Ottery St Mary Pétanque Club hosted the Devon Doubles Championships on the final Sunday of June, a day when it was hotter here in sunny Devon than it was on the Riviera!

Pairs from all over the county took part in a league qualifying system to make a knockout competition of eight pairs to contest the championship.

Last year’s champions John and Rose Thatcher from Ottery St Mary made it through and came up against club colleagues Peter and Sue Smith in their first round, but they managed to win before meeting the Devon president, Gerald Barton, and his wife Ann. They also fell away under John and Rose’s onslaught, with the Ottery duo winning 13-3.

Plymouth’s two Mikes, Carroll and Newberry, were also playing their way through their side of the draw beating the French and Devonian pair of Thierry Hacq and Rob Thomas from Chudleigh in the first round and then just squeezed past the Westward Ho! pair of John Violet and Chris Jeffrey in the semi-final, 13-12.

So, all to play for in the final, John and Rose were out to retain their title with Mike and Mike hoping to win their first doubles championship.

The two Mikes started strongly, pointing their boules very close and not giving John and Rose a chance, forging into an 8-1 lead.

However, the past champions were not going to give up and fought back to get within two at 10-12.

The last end was a tense affair with the lead changing hands. Mike Carroll’s final boule held the point and John had one boule left to move the jack back to their two back boules, but just missed his landing area and instead of moving the jack could only move Mike’s boule closer.

Game over, and there will be two new names on the trophy this year! Congratulations to Mike Carroll and Mike Newberry of Plymouth Pétanque Club, the 2018 Doubles Champions.

The Devon Pétanque League is approaching the end of the competition and Ottery have two tough away matches this Sunday (July 1) at Plymouth and Chudleigh, before facing the top of the table team ISCA also away on July 11, before their final home match against Honiton.

With one point between ISCA and Ottery it will be a close run climax to the league championship.