksham (Julie Crew, Marcia Cottle, Delia Godwin & Marilyn Jay) v Devizes (Patricia Reeves, Eileen Styles, Josie Mulligan & Mary Jones); Box, holders (Carol Grenfell, Kathryn Yeoman, Sue Cooke & Alex Jacobs) v Wroughton (June Corbett, Margaret Dowthwaite, Carol Woodward & Babs Salter); Stratton Churchway (Jackie Pearce, Johanna Bryant, Wendy Anderson & Janet Willis) v Highworth (Maggie Jordan, Ashley Lin, Patricia Pearce & Joanna Hicks); Amesbury (Ann Humphries, Julie Mitchell, Janice Bull & Joan Coleman) v Supermarine (Cheryl Walker, Ann Andrews, Nicki Kemble-Young & Susan Griffiths).

The semi-finals will be played in the afternoon (2.15pm approx)

A FULL-SCALE Middleton Cup trial against Hampshire men will be staged at Royal Wootton Bassett on Saturday (2pm).

The men’s Wiltshire team chosen by the county selectors to face the south coast county is dominated by players from the host club.

Twenty-four players are named for the game with no fewer than half of them coming from the Royal Wootton Bassett club plus two of the four named reserves who will get half a game.

In fact all of the 28 players including reserves are drawn from only five clubs – Bassett, Westlecot (six players), Holt (three), Spencer Mouton (two) while Salisbury have one representative.

Two new faces and one old face are included in the Wiltshire squad for the Hampshire match. They are Phil Gregory from East Anglia and former Welsh international Neil Collett who are both signed up and playing this season for Bassett.

While returning after several years away in South Africa is Michael Snell, who has rejoined Royal Wootton Bassett.

The first inter-county game in the 2018 Middleton Cup is scheduled for a fortnights time on Saturday, June 2 when Wiltshire travel to Exeter to renew old rivalries with Devon.

TEAM

Wiltshire v Hampshire (Middleton Cup Trial @RWB 2pm, May 19)

Rink 1: Gary and Mike Jackson (Westlecot), Gary Morphet & Mel Biggs(Royal Wootton Bassett). Rink 2: Wayne Simmonds (Holt), Craig Hatherall (RWB), Wayne Snook & Ben Gadd (both Holt). Rink 3: Kyle Anderson, Mike Snell, Steve Snell (all RWB) & Graham Shadwell (Spencer Moulton). Rink 4: Phil Gregory (RWB), Tom Warner (Salisbury), Graham Hatherall & Neil Collett (both RWB). Rink 5: Paul Kistle (W’cot), Chris Cheesley, Dave Godwin (both RWB) & Russell Francis (S M’ton). Rink 6: James Richman, Mike Titcombe, Ian Jefferies (all W’cot) & Neil Smith (player/manager, RWB).

Reserves to play 11 ends: Craig Morphet (RWB), Tony Keating (Holt), Barry Sictorness (RWB) and Michael Richards (W’cot).

WILTSHIRE Junior men’s involvement in the White Rose Trophy, men’s U25 inter-county double rinks, is over for another season before it has barely begun.

The Wiltshire U25 team were beaten in their opening west region group match at home at Royal Wootton Bassett by Somerset by ten shots as they went down 40-30 to their west country rivals last Sunday.

Moonrakers rink of Tom Newman (Avon), David Murray (Rod Cheney), Craig Hatherall and Craig Morphet (both Wootton Bassett) made a slow start and were 10-1 down early to the four skipped by England junior international Sam Steel and never recovered finally losing 12-22.

The other match featuring the foursome of James Richman, Nathan Richards (both Westlecot), Phil Gregory (RWB) and skipped by Mike Titcombe (Westlecot) were involved in a very tight game throughout.

The foursome were11-8 down at 10 ends but had wiped out the deficit to lead 18-16 at 19 ends, but had to finally settle for an 18-18 draw.

Somerset progress to the White Rose Trophy regional finals at West Backwell (Somerset) to be held on Sunday, June 17.