Reg Jackson Trophy winners flanked by national Presidents Trevor Harris and Jean Phillips, from the left Doris Flowers, Graham Agger and Jon Padley.
DAY ONE (TUESDAY)
NORTHANTS Bowling Federation drew first blood at the national championships in Skegness today (Tuesday) when Doris Flowers, Joan Padley and Graham Agger landed the pre-tournament Reg Jackson Trophy mixed rinks event.
For Flowers from the Broadway Yaxley Club, it completed a lifetime ambition, having finish third and second in the past.
With clubmate Padley and Agger, now with Whittlesey Manor, they won all their four two-bowl triples matches and racked up a 41-shot bonus including victories over Northants team-mates Les Sharp, Wendy Stephens and Sue Moir and Janet Duffy with Dave Corney and Mel Beck.
They received the trophy and £225 in prizemoney from national Presidents Trevor Harris and Jean Phillips.
Stamford Town’s Ann Holmes and Richard Allam got the county off to a flying start in the individual events with a 19-14 defeat of V Symmonds and R Hume (Northumberland) and are due to play the Hunts father and daughter duo of Nick and Chloe Brett on Wednesday morning.
Ketton trio Carol Warters, Shirley Suffling and Christine Ford got off to a desperate start in the two bowl rinks, quickly going ten shots behind against Derbyshire, before Suffling steadied the ship, switching to lead with some accurate early bowls to help them draw level at 14-apiece after 15 ends.
However, having pulled back, they could not maintain the momentum and despite picking up three shots on the final end lost 19-18.
Brian Swann and Dick Noble (West Ward) had their chances against North Cambs but frustratingly lost 14 ends to single shots and went down 10-15.
Among the afternoon starters, there was defeat for Paul Dalliday 18-21 to Steve Farrant (Hunts) in the four-bowl singles but victory for Parkway in the mixed triples where, paired with Lee Welsford, Sophie and Tristan Morton were outstanding in defeating North Cambs 18-14.
Blackstones’ Stephen Harris, bidding to win the 2-bowl Under 25 Open pairs for the second time in three years, looked in trouble with new partner Jack Corney (Whittlesey Manor) when they trailed by six against Hunts with just two of the 21 ends remaining.
But switching positions , as the Federation rules allow, Harris led and Corney skipped to pull back two successive three-counts before Corney drew two winning shots on the extra end (20-18).
Another extra end was needed to split Northants and Norfolk in the men’s three-bowl rinks after 18 ends saw Whittlesey Manor’s Roger Stevens, Graham Agger and Martin Welsford tied 15-15. However Norfolk grab the shot they needed to go through.
Similar disappointment for Northants President Tony Mace, paired with wife Rita in the senior mixed, they lost to Dave Adams and his wife (Notts) 27-7.
Conservative trio Margaret Bussey, Liz Hext and Sheila Craig beat Northumberland 26-16 in the three bowl triples but Kath Browning lost to North Cambs 21-5 in the secretaries singles.
DAY TWO (WEDNESDAY)
PARKWAY TRIO Paul Dalliday, Simon Law and Tristan Morton quickly reached the semi-final of the two-bowl triples at Skegness with a 21-12 defeat of Cleveland who had beaten North Cambs 22-10 in the first round.
In the senior women’s singles Sue Moir (Langtoft) scored a memorable 21-9 victory over Karen Weites from Northumberland.
Sadly no joy for Richard Allam and Ann Holmes in the second round of the mixed pairs, comprehensively beaten 24-8 by Hunts’ Nick Brett and his daughter Chloe.
Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) reached the semi-finals of the champion of champions two bowl singles with a 21-19 victory over the multi-titled Wayne Burridge (Norfolk). Sophie and Tris Morton, alongside Lee Welsford reaching a similar stage with a 27-7 demolition of Durham.
In the women’s 4-bowl singles there was a 21-15 triumph for Yaxley veteran Joan Robinson over Humberside’s J Martinson.
Whittlesey Town’s Jenny Farrington and Penny Hart didn’t quite have the ammunition to overcome Nottinghamshire A Duckworth and B Beresford, going down 12-25.
On Wednesday afternoon, Adam Warrington (Blackstones) won his first round 2-bowl singles 21-10 against John Ivatt (North Cambs) but has to waiting until this morning (Friday) for his next match.
Sue Moir (Langtoft) reach the semi-final of the senior singles, beating Notts 21-12 but clubmates Malcolm Cullingworth and Peter White went out to Humberside 21-15 in the men’s pairs.
DAY THREE (Thursday)
For the second time in six years Northants have a chance to win the national two-bowl triples at the English Bowling Federation finals at Skegness but they will have to beat the holders Huntingdonshire to achieve it.
With Tristan Morton unable to skip the rink that had already beaten Cleveland in the quarter-finals because of a commitment to defending his EBA triples with Mike Robertson and brother Euan at Leamington, James Harford stepped in to join fellow Parkway bowlers Paul Dalliday and Simon Law.
And they achieved their goal to reach the final at 2.15pm tomorrow (Friday) with a convincing 23-11 defeat of Humberside.
Northants also have five other opportunities to reach finals after Adam Warrington – already twice a title winner – won his first round 2-bowl singles on Wednesday and meets Colin Hanslip (Humberside) in the second round tomorrow (Friday, 10.45)
Elsewhere, Northants have reached four other singles semi-finals, the first of which is at 9.15am when Graham Agger (Whittlesey Manor) plays Northumberland’s M Hubbard for a place in the final against either Suffolk or Derbyshire.
Stamford Town’s Helen Holroyd (23) notched up two wins on Thursday to reach the semi-final of the Under 25 singles also at 9.15 tomorrow against either Notts or Suffolk, conceding a total of just 13 shots. First she beat H Stothard (Northumberland) 21-4 then outdrew Jasmine Wilson on the A1 end rink 21-9.
Watching the lines closely from the bank ready to start his Veterans Singles match on the same rink, was Bob Warters who had earlier beaten Derbyshire president Colin Sims 21-16 after trailing 10-15.
This time Billy Maddison (Cleveland) was the opponent and Warters followed a similar long jack strategy to Holroyd to run out a 21-14 winner and earn a semi-final spot at 10.45 against Billy Fuller from Durham who beat Skegness specialist Dave Adams (Notts) 21-20.
Completing the quartet of Northants singles semi-finalists will be Langtoft’s Sue Moir, whom earlier in the day lost the women’s pairs with clubmate Anne White to Suffolk 14-19. Sue plays M Dykes from Humberside at 2.15.
At 78, Joan Robinson (Broadway, Yaxley) has proved herself one of the county’s most consistent singles players on any surface over many years but the double champion finally met her match on Day three at Skegness with two defeats at the hands of two bowlers from neighbours Hunts. G Marsh won 21-11 in the two-bowl and T Webb 21-10 in the four-bowl discipline.
Northants had high hopes for the Parkway mixed trio but on a very-hard-to-fathom rink – and without the services of the irrepressible Tris Morton – his wife Sophie, substitute Paul Dalliday and skip Lee Welsford they had to concede 22-15 to Alan Turton’s Notts triple.
There were also defeats for Ketton’s Christine Ford (10-21 to Humberside) in the champion of champions singles and for Andy Grief (Crowland) by a measure, 20-21 in the secretaries singles.
Finally there was double disappointment for Stephen Harris from Blackstones. Paired with Jack Corney (Whittlesey Manor) he failed to regain the Under 25 Open pairs, losing 23-15 to the in-form Gowler brothers from North Cambs. Then in the Under 25 singles that has eluded him for nearly a decade, he went dowjn after a high quality battle with Aaron Stimson (Norfolk).
DAY FOUR (Friday)
With a 23-11 defeat of local rivals Huntingdonshire, Paul Dalliday, Simon Law and Tristan Morton re-captured the English two-bowl triples for Northants Bowling Federation – last won by Blackstones six years ago.
The Parkway trio never looked in danger against Hunts, the holders, whose Richard Wilson, son Scotty and Owen Kennedy from the Hemingford club were always under pressure.
They finally conceded with an end to spare.
Northants have also reached three singles finals to be played at 9.15 tomorrow (Saturday) – featuring Helen Holroyd (Stamford Town), Adam Warrington (Blackstones) and Bob Warters (Ketton).
Holroyd dropped just seven shots in her defeat of her young Suffolk opponent (E Herrieven) and will play 13-year-old Eloise Collins from Derbyshire at 9.15 tomorrow.
Warrington meanwhile was involved in a thriller with Jack Emerson (Notts) with never more than two shots separating the two. However, with the scores at 19-19, the Blackstones bowler produced two superlative drawing shots within inches to snatch victory.
Whether he will get the opportunity to take on Lincolnshire’s Andy Bird in the final, however, is still a mystery. The Sleaford bowler is due on a plane to Holland at 5am on Saturday morning to make arrangements for his daughter’s wedding and may yet concede the match.
Whatever Bird’s circumstances, Warrington must turn up ready to play at 9.15 wait 15 minutes and maybe even deliver a bowl to a bare jack to claim his third national two bowl singles title.
As for Warters, he will be seeking his second national veteran singles title, having first won it in 2015 as county president.
He earned his spot in the final against fellow left-hander Paul Cook (Suffolk) with a nervy 20-17 defeat of Billy Fuller from Durham. The pair were locked on 14-14 before Fuller took a two shot lead, only for Warters to go 20-17 in front then clinch a place in the final on the 31st end.
Sue Moir (Langtoft) was hoping to match Holroyd as a second woman finalist for Northants – this time in the senior singles. But though she produced two outstanding ends to keep in the game against Margaret Dykes (Humberside), she finally lost 21-18.
Northants also had an opportunity for a fourth singles finalist but in the champion of champions, Graham Agger lost 21-18 to his Northumberland opponent Michael Hubbard. However, Agger staged a gritty comeback from 12-19 until agonisingly, a crucial delivery slipped from his grasp.
DAY FIVE (Saturday – see separate story and images) BW
OTHER IMGES FROM SKEGNESS WEEK BELOW:
