FIVE short mat bowlers from Montgomeryshire represented Wales at the World Championships in Northern Ireland last weekend.

Aled Humphreys, Andrew Jones, Chris McWhinnie, Liam Farrington and Peter Rees, all of Castle Caereinion SMBC, made the trip over to Belfast for the three day event to compete against the best players from around the world. 

Despite wins over Belgium and Norway, defending triples champion from 2023, Jones was unable to progress through the group stages.

In the pairs, Farrington and Rees went through the group stages unbeaten, with convincing wins over the likes of India, Scotland and Germany.

However a defeat in the semi-finals to England and then in the bronze medal match meant the pair finished fourth overall. 

In the triples, Humphreys, McWhinnie, together with Nick Evans of Swansea also topped their group, winning all games in the process against teams from the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden.

County Times: Aled Humphreys, Nick Evans and Chris McWhinnie claimed bronze in the triples.Aled Humphreys, Nick Evans and Chris McWhinnie claimed bronze in the triples.

However, they also fell one step short of the final with a defeat in the semi-finals, although they did secure a victory in the bronze medal match against Ireland to bring some silverware home. 

Meanwhile six junior short mat bowlers from Montgomeryshire recently represented Wales U21s in their annual test match against England U21s in Carmarthen.

Carys Birch of Trewern, James Bumford of Tregynon, Will Rowlands of Guilsfield along with Vaughan Jones, Harry McWhinnie and Isaac Taylor of Castle Caereinion were all involved in a variety of pairs, triples and fours games throughout the day.

This year Wales took the spoils over their neighbours and was the first time in seven years that the Bill Jenkins Trophy will remain in Wales.

OTHER NEWS:

The sport continues to grow from strength to strength within the county. Following a victory in the Border Shield and a second place at the Welsh Counties Championships.

The pair of Jac Edwards of Dolfor and Chris McWhinnie of Castle Caereinion have also recently been crowned Welsh Pairs Champions and will now go on to represent Wales at the British Isles Championships in November.

The season is beginning to draw to a close and the Montgomeryshire League, sponsored by Harrisons Solicitors, was won this year by Castle Athletic.

The Castle Caereinion club will now go on to represent the county at the Welsh Club Championships in April.

The Challenge Cup, sponsored by Nigel Pugh Car Sales, has reached it's final stages and this year will be contested between Castle Rovers and Castle Athletic, with the Plate competition being contested between Dolfor and Whitton.

The finals night is being held at Trewern Community Centre on Wednesday, April 10th, starting at 7pm. Spectators are welcome. 

The final event of the season is the newly formed Montgomeryshire League Knockout Singles, where it is hoped there will be a bumper entry.

Organisers are looking for a local business to sponsor this event, therefore please get in touch via the Montgomeryshire Short Mat Bowls Association Facebook page, if this is of interest to anyone.