North v South Challenge

Thank you to organiser Lynn Pritchatt for the below report.

The Evans Trophy North v South Team Challenge 2022

After a two-year forced absence due to the Covid pandemic, this prestigious tournament on the Crown Green Bowling calendar made a return, this time with the South hosting. Three years of preparation and planning were all brought together on Saturday as the sun shone down on everyone. I do not have enough superlatives to convey my sincere thanks to Team Captains and Presidents Kevan Shaw and Noel Burrows for Team North and Anthony Bracken and Tony Poole for Team South.

The day started with both teams being led out by their Captain and President to a piece of music of their choice. Reigning champions Team North were presented onto the green first to Mr Brightside by the Killers. Many of the players were immediately in the spirit of the day with cheers and hand clapping. Team South were led by Captain Anthony Bracken and President Tony Poole to Mel’s signature tune assigned to him from his All England Final in 1982 when he lost to Ian Bottomley from South Yorkshire. The Brummies got on Mel’s side after Mel had beaten Micky Orr and the chants of ‘Come on Mellie’ started to echo around the greens at M&B Portland Road. From that day to this Mel’s signature tune became Dexys Midnight Runners Come on Eileen.

The tournament commenced with the Men’s Doubles on both greens. Green number one saw some cracking pairings with Wayne Ditchfield/Paul Bailey up against Callum Wraight/Michael Beer and Simon Coupe/Josh Mordue up against Scott Simpson/Paul Evans. Green number two saw Father and Son pairing of Dave/Ben Phillips face Ian Gaut/Gary Owen and Lancashire duo Billy Speed/Kev Shaw against Derbyshire’s Dan Petcher/Conor Chamberlain. Four winners on Green number one against class opposition was a tremendous start for the North lads. Across both greens it was Team North early out of the starting blocks taking a 5-3 lead in the Men’s doubles phase. There were some impressive wins with Ditchfield/Bailey beating Wraight/Beer 21-5 and Coupe/Mordue beating the Staffordshire pairing of Simpson/Evans 21-3.

Next came the Ladies Singles. This phase was evenly balanced at 4 points each. Some of the stand-out games were Andrea Buckley for Team North beating Shropshire county star Hollie Bishton 21-10, Jordan Picken for Team South beating the June IOM Festival champion Alexis Lunn-Gadd 21-15 and Helen Gilroy was very impressive in her victory for Team North 21-19 over Rachel Bennett. Her Captain Kev Shaw commented ‘it was the best finish to a match all day’. This in fact was a tremendous game of bowls, with no player deserving to lose out on the point. At the same time the South grabbed a close one with Sonya Lucas just getting over the line against Nicola Boulton 21-19.

The first of the Men’s Singles saw some interesting pairings. One of the stand-out matches was Chris Mordue up against Michael Beer. The South had six winners before we saw hard fought wins from Chris Mordue 21 17 against Michael Beer and Panel player Neil Bithell defeating Jason Galvin 21-18. The North were on Team South’s tails trailing 11-13.

The Ladies Pairs saw Team North pick up 3 winners out of the four matches and in the Mixed Doubles it was all square with 2 winners each. Team South dominated the Triples earning themselves 5.5 points. A half point was rescued by Chris Mordue, Tom Hanson and Karen Hill and this proved to be an important point. Upon conclusion of the Mixed Triples, Team South still led with 21.5 points and Team North not far behind on 18.5 points.

Going into the final phase, the Men’s Singles, it had the potential to go right down to the last couple of matches, as in 2018, and so it did. It was almost like the script had been written the night before. The North Team had 3 out of 4 winners on Green two. Tom Eccles, nephew of the late John Eccles, was outstanding against the Welsh star Leighton Roberts, Danny Barwise beat Matt Fellows comfortable and Dean Ferris recovered fabulously to beat Conor Chamberlain. The IOM’s Paul Dunn kept Team South’s dream alive with a brilliant 21-19 win over Merseyside’s Phil Lee in a great finish. Attention then turned to Green number one where the excitement was building. Team South needed two winners. Paul Bailey wins easily against reigning WBFSC Open Champion Elliot McGuinness. Darren Plenderleith is 20-14 up against Cumbria’s young star Matty Stewart, whilst Wayne Ditchfield comes off winning against Wales’ Nick Jones. If Team South had any hope of winning the Evans Trophy, they needed the last two wins. Young Matty Stewart produces the comeback of the day and the match winning chalk with a superb 21-20 win over Darren Plenderleith. Shortly followed by Simon Coupe defeating the game’s current number one player and in-form Callum Wraight.

So, Team North regained their Evans Trophy title they first won in the Inaugural 2018 victory 25.5 points to 22.5. A delighted and very proud Team North Captain Kev Shaw gave thanks to our sponsors, the St Georges members and his Team during his speech on the green but was to wait for the formal presentation at the evening function to get his hands on the Evans Trophy.

Tournaments of this nature cannot take place without the support of several people. Huge thanks must go to Paul Beer and Dan Wilson and the team at St Georges for being fabulous hosts and making the day truly memorable for everyone. I know St Georges viewed it as an absolute honour to stage the event. Events of this nature do not run without the right financial backing and support. Special thanks go to our sponsors Local Print Pros Telford, who provided the players shirts, Verite, The Mel Evans MBE Foundation and Lynn Pritchatt. Thanks also goes to a variety of companies who kindly donated good quality raffle prizes, including Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Dransfield Entertainment, The Littleton Restaurant Walsall College, Wolverhampton Racecourse, Uttoxeter Racecourse, Weston Park, Coombe Abbey, Country Garden Roses who donated a personalised rose entitled ‘Mel’s Delight’ and Thurston Bowls and Snooker to name a few. Of course, all the effort requires players and spectators to be appropriately fed and watered and we were all certainly well looked after by St Georges Club members who worked hard all day. Thank you so much ladies and gents for your help and support. Many thanks to Green Managers Evelyn Hastings and Rob Winnington, along with volunteer markers and measurers, for ensuring the event ran smoothly and for readily giving up their time to join us for the day. Finally, a heartfelt thanks must also go to Louise Coupe and Ellie Pagett for organising the raffle, particularly during the part of the day which was the hottest. They must have worked their magic as the raffle proceeds exceeded £600!

The day’s bowling was followed by an evening function in the company of Wolverhampton Wanderers legend and former England striker Steve Bull MBE. Mel would be absolutely thrilled and so proud that his footballing hero was present at such a prestigious event. Thank you to Steve for spending several hours with us and for working alongside myself and our granddaughter Isabelle in making the presentations. In fact, one of very many highlights for me personally was having my family in attendance, with Isabelle playing a key role in both the presentation and auction!

One of the auction items secured by the fantastic Alexis Lunn-Gadd was an autographed England football shirt, signed by the recently crowned Euro 2022 champions The Lionesses. The item will be available next month when the players return from holiday. Therefore, Alexis arranged for a framed photograph to be used on the evening. Isabelle proudly held aloft the photograph during the bidding and bids closed at a staggering £1200. The evening ran smoothly in the safe hands of MC Paul Booth. Paul was first introduced to our sport when he was brought in to MC the Waterloo Finals, after Mel had secured funding to get the great tournament back onto our TV screens. Paul always remembers fondly the warm welcome he received by Mel and was instantly impressed by Mel’s professionalism. Thank you for your hard work Paul and as always it was so nice to see you enjoy the company of the Crown Green Bowling community.

The Evans Trophy was presented to Captain Kev Shaw by Steve Bull MBE and Isabelle Norton. It was a mighty difficult task selecting the Player of the Match for each Team and the Overall Player of the Match. Team North turned out some worthy contenders in the shape of Simon Coupe, James Hanson, Helen Gilroy and Wayne Ditchfield. However, the North Player of the Match went to a thrilled Fern Beaumont from Yorkshire. The Player of the Match for Team South was equally difficult to select. However, the Player of the Match went to a player who had impressed in both her singles and doubles matches and that player was Staffordshire’s Jordan Picken. The Overall Player of the Match was awarded to a player who, on paper, had the hardest draw both in terms of green knowledge and current form. The Overall Player of the Match was Simon Coupe in recognition of his win against Callum Wraight. An emotion charged day and evening was at an end. All Mel ever wanted to do was put a smile on people’s faces, ensure they had a good time and were warmly welcomed at any event he had charge of. The last few weeks have been challenging with last minute team changes and it did cross my mind as to whether our sport wanted an event of this nature. Any doubts I had were eliminated on Saturday and in the days that have followed if the number of messages I have received is anything to go by. All I care about is that Mel’s legacy lives on and days like Saturday are a big part of that goal. Many congratulations to the North Team on regaining your 2018 title. The Evans Trophy North v South Team Challenge will return in 2024 and will be hosted by The North.

A further update from Lynn below.

I am proud and humbled to advise The Evans Trophy raised £4045.40. This is comprised of programme sales, personal donations, raffle, the evening Heads & Tails and the auction. Once the Walkathon for MND Challenge is completed, I will issue a final sum raised from all 2022 events. I will also then advise which research project(s) the Foundation Trustees have selected to receive the funds and will issue the appropriate evidence in the interests of transparency. Your collective efforts have made this possible and I have no words to adequately convey my gratitude. Thank you.

The North and South teams before the game.
The South team.
The North Team
Steve Bull MBE presenting the trophy to the North Team captain Kevan Shaw with Lynn Pritchatt and her grandaughter centre.