The Home Counties Bowling Association Championships were held on Sunday at Croydon BC and Surrey achieved success in the two singles championships played throughout the day.

The champions or finalists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex represent their county in each of five disciplines, singles, pairs, triples, fours and Under-25 singles.

In the Under-25 Singles competition Gareth McDonagh (Cheam BC) went straight into the semi-final where he beat Charlie Bell of Buckinghamshire 21 – 17. In the final he met George Schab of Oxfordshire who had previously beaten Scott Whiting of Kent in his semi-final. But Gareth romped away in the final and never looked back as he took the title by 21 – 8.

In the Singles, Surrey’s representative was Mark Bishopp (Weybridge) who beat Mark Charelett of Oxfordshire 21 – 17 in the quarter-final. In the semi-final he battled hard and beat Andy Smalldridge of Sussex 21 – 16 before meeting Middlesex’s Simon Jee in the final. Once again the Surrey player dominated the final against a talented opponent and took the title with a comprehensive 21 – 9 victory.

There was disappointment for Surrey in the Triples final however. Surrey were represented by Mick Gray, Mike Appleford and Gary Stevens (Cheam BC) and they could not have had a better start against a Kent team skipped by Steve Savage. Surrey were leading 16 – 3 after just 7 ends and looked to be coasting to a comfortable victory. However, as can happen in bowls, the wheels then fell off as their Kent rivals launched a spirited comeback. So much so that the Surrey team failed to score again mainly due to the Kent skip’s fine bowls and Kent ran out 17 – 16 winners in an extraordinary turnaround of fortunes.

However, Surrey must be happy with two titles and a finalist in these prestigious championships. Surrey also picked up over £300 in prize money for finishing second in the Senior Home Counties BA league (played throughout the season) and for the Under-25’s playing in the Junior league. A highly satisfactory conclusion to an above average season for the County.