Cumbria Four in bid to continue club’s success
Last updated 11:22, Thursday, 03 April 2008
CUMBRIA Indoor Bowls Club has already had a great season, Craig Docherty winning the British Isles Singles, Danny May the EIBA Junior Singles and the women’s Lingford team winning the national title as well as the men winning the Denny Cup.
And it could get even better as both men and women make the trip to Nottingham over the next week in search of further glory at the national championships.
Paul Barlow, Ian Gallagher, Gavin Taylor and Stephen Farish travel tomorrow to play in the fours.
Their first-round opponents are a useful four skipped by junior international Neil Smith of Westlecott but they should have too much class for them. And in the second round they will meet either Craig Cooper from West Denton or former national singles outdoor champion Richard Bray of Bodmin. The Cumbria four is a good solid four and must have every chance of a good run at least.
In the triples, the Carlisle Club will be represented by the 2003 champions Craig Docherty, Trevor Taylor and Stephen Farish and once more having been there and done that there is no reason to think that they cannot do it again.
True one always needs a little luck to win titles at this level but they must surely be thereabouts once more.
In the first round they should be able to overcome Dave Howes of Cotswold but then look likely to face a much sterner test if as seems likely Bill Jackson of Lincoln wins his first round tie.
In the pairs Eddie Murray will be making his first appearance at the national championships and will lead for Gavin Taylor.
Eddie has been a regular Denny player for some time now and the occasion will certainly not get the better of him and if Taylor gets the anticipated good run in the fours then this will be another chance for the Cumbrians to shine.
In round one they will meet Glen Allen of Exonia and if successful they too will then face a sterner test, as Mark Royal of Mid Suffolk looks likely to provide the second round opposition.
In the Singles Mark Nanson will be a surprise package to many but Mark has shown steady improvement over the past few years and he is a most competitive player who if he can only show some restraint on the odd occasion could certainly cause a surprise for some of the better fancied players in the national field.
He has not been given the easiest of first round ties being matched against Chris Young of Wey Valley but remember what Craig Docherty did last year when faced with an much harder first round game.
The ladies nationals are also taking place at Nottingham though Cumbria IBC is represented only in the Two Wood Triples where Penny Peile, Christine Wharton and Jackie Bewley will be doing their best to continue to club’s excellent record to date.
The end of the national signal will signal the virtual the end of the indoor season but not quite for on Tuesday April 15 the Club finals week commences in Cumbria Indoor Bowls Club. Thirteen finals will be concluded over four evenings and they provide some excellent entertainment for the many spectators who come along to support the players.
All the outstanding semi-finals have been completed in the last week and as a result there are some most interesting games in prospect.
In the Restricted Mixed Pairs, Angela and Fred Whiting held on well to beat Caroline and Anthony Little and will play Margaret Johnstone and Geordie McCulloch.
In the Ladies Restricted Barbara Aitken and Aileen McGuiness play Kate Forster and Ann Henderson who picked up a late six to beat Margaret Stedman.
The Gents Pairs looks likely to be a competitive battle with former winners George Braithwaite and Michael Dewhurst, who required a extra end for their win, facing Alan Carruthers and Jim Morris who picked up a two on the last to beat Ron McMath by a shot.
In the Restricted Gents Singles Bill Adam a player who has never won as much as his ability entitled him to, defeated Bill Bryce and looked likely to face John Crozier when he led Eddie McGarr 20-9.
That 21st shot can be the very devil to score however and so it proved here as McGarr won the next eight ends picking up four twos and four singles in a 30-end marathon to score a famous victory.
In the Ladies Singles Jean Morris held the upper hand in her game against Sandra Parker but the latter player came from behind to win 21-13 and will play Joyce Hodgson who had too much experience for relative newcomer Julie Thomas who was nevertheless far from disgraced.
In the Mixed Fours there were easy wins for Gavin Taylor and Rae Graham while in the Mixed Triples Trevor Taylor just held on against Dennis Devlin and will meet Joe Menzies who came out on top in a high scoring encounter against Bill Bryce.
In the Mixed Pairs Trevor Taylor had to conceded to Karen Edmondson and Rick Gallagher and they will play Sue and Dennis Devlin who proved too strong for Betty Lindsay and Eddie Murray.
In the gents pairs Stuart Airey and Trevor Taylor will play Mark Nanson and Rick Gallagher who had a good battle before getting the better of Ron McMath.
In the ladies Pairs there was something of a surprise when Victoria Kyle and Christine Wharton scored an excellent win over Jackie Wilson and Janice Gower, they will now meet Sue Devlin and Catherine Robson.
The three main singles final are normally played on the last evening but Danny May’s continued upward curve in terms of form sees him playing both the Junior and Senior Single Finals. In the Juniors he came from behind to beat Kevin Harrison and will now face Stephen Green who accounted for Gary Robertson. In the Seniors May also came from behind to beat Pail Barlow 21-17 and will face Stuart Airey who had too many guns for Eddie Murray.
The Ladies Singles semi-final both provided comfortable victories Karen Edmondson defeating Dianne Fieldhouse and Linda Rose beating Eleanor Gass. A provisional programme for the week has been drawn up and should be available by the weekend or early next week.
Most clubs will be open in the next two or three weeks hence the present miserable weather and like indoor bowls the outdoor clubs will be hoping for new members and a renewed interest in the weeks ahead.
The continued decline in entries in nationals indoor and county competitions outdoor is an ongoing worry for the sport so it is good to see that at last the EBA has appointed a development officer to try to engender some much needed interest in this great game.
It is an appointment long overdue and Alistair Hollis from Leicester has a lot of work to catch up on. One can only hope that the appointment has not come too late.
County secretary Eric Johnston is currently busy on final preparations for the year book.
But I can tell you that entries in each of the four main competitions are as follows: Singles 89, pairs 108, triples 75, and Fours 46.
