The ESMBA national finals took place over the last weekend, between the 10th and 13th of April 2025. Many players from across East Sussex took part in four days of high quality bowling action. ESSMBA were proud to see our players represent the county at a national level, playing against the some of the best players in England. Full results and scores are available on the ESMBA website.
Singles
We were allocated 1 place in this years singles, represented by Paul Seaman.
Paul was in a tough group, finishing 4th with 2 losses and a draw.
The winner or the competition was Matty Worden (Cheshire), beating Alex Klay (Dorset) in the final.
Pairs
We were allocated 2 places in this years pairs, represented by:
ES 1 – Paul Seaman & Glen Harvey
ES 2 – Dave Hacker & Thelma Hacker (Extra Allocation)
ES 1 won their group on shot difference, with a tight victory over the eventual winners from Hampshire. They progressed to the knockouts with a convincing 14-1 against Shropshire’s Allan Williams & Chris Grocott. They then played Rob Wade & Greg Wade, loosing 8-7 to the experienced Essex pair.
ES 2 finished 3rd with 1 win against Humberside.
The winners were Ben Pay and Jason Mclean of Hampshire with West Midlands Craig Strong and Ross Dunkley coming runners up.
Fours (Rinks)
We were allocated 4 places in this years pairs, represented by:
ES 1 – Nigel Froud, Paul Seaman, Dave Hacker & Glen Harvey
ES 2 – AlunThomas, Les Dunster, Jeremy Leach & Edward Law
ES 3 – Elizabeth Thomson, Anna Wickens, Mark Thomson & Graham Wickens
ES 4 – Thelma Hacker, Mandy Moore, Peter Winter & Graham Keeley (Extra Allocation)
ES 1 finished 4th in their group. ES 2 and ES 3 finished 3rd in their groups.
ES 4 came top of their group with unbeaten record of 2 wins and a draw. They went on to play Dorset 3 (Steve Stanton, Jack Knight, Ben Riley & Emily Thomas) in the last 32, finishing 9-4 to the defending champions from Dorset. Dorset 3 went on to retain their fours title.
Triples
We were allocated 3 places in this years pairs, represented by:
ES 1 – Paul Seaman, Nigel Froud & Glen Harvey
ES 2 – Graham Keeley, Chris Escott & Peter Winter
ES 3 – Roger Emeny, Des Foord, Colin Mouland
ES 1 won 2 of their 3 games, finishing top with a superior shot difference. They played Suffolk 2 (Andy Noble, Ally Hobbs & Bob Cousins) in the last 32, winning 8-7 in a tight game. The last 16 match was against Cheshire 2 (Dan Rigby, Tom Lowndes & Matty Worden), again winning 10-5 against a team featuring the singles champion. The quarter finals ended in a 11-4 defeat against West Midlands 2 (Adam Easthope, Craig Strong & Ross Dunkley), who went on to be crowned the national triples champions.
ES 2 and ES 3 were unable to progress to the knockouts, finishing 4th and 3rd in their respective groups.