Match report
Bowls Oxfordshire Mixed Section v Wiltshire at Carterton BC on 2 Sept, 2025
The last game for the mixed section was against a mixed team from Wiltshire, playing their first mixed match. The weather was generally good except for a short shower that sent everyone looking for their jackets. However the Green and the hospitality from Carterton Bowls Club was excellent and made for an enjoyable match, with a nice buffet at the end.
On the green, we just managed to get sufficient ladies to ensure we had both genders on all 6 rinks. Unfortunately, the Women’s section also had a game in Coventry which took away some of our mixed female players. On rink 1, we had three Carterton players, Bev Cross, Freddie Bagley and John Warner plus skip Chris Beard, who collectively kept the game tight all the way through. With one end to go, Oxfordshire were 16-13 up, but they dropped 6 shots on the last end, leaving the Wiltshire team as victors 16-19.
On rink 2, Geoff Smith, young Hollie Ormond, not so young VP Alan Scholan and Tim Jupp started well and never lost the lead. After 10 ends they led 14-2, before a mini revival from their opponents, but won the game 18-13. Our rink 3 team of John Standon, Ana Undersan (with dog), John Hicks and Brian Bloomfield also had a good start leading 9-1 after the first six ends. They remained in front, even though their opponents came within one shot on the 15th end , but won the game 19-15.
On rink 4, we had dependable lead ,Nick Baldwin, Carterton president Tracey Richens, Club secretary Nigel Rawlins and Chestnut, Richard Morris as skip. All played extraordinarily well for a 24-4 victory and were awarded the highest winning rink after the game. On rink 5, Sue Smith, veteran John Stephens, Ron Smith and Matt Osling, started well leading 15-2 after 11 ends and continued to lead with a finishing margin of 18-10. Finally, on rink 6, we had Val & Terry Thomas, John Hurren and skip Jack Lafford, who didn’t have their finest hours, but enjoyed the game. They couldn’t find the right lines and weight to start with, although momentarily had the lead after 11 ends. The strong Wiltshire team pressed ahead and won 18-11 at the end.
The match result was a 106-78 win for Bowls Oxfordshire.
For our first season, we only lost one out of six matches which was very good and we were particularly pleased with the support given to the new mixed team. One of the aims for unification was to bring more players into our county teams across the whole county and I’m pleased to report a total of 71 bowlers played within the mixed teams this season, which was 31 ladies and 40 men. Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
Finally, thanks to Carterton Bowls Club for engaging again with the county after quite a long time and working hard to make the day a success.