Stamford bowlers guaranteed places in National finals

Post date: Mar 10, 2014 8:51:59 PM

Stamford indoor bowls club is guaranteed to have participants in at least two disciplines in the national finals of the English Bowling Federation Championships at Newark in April. And it could be more if results go their way in the seven Northants Federation finals which they contest at Peterborough IBC on Sunday (March 16).

Stephen Harris and defending champion John Bailey face each other in the final of the Under 25 singles while Harris - paired with Peter Edwards - takes on Adam Warrington and Peterborough Parkway player Trevor Collins in the two-bowl pairs final. Warrington's regular partner Martyn Dolby will be on holiday having beaten the Stamford father and son combination of Paul and Jon Bailey 18-4 in the semi-final.

Elsewhere Stamford's Joan Robinson competes in two finals - the senior singles against Whittlesey's Hazel Bass and with Peterborough's Nick Wilkie in the two-bowl mixed pairs against Fiona Richardson and Neil Wright.

Chasing a second Veterans singles in three years is Derek King up against home favourite Joe Martin while Stamford has an interest in both the men's and women's two-bowl triples. Bob Warters, Cliff Watson and Peter Edwards face Howard Shipp, Jeff Newson and Tris Morton and in the women's event Joyce Foster, Margaret Andrews and Glenys Edwards take on Fiona Richardson, Margaret Linnell and Liz Barr.

Full draw:

Women's pairs - P Bussey/D Flowers v C Hunter/J Padley; women's singles - H Bass v J Harvey; U 25 singles - S Harris v J Bailey; Men's singles - A Thurston v S Law; 2pm: Men's pairs - A Warrington/T Collins v S Harris/ P Edwards; Men's Veterans singles - J Martin v D King; Mixed pairs - F Richardson, N Wright v N Wilkie, J Robinson; 4 pm: Women's Senior singles - J Robinson v H Bass; Women's triples - F Richardson/M Linnell/L Barr v J Foster/M Andrews/G Edwards; Men's triples - H Shipp/J Newson/T Morton v B Warters/C Watson/P Edwards; Mixed triples - B Martin/ L Sharpe, C Hunter v K Burrows/J Burrows/J Harvey.

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Stamford's Mixed team, playing in the Lincolnshire Second Division and facing two remaining away matches - at Scunthorpe this weekend and Dunholme on March 29 - have already secured the title and promotion back to the First Division.

The team claimed its latest win on Sunday against bottom of the table Louth B and with 150 points can't be caught by nearest rivals Louth A (120) who have only one game remaining. Stamford conceded three vital rinks points and a 12-6 advantage claiming an overall 114-81 triumph.

Thanks to comprehensive wins by rinks skipped by Alan Barnes (33-7) and Martyn Dolby (34-13), Stamford won the match at a canter after a shaky start and now have an almost unassailable 36 but appreciate they will find the step up back in the top echelon next season a tough challenge against some of the hottest mixed rinks in the county.

Result (Stamford names only)

Lincs Mixed League Division Two: Stamford 114 (12pts), Louth B 81 (6). C Barnes, D Mackie, T Mackie, M Dolby won 34-13; W Kettle, C Warters, S Moir, B Warters lost 20-21; S Harris, M Bloxham, P O'Brien, A Barnes won 33-7; J Brennan, J Dupree, D Ford, J Little lost 14-21; M Ramsden, M Andrews, C Ford, K Rippin lost 13-19.

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John Holroyd and his wife Moira missed out on guaranteeing Stamford a place in the finals of the Lincs County Mixed pairs when they lost to the crack Spalding duo of Judy Clarkson and Calvin Luety at Stamford this week.

Already through are Sharon Bailey and Martyn Dolby, 31-3 conquerors of Dave Chandley (Sleaford) and it looked like the Holroyds might join them for an all-Stamford shoot-out when they led 15-11 at halfway. But the Spalding pair got control of the surface and finally ran out 24-16 winners to earn a place among the last four couples.

Dolby is also in the semi-finals of the pairs with Mike Ramsden having beaten Boston's Adrian Field and Simon Reeson 20-2 and now face Spalding's Ekins and Aves in the last four.

Wayne Morris, Jonathan Earl and Martin Bailey had hoped to join them in the triples event but were well beaten on their home surface - 21-3 by Louth on Sunday.

In the Lincs County women's triples at Lincoln, Stamford's June Brennan, Anita Edwards and Christine Ford, missed a golden chance to reach the semi-finals when they held a comfortable lead against home favourites Lincoln 'A'. But when they dropped a five on the penultimate end they could not recover.

Earlier they had beaten Boston B by six while Stamford's other trio - Anna Martin, Margaret Bloxham and Pearl O'Brien - never regained the initiative against Sleaford B after falling behind early on.

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A team of 26 Stamford and Peterborough bowlers acquitted themselves well on the English Bowling Federation tour at the Potters Resort at Great Yarmouth with the rink of Tony and Denise Mackie and Lorna and Peter Banks reaching the semi-finals for the second successive year only to lose to Notts by two shots.

Mike Ramsden, Keith Rippin and Christine and Dick Ford lost to Notts in the quarter-finals having made it through on an extra-end tie-break while Dennis Stapleton, Maggie, Holden, Jenny Cooper and Derek Veasey did well to win three of their four round-robin matches.