Northants men opened their Midland Counties Championship campaign with an impressive 136-104 win over Derbyshire at Long Eaton BC.
The win means the County collect 18 points, with Derbyshire claiming just four. It was an excellent performance from Northants, who overcame a sluggish start that saw them behind after five ends to win comfortably.
There were four very good winning rinks for Northants, with the highest scoring one being the one skipped by team manager Vernon Gearey, which had a 14-shot advantage.
The other three winning rinks all won by 11 shots and were skipped by Jamie Walker, Darren Childs and Roger Tansley.
Rink scores, Derbyshire skips’ names only
Rink 1: Tony O’Leary, Jonathan Brown, Chris Bland & Jim McKee 15 D Allsopp 25
Rink 2: Iain Walker, Peter Ward, Matt Pownall & John Haines 21 – J Arnett 26
Rink 3: Dave Love, David Walker, Alan Ashby & Jamie Walker 21 – P Wilkinson 10
Rink 4: Rob White, Connor Cinato, Andrew Manton & Vernon Gearey 26 – M Allsopp 12
Rink 5: Callum Height, Martin Cinato, Martin Gearey & Darren Childs 26 – D Smith 15
Rink 6: Adam Brown, Daniel Height, Richard Lemon & Roger Tansley 27 – P Broughton 16
The following players have been selected to represent Jackson Grundy Bowls Northamptonshire in their Midland Counties match against Lincolnshire at Grantham BC on May 24 (2pm).
Abington BC: Adam Brown, Jonathan Brown, John Freeman, Tony O’Leary
Desborough Town BC: David Flippance, John Haines
Kettering Midland Band BC: Connor Cinato, Martin Cinato (Reserve)
Kingsthorpe BC: Jason Bryan, Darren Childs, Martin Gearey, Vernon Gearey, Andrew Manton, Jim McKee, Roger Tansley
Northampton Express BC: Chris Bland
Northampton West End BC: Alan Ashby, Iain Walker, David Walker, William Walker
Rushden Town BC: Matt Cattell, Nathan Betts (Reserve), Adam Pitfield (Reserve)
Thrapston BC: Daniel Height, Keith Height, Matt Pownall
Wellingborough BC: David Love
Oxfordshire too strong in friendly
Northants men were beaten 124-106 by Oxfordshire in a friendly at Bicester BC.
Both teams won three rinks apiece, but the 35-10 defeat suffered by the rink skipped by John Church proved to be the difference.
The highest scoring County rink was that skipped by Paul Green with an advantage of 18 shots.
Rink scores, Oxon skips only
Rink 1: Dave Jones, Geoff Simmons, Dave Williamson & Michael Moulton 16 – Jim Lucas 14
Rink 2: William McGinn, Ken Court, Neville Bodily & Geoff Hayter 24 – Alan Ley 13
Rink 3: Don Scott, Brian Fairbairn, Brian Jones & George Willmott 14 – Ian Whelpton 27
Rink 4: Dave Francis, Steve Munton, Peter Hoad, Paul Green 28 – Harry Williams 10
Rink 5: Paul Cooke, John Chester, Robin Frost & Richard Somerton 14 – Melvin Brain 25
Rink 6: Peter Court, Brian Hunt, Terry Gallagher & John Church 10 – Allan Hall 35
Northants Men’s Under-25s’ White Rose Trophy match against Suffolk has been cancelled, with Suffolk conceding the tie as they are unable to raise a team.
Northants Men have announced their team for the Balcomb Trophy double rink Inter County competition match against Hertfordshire on May 24 at Royston BC (10.30am).
Rink 1: Callum Height,Thrapston/ Roger Tansley, Kingsthorpe/Alan Ashby, Northampton West End/Paul Broderick, Wellingborough
Rink 2: David Love, Wellingborough/Andrew Manton, Kingsthorpe/ Vernon Gearey, Kingsthorpe/Darren Childs, Kingsthorpe
Travelling Reserves: Connor Cinato, Kettering Midland Band & Tony O’Leary, Abington
Bishop’s big win not enough for County
Northants Women suffered a disappointing 142-120 Middle England League defeat to Warwickshire at Wolvey BC.
The County had two good winning rinks, but lost on four. The highest scoring rink for the County was that skipped by Brenda Bishop with a 12-shot advantage.
Rink scores, Warwickshire skips only
Rink 1: Velda Cooper, Elaine Urquhart, Heather lack & Jeannie Flippance 21 – M Parsons 17
Rink 2: Alison Dring, Pam Page, Pat Bodily & Brenda Bishop 31 – J Corn 19
Rink 3: Joyce George, Phyll Parry, Jill Welch & Anita Petrucci 21 – M Edwards 29
Rink 4: Chris Cooper, Debbie Cox, Rhona Holland & Val Betts 17 – E Chedgzoy 19
Rink 5: Margaret Cave, Trish Basford, Wilma Walker & Margaret McGillivray 16 – M Tims 26
Rink 6: Maggie Edwards, Sandy Hayter, Nancy Tebbutt & Barbara Haseldine 14 – J Scott 32
Heavy losses lead to Middle England defeat
Northants Women suffered a nail-biting 111-110 Middle England League defeat to Cambridgeshire at Roade BC.
The match was played in appalling conditions of wind and rain.
The County actually won more rinks than Cambridgeshire, taking four wins to two losses, with the highest scoring rink being that skipped by Val Betts which had a 13-shot advantage.
The two losing rinks suffered heavy defeats, with Jeannie Flippance’s rink losing 27-14 and Barbara Haseldine’s lost 29-12.
Rink scores, Cambs skips names only
Rink 1: Linda Warren, Sandra Mawson, Margaret McGillivray & Val Betts 21 – V Hughes 8
Rink 2: Pat Bodily, Julie Spreadbury, Jill Welch & Jan Bradley 27 – C Locking 17
Rink 3: Alison Dring, Rhona Holland, Yvonne McKee & Brenda Bishop 17 - P Mead 15
Rink 4: Maggie Edwards, Annie Macavoy, Michelle Harris & Sharon Tansley 19 – S Richie 15
Rink 5: Trish Basford, Denise Carlin, Di Brumwell & Jeannie Flippance 14 – P Ayres 27
Rink 6: Chris Cooper, Doreen Bedford, Hilary Sharpe & Barbara Haseldine 12 – S Alexander 29
Northants Women have selected the following squad for a friendly against Worcestershire on May 27 at Harpole BC (1.30pm).
Rink 1: Brenice Willmott, Irchester/Julie Spreadbury, Heyford/Pat Bodily, Northampton Whyte Melville/Nancy Tebbutt, Thrapston
Rink 2: Jan Hunt, Swanspool, Phyll Parry, Wellingborough/Eleanor Winters, Corby Forest/Di Brumwell, Kingsthorpe
Rink 3: Celia Morris, Kingsthorpe/Janet Riome, Harpole/Yvonne McKee, Kingsthorpe/Joyce Porter, Abbey Park
Rink 4: Linda Warren, Abbey Park/Margaret Tyler, Burton Latimer Town/Pat Mattinson, Thrapston/Sharon Tansley, Kingsthorpe
Rink 5: Margaret Cave, Rushden Town/Pam Sallaway, Rushden Town/Heather Lack, Burton Latimer Town/Anita Petruccfi, Abington
Rink 6: Joyce George, Wellingborough/Velda Cooper, Irchester/Wilma Walker, Corby Forest/Pat Gayton, Swanspool
Travelling Reserves: Brenda Bishop, Kingsthorpe/Joan Bryan, Burton Latimer Town/Mary Muir, Thrapston
Non-travelling Reserve: Elaine Urquhart. Brackley
Northants VPs edge past Lincolnshire
Northants Vice Presidents Bowling Association enjoyed a thrilling six-shot 103-97 win over Lincolnshire VPs at Spalding BC.
Northants won three rinks, two were drawn and one lost. The highest-scoring rink was that skipped by VP chairman Colin Incles, which had a 12-shot advantage.
Rink scores, Lincs skips only
Rink 1: Albert Julyan, Len Marshall, Barry Basford & Bob Jones 16 – Roger Turnbull 16
Rink 2: Len Smith, Jim Walvin, Richard Pitts & Fred Bosworth 19 – Don Churchman 19
Rink 3: Brian Robbins, Derek Essam, Barry Adair & Colin Incles 23 – Paul Ward 11
Rink 4: Graham Cashmore, Peter Byworth, Barry Knibbs & Dave Williamson 15 – Keith Paley 13
Rink 5: Ollie Pearson, Charles Longstaff, Brian Bailey & Dick Howell 17 – Walter Windsor 16
Rink 6: Stuart Lowe, Graham Dunscombe, Mick Griffin & Dick Lovesey 13 – Bill Patterson 22
Players wanted for youth tournaments
Players under the age of 18 are being invited to enter the outdoor competitions being organised by Northamptonshire Bowls Youth Development Scheme for clubs affiliated in the county.
There are three separate competitions, with them being the Under 15 Singles, 15-18 years Singles, and Under 18 Pairs
All competitions are open to both genders, and the relevant age restriction is dependent upon the players age on May 1, 2015.
The pairs has a requirement that the joint aged of the two players does not exceed 33 years.
The finals will be played in conjunction with the men’s and mixed County Finals at Irchester BC on Sunday, August 31. Closing date for entries is Sunday, May 31.
Any difficulties in obtaining entry forms, please contact the NBYDS coordinator, John Chester, on shotwood@sky.com