Double Highlight for Stephen Harris

In the junior series at Ffrith IBC, Harris led for the rink of Isaac Jenner (Swale IBC), Adam Pitfield (Wellingborough) and Spalding skip Jordan Philpott. Conceding four on the first end against Ireland, they lost 20-18 but England won the four-rink match 81-75. Stephen’s quartet followed it with a 19-16 defeat of a Welsh rink to help England to a 76-61 winning margin.

“Last came the big match against Scotland,” he recalls. “Whoever won this, won the series. We started off on our rink in great form to lead 9-0 but unfortunately we couldn’t hold on and drew a tight game 21-21 as Scotland took the overall match and the title 95-68.”

But, he says, the disappointment was tempered by his individual success and a great honour to be named player of the series.

This weekend he travels to Northern Ireland to join Smith in a first round four-bowl pairs in the British Isles championships against two from the Channel Isles on Tuesday. The winners will face Wales in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Within just a few hours he will also make his first appearance for England’s senior team in the bowling cauldron that is the International series against Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

He plays at lead in a star-studded rink which includes current world singles champion Les Gillett (Melton) and former winner Greg Harlow (Ely). Said Greg on Monday I remember him attending the senior trials and unlike many who come to the trials, Stephen settled straight in and played well so here was never any question that he would make the team. I'm delighted to have him on my rink.

Though playing his men’s national competitions out of the Spalding club, who he helped clinch the national inter-club title (Denny Cup) last season, Stephen regularly competes in domestic leagues at the Stamford Indoor Club and in mixed national events with his younger sister Louise.

SPECTACULAR WIN FOR ‘B’ TEAM

Stamford Indoor Bowls Club’s men’s ‘B’ made a spectacular start to their Lincolnshire IBA League season on Sunday defeating southern section champions Boston ‘A’ by 23 shots taking 12 of the 14 points at stake.

Peter Linnell’s team took full advantage of the slower pace of the Stamford carpet as the visitors, despite their experience, failed to adapt to the surface, compared to their own.

The Stamford bowlers never looked in danger, leading by 21 shots at the halfway stage and 26 by the 15th.

Linnell, Martin Wallace, Sam Downs and Darren Middleton took the rink honours with an impressive 27-9 win, claiming 13 shots in seven ends from the 13th after racing into14-2 lead against the evergreen Les Feary.

Maurice Dye’s re-shuffled rink also picked up 17 shots in similar fashion and added a five count on the last end for good measure, while Keith Rippin’s quartet could afford a stumble to still emerge with a six-shot victory.

As for Stamford ‘A’ - opening their fixtures at fortress Spalding, where shots, never mind points, are always hard to come by - they found the home side in uncharitable form, despite the injection of several youngsters into their fold.

From the early ends Spalding were in command and led by more than 30 shots after six ends as Stamford players struggled to read the pace and lines of the carpet or failed to counteract their opponent’s accuracy with heavyweight responses.

While respecting their rivals’ ability, it was a match best resigned to the dark depths of the memory bank, along with those bowls delivered with a ‘wrong bias’ or firing shots completely missing the target!

Next up for the A team a home match on October 15 against Grantham - a team which beat them with the dramatic last bowl of the match last season. Stamford B visit Sleaford on the same day.

Results

Lincs League (South): Spalding 117 (14 pts) Stamford A 46 (0) (Stamford names only): W Aspinall, D Veasey, O Aspinall, C Ballard lost 15-27; P Dalliday, M Ramsden, M Linnell, S Law lost 9-23; R Allam, J Suffling, B Warters, T Collins lost 12-33; T Barwell, D Heffernan, N Wright, Roger Martin lost 10-34

Lincs League (South): Stamford ‘B’ 84 (12) Boston ‘A’ 61 (2): ( Stamford names only): P Linnell, M Wallace, S Downs, D Middleton won 27-9; H Gordon, D Wilkinson, M Owens, A McNaughton lost 9-26; Mick Smith, J Suffling, D Henshaw, K Rippin won 20-14; K Rawlins, R Blake, D Ford, M Dye won 28-13.

FOOTNOTE: Stamford Indoor Bowls Club introduces a Presidents’ Friday afternoon fun roll up from October 14 (4.15pm session) for new and regular bowlers, after which the bar will be open. Candidates should enter their names on the list at the club opposite the bar. Table tennis and pool is also available.