Avenue bowlers show they are golden oldies
Bears blaze their way to National Senior Fours title
The Avenue Coventry quartet of Phil Birch, Keith Wooding, Mark Ireland, and Graham Ashby won the National Men's Senior Fours Championship representing the Bears of Warwickshire last weekend.
The quartet secured a first end seven on their way to a first round 23-8 victory against Chris Rule, Kevin Bane, Alan Heath & Ian Miller from Cambridgeshire.
Wiltshire (Chris Baldwin, William Wheeler, Graham Richards and Dave Snell) provided the opposition in the last 16 and the Bears got off to a good start, a second end five helping them reach the eighth end up by five.
A double and treble increased the advantage to 10, it then became a game of exchanging shots to leave the Avenue quartet 26-16 winners and move into a quarter final clash against Oxfordshire (Keith Holloway, Andy Wilkin, Chris Charles and Mark Sykes).
It was the opponents that made the better start, but with 10 ends gone the match was all square.
Avenue edged the next five ends to lead by one with three ends to go, and a single and treble gave them some breathing room heading into the final ends so a dropped single couldn't deny them the 15-11 victory.
Birch, Wooding, Ireland and Ashby resumed in the semi-finals of the Senior Fours against a quartet from Huntingdonshire (Stu Agger, Mike Humphries, Graham Agger and Pete Brown), a good start that included a five helped the Avenue four reach 10 ends three shots up.
Two ends later the lead had increased to four, but the Bears shut out their opponents to win 20-9 with two ends to spare to book themselves a place in the final.
Their opponents, Albert Ward, Gary Dougherty, Ian Jackson and John Mansfield from Durham, needed an extra end to get through their semi-final game.
Neither side managed to break away from the other but at the midway stage the Bears were four shots up.
A treble on the 14th end swung the game in Durham's favour and they took the next end to lead by three with three ends left.
A brace of pairs took the Avenue quartet one ahead going into the last end, with the front end finished both sides had a wood touching the jack.
Warwickshire started to place woods where the jack might go if sprung and Durham tried their best to spring it but failed, the final end tied, Birch, Wooding, Ireland & Ashby winning the Senior Fours 13-12.