Bears dominate to book Balcomb Trophy spot at finals

The teams competed in a round robin event consisting of the four main disciplines: Singles (4 woods, 21 up), Pairs (3 woods, 18 ends), Triples (2 woods, 18 ends) and Fours (2 woods, 15 ends).

The team representing the Bears were: Andy Walters (Welford) in the Singles; Keith Avery and Tom Millership (both Avenue Coventry) in the Pairs; Mark Smith, Luke Horne and Adam Smith (all Avenue Leamington) in the Triples; Aiden Maries (Avenue Leamington), Will Brundle (Welford), Keith Wooding and Mark Ireland (both Avenue Coventry) in the Fours.

Worcestershire were first up, Walters in the singles recovered from a slow start to reach 8-8, Worcestershire then moved 14-9 ahead, Walters pulled it back to 15-13 but again his opponent increased the gap, now 19-13. Walters closed to 19-16 before the game was won 21-16 by Worcestershire. A good start took Millership five shots ahead after nine ends but Worcestershire pulled it back to level with four ends to go, Millership took two fours with a pair of singles in response to lead by six heading into the final end, a double cut the margin of victory but couldn’t stop an 18-14 win. The triples were all square on five ends and also thirteen ends, Smith limited Worcestershire to two shots while adding six of their own to win 22-18. Despite losing the first end Ireland was in control of the fours, leading by twelve with four ends to play, they dropped a four the next end but saw out the contest with an 18-14. This gave Warwickshire an overall 74-67 win, sealing 21 of the available points.

Hosts Wiltshire were the next opponents on the opening day of the tournament, Walters made short work of his singles match, racing to a 21-5 win. The pairs however struggled to get going, ten down after tens became nine down with one end to go, Wiltshire took a five to win 24-9. With the scores all square after six ends Smith took a five in the triples to start building a lead before being pegged back to parity after twelve ends. A steady spell took the Bears three up with the final end to go but they dropped a double, final score 17-16 to Warwickshire. The fours again made a great start, eleven shots up after nine ends. Wiltshire cut that down to six with three ends to go, a brace of doubles with a double in response saw Ireland seal the win 17-9. With an overall win of 65-55 the Bears picked up another 21 points.

At the start of the second day Wiltshire had played 3 games and had 46 points, Gloucestershire also had played 3 games and held 44 points, Warwickshire were on 42 points, Worcestershire 9 points and Herefordshire 1 point, all having played 2 games.

Andy Walters again claimed the first victory for the Bears with a 21-8 win in the Singles. The Pairs raced away to a nine shot lead after seven ends but that was cut back to six after thirteen ends. With two ends left Millership was five shots up but scraped the win 19-18. With seven ends gone Smith was a shot up but built that up to five with five ends left. A good finish saw the Triples win 20-13. The Fours hit the fifth end nine shots up, with eleven ends gone that had increased to twenty, Ireland completed the victory 31-5. A 91-44 win and winning all disciplines gave the Bears the full 24 points. With the final session to go only Wiltshire had played all 4 of their games, Warwickshire topped the table with 66 points, Wiltshire were next with 64 points, Gloucestershire had 44 points, Worcestershire 15 and Herefordshire just 1 point.

Warwickshire went into their final game knowing that they needed to win just one discipline against Gloucestershire to guarantee qualification. Neither player could build a lead in the singles as the scores passed 8-8, 11-11 and 18-18. Walters then took a single and double to seal the 21-18 victory and secure the points needed to take the Bears to the Nationals. A dropped four cut the Pairs lead down to one with eight ends played but with four ends to go the Bears led by seven, a single and double cut that back to three but Avery and Millership replied with their own single and double to win 18-11.

The Trebles raced to an 8-0 lead after seven ends, Gloucestershire scored a four but the Bears added another twelve unanswered shots to lead by sixteen with three ends left. Gloucestershire picked up another shot but Horne and the Smiths finished with a treble and single to complete their 24-5 victory. Another good start saw the Fours reach eight ends seven up, their opponents took a single but they replied with four shots to lead by ten with three ends to go. Maries, Brundle, Wooding and Ireland dropped three singles but finished 15-10 winners. Another clean sweep saw the Bears pick up another 24 points with their 78-44 overall win.

With all the games completed Warwickshire finished top with 90 points, Wiltshire were second with 64 points, third place went to Gloucestershire with 44 points, Worcestershire had 27 points and Herefordshire finished last with 13 points.

The Bears qualify for the Balcomb Trophy quarter finals on Saturday 16th August, the other qualifiers from the other groups are Northumberland, Essex, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Somerset.