Thrilling win for Stamford duo against ex-World champion

Post date: Feb 2, 2015 12:16:03 PM

STAMFORD BOWLERS Stephen Harris and Martyn Dolby scored a memorable success over Lincoln's Danny Brown and former world indoor singles champion Billy Jackson to reach the national finals of the English indoor pairs to be played at Melton IBC on Friday, April 3 writes Bob Warters.

Both settled quickly to the unfamiliar Boston IBC surface and won three of the first four ends to lead 8-4 then added five more when Jackson fired, only to take his nearest bowls out of the head and leave the Stamford pair with a 13-4 lead.

The 2012 world indoor No.1 was forced to play more firing shots, with the Stamford pair piling on the pressure and achieved some success with four shots on the 15th end. But a failed attempt to kill the penultimate end finally sealed their fate leaving Harris and Dolby comprehensive winners 22-12.

Said Dolby : 'It was refreshing to play against two quality players whose demeanor on the green was exemplary. They were very complimentary and a pleasure to bowl against and hopefully our performance enhanced the reputation of Stamford Indoor Bowls Club.'

Dolby also skips the Over 60s rink of Bob Warters, Peter Edwards and Roger Martin which entertains John Mildren's Nottingham quartet at Stamford at noon on Saturday (Feb 7) in the inter area semi-final.

Lincolnshire county competitions are proving fruitful for other Stamford bowlers just a couple of steps from reaching the finals due to be staged at Sleaford on April 19.

Malcolm Cullingworth, Mike Ramsden, Cliff Watson and Roger Martin collected notable scalps at Spalding in the county rinks against Simon Lilley's quartet.

They built up a convincing lead after 16 ends before dropping four shots and had a further four against them before Martin drew in to clinch the tie 23-11.

Watson was also outstanding at Boston, skipping 15-year-old prospect Jay Travis-Jenner in the county pairs against D Allan and T Nunn. They trailed 15-22 with four ends to play but fought back to force the match into an extra end and clinched a home tie with Sleaford 24-23.

Adam Warrington reached the third round of the Northants Federation four bowl singles with a 21-20 defeat of clubmate Derek King.

He trailed 20-18 but snatched a three count to claim the tie in a dramatic finish. Other results included a 21-14 defeat of Stephen Harris by John Holroyd and a 21-7 win over former winner Cliff Watson by Howard Shipp at Peterborough.

In the women's veteran singles Chris Ford faces Sheila Craig at Peterborough in the semi-final after defeating Fiona Richardson 21-15.

Craig beat Stamford's Joan Robinson 21-20 in a thrilling finish. Robinson trailed 16-20 but grabbed four shots to tie the match only for Craig to kill two more ends before finally snapping up the one shot she needed.

In the men's over 65 singles Denis Henshaw beat Malcolm Squires 21-19 - an excellent result on the Peterborough carpet.

In the women's pairs Shirley Suffling and Margaret Andrews won through to the semi-finals as did Valerie Du'Kett and Carol Warters with 20-18 defeat of Sheila Craig and Liz Hext at Peterborough.

With an convincing 101-88 win at Long Sutton B, Stamford's Men's B team leapt up to third place in the Lincs County League Third Division thanks to the 14 points they collected.

Much of the credit goes to John Shellard, Melvin DeCamps, Alan Barnes and Martin Hewitt who chalked up a handsome 34-10 victory to help secure the points alongside winning skips Albert Horton and Peter Banks.

Result (Stamford names only):

Lincs League Division Three: Long Sutton B 88 (4pts) Stamford B 101 (14) T Barwell, W Kettle, N Graham, J Geary lost 13-26, C Jones., P Rhodes, B Acock, A Horton won 20-11, P Pheasant, D Veasey, M Humphreys, D Henshaw lost 15-26, D Howarth, C Ballard, T Mackie, P Banks won 19-15, J Shellard, M DeCamps, A Barnes, M Hewitt won 34-10.

Stamford's Over 60s League team, chasing promotion from the second division of the county league slipped up at home to fellow challengers Lincoln C, following an outstanding win against Sleaford.

They held a 10-shot lead overall going into the last end of the match against the City's C team but a little panic set in and when a couple of heavy home bowls failed to hit their target, suddenly found themselves three behind and facing defeat.

It needed an accurate trail by Mick Owens and a last bowl saver from John Geary to salvage an overall tie (100 shots apiece) and seven vital points to keep their hopes of promotion alive.

Against Sleaford, David Howarth, George Cameron, Terry Weaver and Alec March were in no mood for charity, however, and overcame their opposition 35-2 to set up an overall 31-shot triumph, claiming 14-6 points win.

Results (Stamford names only)

Lincs Over 60s League Division Two: Stamford 107 (14) Sleaford 76 (4). N Kettle, W Kettle, R Harvey, T Freeman lost 16-21, A Lonslow, R Graham, P Cox, P Banks lost 10-25, A Chapman, D Veasey, D Heffernan, D Henshaw won 22-9, D Howarth, G Cameron, T Weaver, A March won 35-2, T Barwell, P Pheasant, T Mackie, J Geary won 24-19.

Lincs Over 60s League Division Two: Stamford 100 (7) Lincoln C 100 (11). A Chapman, D Veasey, D Heffernan, D Henshaw lost 17-30, W Kettle, T Freeman, R Harvey, K Vinter lost 15-24, D Howarth, G Cameron, T Weaver, A March drew 20-20, T Barwell, T Mackie, M Owens, J Geary won 33-7, A Lonslow, P Pheasant, P Banks, A Horton lost 15-19.

A friendly report courtesy of the Friendly Captain Dennis Stapleton:

LENGTH, line and luck, but not necessary in that order, is one of those phrases that frequently trips off the tongue wherever our fascinating, but frustrating at times, game of bowls is played. It was certainly appropriate on rink five in our latest Saturday Friendly against Huntingdon. Our lead, Daphne Lowe got the length and line more or less spot on every end. Unfortunately all the luck went Huntingdon's way with their trio sharing it amongst themselves most of the afternoon. We didn't get off to a good start on that rink either when the first words their skip, known to his team mates as 'Roger the Dodger', said to our skip was " I've beaten Nick Brett", which he took great delight in repeating on every end. This sent our skip, an instantly 'Desparate Den' , scurrying for his nerve tablets. The result six down after two ends. Things did improve, when the tablets kicked in, but it shows the old pyschology trick not only works during final of the Australian Tennis Open, but also at Stamford IBC on a Saturday afternoon. On a more rewarding note, our best rink was skipped by newcomer to our ranks, Doug Ellis, who was on loan from Deeping' s Friendly team. A serious bid for his transfer will be made later this week. We did lose overall by 109 - 86. But as that other well know sporting phrase says, " It's not the winning but the taking part that counts".

For the rest of Weekend Friendly Fixtures and the Team sheets see the notice board opposite the bar. If you don't already put your name down for selection have a go. By gum, it's fun !

Rink scores (Stamford names only) : Arthur Chapman, Serena Brunning, Arthur Lonslow won 17-10; Rosemary Roberts, Peter Almond, Bob Burton lost 13-21; James Hebden, Nancy Corby, Trevor Christie won 18-13; Kevin Toner, Margaret Grainger, Tim Stokes lost 8-33; Daphne Lowe, Maggie Holden, Denis Stapleton lost 10-17.