Mixed fortunes for Ladywell bowlers in knockout bowls competitions

Ladywell bowlers have been active over the past couple of weeks competing in Kent County Bowls competitions, with mixed results.

In the Kent Ladies' Singles competition, Ladywell fielded three players - Terrie Askew, Merlin Ramdawar and Tracy Umney. In the first round, both Tracy and Merlin were drawn in away matches at South Hill Woods bowling club near Bromley. They both got off to slow starts against strong opponents, and at one point Merlin was 17-3 down, but she rallied and eventually lost 21-12. Tracy pulled back against her opponent and it was turning into a close match until a series of strong ends from the South Hill Wood player swung the tie in her favour. So, despite her best efforts, Tracy eventually went down by 21-12.

Terrie was also drawn in an away match, this time at Forest Hill. Again, she faced a strong opponent and, in her first ever competitive singles match, she made a good game of it, before losing 21-13.

In the Men's Unbadged Singles competition, Ladywell's four entries were Norman Lewis, Alvin Nelson, Howard Smith and Phil Welch. Norman and Alvin had byes into the second round, while Howard faced a tricky First Round away match against an experienced opponent at Forest Hill, where he went down 21-6. Phil was the only Ladywell bowler to be drawn at home, against Dennis Johnson of Forest Hill. In a close match, Phil eventually edged the win by 21-15 and progressed to the second round.

Norman's Second Round match was away at Forest Hill against the same opponent who'd beaten Howard in the first round. It was a closer affair, but the Forest Hill player gained the victory by 21-11.

Alvin's seond round match was another away game, this time at New Beckenham. In a close match that saw both players playing some excellent shots, the home player eventually won by 21-17.

Phil's second round match was again at home against Glen Gregory of Kings bowling club in New Eltham. Phil started slowly and was 3-0 down after two ends. He soon got into his stride and turned this around to lead 5-3 after five ends, only for his opponent to tie the scores at 5-5 after seven ends. Phil pulled ahead again, and it was a lead he kept for the rest of the match. From a score of 10-7 after 13 ends, he gained a series of ones and twos to eventually win the tie by 21-9.

So, Phil progresses to the third round of the Kent Unbadged Men's Singles as Ladywell's only remaining representative. He plays his next match at Ladywell's green on Friday 12th June at 2.30pm.