Dacorum bowls round-up: Including a winning week for Berkhamsted

The rink of Steve Burrell, David Scoot, Brian Ralphs and Kevin Clarke teamed up to secure a good win, as did Paul Macness, Maurice Primo, Dave Sear and David Brown.

In the Watford & District Singles, Brown beat Keith Whitehead from Garston by 21 shots to 8 to progress to the third round.

The week finished on Saturday with Berkhamsted’s annual captains’ versus vice-captains’ battle.

In a good spirited clash, the vice-captains’ team led by Anne Furlong and Nigel Eckert ended up beating Mary Clarke and Brian Ralphs’ captains’ team by 92 shots to 71.

The top rink for the vice-captains’ team was Bob Cropley, Mary Millar and Tony Perry, and the top rink for the captains’ squad was Diane Drew, Frank Cutting and Ken Maynard.

A spider competition was won by Millar, and the takings from the raffle were split between the club and The Hospice of St Francis.

> Little Gaddesden

Little Gaddesden BCC had mixed results in their recent Herts West Division matches.

The men went down 49-35 at North Watford, losing the lead on one rink after being five up with only two ends left to play.

The ladies’ team did better, beating North Watford 22-13 at home. The next league match is home against Tring in the Dacorum Shield on Saturday, June 27.

> Tring

Tring’s Watford & District League match against Potten End proved to be a very close encounter.

Tring were beaten 17-16 away, but won the home match 16-13 – giving them an overall aggregate win by two shots.

In the Griffin Cup Tring suffered a heavy 55-36 loss against Owls, however they bounced back against Dunstable with a comfortable 107-77 wom.

Elsewhere, the annual Officers Challenge proved a very enjoyable event – the Chairman’s team emerged as the victors, with the Treasurer’s team finishing as runners-up.

Meanwhile, a match against Wendover was called off due to heavy rain.

> Kitcheners

Kitcheners took on Hemel Hempstead in a four-rink mixed match and won 77-70 to earn local bragging rights.

Highest rink for Kitcheners was Micky Woodman, Alan Doydge, Daphney Gregory, and Colin Starling.

Carrying on the winning theme, Kitcheners got their revenge on Garston by winning both triples in the W&D Friday Night League.

It was not such good news on Saturday as Kitcheners lost a five mixed triples match with Rickmansworth by three shots. Highest triples for Kitcheners was Starling, Mike Waterhouse and Tony Scattergood.

On Sunday Kitcheners played Bovingdon in a four-rink mixed match and won 101-57. Highest rink was Micheal Connell, Debbie Whiting and Shirley Seager.

> Potten End

Potten End played host to two county events recently – including a defeat for the Hertfordshire County men in a fixture against Surrey.

At the weekend the club hosted a youth coaching session for players from across Hertfordshire.

At club level, meanwhile, the week has been one of mixed fortunes. Potten End hosted Redbourn in a friendly match and ran out winners by 72 shots to 56; largely due to the top rink of Pat Jordan, Philip Cheung and Alan Howling who also scored a hot shot, taking all nine shots in one end.

The ladies’ visit to Dunstable proved less successful, however, with the home side winning by 32 shots to 27.

In the Veterans’ League, the blue team secured a narrow victory over Oxhey by 37 shots to 31, but the red team suffered a defeat at Hemel Hempstead by five shots.

In other action, Potten End entertained Berkhamsted in the Griffin Cup but were overpowered by the visitors, losing by 25 shots to 44.

> Hemel

An excellent 51-31 win for the Hemel Hempstead men against Herts BC saw them cruise into the third round of the Griffin Cup.

However, Friday saw a 72-44 defeat against a strong Garston side in the Inter Club Cup Championship.

The Hemel Hempstead ladies had the upper hand in a friendly against Chesham, winning 74-62. Pam Mushens and Sylvia Ingleby, with a superb 22-12 victory in the pairs, was Hemel’s top rink.