Highlights
The final group game in July is where everything gets sorted out for the next months County Championship Semi Finals and the County Supplementary Championship, which are both held on the first Sunday of the month in August.
So who’s progressing to the semi’s, who goes to the supplementary and who’s selectors are already scratching their heads about how they improve for the 2027 season?
The Group.1. formality of Yorkshire’s three from three record was never in doubt against Cumbria, who only had 5 winners across both venues. The Yorkshire’s away team just outscored their home team with a +67 compared to a +59, and a huge overall victory of 126.
This left Wales & Cheshire in a complete dead rubber, with the match only deciding the totally irrelevant 2nd and 3rd place in the group, with both moving forward to the supplementary competition. It’s only a personal opinion, but the Ladies format where only second places move forward into a supplementary knockout would make games like this in the Men’s Championship just a little bit more meaningful. But I’m sure there’s a reason why it’s this way. The welcome addition of the Isle of Man in the Supplementary I guess holds the key.
It was Cheshire who pinched second in another game where their away team outperformed the home with a very impressive 51 chalk win at Min Y Don B.C. in Wales.
Group.2. was definitely where there was most to play for. North Midlands with a two from two record just needed to squeak a win against Derbyshire for a certain semi-final place, but a big win for Derbyshire could see them go past their opponents on aggregate and also open the backdoor for South Yorkshire if they could win big against Potteries.
Derbyshire’s aggregate win needed to be in the mid 50’s to go above North Mids and through eight games it seemed a possibility. 74 up on Stretton No. 2 and only 26 behind at Dunlop No.1. A total lead of 48 and if both venues followed the earlier trend, Derbyshire would make it.
Well the trend continued at Dunlop, with the North Mids home team only adding another two shots, mainly due to Derbyshire’s Jack Desmond’s 21-6 win. But, it was the North Midlands away back four who were the hero’s and pulled the 74 deficit back to a respectable 50 shot loss, with Tyler Dewis and Liam Dennis both winning to single figures.
So an overall 24 shot loss for North Mids, but enough to stay above their oppponent’s in the table. So could South Yorkshire sneak past them both? It would take a big score.
It never really looked on the cards. Four winners, all half way up, at Norton Central for Potts and a good card from Gary Owen at Bolehills in South Yorkshire gave them an early lead. And despite a spirited fight back to only lose by 5 in the Potteries and win by 30 in South Yorkshire, a 25 shot win wasn’t enough to surpass North Mids on aggregate.
North Midlands progress to a semi final against Yorkshire. Derbyshire and South Yorkshire move to the supplementary, despite all winning two out of three.
Group.3. like group.1, pitted Shropshire with a two from two record against North Lancs & Fylde with a zero from two, with both Staffordshire and Lancashire in the wings hoping for a miracle, but in truth, both knowing they had little to play for.
That is indeed how it went down. Shrophire cruised to a 67 overall win and a win at both venues, with Chris Grocott’s 21-7 at Frenchwood Social Club in North Lancs being the best score of the tie.
So with Supplementary places assured Staffordshire and Lancashire played the second dead rubber of the day and it was a tight affair all match with very little in it at both venues. Staffordshire eventually pinched it by an overall 10 chalks, winning by 12 on Heath Hayes where Scott Simpson’s 21-6 was the best score, and just dropping two shots at Leigh Bowling Club where Joe Dicken matched Scott’s 21-6 victory.
Last month, and after the first two rounds, I suggested that the mathematics in Group.4. , to prevent a Warwick & Worcester semi-final spot were extremely unlikely, and that was proven to be an accurate statement. Warwick & Worcester made it 100% in the group of three with their second win. A 35 shot win at Windle No.1. in Merseyside where they had nine of the twelve winners and a similar winners tally at home on King George V meant it was a comfortable day for last years runners up.
Our second Semi-Final is therefore Shropshire v Warwick & Worcester, with Staffordshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester joining the Isle Of Man to make up the complete eight teams for the Supplementary, all on August 2nd 2026.
Congratulations to all winning and qualifying teams. August will produce our 2026 Final line-up and our Supplementary Champions.
Full results can be found on the Men’s County Championship Competitions Page.