On the morning of Saturday 2 August a party of 30 bowlers left Suffolk to travel up to Durham for a weekend of bowls.

First stop was Pelton where during Saturday afternoon a pairs competition was played.

Randomly drawn pairs were split into seven groups of four, with the group winners and best runner up qualifying for the quarter finals.

When the event reached the semi final stage, it was a battle of the Goodrich’s where Sally (bowling with Dave Templeton of Durham) defeated husband Jim (bowling with Durham’s Stephen Templeton). In the other game Sue Davey (bowling with David Storey of Durham) beat David Mittell (bowling with Durham’s Brenda Liddle).

The final was a really high quality game, with Sue and Sally bowling particularly well.

It was Sally and Dave though who built up an early lead, which Sue and David were unable to recover from.

Congratulations to Sally Goodrich and Dave Templeton for winning the pairs competition.

During the Saturday evening, the Suffolk bowlers were joined at their hotel by some of the Durham team, where all enjoyed a meal together.

On the Sunday morning all travelled to the Riverside, Chester-le-Street for the county match between Durham and Suffolk.

The team selected to represent Suffolk was:

Suffolk A: Jim Goodrich, Graham Davey, Colin Fellingham, Tom Runnacles
Suffolk B: Sue Davey, Sally Goodrich, Ellen Grube, Sue Gilder
Suffolk C: Heather Cain, Ann Hathaway, John Varden, David Mittell
Suffolk D: Peter Runnacles, Rita Runnacles, Andy Gilder, Mick Watkins
Suffolk E: Trevor Cain, Ralph Sadgrove, Don Allum, Andy Pooley
Suffolk F: Shirley Watkins, Sam Runnacles, Peter Fellingham, Neil Jolly

There would be six sessions of four games (9 ends) with each rink playing four games.

In the first session it was a slow start from the Suffolk rinks, with each of them having to get used to the carpets. However after a few ends it was Suffolk C who were first to take control of their game, securing a reasonable lead which they were able to extend, running out comfortable 13-5 winners. Suffolk A were next to get more points on the board, consistent bowling rewarded with a 9-4 win. The other two games were very close and always looked like being last end deciders. That’s the way they turned out and both Suffolk rinks could consider themselves unfortunate to lose, B by 6-8 and D by just a single shot, 7-8.

Overall though, Suffolk could be pleased with the shared session.

The second session saw the four Suffolk rinks fly out of the blocks and by the mid way point, all had healthy leads which they were able to protect. Most impressive were Suffolk B who bounced back superbly from their opening loss, with a massive 18-3 win. Suffolk A got their second consecutive win, with a 10-4 result. Finally Suffolk E and F joined the party, winning 11-3 and 10-4 respectively. A whitewash session for Suffolk, who now had an early 12-4 lead in the match.

In the third session, the first Suffolk points came from Suffolk D who avenged their opening session defeat with a comfortable 10-3 win. Close behind were Suffolk F who got their second win of the day, this time by 8-4. Unfortunately that was the end of the Suffolk scoring as Suffolk E were edged out 4-7 in a low scoring game and Suffolk C just couldn’t get a foothold in their game, losing 2-19. Overall though, Suffolk’s eight point advantage had been maintained, now 16-8.

The fourth session saw Suffolk take a really strong hold in the match, as all four rinks were unbeaten. In contrasting games, Suffolk C and D looked comfortable from the outset gaining early leads which they steadily increased to win 13-3 and 15-3 respectively. Meanwhile rinks A and B were both involved in close tussles. It was a stunning last bowl which earned Suffolk B an 8-7 win and some tactically astute play which saw Suffolk A to a 7-7 draw. A seven point session for Suffolk had extended their overall lead to 23-9.

Remarkably, the fifth session saw an improved result for Suffolk when all four rinks won their games. Suffolk A maintained their unbeaten record with an excellent 16-1 win, Suffolk B got their third consecutive win (14-4), Suffolk E won 11-6 and finally Suffolk F edged a close game 7-6. Overall Suffolk were now leading 31-9.

With the match won, the sixth and final session turned out to be the only one that Suffolk lost. The plus points were a slim 7-6 win for Suffolk D and a 7-7 draw for Suffolk F. Suffolk C were edged out 4-6 in a low scoring game and despite a valiant attempted comeback Suffolk E lost 10-11.

The match finished with a 34-14 (shots: 227 – 139) Suffolk win, retaining the Ray White Shield.

It had been a fine all round performance from a much changed Suffolk team, with every bowler playing their part. Particular mention should go to rinks A and F who were both unbeaten with three wins and a draw.

Thanks from the team go to those that travelled and didn’t play, but supported the Suffolk bowlers all day.

The weekend of bowls had been thoroughly enjoyed by all those that had travelled from Suffolk.

Neil Jolly
(County Captain)