Page 20 - july 2023

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Jack Pye & AJ Brown

win SMPT European Open Pairs title

Jack Pye & AJ Brown of Wymondham SMBC are SMPT Euro-
pean Open Pairs Champions after beating Sweden’s Bente &
Tommy Dahlgren by 12-7 with an end to spare in the final in
Herentals, Belgium. Jack & AJ went through the entire weekend
unbeaten. After reeling off four wins and a draw on the first day
of the event to dominate Group G they continued to display great
form winning all their games on Sunday.
Their last group game saw them beat Belgium’s Herman
De Rijcke & Herman Verheist 12-4 and followed that with a 10-
5 win against Sweden’s Olle Backgren & Michael Derwael in the
first knock-out round.
They then eliminated Irish pair Robert Kidd & Lawrence Mc-
Carten before facing a huge task against fellow Englishmen
European Open Pairs Champs Craig Burgess & Mitchell Young in the quarter-finals. It proved
AJ Brown & Jack Pye to be a tough match but Jack & AJ again came out on top win-
ning by two shots. A win against Belgium’s Sibe Laureys & Frans Horemans in the semi-finals saw
them through to play the Dahlgrens in the final. The Dahlgrens had reached the final with a semi-
final victory against Belgium’s Jonathan & Dimitri Payne.
Selwyn Goldsmith

Dorset are the Premier Champions of England

Dorset Premier are the new I.C.C Premier champions after beating West Mids Premier in the final.
Kent “A” won the I.C.C “A” team title beating Hampshire in the final. The new Premier 2 section
was won by Cheshire who beat Wiltshire in the final.

Topics to discuss?

Recently, Lorraine Axtell asked me to raise the topic of straight running bowls, which I have mentioned
in my ramblings but I can’t believe this is the only topic that people may or may not be happy about.
She did not express a view either way, just that people were discussing it. I am reminded of the
saying “that not enough is being done for the apathetic” Basically because they don’t give a toss
anyway! But what about the rest of us and those as Lorraine pointed out were indeed discussing
things?? I am very serious about NOT splitting our sport, which I suspect some of the so called Eng-
land Ladies team would possibly like, especially with separate ladies competitions. This to me would
be an admission that they are not good enough, which I refuse to accept, so they in the past they
have just called me names. But the ESMBA was founded as a mixed sport. I have expressed my
view, so why don’t you?
What about one of the non-bowling real life heroes. Oscar Schindler is known, as is Desmond
Doss from the film Hacksaw Ridge. He was a conscientious objector who refused to fight but was a
man of extreme courage and the only conscientious objector to have ever received the medal of
honour for extreme courage. Watch the film Hacksaw Ridge. There are others out there, ordinary
people of extreme courage that we have never heard of. I know some and will eventually pinch some
space for them. Returning to bowls, do you agree with all the rules both National and local? Would
you like to promote some new ones? Well, these pages are yours, at least whilst I’m producing them.
You can get them published anonymously if you wish, as long as I know who you are.