THE finals of the Monmouthshire Short Mat Bowls Association Autumn Triples took place at Usk Memorial Hall, reports HAYDN HOLDER.

Group winners Dingestow 1, Usk 3, Little Mill 1 and Dingestow 4 drew lots for semi-final pairings resulting in Little Mill facing Dingestow 4 and Usk meeting Dingestow 1.

Both Dingestow teams started well, with No 4 leading 4-0 after two ends while No 1 led 4-1 after three ends.

However, hosts Usk won the next three to tie 4-4, making the seventh and final end sudden-death.

And with Usk holding three shots, Dingestow 1 skip Haydn Holder failed to seize shot with the last bowl, with their rivals progressing.

Dingestow 4 took their sixth end to lead 5-3 going into the final end, but all three players failed to get a telling bowl into the head, and Little Mill picked up four shots to win 7-5.

The nine-end final was a gripping affair with the score tied at 2-2 after two ends.

Little Mill’s Caleb Hilder, Tom Chaloner and Rob Hamer won the next two to lead 6-2, before Usk’s Pat Cullimore, Phil Radley and Ralph Berry responded on end 5, with Phil wresting shot bowl to hold two, and skip Ralph adding another to make it 6-5.

Ends 6 and 7 were shared, making it 7-6, before Usk struck a blow with four shots on the penultimate end to lead 10-7.

By the time the two skips bowled on the final end, there appeared no shot available for Little Mill’s Rob to rescue the situation before Ralph added another bowl to the head to ensure that Usk lifted the trophy.

MSMBA clubs have completed three matches of their league programme, with Caerwent and Caldicot top on 20 points.

All clubs welcome new players. No previous experience is required, just a pair of clean, flat-soled shoes.

For club details, please visit https://sites.google.com/view/monshortmatbowlsassociation