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WILTSHIRE NEWS 25
WILTSHIRE NEWS

SUCCESS IN THE ENGLAND UNDER 21 SQUAD
Until last year Wiltshire short mat bowlers from Wiltshire have never been
selected for either the senior or u21 National Squads. Last year Aidan
Wicks (Westbury Blue Circle) successfully trialled for the u21 squad. Aidan
was subsequently joined by 17 year old Tom Bright (Bromham) at the na-
tional trials.
Both have now received news from the England u21 Manager Brian
Claessens that they have been successful. In Wiltshire the number of
younger players is on the increase. With over thirty clubs located across the county there are oppor-
tunities for people of all ages to have a go. WSMBA has an extensive website –
www.communigate.co.uk/wilts/wiltshiresmba.
COUNTY PAIRS
The first county competition of the year was played out Christie Miller Indoor Bowling Club and the
first stage of the competition saw the 32 entrants drawn into 8 groups. The winners of these groups
moved to the Championship with the remainder playing for the County Plate.
The semi-finals of the championship saw Pam and Les Baldry (Crudwell) playing against Chris
Smith and Di Sullivan (Villagers) and Bromham pair, Tom Bright and Denise Wiltshire take on Geoff
Lane (Crudwell) and Pete Sullivan (Villagers), last year’s champions . The Villagers club has only
recently been formed and Chris, Di and Pete have returned to regular short mat bowls after a period
of “retirement”. Pam and Les lost in a very close game with the Bromham two having a convincing
win over the Lane/Sullivan pairing.
The final turned out to be a close, tense affair. Tom and Denise took an early 5-0 lead but the
Villagers gradually came back to draw the game 5 shots each making an extra end necessary. With
only two woods of the extra end left, Bromham held three shots and a seemingly impregnable posi-
tion. However Chris Smith produced a dramatic last wood to take the shot leaving Bromham skip an
all but impossible final shot to win the game but it was not to be as the Villagers pair of Chris Smith
and Di Sullivan became 2013/2014 County Pairs Champions.
The Plate Final was equally well contested although the result was not so close. Last year’s
championship runners-up Beryl Green (Field) and Maureen Collett (Kington Langley) played Andy
and Maureen Jelly (Trowbridge). The former ran-out winners by 10 shots to 5.
SUMMER 2013
Wiltshire Short Mat Bowls enjoyed a very successful summer. On the county front after a very narrow
defeat to a very strong West Glamorgan team there have been wins at home and away against Avon
and Dorset.
Two county leagues have also just been completed. In the south league, Market Lavington won
by a significant margin followed by Bratton, Dinton, Chalke Valley and Kingsway. The north league,
as always, was a closer affair with Westbury Blue Circle taking the title after being chased hard by
Crudwell, Seend, Melksham and Bromham. A two-legged play-off will be arranged between the two
top teams to determine the Summer League County Champions.
A new summer competition to Wiltshire was introduced. The Team of Three comprises of clubs
playing each other in singles, pairs and triples. The success of the event meant that two leagues
were necessary. In the County League (South) Westbury Blues came first followed by Market Lav-
ington and Trowbridge. In the North League, Crudwell lost only one game to win comfortably. They
were followed by Blue circle Royals and Marshfield.
Short mat bowls, according to Sport England, is the second fastest growing sport. Over the
summer period three new clubs have started within the county of Wiltshire. Winterslow, in the south
of the county, have played for a few years but now wish to affiliate to WSMBA. White Horse SMBC
(based in Westbury) has been started to give Blue Circle outdoor bowlers the opportunity to play
bowls throughout the winter period. The Villagers SMBC was formed in August to cater for the
bowlers of Atworth. Membership has grown quickly with a number of locals returning to the sport.