Durrington Short Mat Bowls Club

19/08/2026

Heartbreak in the Finale:
Durrington Fall Short as Market Lavington Claim the TitleDurrington Short Mat Bowls Club traveled to Market Lavington for a winner-takes-all final game of the season, standing five points clear at the top of the table. With Market Lavington trailing in second and seven points up for grabs, the stakes could not have been higher. Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort, it was not to be Durrington’s night.The match began with a fiercely contested Singles game. It was a fantastic, tightly fought battle, but Durrington narrowly missed out, allowing Market Lavington to claim the first point. The Pairs followed a similar script—a great contest that came down to the very last end, but once again, the hosts secured the win.In the 8 ends Triples, the tight play continued with each end decided by just one or two shots. However, Market Lavington used their home mat knowledge phenomenally well to pick up a third point. The 15 Triples started brightly for Durrington, picking up three shots early on after a bit of a fluky delivery. However, after that five-point mark, Durrington struggled to find the weight and lines of the mats. Market Lavington gave a masterclass in home advantage, chipping away at the lead, controlling the game, and thoroughly deserving their win to claim the Summer League Championship.
While Durrington missed out on a fantastic chance to become champions, this final result does not overshadow an incredible season. Due to holidays and illness, the squad was unfortunately short of numbers for this final fixture.

However, throughout the rest of the campaign, Durrington showed immense dedication and team spirit, incredibly fielding nine players in every single game.As Captain, I want to extend my sincere praise and heartfelt thanks to every single Durrington player for their finesse, effort, and commitment all summer. A special mention must also go to our brilliant supporters, including the two dedicated fans who traveled away to cheer us on from the sidelines. We played our best, but it just wasn't our night. We hold our heads high after a brilliant season.

31/07/2026

Tonight we welcomed Shipton Bellinger Bowls Club to the return fixture of the summer league and we wanted revenge

🏆 MATCH REPORT: Durrington vs. Shipton Bellinger (Home) 🏆
Durrington exacted sweet revenge on home soil tonight, turning around last week's tight away defeat with a spectacular 7-0 clean sweep! While our visitors showed great sportsmanship, they struggled with our unique home mats, allowing us to take maximum league points.
💥 FINAL SCORE: Durrington 7 (60 shots) | Shipton Bellinger 0 (11 shots)
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🥏 RINK RESULTS:
👤 Singles (Mat 1):

* Alex vs. David Strawbridge
* Alex jumped to a 5-0 lead, kept his composure through a tight mid-game spell, and cruised to victory.
* Result: Won 8-2 (1 Point)

👥 8-End Pairs:

* Jill Norris & Lynn Gingell vs. J Hughes & K Beeson.
* The girls hit their stride early to lead 8-0 by the 4th end and shut down a late comeback attempt.
* Result: Won 10-5 (1 Point)

👥 8-End Triples:

* Doreen, Jill Hughes & Pam Mills vs. J. Hughes, K Beeson & David Stallibrass
* A cagey battle early on, but the trio stayed focused. Great setups from the lead/second and a firm skip saw us home.
* Result: Won 10-2 (1 Point)

👥 15-End Triples:

* Carmen Thompson, Paul Thompson & Stephen Steward vs. T Beeson,N Coe & B Alen
* Masterclass on the tricky, swingy Mat 2. Led 18-1 at the tea break. Kept the pressure on, narrowly missed a perfect "Hot Shot" on the 11th end, and dominated until the end.
* Result: Won 32-2 (2 Point)

➕ Overall Shot Bonus: Durrington 60 - 11 Shipton Bellinger (2 Points)
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🍰 CLUB NOTES:
A massive thank you to Shipton Bellinger for being fantastic competitors. Huge appreciation also goes to our brilliant home supporters Ruth, Ron, Maurice, Pete, Sandy and Viv—for the wonderful tea, coffee, cakes, and Flapjack !, The visitors certainly enjoyed them!
What a fantastic night of retribution. Come on Durrington, we can do this! 💪🔴⚪

28/07/2026

Match Report: White Horse vs Durrington Short Mat Bowls Club

Durrington travelled to White Horse at Codford Village Hall for an enjoyable evening of short mat bowls, played across two mats in a mixed format of singles, pairs and triples.
Singles
Alex got Durrington off to the perfect start against Karen from White Horse. Playing some excellent bowls from the outset, Alex raced into a 6-0 lead after five ends. Karen managed to pull one shot back, but Alex continued to find his length superbly, consistently drawing close to the jack. After eight ends, Alex completed a commanding 11-1 victory, giving Durrington an early advantage.
Pairs
Jill Norris and Lynn represented Durrington in a closely contested pairs match. Durrington led 3-0 after two ends before White Horse responded strongly with a count of four to move ahead 4-3. The game ebbed and flowed throughout, with neither side able to establish a decisive lead. After eight ends of excellent bowling from both teams, honours were even in an 8-8 draw.
8-End Triples
Doreen, Jill Hughes and Pam faced a strong White Horse trio of Marian, Karen and Les, both experienced county-level bowlers. White Horse made a flying start, picking up five shots on the opening end and adding two more on the second to lead 7-0. Durrington replied with a single shot on the third end, but White Horse found their rhythm and continued to build their advantage. Despite a spirited finish and a much-improved final end, Durrington were unable to close the gap, with White Horse taking the match.
15-End Triples
The final game saw Carmen, Paul T and Steve take to the mat for Durrington. White Horse edged the opening exchanges, leading 2-1 after three ends, but from that point Durrington took control. Producing some outstanding bowls, they dominated the middle stages of the match, amassing an impressive 18 shots to 2 by the 8th end.
Following the refreshments break, White Horse fought back with a couple of high-scoring ends, reducing the deficit. However, Durrington responded well, adding three more shots to move to 21. On the final end, Durrington looked set to collect several more shots, only for a superb final bowl from Charlie of White Horse to secure a single shot for the hosts. Nevertheless, Durrington ran out convincing 21-8 winners.
Overall Result
After a competitive and friendly evening of bowls, Durrington emerged victorious by 5½ points to 1½ points.
A fantastic night was enjoyed by all, with excellent hospitality, lovely cakes and great company from our hosts at White Horse. Following the disappointment of the previous match against Shipton Bellinger, it was particularly pleasing for Durrington to bounce back with a strong away performance and secure some valuable league points.
Final Score: White Horse 1½ – 5½ Durrington
Congratulations to everyone involved on a superb team performance and a well-deserved victory. 🏆👏

28/07/2026

Travelling to codford to play The White Horse , wish us luck !!

23/07/2026

🏆 Match Report – Shipton Bellinger 5-2 Durrington
A tough night on some incredibly fast mats saw Durrington edged out by Shipton Bellinger, but the final score hardly tells the full story.
With nine players representing Durrington across the singles, pairs and two triples rinks, three of the four disciplines went right down to the final end and were decided by just a single shot.
Alex battled hard in the singles but found the lightning-fast mats difficult to tame against an experienced opponent. In the pairs, Jill and Lyn adapted brilliantly to the conditions and pushed their game all the way to the last end, sadly only to lose 3 on the last end 7-6 .Doreen, Sandy and Pam suffered a similar fate in the triples, taking the fight to the hosts before narrowly going down 7-6.
The highlight of the evening came in the 15-end triples. Durrington led 11-1 at the halfway stage before Shipton Bellinger clawed their way back into the contest. Going into the final end, Durrington still had a chance to sn**ch valuable bonus points, but a superb last bowl from the home skip denied them, with the match literally coming down to the final bowl of the night.
Although the result finished Shipton Bellinger 5-2 Durrington, there was very little between the sides and plenty of positives to take away. A big thank you to our hosts for a great evening of bowls and to all the Durrington players for their determination and sportsmanship.
👏 On to the next one! 🎯💙💛

15/06/2026

Tonight we travelled to Chalke Valley for our next game in the summer league, Again we fielded 9 players , Alex first up in the singles started well with 2 shots on the first end , he was playing Damon who seem to be on point and hence gave Alex a run for his money 5th end alex was down 6 - 2 but Damon being on form won 8 - 3 so took the first point of the match, Pairs up next with Jill H and Lyn G , what a game , the Durrington ladies were on form and only lost 1 end !!! and managed a great win 14 - 4 ! , first point to Durrington, But on the 2nd mat saw Carmen / Paul T and Steve S against 3 tough players but with determination of (WEARING OUR NEW KIT ) by half time 8 ends saw durrington lead 19 -3 , we just needed to keep composure and not get any sugar rush for the half time Tea Break.

2nd half saw a new triple of Doreen/ Sandy and Pam , by the 4th end of a tight game saw Durrington edge Chalke valley 4 - 2 , then one end changed it , Durrington lost a 6 , so chalk valley got a hot shot (congratulations gents !) , this game finished 5 - 11 so another point to Chalke Vally

so durrington 1 - 2 down all to play on 15 ends triples ...
But with all playing well Durrington sealed a 28 - 7 win

Durrington win 5 - 2 picking up the bonus for most shots , Like to congratulate Durrington on a fantastic win in our new team uniform what a way to make a statement , Commiserations to all at chalke valley who we wish the best for there remaining games , fantastic hosts great players ...

HOPE YOU LIKE OUR NEW SHIRTS and Black trousers /Shorts

onto the next game !

29/05/2026

Tonight we hosted Market lavington, The club that pipped us to second in the league on shot difference so we knew we were going to have to deep deep and fight. Durrington won the toss and decided to give Market Lavington the mat
Singles saw our Alex up against Alf,alex took a 4 - 1 lead after the 4th end half way through, and Alf fought back on the 7 end back to a 4-4 ! , with great nerve and skill alex won two shots winning the singles 6-4 !, Pairs were next up with Lyn and Pam up against c moule and Lyn W , After 4 ends we found ourselves 1-5 down and we need to keep the scores close for the bonus points ! on the final 8th end we managed to pull back and keep the score line down and finished 5-9 ! , great job !
On the 15 end triples we had a tough team up agaist us , Jill / Graham and Bob with Carmen /Steve and Paul T, After 8th End Durrington were doing very well keeping everything tight and stopped for refreshments that i must say was lovely x ( thanks to all who helped !) 11-4 .
2nd half
Durrington are trying to field as many players who want to play in the league so a new triple went out ( Doreen, Sandy and Paul G) up against the single and pairs from before making there triple.
After 2 ends Market Lavington had found the mat and took a 0-5 lead :( , after words of encouragement from the home teams and supporters (Ron & Morris) they turned that arround fighting for every shot and finished 8-7 and took the WIN ! what a game ...
So back on the 15 end triples well what can i say Durrington was in the zone , Carmen the LEAD was amazing all night giving very little all night , this made Steves Job as 2nd having less stressfully shots to play but he played well , leaving the Skip (Paul T) who had a great night with his orange bowls inflicting damage and saving some ends of a high shot count , they finished 24 - 6 !, what a night for Durrington SMBC ! , thank you to Market Lavington for a great nite of bowls, Next Game in 2 weeks !

so Durrington win tonight 6-1 !

Thanks again to all involved , if you fancy trying short mat bowls then please check out this link to find your local wiltshire club ..

Click Here for a Google map of all Wiltshire Affiliated SMB Clubs 2025 Club Name /Address /Social Media linksCalne Beversbrook Sports Facility, Beversbrook Lane, Calne SN11 9FL 01225 706972 Email WebsiteChalke Valley Chalke Valley Sports Centre, 13 Knighton Rd, Salisbury SP5 5DSCrudwell Crudwell Vil...

05/02/2026

Last night we hosted The White Horse Short Mat Bowls Club , The first half saw Us take both mats 7-5 & 12-7 , after refreshments we started the 2nd half but things took a turn for the worst :( , we lost but mats 5-8 & 4-11 , that making the bonus point going to The White Horse , congratulations to the winning team some really great shots last night !

19/01/2026

Some shots remixed

26/11/2025

Tonight we Hosted Bellinger Bowls Club in our winter League, First Half saw Durrington Win both games with a 10 Shot Advantage, after some fantasic refreshments we began the second half with no changes, Doreen /Pam and Alex had a tuff game with a team that had now found and read our mats and lost by 9 shots , Steves Team who managed to stay positive (Carmen , Paul T ) started to all perform well collectively winning by 8 shots.
Shot count 39 durrington 30 shots Shipton Bellinger
Points count 6 (3 mat wins) Durrington 2 Points Shipton Bellinger
Shot Bonus of 1 went to Durrington
Durrington win 7 - 2
Thanks again to Bellinger Bowls Club for a fantastic nights bowling, The refreshments team , our subs and Supporters ... Next Game in the New Year !

Bellinger Bowls Club, is a friendly indoor short mat bowls club in the village of shipton bellinger. near Tidworth. we have 2 roll up sessions. Monday afternoon 2-4pm and Wednesday evening 7.15-9pm. we also compete in leagues and competitions