WILTSHIRE ladies have announced their first trial teams for the Johns Trophy, inter-county championship, that will take place next Wednesday at Devizes from 6pm.

Forty-eight players have been chosen for the trial, with 15 of them members of clubs from this part of the county.

They are headed by Box, with eight ladies selected in the shape of Debbie Shadwell, Kathryn Yeoman, Sue Cooke, Alex Jacobs, Kara Little, Jane Taylor, Carol Grenfell and Jean Collier.

Spencer Moulton and Avon both have three players chosen, Delia Godwin, Jenny Crouch and Cristobel Francis from the former, and Georgina Newman, Marcia Hartley and Dawn Edwards from the latter.

Blue Circle complete this area’s representation with Karen Kirby.

A second Wiltshire ladies Johns Trophy trial will be held at Wroughton on Saturday, May 6 (1.30pm).

The same players from this area have been chosen with the exception of Francis and Edwards dropping out and Margaret Cooke (Broughton Gifford) coming in.

Seven men from Holt have been picked for the Wiltshire men’s first Middleton Cup trial set for Royal Wootton Bassett on Saturday, May 13 (10am).

They are regulars Wayne Simmonds, Craig Hadfield-Doughty, Wayne Snook, Ben Gadd plus Justin Davis, Chris Poole and Rob Jefferys.

Colin Easton and Tom Newman will represent Avon, while the father and son duo of Graham and Jamie Shadwell, from the Spencer Moulton club, complete the players from the area selected for the trial.

  • WILTSHIRE men’s U25 side open their season with an away four-rink friendly against Somerset at Chew Stoke (Bristol) 2pm on Sunday.

Local players chosen include Isaac Jacobs (Trowbridge Westbourne), Tom Newman (Avon), Spencer Moulton duo Bradley Frankham and Josh Farrer, Holt’s Chris Poole and Liam Williams (Box).

  • GRAHAM Shadwell missed out in a tie-breaker in his bid to win the Torquay United Open Singles tournament last weekend.

Part of the Open Singles Circuit (OCS), the Devon tournament saw the Clarrie Dunbar star win five matches to reach the final but the sixth was one game too far.

Shadwell was beaten 2-1 (5-4, 4-6, 0-2) by Egham’s Ian Jenkins.

However, Shadwell had the consolation of pocketing the £500 runners-up prize while Jenkins collected the first prize pot of £1,000.

On his way to the final. Shadwell edged past Paul Chapman 1.5-0.5 (4-4, 6-4) in round one and followed it with a 2-1 success over Terry Berridge 10-3, 1-8, 2-0 and then accounted for Neil Smith in a hard-fought clash 2-1 (1-8, 7-6, 2-1).

In the quarter-final, Devon player James Webber was next to lose to the Dunbar star 2-0 (8-2, 6-2). Shadwell then clinched his place in the final with Jenkins with a 2-0 win over Carterton’s Andy McIntyre 7-4 and 7-5.

  • CLARRIE Dunbar have qualified for the semi-finals of a national team competition for the second year in a row, doing so in the mixed Top Club competition after their opponents, Torquay United, conceded their last-eight tie.