West Kirby Victoria Bowling Club

Happy New Year to all our members and visitors especially those of you from the U.S.A. and Australia.

After the most successful season in the history of West Kirby Victoria Bowling Club we now have to try and emulate even that trophy leaden year. There have unfortunately been some players, who for various reasons have decided to move on and play their bowls elsewhere and we wish them every success in their new surroundings, if not against the The Vics. Players who will not be playing for us next season include, Mally Andrews, Ken Bidwell, Tony Craven, Robby Hall, Alan Hughes, Brian Leonard and Paul Lomax. We have made a few new signings in Jack Beecham, Phil Lee, Bob Jones and Curtis Tornerup and we hope they will enjoy their bowls at The Vics.

We have just completed our Starred Player’s for The Birkenhead Afternoon “A” and “B” teams and they can be seen below.

“A” Team: W. Atkinson, J. Beecham, E. Clayburn, P. Dodd, K. Etches, R. Franklin, A. Ryding, A. Stratton ( R. Jones and K. Stewart) Bob Jones and Keith Stewart will be Starred for Cup Matches.

“B” Team: J. Brandon, J. Davies, M. Johnson, E. Lawrence, E. Peers, D. Thomas, E. Williams, I. Wilson (B. Davies and I. Hamilton) Bernard Davies and Ian Hamilton will be Starred for Cup Matches.

The Vics will once again be representing Merseyside in the British Crown Green Team Championship at Irlam in March and April and full details will be posted when the draw has been made.

Match reports will cease to be posted in 2010 because I now only play Afternoon Bowls at The Vics and it is difficult to catch up on details from the other four teams. Results will be uploaded as soon as I receive them from Team Captains and as usual the results will appear with ongoing averages on the same page.

After a quiet year of posting in 2009, mainly due to a few personal health problems, I will endeavor to keep members informed as early as possible about any relevant information I receive about anything connected with West Kirby Victoria bowls.

Please remember, this website is totally funded by myself and I do this because I want too and not at the request of West Kirby Victoria Bowling Club. I do receive complaints from members from time to time about the content of the site but unfortunately I am limited as to how much time I am able spend on it.

The Average Prize Winners for each team in 2009 are: League Matches only count for Averages.

Birkenhead Evening League;  Mathew Gilmore  Played 17,  Won 15,  Lost 2,  For 346,  Against 206,  Plus 140,  Ave 1.68

Wallasey League;                      Mathew Gilmore  Played 16,  Won 16,  Lost 0,  For 336,  Against 157,   Plus 179,  Ave 2.14

Afternoon “A” Team;                Mally Andrews    Played  22,  Won 20, Lost 2,  For 452,  Against 285,   Plus 167,  Ave 1.59

Afternoon “B” Team;                Keith Stewart       Played  22,  Won 17,  Lost 5,  For 423,  Against 304,   Plus 119,  Ave 1.39

Afternoon “C” Team;                Ted Lawrence       Played  21,  Won 20, Lost  1,  For 432,  Against 243,   Plus 189,  Ave 1.78

Ted still has one game to go this coming Friday but he has also managed to play 10 League games for the “B” team and 1 League game for the “A” team winning 7 out of the extra 11 games. This is a magnificent effort by Ted and his immediate answer of “yes” when asked to double up etc. reflects great credit on his attitude to playing for the Vics.

In the Wallasey League both Robbie Fitzpatrick and Anthony Thompson each played 17 games and won 17 games.

2009 will go into the record books as the Vics most successful season ever with an impressive haul of Cups and League Titles coming our way. This afternoon the Afternoon “B” team completed a comfortable home victory over Albany to win the Birkenhead & Wirral Crown Green Bowling League, Afternoon Division Two Title. The Afternoon “C” team have already won the Division Four Title with still the last match (Poulton at home on Friday) to play. The Afternoon “A” team won the Centenary Cup a fortnight ago with a comprehensive 10 winners to nil defeat of Heswall RBL “B” in the final at Albany.

The Birkenhead Evening League team had an unforgettable season, winning the Division One Title, the Sansom Cup and the Cec Hannay Rose Bowl. They also retained their Merseyside Club Championship with another comprehensive clean sweep of winners in their Final against BRNESC at Liverpool Cricket Club. They will now go forward to the British Crown Green Club Championship in Todmorden on October 4th as the Merseyside representatives.

The Wallasey League side won the Division One Title for a remarkable ninth year on the trot and also added the Presidents Cup with a fine victory against Queens Royal in the Final at Manor Road.

All the Team Captains, John Lloyd, Malcolm Johnson, Billy Atkinson, Keith Etches and Ian Wilson deserve credit for their efforts in keeping their teams fully focused during the season and of course everyone who played for the club during the season have helped to make us the club that everyone will be wanting to beat next season.

The Vics are currently having their most successful season ever with every Team in the Club in with a great chance of winning a Trophy or two.

To date (Tuesday August 18th) our Birkenhead Evening League team have won the Sansom Cup and play in the Cec Hannay Rose Bowl Final this coming Saturday. They are also just one game away from winning the First Division Title, with the match away at Tixall next Monday (August 24th) looking to be the Title decider if the Vics win or, if they lose, then a play off will be needed to decide the Champions.

Our Wallasey League team completed an unprecedented 9th consecutive Division One Championship last Thursday and also won the Presidents Cup last Saturday. The Five A Side competition commences next week and the Vics will be fielding three teams this year.

The Afternoon “A” team have qualified for the Centenary Cup Semi Final and take on Pensby “B” at Royden Hall on Thursday August 27th having to concede 60 shots courtesy of the handicappers. We are currently in 5th place in Division One.

The Afternoon “B” team are currently 11 points clear at the top of Division Two with 6 games to play and look likely to be joining the “A” team in Division One next year as Champions of Division Two.

The Afternoon “C” team are currently 17 points clear at the top of Division Four with 6 games to play and barring a catastrophic collapse in form should be promoted to Division Three next year as Champions of Division Four.

We are also the current holders of the Merseyside Team Championship and will defend the Trophy on Saturday September 5th. We are joint holders of the British Parks Club Championship and will be hoping to win the Cup outright on Sunday September 13th in North Staffordshire.

Congratulations to all our Members and thanks to the Team Captains, John Lloyd, Malcolm Johnson, Billy Atkinson, Keith Etches and Ian Wilson for all the work they have put in to make 2009 our best ever season.

The Vics Wallasey League Team qualified for the Presidents Cup Final with a single shot victory over Sacred Heart last Tuesday. Having to concede a 66 shot start thanks to the Handicappers, the Vics had to pull out all the stops to secure victory and Robbie Fitzpatrick was the player who was on the green with the winning wood when he complated a 21-16 win. The Vics will now play “old foes “, Queens Royal, in the Final at Manor Road on Saturday August 15th with a 5-30pm start. I hope we can get the same support from Club Members that we had in the Sansom Cup Final to help the Vics win a Trophy they last won in 2004.

The Vics Birkenhead League team defeated Gladstone by 5 shots in an excellent Sansom Cup Final last Wednesday watched by a large crowd at Lever Club. The Vics brought the cup to West Kirby for the first time and silenced their critics from Birkenhead with a committed team performance. Down by quite a few shots in a number of crucial games the Vics players fought back each time to gain sufficient points to go with their five winners on the night and take the trophy. Congratulations to John Lloyd and his team in winning Wirral’s premier trophy and hopefully they can now go on and win the First Division Title to complete a memorable season.

Scores:

Gladstone           v   West Kirby Victoria

1 MK ANDREWS v M. GILMORE 21-18
2 N.BURRIDGE V A. THOMPSON 19-21
3. J. FINCH V I. SHERBROOKE 18-21
4. I. HAZLEHURST V R.FITZPATRICK 21-18
5 B.HANLON V MAL ANDREWS 21-17
6 J.HIGNETT JNR V N. SHERBROOKE 21-19
7 J. ELLIS V B.LEONARD 15-21
8 R.FINCH V J FITZPATRICK 9-21
9 C. GOULDING V W. ATKINSON 21-20
10 D. HANKIN V J.DEVLIN 21-12
11 R.LYNCH V J. LLOYD 21-14
12 C. SAVILLE V K.SHERBROOKE 10-21

Total Scores   Gladstone 218-223 West Kirby Victoria

The Vics Birkenhead League team have qualified to play Gladstone in the 2009 Sansom Cup Final and this takes place on Wednesday July 29th at Lever Club. The match starts at 6-30pm and the team needs as much support from our club members as possible in their quest to win this premier Wirral Cup for the first time. Full details can be seen on the notices in the Club House.

The Vics Birkenhead Evening League team lie joint 2nd in the Birkenhead & Wirral League Division One having won both their opening 2 matches. After having a blank fortnight with no fixtures the Vics are next in action at home to Oxton Conservative Club on Friday May 22nd.

The Wallasey League  team are 3rd in Division One having won all their 4 opening matches and play major rivals, Queens Royal at home this coming Tuesday May 19th.

The Afternoon “A” team have won just one of their four opening League matches but are 7th in Division One with 21 points. Their next fixture is away to Capenhurst this Wednesday, May 20th. The “B” team are top of Division Two with 3 victories from 4 matches and 33 points and play Capenhurst “B” at home on Wednesday. The “C” team are 11 points clear at the top of Division 4 with 4 victories from 4 matches and next play on Friday May 22nd at home to Pensby “B”.

There have been quite a few Cup Matches over the past few weeks, with mixed fortunes for the various Vics teams. The Birkenhead Evening team lost out to one of their main rivals, Tixall, in the Dr.Dawson Victory Cup 1st Round by 19 shots. They did however beat both Great Meols and Quarry Vikings in the early rounds of the Cec Hannay Rose Bowl to qualify for the last 16 on June 29th. The Vics will also play Heswall RBL in the Quarter Finals of the Sansom Cup on Wednesday 20th May at Upton Victory Hall.

The Wallasey League side play in the Preliminary Round of the Presidents Cup on Tuesday June 9th against Great Float at Royden Hall and after having beaten Sacred Heart in the Harold Jones Cup Quarter Finals, have quailified to play Sandridge at Marine Park in the Semi Final at Marine Park on Tuesday June 16th.

The Birkenhead Afternoon “A” team, having beaten Gladstone Tigers in the Afternoon Shield Preliminary Round were then defeated by Royden Hall in the First Round last Wednesday. The “B” team defeated Thingwall in their Preliminary Round match and after a close game at Lever Club last Wednesday, defeated Pensby to qualify for the last 16 on June 17th. Unfortunately the “C” team lost out to Lever Cl;ub in their Preliminary Round match.

The Vics travelled to Shrewsbury this morning to compete as the Merseyside representatives in the British Crown Green Club Championship but were beaten by the 2008 Champions, Tonge from Manchester. The Vics lost out by 21 shots despite excellent displays by John Devlin 21-11, Billy Atkinson 21-13 and John Lloyd 21-19. Ian Sherbrooke 18-21, Mally Johnson 15-21 and Karl Sherbrooke 14-21 all performed creditably at the excellent Severside complex. A disapponting loss for the Vics but once again the level of competition the Vics are now playing at shows the increasing strength the Club now has with regular appearances at these events.