"THE GARDEN
COUNTY"
EAST LOTHIAN News From Jamie Gordon
Weekending 29th April 2005
The outdoor season
bursts into action tonight (Friday) as the opening fixtures in all four
divisions of the East Lothian Leagues are staged around the length and breadth
of the county. As ever the main spotlight will be on the race for the
prestigious Division 1 title and holders Port Seton are gunning for a record
breaking three titles in a row. The team from the ‘sandcastle’ has dominated
proceedings in the top flight for the past two years and they are again
expected to mount a serious challenge to retain the title for the third
successive year. The The nucleus of last years winning side remains the same
but the addition of ex-Deantown player John Grearty will make the battle for
places in the first team very competitive. They open up their defence of the
title with a mouth watering home clash against last season’s runners-up
Castlepark. Last year’s Scottish Top Ten champions have been knocking on the
title winning door during the past couple of campaigns - always providing a
stern test for anyone on their day and the ‘panners’ look
sure
to have a big say in the destination of the title again this season. However
they have been dealt a blow by the news that they will be without the services
of influential figure Colin Noon following his move to the North of Scotland.
Despite having one of the strongest group of players in the county Tranent have
suffered a frustrating past couple of season’s with too many points dropped on
home soil and an unsettled side the Polson Park side have been under achieving
but if they can combat those problems there is no doubting they have the
potential to reclaim a title they last won in 2002. If home form is anything to
go in the last few seasons’s West Barns would be regarded as serious title
contenders but unfortunately on their travels results have been hard to come
by. The ‘barns’ have a number of quality players including former junior
internationalist Alister Kennedy, county stars Gary Landells and Struan
Robertson and the performance of those three players during the course of the
campaign could have a big say on whether or not they can mount a serious
challenge. Haddington have all the credentials to be regarded a possible
champions but on too many occasion’s over the last couple of years the ‘Hi Hi’s’
have always faltered at the vital stage of the season. They have formidable
looking back-end combination’s which include former world stage star Angus
Blair, former caps Brian Middlemas and Ian Bell along with county star Ally
Blair and on their day can be more than a match for any side. East Linton had
an outstanding campaign last season and there is an air of confidence in their
ranks that they can live with the big boys again this season. Macmerry were
impressive winners of Division 2 and along with their triumph in last season’s
Courier Cup they have certainly shown they all have all the attributes to give a
good account of themselves in the top flight. The ‘blast’ will look to ELBA
Champion of Champions title holder Colin Bonner and county stars Brian Young and
Jock Henderson to set the foundations for their challenge ahead. Prestongrange
are back in the big time limelight after sensationally grabbing the runners-up
spot in Division 2 from under the noses of EL-Coop in the final match of last
season. The ‘pans’ side look set to be involved in the relegation issue but are
sure to give it their best effort and enjoy their time back in the powder keg
league. EL-Coop should make it second time lucky in their attempts to get out
of Division 2 and back into top league while the race for the promotion place’s
in Divisions 3 and 4 look wide open. The action in the Senior Leagues got
underway yesterday (Thursday). The full fixture list for Friday29th April is as:
DIVISION 1
DIVISION 2 DIVISION 3
Port Seton v Castlepark
Aberlady v EL-Coop A EL-Coop B v Winton
Haddington v Prestongrange Elphinstone
v Ormiston Castlepark B v Port Seton A
Macmerry v Tranent
Castlepark A v Gifford West Barns A v N.Berwick
West Barns v East Linton Stenton
v Dunbar Co’Path v Tranent A
DIVISION 4
Aberlady A v Haddington A
Port Seton B v Longniddry
Macmerry A v East Linton A
E L Labour v Dirleton
Prestongrange A v Athelstaneford
Meanwhile
East Lothian will tune up their preparations for this season’s Scottish Counties
Championship campaign with a practice match against the Scottish title winning
Under 25 side at Port Seton BC tomorrow (Saturday).
All players involved in both sides are asked to report at Port Seton for
12.30pm.
Jamie Higgins was
crowned king of his county again after capturing the singles championship at
East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club for a second time in three years, the 28-year
old emulating his success in 2003 at the expense of Wayne Hogg after a
thrilling 20-end final at the Meadowmill stadium last Friday evening. His
21-15 triumph over the reigning British Isles and Scottish Junior champion
brings the major reward of carrying the ‘garden county’ banner in next
season’s national event. Hogg lined up as favourite to capture a title
that so far has eluded him, but the highly ranked cap immediately found
himself against the collar as Higgins belied the odds by leading almost from
start to finish having been crossed briefly at 7-6 before carding two magic
3’s for the loss of a single to lead 12-8 after ten ends. Higgins continued to
have his opponent at his mercy as he moved to 15-9 but Hogg closed menacingly
to 16-14 then held 2 for peels at the next before Higgins killed them both
with a brilliant last bowl draw that set the stadium alight and moved him to
17-14. Two ends later Higgins opened with a front toucher that Hogg
couldn’t beat and reached the card to make it 18-15 then having launched the
final with a 3 he closed it with a 3 to trigger the victory salute. “To
capture the title for a second time is a dream come true and having reached
the quarter-final stage in the national singles on my last appearance and I
will go into next season’s event confident I can again do my county proud”,
said a delighted Higgins afterwards. The evening before Higgins completed
memorable double winning success as he skipped brother Dean and Jamie Gordon
to the Triples title after final victory over Stuart Wyllie, Adam Robertson
and Brian Wyllie. The trio now goes forward to represent East Lothian in
the national stage next seasonTitle favourite in the Junior Singles Derek
Oliver tasted disappointment in the final for the second time in three years
as junior outdoor cap Mark Taylor produced a stunning performance to record a
21-12 triumph and will now get the opportunity to emulate the success of good
friend Wayne Hogg in next season’s national junior singles stage.
Veteran campaigner Willie Wood also weaved a double winning pattern in finals
week as he added to his success in the Fours by capturing the Scottish 4-Bowl
Pairs title after partnering 17-year old Stuart Wyllie to final victory over
Craig MacFarlane and Graham Robertson. ‘Quiet Man’ George Marshall
captured the senior singles title following final victory over Bill Fenton
while Chris Fallen retained the Youth Singles title in his final appearance in
the ‘young yin’s stage after defeating Scott Rutherford in the final.
Representing East Lothian in the national senior fours event next season will
be the rink of John Scott, Jim Smith, Adam Robertson and Harry Cunningham
after they ran out convincing winners in the domestic final. The
talented senior side from East Lothian IBC was cock-a-hoop last Wednesday
after they captured the Norman T Craig, Co-operative Funeral Care and East
Lothian Private Hire Taxis sponsored Jock Brodie Trophy following a thrilling
8-2 point’s (37-34) victory over Perth in the final. Ian Twatt played a
vital role in his sides triumph as he skipped his rink to an all-important
14-10 win Davie Chalmers. Frankie Gray also helped the cause greatly as
he conjured up a crucial 12-10 victory against Dougie Copeland while Jock
Cunningham lost out 14-11 to Brian Smith. During the course of the
tournament club members Wilma Brodie and Jessie Gray organised a raffle that
eventually raised £919 for club funds. “We would like to thank all those
who donated prizes and contributed to the raffle during the weeks of the
tournament - it was very much appreciated”, said Wilma Brodie. The club
would like to thank Wilma and Jessie for their tremendous effort and also
sponsors Norman Craig, Co-Operative Funeral Care and David Balfour of East
Lothian Private Hire Taxis for their kind generosity.The outdoor season swings well and truly into action next
Friday (29th April) as a full programme of matches in the East
Lothian Leagues is staged throughout the length and breadth of the county.
As ever the main spotlight will focus on the Division 1 title race and a
preview of all the clubs involved in the top flight this time around will
appear next week.
The East Lothian
outdoor selectors have announced the side that will spearhead the garden
county bid for glory in this season’s Scottish Counties Championship and
reclaim back the prestigious Andrew Hamilton Trophy. Macmerry champion Colin
Bonners triumph in last season’s ELBA Champion of Champions event is rewarded
as he his handed a place in the starting line-up for the opening clash of the
series against local rivals Midlothian at Shottstown BC on Saturday 7th
May while Haddington’s 2001 Scottish Fours champion Andy Burt and former East
Linton champion Richard Black are also new additions to last season’s side.
Before any thoughts turn to making the short trip to Penicuik for the opening
fixture all players are informed a practice game against the Scottish title
winning Under 25’s side will be staged at Port Seton BC next Saturday (30th
April) with all players asked to report for 12.30pm. The team for the opening
game reads:
Current British
Junior Singles title holder Wayne Hogg and 2003 champion Jamie Higgins will
take centre stage tonight (Friday) at Meadowmill stadium as they go
head-to-head in the final of the East Lothian Indoor singles championship
(6.30pm).The plum prize at stake is qualification for the national singles so
no quarter will be asked or given in an all Tranent final. A cracking
encounter is anticipated as Hogg (24) is seeking the chance to add a singles
title to his ever growing impressive CV while Higgins (28) is desperate to
etch his name on the championship board for the second time in three years.
Ladies single title holder Jessie Braes is also action tonight as she puts her
defence on the line against junior internationalist Lynsey Nisbet while the
senior singles final will be a shoot out between George Marshall and Bill
Fenton. Derek Oliver was a narrowly beaten finalist in last years Junior
Singles final and he will look to go one better tonight when he lines-up
against Mark Taylor in this years spectacle. Chris Fallen and Scott
Rutherford will be locked in battle in the Youth Singles final while the
Scottish 4-bowl pairs final between Stuart Wyllie/Willie Wood and Craig
MacFarlane/Graham Robertson completes tonight’s exciting line-up. Following
the conclusion of all tonight’s finals the club will hold a Presentation of
Prizes ceremony for all the winners and losers during the course of this
week’s action at Meadowmill.No Scottish Fours final was on show during final’s
week as Craig MacFarlane, Jamie Gordon, Steven Morgan and Willie Wood claimed
a place in the national fours next season following a narrow 11-9 triumph over
Jamie Higgins, Dean Higgins, Derek Oliver and Wayne Hogg in the post-xmas
Scottish Fours final last Saturday afternoon. There would be a Scottish
Triples final after Stuart Wyllie, Adam Robertson and Brian Wyllie edged a
thrilling post-xmas final 10-9 against Jamie Gordon, Dean Higgins and Jamie
Higgins. Both sets of players were scheduled to meet again last night
(Thursday) with the winners going forward to represent East Lothian in the
national stage next season.No Scottish Fours final was on show during final’s
week as Craig MacFarlane, Jamie Gordon, Steven Morgan and Willie Wood claimed
a place in the national fours next season following a narrow 11-9 triumph over
Jamie Higgins, Dean Higgins, Derek Oliver and Wayne Hogg in the post-xmas
Scottish Fours final last Saturday afternoon. There would be a Scottish
Triples final after Stuart Wyllie, Adam Robertson and Brian Wyllie edged a
thrilling post-xmas final 10-9 against Jamie Gordon, Dean Higgins and Jamie
Higgins. Both sets of players were scheduled to meet again last night
(Thursday) with the winners going forward to represent East Lothian in the
national stage next season.An ‘A’ side from the senior brigade at the
Meadowmill club was in action on Wednesday contesting the Norman T Craig,
Co-operative Funeral Care and East Lothian Private Hire Taxis sponsored Jock
Brodie Trophy final against Perth. The garden county ‘old yin’s’ booked their
final spot with a comfortable win over West Lothian while the long trek to
Meadowmill proved very much worthwhile for Perth as they booked their spot in
the showpiece occasion with victory over Bainfield. All full report of
Wednesday’s final will appear next weekAn ‘A’ side from the senior brigade at
the Meadowmill club was in action on Wednesday contesting the Norman T Craig,
Co-operative Funeral Care and East Lothian Private Hire Taxis sponsored Jock
Brodie Trophy final against Perth. The garden county ‘old yin’s’ booked their
final spot with a comfortable win over West Lothian while the long trek to
Meadowmill proved very much worthwhile for Perth as they booked their spot in
the showpiece occasion with victory over Bainfield. All full report of
Wednesday’s final will appear next week.Elphinstone Bowling Club was
cock-a-hoop on Monday night after they captured the East Lothian IBC Top Club
tournament after a dramatic last end win over four times champions Tranent.
Norrie Cochrane emerged as the hero for the ‘peepers’ and he could hardly
contain his delight after he played an inch perfect weighted bowl with his
final delivery to remove a Tranent bowl from the head and leave him holding a
match winning five shots which Jamie Higgins just failed to alter with the
final bowl of the final. In the earlier semi-final action Elphinstone edged a
cracker against EL-Coop while Tranent seen of the challenge from Gifford
JAMIE GORDON
British Junior Singles title holder Wayne Hogg and 2003 champion Jamie Higgins
will been seen in their full splendour at Meadowmill next Friday night (15th
April) when they go head to head in the final of the singles championship at
East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club (6.30pm).
The
plum prize at stake is qualification for the national singles so no quarter
will be asked or given in an all Tranent final. 24-year old Hogg was edged
out by World No.2 Alex Marshall in a thrilling final last year and he
demonstrated his determination to get his name etched on the championship
board for the first time with a commanding 21-5 win over a luckless Dougie
Berwick in Monday night’s semi-final action. 28-year old Higgins already has
his name firmly placed in the singles roll of honour at Meadowmill following
his success two years ago and will quietly fancy his chances of becoming the
fourth player to capture the prestigious title on two occasions. Higgins
booked his place in the showpiece occasion following a 21-14 last four victory
over good friend Jamie Gordon. Peels were called at 12-12 then Higgins
produced a last bowl stunner to turn the jack for a full house 4 before Gordon
hit-back with a double but Higgins then conjured up a magical 3, 2 finish to
win the match.
Meanwhile Higgins hopes of a grand slam of titles this season were put to the
sword, as along with partner Billy Mellors, they lost out in the semi-final of
the Scottish 4-bowl pairs to Craig MacFarlane and Graham Robertson who now
tackle Stuart Wyllie and Willie Wood in next week’s final. Looking ahead to
next week for some it will be ecstasy and for others their will be heartbreak
as the indoor season draws to a conclusion at East Lothian IBC as the
Meadowmill based club stage their finals week from Monday evening. Five
nights of compelling action will come to an end next Friday night (15th
April) as all the singles finals take centre stage and following their
conclusion the club will hold a Presentation of Prizes ceremony for all the
winners and runners-up during the week long bowling extravaganza. However
there is 50/50 chance their will be no gent’s Scottish Triples or Fours finals
on show as in both disciplines the pre-xmas winners have also reached the
post-xmas finals. The Higgins brothers Dean and Jamie, along with Jamie
Gordon, knew that victory over Stuart Wyllie, Adam Robertson and Brian Wyllie
on Tuesday evening would see them book a spot in next season’s national
tripleschampionship but defeat would mean the two triples having to
clash again at some point in finals week. It’s the same scenario for pre-xmas
winners Craig MacFarlane, Jamie Gordon, Steven Morgan and Willie Wood in the
fours when they face Jamie Higgins, Dean Higgins, Derek Oliver and Wayne Hogg
tomorrow (Saturday) in a high noon showdown in the post-xmas Scottish Fours
final.
The senior brigade
at the Meadowmill club was in semi-final action on Wednesday in the Norman T
Craig, Co-operative Funeral Care and East Lothian Private Hire Taxis sponsored
Jock Brodie Trophy. The garden county ‘old yin’s’ were set to face Livingston
based West Lothian while Perth will hope the long trek to Meadowmill will be
worthwhile as they go head-to-head with ‘townie’ outfit Bainfield. A large
crowd is expected to be in attendance for the grand final on Wednesday (April
13th) with the action getting underway at 11am. (EDITOR – CAN YOU
PLEASE SEND A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR A PICTURE OF THE WINNING SIDE AT AROUND 2PM)
The Youth Section is
in action tomorrow (Saturday) as they make the short trip to Dalkeith to
participate in the Midlothian Youth Team Championship tournament. The
following team has been handed the task of bringing some end of season
silverware back to the garden county:
F.Pringle, R.Irvine,
E.Fallen, C.Fallen skip
L.Irvine, I.Ingles,
J.Bathgate, S.Rutherford skip
Players to report for 8.30am.
The
section draws were made last weekend for the 2005/06 Scottish Indoor Gent’s
League. East Lothian came out of the hat in ‘A’ section and face long hauls
to Nithsdale and Prestwick but on a brighter note have much shorter trips to
contend with to Lanarkshire (Wishaw), Paisley and Bainfield.
Finally you can now keep up-to-date with all the latest news from East Lothian
IBC by logging onto the club’s newly formed website page
www.elibc.co.uk
JAMIE GORDON
Scottish
Cup : ‘Disaster’ was the cry from men’s side
captain Steven Morgan after witnessing his side being on the wrong end of an
upset in the in last Saturday’s first-round action at Headwell IBC, the
garden county beaten 84-75 by next season’s Premier Division new boys
Dundee. There is no doubting the result will have raised eyebrows throughout
the bowling community but with the catalogue of woes the EL selectors endured
in the hours leading up to the clash the final outcome should maybe not be so
surprising.Having already lost
the services of key figures Willie Wood, Alex Marshall and Mark Johnston the
EL selectors received a further double blow when Graham Robertson (back
injury) and David Oliver (work commitments) both had to make late withdrawals
from the side.This resulted in
them having to reshuffle the pack and call upon the services of Derek Lowe and
Ross Pryde to fill the two vacant positions.To their credit the make shift EL side got off to a tremendous start
and at the halfway stage had a 16 shot lead as both Steven Morgan and Brian
Wyllie enjoyed healthy advantages over their opposing skips.But with spirits still sky high after gaining promotion from Division 1
Dundee rallied in the final phase and without the experience of Messrs
Marshall, Wood and Robertson East Lothian couldn’t halt their surge and
their Scottish Cup dreams left in tatters for a least another season.Brian Wyllie was the only skip to emerge victorious from the battle as
he skipped son Stuart, Derek Lowe and John Stevenson to a two shot victory.“No words can express the disappointment I was feeling afterwards as
I still thought despite all the problems we had leading up to the game we
would still be good enough to beat them.However the burden of having so many key and influential players
missing proved to be too much for us especially on the final few ends of the
match”, said gutted captain Steven Morgan.
Scottish
Senior League Cup : East Lothian IBC’s talented senior
side captured their fourth title in seven years as they battled back from an
early deficit to pip twice former champions Coatbridge 62-54 in last
Saturday’s final at Galleon IBC. The garden county ‘old yins’ have now
won the prestigious title in every odd year since 1999 and the hard fought
triumph keeps them bang on course for a second league and cup double.EL were forced into a late change in their team selection as Jock
Brodie became unwell during the coach journey to Galleon which resulted in
traveling reserve Adam Robertson being drafted at second to Ian Twatt, with
George McLean moving up to third. Wins for the rinks skipped by Willie Wood,
Jock Cunningham and Frankie Gray eventually torpedoed Coatbridge into
submission despite the heavy loss incurred by Ian Twatt.Not for the first time in his illustress career Willie Wood was master
mariner for East Lothian skipped Eric Denholm, George Marshall and Alex
McIntosh to a terrific 23-6 triumph over Jim Paterson.The strong supporting role was played by Jock Cunningham and his rink
of Jim Smith, Ronnie Stevenson and Davie Balfour as they produced a brilliant
final phase to outgun Willie Bradley 18-12.Gray and his rink of Jim Oliver, John Holmes and Harry Cunningham were
involved in a battle royal with Willie Davis before edging it 12-11.Twatt and his rink of Bob McIntosh, Adam Robertson and George McLean
were always against the collar throughout their clash with Willie Harkness
before crashing to 25-9 defeat.The
triumphant East Lothian side didn’t have much time to dwell on their success
as they were back in action on Wednesday at Arbroath IBC in the semi-final of
the Scottish Senior Cup.The
hurdle EL would have to overcome to keep their double dream alive came in the
shape of Perth who they beat by a single shot on route to their national
league cup success.
Due
to the heavy snow last week the action in the Norman T Craig, East Lothian
Private Hire and Lothian Funeral Care sponsored Jock Brodie Trophy tournament
was postponed and the fixtures rearranged for a later date.No problems were expected on Wednesday as the action resumed at
Meadowmill when Headwell tackled Portobello B while a close encounter was
expected between Bainfield and Falkirk.
International
: East
Lothian IBC’s recently crowned Scottish Indoor Champions Wayne Hogg (Junior
Singles), James Hogg, Jock Henderson, Brian Middlemas and Mark Johnston
(Fours) hope to weave a double winning pattern at next week’s British Isles
Championships at Belfast IBC.
Two
times national junior singles title holder Wayne Hogg will be in action first
on Wednesday (9th March) morning as he has a 10am semi-final
showdown with Channel Islands champion Scot Ruderham.The fours only have to wait a few more hours before they enter the
showpiece occasion as they face a mouth watering last four clash with
England’s world stage star Greg Harlow and his rink Chris Falkner, Andrew
Ware and Nicky Brett at 2.30pm.The Junior Singles and Fours finals are both staged on
Thursday but whatever happens Hogg, along with garden county team-mates Alex
Marshall, Willie Wood, Graham Robertson and Billy Mellors will remain in
Belfast until next Sunday as their all part of a Scotland side hoping to
reclaim the British Isles Home International series.The Scots square up to the ‘auld enemy’ England in the opening
match of the series next Friday before going head-to-head with the host nation
the following day.Their series
is wrapped up on the Sunday morning with a clash against holders Wales.
Scottish
Championships :
East Lothian IBC weaved a
double winning pattern at the national championship finals as Wayne Hogg
became only the second player to make a successful defence of the Junior
Singles crown and he was also joined on the winner’s rostrum by clubmates
James Hogg, Jock Henderson, Brian Middlemas and Mark Johnston in the Fours.
The success for 24-year old Hogg ended an up and down weekend for the garden
county star after making an second round exit from the World Singles, losing
11-6, 7-3 to No.4 seed Andy Thomson, his mad dash North was made very
worthwhile by wins over Jim Leitch of Auchinleck and Chris Foley of Coatbridge.The ‘Magician’ (Hogg) showed no sign of tiredness after
his long drive back from Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk as he dumped Leitch
21-13 in the semi-final showdown then in the final crushed Foley 21-8 having
powered into a 15-5 lead after 11-ends. East Lothian reached the final of the
Fours with a battling 21-17 semi-final win over Aberdeen to set-up an all ‘East’
final with the Portobello rink of Mal Higgenbotham, Gordon Bold, Willie
McDonald and Steven McLeod.It was the ‘Porty’ rink who had the better of the opening exchanges
to lead 6-3 but Johnston & Co crossed 10-7 then accelerated to 19 with a
superb run of 6, 1, 2 and converted the advantage into a 23-10 triumph.“Carding the mighty 6 was our highlight and the turning point in the
final”, reflected EL skip Mark Johnston afterwards.
World
Under 25 Mixed Pairs : East Lothian IBC’s Wayne Hogg
was feeling on top of the world after he partnered Ireland’s Catherine
Beattie to the inaugural World Indoor Bowls Council World Under 25 Mixed Pairs
title in Jersey after beating local star Lindsey Greechan and top Canadian hot
shot Ryan Bester 10-5, 6-10, 2-1, in the final. The deadly duo defeated Hogg’s
garden county clubmate Lynsay Nisbet and Wales Andrew Hopkins in straight sets
in the semi-final before going on to beating Greechan and Bester in a dramatic
tie-break climax to the final.But Hogg’s hopes of a memorable double were put to the sword after he
lost out in a tie-break to New Zealand’s favourite rising star Jamie Hill in
the men’s singles final 4-9, 8-5, 1-2.The Scottish internationalist laid game and title on three separate
occasions but Hill saved on every occasion before delivering a final knockout
blow with the last bowl of the game to snatch victory.
OUTDOOR
Courier
Cup :
East Lothian Division 2
champions Macmerry iced the cake on an excellent 2004 outdoor season by
capturing the ELBA Courier Cup at Haddington BC a fortnight past Saturday.
The
‘blast’ etched their name on the coveted trophy, with a 49-41 overall
shots triumph over Division 4 champions Castlepark B in the final.The victory completed a hat-rick of trophy wins for Macmerry as they
had already tasted success in the ELBA Trophy and the Division 2 title.Davie Pryde and Stuart Cuthill played the hero roles for
Macmerry as both carded massive counts of six shots on the 12th end
in their clashes with Gordon Allison and Raymond Frame to turn the game in
their sides favour.Pryde found
himself 12-9 down but then skipped Raymond Jack, Jim Oliver and George
Clydesdale to an explosive 6, 2, 2 finish to snatch a 19-12 victory over Tom
Hastie, Ian Inglis, John Thomson and Allison.Cuthill also produced a grandstand finish as he left it late to stamp
his authority on proceedings with a whirlwind run of 6, 2, 1, 1 to skip Eric
Dickson, Gordon Cuthill and Kenny Donaldson to a 19-13 win over Frame.Steven Thomson saved the whitewash for Castlepark B as along with
Gordon McNeill, Robert Cunningham and Colin Noon they inflicted a 16-11 defeat
on Bob Davidson, Colin Clydesdale, Jock Henderson and Alan Clydesdale.In the earlier semi-final action Macmerry brought Division 1 champions
Port Seton back down to earth with a bump with a 49-41 victory while
Castlepark B had to survive extra end drama before edging past Division 3
champions Dunbar.
ELBA
County Championships : 27-year
old county star Jamie Higgins was the toast of Tranent Bowling Club after he captured the flagship singles
title in a 21-14
victory over Haddington’s Brian Middlemas as the East Lothian County
Championships finals took centre stage at Elphinstone BC.
The
final was a tight affair in the opening ends and after 8-ends played peels
were called at 5 as both players traded blow for blow.Higgins though stepped up a gear and tipped the scales in his favour
with a run 1, 1, 1, 2, 1 to surge 12-5 ahead.Former internationalist Middlemas stopped the rot on the 15th
end with a single but Higgins hit back on the next two ends with a mighty 3, 2
to bring the title into sharp focus at 17-6.Middlemas did threaten to stage a comeback as he registered two quick
fire doubles to cut the deficit to 17-10 but Higgins responded with a magical
3 to move onto 20.Higgins then
dropped four shots on the next two ends but he collected the title winning
single on the 23rd end to trigger the victory salute.Port Seton’s Stewart Cymber stole the show in the Junior Singles as
he captured the title at the 21-5 expense of Calum Gordon from West Barns.Aberlady’s up and rising star Andrew Pringle collected the Youth
Singles title after a 21-16 triumph over Port Seton’s young starlet Scott
Rutherford.The pairs title
headed back up the A1 to West Barns after Frank McArthur and Struan Robertson
produced a 2, 1 finish to edge a 18-16 thriller against Port Seton’s Arthur
Duncan and Andrew Bellany.EL-Coop
emerged the king pins in the Fours as the glory went to Jim Bonner, Jim
McNeil, Graham Dodds and Willie Franklin who converted a 10-6 lead into a 19-8
win over Tom Johnston, Ian Campbell, Bobby Bollan and Colin Peat of Haddington.Aberlady celebrated a double success at the finals as Bob McIntosh,
Alex Brown, Jock Brodie and Jackie Greenwood survived extra end drama before
winning the Senior Fours title with a 14-13 win over John Halliday of Stenton.The ‘young yin’s’ of East Linton done their club proud
as Amy Newlands, Amanda Johnstone, Calum Blair and Grant Thomson produced a
whirlwind finish to capture the Youth Fours title after a 20-14 success over
Haddington’s Gail Dickson, Mark McWilliams, Kevin Barrie and Dawn Dickson. The
triples title also went to East Linton’s Mike Newlands, Keith Fender and
George Cowan but unfortunately the contest was won without a bowl being
thrown.Their final opponents
should have been Tranent’s David Sands, Craig Purves and Colin Glen but they
had to concede the title as Glen was away on a weekend break and the Polson
Park club failed to acknowledge the newly introduced ELBA rule that no
reserves are permitted to come in for a county final.
Prestongrange
senior side caused a turn up for the books when they etched
their name on the John McDonald Senior League Cup with a 28-25 triumph over
EL-Coop in the final at Castlepark BC.In
a closely fought final throughout it was the Prestongrange rink of George
Arnot, Davie Thomson, Davie White and Tom Fairley who were the stars of the
show for the underdogs as they conjured up an all-important 14-8 win over
EL-Coop’s Glen Ford, Davie Hogg, Ronnie Stevenson and Frankie Gray.Ian Twatt tried in vain to rescue it for the favourites but his 17-14
victory over Alex Gilbertson was not enough to stop Prestongrange giving the
victory salute and the trophy was heading down the road to the ‘bottom
pans’.
ELBA
Champion of Champions : 24
year old Macmerry star Colin Bonner was crowned king of the East Lothian club
singles champions after he captured the title with a 21-7 victory
over Aberlady champion Billy Dunleavey at Prestongrange BC. In a pretty much
one-sided final it was actually Dunleavey who started the better and raced
into a 3-0 lead with three ends played.But
Bonner responded in tremendous fashion as he set the banking alight with a
sizzling 1, 3, 3, 1, (2), 2, 2 to move 12-5 ahead.Dunleavey stopped his opponent in his tracks on the 11th end
to register a double but Bonner was playing like a man possessed and asserted
his authority on proceedings with a final four end purple patch spell that
yielded 3, 2, 3, 1 to trigger the victory salute on the 15th end
with a 21-7 triumph.In the
semi-final action earlier in the day Bonner booked his final place with a
commanding 21-10 win over Haddington champion Andy Burt while Dunleavey proved
too strong for Athelstaneford challenger Colin Herschell and ran out a
comfortable 21-6 winner.
National
Championships : The
champagne corks were popping at Aberlady Bowling Club after their old brigade of George Marshall, David Balfour, Jock Brodie and
Jackie Greenwood captured the Scottish Senior Fours title at a sun drenched
Ayr Northfield Bowling Complex. After breezing through their opening two games
on the first day of play on the Thursday Greenwood and co beat Ayr (23-8) and
Caldercraig (17-14) on Friday to book a spot in Saturday morning’s
semi-final.A place in the final
was secured as they brushed aside the challenge of Burrelton 16-8 and now they
were one win away from emulating the successes enjoyed in the event by
Prestongrange (1980), Ormiston (1988) and Haddington (1994).The final opposition for the Aberlady four came in the shape of
Barnhill BC and both sides were to serve up a cracking spectacle that had the
crowded banking enthralled throughout.In
the end it was the Aberlady ‘old yin’s’ who coped better with the
demands and pressures of a national final to edge a thrilling encounter 13-12
and the J B Richardson Trophy was heading back to East Lothian for a fourth
time.But hopes of a glory double
for the garden county in last Saturday’s afternoon’s finals action were
shattered as 66-year old Wille Wood suffered more heartache in the
championships as he suffered a third defeat in the final of the singles, this
time losing 21-17 to two times World Indoor champion Paul Foster.
The
Macmerry duo of Brian Young and Stuart Cuthil can be proud of their efforts at
the championships as they reached the quarter-final stage in the pairs before
going down 24-11 to the West Lothian pairing of Andrew Cavanagh and Graeme
Archer.World star Alex Marshall
and his East Lothian Co-op team mates Jamie Smith, Willie Dodds and Graham
Dodds thumped Eddlewood in the opening round but then suffered a shock 16-15
defeat from Galston in the second round of the fours.Fellow EL-Coop star Mark Taylor carried the local hopes in the Junior
Singles and he can count himself unlucky as he held a match winning lie on
four occasions but each time Kenny Murray of Stranraer WE saved game with his
final delivery before going onto to snatch the second round clash 21-19.A miserable Friday morning for the garden county representation at the
finals was completed when the Haddington trio of Gary McNabb, Abe Logan and
Angus Blair crashed out of the triples.
World
Bowls Championships : East Lothian’s World Number 1
Alex Marshall dreams of becoming only the second player, behind the legendary
David Bryant, in the history of bowls to hold both the world indoor and
outdoor singles titles in the same year were left in tatters after he lost
21-15 to Aussie Steve Glasson in the final as the 2004 World Bowls
Championships drew to a close at Air Northfield Bowling Complex last Saturday.
A
capacity crowd of more than 3000 people ascended to the west coast venue
expecting to witness a final of the highest quality but they were to be left
disappointed as both players struggled on a treacherous and tricky that made
both players looks very ordinary.‘Tattie’
(Marshall) had been in tremendous form for the beginning of the singles event,
with an impeccable display in all of his ten matches right up to the final but
in the final the East Lothian Co-op star couldn’t get into his rhythm and
admitted afterwards that Glasson deserved his victory.“I expected a hard match and I certainly got that.The rink was very tricky and on the day Steve caught it much better
than me”, said Marshall.Despite
struggling throughout the Scot kept digging in and at 20-15 down he shortened
the jack and held three shots, but with the last delivery of the end Glasson
rested on Marshall’s first shot to take the single he needed to seal the
title and gave Australia their first ever gold medal win in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Better
news for Marshall was that he did come back to his Tranent home with a gold
medal as along with Scottish team mates Willie Wood, David Peacock, Jim
McIntyre and George Sneddon, they joined team manager Bobby Dick on the
winners podium as they were named as the world team champions and presented
with the prestigious Leonard Trophy for the best overall performed team.At the after final gala dinner Willie Wood announced his retirement
from the world championships stage and then was fittingly awarded a special
presentation by Scottish President Boyce McLeod for recognition of his record
of appearing in eight successive championships.
ELBA
Jubilee Cup : Division 1 champions Port Seton enhanced
their reputation as currently being East Lothian’s Number 1 side when they
collected the ELBA Jubilee Cup (Top 10) for the first time following a 5-1
point’s victory over national champions Castlepark in the final at Polson
Park.The
‘sandcastle’ men will now get the opportunity to emulate Castlepark as
they will be the garden county representatives in the Scottish equivalent next
season.Port Seton’s new
recruit Craig ‘Wooster’ MacFarlane laid the foundations for his side with
a 21-19 victory over Raymond Frame in the all important singles battle.Steven Morgan produced a match winning final delivery to edge past
Aberlady in the semi-final and then in another impressive performance in the
final with partner Derek Oliver went onto crush Brian Bird and Steven Thomson
25-11 in the pairs clash.Keith
Rutherford put the result beyond doubt when he skipped Tom Nisbet and Gary
Nisbet to a 14-9 triumph over Bernie McConnachie, John Hogg and Robert Thomson
in the triples encounter while David Oliver skipped Arthur Duncan, Tommy
Thomson, and Steven Thomson to a 15-15 share of the spoils with Tom Shepherd,
Gordon McNeill, Colin Leishman and James Hogg.“If there is one cup to win during the season this is the one you
want.We (Port Seton) now can’t
wait for next season to come around and we hope we’ll be able to do the
county proud just as Castlepark have done this season”, said delighted Port
Seton ace Steven Morgan.In the
earlier semi-final action Castlepark proved to strong for East Linton at
EL-Coop while Port Seton edged a thriller against Aberlady.
East
Lothian Leagues : Division
1 leaders Port Seton trooped off the green at East Linton a dejected bunch as
they thought the title had slipped away from them after suffering a disastrous
a maximum points (8-0) defeat in the final match of the campaign.But within a few minutes their despair turned to absolute joy when the
news filtered through from Polson Park that chief rivals Castlepark had
suffered a similar fate at Tranent to leave the ‘Sandcastle’ men’s two
point lead intact and be crowned league champions for the second successive
year.“Were absolutely thrilled to win back-to-back titles but when we all
came off the green at East Linton we thought we had blew it big time and you
could see the devastation on all the players’ faces.But then our emotions went from one extreme to another when the news of
the result came through from Tranent we headed down the road a jubilant bunch
and enjoyed a few celebration drinks back at Port Seton”, said Port Seton
ace Steven Morgan.Despite their defeat Castlepark remained in runners-up spot and the
Prestonpans side can be proud of their efforts this season.Tranent’s win saw them finish in joint third place with West Barns
who rounded off their campaign with an 8-0 triumph over relegated
Elphinstone
while Haddington put the final nail in the coffin for doomed Aberlady with a
6-2 home win.Macmerry lifted the Division 2 title in impressive style as ‘Old
Trafford’ became their very own theatre of dream as they inflicted an 8-0
defeat on EL-Coop B who along with North Berwick will be featuring in Division
3 next season.The news didn’t get much better for the Tranent club as their ‘A’
side were pipped at the post for the second promotion place by Prestongrange.Losing the services of influential players Alex Marshall and Wayne Hogg
proved to much of a burden for EL-Coop A as they crashed to a 7-1 defeat at
Stenton while the ‘Grange’ seized the opportunity big time as their 5-3
victory at Ormiston was enough for them to claim runners-up spot.Division 3 champions Dunbar finished off their season in fine style
with an 8-0 win over promotional hopefuls Cockburnspath whose eventual dreams
were completely shattered when it emerged third placed Castlepark A had
leapfrogged them into second place following their maximum point’s home win
over Winton.At the other end of the table E L
Labour
and Longniddry fell foul to the relegation trap door.Castlepark B broke Tranent A hearts when they finished off their season
with an 8-0 win at Port Seton B to snatch the Division 4 title from under the
noses of the Polson Park side but still have the consolation of gaining
promotion.In the Senior Leagues Aberlady made a successful defence of the
Division 1 title after there 5-1 win at North Berwick was enough for them to
complete back-to-back title wins as nearest challengers Longniddry went down
to a 4-2 defeat at Tranent.Castlepark A and E L Labour will have to look forward to life in
Division 2 next season while joining the big boys in the top league will be
Castlepark B (champions) and Prestongrange. The Division 3 title went to West Barns and Macmerry grabbed the other
promotion place.
Division 1
PLAYED
POINTS
Port
Seton
14
65
Castlepark
14
63
Tranent
14
61
West
Barns
14
61
Haddington
14
60
East
Linton
14
58
Aberlady
14
43
Elphinstone
14
37
Division 2
PLAYED
POINTS
Macmerry
14
82
Prestongrange
14
72
EL-Coop
A
14
71
Ormiston
14
54
Gifford
14
51
Stenton
14
50
EL-Coop
B
14
36
North
Berwick
14
32
ELBA
Brown Trophy : Aberlady
Bowling Club were in cloud nine as they captured the
ELBA Brown Trophy after they saw off the challenges of EL-Coop in the semis
and current national Top Ten champions Castlepark in the final when Polson Park
staged the tournament’s finals day. Veteran
Jackie Greenwood played a ‘man of the match’ role in his sides 45-39 win
over the Prestonpans side as he skipped his ‘golden oldies’ rink of George
Marshall, Bob McIntosh and Jock Brodie to a 16-11 triumph over Colin Noon.Jim Florence also played a key role as he skipped his rink to an 18-15
success over Steven Thomson while James Hogg grabbed a consolation win for
Castlepark with a 13-11 victory over Jock Cunningham.The semi-final action earlier in the day saw the eventual champions
edge a 42-40 thriller against Division 2 outfit EL-Coop while Castlepark
completely overpoweredneighbours Prestongrange
in the ‘pans’ derby.
East
Lothian News Trophy : There was also scene’s of
celebration at Polson Park as Tranent Bowling Club retained
the East Lothian News Trophy after a hard fought victory over Port Seton at
the tournament’s finals day at West Barns BC.Jamie Higgin’s played a captain’s role for his troops as he kept
his 100% record at skip this season intact by skipping 13-year old Adam
Martin, Jamie Taylor and Jason ‘Eamonn’ Black to two crucial wins in his
side’s successful defence of the trophy.In the semi-final action Tranent staged a late rally to see of the
challenge of local rivals EL-Coop while Port Seton proved to strong for
Haddington.
Scottish
Under 25's : It was congratulation’s to EL-Coop BC duo of
Wayne Hogg and Mark Taylor after both were named in the Scottish Junior Trial
team that will play a practice match at Eddlewood BC on Sunday August 22nd.Both players were part of the successful Scottish side that won back
the British Under 25 title at Leamington Spa last year and their inclusion
came as no real surprise, however, it continues to baffle many around the
garden county why the current national Under 25 champions can only claim two
places in a side of 32 players?
ELBA
County Cup Final : There
were victory celebrations at Polson Park after Tranent BC
scooped the second domestic trophy of the season as they collected the ELBA
County Cup.The Polson Park outfit lifted the historic trophy after an enthralling
victory over East Linton in the final at a rain drenched Macmerry BC.East Linton always had the upper hand in the final and looked on course
for victory as going into the final end across the green held a four shot
advantage over their opponents.But Tranent’s undefeated skip Jamie Higgins grabbed hero status for
his side as he pinged a bowl out with his final delivery to count a massive
five shots to grab a share of the spoils against Alex McGravey.Scott Kennedy was on the wrong end of a hammering from Richard Black
but held firm to play a vital bowl on his final end to pick-up a vital two
shots for his side while Kevin Jones whopping win over Mike Newlands kept his
side in the hunt and it was fitting his single on the last end secured victory
for his side.“Things looked bleak for us with half-an-hour to go but credit to the
lads they kept fighting away and in the end quality bowls from our skips at
the vital time made the difference.It’s great to get a trophy win under our belts as things have not
been happening for our team in Division 1 but hopefully this triumph will give
everybody a huge lift and we can now concentrate on trying to get as many
points as possible in our remaining league games”, said Tranent President
Jamie Gordon.The semi-final action earlier in the day saw Tranent overcome the
challenge of Castlepark while East Linton enjoyed a hard fought victory
against Aberlady.
Scottish
Top Ten : Prestonpans based Castlepark
Bowling Club celebrated the finest day in the club’s 80-year history as they were crowned Scottish Inter-County Top Ten champions after
seeing off the challenge of Tarbolton in the semis then former champions
Inverness in the final at Colinton BC in Edinburgh.
The
East Lothian champions followed in the foot steps Haddington (1985) and twice
champions Aberlady (1987 and 1993) to bring the prestigious title back to the
garden county for the fourth time.Castlepark
set the scene with a 6-2 points win over Ayrshire champions Tarbolton in the
morning’s semi-final action but things looked bleak for the ‘panners’
when Steven Thomson lost his singles clash 21-6.But not for the first time during their memorable run in the tournament
Thomson’s teammates came up trumps when the pressure was on as the pairs,
triples and fours all won to book a place in the afternoon final.The final opposition came in the shape of Highland champions Inverness
and they were returning to the scene of their 2002 title celebrations.The final saw Castlepark once again on the back foot with Thomson
giving 21-12 best to former cap Ian Penwright who produced a whirlwind
finishing run from 13-12 in the singles battle.But hero status was being grabbed by the East Lothian
champions pairing of Bernie McConnachie and Raymond Frame as they tipped the
scales in their sides favour with a stunning 30-8 triumph in the pairs clash.Inverness kept an exciting final alive as their fours produced a late
rally to pip Brian Bird, Willie Yorkston, John Hogg and Colin Noon 18-17; but
their 1, 2, 4 finish in the triples encounter failed to deny Gordon McNeill,
Colin Leishman and James Hogg clinching a title clinching 14-12 victory to
start a night of celebrations when the heroes returned back to Prestonpans on
Sunday evening.“As each game in a tough route passed the confidence level
in the team increased and we made the trip to Colinton quietly confident we
could make our mark and the lads certainly didn’t disappoint our large
support.Being part of probably
the greatest achievement in the club’s history is something the lads will
never forget and the reception we received from the members when we got back
to the club on the Sunday night was breathtaking”, said undefeated triples skip
James Hogg.
Under
25's : East Lothian collected their third
Scottish Under 25 League Cup title in five years at Kirkintilloch as
the current crop of up and coming garden county stars sent opponents Stirling
County packing with a resounding 20-2 points win.
EL
enjoyed wins on five of the six rinks as they powered there way to a 135-99
domination of the overall shot aggregate.However things looked bleak early doors when the opening phase belonged
to Stirling as they raced into a 36-17 lead after fours ends.But it proved to be a false dawn as East Lothian rallied to get their
nose in front on the 12th end 62-60 then continued their dominance
in the final phase to win the remaining ends 73-39. Gary Nisbet proved to be
captain courageous as he inspired his team’s efforts by skipping Scott
Fairgrieve, David Sked and Brian Hunter to a 29-10 success over Brian Docherty.Mark Taylor set the place alight as he raced into a 10-1 lead
and then he cashed in on a later scorching run of 2, 2, 3, 3 to skip Chris
Fallen, Daryl Pitt and Steven Anderson to a flaming 25-11 win over Scott
Donaldson.Colin Bonner was
involved in a battle royale at 10-10 but then picked up the pace to go 20-10
with a 3, 4, 1, 2 acceleration as he skipped Steven Kerr, Scott Thorburn and
Kevin Deans to 20-12 triumph over Kenny Stoddart.Their was pre-match nerves around the EL camp on the fitness of Derek
Oliver after he made a quicker than expected recovery from a minor toe
operation but the Port Seton ace proved his decision to play was correct as he
skipped Derek Lowe, Andrew Dunleavey and Paul Robertson to 21-15 victory over
Ian Bone.Junior Internationalist
Wayne Hogg completed the series undefeated as he skipped Gareth Lusk, Paul
McLaren and Ross Pryde to a 25-22 win after zipping from 9-18 to 25-18 with
counts of 5, 6, 1, 4 against Craig Ross.The only blotch on a near perfect copy book on a memorable for East
Lothian Bowling was a 29-15 defeat for the rink of Craig Purves, Ross Thorburn,
Stephen Cochrane and Colin Glen.“This
was a great display that even had the SBA observers singing our praises but
sadly they always seem to suffer from loss of memory when it comes to dishing
out trial places and international honours”, said an East Lothian
spokesperson.
INDOOR
East
Lothian IBC : World Indoor singles champion Alex
Marshall was crowned king of his county for the first time after he edged a
thrilling singles final 21-16 and denied Wayne Hogg the
chance to add a singles title to his ever growing impressive CV.
The
gents, ladies, senior, youth and ladies junior singles finals brought the
curtain down on a busy finals week at the Meadowmill stadium and the final
night of action for the season brought out a bumper crowd and they were
treated to a spectacular evening of top class bowling.The main event was the contest between Marshall and Hogg and the
banking was buzzing early as 23-year old Hogg blazed into a 10-0 lead and had
Marshall at his mercy - only his accurate striking was keeping him in the
contest.“It was a flying start
for me and I reckon ‘Tattie’ (Marshall) burnt five ends in the opening
spell including the very first where I held 4 shots before counting 2 on the
replay then adding 4, 3 and 1,” said Hogg afterwards. But Marshall showed
why he’s the World No.1 on the fifth end when again under intense pressure
he played a superb bowl to turn Hogg’s holding shot out of the head to get
off the mark with three vital shots.Marshall
confidence level grew dramatically and he extended his run with counts of 2,
1, 2, 2 but having stormed back to peel at 10 he was rocked for a second time
in the encounter when Hogg carded a 2 and a 3 to move 15-10 ahead.Hogg again appeared to have the upper hand over his opponent
but Marshall again proved why he’s the best in the business as he responded
with four singles and a double to cross 16-15 before peels were called at 16.The big crowd were on the edge of their seats as they expected the
battle between the international colleagues to go right down to the wire but
Marshall had other ideas and hit 21 without reply with a 1, 1, 3 finish.“I was keen to land my domestic title because if you are the world
champion the members expect you to be their champion as well,” said a
delighted Marshall.Hogg did
however retain his Junior Singles title the previous evening when he saw off
the challenge of Derek Lowe 21-4 and will now get the opportunity to defend
his national crown next season.He
then went onto complete a memorable double winning success when he colleted
the Triples title along with Mark Johnston and Steven Morgan after beating
Stuart Wyllie, David Oliver and Brian Wyllie in closely contested final.Former cap Ian Bell was back in the winner’s enclosure as he skipped
James Hogg, Mark Johnston and Brian Middlemas to the fours title but along
with Johnston suffered disappointment in the 4-bowl pair’s final as John
Allan and Davie Wheeler stole the limelight after snatching victory on an
extra end.After knocking on the
door for the past few seasons Jessie Braes finally realised her potential as
she etched her name on the championship board for the first time with a
commanding 21-11 win over defending champion Janet McLeod in the ladies
singles final.The victory for
Braes ended a memorable week for her after she reached seven finals at the
Meadowmill stadium and won three of them including success in the Thomas
Taylor Triples with Adam Robertson and Ian Twat and she was also in rink that
were victorious in the Open Knockout Fours event.McLeod suffered double disappointment as she also came out second best
in the Fours final as the limelight was grabbed by Grace Scott, Celia
Johnston, Cathy Walkinshaw and Jennifer Malcolm as they celebrated a 17-8 win
over Molly Morgan, Agnes McLeod, Theresa Gordon and McLeod.However the garden county ‘Queen Bee’ did bounce back to take
the triples title after sneaking a thriller against former cap Dian Rowan
11-10.The 4-bowl pair’s title
went to Morag Wood and Sarah Moreland after they edged a pulsating encounter
against Jessie Braes and Sheena Currie 16-14.Junior internationalist colleagues Lynsey Nisbet and Lauren Baillie
went head-to-head in the Ladies Junior Singles final and it was former title
holder Nisbet who will get the opportunity to parade her skills on the
national stage again after a hard fought 21-14 win over her junior
internationalist colleague.Ian
Twatt captured the senior’s singles title having finished with a 1,2,1,3
that powered him to a 21-12 success over George McLean.Representing East Lothian in the national senior fours event next
season will be the rink skipped by Frankie Gray after they cruised to a 19-4
win over the rink skipped by Harry Irvine.The Youth Singles final was a cracking affair as 16-year old
Chris Fallen staged a grandstand finish to pip up and coming young star Andrew
Pringle at the post.15-year old
Pringle delighted the Meadowmill banking with his superb display of drawing
skills to have his opponent on the ropes at 20-15 but it was Fallen who came
out on top with a breathtaking 2, 3, 1, finish to edge a 21-20 thriller.
Seniors
: An ‘A’ senior side from the Meadowmill based club
was cock-a-hoop after they captured the Norman T Craig and East
Lothian Private Hire Taxis sponsored Jock Brodie Trophy following an 8-2
point’s (54-34) victory over local rivals Edinburgh in the final.Star of the show for the garden county senior brigade was Ian Twatt as
he set the foundations for victory by skipping John Scott, Ronnie Stevenson
and George Marshall to a crushing 24-8 triumph over John Thorburn.Team captain Frankie Gray also played a key role in his side’s
success as he skipped Eric Denholm, Jim Oliver and Adam Robertson to a 21-7
success over Dusty Millar while the rink of Jim Pringle snr, George McLean,
Jock Brodie and Jock Cunningham went down 19-9 to ‘townie’ legend John
Summers.During the course of the
tournament club members Wilma Brodie and Jessie Gray organised a raffle that
eventually raised in the region of £900 for club funds.“We would like to thank all those who donated prizes and contributed
to the raffle during the weeks of the tournament - it was very much
appreciated”, said Wilma Brodie.The
club would like to thank Wilma and Jessie for their tremendous effort and also
sponsors Norman Craig and David Balfour for their kind generosity.
National
Championships : Wayne
Hogg got his just reward for a magnificent season as he scooped the Junior
Singles title as he cashed in on a 7-1 lead to beat Ian Bone of Stirling 21-9
having clinched the title with a strong 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, (1), 1 run from 10-8.The victory saw the 23-year old gain ample compensation for his
disappointing semi-final exit with veteran Willie Wood in the 4-Bowl pairs
where they blew an 11-3 lead in losing a 20-17 thriller to Midlothian’s
Steven Currie and Davie Peacock.The
final stages of the World Indoor Singles robbed East Lothian of their skip in
the Fours event but Scotland captain Graham Robertson was able to text title
winning news to their unavailable team member Alex Marshall before his
clubmate tackled Mark McMahon.Robertson
claimed his ninth national title as he was in early morning action to skip
Jamie ‘The Bald Eagle’ Higgins, Brian Wyllie and super-sub Steven
‘Stretcher’ Morgan to an 18-16 over the Coatbridge rink skipped by
internationalist Jim McLarrie.The
11th end proved significant with the Garden County rink carding a 4
that created 13-8 space going into the second half of the final then pressure
at 14-13 was answered with a double on the 16th and 18th
ends to keep the opposition at bay.
2003
OUTDOOR
ELBA
Courier Cup :
East Lothian Division 1 champions Port Seton
brought the curtain down on the outdoor season and completed a fairytale
ending by capturing the ELBA Courier Cup at Prestongrange BC on Saturday.
The ‘sandcastle’
side etched their name on the coveted trophy, with a 53-35 overall shots
triumph over Division 3 champions Gifford in the final.It was a triumph that iced the cake of a memorable 2003 season for Port
Seton after winning the garden county top division last month in eye-catching
fashion.Their club champion
Keith Rutherford played the hero role for the seasiders as he skipped Jock
Cymber, Arthur ‘the king’ Bellany and Tom Nisbet to a thumping 20-6
victory over Gordon Byers, James Dickson jnr, John Craig and Jock Currie.David Oliver found himself 4-1 against the collar after 4 ends played
but then stamped his authority on proceedings with a run of 1, 2, 5, 1, and 4
to cross 14-4 before skipping Alex Jamieson, Tommy Thomson and Gordon Baillie,
to an 18-8 win over James Dickson snr.Well
known Gifford star Brian Bisset saved the whitewash as along with Billy Deans,
David Sked and Peter McGillivray they inflicted a 21-15 defeat on Paul
McDonald, James Weatherhead, George Johnston and Gary Nisbet. Unfortunately it
was Division 4 champions Castlepark A who were the subject of the main talking
point at Prestongrange after they were sensationally disqualified from the
competition as they turned up for their semi-final showdown with Gifford with
only 11 players in the three rink (12 players) competition.Despite frantic efforts by their officials to contact members to fill
the vacant position they went over the 10 minute extension period granted,
leaving the ELBA officials no other option than to eliminate the ‘panners’
from the competition and Gifford received a bye into the final.In the last four clash that did take place it was Port Seton who
finished the stronger to edge past Division 2 winners East Linton 52-42.
East
Lothian Championships : Former Garden County Under
25’s captain Richard Black was the toast of East Linton when the
26-year old captured the singles title with a 21-18 victory over
Haddington’s Andy Burt in the Championship finals at Port Seton.
Black
had the better of the opening exchanges and a full house count on the 5th
end saw him lead 6-2; but Burt hit-back in grand style with 2, 1, 2 run to
move 7-6 ahead.Both players then
traded blows before peels were called at 14 on the 16th end then
Burt was the first to sight the winning post at 16-14.But the outcome of the match was decided when Black went into overdrive
as he counted a hat-rick of consecutive doubles to go 20-16 in front and bring
the title into focus.Burt
stopped the onslaught with a double on the 21st end but the last
word went to Black as he collected the single required for victory on the 22nd
end.Macmerry’s Eric Dickson
won the Junior Singles shootout with John Johnston of Dunbar as he produced a
magnificent fightback to win 21-19 after being against the collar at 14-5
down.Host club’s up and rising
young star Scott Rutherford collected the Youth Singles title after the
13-year old Port Seton ace triumphed 21-10 over Tranent’s young starlet
Thomas Heron.Port Seton also
captured the pair’s title when Steven Morgan produced a memorable
performance to skip Derek Oliver to a 24-4 win over Gifford duo John Currie
and Eric Denholm.Morgan’s
fellow county star Alister Kennedy was also in tremendous form as he skipped
West Barns teammates Scott and Ian Thorburn to victory in the triples final,
after a 20-10 success over Tranent trio Bryan Hoggan, Ian Crichton and Kevin
Jones.Castlepark took the honours in the fours final as Billy
Keenan, Billy Yorkston, Robert Cunningham and Bernie McConnachie produced a
late rally to beat Macmerry’s Mark Kubeczka, James Cuthill, Gordon Cuthill
and Stuart Cuthill 17-12.Aberlady’s
Davie Balfour, George Marshall, Jock Brodie and Jackie Greenwood won the
battle of the ‘old yin’s’ as they converted a 13-6 lead into a 17-12 win
to lift the Senior Fours trophy at the expense of EL-Coop’s Glen Ford,
Willie McNeish, Ronnie Stevenson and Frankie Gray.EL-Coop did have something to smile about when their ‘young
yin’s’ Emma Brown, James Stevenson, Euan Fallon and Gordon Pryde scooped
the Youth Fours title after a 16-12 triumph over Castlepark’s Louise
Griffiths, John Burns, Ian Inglis and David Bell.
Gifford’s senior
side finished their season off in fine style by lifting the John McDonald
Senior League Cup at Aberlady.The ‘villagers’ won the final silverware of the outdoor campaign
after edging a thriller against Port Seton by one shot (34-33).They looked in easy street as they led by eight shots with both rinks
playing their final end. But the
celebration prospects were put on hold when Alex Hogg lost five shots against
Davie McNeill leaving the ‘Sandcastle’ sides other rink needing a three to
take the nail-biting final into an extra-end.However Gifford survived and it was them who gave the victory salute as
Port Seton could only manage to
conjure up a double.
ELBA
Champion of Champions : Haddington champion Ian
‘Dinger’ Bell bridged a 9-year gap as he captured the
ELBA Champion of Champions title for the second time with a 21-8 victory over
Port Seton’s Keith Rutherford at Polson Park, Tranent. In a pretty much
one-sided final Bell was on top from the first end and set the banking alight
with a sizzling 1, 2, (2), 2, 3, 1, 1, 3 run to race into a 13-2 lead.‘Sandcastle’ champion Rutherford stop his opponent in his tracks on
the 9th end to register a single but Bell responded with singles on
the next two ends and bring the title into focus at 15-3.To his credit Rutherford battled away and counted two
consecutive singles before giving his supporters hope of a possible comeback
with three brilliant opening deliveries on the 14th end – but
their hopes were short-lived!Bell
played a perfect weighted bowl with his third delivery to carry the jack into
the ditch and emerged holding three shots. Rutherford then over played his
final delivery, sailing into the ditch, which left Bell an easy draw for a
full-house four shots to move 19-5 ahead.‘Rudge’ (Rutherford) grabbed a consolation three shots at the next
before ‘Dinger’ collected the title winning double on the 16th
and final end.
East
Lothian Leagues : The
final issue in the Leagues was settled when Aberlady’s 4-2
points win over Longniddry ensured they collected the one point required for
them to leapfrog EL-Coop and be crowned Senior Division 1 champions.
EL-Coop
and Ormiston are facing up to the prospect of playing in Division 2 next
season after both were condemned to the drop from Division 1 following a
thrilling climax to the Leagues. EL-Coop
went into their final fixture at Castlepark knowing two points would be good
enough to guarantee safety while the homesters needed nothing less than nine
to save their skin.With everything to play for the sides produced an epic battle which was
nip and tuck throughout until a massive seven for Castlepark’s Steven
Thomson on the third last end of his clash with Wayne Hogg turned the tide in
his side’s favour for them to go on and record a 9-1 victory.That put them level on points with the ‘Old Trafford’ side but they
had a superior shots aggregate over them so they had escaped and now all ears
at the ‘pans’ awaited news from Aberlady who required three points in
their encounter with West Barns to beat the drop.News filtered through to Castlepark that West Barns had won 8-2 to save
EL-Coop and send their opponents down until events took a dramatic twist.When the cards were checked by officials from both sides at the
conclusion of the match it became apparent that overall shots had in fact been
drawn and West Barns hadn’t won by a shot to gain the four bonus points as
the correct scoreline was now 6-4 for the ‘barns’.All the uncertainty was caused by one of the seconds not putting the
correct score on the scoreboard but both teams agreed that 6-4 was the final
scoreline.Relegation for EL-Coop is disastrous as entering the second-half of the
campaign they were major title contenders but with the league being so tight
this season defeats in their final fours games have proved very costly.With the quality they have in their ranks they will be hot odds-on
favourites to bounce straight back up and World No.1 Alex Marshall will be on
board to help his side.Suggestions have been made that ‘Tattie’ (Marshall) may not fancy
the prospect of playing in Division 2 and will jump ship.But he has hit back at those claims and told the Courier “Let it be
assured I will be playing in Division 2 with EL-Coop next season.I’m going nowhere as I’m a loyal member and still firmly believe we
are the best side in East Lothian despite what has happened this season!We’ll (EL-Coop) bounce back and I will be here to give it my all to
help the side get back into Division 1”.
Ormiston’s
stay in the top flight has been short-lived as there hopes of pulling off the
great escape were left in tatters as champions Port Seton ended their title
winning campaign in style with a maximum points win.Haddington ensured runners-up position as they also grabbed a maximum
points triumph over Tranent.Division 2 champions East Linton ended their impressive season with an
8-2 victory at Macmerry and joining them in Division 1 are Elphinstone as
there 8-2 win over Stenton was enough to claim the second-place.The defeat left Stenton in a sweat as they only escaped the drop on
shots aggregate after Port Seton’s second string side pulled a 10-0 win out
of the bag against E L Labour but it was to little to late and they’ll join
their opponents in Division 3 next season.Moving in the opposite direction are Division 3 champions Gifford and
EL-Coop A while at the other end of the table Aberlady A and Dirleton were the
fall guys.Castlepark A secured the Division 4 title following maximum points wins
at Port Seton B with West Barns grabbing runners-up spot.In the seniors Aberlady need one point in their rearranged fixture with
Longniddry A on Wednesday to dispose EL-Coop A from top spot and claim the
Division 1 title while its congratulations to Prestongrange after they
collected a double success as their A and B sides lifted the Division 2 and 3
titles respectively.The final standings (except Senior Division 1) in all East Lothian
Leagues were as follows:- [ Tables ]
ELBA
Top
Ten : Still
on high after escaping relegation from Division 1, Castlepark completed a
season by lifting the ELBA Jubilee Cup (Top 10) after a 6-2
point’s victory over tournament giant killers Dunbar in the final at EL-Coop.Steven Thomson laid the foundations for victory as he beat Tommy Young
21-12 in the all important singles battle.Raymond Frame and Colin Noon also helped build the winning structure
for the ‘panners’ as they were winning skips in the pairs and fours
encounters to help secure their sides place in next seasons Scottish Top 10.Dunbar who had caused shocks by beating Division 1 champions Port Seton
and then Aberlady on route to the final grabbed a consolation win when Steven
Anderson skipped his triple to a one shot victory over James Hogg.In the earlier semi-final action Castlepark edged past Macmerry by
eight shots after the points score was locked at 4-4 and at Polson Park Dunbar
coasted to a 6-2 points win over Aberlady.
Scottish
Counties Championship :
East
Lothian ended a 19-year barren spell as they produced a spectacular 151-89
performance as they powered their way to the Scottish Counties Championship
title with a 20-2 points win over Stirling County West at Ayr Northfield.It
was a fourth title success for the Garden County who were mentally prepared
for a do or die battle from the underdog opposition but ended up with a walk
in the park thanks to wins on five of the six rinks.Influential figures Alex Marshall and Willie Wood MBE were able to take
their place in the EL line-up after dashing back from their international duty
with Scotland in the ongoing England Centenary event and both turned in
inspirational performances to score double figure triumphs that were supported
by battling wins for Steven ‘Stretcher’ Morgan and Struan Robertson. But
it was former internationalist Angus Blair who was the star of the show as he
skipped David Oliver, Gary McNab and Gary Landells, to a massive 25 shot
success over the luckless John Frickleton.The Haddington legend got off to flyer to clock up a 12-0 lead after
7-ends then he demoralised the opposition camp by accelerating to 20-1 just
4-ends later.Continuing in overdrive he added a mighty 5 at the 17th to
go 29-5 up.
Alex
‘Tattie’ Marshall was well fired up for the showpiece occasion and he was
in explosive form throughout his 34-12 victory over Stuart Dalrymple.The world outdoor No.1 skipped James ‘Sleepy’ Hogg, Jamie
‘Gogs’ Gordon and Alister ‘Bongo’ Kennedy into a 15-0 advantage before
finishing off proceedings with a super count of 6 at the last end. Gifford
wizard Willie ‘Winkie’ Wood stamped his authority on his clash with Hugh
Letford with a run of 2, 4, 1, 2, and 4 to go 19-7 ahead from 6-7 before
skipping Gary Murray, Derek Oliver and Kevin Jones, to a 24-15 win.Steven Morgan had a tight affair with Peter Black until a 5 at the 14th
pushed him into 18-14 lead then skipped Alan Clydesdale, Brian Young, and
Graham Dodds, to a battling 26-19 win that was clinched by a 1, 4, finish.
Struan Robertson was against the collar at 12-13 after 17 ends but served up
an impressive 2, 1, 2, (1) finale to skip Jim Florence, Norrie Cochrane, and
Jamie Higgins to a 17-14 win over Brian Stillie. Stirling saved the whitewash
when David Mathieson inflicted a 22-18 defeat on Mark Taylor, Jock Henderson,
Ally Blair and Scott Kennedy.
ELBA
President Gordon Cuthill and team captain Jock Henderson were giving the
magical honour of receiving the Andrew Hamilton Trophy from the SBA President
Sam Kennedy before the players and officials made the journey home for an
evening of celebration at the Keepers Arms Function Suite in Tranent.
“Sunday 3rd August 2003 will be remembered for a long time in
East Lothian bowling circles.To be captain in the year that the Hamilton Trophy came back to the
garden county for the first time since 1984 is as good as it gets for me and I
couldn’t be happier.When it was announced after the trial match that I was captain for the
series I have thought about lifting the cup literally every day since.The team spirit has been good all season but in the semi-final and
final it was sensational.The one thing I’m sure of is that it won’t be another 19 years
until we win it again.If there is any justice then I hope some of this years team get called
up to the Scotland team next season, Willie (Wood) and Alex (Marshall) will be
selected anyway but it would be fitting if we could get one or two new caps or
recalls”, said proud captain Jock Henderson..... The
EL selectors gave the winning side a massive vote of confidence after the
final by announcing that all 24 players involved along, with unfortunate
absentees Wayne Hogg and Stewart Johnston, will automatically be selected for
next season’s trial match.Any player who
has not been available this year but would like to be included in the trial
game should inform team co-ordinator Dougie Kennedy or any of the current
skips.
ELBA : Tranent
Bowling Club completed a memorable double when teams from the
Polson Park outfit clinched the ELBA Brown Trophy and East Lothian News
Trophy.Victory
was made all the sweeter as their victims in both finals were arch rivals
EL-Coop.Davie
Scott played a ‘man of the match’ role in his sides 61-35 Brown Trophy
final win at Elphinstone as he led his rink of Colin Bonner Snr, Bill
‘Banner’ Burnett and John McCrorie to a crushing 28-4 triumph over Ronnie
Branley.Jamie
Higgins and Scott Kennedy had it tougher against Willie Dodds and Scott Dodds
respectively, but both helped the cause by registering one shot wins.The semi-final action earlier in the day saw Tranent overpower
Haddington while a maximum count of eight shots for Willie Dodds in his
encounter with Stevie Thomson proved decisive as EL-Coop beat Castlepark.The East Lothian News Trophy final at Dunbar was a much tighter affair
with the outcome of the match not being decided until the final ends.It was Tranent who held their nerve to clinch a three shot victory
(45-42) over EL-Coop to complete the fairytale double.
Scottish
Women's Championships : Port Seton’s Lauren Baillie
was
the toast of ladies bowling in East Lothian after she was crowned SWBA
National Junior Single champion at a sunny Ayr Northfield.The talented 21-year-old was in inspired form as she defeated Angie
Livingston from Clackmannan 21-14 in the final and booked a place in next
years British Championships. On route to the final the garden county ace had
to pull out all the stops in her quarter-final encounter to overcome C.Cowie
from Annbank 21-19 before going onto beat L.McPhilips of Winchburgh 21-17 in
the semi-final.EL-Coop’s Yvonne Veitch carried the garden county banner in the
singles event but her hopes fell at the first hurdle as she lost out 21-17 to
Ardberg’s Liz McHugh.It was the same scenario for EL-Coop’s Rose Hanratty, Betty
Robertson, Janet Twatt and Alison Colgan as despite a valiant effort they went
down 16-13 to Ellon in the opening round of the Fours.
O O O O
O
Indoor
The
youth section at East Lothian IBC rounded off their indoor campaign by winning
silverware in the last tournament of the season.The garden county young brigade scooped the Bainfield Youth Team
Championship to end a mainly disappointing season on a high.
ELIBC
Finals : Jamie Higgins celebrated his first title success
after being crowned East Lothian IBC singles champion after he beat fellow
26-year-old Steven Morgan in a cracking 21-16 final that lasted 22 incident
packed ends in the main highlight of finals week at the Meadowmill club. Higgins
got off to a flyer and raced into a 5-0 advantage before Morgan hit back with
five consecutive singles to draw level before adding a double to go 7-5 in
front.The talented duo then traded blows to stand peels at eleven
before Higgins smothered the jack for a magic count of three but Morgan
responded with a double to make it 14-13 before Higgins was to play the bowl
that changed the whole complexion of the match.With Morgan holding shot Higgins played a magnificent medium-paced
take-out with his final delivery to register a massive full house four then
added a double to race to 20 and bring the title into sharp focus.‘Stretcher’ (Morgan) always fights like a tiger and he clawed himself
back to 16 with a 2,1 reply then held shot at the next, and hopes of piping his
opponent for the title began to rise.Until
Higgins served up a third bowl snarler that clinched the prestigious title as it
survived a bold strike effort from Morgan that nicked the jack but not far
enough to save him from defeat. “I’m absolutely ecstatic as winning this is
without doubt the highlight of my career and to join great players like Graham
Robertson and Angus Blair on the winner’s board is a dream come true.My next ambition is now to do myself and the club proud in the Scottish
Qualifiers next season”, said a delighted Higgins afterwards.The
big crowd that descended on the Meadowmill arena for all the singles finals last
Tuesday evening certainly left knowing they had witnessed bowling of the highest
quality.....
The men’s final was exceptional but the main buzz was the tremendous contest
between the garden counties hottest properties Wayne Hogg and Derek Oliver in
the gent’s Under 25’s singles final.Oliver
had the better of the early exchanges and looked like a champion as he went 12-4
in front.Hogg though bounced back in fine fashion with a sizzling
3,4,1,2,1,1,1 to move onto 17 without reply before Oliver stopped the rot with a
1, 3, and 2 to edge 18-17 ahead.Junior
Internationalist Hogg then got victory in his sight with a magical three but
Oliver added a single then at the next and had the title in his grasp as he held
a match-winning double but Hogg produced a final delivery that had the crowd on
their feet as he drew a wonderful inch perfect bowl to claim victory........
The Ladies singles also produced a first-time champion in the shape of
last year’s runner-up Janet McLeod whose 21-14 win over former
internationalist Diane Rowan denied her a record extending seventh title
success.44-year-old McLeod
pinpointed the 14th end as her highlight having carded three shots
from a neat trail that brought her in sight of the title at 17-9 up.Current Scottish Ladies under 25 singles holder Lynsey Nisbet will get
the chance to defend her title after again winning the domestic title after
triumph over Lauren Baillie while its congratulation’s to Harry Cunningham
after he successfully retained the senior’s singles crown with victory at the
expense of John Scott.Stuart
Wyllie claimed the Youth singles accolade thanks to a 21-14 win over Calumn
Gordon and the youth handicap was won by Chris Fallon as he beat Robert French
21-7......
Angus Blair and Willie Wood formed a formidable pairing to scoop the pair’s
title after final victory over Craig MacFarlane and Graham Robertson.The deadly duo teamed up with Craig MacFarlane to also lift the triples
crown defeating Mikey Cymber, Gary Murray and Derek Oliver in the final.Jamie Higgins was back in the winner’s enclosure as along with Dougie
Berwick, Brian Wyllie and Graham Robertson they celebrated success in the fours
event with a nail-biting 17-16 final win over Jim Smith, Jock Henderson, Ross
and Davie Pryde.Ronnie Stevenson, Jock Greig, Ian Twatt and Frankie Gray
produced a grandstand finish to pip George McLean, Archie Scott, George Marshall
and Jock Cunningham for the senior fours title.
Janet McLeod will be
thankful she held her nerve to win the singles title as she suffered bitter
disappointment in two other finals.Along
with mother Agnes McLeod she lost out in the pairs final to Grace Scott and
Cathy Walkinshaw and the double blow was complete as Jean Russell teamed up with
the mother and daughter combination but had to settle for second best as Alicia
Irvine, Agnes McLean and Nan Johnston took the triples title.Kathleen Bain, Grace Scott, Cathy Walkinshaw and Jennifer
Malcolm raced into a 17-0 lead in the fours final before eventually going onto
to beat last years champions Eleanor Nisbet, Sarah Moreland, Linda Black and
Agnes Cunningham 24-17.
Scottish
Senior League Cup : East
Lothian IBC senior side captured the Scottish Senior League Cup title for the
third time in five years with a 68-51 victory over Inverclyde in the grand final at Cumbernauld IBC. Star of the show was Willie Wood
MBE as the electric cup final atmosphere brought the best out of the garden
county veteran as he charged into a 19-4 lead then skipped Eric Denholm, John
Holmes and George Marshall to a 25-12 triumph over S. Blaikie.Adam Robertson, George McLean, Jock Brodie and Jock Cunningham also
got off to a flying start as they raced into a 9-1 advantage before going onto
register a 23-12 win over C. Wilson.The
other two encounters were harder fought battles as Jim Oliver, Davie McNeill,
Harry Cunningham and Frankie Gray were edged out 11-9 by A. Forbes and Jim
Neilson, Bob McIntosh, Ronnie ‘Kiwi’ Stevenson and Ian Twatt gave 16-11 best
to T. Forbes.
Senior's
Scottish Cup : East
Lothian IBC senior side blazed a new trail and entered the national records
books when they beat Glasgow 67-56 in the final of the Scottish
Senior Cup at Stirling IBC. The Garden County ‘old yin’s’ were clocking up
a title first in the event but having already captured the the national league
cup version they made history with the first double in the same season.Wins for the rinks skipped by Ian Twatt and Frankie Gray tipped the
scales in favour of EL who faced pressure from the defeat of Willie Wood MBE and
Jock Cunningham.‘Twatty’ (Twatt)
played the hero role as he produced a sensational personal performance to
marshal Ronnie ‘Kiwi’ Stevenson, Bob McIntosh and Jim Neilson to a 26-11
win.Frankie (Gray) chipped in to
the hard fought victory as he led 10-6 after ten ends then skipped Robert Small,
Davie McNeill and Harry Cunningham to an 18-12 success.Willie Wood went down 18-14 and Jock Cunnigham 15-9. “We were on edge
on the days leading up to the final as we knew fame if not fortune was in our
grasp and we are as proud as punch to have landed both major team titles,”
said a delighted club president Archie Scott.
Jock
Brodie Trophy : The Midlothian IBC senior side scooped the
Norman T Craig sponsored Jock Brodie Trophy thanks to a 7-3 points triumph over
Perth in the final at the Meadowmill stadium.In a cracking encounter the outcome wasn’t known until the very last
end but it was the Dalkeith outfit that held their nerve to claim the
all-important fours points as they won 43-39 on overall shots aggregate. During
the course of the tournament Wilma Brodie and Jessie Gray organised a very
successful raffle which raised £838.00 for club funds.The club would once again like to thank the ladies for a terrific effort
and to everyone who donated prizes.
Open
Round Robin Mixed Fours : The Meadowmill club staged a
very successful Open Round Robin Mixed Fours with nearly 100
competitors attracted to the £1000 tournament which was kindly sponsored by Top
Rink Sport, Terry Hill Plumbing, Jims Coaches and Mark Johnston.The eventual winners came from home soil as Jean Russell,
June McGimpsey, Jamie Gordon and Brian Wyllie scooped the £500 first prize
after beating Molly Morgan, Nan Johnstone and Oliver brothers Derek and David in
the grand final.“Absolutely
delighted as this is the first time the club has organized a tournament of this
stature and it was a roaring success.Big
thank you to all the sponsors and plans have been put into motion to have the
tournament again next year” said tournament promoter Willie Wood.
Top Club :Its congratulations to Gifford BC as they retained the East
Lothian Courier sponsored title after victory over Tranent in last Sunday’s.The villager’s most famous son Willie Wood was an inspirational figure
as he produced a wonderful performance, changing head after head, to beat
opposing young skip Alan Young 11-7.Guest
player Sandy Darling was also a main contributor as he triumphed over Davie
Scott as Dean Higgins grabbed the ‘belters’ only consolation with victory
over Brian Bisset.The champions
also created a bit of unique history as they are only the second club after Port
Seton to successfully defend the crown.
Cities
& Counties Championship : A
makeshift men’s side kept the Meadowmill based clubs hopes of retaining the
championship title alive after a surprisingly easy quarter-final win over
Arbroath at Perth.Once again the selectors received a number of withdrawals from the
original side selected which meant late call-ups for Richard Black, Stewart
Thomson and Brian Galloway.All played a key role in helping their side romp to victory and set-up a
semi-final clash with West Lothian on Saturday March 15th 2003.Top performers in a 8-0 point’s whitewash and a 99-49 overall shots
aggregate win were Mark MacKay, Brian ‘Trigger’ Galloway, Derek Oliver and
Steven ‘Stretcher’ Morgan who surged to a 22-shot victory.
World Indoor Singles : East
Lothian IBC’s Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall was the toast of the garden county
when he won the World Indoor Singles crown for the second time in five
years at Potters Leisure Resort, also receiving a world record first prize of £28,000
and the specially designed Langholm Glass Trophy. The world ranked No2’s win also gave
Scotland a 12th win in the 25 years that the competition has
been in existence when he took the scalp of 1990 champion, Welsh Wizard John
Price, 10-4, 6-5. The Tranent based player survived a few scares’ en-route to
the grand final winning two of his opening three matches on tiebreaks but showed
his true class in his semi-final clash as he beat fellow Scot and World No.1
David Gourlay in straight sets.The
35-year-old continued his impressive form into the early stages of the final as
he raced into a 4-1 three end lead, but Price fought back to trail 5-4 on the
sixth and held a single to level the match at 5-5.But ‘Tattie’ (Marshall) produced the big shot when it mattered,
removed the Welshman’s holding shot and counted a treble to take a comfortable
8-4 advantage and a double on the eighth end was good enough to seal the set
10-4.The pattern continued in the
second set, with Price holding a slight advantage at 3-2 on the fourth end, but
once again Alex’s pressure shots came to his rescue.He gradually increased his lead to 6-3 with two ends to play, before
patiently holding on to win the set and title 6-5.“It was the highlight of my career when I won the title the first time
in 1999, but it’s just like a dream come true to win it twice – my ambition
now is to go for a third title to rub shoulders with David Bryant, Tony Allcock
and Richard Corsie,” said a delighted Marshall.
