Please see below the dates for the Harris Cup, the new Harris Shield Competition and the Ashton Cup and Shield.
Teams can enter on their club page again for any club in the Mid Shropshire Leagues. Any teams from outside the league, any team registered with the SCGBA can enter this competition, should enter with Rob Burroughs on 07901 229623.
Harris Cup (Entries by 17th May)
Prelim 19th June (this can be moved if teams have players in the Isle of Man June Festival)
Last 16 10th July
Last 8 14th August
Last 4 28th August
Final 14th September
Harris Shield (Confirmation of Entries by 17th July)
Please find provisional dates below for the Mid Shropshire Competitions in 2024.
Please let Rob Burroughs know on 07901 229623 if there are any issues with any dates. Clubs can also let him know if they wish to host any competitions.
Once the dates are finalised by the end of this month, I will finalise entry dates for the competitions and start looking at host clubs ahead of the March Meeting.
Dixon and Driscoll Doubles Sunday 28th April at 10 a.m. at Allscott Heath
Senior Merit Qualifier Friday 10th May at 6.30 p.m.
Finals Saturday 1st June at ?
Monday Merit Qualifier Monday 17th June at 6.30 p.m.
Finals Saturday 6th July at ?
Thursday Night Merit Saturday 31st August or Sunday 1st September at 10 a.m.
Junior Day Saturday 22nd June at 10 a.m.
Mixed Doubles Sunday 23rd June at 10 a.m.
Under 25 Merit – TBA (any suggestions welcome on time and day)
Over 60s Saturday 18th May at 2 p.m.
Harris Cup
Prelim 19th June
Last 16 10th July
Last 8 14th August
Last 4 28th August
Final 14th September (please note date change)
Harris Shield (if passed by AGM)
Prelim 31st July
Last 8 14th August
Last 4 28th August
Final 14th September(please note date change)
Ashton Cup
Prelim 5th June
Last 16 26th June
Last 8 24th July
Last 4 21st August
Final 31st August (please note date change)
Ashton Shield
Prelim 17th July (please note change to original date)
Quarter Finalists (£25) – Gus Needham (SJB), Phil Emery (Newport), Nick Marshall (Bowring) & Pete Gaut (St Georges)
Last 16 (£10) – Harry Church (Sinclair), Lee Parton (Bowring), Phil Jones (Wrockwardine Wood), Will O’Hara (Sinclair), Graham Bleakley (Sinclair), Simon Hall (Sinclair), Nick Mullinder (Hadley USC), Louise Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood)
Monday Night Merit
Winner (£55) – Ellie Wall (Wrockwardine Wood)
Runner-up (£30) – Steve Hendy (Bowring)
Semi Finalists (£15) – Ian Bates (Hadley USC) & Emma Chetwood (Newport)
Quarter Finalists (£5) – Leila James (Bowring), Patrick Evans (Jnr) (Newport), Michael Furness (Shifnal) & Paul Mills (Shifnal)
Thursday Night Merit
Winner (£125) – Pete Farmer (St Georges)
Runner-up (£75) – Joe Killen (St Georges)
Semi Finalists (£35) – Jamie King (Wrockwardine Wood) & Tom Killen (Shifnal)
Dixon & Driscoll Doubles
Winners (£80) – Harry Church & John Potter (Sinclair)
Runners-up (£40) – Jamie King (Wrockwardine Wood) & Phil King (Hadley USC)
Semi Finalists (£20) – Karen Smith & Kate Wainwright (Bowring) and Pete Burd & Gavin Bridge (Horsehay)
Mixed Doubles
Winners (£50) – Ange & Martin Gaut (Wrockwardine Wood)
Runners-up (30) – Beth & Steve Reeves (Horsehay)
Semi Finalists (£20) – Louise & Josh Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood) and Shavorne Osbourne & Pete Millington (Trench)
Over 60s Merit
Winner (£40) – Ian Gaut (Donnington Wood)
Runner-up (£20) – Pete Spragg (Sinclair)
Semi-Finalists (£10) – Steve Faulkner (Wrockwardine Wood) & Louise Cotton (Wrockwardine Wood)
Under 18 Merit
Winner (£40) – Dan Corbett (Sinclair)
Runner-up (£20) – Akeel Duncan (Allscott Heath)
Semi Finalists (£10) – Thomas Oare (Sinclair) & Ben Cutler (Edgmond)
Winners (£30) – Dan Corbett (Sinclair) & Luke Morris (Sir J Bayley)
Runners-up (£20) – Jordan Millman & Logan Church (Sinclair)
Semi Finalists (£10) – Luca Moseley & Rory King (Wrockwardine Wood) and Akeel Duncan (Allscott Heath) & Thomas Clarke (SJB)
Ashton Cup
Winner (£60) – Newport D
Runner-up (£30) – Horsehay C
Semi Finalists (£20) – Wrockwardine Wood C & Bowring C
Ashton Shield
Winner (£40) – Donnington Wood B
Runner-up (£20) – Much Wenlock B
Semi Finalists (£10) – Shifnal D & Charlton B
Harris Cup
Winner (£100) – Highley (P)
Runner-up (£50) – Bylet (P)
Semi Finalists (£40) – Shifnal A & Wrockwardine Wood A
U25 Winner Tom KillenDennis Lewis Merit Winner Peter FarmerSenior Merit Winner John BreezeOver 60 Merit Winner Ian GautMixed Doubles WinnersMartin and Angela GautJunior Doubles Winner Luke MorrisDixon Doubles Winner Harry Church
The Friday Night Merit saw 76 entries which meant we went to a 16 finals day at the Bylet. Thank you to everyone who entered. Well done to Newport’s John Breeze for winning the Merit after beating Horsehay’s John Roberts Jnr 21-13 in the final. Thank you to all the entrants, the highest number we have had in a long time. Thank you to the Bylet for hosting the finals, providing two excellent greens and for the buffet. Thank you to Louise Cotton and Roger Cotton for refereeing and measuring. Thank you to Marg Fletcher for doing the raffle. Thank you to John Lumsden, Dave Evans,
Malcolm Fletcher, Tim Cotton, John Palmer and Denise Tonks for running the qualifiers for me. Thank you to the Bowring, Horsehay, Newport and Bridgnorth for hosting the qualifiers.
The Monday Night Merit attracted 45 entries, a great start to a new competition. Thank you to everyone who entered. The final saw Wrockwardine Wood’s Ellie Wall produce a superb performance to beat Bowring’s Steve Hendy 21-6. Well done to Ellie on her success, and to Steve on reaching the final. Thank you to the Bayley for hosting, to Celia Miles for doing the food and also to Denise Tonks for doing the raffle. Thank you to Steve Wall, Dave Evans and Louise Cotton for running the qualifiers. Thank you to Sinclair, Madeley Cricket Club and Trench for hosting the qualifiers. Thank you to Malcolm Fletcher and Sean Round for helping me run the finals night.
The Over 60s Merit had 20 entries at Donnington Wood and was won by Ian Gaut who beat Pete Spragg 13 in the final. Well done to Ian. Thank you to Donnington Wood for hosting.
The Mixed Doubles had 11 entries at Edgmond, and was retained by Ange & Martin Gaut, defeating Beth & Steve Reeves 15 in the final. Well done to Ange & Martin and thank you to Edgmond for hosting.
The Under 25 Merit at Sir John Bayley only had 4 entries, Tom Killen coming out on top beating Lucy Hireson 9 in the final. Well done to Tom and thank you to Sir John Bayley for hosting.
The Under 15 Merit had 5 entries and well done to Jordan Millman who beat Rowan Fuller in the final.
The Under 18 Merit had 8 entries and well done to Dan Corbett for beating Akeel Duncan in the final 15. Thanks to St Georges for hosting both and Brenda Slingo for helping run the competitions.
The Thursday Night Merit had 16 entries and well done to Pete Farmer on winning it beating Joe Killen in the final at the Bayley. Thank you to the Bayley for hosting.
The Dixon and Driscoll Doubles at Edgmond had 16 out of the 18 pairs turn up. Well done to John Potter and Harry Church for winning, beating Jamie & Phil King in the final. Thank you to Edgmond for hosting.
The Fletcher Junior Doubles at the Bayley had 5 entries, including Rory King and Luca Moseley who have a combined age of 11! Well done to Dan Corbett & Luke Morris for winning in a great final against Logan Church & Jordan Millman 20. Thank you to the Bayley for hosting once again.
The Ashton finals were a huge success at Wrockwardine Wood. Thank you very much to them for hosting, and to Louise Cotton for doing an excellent buffet. Well done to Newport for winning the Ashton Cup by beating Horsehay and Donnington Wood for winning the Ashton Shield finals after defeating Much Wenlock.
The Harris Cup Final was a close affair with Highley defeating the Bylet by 9 overall, going down to the last game! Thank you to Sinclair for hosting, Mike Potter for refereeing and to Malcolm & Marg Fletcher for doing the buffet.
Highley won a great final tonight as they beat Bylet by 9 chalks at Sinclair. They had to come back from being 8 behind after four games, and then 1 behind after eight games, to win the trophy for the first time.
The first four games were all one sided at one time, with two up for either side. Bylet captain Scott Harries finished his game off quick though, playing excellent over the middle to win 6. Highley captain Reece Farr was 20-7 ahead of Nick Wyer as he looked to cancel that out, but Nick played very well over the middle to get back to 14 before Reece got in. Darrell Handley was 9-1 and 15-9 up on Rob Fuller, but Rob got back to 15. Conversely for Highley, Jon Heath fought back from 14-5 and 18-10 behind to get 16 off Jamie Taylor. This meant Bylet were 8 up off four games.
Frank Leek though put Highley ahead after winning 11 despite a slow start seeing him 5-3 down. Stu Gittings also had a slow start to be 10-5 down versus Grant Cooper, but he then went 19-12 up. Grant got back to 16 before Stu got the two he needed to put Highley further ahead. However Cian Danter played some great bowls against Dave East to go 6-0 up and hold off any comeback, running out from 15-14 up over the middle to put the game level. At this stage it looked like that Highley had the upper hand as Danny Statham went from 5-0 down to lead Cheryl Caswell 17-9 in the corners. But Cheryl never gave up, and on a round peg, came back to win 20, which put Bylet one up with their plus handicap of one.
The games at this stage were Jacob Ash leading John Newey 15-11 and Jack Hill was 14-10 up on Simon Rhodes, but had been 9-0 up in the corners. Bylet refused to give in as John got back to 17 across and led a foot bowl, while Simon was only 16-13 behind. Jacob though put two inside John’s lead, and got out in the next two ends to win 17. At this time Jack only led 16-15, and needed to get 19 to win the game. However he responded and scored two singles and despite chucking the jack off corners, he got two the next end and then won his game 15 at the next, to mean that Highley won by 9.
Well done to Highley on their success. Thank you to Sinclair for hosting and to Mike Potter for refereeing. Thank you to Marg & Malcolm Fletcher for doing the buffet tonight.
Bylet(P)
Score
Score
Highley(P)
Nick Wyer
14
21
Reece Farr
Scott Harries
21
6
Andy James
Rob Fuller
15
21
Darrell Handley
Jamie Taylor
21
16
John Heath
Nick Lewis
11
21
Frank Leek
Grant Cooper
16
21
Stuart Gittings
Cian Danter
21
14
David East
Cheryl Caswell
21
20
Danny Statham
John Newey
17
21
Jacob Ash
Simon Rhodes
15
21
Jack Hill
Games
4
6
Aggregate
172
182
Handicap
-16
-17
Aggregate
156
165
Highley captain Reece Farr receives the Harris Cup from League President Mike Potter.
The Highley team celebrate their success.
Competitions Secretary Rob Burroughs with the two captains, Bylet’s Scott Harries and Reece Farr of Highley.
The Highley team. Back from left: Dave East, Jacob Ash, Andy James, Stu Gittings & Jack Hill. Front from left: Jon Heath, Kris Johnson, Frank Leek, Reece Farr, Darrell Handley & Danny Statham.
The Bylet team. Back from left: Jamie Taylor, Tim Ealey, Nick Wyer, Cian Danter, Scott Harries & Rob Fuller. Front from left: John Newey, Simon Rhodes, Cheryl Caswell, Grant Cooper & Nick Lewis.
The 2023 Harris Cup Final features two teams from the South of Shropshire for the first time. Highley won this trophy back in 2019, whilst Bylet have featured in the final before in 2018 against Bowring and in 2006 or 2007 against St Georges.
Both teams are separated by just two places in the Premier League, with Highley finishing 10th compared to Bylet in 12th, Bylet getting the advantage of an one point handicap.
Bylet had a tough draw to get through, defeating Shifnal B by 61, then shocking St Georges Prem by 4 and then beating Wrockwardine Wood A by 40. Highley beat Allscott Heath A by 74, holders Hadnall by 32, Newport A by 65 and Shifnal A by 29, only losing 4 games on that run.
Bylet spokeswoman Cheryl Caswell says “we look forward to what I’m sure will be another good match against our friends and neighbours, Highley. It’s going to be a tough match, particularly as we miss a few key players and Highley appear to be at full strength. However, similar to Highley, we have players with some knowledge of the Sinclair green and will be hoping that we can draw upon that experience to get the result we would like. But whatever the result, we are delighted to round off the season with a final and I want to congratulate my team on that, whilst extending that congratulations to Highley for their achievements and look forward to the Harris Cup being brought south!”
Highley captain Reece Farr says “we’re looking forward to tonight’s game, a local derby in a final. I’m sure there will be a lot of banter round the green and a decent display of bowling, our lads are up for it and hopefully we can bring the silverware home!”
The action starts at Sinclair at 6.30 p.m. Live scores will be available here.
The title race is going down to the wire in Division One of the Mid Shropshire League tonight as the final games are played. St Georges lead by 4 to Newport, but face a tough trip to Sir John Bayley top green, where the Bayley have been unbeaten this season. Newport are at home to Allscott Heath, and will be looking for a full house to put the pressure on the Dragons. Sinclair are level with Newport, but know they will need to earn a big win at already bottom Trench to have a chance.
In Division Two, Donnington Wood host the Bylet with both teams already guaranteed promotion. Bylet would need to win 10-3 for them to be Champions though. At the bottom and Charlton are 6 points behind Bridgnorth B, with both teams at home to Sir John Bayley B and Newport B respectively.
Division 3 have two games left, however Sinclair B, who are top, have finished their 24 games and are 10 clear of Wrockwardine Wood B, The Wrockites have games at Maddocks and home to Chelmarsh to clinch those points to move above them.
Please see pictures below of the Ashton Cup & Shield kindly taken by our League President Mike Potter and League Chairman Sean Round.
League President Mike Potter presents the Ashton Cup to Newport. League President Mike Potter presents the Ashton Cup runner-up shield to Horsehay. The Newport team celebrate their success. Donnington Wood receive the Ashton Shield from League President Mike Potter. Much Wenlock receive the Ashton Shield Runners-Up Shield from League President Mike Potter. The victorious Donnington Wood team celebrate.
Newport D and Donnington Wood B were the two victorious teams on a sunny evening at Wrockwardine Wood in front of a healthy crowd.
Newport D never let Horsehay C settle in the Ashton Cup Final, having two 21-6 wins in the first four, County President Mick Jones and Alan Gould. Carol Lomas won 10 for Horsehay to keep them in it at 11 chalks down. However Newport took the whole of the middle four, led by Patrick Evans Snr’s 11 win, to lead by 40, and two more winners in the back meant they won by 49 overall.
On the new green, it was a closer affair in the front four as Donnington Wood B led Much Wenlock B by 6 after taking 3 winners in the first 4, junior Hayden Jones leading the way 14. The middle four saw 3 further winners for Donnington to lead by 28 overall, captain Kevin Emlyn leading the way 21-8 as Sue Partridge won for Wenlock 12. They took the back two winners to win by 40 overall.
Well done to Newport and Donnington Wood on their success. Thank you to Wrockwardine Wood for hosting, and to Louise Cotton for doing the buffet after the match.
