Welcome to Abington Bowling Club

THE TRIPLES LEAGUES are underway for another year. And Abington began brightly, with three of our four teams winning their opening match.

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The women had perhaps the most impressive getaway of all on the Friday night, beating the combined Express & Crispin's team who would be expected to challenge at the top end. Lis Milburn's rink collected 19 shots and won by 10, giving Abington the aggregate victory and three of the four points to start the campaign nicely.

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As for the men, Abington's A-side started with a similarly handsome four points from a possible five, also at home to a tough opponent. Oddly, the one point they did gain looked a near cert in the early stages, Tony O'Leary's rink blasting off to lead 10-0 after just two ends. But they only managed three more scoring ends to lose a bizarre game 19-28. Fortunately, the rinks skipped by Iain Walker and John Freeman prevailed to recover the overall win (just). The former took top rink honours with 19-12 and the latter beat England international Connor Cinato 13-10.

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The B-side gave a promising indication that their demise into Division 3 will prove only temporary, walloping St. Crispin's A 60-32 - including a 28-4 from Rob Archer's rink - although they fell just short of a clean sweep on the points. Sadly the C-team will have to dust themselves down and start again next week with a big fat zero at home to West End B.

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03/05/2026: ABINGTON RELINQUISHED their hold on the Jubilee Vase to Northampton West End on Friday 1st May, continuing the run of away wins in this fixture to four successive years.

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Abington's victory in the inaugural staging in 2022 remains the only occasion either side has converted home advantage into the result. And unfortunately there was little sign of that this year, our third time as hosts. The A-team scored only 21 shots between them, one rink dropping just as many. West End A racked up 53 in total.

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The combined B & C team fared little better, but there was the saving grace of Abington's sole rink win, an astonishing late turnaround from Dave Whiteside, Reg Jones & Ian Daverson. They'd actually got off to the worst start of anyone, 0-7 down after the opening two ends, but finished with a rout of 12 from the last five to snatch an improbable 18-14. It only marginally improved the aggregate though, with West End B winning their leg 40-44.

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As a warm-up for the Monday Triples League, it was inauspicious. The campaign ahead promises to be the toughest for a while. But if there's any fixture where the result matters less than the company, it's this one. Long may this fixture, and both clubs, prosper.

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27/04/2026: MIXED RESULTS from the opening week of friendlies, but one thing everyone can agree upon is the quality of Abington's green.​​​​​​ Members and opponents alike have been unanimous in praise for its slick pace and smooth surface, akin to how it usually feels by July/August, let alone April! A hearty cheer for our greenkeeper, Kevin Johnson. His hard work is hugely appreciated at the club and beyond.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​