East section champions Edinburgh and Leith are primed to do battle with Bon Accord at Bellahouston, Glasgow, in todays semi finals of the Cities & Counties Championship while West Lothian are also in the title chasing mix and face Highland at Kirriemuir.
Read MoreCarrick Knowe ace Stephen Pringles is an absentee from the E&L line up and his shoes at third to John Ramsay are filled by the elevation of David Fisher with Gordon bold of Craigentinny re-introduced at second. E&Ls 10 shot win (128-118) over Glasgow West was a cliff-hanging affair with the scales finally tipped by a spirited 8-1 capture of the final end across the six rinks. Wins on the rinks skipped by Paul Veitch (28-14); Andrew Ramsay (23-15); and James Hogg (25-24); plus a peel for Robert Marshall (18-18); covered the defeat of John Ramsay (17-20); and John McDermott (17-27).
Veitch inspired the victory with the team captain skipping Craig Mackintosh, John Kidd, and Alan Brown on a purple patch run of 3, 1, 4, 4 to lead 25-9 while Robert Marshall answered the climax pressure with a finishing run of 5, 2, 1.
Meanwhile, Highland represents shock opposition for West Lothian and its hats off to them for a stunning victory over defending champions Lanarkshire South a result that deserves to command the respect of the bowling world at large in Scotland. West Lothian are now aware of the red for danger signal that is flashing so are unlikely to sleepwalk into a potential nightmare scenario as they pursue their ambition to capture the Holy Grail Trophy of the Cities and Counties Championship. Team manager Gordon Logan covers the enforced absence of Bryan Cooper with the introduction of emerging Kirkliston star Robbie Cuthill whose selection at lead to Neil Speirs pushes Scott Logan up to second. It was wins on the rinks skipped by Neil Speirs, Steven Fleming, and Raymond Logan, plus a peel for Andrew Dunnett that inspired WL to a battling 10 shot victory (117-107) over Lanarkshire West; narrow defeats were suffered by Grant Logan and Thomas Mann.
Carrick Knowe ace Stephen Pringle turned up trumps in the battle to capture the coveted Fleming Trophy for E&L Under 25s but was being hard pressed at 18-11 down before escaping to a 21-19 victory with a 2, 2, 2, 3, (1), 1 finish against Keiron Ward of Summerside.
The Finals Day played at Parkside also saw the crown of the Coronation Pairs captured by local bowling royalty in the shape of Gordon Ramsay and Robert Marshall of Slateford defeating Scott Noble and John McDermott of Sighthill, 26-8. The Coronation Triples went to Maitland with Stevie Ritchie, Gary Stout, and Graeme Mcintosh recovering from 0-7 to 11-9 then conjuring up a magic 3, 1 finish to pull a 16-13 victory out of the hat at the expense of Hillsides Phil Harper, Kyle Newall, and Gary Muir. Craig Ramsay brought the sunshine over Leith with his capture of the Coronation Fours having skipped his Leith BC rink of Robert Wood, Ian Ramsay, and Paul Bryce to a 15-12 win over Stevie Ferguson (skip) of Mayfield.
The final of the Seniors Singles produced a 25 end theatre of thrilling drama with Mick Morrison brought under intense pressure from 18-12 up to 20-19 down but answering the menace with a 1, 1 finish to pip Bobby Brown of Corstorphine, 21-20.
The Parkside trio of Jack Logan, Rab Gardner, and Lawrence Healy just held on from 14-7 to beat Hillside, 16-15, in the Triples; Carrick Knowes Chris Crawford and Alan McIntyre beat Sighthill, 17-8, in the Pairs; Sighthills Rab McCabe, Tam Seggie, Martin Loftus, and Adam Melrose beat Deans Bob Cranston, 18-11, in the Fours.
Newbridge showed great resilience and the stronger stamina over the extended 21 end final of the historic WLBA Rosebery Cup (1882) as they bounced off the ropes at 42-30 down to beat Whitburn, 87-75, at East Calder. Wins for Jamie Aitken (30-16) and Blair Mackie (22-16) plus a peel for James Speirs Jr (17-17) covered the 26-18 defeat of Thomas Mann.
The 3rd Round line up in The Virgin Trains Edinburgh Top Ten is; Craigentinny v Parkside; Currie v Bainfield; Blackhall v Summerside; Carrick Knowe v Northern.
Carrick Knowe won their top of the table battle at home to Postal in Division 2 of the Alpha Trophies Edinburgh Bowling League with a 7-2 result saw them hit the top with 62 points to the 60 of their victims. Hillside sit third with 56 points.
Division 1 Results; Maitland 4 Parkside 5; Craigentinny 7 Brunsatne 2; Summerside 7 Queensberry 2; Northern 5 Tanfield 4.