The new season got underway with the first club tournament played on Saturday 20th April. The Applewood Bowl was the brainchild of Arthur Lindley who not only devised the format but also produced the very fine trophy that gives the tournament its name.
Ten players entered and we were particularly grateful to Martin Seidel for taking part despite a recently dislocated knee and ensuring that we had an even number of contestants. A random draw defined the pairings for the first round with subsequent rounds, as far as possible, paired players with equal numbers of wins.
By lunch time, we had played three of the four rounds – two rounds of one-ball and one of 14-point. As we tucked into our sandwiches, only Michael Clarke and David Boyd remained unbeaten. In the final round, they would be paired to contest a game of 14-point.
Michael played flawlessly and despite not having lifted a mallet since September carried off the bowl by winning his final game by seven points. This left two players on three wins each and on net hoop points, last year’s winner Hilary was declared runner-up with David, an honourable third.