NORTHANTS A made a winning start to their defence of the English Bowling Federation’s Derbyshire Trophy, but the county’s B team gave them a good run for their money.
The A team took the honours 92-73 at Peterborough , but when you consider that one of their rinks – Stuart Agger, Graham Agger, Peter Brown – won by 18 shots, it shows just how close it was on the other three rinks.
The A team won on three of the four rinks to collect 12 of the 14 points, but the winning margins on two of them, skipped by John Earl and county president Martyn Dolby, was only three shots.
The consolation win for the B team came from Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton and debutant Mike Anderson, 22-17 against the rink skipped by A team captain Simon Law.
The A team are next in action against North Cambs at Stamford on Sunday, November 24, while the B team host Norfolk at Peterborough on Sunday, November 17 and then North Essex the following Sunday.
RESULT
NORTHANTS A 92 (12), NORTHANTS B 73 (2) – (Northants A rinks first):
Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett, John Earl 22, Malcolm Mitchell, Andy Cox, Roger Martin 19; Paul Dalliday, Michael Jeapes, Simon Law 17, Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson 22; Stuart Agger, Graham Agger, Peter Brown 28, Peter Linnell, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter 10; Michael Humphreys, Wayne Morris, Martyn Dolby 25, Martin Prudhoe, Neil Wright, Mick Linnell 22.
A TEAM representing the NBF were comfortable 125-83 winners against a Peterborough & District team in an inaugural match held in memory of Federation stalwart and former county president Cliff Watson who died earlier this year.
The six rink fours match was held at Peterborough & District, which was Cliff’s home club, and his widow, Sue, was there in what was an emotional afternoon for her.
During the proceedings, county president Martyn Dolby presented outgoing treasurer Les Sharp with an NBF life membership in recognition of his long service to the county, including the last 11 years as treasurer.
RESULT
NBF 125, Peterborough & District 83 (NBF rinks first):
Ollie Jeapes, Owen Aspinall, Martyn Dolby, Simon Law 34, Peter Harvey, Dave Henson, Liz Hext, Graham Agger 5; Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton, Jay Travis, Mike Anderson 18, Nick Corney, Sheila Craig, Les Sharp, Peter Brown 16; Karen & Mick Porter, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter 16, Andy Cox, Melvyn Beck, Mick Greaves, Ray Keating 13; Paul Dalliday, Malcolm Mitchell, Michael Jeapes, Stephen Harris 22, Stuart Agger, Dick Fielding, Joe Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett 18; Peter Linnell, Tony Barwell, Paul Bailey, Roger Martin 19, Tom Polkey, Brian Bassam, Roger Strong Dudley Smith 14; Michael Humphreys, Dean Wilkinson, Wayne Morris, Neil Wright 16, Jeff Clipston, Wilf Redhead, Phil Afford, Mick Linnell 17.
Below: Ally McNaughton, who captained the NBF team, with the Cliff Watson Memorial Shield.
TEAM captain Simon Law has announced his team to begin their defence of the English Bowling Federation’s Derbyshire Trophy against their own B side at Peterborough & District on Saturday, October 12th (2.00pm).
The B team is now under the guidance of Dudley Smith with assistance from Ally McNaughton, but unfortunately the captain is unavailable owing to a family wedding.
Northants A: Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett, John Earl; Paul Dalliday, Michael Jeapes, Simon Law; Stuart Agger, Graham Agger, Peter Brown; Michael Humphreys, Wayne Morris, Martyn Dolby.
Northants B: Peter Linnell, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter; Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson; Malcolm Mitchell, Andy Cox, Roger Martin; Martin Prudhoe, Mick Linnell, Neil Wright.
Dress code for both teams: County shirts, black trousers or shorts.
A MATCH in memory of NBF stalwart Cliff Watson, who sadly passed away earlier this year, has been arranged for Sunday, October 6th (2.00pm).
It will take the form of an indoor match at Peterborough & District between the host club and a team representing the NBF and the intention is to make it an annual fixture on the calendar.
Cliff spent almost thirty years on the county executive and was president between 2012 and 2014. He made 287 appearances for the county and was part of the team that won the Newton Trophy in 1991.
As team captain, he led the county to their first-ever Adams Trophy success in 2015.
NORTHANTS A will begin their defence of the English Bowling Federation’s Derbyshire Trophy, the indoor county championship, against their B team at Peterborough on Saturday, October 12th.
The game is being played on a Saturday to avoid clashes with national indoor cup competitions.
Northants A fixtures: October 12, away to Northants B (Peterborough); November 24, home to North Cambs (Stamford); December 1, home to Hunts (Stamford); February 9, away to North Essex (Turpins); February 16, away to Norfolk (Gallow).
Northants B fixtures: October 12, home to Northants A (Peterborough); November 17, home to Norfolk (Peterborough); November 24, home to North Essex (Peterborough); January 12, away to North Cambs (March); February 9, away to Hunts (Huntingdon).
NORTHANTS bowlers contested five finals at the English Bowling Federation national finals at Skegness, but in the end had to be content with a title double.
It was a case of history repeating itself as bowlers from either end of the age scale claimed the titles just as they did at the indoor finals at Lincoln in April when Ollie Jeapes and Martyn Dolby won the junior and veterans singles respectively.
Fourteen-year-old Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) is now the current holder of both the indoor and outdoor junior singles titles following his success at Skegness and he narrowly missed out on a title double when he was beaten in the final of the under 25 open pairs in partnership with Owen Aspinall.
The talented youngster has the distinction of being the first NBF bowler to win the under 25 outdoor singles, while Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) has become the first NBF representative to successfully defend a national title after winning the veterans singles with an emphatic 21-5 win in the final.
The Blackstones rink of Michael Humphreys, Paul Buckley and Stephen Harris reached the final of the two-bowl triples, but were unable to replicate their earlier form as they lost 19-7 to Notts, while Angela Cox (Langtoft) suffered a similar fate in the four-bowl singles losing 21-5 to Norfolk after close fought wins against North Essex (21-19) and Notts (21-18).
Apart from those five competitions, Northants bowlers only managed to advance from their opening round matches in two other events – Paul Dalliday and Michelle Coleman (Parkway) in the mixed pairs, where they were denied a semi-final place on the last bowl of the match, and Helen Tilley and Elaine Upton (Ketton) in the senior pairs.
Once again clashes with the Bowls England finals at Leamington created problems for several counties, including Northants with the success of the Morton brothers in the national pairs meant both the county’s mixed rinks and three-bowl rinks were force to play one short.
Roger Stevens (Whittlesey Manor) waited on the green for his opening round opponent only to discover he was playing at Leamington in the triples and so went straight into the semi-finals where he was beaten by Norfolk.
Visually the greens at Skegness looked far better than last year, but the undulations remained on most rinks which made judgement of line and length difficult. In fairness, the EBF funded greenkeeper had only six weeks preparation for the championships, and so hopes to improve the levels with an end of season maintenance programme.
RESULTS
FINALISTS
Under 25 singles: Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) bt Hunts 21-9, North Essex 21-18 and Northumberland 21-16 in the final.
Veterans singles: Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) bt Durham 21-8, Norfolk 21-16 and Lincs 21-5 in the final.
Under 25 open pairs: Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) and Owen Aspinall (Blackstones) bt Norfolk 21-4, Lincs 20-7, Humberside 22-17 then lost to Suffolk 18-13 in the final.
Men’s two-bowl rinks: Michael Humphreys, Paul Buckley, Stephen Harris (Blackstones) bt Durham 19-8, Hunts 20-13 then lost 19-7 to Notts in the final.
Women’s four-bowl singles: Angela Cox (Langtoft) bt North Essex 21-19, Notts 21-18 then lost 21-5 to Norfolk in the final.
ONE WIN
MIxed pairs: Paul Dalliday and Michelle Coleman (Parkway) bt Humberside 18-9 then lost 19-18 to Durham.
Women’s senior pairs: Helen Tilley and Elaine Upton (Ketton) bt Norfolk 18-9 then lost 26-10 to Hunts.
OPENING ROUND DEFEATS
MEN
Two-bowl singles: Paul Dalliday (Parkway) 21-16 v Cleveland; Four-bowl singles: Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) 21-19 v Northumberland; Secretary singles: Robert Heath (Yaxley) 21-14 v Lincs; Champion of Champions: Roger Stevens (Whittlesey Manor) 21-8 v Norfolk; Pairs: Graham Agger and Peter Brown (Whittlesey Manor) 18-12 v Humberside; Senior pairs: Dusty Millar and Martyn Dolby (Blackstones) 22-3 v North Essex; Three-bowl rinks: Adam Emery and Trevor Collins (sub) 21-12 v Norfolk; Mixed rinks: Paul Dalliday and Michelle Coleman (Parkway) 21-13 v Northumberland.
WOMEN
Two-bowl singles: Jan McDougall (Crowland) 21-6 v Humberside; Senior singles: Chris Ford (Stamford) 21-9 v Northumberland; Secretary singles: Angela Cox (Langtoft) 21-6 v Lincs; Champion of Champions: Elaine Upton (Ketton) 21-7 v Suffolk; Pairs: Pat Booth and Angela Cox (Langtoft) 18-17 v Humberside; Two-bowl rinks: Carol Warters, Shirley Sufflng, Helen Tilley (Ketton) 21-16 after extra end v Norfolk; Three-bowl rinks: Carol Warters, Shirley Suffling, Helen Tilley sub (Ketton) 22-10 v Lincs.
BELOW: Ollie Jeapes with the Under 25 singles trophy.
BELOW: Angela Cox reached the final of the four-bowl singles
BELOW: Graham Agger retained the veterans singles title.
ALTHOUGH there are still a few weeks of the current season remaining, the NBF management committee are already looking ahead to next year’s county championship campaign.
They are asking players, initially through the clubs, to register their interest in representing the county in next season’s Adams or Newton trophy teams, so they can gauge what kind of support there might be come next May.
Once the fixtures and dates have been established, the clubs will be issued with an availability chart which interested players can fill in before trial matches are arranged in early May.
The registration system is open to all, including existing county squad members, but the county are particularly keen to unearth some new talent to increase both competition and numbers.
If you want to bypass your club’s list, then you can contact the secretary direct on 07752 291103 or email: melvynbeckbowls@outlook.com.
THE draws for the opening rounds of the English Bowling Federation and English Women’s Bowling Federation national championships at Skegness have been released.
The finals week runs from Saturday, August 17 through to Saturday, August 24, but the individual portion of the championships doesn’t start until the Monday afternoon (August 19).
MEN
Two-bowl singles: Paul Dalliday (Parkway) v Cleveland, Thursday, 9.15am (second round same day at 3.15pm); Four-bowl singles: Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) v Northumberland, Tuesday, 4.45pm (second round, Wednesday, 9.15am); U25 singles: Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) v winner of Hunts or Notts, in second round on Thursday, 9.15am; Senior singles: Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) v winner of Hunts or Durham in second round on Wednesday, 11.45am; Secretary singles: Robert Heath (Yaxley) v Lincs, Tuesday, 11.45am (second round on Wednesday, 11.45am); Champion of Champions: Roger Stevens (Whittlesey Manor) v Derbys in second round on Thursday, 2.15pm; Pairs: Graham Agger & Peter Brown (Whittlesey Manor) v Humberside, Tuesday, 10.45am (second round, Thursday, 9.15am); Senior pairs: Dusty Millar & Martyn Dolby (Blackstones) v North Essex, Tuesday, 11.45am (second round, Wednesday, 2.15pm); Mixed pairs: Paul Dalliday & Michelle Coleman (Parkway) v Humberside, Tuesday, 9.15am (second round, Wednesday, 3.15pm); Two-bowl rinks: Michael Humphreys, Paul Buckley, Stephen Harris (Blackstones) v Durham or Lincs in second round on Wednesday, 9.15am; Three-bowl rinks: Adam Emery, Ean & Tristan Morton (Parkway) v Norfolk, Monday, 2.15pm (second round, Tuesday, 9.15am); Mixed rinks: Paul Dalliday, Michelle Coleman, Tristan Morton (Parkway) v Northumberland, Tuesday, 11.45am (second round, Wednesday, 11.45am; Under 25 pairs: Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) & Owen Aspinall (Blackstones) v Norfolk, Thursday, 10.45am (second round same day provisionally at 3.15pm).
WOMEN
Two-bowl singles: Jan McDougall (Crowland) v Humberside, Tuesday, 9.15am (second round, Wednesday, 2.15pm); Four-bowl singles: Angela Cox (Langtoft) v North Essex or Notts in second round on Thursday, 1.45pm); Senior singles: Chris Ford (Stamford) v Northumberland or Derbys in second round on Thursday, 12.15pm; Secretary singles: Angela Cox (Langtoft) v Lincs, Monday, 2.15pm (second round, Tuesday, 1.45pm); Champion of Champions: Elaine Upton (Ketton) v Suffolk, Thursday, 12.15pm (second round, Friday, 9.15am); Pairs: Pat Booth & Angela Cox (Langtoft) v Humberside, Wednesday, 3.15pm; (second round, Thursday, 10.45am); Senior pairs: Helen Tilley & Elaine Upton (Ketton) v Norfolk, Tuesday, 12.15pm (second round, Wednesday, 1.45pm); Two-bowl rinks: Carol Warters, Shirley Suffling, Helen Tilley (Ketton) v Norfolk, Tuesday, 2.15pm (second round, Wednesday, 9.15am); Three-bowl rinks: Carol Warters, Helen Tilley (sub), Shirley Suffling (Ketton) v Lincs, Monday, 2.15pm (second round, Tuesday, 9.15am).
WHITTLESEY Manor retained the NBF’s Adams Cup with a 70-39 victory over Conservative at Yaxley.
They won on all three rinks and gained some consolation for the previous week’s defeat in the Dan Duffy team championship final at the hands of Parkway.
Stuart Agger, Tom Newman-Borret, Zack Brown 32, Linda Toms, Tina Tinklin, Steven Shaw 14; Steve Lander, Mick Linnell, Peter Brown 20, James Welsher, Jean Scallon, Geoff Hutchinson 14; Roger Stevens, Tom Fielding, Graham Agger 18, Pat Brown, Liz Hext, Mark Feakins 11.
BELOW: Whittlesey Manor captain Peter Brown receives the Adams Cup from NBF president Martyn Dolby.
BELOW: Beaten Adams Cup finalists Conservative with NBF president Martyn Dolby.
PARKWAY retained the NBF’s Dan Duffy team championship with an 82-50 win against Whittlesey Manor at City of Peterborough.
They won on three of the four rinks and now go forward to represent the county in next year’s EBF Durham Centenary Trophy.
Their rink wins came from Simon Law (27-8), Tristan Morton (19-11) and Ean Morton (19-12), while the rink of Zack Brown (19-17) produced a consolation win for the Manor.
Neil Wright, Mike Robertson, Tristan Morton 19, Steve Lander, Tom Fielding, Roger Martin 11; Sophie Morton, Paul Dalliday, Simon Law 27, Dave Corney, Phil Symonds, Tom Newman-Borret 8; Craig Campbell, Michelle Coleman, Ean Morton 19, Stuart Agger, Mick Linnell, Peter Brown 12; Ollie Jeapes, Adam Emery, Michael Jeapes 17, Wayne Hubbard, Philip Burbridge, Zack Brown 19.
BELOW: County president Martyn Dolby presents to Dan Duffy Trophy to Parkway captain Tristan Morton.
BELOW: Whittlesey Manor, beaten finalists in the Dan Duffy Trophy.
