Four Andover players selected to play for Hampshire

Four players from Andover Bowling Club were selected to bowl for Hampshire in an inter-county men’s match on Saturday, 2 May, at Andover Bowling Club’s Vigo Park green.

Andy Carnegie, Calvin Allen, Glen Philips and Gordon Bazley (skip) were the ones accorded the honour, in the match against a select team from Berkshire, and competed as one team. In fact, five Andover men were on the green from the start as Dave Corbett, ex-President, stepped in as Berkshire were a player short.

Club President Steve Baker formally handed over the green to the President of Bowls Hampshire and the match started at 2pm. The four selected players from Andover fought tenaciously in an extremely tight match and were leading 13-12 after 12 ends; Berkshire had the better of the next two, however, and were leading 17-13 before the county presidents decided to bring the match to a halt as a result of the rain with 14 of the scheduled 18 ends completed. On the other rinks, Hampshire struggled a little and, sadly, the match was lost overall on a 95-64 aggregate score.

Following the match, Gordon said, ‘I said to the boys before the game to relax and enjoy it. They certainly did that and the game was played in a competitive, but friendly, spirit throughout. We were a little unlucky as Berkshire had just managed to get their noses in front at what turned out to be the critical time. Nevertheless, congratulations to Berkshire for coming out on top.’

Afterwards, a tremendous dinner was served in the Clubhouse for the players and officials from Bowls Hampshire and the Royal County of Berkshire Bowls Association, led by Sue Milton and Cathy Hopwood and their team of volunteers.

The quality of the Andover green and the warmth of the reception the club provides to visiting players and officials is well known within Bowls Hampshire, who will be returning here for a women’s inter-county friendly on 1 September against Gloucestershire Bowls Association.