Jamie Cooke crowned Champion of Champions in Portsmouth & District Bowls League tournament

The competition was open to all the winners of P&D affiliated clubs’ Men’s 4 Wood singles championships.

Seventeen club champions registered, meaning one bowler could have the bad luck of having to play three matches during the day if he kept on winning.

That was the fate that befell Emsworth’s Paul Forster.

In the preliminary round, he defeated Forton’s David Thorn 21-12 after the scores had been level at 10-10 after nine ends.

In the first round, Forster came from 3-11 down after seven ends against Cosham Park’s Brian Buist to triumph 21-11 after 18 ends.

In the last eight, Forster faced Purbrook Heath’s Mark Berry, who has been making a name for himself in county singles competitions.

Forster led 14-5 after 11 ends but Berry hit back to level at 15-15 after 16 ends. The match was over two ends later as Berry scored a triple on each of them to win 21-15.

Berry had reached the quarter-finals by beating Denmead’s Mike Wright 21-18 after 26 ends.

Highlights of the first round were matches between Gas Social’s William Chan and Milton Park’s Bryan Cherry and Rowner’s Graeme Coles and Priory’s Steve Farnden.

Chan led 10-3 and 20-12, but Cherry hit back to only trail 20-19 after 25 ends. But Chan triumphed 21-19.

Coles led Farden 8-1 after seven ends and a double on the 24th end took him into a 20-16 lead and on the brink of victory. However, Farnden picked up five shots in a row to win 21-20

Other first round matches: Fareham’s Danny Russell beat Crofton’s Andrew Watts 21-7, Alexandra’s Jamie Cooke beat Waterlooville’s Richard Allen 21-10, Pembroke Gardens’ David Brookes (the defending champion) beat Southsea Waverley’s Ollie Mew 21-13, Leigh Park’s Carter Blandford beat Bridgemary’s Keith Vaughan 21-11

In the quarter-finals, Russell defeated Cooke 21-11 after 21 ends while Farnden hit back from 11-13 down to beat Chan 21-12 after 17 ends.

Brookes surged into a 13-3 lead over Blandford after eight ends, eventually winning 21-13.

Returning to Leigh Park the following day, the semi-finalists found the line of the rinks had been moved onto new marks from the previous day.

In the first semi-final, Cooke defeated Berry 21-12 before Brooks claimed a 21-15 success against Farnden.

The final, although the result doesn’t seem it, was a tight game from start to finish.

Cooke’s four on the sixth end put him in control, maintaining his lead by limiting his losses to single shots whilst scoring in pairs.

The match ended with Berry removing Brooks’ nearest bowl to pick up a four and clinch a 21-9 victory.

For the first time in 16 years, the P&D were able to run their Under-18 singles competition as five entries had been received.

Unfortunately, three of those couldn’t make the date chosen so a straight final was played between Joshua Thompson, 15, of Lee-on-the-Solent BC and Carson Stafford, 11, of Rowner BC.

Instead of being the first to 21 shots, the final was run in a ‘sets’ format, with bowlers having to play 3 sets of seven ends each, with the winner of each set getting two points. If a set was drawn, each would get one point.

The bowler with the highest number of points at the completion of those three sets would be the winner. However, if the points were level the bowlers would play a three end ‘shoot out’ with the bowler scoring the highest number of shots over those three ends being the winner.

As it turned out, the ‘shoot-out’ was required. And after the first two ends, the scores were still level at 1-1.

Carson’s ​​third delivery was excellent, finishing inches short of the jack but, unfortunately, leaving it a bit exposed.

As Joshua had managed to get 2nd wood with his third delivery, he knew that with his last he had to be inch perfect to beat Carson’s shot bowl.

He dealt with the pressure in a manner that would have impressed more senior bowlers to move Carson’s bowl out of the count and lie 2 shots, clinching the silverware in the process.