Men's County League Battle for Bragging Rights
Points and bragging rights were at stake when Stamford men’s ‘A’ & ‘B’ teams met to dispute their Lincs League (South) fixture. Both had a win under their belt after their first two matches and were determined to prove their in-house credentials.
But it was the ‘A’ team who quickly took the initiative and raced to a 34-10 lead over the four rinks in the first five ends of this 21-end encounter, thanks chiefly to the rinks skipped by Roger Martin and Adam Warrington. Both scored heavily in the early stages, to soon put the overall score beyond doubt.
Stamford's B Team
Indeed it was 13 ends before Warrington’s quartet of Richard Allam, Mick Linnell and Neil Wright conceded a shot, by which time they were 30 shots ahead and went on to win 40-9. Martin’s four led 14-1 after six ends and eventually won 30-11.
Elsewhere, Jon Earl’s rink won 33-14, including a run of 22 shots in seven ends against Darren Middleton.
Bill Orme bowling for the B Team
Richard Allam bowling for the A Team
The ‘B’ team’s only salvation came from the rink of Ally McNaughton, who was outstanding at skip in the latter stages, converting a succession of ‘heads’ against him. They deserved their hard-earned points in a 23-15 win against Trevor Collins.
The win put Stamford ‘A’ at the top of the table temporarily with 26 points with their nearest rivals Sleaford and Spalding yet to record their latest results.
Lincs League (South): Stamford B 57 (2pts) Stamford A 118 (12). Stamford B names first - P Linnell, J Suffling, D Ford, DMiddleton 14, M Humphreys, O Aspinall, J Earl 33; H Gordon, D Bruce, M Owens, A McNaughton 23 W Morris, M Ramsden, B Warters, T Collins 15; R Blake, B Orme, M Hewitt, M Dye 11 W Aspinall, K Rippin, C Ballard, R Martin 30; K Rawlins, C Jones, D Edwards, N Crees 9 R Allam, M Linnell, N Wright, A Warrington 40.
EGHAM DEFEAT
Stamford put up a spirited performance in the Egham Trophy, which demands two mixed rinks playing simultaneously at home and away, but they were ultimately outgunned by a more experienced outfit losing 104-45 on aggregate against Spalding Lightning.
Stamford held their own at both venues for long periods but were unable to stem the flurry of drawing and conversion shots by their opponents and eventually lost by 60 shots. Spalding will meet Barwell in the next round.
Egham Trophy: Spalding 105 Stamford 45. Stamford names only. Home - K Reay, P Jones, I Reay, D King lost 11-25; J Suffling, S Henshaw, S Suffling. M Owens lost 13-33. Away - M King, M Linnell, C Ford, R Martin lost 8-19; R Allam, R March, M Holroyd, K Rippin lost 13-28.
SENIORS BOOST AT BOSTON
Taking ten of the 14 points available from their visit to Boston B, Stamford’s Over 60s team moved a step closer to challenging Lincoln A at the top of the Lincs Over 60s League (South) table.
Their rivals were moved into the Southern Section this season, allegedly because the other northern teams didn’t provide enough serious opposition. They will find out if the switch was successful when they host Stamford on December 8.
At Boston, Stamford were unlucky not to snatch maximum points after the rinks skipped by Kevin Vinter and Trevor Collins, secured the overall points with impressive 32-6 and 22-10 victories. However, Roger Martin’s four stumbled and dropped nine shots in a heartbeat to lose an early lead, while Mick Linnell’s quartet dropped a three-count on the last end to let two vital points slip.
Lincs Over 60s League (South). Boston B 64 (4) Stamford 94 (10).Stamford names only - B Crouch, P Smith, N Crees, M Linnell lost 17-18; J Bourne, D Heffernan, T Christie, K Vinter won 32-6; D King, R Blake, D Henshaw, T Collins won 22-10; T Barwell, S Miner, P Burt, R Martin lost 23-24.
ENTRIES NEEDED
Stamford IBC Club Competition and Christmas Fours entries are fast approaching their respective deadlines November 19 and December 15 and need more entries, with forms available at reception.
The Christmas event takes place on Wednesday, December 28 (9.30 and 10.30 am starts, costing £20 per team. Hot food is available when ordered in advance.
WEEKEND TEAMS
After losing to defending champions Spalding in the Denny Cup, Stamford men have a second chance to shine when they play Grantham on Saturday (10 am) in the Denny Plate for first round losers.
Captain Tony Barwell has re-shuffled his team and included Martyn Dolby at No.3 in an away rink with Wayne Aspinall, Dusty Miller and Jon Earl.
Team: R Allam, N Wright, C Ballard, R Martin; P Dalliday, M Linnell, T Collins, S Law. Away - W Aspinall, D Miller, M Dolby, J Earl; W Morris, O Aspinall, B Warters, A Warrington. Res T Barwell.
Meanwhile Stamford women, following the euphoria of a Yetton Trophy defeat of Sleaford, will face a Spalding side sprinkled with international talent in the second round (10 am).
Team: Home - J Lonslow, P Birch, A Sampy, R March; tbc, R Roberts, S Henshaw, S Suffling. away. - J Brennan, V Du’Kett, M King, C Ford; M Christie, A White, tbc, M Holroyd.
On Sunday, Stamford’s mixed team entertain Grantham in the Lincs League (South) at 2pm:
Team: Margaret King, John Suffling, Rose March, Derek King; Rosemary Roberts, Howard Neath, Shirley Suffling, Bob Warters; Mike Ramsden, Janet Lonslow, Chris Ford, Alec March; Linda Cave, Geordie King, Moira Holroyd, Derek Cave.
FEDERATION LINE-UPS
Northants Federation’s A and B teams compete against North Cambs and Norfolk respectively at Stamford IBC and Peterborough on Sunday (10 am) in the next round of the Derbyshire Trophy inter-county indoor bowls championship.
In the A team Tris Morton and Trevor Collins replace Tony Barwell and Pete Brown and in the B team Richard Allam and Mick Humphreys are included.
A team: Trevor Collins, Michael Jeapes, Adam Warrington; Stuart & Graham Agger, Tristan Morton; Brian Martin, Jon Earl, Martyn Dolby; Paul Dalliday, MIke Robertson, Simon Law.
B team: Terry Corney, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter; Tom Newman, Michael Humphreys, Ray Keating; Jeff Clipston, Cliff Watson, Phil Afford; Richard Allam, Martin & Paul Bailey.