ALCESTER Bowling Club enjoyed arguably their best week of the crown green season to date, as all five home matches were won with an away success thrown into the bargain.
The week commenced with a big home win for the A team in Division Five of the S&W Birmingham League. With only one losing card and that to 20, Alcester had superb results from Ken Craddock (21-3), John Slater (21-6) and Ken Harvey (21-7), with supporting roles for Margaret D’Elia (21-12) and Renny Bannister (21-20).
This gave them a 9-1 victory from this 56-shot success.
The B team in Division Six travelled to West Midlands Transport B where they also tasted success. Each side had three winners, but Alcester’s were by bigger margins to give them a 19-shot victory.
Winners for the visitors were Jean Bannister (excellent at 21-9), Carole Slater (21-14) and Jean Craddock (21-15), securing a 9-3 success.
It was cup quarter-finals week in the S&W Birmingham Over 60s League, with Alcester A drawn against Hall Green A on the neutral Moseley Cricket Club ground.
It was the end of the road for Alcester, who faced opponents from three divisions higher than them. This was ruthlessly made to tell, as Hall Green ran out easy winners by 72 shots.
Alcester were unable to find a single winner with four out of the six players condemned to single-figure defeats.
In Yardley Wood Superleague Division Two, Alcester’s A team entertained Warstock. An excellent 21-6 win for Renny Bannister led the way for Dave Hovell (21-11), Carole Slater and Ken Craddock (both 21-16) and David Whittington (21-20) to set up a 16-shot victory as Alcester picked up 15 points to the visitors’ three.
So, to the Heart of England League where life has been very difficult for both Alcester teams this season. In Division One, the A team faced a visit from Kings Norton Ex-Service and picked up six winning cards to produce a 20-shot victory.
Successful for the home side were Mike Dempsey (excellent at 21-8), Dave Hovell (21-12), Renny Bannister (21-16), John Alderson (21-17) and Jean Bannister and Ken Harvey (both 21-18), giving them a 16-2 win.
In Division Four, the B team visited Hockley Heath B where they fell agonisingly short of their first win of the season by a mere three shots.
Unsurprisingly, both sides had four winners, with Alcester’s being Val McDermott (21-10), Gill Evans (21-12), Carole Slater (21-16) and Eric Allport (21-18).
Despite the narrowness of the win, the home side nevertheless picked up 14 points to the visitors’ four.
In the over 60s section of the Heart of England League, Alcester A visited White Hart B in Division Two. Although only John Alderson (21-10) and Ken Harvey (21-16) could provide winning cards, Alcester did at least restrict their opponents to a relatively small 13-shot victory.
The lion’s share of the points, however, went to the Hart with 14 to Alcester’s two.
The B team in Division Four made ground advantage tell when they entertained Solihull British Legion B. With brilliant cards from Renny Bannister (21-1), John Willis (21-4) and Carole Slater (21-7), the hosts were never in danger and ran out winners by 38 shots.
The other Alcester winner was David Whittington (21-15), giving them a 14-2 success.
