Fine margins...

Bowls is frequently a game of fine margins, whether it be in determining which of two bowls is closer to the jack at the conclusion of one end or, alternatively, when all the ends in a match have been determined across all the rinks in play, which team has come out on top.

Andover Lions – Andover’s team in the Salisbury & District Bowls Association league – have experienced both sides of the coin in the space of the last week: a fighting victory in the Association’s Herbie Turner Cup on Sunday 10 August (see our news release) was followed by a heartbreaking defeat the following Thursday at home to Alderbury.

Going into the Alderbury match, Lions were top of the league and, after 16 of the 18 ends, the title was coming back home to Andover as Lions led by 5-1 (Lions also won the title in 2024). Alderbury weren’t done, however, and in the gathering gloom finished the stronger, turning the ends around that they weren't winning and closing out the match by 5.5-0.5. The shots score – 68-72 in favour of Alderbury – across four rinks tells just how close the match was. Meanwhile, a win for Salisbury gave them the title and a whitewash win for Pewsey Red gave them second place for the second year in a row. Congratulations to both.

Meanwhile, Andover’s team in the Women’s League finished their season with a good, but another narrow, win (46-43) for an 8-2 scoreline, coincidentally also against Alderbury. Andover are currently top of the league but other fixtures, once played, may see the title go elsewhere, in particular to Amesbury who would win the league by matching or bettering Andover’s result against Alderbury in their final game. We will of course report further.