Harris nets five titles in five days

Five title feast of Stephen

Stamford bowler Stephen Harris completed a remarkable feast of three national and two county titles in less than five days.

The 28-year-old England indoor international faced a gruelling schedule when he competed in three events at the English Bowling Federation finals at Lincoln before switching to another blue carpet at Sleaford to contest a further two in the Lincolnshire IBA championships.

Paired with Stamford IBC clubmates Mick Humphreys and Tom Newman-Borrett, Harris skipped the trio to the rinks title on Wednesday evening, where after squeezing past Cleveland 19-18, they cruised to the title with wins over Durham and Norfolk.

Next it was on to the singles where Harris accounted for opponents from Humberside, Notts and Suffolk before finally beating Lincolnshire’s Paul Barks 21-17 in the final on Saturday morning - the first  Northants winner since Jeff Newsom in 1989 & ‘98 and Nick Wilkie in 2007.

With barely a break for a breather it was then into the Derbyshire Trophy on an adjoining rink representing Northants alongside his partners in the triples triumph in the 16-man inter county final against Northumberland. 

Fortunately it quickly developed into a one-sided affair as Northants took the initiative to lead 44-21 after just ten of the 25 ends with  their opponents conceding with still, technically, 18 ends to play.

Later that evening, Stephen even had time to fit in a shift helping mum Tracey behind the bar at the Stamford IBC prize giving on Saturday night - picking up more prizes himself - before heading to the Lincs IBA  championships in Sleaford in the morning. 

There he slipped on the Spalding Lightning shirt and joined Martin Spencer, Matt Orrey, and Dominic McVittie in claiming the fours final 20-7 against clubmates skipped by Jordan Philpott.

Within a couple of hours, he took on fellow international McVittie - the current English champion-  in the singles final winning 21-17. 

Two other protégés of the Stamford IBC coaching system Owen Aspinall and Freddie Knapp, similarly representing Spalding Lightning, were also successful at Sleaford. Owen Aspinall (17) took the Under 25 singles and Knapp (13) the junior pairs (with Aidan Brickles) and Under 18 triples with Butters and Jessica Butters.

However, there was disappointment for Stamford’s Christine Ford and Neil Wright beaten in the mixed pairs final by Julie Hicks and McVittie.

FOOTNOTE: Northants were unable to make it four wins in a row in the men’s Eversley Trophy competition for county executives, finishing third of six behind North Cambs and Norfolk. In the women’s equivalent for the Harry Carver Trophy, Northants finished sixth of ten teams.

English Bowling Federation results

Men (Northants representatives only): singles : S Harris beat  Humberside 21-9, Notts 21-14, Suffolk 21-16 and Lincs 21-17; U25 singles: O Jeapes lost 13-21 to Notts in the second round after beating North Essex 21-10; Senior singles: M Dolby lost 12-21 to Durham in the second round after beating North Essex 21-12; Pairs: T Newman-Borrett & I Smith lost 2-19 to Hunts in the opening round; Triples: M Humphreys, T Newman-Borrett & S Harris won the title beating Cleveland 19-18, Durham 19-4 and Norfolk 26-7. Mixed: Pairs: K & L Tuck lost 17-18 in the semi-finals to Lincs after beating Northumberland 22-6 and North Cambs 18-7; Mixed rinks: T Newman-Borrett, M & I Smith lost 2-24 to Lincs in the first round.

Women: Singles: H Brewin lost 5-21 to Lincs in the first round; Senior singles: E Wallace lost 18-21 to Notts in first round ; Pairs: E Wallace and C Ford lost 11-16 in the semi-finals to North Cambs after beating Suffolk 18-10 and Northumberland 20-8; Triples: L Tuck, S Suffling and E Upton lost 16-17 on an extra end to Durham in the second round after beating Humberside.

Derbyshire Trophy final: Northants 86 Northumberland 40. Northants names only: M Humphreys, T Newman-Borrett, S Harris won 21-12; C Ballard, B Martin, P Brown won 25-4; M Dolby, M Linnell, G Agger won 18-13; S Agger, P Dalliday, S Law won 22-11.