ALCESTER Bowling Club’s week started in fine fashion with a massive home win against Central Edgbaston for the A team in Division Five of the S&W Birmingham Over 60s League.
Excellent cards from Jean Bannister (21-4), John Alderson (21-5), Margaret D’Elia (21-6) and Bob LeResche (21-7) were backed up by Renny Bannister and Ken Craddock (both 21-15) to give Alcester a 74-shot victory.
Although they collected a maximum six points to the visitors’ zero, Alcester remain in fifth place. They have a game, or in some cases two games, in hand over all the teams above them so promotion is not out of the question.
It was a day of bitter disappointment for the B team in Division Five when they visited British Oak B. Despite wins for Ken Harvey (21-11), Gill Spiers (21-17) and Geoff Spiers (21-18), they went down by just a couple of shots to a 7-3 defeat.
This cost them top spot in the league as they drop into second place, nine points clear of the third-placed team.
The league programme, having been completed the previous week in Divisions Three and Four of the Yardley Wood Superleague, was followed by a cup competition for both Alcester teams.
In the Division Three Mini Cup, Alcester A were drawn against Ye Olde Knowle B on the Hockley Heath green. Alcester had winning cards from Ken Harvey (21-7), Mike Rowell (21-10), Carole Slater (21-11), Mike Ryland-Jones (21-13), Bob LeResche (21-15), John Willis (21-17) and Val McDermott (21-18) to give them a runaway 51-shot success.
They collected 17 points to their opponents’ one to put themselves in pole position for a place in the final.
The B team also lead the way to the final in the Division Four Mini Cup. Playing against Bournville Sports B on the Wythall green, they had a 25-shot victory to give them 15 points to Bournville’s three.
Winning cards from John Westmoreland and Rick Horton (both 21-13), Douglas Gordon and Gill Evans (both 21-15) and Tricia Barry (21-17) won the day for Alcester.
The race for promotion from Division Two of the Heart of England Over 60s League remains as tight as ever.
An excellent away win for Alcester’s B team at Rubery SJC by ten shots kept them in the second and final promotion place, still with just a single-point advantage over Hall Green A.
Jean Bannister led the way with a great 21-7 card, with Ken Craddock (21-13), Val McDermott (21-14) and John Alderson (21-20) adding to the points tally, which finished 14-2 in Alcester’s favour.
Things were less satisfactory for the B team, who went down to a 13-shot home defeat in Division Four against King George VI A.
Alcester’s only winners were John Willis (21-9) and Alan Kenyon (21-11), but this was insufficient to prevent a 14-2 victory for the visitors. Although there are still six matches left to play, this defeat drops Alcester into fifth place, 26 points off the promotion places and realistically out of the race.
