Bowls: Merthyr on a roll with triumph away at Taff Ely

Nov 15 2007 by Our Correspondent, Merthyr Express

Taff Ely 96 Merthyr Tydfil 180

MERTHYR Tydfil’s Championship side ran riot in Pontypridd at the Welsh Championship East Division.

In a split session, the three rinks representing Merthyr in the morning set up a match-winning lead that the afternoon side built on.

Robert Price’s four of Roger Harvey, Steve Toms and David K Jones put Adrian Dash’s quartet to the sword, taking several large counts during a 28-shot rout.

Richie Ahrens skipped his first championship game of the season. Craig Humphreys had to play a crucial shot on the last end, turning the jack to secure the rink points for Merthyr.

Elsewhere, Humphreys’s Troedyrhiw teammate, Lee Morgan, started slowly in his tie but from 12-8 down turned the game on its head to coast home by 11.

Starting the afternoon session with a massive 45-shot cushion, the pressure was off for Merthyr, but you would not have thought it as they piled misery on their lacklustre opponents, taking 34 shots without reply during the early exchanges.

All rinks started brightly, with John K Evans taking two counts of seven and six against Alwyn David, while John Downey also picked up a six on his way to a 14-0 lead.

This was matched by Carl Lewis who led 10-0 early on, with junior international Liam Stone peppering the jack for him at lead.

Lewis, with veteran Clarry Wheeler and the dependable Andy O’Sullivan at the heart of the rink, motored away to win comfortably against the competitive Reg Rand, while the other two rinks laboured home.

Evans eventually won by five and Downey by 12.

Merthyr’s performance, however, was mirrored by their closest rivals, Ogwr, who also took maximum points from their home fixture with Blaenau Gwent to keep the pressure on.

Merthyr lead the table by 16 points, the margin by which they beat the Bridgend club at home, but still have to visit them before Christmas.

Morning match scores: Mark Jones, Cliff Taylor, Craig Humphreys, Richie Ahrens 24, J Smith 18; Roger Harvey, Steve Toms, David K Jones, Robert Price 40, A Dash 12; Adam Ahrens, Peter Fullalove, Paul Hayden, Lee Morgan 30, D Randell 19.

Afternoon match scores: Liam Stone, Clarry Wheeler, Andy O’Sullivan, Carl Lewis 33, R Rand 11; David L Davies, Mike Powell, Nathan Scoot, John Downey 28, P Brown 16; Julian Evans, Ray Evans, Peter Toomey, John K Evans 25, A David 20.

It was a mixed day for junior international Liam Stone in the Under-25 match between Wales and England on Sunday. The 15-year-old acquitted himself well at second but he couldn’t prevent his rink from losing heavily and England winning the match.

Four of the six rinks of the new District Team 2 will again be supplied by Merthyr Tydfil for their match against the predominantly Islwyn and Rhondda-based District 3 side on Sunday, November 17, at 2pm in Radnor.