DORSET saw fantastic success as the county secured the men’s senior inter-counties title while the ladies finished second in the same tournament.
The men performed brilliantly throughout the competition, as the side, formed of Steve Thornton, Kevin Pilley, Ron Griffin, Ian Taylor, Peter Sanders, Mike Smyth and team manager Chris Harris took home the title.
The side’s lowest game was 998, with an average of almost 200, and their highest 1200, carrying an average of 240.
This year’s tournament was run as a Petersons Points event, with the Dorset side regularly picking up 75 or 80 pin bonuses.
Across the entire day at the finals, at Dunstable earlier in October, Dorset lost just one game with Sussex and Buckinghamshire pushing them hard throughout.
After being top for the first three games, Dorset switched between second and first for the rest of the first day.
At the end of the day, they were in second, just 14 pins behind Sussex, and they retook the lead in Sunday’s first game, and there they stayed, winning with a lead of just under 400 pins in the end.
The entire team performed well, but Steve Thornton was the standout, averaging 233 and having a 297 game on the day, picking up a bowler of the year award on the day, too.
Manager Harris said: “This was an incredible win; in 2023 the team didn't qualify for the finals and this year the team qualified in 3rd place at the event in Stroud.”
He added: “We are very lucky to have great players including two England players in Steve Thornton and Kevin Pilley.”
The ladies team, meanwhile, gave an ‘awesome’ team performance to finish runners up in the county finals, team manager Keith Allen said.
The side, made up of Liz Griffin, Lynne Squibb, Angie Brown and Carol Aisles, won five head-to-head games and narrowly lost two on a tight pin count.
Dorset’s four bowlers was the minimum needed for a team, with other counties having six to choose from and to rotate.
The team performed well as a whole and scored well, with the side having two England bowlers in Angie Brown and Lynn Squibb who recently won the World Super Senior tournament in Colombia.
Manager Allen said: “As far as I am concerned it was an awesome performance from the Dorset senior ladies team.”
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