Royal Mail Cart continue their superb summer on the bowls scene

Royal Mail Cart Bowls Club have added the Cecil Driffill Trophy to the Challenge Bowl they won only the weekend before.

The competition is played over four rinks of three bowl triples, where each of the semi-finalists played a series of qualifying rounds throughout the season to reach the finals day at Eslaforde Park in Sleaford.

In the semi-final, Royal Mail Cart secured a comfortable 50 shot victory (98-48) against Horncastle.

Royal Mail Cart stamped their authority from the outset and continued to extend their lead throughout the match.

Three out of the four rinks won (the other drew) but the top winning rink for the Spalding side was skipped by captain, Martin Spencer, with Steve Hill and Simon Lilley, winning their rink 29-7.

Grantham beat Cleethorpes in the other last four showdown to set up an eagerly anticipated final.

There, Mail Cart started well in tricky conditions but by the halfway stage, they were fully in control before extending their lead – much in the same way at they did in the morning session – to ease to victory by 43 shots (86-43) and win the Cecil Driffill Trophy for the first time since 1999.

The top winning rink in the final was skipped by Jordan Philpott, with Ruby Hill and Martin Simpson, who won 27-8.

What made the victory even more impressive was that Royal Mail Cart did not drop a rink all day, winning six and drawing two.

Rink scores: Semi-final (v Horncastle, won 98-48) – Steve Hill, Simon Lilley & Martin Spencer won 29-7; Ruby Hill, Martin Simpson & Jordan Philpott drew 14-14; Mick Dolton, Pete Horsfield & Dominic McVittie won 31-13; Nigel Brown, Paul Caress & Ash Caress won 24-14.
Final (v Grantham, won 86-43) – Steve Hill, Simon Lilley & Martin Spencer won 25-8; Ruby Hill, Martin Simpson & Jordan Philpott won 27-8; Mick Dolton, Pete Horsfield & Dominic McVittie won 21-14; Nigel Brown, Paul Caress & Ash Caress drew 13-13.

Royal Mail Cart’s success continued at the ladies’ EBA county finals, held at Boultham Park Bowls Club in Lincoln, over the weekend.

On Saturday, Ruby Hill and Chelsea Tomlin made it a county singles clean sweep for Royal Mail Cart as Hill won the county under-25 singles and two bowl singles, whilst Tomlin won the four bowl singles.

Playing their finals at the same time, Hill beat Louise Harris from Stamford in the under-25 singles 21-7, while Tomlin saw off Penny Strong from Lincoln 21-6 in the four bowl singles.

Both were in control throughout before claiming their respective county titles.

In the two bowl singles, Hill also played against Lincoln’s Strong. The final started well for both players as the lead changed hands on several occasions before Hill showed her class towards the end of the match to run out a relatively comfortable winner, 17-10 and secure her second county title of the day.

On Sunday, the county fours final was contested between two sets representing the Spalding area.

Royal Mail Cart quartet Julie Allen, Danielle Wild, Ruby Hill and Chelsea Tomlin played Helen Holroyd, Louise Catchpole, Penny Strong and Annie Dunham, representing Carter’s Park, Holbeach.

It was the Mail Cart four who started the stronger of the two sets as they raced in to an 8-1 lead before Carter’s Park battled hard to take the match into the last end, only one behind at 15-14.

However, Dunham and her rink played a good last end to claim the shots they needed and secure the county fours title.

All county champions will represent Lincolnshire in the national finals at Leamington Spa, which take place between August 19 and September 5.