National Top Club Disappointment

Mikey Titcombe
6 days ago
3 min read

National Top Club Report - 23rd & 24th May 2026

It was a weekend to forget for our National Top Club teams, with both the A & B sides in action.

First up was our B team, who on Saturday morning, travelled to Wokingham for their first round match in this season's competition.

The first point of the day went to Wokingham, in the 2 bowl singles. Rich Whitefoot got off to a fantastic start, but couldn't quite maintain it. Once Wokingham got out in front in this discipline, they built momentum, and pulled away to give them a 1-0 lead in the contest.

However, it was success for Dave Winskill in the 4 bowl singles. After a great battle, Dave secured a 21-20 victory which gave Shrivenham their first point of the match.

An unfortunate turn of events in the fours meant that this game was not completed, Shrivenham B having to concede this point when trailing 7-16 after 11 ends. Our triple asked a lot of questions of the opposition, and put them under pressure, but a combination of some good bowling, and good fortune, meant a 13-6 loss.

Finally, it was a strong effort from the pairs, as Clive Randall and Stuart Murray battled away, but eventually went down in a close contest, 19-16.

Result - Wokingham beat Shrivenham B 4-1

Two Bowl Singles - Rich Whitefoot lost 6-17

Four Bowl Singles - Dave Winskill won 21-20

Pairs - Clive Randall & Stuart Murray lost 16-19

Triples - Colin Lomas, Les Sullivan & Iain Winskill lost 6-13

Fours - Ian Woods, Phil Homer, Mike Theobald & Stuart Rayner 7-16 (conceded)

On Sunday evening, our A team travelled to Tilehurst, for what promised to be a very tough opening fixture.

It was apparent from the get go that Tilehurst were on good form, as Liam Hancock came up against a very impressive display from Dan Emberson, who secured the first point for Tilehurst, taking the win in the 2 bowl singles.

Tom Clough got off to a flyer in the 4 bowl singles, however was pegged back by Patrick Hulbert. This turned into a good battle between the two players, but it was Patrick who managed to get over the line with a 21-15 victory.

In the pairs, Carlos Lali and Steve Warren were locked in a tight battle for the first two thirds of the game against the strong Tilehurst pairing of Scott Winskill and Andy Knapper. Unfortunately for Shrivenham A, it was Scott and Andy who finished the stronger of the pairings, securing a 26-11 victory with some great bowling in the final 6 ends of the match.

It was another strong performance by the Tilehurst triple of James Drisse, Ade Collins and Gary Stacey. Our triple of Dave Murray, Elliott Winskill and Mark Hancock fought hard to hang in there against a barrage of great bowls, but eventually went down 17-7.

It seemed as though Shrivenham A were also up against it in the fours, with the four of Rod Gray, Stuart Guy, Aubrey Merry and Mark Clisby recovering an early deficit to forge into an 11-7 lead. However, a vital count of 5 got the Shrivenham quartet of Kieron Pollock, Ryan Lali, Jake Webster and Mikey Titcombe back in front, as they secured a consolation point for the sky blues, winning 18-16.

Result - Tilehurst beat Shrivenham A 4-1