WWW.SCOTLAWNBOWLS.COM

Or Fax

0131 539 0453

Scott Kennedy completed a successful defence of the Singles title at Edinburgh IBC with the 30-year old internationalist producing a scintillating performance to beat Colin Hairs 21-5 in the final at the Milton Road Indoor Bowling stadium. Hairs was reduced to a shadow of his normal self as the defending champion monopolized the spotlight having raced into an 8-0 lead then staying in command to reach 18-5 before hitting 21 with a 2,1, finish. Kennedy would normally have looked forward to competing for the Scottish title next season but that bonus isn’t available to any of the current crop of champions from EIBC. “The Scottish Indoor BA has excluded the club from all next seasons national championships because of the dark clouds hanging over its future so that’s a major disappointment but at least it’s a feel good factor to be a back to back champion” A similar scenario unfolded in the climax to the Junior Singles with 20-year old holder Colin Hutchison battling to a 21-15 success over Chris Downie who had etched his name on the cup in 2003 It was a hammer and tongs battle up to 14-13 but Hutchison broke to 20 with a 4 and a 2 then answered the loss of a double with a single to retain the title. The switch from the indoor to outdoor season is rapid with the Edinburgh & Leith trial match for the Scottish Counties Championship taking place at Goldenacre tomorrow (2pm). East Lothian is even further forward with the garden county launching their league action tonight. The spotlight in Division 1 will focus on defending champions Port Seton who are aiming to make it a record making hat trick of title wins but face the toughest of opening tests against Castlepark   Castlepark filled the runners up spot last season and club morale is high following their success in capturing the Scottish Top Ten title.{Stewart Meikle 29/04/05.}

Craig Moss has celebrated a glorious double at Bainfield IBC by capturing the Singles and Junior Singles titles at the Hutchison Crossway stadium. Moss landed the Under 25 crown first serving up a grand display to beat junior Scotland experienced Chris Steven 21-11 in 18-ends. Steven, a top recruit this season from Edinburgh IBC, opened up a 6-2 lead before Moss took a firm grip of affairs with a sizzling run of 4,2,3,3,2, to cross 16-6. Moss returned to the carpet the following night and grabbed the limelight in the Singles final with a 21-17 victory over Stephen Pilley. The opening exchanges favoured Moss and an 11-3 lead became 14-5 then 18-9 but Pilley hiked up the temperature with a 4,1,3, fight back to 17 before Moss hit 21 with a hat trick of singles “It’s a dream to win both titles and I feel fantastic especially as I will now carry the Bainfield banner into next season national championships and get two bites of the cherry”. The final of the Youth singles was dominated by the premier league experienced teenager Graham McLeod who beat Dean Thomson 21-10. A turn iup for the book in the Fours saw Andy McNab, David Poole, Keith Mitchell, and Chris Steven race into a 16-4 lead then just hold off a late challenge from Willie McIntosh, Jimmy Ross, Alex Ross, and Paul O’Donnell to win 16-15. Wendy Archer added to her jam packed domestic CV by capturing the women’s Singles title with a 21-6 win over Heather Stoddart having set the scene with a run of 3,1,3, to lead 7-1. Junior Scotland cap Mandy O’Donnell hit top form to dominate the Under 25 final at the 21-8 expense of Kelsey Beck. Former Edinburgh IBC singles champion Sheila Smeal landed the Fours title skipping Aimee Robertson, Rae Pettigrew, and Irene Lindsay to a 23-7 win over Marion Dickson, Margaret Galbraith, Eileen Lauder, and Muriel Old. {Stewart Meikle 25/04/05}

West Lothian IBC crowned a new junior singles champion last night and it was surprise package James Greenock who stole the limelight from premier league star Thomas Mann in a 21-end final at the Inveralmond stadium. Greenock has just turned 23 and the accountancy student celebrated the event with a commanding 21-11 victory that elevated him to cloud 9 but questioning whether his first major title success was a dream or reality. “Thomas and I have been best pals since boyhood and quite frankly I have never beaten him at anything be it bowls basketball football golf or you name it”. “I came into the final determined to put up a show but my first concern was to avoid a granny then see how it developed from there”. A run of 2,3,1, to lead 6-1 put the granny to bed then from 6-4 a sizzling spell of 1,2,1,2,2,2,1, set the expectations soaring as the title came into focus at 17-4. “My policy of retaining the jack and dictating the mat placement and jack length was serving me well but even when I moved to 19-6 then 20-9 I didn’t want to count my chickens”. Mann carded successive singles to 11 then rattled the next end with a ferocious strike but the 24-year old junior outdoor cap had to admit defeat when the jack settled closest to a Greenock back bowl. “I am feeling the pain because defeat cost me a place in next seasons national event but I can hardly grudge James what was a richly deserved success on the night”, reflected Mann.{Stewart Meikle 22/04/05}

Chris Fallen made a successful defence of the Youth championship title at East Lothian IBC with the 17-year old an impressive 21-10 winner over 15-year old Scott Rutherford. Willie Wood MBE carded a 3 at the last to skip Stuart Wyllie to a 20-15 win over Craig McFarlane and Graham Robertson in the final of the Pairs. {Stewart Meikle22/04/05}

Ewan Shearer has captured the Singles crown at Balbardie IBC for a second time with the 31-year old former West Lothian Master scoring a 21-12 win over Alex Fraser in an eventful final at the Bathgate stadium. Fraser made the early running to lead 8-2 but he miscast the jack into the ditch at the next end and that proved to be a costly mistake. Shearer grabbing the chance to switch from long to short and reaping the benefit with an improved consistency that brought him into the picture at 7-9 although he faced 3 shots against him at the next end “I saved my skin by firing the jack out of play and the replay saw me card 4 shots that pushed me into the lead for the first time and the boost to my confidence was a big bonus”, he told the News later. The final of the ladies championship shared the limelight and probably stole the show with Lorraine Malloy avenging her defeat in last seasons final to pip holder Sharon Leitch in a 21-19 thriller. Malloy looked to be coasting at 19-13 up; but Leitch, a former finalist of the Balgreen tournament, peeled with a 4,2, fight back before losing out to two singles. Chris Fallen made a successful defence of the Youth championship title at East Lothian IBC with the 17-year old an impressive 21-10 winner over 15-year old Scott Rutherford. Holder George Sneddon is back in the final of the Singles championship at West Lothian IBC and will defend the title against Derek Hagart at the Inveralmond stadium in Livingston on Monday night. The semi final action saw Sneddon battling for an 11-9 lead before moving up the gears and accelerating to a 21-9 victory over Iain Grant while Hagart led all the way to beat Richard Mark 21-15.{Stewart Meikle 21/04/05}

It was meant to provide a triumphant end to a Scottish Cup winning season but the star-studded team representing West Lothian IBC in the final of the Hall Stud Farm Under 35 Scottish League Cup flopped badly against Blantyre at Turriff.West Lothian had 50% of their cup winning team in action but the title favourites were never in the hunt as Blantyre trampled all over them to triumph 80-68 and by 10 points to nil with wins on all four rinks.The pain of defeat being inflicted on the rinks skipped by premier league stars Neil Speirs, Joey Strickland, Thomas Mann, and Mark Allison.The best that can be said of the WL effort was that Speirs, Strickland, and Mann all finished within touching distance with narrow single figure defeats; but Allison, the team captain, was always fighting a lost cause.speirs shaped up as an inspiration when skipping Stewart Gibson, James Greenock, and Iain Grant into leads of 11-1 and 15-4; but a second half nightmare saw them destroyed 15-1 to lose 19-16 to Alex Kelly.Strickland only counted at one of the first 10 ends to trail Jim Lowe 11-3; but only lost 16-13 as he skipped Matthew Gorrie, John McDermott, and Stuart Johnston to a stronger finish.Mann was considered unlucky to be 11-0 down after five ends and proved the point by skipping Cameron Greer, Andrew Cavanagh, and James Speirs back to peels at 13 before slipping to a 20-16 defeat from Matt Latkowski.Allison and his rink of Kenny Black, Murray Bell, and Bryan Cooper, lost ground from 7-7 to 7-13 and making little impression on the run in lost 24-15 to George Whitelaw.Blantyre’s triumph iced the cake for their camp following the club’s success in capturing the Premier League title.{Stewart Meikle 20/04/05}

World Bowls gold medal champion David Peacock has compensated for his defeat in the Singles final at Midlothian IBC by skipping his trio to a successful defence of the Triples title at the Dalkeith stadium. Peacock and his front two of Steven Currie and Willie Rankin demonstrated the skills that earned them this seasons Scottish and British Isles titles with a 20-10 triumph over Derek Smith, Tam Russell and Scott Matthews in the final. The opposition opened the scoring with a double but Peacock blasted them with an explosive 2,4,3,2,2, reply to lead 13-2 then from 13-6 hastened their demolition with a hat trick of singles to stand 16-6 up. “This win earns us the chance to defend our national title and also keeps us in the limelight next season”, said Peacock. The final of the Pairs was a real ding-dong affair with the stronger finishing partnership of Ronnie Duncan and Colin Walker capturing the title at the 24-17 expense of Scott Briggs and Colin McFarlane Briggs & McFarlane set the early pace to lead 11-2 and were still in command at 15-11; but Duncan & Walker zipped to the front with a run of 1,1,4,1,2, and then from 20-15 answered the loss of a double with a 2,1,1, finish. Mark Taylor has succeeded Scottish and British Isles champion Wayne Hogg to the Junior Singles title at East Lothian IBC producing a strong second half performance to beat Derek Oliver 21-13 in a 22-end final. Oliver led 9-7 but came to a virtual standstill over the next 7 ends as Taylor raced past him to bring the winning post into sharp focus at 19-9 then he went on to complete the knockout of the favourite with a 1,2, finish The final of the Seniors singles resulted in a fourth title success for George Marshall who accelerated from 14-9 to 21-9 with a 4,2,1, finish against Bill Fenton.{ Stewart Meikle 19/04/05}

 Jamie Higgins is the Singles champion of East Lothian Indoor Bowls 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.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 national event.“I was fired up to capture the title for a second time as it tends to prove to others and myself that the first one wasn’t just a flash in the pan”, said the proud as punch champion.Defeat for 24-year old Hogg brought a double dose of pain for the title favourite as he had lost the previous seasons final to three times world champion Alex Marshall and the domestic crown is missing from the impressive CV of the Scotland cap.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 10 ends.Hogg remained against the collar at 15-9 but 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 moved him to 17-14.Two ends later Higgins opened with a cracking bowl that snuggled the jack 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.Junior Scotland star Lynsey Nisbet etched her name on the ladies championship cup for an impressive third time when the 22-year old supermarket service manager defeated holder Jessie Braes 21-9 in an 18-end final.The opening exchanges were even with peels at 6 called after 8 ends but Nisbet’s concentration on a short length jack produced a purple patch spell of 2,2,4,1, which gave her command of the final at 15-6.It was uphill for Braes after that with the 2004 champion restricted to three singles before Nisbet reclaimed the title by conjuring up a magic 3 from 18-9.“Jessie had the edge on the longer length jacks but the scales tipped in my direction when I went short although she made me fight for every shot”, reflected Nisbet.  Nisbet now has her sights fixed on next season’s national singles with the confidence that she has completed the full course and distance twice at Under 25 level.[Stewart Meikle 18/04/05}