Kennet League vs Tilehurst Report

Kennet League Report - 12th May 2026 vs Tilehurst (Home)

After scoring a maximum 14 points at Prospect Park last week, Shrivenham hosted Tilehurst in what promised to be a tough battle.

The early season momentum certainly played a factor in the early stages of this match, as Shrivenham made a confident start. At the 5 end mark, the league leaders had built a 22-10 overall advantage. Tom Clough and Mark Hancock’s quartets were both locked in tight battles, with scorelines of 7-5 and 7-8 respectively. Steve Warren and Mikey Titcombe’s rinks both seized the initiative, Steve leading 8-1, and Mikey 8-2.

The gap continued to grow across the next 5 ends on Steve and Mikey’s rinks. Mikey’s foursome scored 8 shots without reply and led 16-2, whilst Steve & co edged marginally further ahead of their opposition, at 14-6. At this point, it looked as though there wasn’t going to be much to separate Mark and Tom from their opponents. Mark had cut his deficit to a single shot, 7-8, whilst Tom still held a 2-shot advantage, at 7-5.

However, Mark’s four had other ideas, and on the 11th end scored a crucial count of 5 to finally put some daylight between the 2 sides on rink 2. This meant a 15-11 lead at the 15 end mark. Tom on the other hand, could still not get away from his tough opposition, and trailed 10-11 at 15 ends. Although still in firm control of their battle, Mikey’s rink had been pegged back slightly, leading 17-8. An impressive barrage of shots meant Steve’s quartet drew even further clear, at 27-8.

As the match drew to a close, it was clear that at least 12 points had been secured. Steve, Mikey and Mark’s teams returned 27-15, 19-11 and 18-14 winning scorecards respectively. It was down to Tom’s rink to secure the final 2 points. They had managed to creep back in front and led by a single shot going into the final end of the match. With one bowl left in hand, Tom found himself 2 down. A fantastic effort from Tom looked to be just missing, but a slight piece of fortune kept him in the head, landing on the jack to secure the final 2 points, meaning a 14-0, 78-52 win for Shrivenham.

The challenges just keep on coming now for Shrivenham, with a tough trip to Hagbourne up next in the Kennet League. With just 2 points dropped from a possible 42 in the first 3 matches of the season, can the team continue to build on this excellent start to the campaign?

Report by MJT Writing & Media Services