Bowls round-up: Cotton makes his individual breakthrough
Team titles have been the name of the game for Telford's Josh Cotton – until now, writes Malcolm Fletcher.
The Wrockwardine Wood bowler made his individual breakthrough by winning the £2,575 Edgmond Open on a sunshine day on Saturday.
Having helped the Wrockites win the County Cup in 2021 and the Premier League the following year, Cotton has now made a name for himself.
And the 29-year-old with the nickname ‘Fingers’ exclaimed after his triumph: “Buzzing to win my first comp today at Edgmond.”
Cotton got his hands on the £450 first prize by beating Sir John Bayley big gun Reece Farr 21-13 in the final to earn the praise of promoter Rob Burroughs.
“Josh won his first major competition after being 7-3 down early on in the final,” said Burroughs. “But he got the block back and played over his favoured middle well as Reece lost his weight completely, with Josh winning 13.
“In the semi-finals, both had great matches - Reece edged out Lee Brown (Stoke) 19, coming back from 10-0 down, while Josh edged out Dan Petcher (Derbyshire) 20, from 10-5 down.”
Cotton, who often cuts the greens at Wrockwardine, where his mum Louise is club secretary, beat another Bayley Boy in Scott Simpson 21-14 in the last eight after leading 10-1 and 15-4.
And now the proud Wrockite can look forward to taking his place in the big money West Brom Open finals later this month with real confidence.
Other quarter-final scores from Edgmond - Brown 21 Adam Penlington 20; Farr 21 Jamie King 13; Petcher 21 Callum Wraight 12.
Moment of truth
It’s the moment of truth for Alex Hassall in the £4,000 Potteries Panel on Tuesday night.
The bowler, who was Shropshire’s shock winner of the Midland Masters in 2022, needs to win two 25-end ties in the qualifier night to make the last eight for the grand finals tomorrow evening.
Hassall finished ninth out of the 24 bowlers who have contested the Panel – and, with only the top six guaranteed a place in the finals, he faces an opening clash with Darren Kerr tonight and would then need to win another tie to make it.
The action is centred on the artificial green at Bidduph both nights and the county trio of Callum Wraight, Joe Dicken and Dan Williams are already through in the hunt for a £1,000 first prize.
Reigning Panel champion Castlefields king Wraight, despite struggling for form due to snooker commitments, has already won £300 for topping the points table after eight straight victories, with Dicken (£150) finishing third and Williams (£75) fifth.
Hassall booked his place in the qualifiers by beating Sam Millward 28-18 last week at Alsager, Wrockwardine Wood man Millward also losing 24-19 to Josh Towey to miss out on the climax of the competition.
Opening night for leagues
Action in the most competitive league in Shropshire outside of the Premier League starts on Tuesday night.
Bowlers from all over the county travel to play in the Whitchurch League’s first division and promoted duo Adderley B and Childs Ercall are sure to find the going tough.
Adderley B take on the club’s A side, who finished runners-up to Woore last season, while Childs Ercall head to Shavington in the Ellison Wealth Management -backed league.
It’s also opening night in the Oswestry League’s top flight - which features loads of Welsh stars – with reigning champions Chirk AAA away to promoted Brymbo A.
They are already under way in the two big divisions of the Tanners Shropshire League with first division top dogs Castlefields A beating last season’s runners up Prince Hotel A 12-2 at home on Friday.
Ready to compete
Woore have proved they are ready to compete in the Taylor Support Shropshire Premier League.
The Whitchurch and Market Drayton bowls league champions marked their debut in the Premier’s Mayhew Trophy by beating Highley to make the quarter-finals of the six home-six away knockout.
The village club, who lost out in the play-off final against Horsehay last year, won both legs with Derek Wright the best of their five winners at Highley with a 21-9 card and Ben Hinton a 21-4 star at home in a fine 58 chalk success.
Fellow non-Premier sides Shifnal and Prince of Wales Hotel both bowed out, against Burway and Sir John Bayley respectively, while holders Castlefields eased past Horsehay.
