Bayley boys are the pride of the county after cup win
It was tight early on and tense near the end but ultimately Sir John Bayley had a bit to spare as they won the County Cup for the third time in 10 years.
The Premier League leaders ended up beating the record winners of the Glynn Hill Trophy, Castlefields, by 32 shots on the smaller green at Whitchurch club Bridgewater.
But as county official Rob Burroughs explained: “It was much closer than the scoreline suggests, with just two chalks separating the teams after the first four, and three after the middle four.”
And it was as the back four progressed in the gathering gloom on Saturday night that the tension threatened to spill over onto the green, with referee Eddy Broad kept on his toes to keep things calm.
“Into the back four and Wayne Rogers and Spencer Clarke had the best quality game of the night which earned Bayley stalwart Spencer the player of the match award after he led 12-7 and won 16,” added Burroughs.
“The momentum had shifted to a more vociferous Bayley as Chris Worthington led Adam Jones 12-0 early on, while Tom Roden went from 5-4 down against Castlefields captain Adie Rowe to 14-6 up and Kane Beaman came back from 8-4 down to lead 13-12 versus Andy Judson.
“Tom further extended his lead to 20-8 and just then just had to come off to win the game for the Bayley. Adie battled valiantly though and got back to 20-14 down and led a good bowl within a foot, but Tom played it out to win the game for the Bayley.
“Chris finished his match-changing game off winning 21- 5, while Kane snuck his game with Andy to 20 to make it a 32-shot victory overall.”
Earlier, county man Stuart Rutter and Fields’ young star Hayden Lewis both delivered 21-12 wins and the individual games were even tighter in the middle of the 12-a-side clash sponsored by KGJ Insurance.
Elated Bayley skipper David Lloyd received the trophy from county president Mick Jones and his deputy, Brenda Slingo, handed the ‘Alan Wishy Dodd Trophy’ to Clarke.
