BRIAN Bassam has named an unchanged team for the NBF Newton Trophy match against Suffolk at Whittlesey Manor on Saturday (June 28).

He has resisted making any changes despite their thirty shot defeat away to Norfolk which followed a home victory over Hunts.

Newton team:

Martin Prudhoe, Melvyn Beck, Phil Symonds; Paul Carey, Roger Strong, Mick Greaves; Les Sharp, Andy Dyer, Andrew Cooper; Peter Smith, Andy Cook, Steven Shaw; Andy Cox, Mick Porter, Brian Bassam; Ian Chilvers, Sam Downs, Paul Buckley.

THE NWBF’s Donald Steward team gained their first win of the season with a 117-85 home defeat of North Essex at Blackstones.

They won on four of the five rinks to collect 16 of the 18 points on offer, with wins for the rinks of Chris Ryan, Myra Landsburgh, Ali McCormick and Liz Hext.

Next matches for the county teams are away to Hunts on July 3.

RESULT

DONALD STEWARD TROPHY

NORTHANTS 117 (16), NORTH ESSEX 85 (2) – (Northants rinks only):

Val Du’Kett, Jan Collishaw, Chris Ryan won 24-13; Sally Albany, Karen Porter, Carol Grief lost 17-23; Fiona Richardson, Rita Downs, Myra Landsburgh won 28-16; Terri Handley, Shirley Suffling, Ali McCormick won 18-15; Sheila Craig, Veina Slater, Liz Hext won 30-18.

BOTH NBF county teams suffered their first defeats of the season on their travels to Norfolk.

Having won their opening two matches, the Adams Trophy team went down 174-149 at Great Plumstead as Norfolk made it three wins out of three to top the southern section table.

Northants picked up just three points, with the rink of Craig Campbell, Adam Emery and Peter Brown winning 34-27, while John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter and Stephen Harris shared the spoils at 25 apiece. It was close on two other rinks with Adam Warrington’s rink losing by just one and Graham Agger’s by two.

The Newton Trophy team picked up four points from their 185-155 defeat at the Carters club in Norwich, with Paul Carey, Roger Strong and Mick Greaves winning 40-17 and Peter Smith, Andy Cook and Steven Shaw taking the honours 36-21.

The Adams team are in action at home to North Cambs at Blackstones on Saturday (June 21), and then both teams entertain Suffolk the following Saturday, with the Adams fixture at Parkway and the Newton at Whittlesey Manor.

RESULTS

ADAMS TROPHY

NORTHANTS 149 (3), NORFOLK 174 (19) – (Northants rinks only):

Craig Campbell, Adam Emery, Peter Brown won 34-27; John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter, Stephen Harris drew 25-25; Duncan Lee, Trevor Collins, Graham Agger lost 25-27; Wayne Morris, Michael Humphreys, Adam Warrington lost 28-29; Trevor Smith, Tom Fielding, Martyn Dolby lost 21-33; Ally McNaughton, Dudley Smith, John Earl lost 16-33.

NEWTON TROPHY

NORTHANTS 155 (4), NORFOLK 185 (18) – (Northants rinks only):

Martin Prudhoe, Melvyn Beck, Phil Symonds lost 14-40; Paul Carey, Roger Strong, Mick Greaves won 40-17; Les Sharp, Andy Dyer, Andrew Cooper lost 17-30; Ian Chilvers, Sam Downs, Paul Buckley lost 17-42; Peter Smith, Andy Cook, Steven Shaw won 36-21; Mick Porter, Andy Cox, Brian Bassam lost 31-35.

THE NBF Adams Trophy team made it two wins out of two with a dramatic one shot victory away to North Essex at Radwinter.

They completed a 166-165 victory and a collection of 16 points with a single on the very last end of the match.

It set them up for a crucial fixture away to Norfolk on Saturday (June 14) with both teams having won both their opening games.

The key to Northants’ success was the 52-18 victory for the rink of Wayne Morris, Michael Humphreys and Adam Warrington. There were also wins for the rinks of Martyn Dolby (25-24) and Graham Agger (29-18), while the rink of Kevin Vinter only lost by one.

RESULT

ADAMS TROPHY

NORTHANTS 166 (16), NORTH ESSEX 165 (6) – (Northants rinks only):

Duncan Lee, Trevor Collins, Graham Agger won 29-18; Wayne Morris, Michael Humphreys, Adam Warrington won 52-18; Alec Emery, Dudley Smith, Roger Martin lost 17-38; Ally McNaughton, Neil Wright, Kevin Vinter lost 24-25; Malcolm Mitchell, Tom Fielding, Martyn Dolby won 25-24; Craig Campbell, Zack Brown, Adam Emery lost 19-42.

THE NWBF county teams suffered a second consecutive double defeat this time at the hands of visiting Norfolk.

The Donald Steward team, playing at Blackstones, were unable to register a point in a 161-88 defeat, but the Silver Jubilee team did secure two rink wins for the second game running in a 124-87 defeat at City of Peterborough.

The rink wins for the Silver Jubilee team came from the rinks of Karen Mercer and Sue Mansbridge.

The Donald Steward team are next in action at home to North Essex on June 18, while the Silver Jubilee Vase team’s final match is away to Hunts on July 3.

RESULTS

DONALD STEWARD TROPHY

NORTHANTS 88 (0), NORFOLK 161 (18) – (Northants rinks only):

Fiona Richardson, Jan McDougall, Rita Downs lost 14-34; Sheila Craig, LIz Hext, Veina Slater lost 19-32; Terri Handley, Shirley Suffling, Ali McCormick lost 19-25; Val Du’Kett, Jan Collishaw, Chris Ryan lost 18-29; Sally Albany, Karen Porter, Carol Grief lost 18-41.

SILVER JUBILEE VASE

NORTHANTS 87 (4), NORFOLK 124 (14) – (Northants rinks only):

Jenny Moseley, Julie Nolan, Gill King lost 20-23; Susan Mitchell, Maureen Stone, Sue Mansbridge won 18-13; Julie O’Neill, Caz Bruc, Hazel Bass lost 13-30; Joyce Needham, Linda Toms, Penny Hart lost 16-39; Miriam Hulbert, Chris Frost, Karen Mercer won 20-19.

BELOW: The Northants and Norfolk Silver Jubilee teams line-up with national president Beryl Beresford and county president Jess Bolam.

THE NBF teams opened their county championship campaigns with convincing home victories against local rivals Hunts.

The Adams team stormed to a 180-121 success at Blackstones to collect twenty of the 22 points on offer, while the Newton team, playing at Whittlesey Manor, claimed 18 points from a 163-148 victory.

It therefore meant a winning start for the new team captains – Dave Corney (Adams) and Brian Bassam (Newton).

In the Adams, the rink of Stephen Harris topped the scoring chart, winning by twenty shots (35-15), while the rinks of John Earl, Graham Agger and Adam Emery also topped the thirty shot mark, with Adam Warrington’s rink on 29.

The rink wins for the Newton team came from those skipped by Phil Symonds, Andrew Grief, Mick Greaves and Paul Buckley.

The Adams team are back in action on Saturday (June 7) with a visit to North Essex, while it is a trip to Norfolk next for the Newton, along with the Adams, the following Saturday.

RESULTS

ADAMS TROPHY

NORTHANTS 180 (20), HUNTS 121 (2) – (Northants rinks only):

Martyn Dolby, Darren Middleton, John Earl won 34-17; Wayne Morris, Michael Humphreys, Adam Warrington won 29-20; Trevor Smith, Zack Brown, Stephen Harris won 35-15; Ally McNaughton, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter lost 18-31; Duncan Lee, Tom Newman-Borrett, Graham Agger won 33-22; Craig Campbell, Dudley Smith, Adam Emery won 31-22.

NEWTON TROPHY

NORTHANTS 163 (18), HUNTS 148 (4) – (Northants rinks only):

Dave Roberts, Andy Cook, Steven Shaw lost 21-30; Mick Porter, Andy Cox, Andrew Grief won 25-24; Les Sharp, Andy Dyer, Andrew Cooper lost 16-38; Paul Carey, Roger Strong, Mick Greaves won 33-17; Ian Chilvers, Sam Downs, Paul Buckley won 35-18; Martin Prudhoe, Melvyn Beck, Phil Symonds won 33-21.

THE NBF teams open their county championship programmes at home to Hunts on Saturday (May 31st) with new team captains at the helm.

Dave Corney has stepped up from running the Newton squad to take over the management of the Adams team, with Brian Bassam replacing him.

The Adams match against Hunts at Blackstones begins a run of six consecutive Saturday fixtures having had a bye on the opening weekend. The Newton team, who are in action at Whittlesey Manor, only have four matches with North Cambs and North Essex only having one team.

Adams team: Wayne Morris, Michael Humphreys, Adam Warrington; Martyn Dolby, Darren Middleton, John Earl; Duncan Lee, Trevor Collins, Graham Agger; Ally McNaughton, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter; Trevor Smith, Zack Brown, Stephen Harris; Tom Newman-Borrett, Dudley Smith, Adam Emery.

Newton team: Ian Chilvers, Sam Downs, Paul Buckley; Les Sharp, Andy Dyer, Andrew Cooper; Mick Porter, Andy Cox, Andrew Grief; Paul Carey, Roger Strong, Mick Greaves; Martin Prudhoe, Melvyn Beck, Phil Symonds; Dave Roberts, Andy Cook, Steven Shaw.

HUNTS retained the Dick Noble and Malcolm Squires Memorial Shield after defeating Northants 124-94 at Whittlesey Manor in an annual fixture that on this occasion was classed as a trial match for the Adams Trophy squad.

As it turned out, several members of the squad were unavailable and so half of the 18-strong team were made up of Newton Trophy and club players.

Northants won on two of the six rinks of two-bowl triples – Ally McNaughton, John Holroyd and Kevin Vinter won 22-14 and Dave Roberts, Steven Shaw and Adam Emery claimed the other victory -16-13.

Norma Squires and Sheron Noble, the widows of the late and lamented stalwarts of both the Federation and Association codes, were on hand to present the shield to Hunts team manager Bob Morton

RESULT

NORTHANTS 98, HUNTS 124 (Northants rinks first):

Dave Roberts, Steven Shaw, Adam Emery 16, Glyn & Dale Milbourne, Joe Randall 13; Ally McNaughton, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter 22, Michael Humphreys, Alice Jones, Trevor Collins 14; Mick Porter, Brian Davis, Frank Hall 14, Joe Stevens, James Harford, Simon Law 19; Malcolm Mitchell, Dean Wilkinson, Dudley Smith 14, Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett, John Earl 30; Duncan Lee, Herb Albany, Phil Symonds 14, Matt Nickerson, Tom Fielding, Peter Brown 23; Roger Stevens, David Pusch, Zack Brown 18, Neil Wright, Sam Brugnoli, Mark Franklyn 25

BELOW: Hunts team manager Bob Morton pictured with the Dick Noble and Malcolm Squires Memorial Shield he received from their widows, Norma Squires and Sheron Noble. Looking on are Northants chairman Martyn Dolby and Adams team captain Dave Corney.

THE NWBF county teams opened their new campaign with defeats away to Suffolk, but at least they didn’t come empty handed from their long trip.

The Donald Steward team collected one rink win in their 91-137 defeat courtesy of Liz Hext, Veina Slater and Sheila Craig, while two other rinks only lost by two shots.

The Silver Jubilee Vase team claimed two rink wins against the defending champions in an 89-141 defeat via the rinks of Gill King and Penny Hart.

RESULTS

DONALD STEWARD TROPHY

Northants 91 (2), Suffolk 137 (16) – (Northants rinks only):

Fiona Richardson, Jan McDougall, Rita Downs lost 16-33; Val Du’Kett, Jan Collishaw, Chris Ryan lost 20-22; Sally Albany, Karen Porter, Carol Grief lost 17-19; Liz Hext, Veina Slater, Sheila Craig won 22-21; Terri Handley, Shirley Suffling, Ali McCormick lost 16-42.

SILVER JUBILEE VASE

Northants 89 (4), Suffolk 141 (14) – (Northants rinks only):

Ann Northen, Hazel Bass, Julie O’Neill lost 14-41; Miriam Hulbert, Christine Frost, Lynne Agger lost 13-29; Joyce Needham, Linda Toms, Penny Hart won 20-19; Rhona Morrell, Julie Nolan, Gill King won 29-19; Sue Mitchell, Maureen Stone, Sue Mansbridge lost 13-33.

Both teams are in action at home to Norfolk on June 4, the Steward team at Blackstones with the Vase team playing at City of Peterborough.

BOOKINGS are now being taken for the English Bowling Federation’s Bowls Week at the Potters Resort from February 23-27 next year.

It is a five-star holiday resort on the Norfolk coast near Great Yarmouth with all inclusive food and drink, top class entertainment from the Potters Theatre Company, sports and leisure facilities and a mixed fours bowls tournament, which is optional.

There is a guarantee of four games in the bowls tournament in which each rink must contain at least one man or one woman.

If you are interested, then contact Graham Agger on 07787 124258 or graham.agger@live.co.uk.