Club News

Combination Division 3 Result

Star & Crescent 55 (8) Waverley Red 46 (4) Star had a very satisfying victory last evening when they defeated their “landlords “at the Waverley. Although we only won on one rink the excellent performance by Alan New and his men in winning by 24 shots to 7 ensured that the losses on the other two rinks were not critical. Indeed, praise must be given to Bob Weaver and Paul Whiffin who both managed to keep their opponents within touching distance and only lost by 5 shots (14-19) and 3 shots (17-20) respectively. It is also worth mentioning that the game was played in the very best spirit by both teams and the match provided excellent viewing for those watching.

Star & Crescent v Gosport Start Times

Our Captains, Alan & Peter, have agreed to the request from Gosport BC that the start times for the last 2 matches in Division 2 & Combination Division 3 should be bought forward & start at the earlier time of 5.30 pm. Therefore, could you all please get there by 5.15 pm for a prompt start. Sorry for any inconvenience that may arise.

Posted Thursday 11/8/22

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 84 (13) Portsmouth Water (3) Star reversed previous match history of losing matches in the closing stages when they pulled this game out of the fire. A defeat looked on the cards until the 18th end when a Star resurgence of scoring 19 shots in the closing stages got them over the line. All rinks contributed to this victory but special mention must go to Simon Filippi's & Steve Sprake's rinks. Simon's "boys" scored 10-shots without reply in the last 3-ends to record an impressive win of 31-12 whilst Steve's four scored 7-shots over the same period to reduce their deficit to a manageable loss of 13-25. Geoff Dyer's rink was our other success after scoring 2-shots on their final end to take the points in a close fought encounter. Robbie Dennison's match swung both ways, if you pardon the expression, which ended in an honorable draw with the home team finishing the stronger of the two sides.

Combination Division 3 Result

Bedhampton 80 (12) Star & Crescent 34 (0) Star suffered a severe case of travel sickness when they were heavily defeated by Bedhampton on Wednesday evening; our first whitewash of the season. Rink deficits of 9 shots, 12 shots and 25 shots tell its own story. Accepting that the green has some somewhat unusual characteristics may be an understatement but that is no excuse for the size of the defeat in my opinion. In mitigation I am sure that those members who had experience of playing on “carpet” fared rather better than others. The expression ‘horses for courses” can be equally applied to read “bowls for greens”. In other words, don’t be afraid of using narrow biased bowls when the situation calls for it. At least the final two games of the season are at home!

Team Selection

The team selected for the Combination Division 3 match on Wednesday 10th August v Southsea Waverley (home) starting at 5.45 pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
T Portch	P Wright	S Greenwood
M Ward	J Bell	T Nutland	P Huntley
C Lihou	G Dyer	R Philbrick	D Greeman
A New	P Whiffin	B Weaver

The team selected for the Division 2 match against Gosport (home) on Friday 12th August starting at 5.45pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserve
B Weaver	P Huntley	R Philbrick	S Greenwood
J Bell	P Willoughby	P Willis	D Greeman	T Portch
R Durham	C Lihou	P Whiffin	A New
S Filippi	G Dyer	R Dennison	S Sprake

Competition Results

P&D Over 60's Singles: Our last competitor Stephen Greenwood went out of the competition after losing to Martin Ellis (Lee-on-the-Solent) 15-21

P&D Pairs: It was also goodbye to our remaining pair Russell Durham & Simon Filippi when losing to Ollie Mew (Waverley) 15-26.

P&D Triples: In the all Star match it was Bob Weaver, Russell Durham & Simon Filippi who got the bragging rights after beating Geoff Dyer, Robbie Dennison & Steve Sprake 18-17. Our other triple of Stephen Greenwood, Richard Wallbridge & Alen New fell by the wayside after losing to Steve Fell (Milton Park) 10-15)

P&D Fours: It was a superb result for our rink of Stephen Greenwood, Paul Huntley, Steve Sprake & Alan New when they beat Barry Stafford 20-19 at Rowner. It was a night(mare) to forget for Bob Weaver, Robbie Dennison, Russell Durham & Simon Filippi when they were absolutely thrashed 26-3 by the Roly Bloy led rink on the rather heavy going Priory green.

Club Championship Singles: Robbie Dennison beat Bob Weaver 21-10 to booked his semi-final place where he will face Simon Filippi

Club Handicap Singles: Colin Lihou reached his second club competition semi-final this season when he had a narrow 21-18 win over Paul Willoughby. He will now face Stephen Greenwood who overcame the large handicap against him to defeat Tony Portch 22-12.

Posted Sunday 7/8/22

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 97 (14) Naismith (59 1/2 (2) Star made it a hat-trick against Naismith this season with an emphatic win that was never in doubt. There was a resounding victory for the Simon Filippi led rink over their opposition playing a man short; losing only 3-ends in their 33-4 1/2 win. Steve Sprake's men weren't far behind Simon with an excellent win of 30-15. Robbie Dennison's foursome managed to retain their midway lead (this time) to run out 21-13 winners. Alan New's rink chances of winning were dashed after losing 7-ends on the "trot" to finish 13-27.

Team Selection

This week the combination team have to play on the artificial surface of Bedhampton. To give the team a better chance of success the selection thinking was to pick a team with experienced on playing on carpet as much as possible. Unfortunately, this means some "regulars" will miss out. Therefore, the team selected for the Combination Division 3 match on Wednesday 3rd August v Bedhampton (away) starting at 5.45pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
S Greenwood	T Portch	R Wallbridge
D Greeman	J Bell	M Ward	T Nutland
S Filippi	G Davies	C Lihou	P Wright
B Weaver	P Whiffin	A New

There is a dearth of leads available for our penultimate match in division 2 on Friday so regrettably it is necessary for a couple of players to play out of position to fill the void. The team selected for the Division 2 match against Portsmouth Water (home) on Friday 5th August starting at 6.00pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
B Weaver	S Greenwood	T Portch	P Willoughby
J Bell	D Greeman	P Willis	T Nutland	G Davies
R Durham	A New	P Whiffin	C Lihou	M Ward
S Filippi	S Sprake	R Dennison	G Dyer

Competition Results

P&D Triples: It was a winning start to the competition with all our 3 triples tasting success. Geoff Dyer, Robbie Dennison & Steve Sprake beat Andy Layton 25-8 at the Gas Social ground whilst Bob Weaver, Russell Durham & Simon Filippi had a 22-11 win over the triples skipped by Martin Eggleton (Prory). Unfortunately, the 2 Star teams now have to meet in the next round. Our final trio, Stephen Greenwood, Richard Wallbridge & Alan New had an excellent win of 21-17 against Keith Raymond on his own Bridgemary patch.

Club Championship Singles: Two players reached the semi-final stage this week. Simon Filippi had a tight 21-17 win against Stephen Greenwood and now awaits the victor of the Robbie Dennison / Bob Weaver match. Richard Wallbridge had a comfortable 21-7 victory over John Bell and now will face Colin Lihou in his semi-final ensuring that a new name will appear in the final.

Club Handicap Singles: The competition is well underway now. Colin Lihou had the tightest of wins against Richard Wallbridge 21-20. Tony Portch created an "upset" after beating the more experienced Robin Philbrick 21-16. Martin Ward has reached the semi-finals after beating Derek Greeman 21-15 followed up with a more impressive win over Paul Huntley 21-18. An excellent achievement in his first full bowls season.

Posted Saturday 30/7/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Gosport 71 (10) Star & Crescent 52 (2) Yet again the club trip to the mainland for a game of bowls ended in defeat. As this report is being compiled purely from the evidence of the scorecards there may be legitimate reasons for the loss. However, an unnamed source has informed me that a serious lack of grass cutting operatives and an unscheduled tea break didn’t help our cause! It would appear that before the break for drinks we were doing reasonably well. Unfortunately, the second half of the match changed the course of the game. Alan New had a narrow 2 shot win by 24 shots to 22. Paul Whiffin had a real chance of victory until his rink dropped 11 shots in the last 3 ends to lose 18-24. For once the Bob Weaver rink failed to weave (sorry!) their usual magic and were always on the wrong side of the score line. They finished by being defeated by 10 shots to 25.

Posted Thursday 28/7/22

Division 2 Result

Vospers 93 (16) Star & Crescent 61 (0) It was pay back time for Vospers last night when they avenged last week's defeat from Star by winning on all rinks. For Star it was once again a case of "same old same old" away match blues and they ended their league programme on the road with just a single win to show for their efforts; and this was over a team that played 3 men short! The match report would be very similar to previous away matches so there is no need to repeat the narrative just to say that all of our old failings were once again on show. At least we can now look forward to the last 3-matches of the season with home games on a decent bowling surface.

Team Selection

The team selected for the Combination Division 3 match on Wednesday 27th July v Gosport (away) starting at 6.00pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
T Portch	D Boulter	S Greenwood
D Greeman	P Wright	T Nutland	J Bell
C Lihou	R Dennison	R Philbrick	R Wallbridge
A New	P Whiffin	B Weaver

The team selected for the Division 2 match against Naismith (home) on Friday 29th July starting at 6.00pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	T Portch	P Huntley	S Greenwood
B Weaver	P Willis	R Wallbridge	D Greeman	T Nutland
R Durham	P Whiffin	J Bell	C Lihou	P Wright
S Filippi	R Dennison	A New	S Sprake

Competition Results

P&D Singles: Bob Weaver lost 14-21 to Steve Smith (Priory) at Milton Park

P&D Over 60s Singles: Stephen Greenwood beat Don Currie 21-13 at the Waverley.

Club Championship Singles: The 1st round of the competition was (finally) completed this week when Robbie Dennison beat Peter Willis 22-10. Colin Lihou booked his semi-final place with a superb 21-8 win over Steve Sprake.

Club Handicap Singles: Geoff Dyer proceeded to the next round after beating John Bell 21-11 whilst Paul Huntley had a walkover when his opponent pulled out due to sickness.

Posted Saturday 23/7/22

Rowland Cup Result

Star & Crescent 69 Waterlooville Green 80 Star's hopes of reaching the semi-final evaporated in the heat last night. Once again it was our old failing that came back to haunt us when victory was denied over the last 5-ends; of the 20-ends left to play the home team won only a miserable 4 of them and also lost 25 shots with a meagre 7 shots in reply. Simon Filippi's rink was our only winners with a score of 19-9. Robbie Dennison's & Steve Sprake's fours had narrow losses of 15-18 & 17-22 respectively whilst Geoff Dyer's rink went down by 18-31.

Team Selection

The team selected for the Division 2 match against Vospers (away) on Friday 22nd July is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
R Philbrick	D Boulter	S Greenwood	P Huntley
C Lihou	B Weaver	A Lord	P Willoughby	D Greeman
P Whiffin	R Durham	A New	P Willis	T Nutland
R Dennison	S Filippi	S Sprake	G Dyer

Please note there may be a couple of tweaks made in this team selectiom.

Posted 19/7/22

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 90 (14) Vospers 57 (2) Star turned the form book on it's head with an impressive and a tad unexpected victory over the league leaders. Star raced into a 20-shot after just 5-ends which was the mainstay of this superb win. Robbie Dennison's rink kept their opponents off the score sheet and led 13-0 before conceding a shot. They continued to outplay their opponents (albeit with the luck going their way) finally winning 27-7. Simon Filippi's four also had a great start rattling up 12 shots without reply and were never in trouble and were comfortable 28-14 winners. It was pretty even with ends won on Steve Sprake's rink but a good defensive display limited Vospers to just scoring single shots when losing an end; final score 18. Although winning more ends then their opponents, Geoff Dyer's foursome conceded 4-shots on three occasions which was instrumental to them losing 17-25.

Rowland Cup Team Selection

The selectors unsurprisingly have picked the same team that won the Vospers league match to play Waterlooville Green (home) on Monday 18th July starting at 6.00 pm. The team is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
R Philbrick	D Boulter	S Greenwood	P Huntley
R Wallbridge	B Weaver	A Lord	P Willoughby	D Greeman
P Whiffin	R Durham	A New	P Willis	T Nutland
R Dennison	S Filippi	S Sprake	G Dyer

As you may be aware, the Met Office has issued an Amber extreme heat warning for Monday where temperatures could be in the low 30s. Common sense should apply for your wellbeing and Bowls England have prepared the following (obvious) tips to assist you:

    Keep hydrated - drink plenty of water and avoid dehydrating with alcoholic and caffeinated drinks
    Wherever possible, stay out of the sun.
    Try to avoid physical exertion at the hottest times of the day, and always remember to put on a hat and wear sunscreen.

If anyone feels uncomfortable in playing on Monday please let me or Captain Alan know. Your health and wellbeing is paramount to the club. Hopefully by 6.00 pm it should be a little "cooler".

Competition Results

P&D Pairs: Russell Durham / Simon Filippi progressed to the next round when they defeated Stan Walton / Gordon Jeffery from Crofton 19-10

Club Championship Singles: Bob Weaver beat Paul Huntley 21-5

Club Handicap Singles: Stephen Greenwood beat Paul Wright 21-17 whilst Richard Wallbridge & Paul Willoughby were given walk overs when their opponents scratched

Posted Saturday 16/7/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Milton Park "B" 56 (10) Star & Crescent 54 (2) Star achieved the classic “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory “when they lost narrowly to their table topping hosts on Wednesday. Once again, an excellent performance by the Bob Weaver rink appeared to be propelling the team to a somewhat unexpected victory. Unfortunately, the other two rinks were not enjoying such success and the dropping of 14 shots between them in the last 5 ends meant that we only gained 2 points from the match. Bowls is a game of fine margins and it may have been a combination of team selection, unavailability and lapses in concentration which contributed to the defeat. But we move on and look forward to our next game against Gosport in two weeks’ time.

Posted Friday 15/7/22

Division 2 Result

Gosport 89 (14) Star & Crescent 58 (2) Following our previous visit to Gosport, Star approached this fixture with some trepidation. On a green that is not conducive to good bowling, Star were well beaten again but achieved an improved final score line. However, we did manage to win on 1 rink courtesy of Simon Filippi's four who won 18-16 after a bad start which left them trailing 3-11. Robbie Dennison's rink on the other hand started well and led at the half way stage but losing three fours in as many ends was consequential to their 16-27 loss. Bob Weaver's rink had a terrible start and never managed to claw back the deficit and lost 13-23. Steve Sprake's quartet were in with a chance at the halfway stage but faltered in the second half and lost 11-23

Team Selection

Combination Division 3 match on Wednesday 13th July v Milton Park (away) starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
M Ward	S Greenwood	R Wallbridge
D Greeman	T Nutland	P Wright	A Lord
G Dyer	P Whiffin	J Bell	D Boulter
R Philbrick	B Weaver	A New

Division 2 match on Friday 15th July v Vospers (home) starting at 6.00 pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	R Philbrick	P Huntley	S Greenwood
B Weaver	J Bell	P Willoughby	A Lord	R Wallbridge
R Durham	P Whiffin	P Willis	A New	D Greeman
S Filippi	R Dennison	G Dyer	S Sprake

P&D Competitions Results

Singles: Bob Weaver progressed to the next round when given a walkover by his Denmead opponent Mike Wright who scratched.

Pairs: It was second best for our players with Paul Willoughby / Geoff Dyer losing 10-25 to Bill Ross (Rowner) whilst Robbie Dennison / Steve Sprake lost the Waverley pairing of Dave Watts / Gary Starks 16-25

Club Competition Results

Club Championship Singles: Stephen Greenwood & Simon Filippi booked their quarter final places when beating Geoff Dyer (21-17) & Martin Ward (21-8) respectively.

Handicap Singles: Reigning champion Derek Boulter has lost his crown after being beaten by Bob Weaver 21-14

Posted Saturday 9/7/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Star & Crescent 62 (10) Lee-on-the-Solent 61 (2) Star completed the double over their visitors from the mainland last evening but only by the narrowest of margins. Robin Philbrick and his rink made a slow start and did not take the lead until the 13th end and although briefly behind again won the last 5 ends to achieve a 22-17 success. Alan New and his crew were enjoying a reasonably tight match during the first half of their game but then managed to turn a 3 shot lead on the 12th end into a 5 shot defeat by winning only one of the last 7 ends. Final score 16-21. Once again, the “brownie points” must go to Bob Weaver and his rink who recovered from a 7-shot deficit on the 14th end to victory by 24 shots to 23. Only conceding a single shot after a close measure on the last end ensured that Star limped past the winning post.

Posted Thursday 7/7/22

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 74 (2) Milton Park 101 (14) Star slumped to their first home defeat in the league this season when they were disappointingly trounced by a superior Milton Park team. Although Simon Filippi's rink had a superb 33-8 win (normally a match winning score line) there was little support from the rest of the team culminating in the loss which yielded another century of shots in the against column. There were very heavy losses for the rinks of Robbie Dennison (12-34) & Steve Sprake (14-37). At least Geoff Dyer's rink had an air of respectability when only losing 15-22.

Team Selection

Combination Division 3 match on Wednesday 6th July v Lee-on-the-Solent (home) starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
D Boulter	S Greenwood	R Wallbridge
M Ward	T Nutland	P Wright	D Greeman
G Dyer	C Lihou	J Bell	A Lord
R Philbrick	B Weaver	A New

Division 2 match on Friday 8th July v Gosport (away) starting at 6.00 pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	*Rink 3*	Rink 4	Reserve
D Boulter	P Huntley	R Philbrick	S Greenwood
A Lord	P Willoughby	R Wallbridge	D Greeman	T Nutland
R Durham	P Willis	C Lihou	A New
S Filippi	B Weaver	R Dennison	S Sprake

P&D Competition Results

Over 60's Singles: Still no joy in the singles with another couple of Star competitors failing to get pass the 1st round; Tony Portch lost heavily 4-21 to Tony Hall at Milton Park whilst Bob Weaver lost on the Cowplain carpet to Stan Holdsworth 7-21

Pairs: Russell Durham / Simon Filippi made light of their Portsmouth Water opponents Peter Higgins / N Henley -Smith when beating them 23-13 on the Alexandra green

Posted Saturday 2/7/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Cosham Park 49 (2) Star & Crescent 60 (10) Star produced a workmanlike performance last evening to defeat Cosham on their own patch. Again, pride of place must go to Bob Weaver whose rink were always ahead in their game and ran out 25-16 winners. Alan New and his “boys” also put on an excellent show as they triumphed by 23 shots to 11. Unfortunately, the Paul Whiffin rink were well adrift at halfway and despite an improvement in the second half went down 12-22. I must mention the hospitality offered by our hosts. Not only a refreshing beverage but a sandwich as well!! It must have had a beneficial effect on the team as from that point we went from strength to strength!

Rearranged Combination Division 3 Fixture

Our combination team has just had it's bowls season extended for another week following the re-arrangement of the postponed home match against Gosport. This match will now be played on Monday 15th August.

P&D Website

The P&D have found an interim webmaster for the rest of this season to allow Albie Somerset to fully recover from his heart attack. The P&D website is now being updated with league results and soon with competition results

Posted Thursday 30/6/22

Division 2 Result

Naismith 60 1/4 (2) Star & Crescent 76 (14) Star achieved their belated first away league victory of the season at Swordsands albeit against a depleted Naismith team who played with 3 men short. Although (on paper) that means the task of winning should be simpler this was not the case as on net scores we would have won the match by just 76-75. When the dust had settled and with the mandatory 25% of the score deleted from those reduced rinks there were wins for the rinks of Robbie Dennison (23-11 1/4) & Simon Filippi (22-12) whilst Geoff Dyer's four went down by 10-21. In only the "legit" encounter of the evening, Steve Sprake's foursome had a well earned win in a close fought contest 21-16.

Team Selection

Combination Division 3 match on Wednesday 29th June v Cosham Park (away) starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
T Portch	D Boulter	R Wallbridge
T Nutland	M Ward	P Wright	S Greenwood
R Dennison	P Willis	J Bell
B Weaver	P Whiffin	A New

Division 2 match on Friday 1st July v Milton Park (home) starting at 6.00 pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
T Portch	D Boulter	S Greenwood	P Willoughby
C Lihou	B Weaver	J Bell	T Nutland	R Wallbridge
P Whiffin	R Durham	A New	P Willis	M Ward
R Dennison	S Filippi	S Sprake	G Dyer

Club Championship Singles Results

The preliminary round of the competition is now complete: Peter Willis beat Derek Greeman 23-8, Robbie Dennison defeated Alan New 21-12 and Paul Huntley beat Paul Willoughby 21-10. Geoff Dyer, Martin Ward & Bob Weaver were given walkovers when their opponents were scratched.
In the second round John Bell proceeded into the quarter finals after beating Richie Farman 21-10. Also through is Colin Lihou who defeated Paul Wright 21-10 and Steve Sprake who was given a walkover.

P&D Competition Results

Results in the P&D singles haven't been too kind for Simon Filippi this season. As the reigning champion it was disappointing for Simon to relinquish his title in the first round after he lost at Forton to Neil Bunter 15-21. There was further frustration for Simon when losing on the "immaculate" Gosport green to Simon Batchelor in the over 60's singles. To complete the bad results Stephen Greenwood also lost in the singles 16-21 to Dave Ellis of Waverley.

Posted Saturday 25/6/22

Division 2 League Select

This week it's a welcome back for Russell Durham, Steve Sprake & Gareth Davies for the Division 2 match on Friday 24th June against Naismith (away). The team is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	T Portch	G Davies	S Greenwood
B Weaver	C Lihou	P Willoughby	J Bell	D Greeman
R Durham	P Whiffin	P Willis	A New	M Ward
S Filippi	R Dennison	G Dyer	S Sprake

Combination Team Changes

It has been necessary to make some team changes for the combination match on Wednesday against Gosport. These changes are highlighted in red in the previous team selection published below.

Posted Sunday 19/6/22

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 87 (12) Portsmouth Water 71 (4) In a much needed win, Star overcame their depleted opponents and shared the rink points. Alan New's rink was a tad unlucky after a spirited fight back from a losing position to be pipped on the final end 17-18. After a shaky start Geoff Dyer's men took control of the match against the 3-man rink of the Watermen and racked up a huge 30-9 victory. Robbie Dennison's four somehow found themselves 18-1 up at the halfway stage and then reality set in; their lead was dramatically reduced to 26-17 at the final. Simon Filippi's rink was all square on the 11th end but finished badly winning just one of the remaining ends to finish 14-27 adrift.

Team Selection

Wednesday 22nd June v Gosport (home) in Combination Division 3 starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
R Wallbridge	P Wright	T Portch	D Boulter
M Ward	R Farman	D Greeman	S Greenwood
C Lihou	J Bell	R Durham	R Dennison
P Whiffin	A New	B Weaver

Posted Saturday 18/6/22

County Club Result

Star & Crescent 53 Fareham 100 Our interest in the competition ended when we were outplayed by our 1st division opponents. Disappointingly, the team conceded a century of shots for a second consecutive match. There were big losses for the rinks of Alan New (9-31) & Robbie Dennison (6-28) whilst Simon Filippi's four were defeated by a much lesser margin of 15-22. However, there was a positive for Star when Geoff Dyer's foursome had a credible 23-19 win against their adversaries.

Combination Division 3 Result

Waverley Red 70 Star & Crescent 46 In the game last evening against our “landlords” Star were very slow out of the blocks again and after only 5 ends were 23 shots adrift. Once Alan New and his crew got on the scoreboard, they more than matched their opponents for the remainder of the game to lose by 10 shots to 22. Paul Whiffin’s rink were always struggling against a very good foursome whose Skip produced a range of saving shots when Star were looking to put scores on the board. They finally lost by 12 shots to 27. Saving the best for last, the Bob Weaver combo were the only winners on the night when they recovered from the depths of 13-1 down to achieve a notable 24-21 victory. They even survived dropping 5 shots on the penultimate end to make the finish more exciting!!

As a brief afterthought on our recent performances, it is essential that concentration is maintained throughout the game. Watch all the bowls delivered, see the lines taken, compose yourself when you are on the mat, and then bowl the perfect wood! What could be simpler?

Rowland Cup

As previously mentioned, both Waverley & Star have been drawn at home in the next round of the Rowland Cup. Should Waverley have their expected win in their rearranged match against Alexandra Blue on 30th June then our game against Waterlooville Green which was scheduled for Monday 4th July will then be played on Monday 18th July.

Brian Banfield

The funeral of Brian will take place on Friday 24th June at Portchester Crematorium at 10.00.

Posted Friday 17/6/22

Division 2 Result

Gosport 125 (16) Star & Crescent 36 (0) There's no point in soft soaping around the result of this fixture, it was a totally unexpected and very embarrassing annihilation which must go down as one of the worst defeats in Star's history, if not the worst. No rink can come away with any positives - it was that bad. Granted Gosport were the better team on the night but should there be an 89 shot difference between the two sides; I don't think so we're better than that. The fact is that between all 4 rinks we only managed to win 24 of the 84 ends of the match. YES we had an understrength team with some of the better players missing but it was virtually the same team that beat Milton Park earlier in the week. YES the green was heavy & long with difficult hands to play but we need to adjust to these greens when playing away, we know what's coming. It is noticeable that we've lost every one of our away matches this season without a sniff of victory yet we've won all our home matches so far. That tells a story, we've got so used to our small & fast green that we've been spoilt. We need to change our mindset when playing away or else we'll find ourselves languishing at the foot of the table. To cap it all there was none of Gosport hospitality of previous years with no light refreshment provided after the match. Definitely a night to forget.

Team Selection

Next week there are 3 matches again, beside the league & combination matches the club is also engaged in the County Club competition on Thursday. These are the teams selected:

Wednesday 15th June v Waverley Red (away) in Combination Division 3 starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
S Greenwood	R Farman	T Portch
A Lord	T Nutland	D Greeman	D Boulter
C Lihou	J Bell	R Philbrick	P Wright
P Whiffin	A New	B Weaver

Thursday 16th June v Fareham (home) in the County Club starting at 6.00 pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	R Philbrick	P Huntley	S Greenwood
A Lord	R Wallbridge	P Willoughby	J Bell	R Farman
R Durham	P Whiffin	P Willis	B Weaver
S Filippi	R Dennison	G Dyer	A New

Friday 17th June v Portsmouth Water (home) in Division 2 starting at 6.00 pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	R Wallbridge	P Huntley	S Greenwood
D Greeman	C Lihou	P Willoughby	J Bell	A Lord
R Durham	P Whiffin	P Willis	B Weaver
S Filippi	R Dennison	G Dyer	A New

PLEASE NOTE: Because there is an element of doubt of availability of some players chosen for these matches, the teams selected are provisional and could be subject to change.

P&D Website

Late Tuesday Afternoon, the P&D web manager - Albie Somerset - suffered a major heart attack. Thankfully, he has survived but is still in intensive care. As such the P&D website will not be updated for a while. As an interim measure, the league secretary will be sending the league table PDF's (ie league, combination & midweek triples) to the affected clubs. The P&D are also looking at how they can get updates out for P&D competitions and will let us all know at a later date.

Competition Results

P&D 4-Wood Singles: Tony Portch lost to Ron Jacobs (Cosham Park) 8-21

Club Championship Singles: Simon Filippi beat Andy Lord 21-12 & Stephen Greenwood defeated Tony Portch 21-8

Posted Saturday 11/6/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Star & Crescent 68 (12) Bedhampton 47 (0) Star resumed their combination league duties after several weeks’ inactivity with a reasonably comfortable victory over a resolute Bedhampton side. To say that Star started slowly would be something of an understatement. After 4 ends the home team were 16 shots adrift. However, from that point things improved dramatically. Bob Weaver’s rink powered away by winning 13 of the remaining ends to triumph by 30 shots to 18. Alan New and his quartet similarly began rather sluggishly by declining to trouble the scorers until the 6th end. From that point they steadily accumulated shots to finish the game 21-14 victors. Paul Whiffin and his men had a much more even game with the lead changing hands several times during the evening. However, I must put on record the two magnificent bowls sent down by the Skip which were not only “touchers” but ensured that the rink won by the narrow margin of 17 shots to 15. Considering that several regular members were absent for a number of reasons it was an efficient victory over the league leaders and a welcome opportunity to include some of our most recent recruits who I trust both enjoyed and learned from the experience.

Posted Thursday 9/6/22

Rowland Cup Result

Star & Crescent 88 Milton Park 72 Star completed a hat-trick of wins against Milton Park last night, this time in the Rowland Cup. The away side were favourites to win at the 18th end when leading but a tremendous run in by Star who scored an unlikely 23 shots to 4 over the final ends secured the (unexpected) victory with Star winning on 2-rinks & drawing on the other 2. Robbie Dennison's rink won 21-17 when the jack was moved in their favour with the last wood of the game. Geoff Dyer's four recovered from a bad patch losing 9 consecutive ends to rally around & turn a losing match into a draw by scoring 11-shots on the last 3-ends to finish 24 apiece. Simon Filippi's foursome stumbled over the last few ends after leading but hung on to secure a draw 18-18. Alan New's much changed rink also had a great finish to their game and scored a dozen shots without reply in the closing stages to win by 25-13.

In the next round our opponents will be Waterlooville, thankfully at home again. As with the previous round if Waverley win their re-arranged Rowland Cup match against Alexandra they will also be at home in the next round. Although scheduled for Monday 4th July there would be a change of date depending who was first out of the hat: methinks it was Waverley meaning a re-scheduled cup date for Star. We'll cross that bridge when the situation is clarified.

Friday's Team Selection

The team selected for the Division 2 match against Gosport (away) this Friday 10th June is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	P Huntley	S Greenwood	A Lord	T Nutland
D Greeman	P Willoughby	R Wallbridge	J Bell	T Portch
R Durham	P Willis	B Weaver	P Whiffin
S Filippi	G Dyer	A New	R Dennison

This team may have to change depending if Russell Durham fails a fitness test and is unavailable.

Club Competitions

The draw for the club champion & handicap singles have been made and are shown on the relevant page of this website

Posted Tuesday 7/6/22

County Club Result

Star & Crescent 99 Milton Park 48. Round 2 against Milton Park ended in perhaps a surprisingly huge win for the home team with all rinks successful. There were large wins for the rinks led by Robbie Dennison (31-7) & Simon Filippi (30-10) whilst Steve Sprake's four won 20-16 & Geoff Dyer's rink won 18-15. If only it was a league match!

In the next round of the competition, which happens to be the area semi-final, we are once again drawn at home this time to Fareham. The tie to be played on Thursday 16th June.

Team Selection

Next week we have 3 matches scheduled and it's a welcome return to league bowls for the combination team when they entertain Bedampton at home on Wednesday. We start the week off on Monday with the third match against Milton Park in the Rowland Cup. The teams selected are:

Monday 6th June v Milton Park in the Rowland Cup at home starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	R Philbrick	P Huntley	S Greenwood	T Nutland
D Greeman	A Lord	P Willoughby	R Wallbridge	T Portch
R Durham	P Whiffin	P Willis	B Weaver
S Filippi	R Dennison	G Dyer	A New

Wednesday 8th June v Bedhampton in Combination Division 3 at home starting at 6.00pm

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
R Farman	T Portch	S Greenwood	A Lord
T Nutland	D Greeman	P Wright	D Boulter
J Bell	R Philbrick	P Willis
A New	B Weaver	P Whiffin

Posted Friday 3/6/22

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 97 (12) Milton Park 72 (4) It was a welcome league victory for Star last night in the first match of the trilogy of games against Milton Park. Unmistakably, the architect for this win has to be credited to the rink of Steve Greenwood, Derek Greeman, Alan New & skip Steve Sprake who had a superb result in winning 33-11. Our other rink points was accumulated by Geoff Dyer's foursome who had a fine 23-17. In a tight match they took control of the match from the 16th end to run out worthy winners. The other 2-rinks were narrowly defeated; Robbie Dennison's four was just pipped on the post & lost by the narrowest margin of 18-19 whilst Simon Filippi's four, with Richie Farman making his debut for the club, lost 23-25 in a high scoring match .

Rowland Cup

The match against Milton Park will now take place at home on the original date of Monday 6th June starting at 6.00 pm.

Obituary

It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Brian Banfield passed away suddenly at the weekend. Brian joined the club in 2010 and was a regular in the league side until ill health forced him to give up bowls this season.
I will pass on details for the funeral when known.
RIP Brian

Posted Tuesday 31/5/22

County Club Team Selection

The team selected to play Milton Park at home in the County Club on Thursday 2nd June is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
P Huntley	D Boulter	S Greenwood	R Philbrick
P Willoughby	B Weaver	R Farman	A Lord	R Wallbridge
P Willis	R Durham	A New	P Whiffin	D Greeman
G Dyer	S Filippi	S Sprake	R Dennison

Posted Sunday 29/5/22

Division 2 Result

Vospers 80 Star & Crescent 65 Things looked good for Star up to the 15th end with only 1-shot between the two teams but they they lost ground over the final ends and suffered another away day defeat at the hands of the division's leaders. Robbie Dennison's rink suffered a dose of travel sickness which could only explain their disappointing performance when losing 13-27. Simon Filippi's four took control of their game at the mid-way stage and maintained it to the end to win 20-16. Steve Sprake's quartet trailed from the off and failed to catch their opponents before losing 10-22. Our other winning rink was by Geoff Dyer & his men who led from start to finish to finish with a credible 22-15 victory.

County Competitions Results

Our hopes of County glory ended this week with no wins to record only defeats.

2-Wood Singles: Stephen Greenwood lost 12-15 to Mark Miller at Leigh Park

Pairs: Russell Durham & Simon Filippi lost at home to Peter Robinson also of Leigh Park 13-18

Triples: Robin Philbrick, Robbie Dennison & Steve Sprake were destroyed 6-23 by Louis Voysey at lovely Purbrook whilst Bob Weaver, Russell Durham & Simon Filippi had to scratch to hand Martin Ellis (Lee-on-the-Solent) a walk over

Fours: Unfortunately Simon Filippi's rink had to scratch from this competition too so Dave Harding (Vospers) was given a walk over as well.

Rearranged Division 2 Fixture

Unfortunately, a convenient date that suited both parties could not easily be met, so the postponed home match against Gosport has been re-scheduled for the end of season on Friday 12th August.

Posted Saturday 28/5/22

Team Selection

The team selected to play in the Division 2 match against Milton Park (home) on Monday 30th May starting at 6.00 pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
A Lord	S Greenwood	R Philbrick	P Huntley
C Lihou	D Greeman	J Bell	P Willoughby	R Farman
R Durham	A New	P Whiffin	P Willis	R Wallbridge
S Filippi	S Sprake	R Dennison	G Dyer

Rowland Cup

The club has been drawn to play Milton Park at home in the next round of the Rowland Cup on Monday 6th June. Unfortunately, Waverley have also been drawn at home on that night against Alexandra Blue. As per P&D Competition Rule 14.3.3 Star have first dibs for playing at home on the 6th June as they were the "first out of the hat" whilst the Waverley v Alex Blue match should be re-arranged for another date before 2nd July. However, Waverley have asked politely if we wouldn't mind re-arranging our match instead. In the interest of close harmony & friendship with our neighbours, I have asked Dave Brown, Milton Park Captain, if they are agreeable to a change of date for this fixture. At the moment, I have had no definite reply rom Milton Park on this request so watch this space.

P&D Competition Draw

The draw for the P&D Competitions has been made. The relevant web page has been updated to show those matches related to our players.

Posted Thursday 26/5/22

National Double Rinks Result

Bridgemary 40 Star & Crescent 26 Our involvement in this competition didn't last too long as we fell at the first fence at Bridgemary in a below par performance. Robbie Dennison's rink started like an express train notching up a considerable lead before hitting the buffers and finishing with a disappointing loss of 15-16. Steve Sprake's foursome were always behind & couldn't make any headway against their opponents before losing 11-24.

Team Selection

Unfortunately, because of College Park's withdrawal from Combination Division 3 there is only one match this week and that is on Friday 27th May when we play a Division 2 match against Vospers away at Alexandra Park.

The team selected for this match which starts at 6.00 pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserve
D Boulter	S Greenwood	R Philbrick	P Huntley
C Lihou	D Greeman	J Bell	P Willoughby	A Lord
R Durham	A New	P Whiffin	P Willis	T Portch
S Filippi	S Sprake	R Dennison	G Dyer

NOTE: Although Wednesday's night scheduled match against College Park has been cancelled, it is proposed that we should take the opportunity to have a friendly match between ourselves so we would like as many members as possible to participate and join Captain Peter on Wednesday night at the usual time of 6.00 pm.

Posted Monday 23/5/22

County Club

The club proceeded into the next round of the County Club last night when (un)fortunately a member of the Portsmouth Water team failed to turn up for the match. As the Watermen were unable to field a full complement of 16 players they had to concede the match and hand Star a walkover. The the two sides however played out the game as a friendly. Just for the record, Star won 63-47 thanks to the rinks of Alan New & Steve Sprake winning 23-7 & 20-10 respectively. It was also a good opportunity to blood our new recruits Paul Wright & Richie Farman into the team.

In the next round on Thursday 2nd June we have been drawn at home to play Milton Park.

Posted Friday 20/5/22

Division 2 Result

Milton Park 80 (12) Star & Crescent 60 (4) Star suffered their 2nd defeat of the season going down to Milton Park. The team were struggling to stay in the match from the 10th end when they found themselves lagging by 19 shots. Although the rink points were shared, we were 2nd best on the night. It could have been a whitewash for the team but Simon Filippi's & Robbie Dennison's foursomes scored last gasp shots to win their rinks with their final woods of the night. In a tight match, Simon and his men took the lead from the halfway stage but had to hold on to secure a 17-14 win. Robbie was indebted to his front three in securing a 17-10 lead but the rink faltered in the closing stages and just got over the line 18-17. Alan New's quartet were always playing catch-up with their opposite numbers but couldn't quite manage to overhaul them and before losing 17-22. It's best not to dwell too long concerning Geoff Dyer's rink only to say it wasn't their night and they went down 8-27.

Postponed Division 2 Match

As there is a function at Waverley this Friday, it was thought prudent to postpone the match in the likelihood of any "distraction". P&D BA have agreed to this proposal therefore the home match scheduled for Friday 20th May against Gosport is OFF.

County Club Team Selection

It has been a struggle (again) to get the necessary 16 players to play the County Club match against Portsmouth Water (home) on Thursday 19th May. Nevertheless we have managed to select the following team:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserve
P Huntley	J Bell	R Farman	S Greenwood
T Nutland	P Wright	B Weaver	D Greeman	None
P Willoughby	P Whiffin	R Durham	P Willis
G Dyer	R Dennison	S Sprake	A New

A couple of notes for you: a) there will be no food provided after the match and b) if any player withdraws and we can't field 16 players than we will have to concede the match & we don't want that do we?

National Double Rinks Team Selection

The team to play Bridgemary (away) in this competition on Sunday 22nd May starting at 10.30 is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Reserve
S Greenwood	R Philbrick
B Weaver	P Willis	P Huntley
R Durham	A New
S Sprake	R Dennison

County Competitions Results

4-Wood Singles: Simon Filippi lost to Steve Feilder (Alexandra) away 19-21. Stephen Greenwood lost to Peter Cooper (Bridgemary) 15-21

Triples: Stephen Greenwood, John Bell & Alan New lost to Adrian Snook (Priory) 7-20. Geoff Dyer, Robbie Dennison & Steve Sprake beat Bill Ross (Rowner) 20-8. Bob Weaver, Russell Durham & Simon Filippi beat Neil Bunter (Forton) 20-11

Fours: Stephen Greenwood, Paul Huntley, John Bell & Alan New had to retire due to injury against Peter Robinson (Leigh Park) when 3-13

Posted Sunday 15/5/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Lee-on-the-Solent "C" 39 Star & Crescent 60. Star got their first 12 pointer of the season when they outplayed Lee at their sunny but breezy home. Paul Whiffin and his “boys” got off to a blistering start and were leading 13 shots to 1 after 6 ends. Despite a modest recovery by their opponents they ran out worthy winners 24-14. It was a similar story with the Alan New combine who were 15-4 to the good on the 9th end. Although they only won another 3 ends they restricted Lee to no more than a single shot per end. Final score 18-13. It was virtually a case of “same again “ with the Bob Weaver rink. A good start and a steady performance saw them triumph by 18 shots to 12. Overall a very pleasing showing on, arguably, the best bowling green (for some) in the area . The only downside were the traffic problems some members had to endure on their journey to Lee. Unfortunately that is the last Combination game until the 8th June when we entertain Bedhampton at the Waverley.

Posted Friday 13/5/22

College Park Red

The College Park Secretary has informed P&D BA that College have had no option but to withdraw their Red Side from Combination Division 3 due to a lack of players who wish to play in the evenings - another hang over from Covid. As such, they have been deleted from the table. This withdrawal will hit our combination team hard with the consequence that after this week's match at Lee-on-the-Solent the team will not then have another game until Wednesday 8th June when we play Bedhampton (home).

Posted Sunday 8/5/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Star & Crescent B 52 Cosham Park 43 The Combination team got their first win of the season on Wednesday evening when they overcame a resolute Cosham Park side at the Waverley by 52 shots to 43. Pride of place must go to the rink skipped by Robin Philbrick who were leading all game and triumphed by 26 shots to 10. The Bob Weaver four started slowly (!) and it wasn’t until the 15th end that they managed to get their noses in front. Despite losing the last 3 ends victory was achieved by a couple of shots 16-14. By contrast Paul Whiffin and his men struggled and although briefly taking the lead on the 14th end failed to trouble the scorers again and lost by 19 shots to 10. In mitigation unavailability and health issues impacted on team selection so gaining a win and 10 points was a more than decent performance.

Division 2 Result

Star & Crescent 101 Naismith 57 1/4 It was also a first win of the season for the A team who ramped up a century of shots and scoring 14 points to the bargain. The catalyst for the victory was the rink of Robin Philbrick, John Bell, Paul Whiffin & Robbie Dennison who were in top form as their winning score of 38-6 1/4 would indicate. It was a game of 3-thirds for Simon Filippi's four who raced into a 14-3 lead then found themselves pegged back to 14-14 before recovering to win 27-15. It was nip & tuck on Geoff Dyer's rink but they proved the stronger of the two sides and came from behind to win 20-17. Steve Sprake's quartet had a "modest" start to their match & found themselves 15-2 down at the half-way stage but an excellent second half performance saw them reduce the deficit to lose by just 16-19.

College Park Red

I have just been notified that College Park Red have withdrawn immediately from Combination Division 3. Unfortunately, this will obviously effect the combination team's fixtures.

Teams Selection for next Week

For various reasons we are again down to the bones in terms of player availability. Nevertheless, with a bit of "arm bending" & general persuasion the following teams have been selected:

Combination Division 3 match against Lee-on-the Solent "C" (away) on Wednesday 11th May starting at 6.00 pm:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserve
P Huntley	S Greenwood	D Boulter
T Portch	P Willoughby	D Greeman	J Bell
R Dennison	S Filippi	P Willis
P Whiffin	A New	B Weaver

Arrangements are in hand to ensure that all players have transport to the match.

Division 2 match against Milton Park (away) on Friday 13th May starting at 6.00 pm:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserve
R Philbrick	D Boulter	P Huntley	S Greenwood
J Bell	B Weaver	G Davies	D Greeman	T Portch
P Whiffin	R Durham	P Willoughby	P Willis
R Dennison	S Filippi	G Dyer	A New

Just to make all players aware, there are two new resident parking zones introduced around Milton Park which makes parking for the match that much more difficult. I will forward an email with details of these restrictions (with map) later this week.

County Competitions Results

4-Wood Singles: Bob Weaver lost to Craig Ferrigan (Southsea Waverley) 8-21

2-Wood Singles: Simon Filippi lost to Neil Bunter at Forton 15-20

Pairs: Paul Willoughby & Geoff Dyer lost to Russell Durham & Simon Filippi 5-21 & Robbie Dennison & Steve Sprake lost to John Biggs & Gary Starks (Southsea Waverley) 14-20

Triples: Stephen Greenwood, John Bell & Alan New were given a walkover by Mike Wilkes (Crofton). Geoff Dyer, Robbie Dennison & Steve Sprake beat Terry Smith (Vospers) 15-10

Posted Saturday 7/5/22

Division 2 Result

Portsmouth Water 72 (15) Star & Crescent 64 1/2 (1) Our resources were stretch to the limit for this match but unfortunately just failed short in putting out a full team; playing a man short. Although the result says otherwise, the team put up a credible performance and were a shade unlucky to come away with just a single rink win. In fact up to the 18th end we had our noses in front but a bad finish ended our hopes of victory. Bob Weaver's quartet did very well to pull back from being 4-13 down at the half way stage to pull level only to lose the momentum on the closing stages finishing at 15-25. Simon Filippi was the rink with a man down and led all the way on the scorecard (22-17) but had had to suffer the consequence of losing 25% of their score which resulted in a cruel defeat of 1/2 shot ie 16 1/2-17. Many thanks to Gareth Davies who came out of retirement to help us in this match. There was never much between the two sides in Geoff Dyer's match who were all square at the 19th but sadly it was the home team who won the last 2-ends to snatch the points with a score line 18-15. After the 6th end, Robbie Dennison's rink took control (sort of!) of their match to win 18-12 and secure the rink points.

Team Selections

Combination Division 3 match against Cosham Park (home) on Wednesday 4th May starting at 6.00 pm:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserve
T Portch	P Huntley	D Boulter
T Nutland	D Greeman	J Bell	S Filippi
R Dennison	S Greenwood	P Willis
R Philbrick	P Whiffin	B Weaver

Just to inform you that there is a wake (not ours yet) at the Waverley on this day. There will still be refreshments in the form of a light buffet which will be accommodated in the snooker room.

Division 2 match against Naismith (home) on Friday 6th May starting at 6.00 pm:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserve
S Greenwood	R Philbrick	D Boulter	P Huntley
D Greeman	J Bell	B Weaver	C Lihou	T Portch
A New	P Whiffin	R Durham	P Willoughby
S Sprake	R Dennison	S Filippi	G Dyer

Posted Saturday 30/4/22

Combination Division 3 Result

Star & Crescent B 47 (1) Milton Park B 52 (11) Star started their season with a disappointing defeat at home to Milton Park last evening. In a closely fought game there were never more than a few shots between the teams. The Geoff Dyer four gained a creditable point when they picked up a shot on the last end to draw 20-20. By way of contrast the Bob Weaver skipped rink gave away 4 shots on the 19th end and despite winning the last 2 ends failed to catch their opponents before going down by 1 shot 14-15. Paul Whiffin also had a very close match which could have gone either way until the last end which saw the home team on the wrong side of a 13-17 score line. Overall, a decent performance which offers encouragement for the matches to come. Any negative thoughts after the game were soon forgotten when the teams enjoyed a post match sausage and chips repast in the clubhouse!

Posted Thursday 28/4/22

League Match v Portsmouth Water

Thanks to the efforts of Simon Filippi we have now got a full team for Friday. Simon has persuaded one of our old players, Gareth Davies, to turn out for us on a one match basis (so he says). Registration of Gareth has been forwarded to P&D HQ for permission to play on Friday which has now been granted.

Therefore the team selected (!) for the Division 2 match against Portsmouth Water (Away) on Friday 29th April starting at 6.00 pm is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4	Reserves
D Boulter	S Greenwood	P Huntley	T Portch
G Davies	T Nutland	M Ward	J Bell
R Durham	P Whiffin	P Willoughby	P Willis
S Filippi	R Dennison	G Dyer	B Weaver

Rowland Cup

In the 1st Round of the Competition scheduled for Monday 23rd May, Star have been given a bye.

Posted Monday 25/4/44

Team Selection

The first league game of the season kicks off with a Combination 3 match against Milton Park "B" (Home) on Wednesday 27th April starting at 6.00 pm. The team selected is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Reserves
T Portch	P Huntley	D Boulter	S Greenwood
T Nutland	D Greeman	J Bell	R Dennison
P Willoughby	R Philbrick	P Willis
G Dyer	P Whiffin	B Weaver

League Match v Portsmouth Water

Unfortunately, at the moment despite registering 25 players this season for league bowls, we are unable to select a full team for Friday's away Division 2 League match (29th April) against Portsmouth Water. We are currently one player short so if anybody who previously said they were unavailable are now able to play than please let me know ASAP or else we will be playing the match one player short which would be a terrible start to the season.

Posted Sunday 24/4/22

Friendly v Waverley Result

Our first match of the season was played on Wednesday when Waverley were our opponents in a 4 rink encounter. This game gave the opportunity to blood new members Martin Ward & Derek Greeman and also to welcome Paul Huntley back to bowls after a lengthy absence through ill-health. Star did very well winning on 3-rinks but lost the match overall by a few shots 57-62.

National Competitions

The National Men's Club Two Fours competition against Bridgemary (Away) has been arranged for Sunday 22nd May starting at 10.30.

College Park

Unfortunately, College Park have dropped out of the P&D league however they will be still fielding teams in the combination & mid-week triples leagues.

Posted Friday 22/4/22

Friendly v Waverley

The bowls season gets underway in earnest this Wednesday (20th April) with a friendly match against our neighbours Waverley. The team selected for this match, though it could be changed on the day, is:

Rink 1	Rink 2	Rink 3	Rink 4
R Philbrick	T Portch	S Greenwood	P Huntley	Starting time for the match is 6.00 pm but we will try to
M Ward	B Weaver	D Greeman	T Nutland	start the match earlier at 5.45 pm if everybody is present.
P Willis	R Durham	C Lihou
R Dennison	S Filippi	S Sprake	P Whiffin	Dress code: Club shirts with grey trousers.

Posted Saturday 16/4/22

National Competitions

In the 1st round of the National Men's Club Two Fours competition, the club has been drawn away against Bridgemary. Tie to be played by Sunday 29th May.

Opening of the Green

Just a reminder to you all that the green opens this Sunday at 10.00. Hope to see many of you there for your first taste of lawn bowls of 2022

Posted Monday 4/4/22

Bowls Hampshire Competitions

The draws for the County Competitions have been made. The relevant web page has been updated to show those matches related to our players.

County Club Competition

Star & Crescent have been drawn at home against Portsmouth Water in the 1st round of the County Club. Tie to be played on Thursday 19th May.

Posted Monday 28/03/22

New Members

Things are looking up on the membership front as we welcome two more new members to the club, Richie Farman & Paul Wright. We sincerely hope they enjoy their time and bowls whilst at Star & Crescent.

P&D Competitions

P&D competition entry forms are available now with a closing date of 1^st May. Cost per competition is £1.50/per player. All competitions & formats are back to pre-Covid days. Please let me know if you wish to enter.

Posted Saturday 26/03/22

Half Yearly Meeting

The Star & Crescent Half Yearly meeting is scheduled for Thursday 24th March at the Waverley Club starting at 19.15. This meeting is predominantly for members to submit their registration fees for the forthcoming season which have to be paid by 1st April. I'm sure we can persuade our President & Captain Alan to buy the 1st round of drinks again!

Waverley Fees 2022

To ease the disappointment of Waverley's decision not to fulfill the promise they made in 2020 for half price season tickets this year, your committee has agreed that those members who, in good faith, paid the full Waverley fees in 2020 will be subsidised to the tune of £20.00/per member towards the cost of their 2022 Waverley fees. The full fees will be the same as pre-Covid times ie £90.00 for members under 65 years of age and £80.00 for the more senior members aged over 65. Please note that this offer does not apply to those members who only paid the £15.00 Social Membership fees in 2020.

To try to attract new members to the club, the committee has also decided to offer the incentive of half price fees (for 1 year only) to new members who sign for the club.

New Member

Thanks to Simon Filippi's recruitment centre, we welcome a new member, Derek Greeman, to the club. We hope he enjoys his time and bowling whilst at the club.

Waverley's Smoking Policy

Waverley smoking policy has changed and is now "NO Smoking on the Green (including E-Cigarettes)"

Posted Saturday 26/02/22

P&D Leagues 2022 - Division 2

As agreed at the P&D 2022 AGM, League Divisions 2 & 3 fixtures have been redrawn so that teams now only play each other 3 times rather than the 4 times previously annotated in the draft proposals. Our website has been updated to show these changes.

Club Matters

The green will open on Sunday 10th April.

A pre-season friendly has been arranged against a Waverley select team for Wednesday 20th April. Also, there is a possibility to provide rinks with Waverley to play Gosport (home). Date to be decided.

Posted Sunday 10 /01/22

P&D Leagues 2022

The draft League & Combination fixtures for season 2022 have been issued. A major surprise is that in Division 2 all the teams will be playing each other 4 times rather than 3 meaning there will be 20-games for each team in this division. This could be a real struggle with our limited resources to field a full team each week throughout the season.
As it stands, the "A" team will start off the season on Friday 29th April with an away match at Portsmouth Water. The team's first home match will be against Naismith on 6th May.
The combination side will play 14 matches starting with home matches on 27th April & 4th May against Milton Park B and Cosham Park respectively before their first away match at Lee-on-the-Solent C.

The draft league fixtures for next season are shown on the relevant pages on this website

Bowls Hampshire Competitions

This is your last chance to enter the 2022 County competitions as I will be submitting them at the weekend to Bowls Hampshire. If you decide you want to enter any of the competitions please let me know ASAP.

Posted Thursday 6/1/22

P&D Leagues

Rebalancing League Divisions for the 2023 Season

After the decision at the SGM to run 2022 with divisions of 9, 6 & 6, the P&D Competition Committee met afterwards and agreed to rebalance to 3 Divisions of 7 teams for the 2023 Season.

This will be achieved as follows at the end of the 2022 Season:
i). Promotion: Only winners of divisions 2 & 3 will be promoted.
ii). Relegation: Bottom 3 from division 1 & bottom 2 from division 2.

Rebalancing League Divisions if Less than 21 Sides are Entered

The SGM voted that if we get to the position of having less than 21 sides, then the league was to be run with 2 divisions. In order to achieve this, the Competition Committee further decided the following:

· Post 2023 Season
i).      The side who finishes bottom of division 1 in the season just ended will be relegated to division 2.
ii).     The top 4 sides from division 2 will be promoted to the new division 1.
iii).    Division 2 will then consist of: the relegated division 1 side, the remaining division 2 sides & all division 3 sides.

· Post 2022 Season
i). The side who finishes bottom of division 1 will be relegated to division 2
ii). Only the top 2 sides from division 2 will be promoted to the new division 1.

2022 Combination League Divisions

As only 32 sides have been entered by the Clubs for 2022, then the Competition Committee also agreed that the combination league would consist of 4 divisions of 8 Sides. This has been achieved as follows:
· Only the 2019 divisional winners have been promoted (shown in upper case below)
· Further sides have been relegated (shown in italics below), based on the final 2019 tables, as follows:
i).      Division 1 - bottom 3
ii).     Division 2 - bottom 4
iii).    Division 3 - bottom 4

All of which means that the sides in the 2022 divisions are as follows:

Combination 1	Combination 2	Combination 3	Combination 4
Priory Black	Waterlooville Green	Milton Park B	Pembroke Gdns B
Fareham C	Rowner	Waverley Red	Milton Park C
Cowplain Red	Priory Silver	Bedhampton	Gas Social
Alexandra Blue	Hayling Island	Lee on Solent C	Forton
Waverley Blue	Waterlooville Brown	Cosham Park	Portsmouth Water
Lee on Solent B	Purbrook Maroon	Gosport B	Naismith
Waterlooville Gold	Alexandra Red	Star & Crescent B	Fareham B
VOSPERS	LEIGH PARK RED	COLLEGE PARK RED	BRIDGEMARY

Posted Tuesday 4/1/22

Committee 2021/22

Consequent of Geoff Dyer standing down as "A" Team Captain, Alan New was elected at the AGM to undertake this role for 2021/22.
Confirmation of the full committee is thus:
President: Alan New,
Immediate Past President: Stephen Greenwood
Hon Secretary: Robbie Dennison
Hon Treasurer: Derek Boulter
"A" Team Captain: Alan New

"B" Team Captain: Peter Willis

Selection Committee 3rd Member: Robbie Dennison

Club Competition Secretary: Simon Filippi

Bowls Hampshire / P&D Rep: Simon Filippi

Waverley Fees 2022

With regard to the fees due for next season, the Southsea Waverley Bowling Club committee have unfortunately decided that they are unable to fulfill the promise they made in 2020 and have withdrawn the offer of half price season tickets for 2022. The fees will be the same as for pre-Covid times ie £90.00 for under 65s & £80.00 for the older brigade of over 65. I know this will invoke anger & disappointment with you, and I share your sentiments, but unfortunately we are in no position but to accept Waverley's decision.

P&D Leagues 2022

Only 21 clubs have indicated they would be running a league side for the 2022 season after Crofton, Hayling Island & Emsworth dropped theirs. This means that, based on the promotion & relegation after the completion of the 2019 season, the clubs that make up each division are, currently, as follows: Division 1 - 9 sides, Division 2 - 6 sides & Division 3 -6 sides. This imbalance of numbers was addressed at a SGM on 9 December so that each Division has the same number of sides (7).

Three options were proposed:

1). Rebalance immediately so that the 2022 League would consist of 3 Divisions of 7 sides.

2). Run 2022 with Div. 1 having 8 Sides; Div. 2 with 7 Sides; Div. 3 with 6 sides

3). Run 2022 with the Divisions made up of 9, 6 & 6 sides, rebalancing would take place over three years.

Option 3 was overwhelming voted for.

This means that Star & Crescent will be in Division 2 next season with the following teams: Vospers, Portsmouth Water, Gosport, Milton Park & Naismith with each team playing each other 3 times.

Running the League with less than 21 sides was also discussed & voted on. It was decided that should this happened, the league would run with 2 divisions.

Bowls Hampshire Competitions.

The entrance fees for competition will remain unchanged as for 2021 ie £4.00 per player per competition.

Posted Saturday 18/12/21

Annual General Meeting

The club's Annual General Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday 25th November at the Waverley BC starting at 7.00 pm. It is hoped to see as many members there as possible. I will be e-mailing the relevant paperwork for the AGM to you all a bit nearer to the date.

Election of Officers

Disappointingly that once again there are no nominees for any posts declared. The good news however, is that your present committee are willing to stand again in their current post (if selected) but the bad news is that Geoff Dyer is standing down as "A" Team captain after a 3-year tour of duty.

P&D Leagues 2022 Survey Results

I received 13 replies to my questionnaire re P&D Bowls leagues format for the forthcoming season. The replies have been collated and were consequently discussed at our latest committee meeting with the following conclusions:

Question 1: Whilst most members would prefer to play 4-rinks, it is thought that as a small club with a small membership it could cause problems with team selection throughout the season. Therefore the consensus of opinion to question 1 is that S&C would say NO to playing 4-rink matches.

Question 2: Playing 3-rinks is the preferred choice of the membership because it would be more manageable with less problems on team selection and also that we could put out stronger teams (on paper). So, the results to question 2 is YES the club would prefer to play 3-rink league matches

Question 3: The replies for this question was 7-6 in favour of 21 ends to be played. Some members pointed out that 21-end matches played on artificial surfaces take much longer and sometimes it is difficult to complete these games in good light. The answer to question 3 is that the club does not mind playing 18 or 21 ends.

These views have been passed onto the P&D committee for their deliberation in assessing the league format for the 2022 season.

Posted Saturday 17/10/21

Bowls England National Championship Formats 2022

Following an analysis of the survey results and feedback from counties, Bowls England will be running all the National Championships using the following format

Singles (including Junior Singles) – 21 up

Pairs (including Junior Pairs) – Four bowls 18 ends

Triples – Three bowls 18 ends

Fours (including Senior Fours) – Two bowls 18 ends

Two-bowl singles – Two bowls 21 ends

Bowls Hampshire County Competitions 2022

As the 2021 season closes the build-up to 2022 season has started and as such the County competition entry forms are now available. The closing date for entries is 31st January 2022. Unfortunately, Bowls England (BE) haven't been forthcoming on if they are changing entry fees for 2022, so at the moment the entry fee has been set as last year i.e.£4.00 per person per entry. When BE get round to making their minds up then Bowls Hampshire will let us know. Also, be aware that the playing formats for 2022 are in line with the above BE formats

P&D Leagues - 2022

It has been a disappointing response from our members regarding the questionnaire in my email dated 10th September with only less than half of the members bothering to reply and relay their thoughts regarding the 2022 P&D leagues. Thank you to those who have replied and for those that haven't there is still time to let me know your views.

Posted Wednesday 22/09/21

P&D Leagues - 2022

The P&D League Secretaries have forwarded their plans for the 2022 Season which basically is to return to the way the League, Combination and Midweek Divisions were run in 2019, i.e.: League - 4 rinks of 4 bowlers playing over 21 ends, Combination - 3 rinks of 4 bowlers playing over 21 ends & Mid-Week Triples - 3 rinks of 3 bowlers playing over 18 ends. The League & Combination Divisions will NOT be regionalised (i.e., teams will be travelling to clubs in Portsmouth, Havant & Waterlooville and Gosport & Fareham). The teams in each division will be the same as those sent out in 2020 before bowls was cancelled due to the pandemic.

However, the P&D are aware that after the last two years, clubs may have problems in meeting these formats. Consequently, they need input from each club on their thoughts. So the questions that I'm asking you, the members, are : 1) Do you think that the club will be able to run a League team of 4 Rinks of 4 Bowlers?, 2) Do you think that the club will be able to run a League team of 3 Rinks of 4 Bowlers? and 3) In League & Combination games would you prefer playing 18 or 21 Ends? I would be very grateful if you can reply to those questions ASAP.

To be able to plan for 2022 the P&D require replies from each club by the end of October 2021, so that the responses can be put before the clubs when the next P&D Executive Meeting is held.

Closing of the Green

The green will be closing on Sunday 26th September.

Election of Officers for 2021/22

For what's it worth, I have posted on the board in the clubhouse a notice for the election of officers for 2021/22 If you wish to sit on the committee for that period please add your name to the list or am I wasting my time (again) with no takers.

Posted Saturday 11/09/21