LOCAL players Alison Fail, June Corbett, Carole Coombs and Katy Smith all missed out on booking a spot in the county two wood singles championship final.

Only Fail actually managed to survive the first hurdle to reach the last four, but was then eliminated.

Box players Sue Cooke and Jean Collier dominated the quarter-finals and semi-finals last Friday.

The duo of holder Cooke and teammate Collier successfully booked their places in the county two wood final at Devizes and also earned the right to represent Wiltshire at the national championships in the two wood singles at Royal Leamington Spa in August.

Two wood title-holder Cooke was always in control of her quarter-final match, dispatching Janice Bull (Amesbury) 16-7.

In the semi-finals, she defeated Box teammate and doubles partner Alex Jacobs 17-8, Jacobs having accounted for Wootton Bassett teenager Smith 16-9 in the quarters.

In the top half of the quarters draw, Collier overcame Carole Coombs (Westlecot) 15-7.

Collier was even more impressive in the semis against Purton’s Fail, who had beaten Corbett (Town Gardens) 15-10 in the quarters.

Cooke will defend her two wood singles crown against Collier on July 25 at Devizes in the final, while both are through to Leamington.

The attention over the next fortnight or so now switches over to the national ladies singles championship and also the early rounds in county competitions such as champion of champions, top ten and benevolent triples.

RESULTS

Quarter-finals: June Corbett (Swindon Town Gardens) lost to Alison Fail (Purton) 10-15; Carole Coombs (Westlecot) lost to Jean Collier (Box) 7-15; Katy Smith (Wootton Bassett) lost to Alex Jacobs (Box) 9-16; Sue Cooke (holder, Box) beat Janice Bull (Amesbury) 16-7.

Semi-finals: Collier (Box) beat Fail (Purton) 16-4; Cooke (holder, Box) beat Jacobs (Box) 17-8.

  • WILTSHIRE LADIES' hopes of glory in the inter-county championship for the Johns Trophy are over for another season after losing to Dorset.

The winners of the women’s top county team title 20 years ago, Wiltshire saw their dreams of success in the competition again this season ended last Saturday in only their second match of the 2015 campaign.

After a narrow three-shot loss to Devon three weeks ago in their opener, they agonisingly lost once more, this time by a single shot going down 124-123 to Dorset at West Moors.

Wiltshire’s next Johns Trophy match is today at Devizes against Herefordshire while they complete their group a week later on July 4 away to Worcestershire.

24 hours later though, Wiltshire women recorded a narrow two-shot victory over Gloucestershire in the Walker Cup.

The team of eight included local players Fail (Purton), Wendy Anderson (Stratton Churchway) and Linda Kingston (Highworth).

Wiltshire progress to the regional final on Sunday July 12 but the venue has not been announced yet for the four county west final.

After three defeats in May in friendly matches, Wiltshire Ladies have finally broken their duck.

They recorded their first friendly win of the 2015 season under the stewardship of president Joyce Little (Devizes) last week away against Berkshire with a 123-118 victory at Shrivenham.