As forecast, the Tony Brogden Cup got underway with a blanket of showery skies forcing players to dig out their waterproofs. But after the first round, fine weather prevailed and the bowlers enjoyed a dry day in the sunshine.
The cup was run as a round-robin, with the players divided into groups of 4. Each bowler played everyone else in their group, giving everyone at least 3 games on the day.
After the round-robin was complete, the top 4 bowlers were drawn against each other for a semi-final knockout to decide the two finalists.
In one semi-final, Peter Carr played Gill Johnston, with Gill coming out on top. In the other, Andrew Hill beat Janice Lowe for a spot in the final.
With full sun shining over the green, the final began with Andrew leading the scoring. But Gill wasn’t to be left behind, and began a come-back to bring the game level again.
Some truly excellent bowling by both players saw the match come down to 14-across in a first-to-fifteen match. The players shook hands and Gill lead off in the final end.
With the pair’s first two bowls a yard from the jack, Gill landed a brilliant bowl right next to the jack, which Andrew just couldn’t beat, leaving Gill the winner. Everyone agreed that the final was a great show of bowling from both players. Although Gill was victorious, Andrew played extremely well in this, his first club competition final. He is definitely one to watch in future.
The presentations began with Chairman, Peter Carr presenting himself and Janice Lowe (below) with the losing semi-finalist prizes, aided by this year’s president, John Medcalf, and wife of the late Tony Brogden, Anne Brogden.
Andrew Hill was presented his runner-up prize, then Gill Johnston went up to receive the winner’s trophy. Gill kindly recounted some fond memories of Tony Brogden, which was a fitting end to a lovely day’s competition.
As always, thanks go out to everyone who supported the competition, whether it be by playing, bringing food or raffle prizes, or simply marking a card, washing up or watching! We look forward to seeing you all at the next club competition in July!
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