The 2023 Dixon & Driscoll Doubles take place at Edgmond tomorrow from 10 a.m. with 18 pairs looking to get their hands on the trophy. Last year’s winner Nick Mullinder takes part, this time though with a different partner, Kris Lewis. Previous winners Simon Oldcorn and Pete Millington won this in 2015 and 2016 and will look to do so again, while Phil King has won this with his son Aaron King and would love to do a double with his other son Jamie. Rob Roden won this on Edgmond back in 2007 with Rich Lawson, and looks to do it this time with Andy Morgan. Harry Church and John Potter are flying in the Division One Averages for Sinclair, while Helen Clee and Angela Gaut have won numerous doubles titles together over the years.
There will be hot and cold food and refreshments available like at the Mixed Doubles.
It promises to be a great day of action, scores will be available here.
It will be a South Shropshire derby in the final of the Harris Cup as Bylet and Highley came through against Division One opposition.
Highley beat Shifnal A by 29 chalks, winning by 50 at home, Dave Scriven best winner 4, and by 8 away, captain Reece Farr best winner 21-9. Tom Killen was best winner 6 for Shifnal.
Bylet defeated Wrockwardine Wood A by 40 overall. They won by 37 at home with Grant Cooper best winner 7, and 20 away with Matt Ealey best winner 9. Best for the Wrockites at home was John Clarke 16.
The final will be held on Saturday 23rd September at 6.30 p.m. at a venue to be announced.
Division 4 leaders Newport D will be looking to retain their Ashton Cup trophy as they beat Wrockwardine Wood C by 33. They won by 43 at home with Alan Gould and Kevin Edwards best winners 7. Away they lost by 7, Ian Edwards best winner 8, with Liam Bremner best for the Wrockites 9.
The other Semi Final saw Horsehay C beat Bowring C by 37 chalks. They won by 39 at home as Des Conneely was best winner 7, Steve Hendy being the only winner for Bowring 16. They kept it tight at the Bowring, just losing by 6, Neil Banks being best winner for them 18 and Trish Bradburn best for the home side 13.
In the Ashton Shield Semi Final between Charlton B and Much Wenlock B, the Charlton played Alan Pritchard who had only played one game for the Charlton on a Monday Night, not the 4 matches that are in the Competition rules. As a result, the Executive Committee unanimously agreed that the match be awarded to Much Wenlock 21-0, in line with our league rules regarding ineligible players. As a result, Much Wenlock win the Semi Final and progress in the Final.
This meant that Much Wenlock won by 45 at home, best winner for them being Dave Arnold 8 and for the visitors Paul Phillips 14, while away they lost by 37, with Chris France best winner 5 for the home side.
The other Semi saw Donnington Wood B defeat the remaining Division Six side Shifnal D by 22. They won by 42 at home, led by Darrin Marsh winning 3, as only John Stretton won for the visitors 19. Away they won by 2 shots, Eddie Gillespie best winner 9 for them, with Paul Mills best winner for the home side by the same score.
Peter Farmer won the first ever Thursday Night Merit after a corner masterclass in the final against Joe Killen. He didn’t give Joe much of a chance as he raced 17-3 up and didn’t allow Joe back in as he won 5. Pete had beaten Jamie King in the Semi Finals, again going up in the corners early on 11-3 before Jamie got back to trail 14-12. Pete went 18-12 up but Jamie got back to 20-17, however Pete got the one he needed. Joe had to play his brother Tom in the Semi Final, having a close game till 16-15 down when he ran out in the corners.
Thank you to Sir John Bayley for the use of their green, as well as June Lewis for sponsoring the event. Thank you to all measurers and markers today, and to Michael Cooper for helping me run it.
Full scores are here. Reports of the first two rounds are below the pictures.
Pete Farmer receives the trophy off Competitions Secretary Rob Burroughs. The four Semi-Finalists with Competition Secretary Rob Burroughs. From left: Pete Farmer, Jamie King, Joe Killen & Tom Killen.
Quarter Finals:
Jamie King went 14-5 down on Keith Wall and then 19-10, but found a mark to get back to 19-18 behind. Keith got a single but Jamie got out in the next two ends.
Pete Farmer went 6-1 down on Rob Roden but then went 8-6 up. He went further ahead at 17-11 and won 13.
Joe Killen took an early 5-2 lead which was pegged back to 9-8 by Paul Beer. But then he went 20-11 up and despite a late fightback by Paul, he won 18.
Tom Killen raced 11-3 up on Adie Rowe, but Adie put a run of 10 together to lead 13-11. Tom then went 16-13 up before Adie led himself at 17-16. It was 19 across before Tom got the two he needed.
Round One:
Jamie King fell 6-0 and 12-5 behind Martin Gaut but got back to lead 17-15, and went on to win 16.
Keith Wall built a 11-6 and 19-10 lead on Akeel Duncan before winning 13.
Rob Roden was 8-1 down against Pete Spragg but got back to lead 13-10. He then restricted Pete to single scores to win 13.
Pete Farmer raced 13-3 up on Dave Brown and kept this lead to win 13.
Paul Beer was 3-0 down on James O’Hara but then 6-3 ahead. He went 11-4 up and 15-6 and won 9.
Joe Killen trailed Will O’Hara 7-1 and 15-7 before he got in the corners to be 15-14 down. Will got in but Joe got back in to lead 19-16. Will won the block back and led 20-19, however Joe got the one he needed.
Adie Rowe took an early 6-3 lead on Jordan Millman, before Jordan went 9-6 up. Adie got in the corners to go 15-9 up and finished the game off 13.
Tom Killen was 10-6 down on Dan Corbett but got back to lead 12-10. He then went 18-12 ahead and despite getting back to 18-17 Tom held on to run out.
The first ever Thursday Night Merit takes place at Sir John Bayley at 10 a.m. with 16 hopefuls looking to put their name on the new trophy. Peter Farmer has won plenty over his career and would love to add this, while Adie Rowe is leading the League Averages at the moment so will be looking to do a double. There are plenty of youngsters in the field, with former Junior Merit winner Joe Killen, finalists Tom Killen and Akeel Duncan in the field, and current juniors Jordan Millman and Dan Corbett. Pete Spragg and Dave Brown are former Over 60s winners, with Jamie King a former Senior Merit winner. Rob Roden is a previous Shropshire Merit winner, and Keith Wall winner of the County Handicap amongst other wins. Martin Gaut is now a seasoned competition entrant, and the two O’Hara brothers will look to make an impact. Paul Beer had an excellent run in the Hadley Open earlier this season and will be looking for similar here.
The action starts at 10 a.m. on Sir John Bayley bottom green. There is no dress code. Scores will be here.
Bylet sprung a shock by defeating fellow Premier League side St Georges by 4 chalks. They won by 33 at home with two single figure winners led by Cheryl Caswell 21-7, while losing by 41 away, Nick Wyer their only winner 16. They now play Wrockwardine Wood A in the Semi Finals after they got past Prince of Wales Hotel by 28. They won by 27 at home with Steve Downs and Martin Richardson best winners 12, and then drew away, Tony Garmson best winner 9.
The other Semi sees Highley of the Premier League play Shifnal A. Highley beat Newport A with all 10 winners, winning by 56 at home, Dave Scriven best winner 7, and by 30 away, with John Heath best winner 21-10. Shifnal A had a close game with Horsehay A, winning by 11. They drew away, Paul Reeves best winner 7, and lost by 1 at home, Tom Killen best winner 5.
The Semi Finals take place on Wednesday 23rd August, with the draw below. There is no dress code.
The venue for the 2023 Dixon and Driscoll Doubles on Saturday 26th August at 10 a.m. is Edgmond. It will be starting at 10 a.m. and the 16 entries for the competition are below.
There is no dress code.
Player
Steve Bishton *-Bowring/Dean Heighway ***-Bowring
Peter Burd **-Horsehay/Gavin Bridge *-Horsehay
Harry Church *-Sinclair/John Potter *-Sinclair
Stuart Church *-Sinclair/Darren Lord *-Sinclair
Michael Cooper *-SJ Bayley/Robert Burroughs-SJ Bayley
Shifnal D are flying the flag for Division 6 in the Ashton Shield after beating Trench by 8 in the Quarter Finals. They lost by 33 at home with Dave Marriott best winner 17, but won by 18 away, Chelsea Mills best winner 7. They now meet Division 4 Donnington Wood, who received a bye, while the other two teams left are from Division 5. Much Wenlock B beat Madeley CC C by 43, winning by 26 at home with Steve Preece and Gordon Partridge best winners 6, and by 9 away, Mel Bardsley best winner 11. Charlton B defeated Shifnal C by 5 after winning by 14 at home, Allan Davies best winner 11, and losing by 17 away, best winner being Annette Lucas 8.
The Semi Final Draw on Wednesday 16th August is below. Players must have played at least 4 Monday Night games to be eligible to play.
