Matches shot on the 27th March 2008

The report for this week must centre around Andy Morris who shoots for Wilmcote. He has had a fantastic fortnight with his first possible this season shot in the final of the 4 A-side competition on 13 March, then two more possibles in the Roderick Baker Cup on Tuesday 18 March, followed by a fourth possible shot in the semi final of the Thompson Cup competition which was held on Thursday 20 March and finally in the Webley match against Avenue-RBL last Thursday, he shot his fifth possible. In the Roderick Baker competition Michelle Dale (Binton A) knocked out John Maycock (Wilmcote). She went on to meet Andy Morris in the semi final who with his first possible of the night had knocked out Steve Hodges (Home Guard). Andy came to the mark and shot 5 dirty bulls and 2 clean ones for his second possible of the evening which took him through to the final of the competition and eliminated Michelle. Steve Ray (Avenue-RBL) a previous winner of the trophy, eliminated veteran MEB shooter Ray Warnock from the competition by just 0.1pt and went on to meet Will Troth representing Knights. Steve Ray's experience won through when he shot 34 to put him into the final against Andy Morris. Steve Ray was first to shoot. He took his time to shoot a clean bull with his first pellet, then a dirt bull followed by a four then 4 more bulls but they were all dirty to score 34.1. Everyone was wondering whether Andy could shoot three possibles in one night. Alas no, he started with a four but then went on to shoot six bulls for 34.4pts. Andy retained the Roderick Baker Cup. Binton B failed to put forward a representative.

The semi final matches in the Thompson Knockout Cup took place on Thursday 20 March when Will Troth was volunteered to be the neutral marker for the semi final. All four teams fielded eight shooters. In the first match between Wilmcote and MEB, Paul Clingan had the highest score for MEB when he shot 34pts but then Andy Morris took his place at the mark to shoot yet another possible - his fourth in eight days - an unequalled record. The lowest score from each side was dropped which left MEB the winners with 216pts to Wilmcote's 214pts. In the second match between Home Guard and Binton A, Andy Smith was first up for Binton A and with six bulls and a four shot 34, a personal best this season. Colin Fulford topped the Home Guard score line with 33. After dropping the lowest scores, Binton A won through with their score of 220 against Home Guard's 208, to meet MEB in the final which will be held on 17 April.

Last week (27 March) the teams return to the Webley Competition when Binton A shooting with a 10pt handicap met the Home Guard team. Jackie and Richard Mills started the shooting for Home Guard, both scoring 29. They were followed by Bill Gately and Derek Powers who shot 28 and 29 respectively. Steve Hodges and Colin Fulford shot bulls and fours for 32 and 30. The Goodman brothers, Ben and Sam shot 29 and 30 to bring the Home Guard total to 236. Binton were on form with almost every shooter managing to pull back one or two of the 10 pt advantage. New shooter Phil Hemming was first to the mark for Binton. Unluckily, he started with a three but then settled into a string of fours and a bull for 28pts. Simon Dale was top shot for Binton with 34pts. Michelle Dale shot 31 followed by Gary Hooper who shot 30 and John Parrott 29. Alan Dyer leading the rear guard action shot 33 Neil Bragg and Neil Beningfield found it difficult to ring the bell, managing only one bull between them for 28 and 29 respectively. Both teams fielded eight shooter and as the lowest scores were dropped Binton ended on 214 with Home Guard on 208 but with the 10 bonus points won the match with 218pts. MEB were at home against Binton B with a 15pt handicap and relying on two A N Others they didn't really stand much of a chance of winning this match but it was not for the want of trying. Paul Clingan shot 31 some what below his average but Ray Warnock got his third possible of the season. Sheila Clarke and Ray Hodgkins had to settle for unbroken runs of fours but Gordon Spence show a return of confidence when he shot 30. With just five shooters they shot 207pts which is not a bad performance for most teams of seven shooters. Rob Johnson was first up for Binton B with 2 bulls he scored 30. Roy Clarke struggled to find the bull and had to be satisfied with 27. The middle ranks picked up the pace with Mike Perry shooting 32 and Bill Fleming 31. Gordon O'nions shot 29 and Ben Chamberlain 30. Anchor man Brian Portman got 2 bulls but with a three scored 29 to bring Binton B team's total to 208 plus the MEB handicap of 10 218. MEB had 27 and 28 for the A N Other scores which meant they lost the match with their score of 207. Avenue-RBL were at home to Wilmcote who shot with a handicap of 14 but with the advantage of the league's current star shooter Andy Morris on their side. John Maycock and Gareth Morris shot bulls and fours for 33pts a piece. Jo Everett with 30 and Dennis Ganderton with 25 saw the bonus points start to drift away. But then Tim Stephens shot 28 and Alan Brookes shot 31 to Steve Everett's score of 30 and Guy Ganderton's 33, a personal best. Trev Skinner and Paul Boazman both shot 31 compared with Paul Nixon Barron's 30 and Dee Green who after a couple of poor performances settled down to shoot three bulls, three fours and a three for 30. This left only Andy Morris and Steve Ray to shoot - was this going to be a repeat of the Roderick Baker Final? Andy shot first and he was right on target shooting seven bulls and his fifth possible in 14 days which took Wilmcote's score to 222. Steve Ray started with a bull but slipped into the fours only to return to the bulls for 34. The whole of the Avenue-RBL team shot above their average to total 212pts and with the 14 bonus points, they ended up winning the match with 226pts overall.

The Webley League positions after 5 weeks are: - Binton B and Home Guard 8pts but Home Guard have a match in hand; Avenue-RBL and Wilmcote 4pts from 4 matches; Binton A, Knights from 4 matches and MEB from 5 matches, 2pts. Tonight, (3 April) Wilmcote Social Club will hold the second round of the Pairs Competition, matches starting 8.30pm prompt.



Report by Juana Everett (to be published 3rd April 2008)