🏆 County Finals: Day 1

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News / 25th July 2026

The Battles Begin at Portland: Finals Weekend Unleashed

By Your Green-Side Insider & Bev

The county event of the year is officially underway! Hosted at Portland on an incredibly blustery day that made bowling quite challenging, the games certainly did not disappoint.

A massive thank you goes out to Portland for the use of their facilities and their excellent service in the bar and kitchen. Appreciation also goes to our markers, Paul, Peter, and Bev, alongside our umpire John, for keeping us all in check!

While the morning session featured the Women’s Champion of Champions alongside the Men’s U24 Singles and the Men’s Senior Fours who were both competing for a spot in the National Finals, the afternoon action brought us the Women’s 2-Bowl (with the winner qualifying for nationals), the all-Benfield Men’s Fours final, and the Women’s Triples between BD and GC.

Men’s U24 Singles: Shilton Claims the Crown in a Thriller

In a contest that tested every ounce of concentration against the howling gusts, T. Clark (NB) and P. Shilton (AS) delivered a fierce battle to 21 shots.

Shilton seized the early initiative, establishing a 6–2 lead after four ends thanks to picking up a pair of threes. Clark dug deep to respond, chipping away steadily to lead 13–9 by the 15th end.

As the match entered the final stretch, Clark hit a roadblock, allowing Shilton to seize the momentum and overtake with a commanding 18–13 lead. Refusing to throw in the towel, Clark began clawing back shots, cutting the deficit to just two at 19–17 after 23 ends. With both players in touching distance of the line, it was ultimately Shilton who held his nerve to grab a crucial two shots on the next end, securing both the title and a coveted National Finals spot.

Men’s Senior Fours Final: Myerscough’s Four Books National Ticket

Over on Rink 4, the Senior Fours Final delivered an exceptional display of teamwork and tactical mastery over 15 ends, with a coveted spot at the national finals on the line.

The rink saw the quartet skipped by G. Myerscough (ST), alongside D. Robson, F. Short, and M. Dickinson, take on the formidable four skipped by S. Pallas (G), joined by W. Ray, M. Bennett, and K. Jameson.

Myerscough’s rink came out firing on all cylinders in the challenging conditions, immediately establishing control by securing a massive four on the fourth to surge into an 8–0 lead. Pallas and company dug deep to find a foothold, getting on the board with a pair on the fifth and fighting hard through the middle ends to narrow the gap to 10–6.

Just as Pallas looked to build momentum, Myerscough’s rink slammed the door shut with another explosive four-shot haul on the tenth end. Refusing to let up, they maintained relentless pressure down the stretch, adding further scores to seal an impressive 24–8 victory after 15 ends—securing both the county title and their ticket to the national finals in style!

Women’s Champion of Champions

T. Napier (FH) 5 v A. Dunton (P) 21

The scoreline does not reflect the fact that there were some tight heads in this game with both players saving shots with their last bowls.

Amy got off to a great start leading 8-1 after 5 ends. Thelma replied with a 3 on the next end but then Amy commanded the game over the following 3 ends to lead 14-3 by end 9. Thelma kept fighting back and took 2 on end 10, but Amy followed with 3×2 & 1 to take the win of 21-5 to become our County Champion.

Men’s Fours Final: Benfield Battle Goes the Distance

The afternoon session set the stage for an all-Benfield showdown in the Men’s Fours final, as the rink skipped by J. King went head-to-head with the quartet skipped by D. Ross in a high-stakes club battle.

Trading blows right from the off, King struck first on the opening end, only for Ross to reply with a singles on ends three to six to bring the score level 3–3 after 5 ends. After Ross extended the advantage to 8–4, King ignited his team’s momentum with a brilliant four-shot haul on the ninth end to once again, bring the game level.

This pretty much continued to be the theme throughout the game – the next 4 ends saw King pull away to lead 11-8 before dropping four then responding with 1, again, bringing the game level on the 13th end.

The match was perfectly poised at 14–14 on the 16th end, where Ross held his nerve to secure a single and take a narrow lead into the last.

On the final end, Ross was holding again before King produced a superb bowl to turn the shot out. In the attempt to respond, Ross unfortunately flicked an opposition bowl into the head, resulting in two shots against him. With the count already secured, King chose not to play his final bowl — sealing a dramatic victory snatched right from under Ross’ nose.

Women’s 2 Bowl Singles

M. Angove (WM) 15 v S. Watts (P) 13

Marysia took an early lead of 4-1 after 4 ends but by end 6 Sue had levelled the scores to 4-4. Marysia took the next 3 ends to lead 7-4 but Sue quickly followed up with a 2 on end 10 to cut her deficit to 6-7. Marysia took the lead again to 9-6 by end 12, but Sue dug deep and had levelled the score again to 9-9 by end 14. By end 18 Marysia was back in front leading 14-10. Sue took the following 2 ends to cut her deficit to 13-14.

All to play for on the last end and it was Marysia who scored 1 to take the win 15-13 and become our County Champion and secure her place at the National Finals at Leamington Spa. Congratulations.

Women’s Triples

K. Proctor (BD) 15 v A. Stevenson (GC) 13

Scores were level 1-1 on end 2.

By end 7 Benfield had taken a lead of 7-4. Benfield scored on the next 2 ends with 1&5 which increased their lead to 13-4 after 9 ends. Then Benfield stalled on 13 for the following 6 ends as Gosforth Coxlodge got in their stride fighting back taking 4×1 & 2×2 so by end 15 they have cut their deficit back to 12-13. With some very close heads, Benfield fought on to take the following 2 ends to lead 15-12. Despite throwing everything into the last end Gosforth Coxlodge only managed to take a 1 on end 18. Benfield then took the win of 15-13 to become our County Champions.

Congratulations to Benfield and commiserations to Gosforth Coxlodge who displayed a tremendous comeback!

Both teams are representing BN at Leamington Spa and we wish them all the best.

Still to Come Tomorrow!

The action continues tomorrow with another stacked schedule of county finals:

Sunday – 10:00 AM

(Umpire: Rachel Cartwright)

Women’s Pairs: B. Ware (WM) v T. Napier (FH)
Men’s Pairs: G. Myerscough (ST) v L. Jameson (G)
Mixed Pairs: P. Tait (FH) v S. Richardson (G)
Women’s Fours: M. Green (NB) v A‑M. Murray (FH)
Men’s Champion of Champions: B. Davidson (WR) v J. King (BD) (Marker: P Duffy)

Sunday – 2:00 PM

(Umpire: Anne-Marie Murray)

Women’s 4 Bowl Singles: S. Carter (HX) v K. Sultman (FH) (Marker: K Milner)
Men’s 4 Bowl Singles: G. Myerscough (ST) v M. Rogan (HW) (Marker: R Varley)
Men’s 2 Bowl Singles: A. Johnson Jr (WK) v B. Davidson (WR) (Marker: P Duffy)
Men’s U24 Pairs: A. Scott (ND) v L. Jameson (G)
Men’s Triples: M. Bennett (G) v C. Yeomans (G)
Women’s Senior Fours: C. Brodie (P) v A. Stevenson (GC)