Welcome to The Delivery! This is our daily feature that brings you a round-up of the action from the Aviva National Finals 2023 at Victoria Park, plus a preview for the following day.

Day 10 Round Up – Saturday 19th August

Super Saturday II provided an action-packed day with six superb Finals enjoyed by a tirade of supporters.

Men’s Triples

Eyes were glued to a captivating Men’s Triples Final on A Green this morning. Buckinghamshire’s Michael Gomme, Matthew Hyde, and Andrew Briden (Gerrards Cross) faced Simon Kittle, Steve Gunnell and Edward Morris (Essex County, Essex).

At the halfway stage, the Buckinghamshire triple narrowly had their noses in front, leading Essex 10-9 at nine ends. Gomme, Hyde and Briden then pushed ahead slightly, taking a 14-10 lead after 14 ends.

The final was brought back to level pegging by the Essex trio after they fought back to 14-14 heading into the 18th end.

In the last end of the pulsating final, Buckinghamshire held the shot but Essex had two second bowls close by. Essex skip Edward Morris played two backhand runners to overturn the head but didn’t get the connection Essex were hoping for, meaning the title went to Buckinghamshire, who erupted into elation as they sealed a 15-14 win.

To watch the Men’s Triples final in full, please click here.

Johns Trophy

In this morning’s Semi-Final’s, Surrey faced Lincolnshire in a rematch of the 2022 Johns Trophy Final. On that occasion last year, Lincolnshire were the successors to lift the title.

Surrey avenged the final defeat with a 118-114 victory over Lincolnshire, progressing to the Final once again.

In the other Semi-Final, Devon came up against Essex. With both sets of fans getting behind the teams, the atmosphere was astonishing around D Green. After a tense conclusion, Devon triumphed as they beat Essex 123-117.

That resulted in another rematch in the Final, with Surrey facing Devon just as they did in the 2021 Johns Trophy Final.

The match proved to be close all the way through but the Devon side held Surrey at bay in the latter stages. Devon erupted with delight as they sealed a 116-110 win over Surrey.

You can watch the Johns Trophy Final back here.

Mixed Fours

Northumberland’s Chris Yeomans, Kayleigh Proctor, Rachel Cartwright and Simon Richardson faced Chloe Brett, Rebecca Moorbey, Lewis Baker (sub for Glyn Milbourne) and Nick Brett of Huntingdonshire to decide the Mixed Fours winners of 2023.

The Northumberland four managed to get the better of the Hunts quartet in the Final, sealing a victory with a 21-17 win.

Men’s Senior Pairs

In the first Semi-Final, Michael Jelfs and Phillip Gladden (Oxfordshire) beat Colin Allen and Kevin Butler (Cornwall) 18-16. In the other half of the draw, Joe Festa (sub for Jerry Rumball) and Philip Russell (Hertfordshire) won 20-14 against Andrew Siely and John Colcombe (Norfolk).

Hertfordshire’s Festa and Russell stormed to an impressive 27-3 success in the Final, beating Oxfordshire’s Jelfs and Gladden.

For all results in the Men’s Senior Pairs, please click here.

Women’s Senior Pairs

Over in the Women’s Senior Pairs, Jane Cockrill and Frances Hendrick (Norfolk) beat
Helen Moore and Lynn Orlando (Berkshire) in the morning’s Quarter-Finals, with a score of 22 – 13.

However, the Norfolk pair were beaten by Surrey’s Teresa Orriss and Margaret Smith in the Semi-Finals, 26-8.

In the other Semi-Final, Linda Churchman and Cheryl Salisbury (Cambridgeshire) overcame Sue Woollams and Sue Allen (Yorkshire), winning 19-9.

Churchman and Salisbury edged a thrilling Final. They clinched the Women’s Senior Pairs title with a 13-10 win over Surrey’s Orriss and Smith.

For all results in the Women’s Senior Pairs, please click here.

Disability Bowls England (DBE) Singles

The DBE Singles Final saw Somerset’s Anthony Page take on the defending champion Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall with her director Elizabeth Shipley (both Leicestershire).

After a tight start, Page pushed ahead to a 14-6 lead. He went on to claim the title with the final score line of 21-10.

Men’s Fours

The early stages of the Men’s Fours got underway with Round One matches taking place over the course of the day.

Roger Adams, Clive Webb, Dominic Warren and Elliot Last (Felixstowe & Suffolk, Suffolk) beat Devon’s Steve Davies, Chris Parker, Richard Bawden and Ryan Whitlock (Shaldon) 20-17.

Michael Cymber, Connor Harvey, Stephen Harvey and Phil Harvey (St Georges Dragon, Northumberland) pipped Barry Kenward, Jack Wilson, David Payne and Adrian Wainwright (Eastbourne BC, Sussex B) to the post, winning 19-17.

Wiltshire’s Andy Young, Tony Keating, Justin Davis and Wayne Snook (Holt) progressed to Round Two after winning 21-15 against Ian Groves, Micky Brown, Mike Seppings and Jack Larter (County Arts, Norfolk).

Ian Watson, Adam Harding, Paul Sandford and Keith Holman (Lindfield, Sussex) sailed to a convincing 26-4 win over David Bishop, Richard Towndrow, Michael Gale and Barry Patterson (Greenhill, Dorset).

For all results in the Men’s Fours, please click here.

Day Eleven Preview – Sunday 20th 

There is word of a big game on tomorrow, but we’re here to tell you that there are TWO Finals for us to sink our teeth in to tomorrow, and five competitions underway across the Greens – it’s set to be another busy day at Victoria Park! Four Counties will battle it out in the Semi-Final stages, looking to make it to the all important Final, but who will be taking home the trophy? The DBE Pairs Final will get underway on our streamed rink, whilst the Men’s Fours continues and Women’s Singles starts. We also have the DBE Mixed Triples bright and early, with three different competitions taking place on one Green! You’d be mad to miss it – buy your tickets online by midnight to secure the cheaper advanced rate, or you can purchase tickets on the gate.

You can stream a match from Round One of the Women’s Singles and the DBE Pairs Final over at bowlsengland.com/bowlstv.

See you tomorrow!