Bowls round-up: McKinley wins Bandit Bowls' winter consolation
A fine winter’s work in Bandit Bowls promotions by Shrewsbury’s Emmet McKinley has been rewarded in style.
Winner of two one-day competitions, the Oxon young gun took his place in last Sunday’s winter series consolation event at Wem Sports and ended up taking the biggest slice of a £2,500 prize cake.
The consolation round robin and knockout ties were for those bowlers who finished 41st and higher in the winter series points table, with the quarter-finalists qualifying for the £4,500 grand finals this coming weekend.
And eventual winner McKinley will be one to watch in the big money event after taking the consolation title with a 21-11 success over Cheshire veteran Gerald Merry.
“It was the first of the two finals weekends, with 55 people in the consolation competition trying to confirm a spot in grand finals day with eight spaces available,” said proud promoter Jamie Brookes on behalf of the BB organising team.
McKinley raced past Premier League man Tom Killen 21-11 in his semi-final while Merry was beating Chris Elsbury 21-12.
Quarter-final scores – Merry 21 Mark Holden 9; Elsbury 21 Jack Williams 11; Killen 21 Alan Langfield 9; McKinley 21 Alison Cotton 14.
Big competition qualifiers
Shropshire bowlers found the going hard over the second weekend of qualifying in the £2,575 Edgmond Open – but it was a completely different story in the Shifnal Spring Open.
Burway’s Jesse James ran out from 20-17 down to book his ticket to the Edgmond finals day on April 5 and Reece Farr (Sir John Bayley) was also successful.
But the other six places on the green voted the best in the county last year were taken by Elliot McGuinness, John Phillips, Shaun Swinton, Jack Desmond, Lee Brown and Steve Pratt.
Last Saturday night’s qualifier in the £1,280 Shifnal comp saw Clay Flattley edge a thriller against past County Merit winner Wayne Rogers 21-18 and Jackie Rutter add to her Edgmond finals ticket.
Wrockwardine Wood trio Sam Millward (who beat Andy Armstrong 21-20), Jamie King (21-20 versus Scott Harries) and Rob Roden all passed their Shifnal tests, as did Ash Wellings, Scott Simpson and Alex Wolfenden.
British Super Cup deadline
Time is running out for Shropshire bowls clubs to enter two knockouts that will take them outside the county.
Monday, March 31, is the deadline for entries in both the British Super Cup (four home-four away 31-up knockout) and the Midlands-based Free Press Cup with its five home-five away ties.
Mid Shropshire League title hopefuls Sinclair are among the early entries in the Super Cup while Wem USC and Wrockwardine Wood were quick to enter both.
