MARTYN Dolby (Blackstones) has been installed as the new president of the Northants Bowling Federation.
His appointment was confirmed at the county’s annual general meeting, thus filling this prestigious position that had remained vacant for the past two years.
He will be president for the next two years, but the role of deputy president remains vacant.
There are also new faces filling three of the four team captaincy roles, with Simon Law (Derbyshire A), Ray Keating (Derbyshire B) and Neil Wright (Adams) being elected, with Dave Corney remaining as Newton captain.
There were also changes to the management committee, with Neil Wright and Ally McNaughton coming on board, while life member Barry Lawrence stepped down.
All the principal office holders remain unchanged. Secretary, Melvyn Beck; Treasurer, Les Sharp; Match secretary, Graham Agger; Competition secretary, Melvyn Beck; Results secretary, Cliff Watson; Safeguarding & welfare officer, Peter Brown; Minutes’ secretary, Linda Toms; Management committee, Mick Greaves, James Harford, Dave Corney, Ally McNaughton, Neil Wright.
One new addition to the match programme next season will be a fixture between the NBF and Hunts Bowls at Whittlesey Manor on May 20th, which will act as a county trial match for both codes. This will be in addition to the annual John Dickenson Memorial match between the Federation and Whittlesey Manor.
It was disclosed that next year’s county indoor finals will be at Peterborough & District on Sunday, March 19th, with the outdoor finals at Whittlesey Manor on Sunday, July 23rd.
Next year’s national indoor finals at Newark will run from April 24-30, with Skegness from August 19-26. One change at Skegness will be that all six inter-county finals will be played on the Saturday, leaving Sunday and Monday morning free for the Reg Jackson competition.
The championships proper will start on the Monday afternoon instead of the traditional Tuesday morning, thus providing tournament organisers with an extra half-day to play with.
