Premier League aces go chasing more title glory

Callum Wraight and Leighton Roberts both tasted success over the Bank Holiday weekend to be in the ideal mood for one-day competition at the Weston Rhyn club from 10.30am.

Castlefields king Wraight was rewarded for his trek to the east coast when he won the Gambert Baines Trophy for the second time in Scarborough, beating Joe Cranston in Monday’s final for title No. 20 of the year.

Well over 100 bowlers took part in the one-dayer on three greens at North Cliff BC and Wraight won the Champion of Champions qualifier by beating the British Parks Senior Merit winner from 24 hours earlier 21-19 to triumph.

Welsh star Roberts (Ifton) pocketed £700 as winner of the Wharton Cons Open in Northwich on Sunday, beating Josh Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood) in the semi-finals before a 21-9 romp against Josh Towey.

Tomorrow Wraight is among the first to take to the green near Oswestry while Roberts is a 12pm starter in a field that includes the likes of Clay Flattley, Nick Jones, Rich Goddard, Stuart Rutter, Mike Riley and Dave Bond.

But there will be no action at Meole Brace in Shrewsbury as the scheduled Shropshire senior inter-league championship has been called off due to lack of interest – despite being reduced to six-a-side and with strict limits on Premier bowlers to try and boost entries.

Lilleshall Hall’s flat green bowlers have really delivered for a charity which came to the rescue of one of its members.

Bowlers, family and friends turned out in good numbers to support president Kath Matthews and captain Sheila Payne’s annual charity day

And all the hard work to raise money – including a treasure hunt and an enormous raffle with well over 50 prizes – resulted in a fantastic total of £525 being raised.

“Sheila and Kath chose it to go to the Midlands Air Ambulance – which was particularly appropriate as, only a few weeks before, one of our own members had been transported to hospital by the Air Ambulance following a nasty accident,” said club spokesman by Quentin Smith.

“A sudden burst of rain at the start of the afternoon didn’t dampen spirits and the ladies versus gentlemen fixture was soon under way in bright sunshine.

“Competition secretary Alan Harvey arranged a complex series of short matches in order to absorb the slight mismatch of numbers on each side and ensure everyone who wanted to bowl saw some action. The match started with two rink games over six ends, which finished with one men’s rink winning 12-1 and one ladies’ rink winning 10-0! When all scores were totted up the gentlemen were the winners by 45-29.”

Played since 2002, excluding the Covid years, the men have won the trophy – made by Smith – many more times.