Matt Osborne has etched the Tranent Bowling Club on the Singles silverware of the East Lothian Bowling Association having turned in a strong performance to capture the most coveted crown of the Gents Knockout Championships sponsored by Belhaven Brewery.
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Finals day at Aberlady BC last Saturday saw the main spotlight focus on the Singles proper with Osborne challenging for the title glory against John Carpenter Jnr of Athelstaneford. Both players paraded their skills in exciting fashion and the climax to a hard-fought battle saw Osborne score a match winning single on the 22nd end to capture a dramatic 21-20 victory. Dean Riva of Gifford etched his name on the Junior Singles trophy following a hard fought 21-16 success over Euan Leith of Aberlady. In the Youth Singles final Cockenzie & Port Seton’s exciting prospect Harvey Cunningham produced a grandstand finish that swept him to 21-16 victory over Beth Riva of Gifford. Marc McCormack and Craig McLeod of Winton had it all to do at 13-10 down to Mark Telfer and Andy Johnstone of Prestongrange in the final of the Pairs but snatched the title with a 3, 1, 1, finish to win 15-13. The Triples trophy will be on display at Elphinstone for the next 12 months after Colin Glen skipped his father Kenny and Rhys French to a 15-13 win over Prestongrange trio of Kenny Anderson, Andrew Cormack and Ross Marwick. Performance of finals day was delivered by the East Linton rink of Calum Blair, Keith Fender, Keith Hamilton and Grant Fender after they produced their very own version of the great escape to land the Fours title. With 11 of the 17 ends completed East Linton faced a 15-5 deficit but the magic touch emerged in the shape of a sizzling 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2 finish that saw them snatch an unbelievable 16-15 triumph over Michael Greenan, John Gearty, Colin Leishman and Steven Morgan of Cockenzie & Port Seton. E L Labour claimed the Senior Fours title with Barry Messer, Robert Henderson, Jim Smith and George Gray holding most of the aces in a 16-11 win over Tom Moffat, Bobby Davidson, Ian Malcolm and Alan Morgan of Cockenzie & Port Seton. The final of the Youth Fours was an all EL-Coop affair and it was their ‘A’ rink of Kieran Dodds, Lennon Rafferty, Cameron Shaw and Robbie Shields who emerge triumphant with a 16-12 victory over their ‘B’ rink counterparts John Clark, Ethan Gillies, Danny Stevenson and Robbie Buchanan.
Tranent Bowling Club progressed through to the semi-final stage of the 2017 Inter-County Top 5 Singles following an excellent 4-1 point’s victory at home against Midlothian champions Pathhead last Thursday evening. Wins for John McCrorie (21-13), Matt Osborne (21-14) and Kevin Jones (21-14) triggered a victory salute for the East Lothian champions that left Adam Martin with unfinished business while recently crowned club champion Kevin Cunningham lost out narrowly. The Polson Park based side now head to Sighthill Bowling Club in Edinburgh on Sunday September 10 for the tournament finals day.
Meanwhile, an East Lothian Under 25 team yet again made a bold effort to bring the prestigious Calder Cup back to the garden county for the first time; but for the second successive year fell at the final hurdle. Sighthill BC in Edinburgh hosted the end of season tournament and East Lothian emerged from a tough qualifying section as table toppers to book a semi-final clash with Ayrshire. The garden county produced a fine display to win the last four battle but their great form deserted them in the final and they suffered defeat at the hands of arch rivals Edinburgh & Leith. “Really pleased with the level of performance from all the players but in the end, we just came up short against a very good Edinburgh & Leith side in the final”, reflected team manager Michael Greenan.
East Lothian Bowling Association has announced that the Courier Cup finals day will be staged at East Linton BC on Saturday September 16 from 12.30pm. The end of season tournament features all the evening leagues winners namely, Cockenzie & Port Seton, Haddington A, Longniddry and Aberlady A. The semi-final draw took place earlier this week and it paired Cockenzie & Port Seton with Longniddry while it’s Haddington A against Aberlady A. Meanwhile the draw for the ELBA Champion of Champions has taken place and can now be viewed on the ELBA website. Three preliminary round matches will be staged at Castlepark BC in Prestonpans on Friday evening with all first round matches scheduled for Monday evening at various venues across the county.
National singles runner-up Billy Mellors continues to make his mark at Haddington Bowling Club after he made a successful defence of his championship singles crown following a 21-16 victory over Malcolm Higgenbotham. Caitlin Thorburn is the new ladies champion after defeating her gran and 16 times champion Babs Herschel, 21-5, in the final. Dean French is the new single champion at Elphinstone after beating his cousin Rhys French in the final, 21-16. Peter Fallen won the senior singles title following a 21-15 win over Lessel Middler in the final. Gary Henderson was crowned king of Longniddry following a convincing 21-9 victory over Peter Stanton in the final. Craig McLeod is the new champion at Winton following an epic 21-20 triumph over Chris Johnston in a cracking final while Daniel Rowley is celebrating a first championship success at Ormiston having served up a strong performance in the final to beat Stewart Johnston Jnr, 21-13. Former East Lothian county star Kenny McShane produced a vintage display of bowling to become champion of East Lothian Labour for a first time. The club championship final at West Barns will be staged on Friday evening and will be contested between Gary Landells and Ian Thorburn.
Haddington Bowling Club stages their big money Winner Takes All Open Fours tournament this coming weekend and a high class field will challenge for the lucrative £4000 on offer for the winners. 2016 Commonwealth Games heroes Alex Marshall MBE and David Peacock will be participating along with a host of current and former Scotland internationalists and well-known England internationalist Stuart Airey is also set to feature in the two day extravaganza. The tournament is being sponsored by A.O.Blair Roofing & Building, Annan’s Solicitor and Estate Agents and William Lawrie Funeral Directors. Everyone is welcome to come along and support the tournament with the final stages expected to commence around 6pm on Sunday evening. There is currently 2 late entries available for the tournament and anyone interested in taking these should contact tournament organiser Angus Blair on 07918 145153.
Congratulations to 9 year old Logan Kennedy from Cockenzie & Port Seton and an out of retirement Angus Blair on winning the West Barns Open Pairs tournament last Saturday.
With the indoor season fast approaching officials at East Lothian IBC request that anyone wishing to enter a new team in the leagues (evening, ladies, mixed or morning) should contact the Match Secretary as soon as possible via the club’s Facebook page. The same goes for anyone who did not submit entry forms at the end of last season; if you are unsure please contact Match Secretary Steven Clark as soon as possible.