Kent duo bring home ESMBA Plate

Michael Doorey (Kent County Squad Manager) and Danny Hogben (Premier Team Captain) competed in the ESMBA Open Pairs competition this last weekend. Having drawn a strong group initially, they finished up a respectable 3rd place, which left them in the Plate side competition for the knockouts.

Having received a bye in the second round, they moved immediately to round 3, where they cruised past John Kyle-Price & Ed Kyle-Price, winning a comfortable 11-5.

In round 4 they came up against the very experienced England bowler Mark White, who was partnered with Leo White. However remaining on form they achieved a hard won 13-10 victory.

The semi finals saw them come up against Edward Sawbridge & Chris Williams of Northamptonshire and Norfolk respectively. These two have both played for (and still do) England, as well as at the top end of shortmat bowls for many years and would have been potential favorites for the whole tournament. Squeezing past them with a 7-6 win would have been very rewarding, specially at such a crucial stage of the tournament

The final saw them come up against Bronagh Toleman & Aidan Corrigan. Bronagh is one of the most experienced and awarded bowlers around, having picked up 4 national titles within the last 10 years (Pairs 2015, Triples 2014, 2020, 2023). This would undoubtedly be one of the toughest games of a very long and tiring day. However the Kent pair held their nerve and build some solid heads to finish with a 8-5 victory and win the plate.

The Kent Committee would like to congratulate both on a well earned win!

Below: L-R: Michael Doorey, Barry Hedges (ESMBA Chairman), Danny Hogben