Kennet League Report - 19th May 2026 vs Hagbourne (Away)

Kennet League Report - 19th May 2026 vs Hagbourne (Away)

It has been an impressive start to the Kennet League for Shrivenham, securing 40 points from a possible 42 from their first 3 games. Next up was a tough away trip to Hagbourne. Last season, the sky blues managed to emerge with a 10-4 victory after a tight battle. Would the tables be turned this season, or did Shrivenham come out on top again?

It was a close start to the game across the 4 rinks, with Shrivenham holding a 23-19 overall lead at the 5 end stage. The rinks skipped by Mark Hancock and Mikey Titcombe led 6-3 and 6-2 respectively, whilst Stuart Murray’s quartet had raced away to an 11-2 advantage. It was an unfortunate start for Steve Warren’s four, as some excellent bowls from the opposing skip meant a 0-12 deficit. 

In Kennet League matches, the overall shots victory is far more important than the individual rink wins. With this in mind, it was important that Steve & co did not let this deficit grow. A count of 4 on the 7th end helped them to reduce the margin slightly, trailing 5-15 at 10 ends. Advantages on Mikey and Stuart’s rinks continued to grow, holding 12-5 and 14-3 leads. Mark was still locked in a close battle at this point, still just ahead, 8-6.

It was at the 15 end mark where Shrivenham really stepped on the gas, and pulled away, 22 shots separating the teams at 63-41. Mikey’s rink were being held to their 7-shot advantage, at 17-10. Stuart and Mark however, both pulled away significantly between ends 11 and 15, now holding 22-5 and 16-6 scorelines. Steve’s rink were still coming up against a mix of good bowling from the opposition, and misfortune on their part, and trailed 8-20. 

As the game came to a close, the league leaders saw things out safely, securing 3 rink wins out of 4. This was an excellent team performance away from home, and the squad have still only dropped 4 points from a possible 56 in 4 matches. The tough games just keep on coming though. Next week sees Thatcham visit Shrivenham, in a battle of the current top two. A win for Shrivenham would mean more daylight between them and the chasing pack.

Results

Shrivenham beat Hagbourne 12-2 (72-49)

Carlos Lali, Martin Pether, Dave Winskill & Mikey Titcombe beat P Ryman 19-13

Dave Murray, Les Sullivan, Jake Webster & Steve Warren lost to D Rose 9-22

Clive Randall, Colin Lomas, Chris Davis and Stuart Murray beat J Heapy 25-6

Liam Hancock, Darren Anteney, Ryan Lali & Mark Hancock beat I Snowdon 19-8

Report by MJT Writing & Media Services