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 17 Round Up – Saturday 26th August
Men’s and Women’s Top Club Champions were crowned on Day 17 of the Aviva National Finals. We also saw competitors in the Men’s and Women’s Senior Singles battle and edge closer to a place in tomorrow’s Final.
Men’s Top Club
Darlington Railway Athletic, Appleyard, Shaldon and Shanklin lined up for this morning’s Semi-Finals. With a place in the Final up for grabs and the prospect of lifting the trophy on the line, the quality was extremely high in both matches.
Darlington Railway Athletic (Durham) won the Triples and Fours against Appleyard (Kent). However, the Kent-based club took the Two-Bowl, Four-Bowl Singles and Pairs to go through as 3-2 winners.
The other Semi-Final was a clash between two southern clubs. Shaldon from Devon took on Shanklin from the Isle of Wight. With Shanklin claiming a narrow extra-end win in the Two-Bowl Singles, the match was set up nicely for an tense ending. The Four-Bowl Singles and Fours were claimed by Shaldon, but Shanklin sealed the win after picking up points in the Pairs and Triples, winning 3-2.
As mid-afternoon rain cleared, the Men’s Top Club Final didn’t disappoint. In what was our second live streamed match of the day, Appleyard went head-to-head with Shanklin. Isaac Jenner secured a 15-8 win in the Two-Bowl Singles for Appleyard against John Marsh. Jack Berry hit back for Shanklin by beating Harry Goodwin 21-11 in the Four-Bowl Singles. Shanklin also claimed the Pairs while Appleyard secured the point in the Fours. With the Triples match last to finish, Appleyard leaped ahead in the final stages to secure a 22-13 victory and 3-2 win to claim the title. Appleyard became the second Kent club to win the Men’s Top Club, after Bromley in 2021.
The Men’s Top Club Final can be watched back here.
For all results from the Men’s Top Club, please click here.
Women’s Top Club
Over in the Women’s Top Club, current holders Kings (Devon) progressed to the final for a fifth time in a row after they beat Royston of Hertfordshire 3-1. Whilst Royston won in the Pairs 15-13, Kings claimed wins in the Singles, Triples and Fours.
In our first live streamed match of Day 17, Appleyard (Kent) faced Egham (Surrey). The first point went to Egham as Yasmina Hasan won a thrilling Singles match against Emily Ferguson, 21-18. The Surrey club also won the Pairs whilst Appleyard clinched the Fours. With the Semi-Final at 2-1 in Egham’s favour, Appleyard were in a winning position in the Triples. However a three on the final end in the Triples for Egham saw them go through to the Final, winning the overall score 66-65. You can watch back this nail-biting match here.
In the Final, supporters were primed to cheer on Egham and Kings. Egham won the Singles and the Triples. Kings bounced back in the Final, winning the Pairs and Fours with a resounding 29-8 victory. With both sides taking 2 points, the Final went to the overall score. Kings claimed it by 63-53, sparking jubilant scenes. Kings have now extended their historic reign as Women’s Top Club champions to an unbelievable fifth year.
For all results from the Women’s Top Club, please click here.
Men’s Senior Singles
2023 Men’s Champion of Champions Singles winner Graham Ashby (Nuneaton, Warwickshire) started his run in Men’s Senior Singles with a 21-9 victory over Michael English. He followed that up by winning 21 – 16 against Dorset’s Jim Garner (Branksome Park).
After beating Dorian Bishop (Fareham, Hampshire) 21-14 in Round One, Cambridgeshire’s Robin Waterhouse (Newmarket Avenue) triumphed 21-17 against Roland Barker (Sandy Conservative, Bedfordshire).
Steve Poyner enjoyed two brilliant wins in Round One and Two. He beat Charles West (Norfolk, Norfolk) 21-6 then Gary Myerscough (St Georges Dragons, Northumberland) 21-12.
For all results in the Men’s Senior Singles, please click here.
Women’s Senior Singles
Wiltshire’s Sue Cooke from Box beat Gill Crossley (Abington, Northamptonshire) 21 – 5 in Round One. She progressed from Round Two, later in the day, winning 21-11 against Hannah Hollis (Bush Hill Park, Middlesex).
Kate Kyle (Shepshed Town, Leicestershire) won 21-16 against Joan Parfitt (Broadway, Worcestershire) in Round One. Kyle followed that with a 21-14 win over Allison Scally (East Leake, Nottinghamshire).
After a narrow 21-20 victory for Gillian Barnes (Boxford, Suffolk) vs Hayley Felce (St Neots, Cambridgeshire), Barnes beat Joan Brown (Pelton Fell, Durham) 21-14 in Round Two.
For all results in the Women’s Senior Singles, please click here.
Day 18 Preview – Sunday 27th August
On the final day, we have four competitions being played, and we’ll know the winners of each by the end of proceedings, with the final trophy presentations of the 2023 Aviva National Finals.
The magnificent Middleton Cup, the wonderful Walker Cup and the superb Senior Men’s and Women’s Singles all have the honour of closing out the 18-day Aviva National Finals.
Bowls England is pleased that all 18 days of the Aviva National Finals (10 – 27 August) will be streamed online, and available for everyone to view free of charge. Visit our official streaming platform here.
Social media coverage is available on Bowls England’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites.
Tickets to the National Finals start at just £4 for adults and £1 for Under 18s offer a full day of top-class sporting action. Event passes are available and all tickets are cheaper in advance.
Please note: Under 3s enter free of charge.