Men's A team re-capture Division One form

Stamford Men's A ahead of their match against Louth A: From the left (back row) Martyn Dolby, Keith Rippin, Stephen Harris, Jon Earl, Cliff Watson, Paul Bailey, Wayne Aspinall, Steve Travis, Peter Edwards, Derek King, Richard Allam, Doug Want, Roger Martin. (front) Mick Humphreys, Dusty Miller, Jay Travis-Jenner, Adam Warrington, Mal Smith, John Holroyd, Bob Warters. (Image by Alan Romaine).

CONSOLIDATION was the order of the day for Stamford Men's A team who bounced back from the humiliation of defeat in the Denny Plate the previous day by cruising to a 19-shot win over Louth A in the first division of the Lincs League.

Determined to regain confidence after heavy defeats at the hands of Spalding and North Cave, the Stamford players rallied to take 16 of the 18 points available to get to within two points of leaders Spalding who still have a game in hand.

The overall 106-87 win on four of the five rinks was chiefly down to Stamford adapting better to the pace of the rink which is reputedly at least two yards quicker than what the visitors were used to.

Jon Earl and Martyn Dolby switched positions from the previous day and the move worked well, combining with Stephen Harris and Mick Humphreys to build a 21-2 lead and eventually run out 24-9 winners. It inspired other players to take control, including 18-year-old Jay Travis-Jenner making a welcome return to help Roger Martin's four to score a runaway 26-12 win.

Elsewhere Paul Bailey's rink held a healthy advantage but dropped 10 shots in the last four ends to hang on 20-19, while Wayne Aspinall led steadily for Bob Warters' rink in a 27-15 success.

Result (Stamford names only):

Lincs League Division One: Stamford A 106 (16 pts) Louth A 87 (2). S Harris, M Humphreys, M Dolby, J Earl 24-9; W Aspinall, K Rippin, C Watson, B Warters won 27-15; J Holroyd, J Travis-Jenner, A Warrington, Roger Martin won 26-12; R Allam, D Miller, D King, P Bailey won 20-19; S Travis, Mal Smith, D Want, P Edwards lost 9-32.

Already buoyed by their success in the Denny Plate, Stamford's women bowlers held on to their place at the top of the Lincs Inter-club league, despite a 30-shot defeat at Boston.

Rinks skipped by Flick Rogers and Christine Ford grabbed vital points with narrow wins but overall Stamford were unable to keep the home team at bay on an unfamiliar surface.

Result

Trudy Bates Lincs Women's A League. Boston 108 Stamford 78. B Sims, J Dupree, E Wallace, S Moir lost 30-11; J Want, P Jones, C Warters, D Mackie lost 21-17; M Andrews, M Broadbelt, S Henshaw, F Rogers won 18-16; J Brennan, A Northen, S Suffling, C Ford won 18-15; M MacKellar, M Holden, P Birch, M Bloxham lost 26-14.