Club News
Paul Dudley retained the Weston Park Trophy when he beat Jack Dyson 21-17 in yesterday's final. Paul became the first bowler to win the trophy for a second time and in so doing collected another £650 prize after a full day of great bowling at Brockholes BC.
This competition is all about raising money for the Weston Park Cancer Charity in memory of Paul Sykes the father of Liam Sykes who started and has run the competition since 2016. Liam and family are seen above making the presentation to the 2023 winner.
Here is a report from Liam Sykes on Finals Day from his perspective.
"Brilliant day. Brilliant weather. Brilliant to watch. Absolute class all day on a tough green by all 16 finalists, which came to a close with a repeat of last year's final, Paul Dudley vs Jack Dyson.
Dudley, on red hot form, took each game in his stride as he looked to become the first to get his name on the trophy more than once, seeing off Crossgates duo Gaz Lally and Mark Hughes before a showdown with Denby Grange's Gareth Coates in the semi final. In all three games Dudley looked comfortable and quietly confident as he took care of business.
Dyson had arguably the tougher half of the draw to come through. Though, as the local boy and former homester, he would've never doubted himself to come through his half of the draw on top, which he did in style, dispatching Josh Mordue and both Wilcox brothers, James and Jon.
The final began, basked in glorious Holme Valley bank holiday sunshine, with Dyson taking the early advantage. Dudley seemed out of sorts with uncharacteristic stray bowls. You'd be forgiven for thinking his Houldsworth success from the previous day had suddenly caught up to him as Dyson took advantage and strolled into a 12-03 lead.
Dudley at this point looked down and out, before playing a lovely through bowl to sit out Dyson and wedge his way back in at 12-04. From here the tables turned dramatically with Dudley leading straight over to his favourite patch, a mark that had Dyson reeling and struggling to cope with. Before you know it, Dudley hits a 15 break on this mark and sees himself 18-12 in front, a monumental turn-around.
Dyson did manage to bite back but the damage had already been done, with Dudley edging home 21-17 and becoming the first to win the Weston Park Trophy twice, by doing it back to back.
I would like to thank all of our sponsors for this year for their fantastic support:
Brockholes Bowling Club
HuddWeb
D Haigh Tarmacadam Specialists
Radcliffe's Funeral Services
As you all well know we raise money for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity through this competition, and I'm thrilled to announce that the competition this year has raised over £1,000. A huge thank you to all that donated.
See you all again next year. Dudley hat-trick anyone?"
The full record of all the Finals Day matches is below along with the bookies odds at the start of the day showing the two finalists both appearing in the top three in the betting at the start of the day.
