Bountiful 'B' Team snatch Victory Local Rivals

They made a good start against Spalding leading by a dozen shots but had stumbled by halfway and trailed by 17 as Spalding got to grips with the recently stretched carpet. But the ‘B’ team are a determined bunch and turned the tables with a late flourish.

Boosted by a seven count on the 12th end Dean Wilkinson’s rink added seven more in four ends to eventually win 28-14. Elsewhere Pete Smith’s four overturned a nine shot deficit to win by one and Martin Hewitt’s four recovered from three shots behind at eight ends to win 19-12.

Though they lost heavily, the remaining rink did their bit by picking up a vital three shots against evergreen Martin Simpson on the penultimate end.

The ‘A’ team also finished strongly - thanks chiefly to the rink of Wayne & Owen Aspinall, Dusty Miller and Jon Earl who were struggling 16 shots adrift with just three of the 21 ends to play and team points slipping away.

But aware that shots were crucial for their team-mates, despite their precarious position, they transformed the match score with three successive four-counts. They lost 24-28 on their rink but earned plaudits from clubmates for their fight back as Stamford claimed 10 of the 14 points at stake in an overall 86-76 victory.

Elsewhere Adam Warrington’s rink finished strongly with five shots in the last two ends to win by nine, while Roger Martin’s quartet built up a 19-9 lead after 13 ends to finally win by eight. Mick Linnell’s rink led 14-12 at 19 ends but finally lost by three.

Results

Lincs League (South) Stamford B 82 (12 pts) Spalding 77 (2) Stamford names only. S Christie, K Rawlins, D Bruce, D Wilkinson won 28-14; H Gordon, G Clarke, N Crees, P Smith won 24-23; P Linnell, M Owens, G Patrickson, M Hewitt won 19-12; J Suffling, R Blake, B Orme, D Henshaw lost 11-28.

Lincs League (South).Grantham 76 (4 pts) Stamford A 86 (10). Stamford names only. P Linnell, A McNaughton, B Warters, R Martin won 23-15; W Aspinall, D Miller, O Aspinall, J Earl lost 24-28; M Humphreys, W Morris, N Wright, A Warrington won 25-16; T Barwell, M Ramsden, C Ballard, M Linnell lost 14-17.

All set for singles

Stamford bowlers will still be hoping home advantage will serve them well when they host the Lincs IBA Sets Singles on Sunday, January 21.

Neil Wright, Chris Ballard and 14 year-old Ollie Jeapes have qualified on their own surface to face Gary Morris (Skegness), Hannah Kitchen (Grantham) and Dan Stanley (Louth) respectively in the preliminary round at 9 am.

Tony Barwell meets  Stephen Harris ( Spalding) at 11 am, with Graham Patrickson taking on Graham Staples (Lincoln) at 1pm.

Winners will play-off for a place in the county semi-finals, hosted by Louth on March 17.

PRESIDENTS GALA

Forms are now available for the Stamford IBC presidents’ triples tournament on Saturday, March 2 with starts at 9.30 and 10.30 am.

Entry is £15 per team for the four session event with cash prizes and points for wins and ends. The local charity The Evergreen Trust will benefit from the event. 

GREAT RESPONSE TO OPEN DAY

The game of indoor bowls appears to be enjoying a renaissance after the trials of Covid lockdown, if the numbers who turned out for the Stamford club’s open day on Sunday is any guide.

Following the pre-event publicity it received, 70 new bowlers took the opportunity to try the sport with support from coaches and experience players.

Commented head coach Keith Rippin: “We were extremely busy all day with potential bowlers from all over the area and beyond and from all age groups, too.

“Many have already booked into our regular Saturday morning coaching sessions and some with previous experience joined as new members on the day.

“Everyone seemed impressed with the facilities and the friendly help they received.”

This was also summed up on line by a man visiting with his teenage son: “We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I always thought I might be too young to take up bowls but now I am tempted to join with the family. “There is also a cafe serving lovely cake!” 

For those who were unable to attend the open day there is still limited space to register from 9.30 on Saturday mornings at the stadium in Exeter Gardens.

For further information visit:
www.stamfordindoorbowls.co.uk

Seniors on the road

Stamford’s Senior team will be looking to improve their position in the southern section of the Lincs Over 60s League , when they visit Spalding on Thursday.

Tony Scarr makes his first appearance of the season as the club look to repeat two strong home wins over Grantham and Sleaford.

Team: J Bourne, M Owens, P Smith, B Warters; D Bruce, C Jones, T Scarr, R Martin; G Patrickson, I Hall, M Hewitt, K Vinter; R Blake, S Miner, K Rippin, J Holroyd.