Dacorum bowls round-up: Including victory for Kitcheners in the Griffin Cup

Kitcheners BC went through to the second round of the Watford & District Griffin Cup by beating Bovingdon on Thursday.
Ken Woodward, Enid Rance and Alan Doydge won the Les Keel Trophy at Kitcheners Bowls ClubKen Woodward, Enid Rance and Alan Doydge won the Les Keel Trophy at Kitcheners Bowls Club
Ken Woodward, Enid Rance and Alan Doydge won the Les Keel Trophy at Kitcheners Bowls Club

Elsewhere, the Kitcheners ladies won their Watford & District League match 30-8 against Abbots Langley, while 30 bowlers took part in the Les Keel Trophy on Saturday.

The tournament was won by Ken Woodward, Enid Rance and Alan Doydge, with Brian Rumph, Colin Starling and Jill Birdsell finishing second.

Meanwhile, Bovingdon travelled to Kitcheners on Sunday for a Dacorum Shield match. Kitcheners won the men’s rink 27-10, the mixed rink 24-23 and the ladies’ rink 20-13; taking all five points. The friendly rink ended in a 19-19 draw.

> Potten End

The Potten End ladies were drawn against a very strong team from Bushey in the national Top Club and, despite some heroic efforts, went down by three rinks to one.

The County League matches saw the men triumph over Hemel Hempstead by four points to two – having shared rinks – but the ladies came up against a strong quartet from Bushey and went down 26-10.

The men fielded a team missing a couple of key players against Garston in the Eversley Cup and, despite holding their own for a good part of the match, lost 39-66.

The Griffin Cup match against Croxley Guild saw Potten End men trounce their opponents by 36 shots to 13, while in the only friendly fixture of the week the men entertained a team from Houghton Regis and were beaten 92-72. Top rink was Alan Clements, Gerry Jackson, Keith Martindale and Trefor Jenkins.

The two Veterans League teams continued their winning ways, with the Reds beating Croxley Guild 40-33 and the Blues overcoming Garston by 44 shots to 34.

> Bovingdon

Bovingdon staged a fantastic comeback in their County League match against Herts BC – with one of the rinks coming back to snatch a draw after being 16-1 down.

Bovingdon won overall by one shot in an incredible game.

Elsewhere, Bovingdon played their first Dacorum Shield match of the season against Kings Langley and won overall by three shots. However, they weren’t so successful when they played Kitcheners, losing on all rinks.

The Bovingdon men took on Townsend in the Top Club competition and, although winning two rinks each, Townsend won the game on shots.

> Hemel Hempstead

Hemel Hempstead Bowls Club legends Brian Smith and Dieter Kinzelmann were the skip and lead, respectively, of the top rink in three crucial matches this week.

The experienced duo, along with Roger Wakefield, John Tierney, Ken Emmins, Roy Payne and Gary Eagles, helped Hemel to secure a hat-trick of good victories.

On Thursday, there was a second win for Hemel in as many weeks over North Watford, this time 41-36 in the Griffin Cup.

A visit to Pendley for an Inter-Club Championship match saw Hemel beat Tring 64-42, helped by an emphatic win by Smith’s rink.

Berkhamsted entertained Hemel in the Dacorum Shield on Saturday; in a closely fought contest, the sides could not be separated on shots as the clash finished 58-58, with Hemel securing the win 2-1 on rinks.

In their only match this week, the Hemel ladies overcame a shaky start to comfortably beat Tring 50-25. The top rink was Pat Barker, Sonia Payne and skip Lena Emmins.

A mixed Hemel team enjoyed an emphatic 108-87 victory in a friendly against Hatfield. The top rink was Ken Emmins, Peggy Vardy, Steve Harburn and Gary Eagles.

> Berkhamsted

The Berkhamsted team of Lesley Brown, Linda Ralphs, Brian Ralphs and David Brown beat a team from Potton End by one shot, 19-18, in the first round of the National Mixed Fours.

In another round of the Dacorum Shield, Berkhamsted beat Kitcheners 64-58, adding another three points to their total points in the competition. The friendly rink of Janice Murgatroyd, Marion Maynard, Anne Cutting and Mary Clarke won their game 18-12.

Berkhamsted did not fare so well in the next Dacorum match at the end of the week against Hemel Hempstead – they lost one match, won one and drew one, which only gave them two points against Hemel’s three. Both friendlies were won, however, with a top rink of Murgatroyd, Anne Furlong, Wally Dunn and Tony Perry.

The men finished the week with a 37-28 win over Mill End in the Herts Inter-Cub Team Championship, and the ladies – not to be outdone – ended with a win in the Ladies’ League against Met Police by 26 shots to 11.

However, there was a loss for Berkhamsted on a visit to Aston Clinton despite a winning rink of Luke Swan, Janet Jackson and Bill Howells.

> Tring

Tring quartet Jo and Lyn Boniface, Bill Veazey and Bob Kerry overcame Herts 23-8 in the National Mixed Fours.

The men went down 62-44 to Hemel Hempstead in the County Club Championship, while in a mixed game against Chesham, Tring were soundly beaten 111-73. Top rink went to Barbara Hamilton, Bill Veazey, Ian Croad and Malcolm Watson.

Tring also came off second best in their clash with Wingrave as they lost 90-70 – top rink going to Jo Boniface, Colin Dealey and Dave McGuiness.

The ladies were edged out 18-15 in a very close league match against Kings Langley, while in another close match they lost 50-46 to Hemel.