The elite bowlers of West Lothian stand a fighting chance of capturing the coveted Hamilton Trophy when their 24 strong team of six rinks contest the final of The Cities and Counties Championship against Bon Accord at Ayr Northfield on Saturday.
Read MoreTeam manager Gordon Logan leads his warriors into battle without the services of ace skip Thomas Mann but welcomes the return to action of Bathgate star Bryan Cooper.
Cooper lines up at third to team captain Gary Smith who moves up a position to skip in pace of Mann in an otherwise unchanged team that showed strong spirit to score a battling semi final win over Highland at Kirriemuir. Wins on the rinks skipped by Steven Fleming (28-10), Thomas Mann (24-11), and Raymond Logan (17-13) combined to give an under pressure WL a 114-107 supremacy over a Highland opposition that inflicted defeat on Grant Logan (13-32), Neil Speirs (13-19), and Andy Dunnett (19-22). Fleming made a phenomenal start to the semi final skipping Drew Paterson, Paul Sweeney, and Sandy McDougall on an inspirational scoring spree of 1, 1, 1, 2, (1), 6, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 3, (2), 3 to lead 24-3 after 14-ends.
Mann also had a strong influence on the Master Scoreboard, skipping his rink to a purple patch spell of 4, (1), 3, 3, 1, 2, 3, to lead 23-9 after 19 ends.
Bon Accord have made it all the way to the final in awesome style having won their North section with an undefeated record of seven out of seven then defeating Glasgow South by 36 shots, and the might of Edinburgh & Leith by 17.
It is a busy weekend on the calendar of the WLBA as Sunday heralds the climax to one of its Major Events with the final of the White Knights sponsored Top Ten featuring a Big Guns clash between Kirkliston and Linlithgow at Broxburn BC (2pm). This weeks semi final action saw defending champions Kirkliston survive a 5-3 battle against Bathgate at Newbridge while 2016 champions Linlithgow emerged from an epic encounter with Uphall Station at Whitburn by a single shot after a 4-4 share of the points.
Friday night (tomorrow) is the pre 20th West Lothian Masters special One End Singles Shoot Out being hosted by Bathgate BC and featuring a host of prominent names bidding to capture the winning prize of £150.
The event is the first of its kind in West Lothian and the quality and personalities on view is sure to provide an entertaining spectacle and worthy of attracting a large support. The start time is 6-30pm
This weeks second round play in the Winter Jack High Insurance sponsored WLBA Junior Open for The Fred MeikleTtrophy saw holder and four times champion Calum Logan of Kirkliston step up his defence with a 21-13 win over Jamie Edwards of Broxburn.
The intriguing battle between the high profile Pearce brothers of Kirkliston saw Jordan edge a 21-19 thriller over Darren while Calum Melrose of Deans impressed at the 21-8 expense of Buchan Park star Steven Fleming.
The quarter finals line up on Monday August 6 reads; Calum Logan v Calum Melrose; Kyle Broadley v Jamie Aitken; Nathan Davies v Mark Thorburn; Jordan Pearce v Stuart Ford.
The showcase spectacle of the National Championships at Ayr Northfield run from Monday till Saturday next week with the West Lothian challenge spearheaded on the first day by Richard Mark (Uphall Station) and Angela Uttley (Glenmavis) in their respective Seniors Singles.
Newbridge (Gents) and Kinneil (Ladies) feature in the Seniors Fours and Bellsburn in the Mixed Pairs while a Junior Singles interest in the mainstream brings Darren Pearce of Kirkliston into focus against high profile challenger John Fleming Jnr of Port Glasgow.
Taylor Nicol of Deans launches her bid for the J/Singles on Tuesday while Wednesday attractions include Kirkliston (G) and Glenmavis (L) in the Pairs; and East Calder (G) and Linlithgow (L) in the Fours.