THE WEEK’S results went largely as expected for Alcester Bowling Club, with all but one of their home matches bringing wins, but all except one of their away matches resulting in defeats.
The sole away win came in Division Five of the S&W Birmingham Over 60s League, when the A team visited Woodlands Park B.
Excellent cards from Ken Harvey and Jean Bannister (both 21-8), supported by Margaret D’Elia (21-15) and John Slater (21-16), brought an overall 31-shot win and the points at 10-2 in Alcester’s favour pushes them up into third place in the table with games in hand over the teams ahead of them.
In Division Six, the B team also had four winners when they entertained Weoley Castle Men’s Club. They were Gill Spiers (21-9), Tricia Barry (21-12), Jean Craddock (21-13) and David Hodgson (21-17). This gave them a 19-shot win, yielding eight points to the visitors’ two.
Action in the Yardley Wood Superleague saw the A team travel to Warstock for their Division Two match. They had four winners, headed by the excellent Dave Hovell at 21-8.
Although Ken Craddock (21-12), Carole Slater (21-15) and Renny Bannister (21-17) were all able to add points, it was insufficient to prevent defeat by 19 shots.
The four points gained against the 14 for the home side did little to help Alcester’s bottom of the table position.
The B team had a home fixture against King George VI’s A team and a 17-shot win resulted in Alcester picking up 14 points to the visitors’ four.
Successful for Alcester were David Hodgson (solid at 21-8), John Slater (21-11), John Willis and Tricia Barry (both 21-12).
Once more it was defeat for both Alcester teams in the Heart of England League. In Division One, the A team visited the tricky Kings Norton Ex-Service green where they slumped to a 47-shot defeat.
Only Dave Hovell and Brian Lees (both 21-16) and Renny Bannister (21-20) produced winning cards and the 15-3 defeat keeps them firmly in last position in the table.
For the B team, the position is even more desperate. They entertained Hockley Heath B, but were unable to make the home advantage pay as they went down by nine shots.
They did have four winners in David Sutor (21-14), Margaret D’Elia (21-15), Val McDermott and David Hodgson (both 21-19). Nonetheless, the points went 14-4 against them and they remain bottom without a single victory.
With only four matches left and the teams above them with games in hand, relegation is beginning to look inevitable.
In the over 60s section of the Heart of England League, Alcester A, in Division Two, returned to the Kings Norton Ex-Service green where they experienced defeat only hours before!
If anything, things went even worse for them this time, with Ken Harvey (21-10) their only winner. Thus, they gained a single point to the home side’s 15 in a 28-shot defeat.
In an exciting match in Division Four, the B team produced the narrowest of wins by just two shots when they entertained Hall Green A.
A superb card from Margaret D’Elia (21-5) was largely responsible for Alcester’s success, although wins for Carole Slater and Jean Craddock (both 21-19) were vital.
They gave the home side a 13-3 reward, which seems ludicrous in the light of the closeness of the match.
