BURWAY admit their hopes of retaining the Ludlow Bowls League title are now hanging by a thread after losing to Craven Arms in a crunch top-of-the table showdown.
It was a close call, but the defending champions were edged out 8-4 after the Arms also took the shots. Tuesday night’s result means Burway have now slipped to second in the table, two points behind their title rivals who also have a game in hand.
“It was a close game, but we felt we needed to win if we’re going to win the league,” admitted Burway’s county player Wayne Rogers. “Craven Arms are now the favourites, but they’ve still got to go to Ludlow Castle (in third) so we’ll see what happens.”
Peter Griffiths (21-4) took the coppers for the Arms, while Roy Crowther (21-8) was the best of the replies.
Even if they fail to win the Ludlow League, Burway are still well placed to make the play-offs for the Furrows Shropshire Premier League as they are well clear at the top of the Tanners Shropshire League – their hopes boosted by a big 12-2 victory at Ludlow Castle.
Meanwhile, Burway’s big day in the national spotlight proved a big success – and earned plaudits from leading officials. In their centenary season, the club had the honour of hosting the British Junior Merit on Saturday. And officials from the British Crown Green Bowling Association have heaped praise on the club for their successful staging of the event.
Greg Smith of Warwick & Worcester won the coveted crown at the Ludlow-based club, defeating North Lancs & Fylde’s Owen Jackson 21-10 in the final.
A crowd of more than 200 watched the action on a day of high class entertainment. And, though the local contenders failed to reach the latter stages, the event was hailed a resounding success.
“Burway were superb,” said Barry Jennings, the BCGBA’s deputy president.
“That’s not just me speaking, that was the view of a lot of BCGBA officers – they all agreed what an excellent venue it was.
“It was an extremely proud day for me because I was part of the selection committee that selected the venue. It was maybe a little unexpected to go to the south of the county but it proved to be the right decision.
“Burway could not have done more – I doubt there’s ever been a better venue for this competition.”
The Shropshire challenge was led by county junior merit winner George Balshaw who went out to eventual semi-finalist Ben Dugdale 21-8 in the last 16.
“It was a fantastic day for the club, everything went as well as we had hoped and all the hard work was worthwhile,” said Rogers.
“We had a few light showers, but it could have been a lot worse and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After all the hard work we can now relax, I don’t think we could have done any more.”
It was a busy weekend for Burway with the club also staging the Ludlow League individual merit on Sunday which was won by Craven Arms’ rising star, 16-year-old Kiah Roberts.
Ludlow League round-up – page 39.