ith one more league fixture to shoot, Wilmcote secured the number one spot with their win over Avon last Thursday. Avon put Wilmcote under pressure in what proved to be a close match, with 33s from Colin Fulford and Steve Ray and 32s from Bill Fleming, Alison McMillan and Mark Ellis but Wilmcote rose to the challenge with near possibles, 34s, from brothers Adam and Jamie Clarke and team captain Paul Clingan. Both teams had eight shooters and after dropping the lowest of their eight scores the final result gave Wilmcote a win with 223 to Avon’s 222 points.

Binton A took an early lead in their home match against Snitterfield when Andy Smith shot his sixth possible of the season. When Gary Hooper shot 34 and Will Cemis shot his eighth possible of the season, Snitterfield’s fate was sealed. Three members of the Snitterfield team, Gareth Morris, Katie Barrett and Andy Morris all shot 33s but it was not enough and Binton won with a high score of 232 points to Snitterfield’s 223.

Clifford had six shooters for their match against Avenue B who have struggled with a lack of consistency all season but they did better in this match with Chris Adams shooting 32 and Joshua Bridge shooting 31. Both teams had some loose threes but in what turned out to be another close match Avenue won the match by just one point scoring 200 to Clifford’s 199 points. MEB versus Binton B was the third match to be won by just one point last week. Paul Onions had the highest score in the match which equalled his personal and season best of 34. His team mates had a few loose shots but Derek Powers and Dave Beasley has personal best shots of 31. MEB finished on 209 points. Binton’s shooters had mainly fours and fewer threes which resulted in a season best for team captain, Benn Chamberlain of 33 and consistent scores of 29s and 30s from his team which gave them the narrowest of victories when the final scores added up to 210 points.

The final league matches will take place tonight with Avenue B vs Avenue A; Binton B vs Avon; Snitterfield vs MEB and Wilmcote vs Binton A. Clifford have shot all their matches and have a bye.

An inter league match will take place between Evesham and Stratford on Monday January 26th and the preliminary round in the Thompson Cup on 29th January.

Report by Juana Everett, to be published on 22nd January 2015