CORNWALL COUNTY SHORT MAT BOWLING ASSOCIATION - NEWS RELEASE 19 August 2023

CORNWALL COUNTY SHORT MAT BOWLING ASSOCIATION

NEWS RELEASE - 19 August 2023 - updated 22 August 2023

The 2023/24 Short Mat Bowls season gets under way this coming weekend for six local bowlers who will be travelling to Chelmsford to take their places in the entry of 192 bowlers competing for the Short Mat Players Tour UK Open title.

Nigel Nicholls (Newlyn Trinity), goes into the new season off the back of a strong season last year that saw him retain a place in the Top 10 in both the SMPT World rankings which span 12 events and the 2022/23 season Order of Merit rankings.  Nigel is drawn in Group 19 where he will face Mitchell Young (ENG - Rank 21), Paul Cairnduff (IRE - 23), Barry Bates (ENG - 566), Graham Cockburn (ENG - 366) and Beverly Morley (ENG - N/A).

Elise Daniel (Holmans) will be looking to move up the rankings from her current position of 49th.  Elise is drawn in Group 24 and will face Edward Gittoes (WAL - 547), Gareth Hill (ENG - 399), Chris Adams (ENG - N/A), Bent Nielsen (DEN - 339) and Dick Almen (SWE - 358).

Peter Hore (Holmans) will also be looking to move up from his current position of 57th.  Peter is drawn in Group 4 and will face James Rutledge (IRE - 94), Jason Woods (ENG - 282), Keelee Jones (WAL - N/A), Steve Buckett (ENG - 171) and Bengt-Goran Clemensson (SWE - N/A).

Martyn Featherstone (Saltash Kernow) has only three previous tournament appearances and currently sits in 395th in the rankings.  Martyn is drawn in Group 32 and will face Michael Doorey (ENG - 81), Gareth Thomas (WAL - N/A), Kevin Lawlwy (SCO - 101), Pauline Friel (ENG - N/A) and Ricky Pyle (ENG - 379).

Luke Jolly (Holmans) makes his first appearance in an SMPT singles event since 2018 at the same event.  Luke is drawn in Group 25 where he will face Paul Reed (ENG - 125), Chris Coates (ENG - 65), Barbara Johns (ENG - 664), Andrew Coughlin (WAL - 138) and Peter Collins (ENG - 664).

Mark Williams (Lanteglos) makes his first appearance in an SMPT event and is drawn in Group 31 where he will face Rodger Armour (IRE - 50), Tim Harwood (ENG - 154), Kate Morgan (WAL - 399), Steven Proctor (ENG - 16) and Karl Newby (ENG - 259).

Also making his debut in an SMPT event is Ian Crossett (Saltash Kernow) who is drawn in Group 21 where he will face Greg Wade (ENG - 135), Derek Coates (ENG - 313), Aidan Corrigan (IRE - N/A), Jonas Hager (SWE - 14) and James Smith (ENG - 117).

The competition will see players play four of their five group games on Saturday and the last group game and knockout competitions on Sunday.  From the group stages all players will go forward into one of three knockout competitions. Points earned in the group stages are added to a player's ranking points. The top two in each group will play the Cup competition where a maximum of a further 150 ranking points are on offer.  Third and Fourth in each group play in the Plate competition where a maximum of a further 55 points are available.  Fifth and Sixth in each group play in the Shield competition where a maximum of a further 18 points are available.

A summary of the six local bowlers' previous results in SMPT events is.

                                  

                       Rank   Merit   Events  Matches     Wins    Draws   Losses     Win %

Nigel Nicholls           9       8       34      244      169        6       69      69.29

Elise Daniell           49      66       29      192       91        6      105      42.19

Peter Hore              57      99       29      188      102        5       80      52.26

Luke Jolly              --      --        4       28       13        1       14      46.43

Martyn Featherstone    395     389        3       18        4        1       13      22.22

Mark Williams           --      --       --       --       --        -       --      -----       

Previous SMPT Singles Achievements

Nigel Nicholls:- 2018 British Open Champion, 2018 Order of Merit Champion, 2018 English Masters Bronze Medal, 2019 UK Open Bronze Medal.

More player statistics can be found on the SMPT website, https://stats.shortmatplayerstour.com/.

Results can be followed throughout the tournament on this link https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=892E8595-09DF-46D5-BE95-7E7369AB9C1C and where possible links posted to the CCSMBA Social Media channels.

On Friday, Nigel Nicholls will line up in the England team for the SMPT World Cup event.  Eight teams take part in the event with Ireland, Rest of the World, Norway and Wales in Group One and England, Scotland, Sweden and Belgium in Group Two.  Each team is made up of four bowlers who qualify to play through their Order of Merit ranking at the end of the previous season.  In the group stages Nigel is due to play Bob Naylor (SCO), Suzanne Steele (BEL) and Joel Hager (SWE).  The top two teams from each group will play in the semi finals and the winners contest the final.

ENDS

Nicholas Truscott

Press and Promotions Officer

Cornwall County Short Mat Bowling Association