2026 club competition finals match reports

Men’s Championship
Clive Thomas beat Tony Jarvis 21-20

The two singles finals were a fitting way to conclude a rain-affected weekend, with Clive and Tony leading the way in a tense contest that featured some top-class bowls.

While Clive started well, Tony gradually took control and led 18-14 after 19 ends. But Clive never gave up, levelled on the 23rd, was one shot away from defeat by the next but scored the two he required on the 25th end.

He is the third new winner of the title in four years, following Andrew Croft’s and Mark Gooch’s successes.

Ladies’ Championship
Marge Breading beat Anne Bosman 21-17

If the men’s final was nail-biting, the comeback on the adjoining rink was barely believable. Anne – the most decorated current player at the club and three-times Ladies’ champion – was in superb form as she took a 15-3 lead.

But Marge - whose threat had been blunted in the Drawn Pairs final after having to face a series of long jacks – used precisely the same tactic to disrupt Anne. She won the next eight ends to take the lead and went on to what had by then become an inevitable victory.

Not once had Marge complained about having to face long jacks on Saturday’s very wet green, and not once did Anne complain about having to do the same on the Sunday.

Handicap
Bill Mann beat Rowland Morris 21-18

On a weekend (indeed, a season) of comebacks, Bill set the tone for what was to come. Trailing Rowland 2-14 after eight ends, he won seven of the next nine but was still behind after 20.

Bill took the lead for the first time on the 21st but Rowland fought back at the next to make it 18-18. Bill clinched his first title with a three.

John Martin Shield
Bob Sutton beat Mark Howell 24-20

The rain was pretty much continuous, but three sets of bowlers stuck at it throughout the Saturday morning, and despite some people’s misgivings about the wisdom of playing in the rain, the quality of bowls on display was high.

None more so than here, where the match swung one way and then the other, with Bob’s early lead turned on its head within a few ends. It looked like Mark’s title when he led 20-16 after 20 ends, but Bob kept his nerve, and with a three and four on the final two ends, squeezed home for his first club trophy.

Veterans
Neville Dalton beat Linda Huntley 18-9

For the second time in four years, Linda and Neville played each other in finals twice on the same day. This time, honours were even, and Neville won this competition at the second attempt, just a few hours after Linda had been part of the team that triumphed in their Mixed Pairs final.

Sam Farmer Plate
Graham Aldis beat Stephen Banks 22-18

In a year of close finals, here was yet another. Stephen, who had been part of the victorious Drawn Pairs team the previous day, was denied a second title by another stunning comeback by Graham Never Say Die Aldis.

Stephen was three shots from victory, at 18-14 after 18 ends. But dead-eye Graham did not drop another point in taking the last five ends.

Drawn Pairs
Neville Dalton and Stephen Banks beat Marge Breading and Mark Gooch 26-6

Arguably, this match was determined before a wood had been bowled. Marge and Mark won the toss and took the mat, but Marge’s jack failed to reach the minimum length. Stephen cast a long jack on the slightly heavy surface and never looked back, as he and Neville took a 17-0 lead after eight ends.

Their opponents won three ends in a row, adapting far better to the short jacks, but there was to be no sensational comeback this time - unlike in Marge’s Ladies’ Singles final, when she adopted much the same tactic.

Mixed Pairs
Linda and Peter Huntley beat Nicola Coles and Neville Dalton 15-12

Where did it all go wrong? The Huntleys held an early lead, but by seven ends, Nicola and Neville were 9-5 up, and at 11-7, they were four points from victory.

But with Peter in particular bowling superbly, he and Linda won five of the last six ends to progress from runners-up last year to champions.