ROYAL Wootton Bassett men won their fourth Wiltshire men’s four-rink league crown in six years when they beat Westlecot 75-55 in the final of the play-offs at Devizes last Sunday.

The previous day at the same venue, Westlecot had defeated holders Chippenham Town in their delayed semi-final 89-73 after a closely-fought match to book their place in the final against Bassett.

A few weeks earlier in the showdown for the North area title, Westlecot had narrowly pipped Bassett, losing the match by three shots but gaining six of the 14 points on offer to beat them to top spot by five points.

However, this play-off final victory gave Bassett ample revenge.

Bassett led 18-16 across the board at five ends, 33-26 at 10 and 48-42 at 15 ends before pulling away with a final flourish to lead 64-50 at 18 and claim a 75-55 victory after the allotted 21 ends.

Bassett took the honours on three of the four rinks, with the foursomes of Barry Sictorness, Terry Walton, Gary Morphett and Steve Snell (skip) plus Andy Blake, Graham Richards, Kyle Anderson and Dave Godwin (skip) locked together for top honours with nine-shots wins.

Kevin Embling, Dave Snell, Mel Biggs and Mike Snell (skip) were close behind with an eight-shots win.

The only Bassett rink to suffer a loss was Neil Collett’s four, who went down to the Westlecot’s Kevin Carter, Jake Webster, Ben Choules and Mike Titcombe (skip) by six shots.

Since the turn of the century and after Amesbury won the first two titles in 2000 and 2001, the four-rink league play-offs have been dominated by these two clubs.

Between them, they have won the crown 14 times – Westlecot with 10 titles and Bassett four.

  • THE annual showdown between Wiltshire men and ladies was scheduled to be staged at Chippenham Park, the home green of men’s president Dave Williams, this week.

The ladies’ team of 24 was led by president Ruth Gerrish (Bradford-on-Avon) and drawn from 15 clubs around the county, with Devizes having the largest representation of four players and both Wroughton and Supermarine having three.

Williams’ men’s team was drawn from 12 clubs, with Chippenham Park having the largest representation of seven players and Avon next best with four. Supermarine, Wroughton and Royal Wootton Bassett were all represented by one player each.

Last year’s match ended as a 111-111 draw at Avon, while in 2017, the men won 127-108 at Amesbury.

At the time of going to press, the 2019 result was not known.

  • WILTSHIRE men’s presidential tour is set to take place this weekend in Somerset, with the tourists – under the leadership of Dave Williams (Chippenham Park) – based in Taunton.

Four games are arranged at Taunton BC (Vivary Park), Wellington BC, Taunton Deane and Yatton.

  • SWINDON & District men’s and ladies Bowls Associations will be both holding their annual finals days this weekend.

Men’s finals will be stage at Shrivenham on Saturday (10am), with 10 finals taking place.

Ladies' finals will be held at Westlecot on Sunday (10am).

Seven finals will be staged, with the eighth to be held at Shrivenham on Saturday when Purton’s Chris Mitchell and Alison Fail meet Stratton Chuchway duo Wendy Anderson and Janet Willis in the pairs.