NORTHANTS A have made one enforced change for the second Derbyshire Trophy fixture of the season away to North Cambs at March on Sunday, November 23 (10.00am).
Chris Ballard has been called up to replace the unavailable Tom Newman-Borrett, otherwise the team is the same as opened the campaign with an 11 points to three win against their own B team.
Northants A: Chris Ballard, Brian Martin, Peter Brown; Stuart Agger, Paul Dalliday, Simon Law; Martyn Dolby, Mick Linnell, Graham Agger; Michael Humphreys, Wayne Morris, Adam Warrington.
FOR the second year running the NBF will not have a President after no nominations were received for the post at the annual general meeting.
The NBF were one of only two counties out of the 13 affiliated to the EBF who operated without a President this year and to have the role vacant again will do little for the county’s standing within the EBF.
As proved this year it is possible to function without a figurehead, but it does add increased pressure on the executive officers who have to undertake presidential duties between them in addition to fulfilling their existing roles.
Martyn Dolby, who took over as NBF chairman last year after completing a two-year tenure as President, told the club delegates that it was disappointing not to have a nomination for the post and added that it was embarrassing when hosting presidents from visiting counties.
In his report, secretary Melvyn Beck informed the meeting that Barnack had affiliated to the NBF which means there are now 18 clubs on board and he also expressed the wish for a few more prize winners to attend the presentation luncheon which was once again a success.
The NBF are planning to get tougher with players who give walkovers after progressing from their opening matches and for those who fail to attend county and national finals. In both instances a one-season ban will apply from that one competition, subject to an appeal if the offending party feels they have a genuine case.
A change to the competition rules will require players to accept dates from opponents within two days and not three as it currently stands. It was felt that ways of communication had increased significantly since the rule was introduced some years ago and therefore a maximum two days should be sufficient to contact other team members.
As from next season, players will be have the option of wearing black trousers or shorts in county finals as an additional option to white or a club uniform, but all team members must wear the same colour.
With triples from Hunts and North Cambs at Skegness not wearing their respective county shirts for whatever reason, the NBF have decided to include a rule to ensure that all their players in national finals wear a county shirt.
One significant change in the club competitions next year will see teams in the Dan Duffy Trophy playing 25 ends instead of 21 and there is the prospect of the final, along with the Adams Cup decider, being played on a Sunday afternoon late in the season.
The winner of the Dan Duffy Trophy progresses to the regional round of the Durham Centenary Trophy the following year and that competition is played over 25 ends so therefore it made sense to adopt the the same number of ends for our county event.
Competition secretary Melvyn Beck confirmed that next year’s outdoor finals at Parkway would be held over the weekend of July 18/19, a week later than this year owing to the fact that Skegness is going back a week to August 22.
The new concept of a weekend finals is aimed at easing the physical demands on players who qualify in several finals and will allow them to compete in them all rather than having to bring in substitutes because of a congested one-day programme.
The indoor finals will be hosted by the Stamford club on Sunday, March 8th, two weeks later than last season. The national finals start at Lincoln on April 20th
Treasurer Andy Cox, presenting his first set of accounts after taking over the reins last year from Les Sharp, reported a deficit on the year of £1,650.18, which left the county with a balance of £6,168.95.
With Les Sharp standing down from the committee after a number of years service, including ten years as treasurer, plus more than a 100 county appearances and service to the county and nationally as an umpire, chairman Martyn Dolby presented him with a farewell gift to add to the life membership he received last season.
All the officers were elected en-bloc, while new faces on the management committee are new Adams team captain Adam Emery – he takes over from Dave Corney who stood down – and John Holroyd.
Officers elected: chairman, Martyn Dolby; secretary, Melvyn Beck; treasurer, Andy Cox; match secretary, Graham Agger; competition secretary, Melvyn Beck; results secretary, Ally McNaughton; minutes’ secretary, Linda Toms; safeguarding and welfare officer, Peter Brown; press officer and NDC delegate, Melvyn Beck; Adams captain, Adam Emery; Newton captain, Brian Bassam; Derbyshire A captain, Simon Law; Derbyshire B captain, Dudley Smith; management committee, Dudley Smith, Adam Emery, John Holroyd.
Below: Les Sharp receives his farewell gift from NBF chairman Martyn Dolby.
SIMON Law’s Northants A team opened their bid to regain the English Bowling Federation’s Derbyshire Trophy they won last year by defeating their own B side 116-75 at Stamford to secure 11 of the 14 points on offer.
However, the match was much more competitive than the final scoreline suggests as at the halfway stage Dudley Smith’s B team led on three of the four rinks before the A side took control in the second half.
The rink of Stuart Agger, Paul Dalliday and Simon Law powered their way from 6-2 down to demolish Smith’s rink of Martin Prudhoe and Tien Ngo 42-17, a result that more or less guaranteed the A team would win overall from some way out.
Not far behind was the rink of Martyn Dolby, Mick Linnell and Graham Agger who from 13-13 after 14 ends against Peter Linnell, Ally McNaughton and Mike Anderson scored 24 shots to two over the last 11 ends to win 37-15.
Adam Warrington’s rink of Wayne Morris and Michael Humphreys trailed Peter Smith, Kevin Vinter and Roger Martin 19-11 with just six ends left, but came back to draw 21-21.
The B team’s solitary rink success came from John Holroyd, Andy Cox and Trevor Collins who kept the rink of Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett and Peter Brown at arm’s length after hitting the front on the eighth end before running out 22-16 winners.
RESULT
NORTHANTS A 116 (11), NORTHANTS B 75 (3) – (A team rinks first):
Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett, Peter Brown 16, John Holroyd, Andy Cox, Trevor Collins 22; Martyn Dolby, Mick Linnell, Graham Agger 37, Peter Linnell, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson 15; Stuart Agger, Paul Dalliday, Simon Law 42, Martin Prudhoe, Tien Ngo, Dudley Smith 17; Michael Humphreys, Wayne Morris, Adam Warrington 21, Peter Smith, Kevin Vinter, Roger Martin 21.
THE EBF’s Derbyshire Trophy, the indoor county championship, gets under way on Saturday, October 11th, when the county’s A and B teams collide at Stamford (2.00pm).
The A team, under the captaincy of Simon Law, will be looking to regain the title they won at Lincoln last year.
He has named his team, which includes Mick Linnell, who has stepped up from the B side to replace unavailable John Earl.
Dudley Smith’s B team includes debutants Peter Smith and Tien Ngo.
Derbyshire A: Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett, Peter Brown; Stuart Agger, Paul Dalliday, Simon Law; Martyn Dolby, Mick Linnell, Graham Agger; Michael Humphreys, Wayne Morris, Adam Warrington.
Derbyshire B: Malcolm Mitchell, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson; John Holroyd, Andy Cox, Kevin Vinter; Martin Prudhoe, Tien Ngo, Dudley Smith; Neil Wright, Peter Smith, Roger Martin.
THE second staging of the Cliff Watson Memorial indoor match saw an NBF representative team retain the Shield at the expense of host club Peterborough & District, the final result in a six rink three-bowl triples match was 120-103.
Cliff was a loyal and long-serving member of the NBF committee for close on thirty years, and also played for Peterborough & District indoors and out.
Cliff’s widow Sue was on hand to present the Shield to NBF chairman Martyn Dolby after the post-match buffet.
RESULT
Peterborough & District 103, NBF 120 (District rinks first):
George Kitchen, Tien Ngo, Dudley Smith 18, Wayne Aspinall, Wayne Morris, Trevor Collins 15; Martin Hawkes, Mick Thurling, Ben Wilson 29, Ally McNaughton, Paul Buckley, Mike Anderson 7; John Thurston, Brian Bassam, Joe Martin 8, John Holroyd, Paul Bailey, Kevin Vinter 28; Sam Hunter, Terry English, Mick Linnell 12, Michael Humphreys, Owen Aspinall, Adam Warrington 25; Dave Corney, Dick Fielding, Peter Brown 17, Paul Dalliday, Martyn Dolby, Simon Law 27; Peter Harvey, Steve Watson, Graham Agger 19, Melvyn Beck, Neil Wright, Roger Martin 18.
Below: Cliff Watson’s widow Sue presents the Memorial Shield to NBF chairman Martyn Dolby.
COUNTY bowlers celebrated a record haul of English Bowling Federation indoor national titles at the NBF/NWBF presentation luncheon held at the Ellindon Banqueting Suite, Bretton.
Young Ollie Jeapes and NBF chairman Martyn Dolby retained the junior and senior singles respectively at Lincoln in April; Paul Dalliday, Simon Law and Triston Morton claimed the triples crown and the county executive team won the Eversley Trophy for the third year running.
The outdoor finals at Skegness were not quite as successful, although Parkway became the first club from the county to win the Durham Centenary Trophy, the EBF’s club championship.
Graham Agger came agonisingly close to completing a hat-trick of veterans singles titles, losing 21-19 in the final, while Shirley Suffling reached the final of the two-bowl singles.
EBF president David Thomas was guest of honour at the luncheon and presented the national and county trophies. Unfortunately, EWBF president Beryl Beresford was unable to attend at the last minute owing to illness, so NWBF president Jess Bolam proposed a toast to the NWBF.
The EBF president proposed a toast to the NBF to which NBF chairman Martyn Dolby responded.
Graham Agger and Neil Wright were named Derbyshire A and B team ‘Players of the Year’ respectively, while Adam Warrington and Peter Smith received the accolades for the Adams and Newton teams respectively.
THE NBF and NWBF have agreed to experiment with a county finals weekend next year in a bid to ease the burden on players qualifying in several events.
This year two players, Martyn Dolby and Sue Seed, both qualified in no fewer than six finals which meant they had to put a substitute in one of the events while attempting to play the other five.
The finals will take place at the Parkway club on the weekend of July 18/19, one week later than this year owing to the Skegness finals going back a week to August 22-29.
THE second Cliff Watson Memorial indoor match between a Northants Bowling Federation representative team and Peterborough & District takes place at the Peterborough & District club on Sunday, September 28th at 2.00pm.
Any interested in playing in this match to mark the memory of the Federation stalwart should contact either Graham Agger on 07787 124258 or Martyn Dolby on 07756 958620.
THE NWBF are organising an Xmas Super Prize Bingo at the Peterborough & District Bowls Club on Saturday, December 13th at 7.00pm in aid of county funds.
Tickets cost £10.00 which includes all books and light refreshments.
FOR only the second time since 2017, Northants bowlers returned empty handed from the individual portion of the English Bowling Federation national finals at Skegness.
Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) made a bold bid for a hat-trick of veterans singles titles only to lose 21-19 in the final to Lincolnshire’s Mick Thompson, while Shirley Suffling (Ketton) let slip an 18-13 lead in the two-bowl singles decider against Northumberland’s Naomi Scott.
Stephen Harris (Blackstones) reached the semi-finals of the four-bowl singles; the Ketton triple of Shirley Suffling, Elaine Upton and Helen Tilley made the last four in the two-bowl rinks as did Parkway’s Paul Dalliday, Simon Law and Tristan Morton in the men’s equivalent, although they played one short in the semi-final with Law and Morton having departed for the Bowls England fours at Leamington and Parkway’s Karen Martin and James Harford also fell at the semi-final stage.
Defending junior singles champion Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) went out in the opening round this time, while Stamford secretary Sue Seed, who had qualified in four events, unfortunately lost in the opening round of all of them, one on an extra end.
There was a very slight improvement in the standard of the greens, certainly from a visual perspective, but the levels still left something to be desired, which made line and length difficult to judge on many of the rinks.
MEN
2b singles – John Holroyd (Stamford) lost 12-21 to Suffolk in first round; 4b singles – Stephen Harris (Blackstones) lost 14-21 in the semi-finals to Derbyshire after wins against Cleveland 21-13 and Suffolk 21-17; U25 singles – Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) lost 12-21 to Suffolk in first round; Veterans singles – Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) lost 19-21 in the final wins against Notts 21-10, North Cambs 21-8 and Norfolk 21-15; Secretary singles – Andy Cox (City of Peterborough) lost 13-21 to Durham in the second round after beating Hunts 21-18; Champion of Champions singles – Stuart Agger (Whittlesey Manor) lost his opening round match 17-21 to Cleveland; Pairs – Paul Martlew & Martyn Dolby (Blackstones) lost 18-19 after extra end against Suffolk in first round; Mixed pairs – Karen Martin & James Harford (Parkway) lost 10-19 to Derbyshire in the semi-finals after wins against Norfolk 18-15 and Hunts 19-12; Senior pairs – Neil Crees & John Holroyd (Stamford) lost 11-16 to Humberside in first round; Senior mixed pairs – Kevin Vinter & Sue Seed (Stamford) lost 15-17 after extra end to Hunts in first round; 2b rinks – Paul Dalliday, Simon Law, Tristan Morton (Parkway) lost 6-23 to North Cambs in semi-finals after wins against Lincs 22-12 and Norfolk 19-12; 3b rinks – Michael Humphreys, Paul Buckley, Stephen Harris (Blackstones) lost 1-21 to Lincs in the second round after beating Cleveland 23-8; Mixed rinks – Sophie Morton, Simon Law, Tristan Morton (Parkway) lost 12-22 to North Essex in first round; Under 25 pairs – Ollie Jeapes (Parkway) & Owen Aspinall (Blackstones) lost 11-20 to North Cambs in first round.
WOMEN
2b singles – Shirley Suffling (Ketton) lost 18-21 in final to Northumberland after wins against North Essex 21-14 and Notts 21-10; 4b singles – Linda Toms (Conservative) lost 9-21 to North Essex in first round; U25 singles – Caitlin Dalliday (Parkway) lost 17-21 to Lincs in first round; Senior singles – Elaine Upton (Ketton) lost 11-21 to Northumberland in her first match; Secretary singles – Sue Seed (Stamford) lost 15-21 to Lincs in first round; Champion of Champions singles – Sue Seed (Stamford) lost 18-21 to North Essex in first round; Pairs – Tina Tinklin (sub) & Sheila Craig (Conservative) lost 17-18 to Humberside in first round; Senior pairs – Fiona Richardson & Jess Bolam (City of Peterborough) lost 6-25 to Suffolk in first round; 2b rinks – Shirley Suffling, Elaine Upton, Helen Tilley (Ketton) lost 19-23 to Lincs in the semi-finals after beating North Essex 28-12; 3b rinks – Chrissie Baker, Sue Seed, Chris Ford (Stamford) lost 8-23 to Durham in first round.
