Oliver Fowler – England U18 Début

Oliver Fowler made his international début as part of the twelve strong England team that took part in the British Isles Indoor Bowls Council's Under 18s Mixed Championship held at Ballybrakes IBC, Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and Ireland fielded teams while England, Scotland and Wales fielded two teams. Each team consisted of five players plus a reserve which would compete in Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours. Oliver was part of the second England team and competed in the Pairs and Fours.

The pairs would be played over two sets of nine ends with a one end tie break if needed. Yeovil's Shannon Crouch was his pairs partner. Their first game was against the Channel Islands (Chloe Greecham and Jared Brown) who got off to a good start, 5-0 up after two ends. A fourth end five helped the English pair take the lead but the Channel Islanders retook the lead with two ends to go and took the first set 10-8. Greecham and Brown again started well in the second set, heading into the final end leading by two. That left Crouch and Fowler needed three shots to force a tie break, unfortunately they dropped a shot to lose the second set 6-9. That defeat meant that their remaining two games would decide their final position between fifth and eighth.

Their next game was against the Scotland First team, Bradley Buchan and Darren Weir. This game would determine if their final game was the fifth/sixth play-off or seventh/eighth. The two Scots started well and took the first set 9-4. Crouch and Fowler took first blood in the second set but dropped a second end four. They recovered well to lead 11-4 with three ends left to play. A double and treble brought the deficit down to two but the English duo held their nerve to take the second set 12-9 and force the tie break. Crouch and Fowler continued their good form to win the tie break.

Their opponents in the fifth/sixth play-off would be the other Scottish team, Kimberley Dodds and Alastair Nimmo. A steady start helped Crouch and Fowler reach six ends leading 9-3, Scotland hit back with a pair of doubles but the English duo held on to win 9-8. Scotland hit the ground running in the second set, 6-2 after three ends became 11-2 after six. Both sides increased their scores by three, Scotland taking the set 14-5. The Scots also took the tie break, leaving Crouch and Fowler sixth.

The team for the fours consisted of Imogen Jenner (Swale), Shannon Crouch (Yeovil), Oliver Fowler and Jack Groves (Watchet). These games would be two sets of six ends with a tie break if needed. Their first game was against the second Scottish four of Kimberley Dodds, Megan Kivlin, Carrie McLean and Jack McNab. The Scots opened with a four but the English replied with a double and single. A treble and single left Fowler and co five adrift with one end left, Scotland took the first set 8-5. The tables were turned in the second set, England opened with a four and Scotland responded with a double. England hit a pair of singles and a pair of fours to take the set 14-2 and force a tie break. The Scottish broke English hearts to take the tie break, relegating them to the lower half play-offs.

The Aaron Colman, Shauna O'Neill, Michael Hadley and Sam Barkley representing Ireland were their opponents to decide if they'd be playing for fifth/sixth place or seventh/eighth. Fowler and co dominated the first set, limiting the Irish to one shot on the way to a 10-1 win. Midway through the second set the scores were tied 3-3 but the Irish hit a brace of twos to lead by four heading into the last end. To avoid a tie break the English team needed to score four or more but they could only get three. The English had the last laugh by taking the tie break.

The battle for fifth place saw Fowler and co take on the first Scottish team (Carla Banks, Bradley Buchan, Graeme McLean and Jak Miller). A third end treble gave the Scots a 5-3 lead but Fowler and co cut that down to one with the last end to play, the Scots hit two to win 7-4. A six on the second end for the Scottish team left the English chasing the game, a fifth end five helped cut the deficit but the Scots took the second set 13-6, leaving Fowler and co in sixth place.

Each place was awarded a certain number of points and the points for the team (or teams in the case of England, Scotland and Wales) totalled and divided by four (eight for the sides fielding two teams) to determine where each nation finished. With an average of 7 points England won the gold medal, Scotland took silver with an average of 5.5, Ireland bronze with 3.75, Channel Islands fourth with 3.5 and Wales fifth on 3.38 points.​