NORTHANTS B took four points from their home clash with Norfolk in the Derbyshire Trophy and in doing so may have assisted their A team’s bid to retain the English Bowling Federation’s indoor county championship.

Norfolk are likely to be on of the major challengers for the title and therefore might have expected to claim more than the ten they collected at Peterborough & District in a 105-71 victory.

The rinks of Mick Linnell (23-16) and Kevin Vinter (28-20), whose rink was ten shots down at one stage, provided Northants B with their points, but there were heavy losses suffered by the rinks of Roger Martin (12-32) and Mike Anderson (8-37).

Northants B are back in action again on Sunday (November 24th) when they entertain North Essex, while the A team bid to make it two wins out of two when they host North Cambs at Stamford.

New Northants B captain Dudley Smith comes in for his first appearance of the season in place of Wayne Aspinall, although he has shuffled the pack with only Kevin Vinter’s rink unchanged.

Northants B: Malcolm Mitchell, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson; Pete Linnell, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter; Martin Prudhoe, Andy Cox, Mick Linnell; Neil Wright, Dudley Smith, Roger Martin.

RESULT

NORTHANTS B 71 (4), NORFOLK 105 (10) – (Northants rinks only):

Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson lost 8-37; Martin Prudhoe, Neil Wright, Mick Linnell won 23-16; Pete Linnell, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter won 28-20; Malcolm Mitchell, Andy Cox, Roger Martin lost 12-32.

JESSICA Bolam (City of Peterborough) has been elected president of the Northants Women’s Bowling Federation for a second time.

She received the chain of office from outgoing president Elizabeth Hext (Conservative) at the annual meeting held at Peterborough & District.

In other administrative changes, Shirley Suffling was confirmed as the new match secretary following the resignation of Elizabeth Wallace, but the post of treasurer, formerly held by Chris Ford, remains vacant, as do the posts of deputy president and additional committee members.

Joan Robinson and Viv Hempsell remain as the county team captains,and increasing costs has forced the county to raise match fees for county matches to £20.00 per player.

Below: New NWBF president Jessica Bolam receives the chain of office from outgoing president Elizabeth Hext.

IT will be a case of same again when Northants B host Norfolk in the Derbyshire Trophy match at Peterborough & District on Sunday week (November 17th).

Team captain Dudley Smith has selected the same team that pushed the county’s A team all the way in the opening match of the season last month.

Northants B: Wayne Aspinall, Ally McNaughton, Mike Anderson; Pete Linnell, John Holroyd, Kevin Vinter; Malcolm Mitchell, Andy Cox, Roger Martin; Martin Prudhoe, Neil Wright, Mick Linnell.

The B team are also in action the following Sunday (November 24th) at home to North Essex, and the A team will also be playing that day at home to North Cambs at Stamford, where they will be hoping to make it two wins out of two in their defence of the title.

Northants A: Brian Martin, Tom Newman-Borrett, John Earl; Paul Dalliday, Michael Jeapes, Martyn Dolby; Stuart Agger, Graham Agger, Peter Brown; Michael Humphreys, Wayne Morris, Adam Warrington. Res: Simon Law & Ollie Jeapes.

THE NBF will be operating next year without a President after no nominations for the prestigious role were received at the annual general meeting held at the Parkway Club.

Martyn Dolby’s two-year tenure as President ended at the AGM, but he agreed to remain on the county executive as chairman.

The absence of a President means that all presidential duties will have to be shared out among the county committee, such as the national finals at Lincoln and Skegness.

Also stepping down at the AGM was treasurer Les Sharp, a role he held for 11 years. He received an NBF life membership at the recent memorial match for Cliff Watson, but he is to continue as a member of the committee, where he is joined by Mick Porter (Crowland) and Dudley Smith (City of Peterborough).

Taking over the role as treasurer is Andy Cox, who will combine that role with being secretary/treasurer of the Peterborough League and secretary of the City of Peterborough club. He was previously the reporting accountant.

On the financial front, the county made a small profit of £117.90 during the financial year, leaving them with a balance of just over £7,000.

Dave Corney has moved up from captaining the Newton Trophy team to manage the affairs of the Adams squad, with Brian Bassam succeeding him as the Newton captain. The Derbyshire team captains are Simon Law, who guided Northants A to the title last season, and Dudley Smith, who replaces Ray Keating at the helm of the B team.

Election of officers:

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; Press officer and national delegate, Melvyn Beck; Captains – Adams, Dave Corney; Newton, Brian Bassam; Derbyshire A, Simon Law; Derbyshire B, Dudley Smith; Management committee, Les Sharp, Mick Porter Dudley Smith.

A number of rules were either introduced or amended, and these will come into force from the start of the indoor competitions .

New rule:

3 Arranging games

b) Midweek start times are 6.30pm or by mutual consent. Weekend start times by mutual consent.

Rule amendment:

b) If the first named player/team cannot contact their opponent within the rules then he/they shall contact the Results Secretary.

(The reference in the current rule about sending a letter has been removed)

Rule amendment

Dan Duffy Trophy

1. Each team shall consist of 12 bona fide members of the same affiliated club. Female members may be included.

(This removes the wording ‘but not playing as a rink). It now means that a rink of ladies is permissible.

New rule

Any player refusing to play when selected for either the Adams or Newton teams may be deemed unavailable for that match.

New rule

(Addition to un-started game)

If a home green is deemed unplayable and there is not sufficient time to play the match before the end of the round, then the match will be moved to the opponent’s green. If that green is not available, then the match shall be moved to a neutral green of an affiliated club with both players/teams sharing any rink fees incurred.

New rule

Playing games

j) Any player in singles, named player in pairs and triples or clubs in team events giving walkovers without good reason after they have progressed from their first match may be banned from that competition the following year.

Addition to dress for county finals

Club uniforms registered with the NBF executive committee are acceptable provided all members wear the same.

Addition to playing games

j) Ineligible player

If the disqualified team have played/won further games before the transgression, the competition committee shall set times beyond the given completion dates for the non-offending teams to complete rearranged games.

In the case of a county final, the non-offending team will be allowed to represent the county at the national finals.

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.