Bowls: Durham's Liberty Trophy dreams wrecked by Lincolnshire

Durham endured massive disappointment as their hopes of a 12th Liberty Trophy title were left in pieces following a 127-104 loss to Lincolnshire.
Durham Liberty Trophy skip Gary SmithDurham Liberty Trophy skip Gary Smith
Durham Liberty Trophy skip Gary Smith

On a sluggish New Earswick surface, Durham again were left to rue a slow start.

Lincolnshire raced into an early 20-shot lead and, despite a late Durham charge which got them back to within four shots, they regrouped and pulled away to finish 23 shots up.

Across the green, Durham lost on all six rinks.

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Stanley’s John Thurlbeck and Durham’s Gary Smith both went down by one shot, while South Shields’ David Bolt lost by three, Hartlepool’s Paul Mosley by four and club-mate Paul Hartley succumbed by six.

Lincolnshire’s clean sweep was completed as Hartlepool’s Vinnie O’Neill was beaten by eight shots.

In the semi-finals, Lincolnshire will now face Norfolk, who sneaked past Northants 122-118, while Wiltshire tackle Kent.

Scores (Durham skips first): J Thurlbeck 19 J Philpott 20, GR Smith 15 M Spencer 16, D Bolt 20 G Smith 23, P Mosley 17 B Jackson 21, P Hartley 19 J West 25, V O.Neill 14 M Orrey 22

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At the World Indoor Championships at Potters, South Shields bowler Ian McIntosh’s hopes were dashed at the first hurdle.

Despite a spirited performance, the Shieldss star went down in straight sets 8-3, 11-4 to ex-world champion Mervyn King (Norfolk).

A nervous first end saw McIntosh drop a three and, by the fourth end of the nine, McIntosh found himself 6-0 down.

That allowed local crowd favourite King to use his experience on the big stage to see out the set 8-3.

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The second set again saw McIntosh drop an opening end three, however this time hopes were raised as the Shields man responded and got back to 3-2.

A loose end gave King an opportunity to lift a sole McIntosh bowl out for three, which the England international gladly took with both hands.

At 8-4, and with only three ends remaining, the writing was on the wall and King took the second set and match 11-4.

Despite disappointment with the outcome, it will have been a great experience for Macintosh and will have whetted his appetite to return.

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The Denny Plate quarter-finals take place today, with South Shields tackling Boston on a neutral green at Selby.After their previous 30-shot win over Darlington, Shields are unchanged.

Shields team – N Ridley, S Cairns, I Riches, I McIntosh; J McKenna, P Sainthouse, S Hubbard, S McIntosh; P Dixon, M Peach, K Storf, D Bolt; D Paterson, J Minto, J Sneller, G Farquhar

In the Denny Cup quarter-finals, last year’s beaten semi-finalists, Cumbria, face Nottingham at York.

The local sections of the national competitions are nearing the area final stages.

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In the singles north section, Durham’s Gary Smith had a cracking 21-19 win at South Shields against in-form Ian McIntosh.

That takes him into the area semi-final and he will have home advantage against either Shaun McIntosh or Stewart Hubbard (both Shields).

There was disappointment for Smith in the pairs as an all-Durham affair against Mark Higgins saw the latter run out an impressive 22-15 winner.

Higgins will host the north semi-final against either Josh Minto or Gary Farquhar (both Shields).

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In the triples south section, Redcar’s Richie Hudson defeated Aycliffe’s Barry Attwood 16-15 and will face either club-mate Paul Bostock or Hartlepool’s Paul Mosley in the semi-final.

Mosley secured area final spots in the mixed pairs and mixed fours.

In the pairs, Mosley beat club-mate Paul Hartley 17-6 and, in the fours, he had a good 17-12 success at Darlington over Samantha Pattison.

In the mixed fours area final, Mosley tackles South Shields’ Phil Dixon, who won a thriller 15-14 against Durham’s Mark Higgins.

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In the Over-60s singles, Shields’ Ebby Dent had to work hard for a 21-18 victory over West Denton’s Ged McCue, while Gateshead’s Ronnie Richardson booked a trip to Shields to face Alan Lawton with a 21-13 defeat of Durham’s Steve Krimpen.

Houghton’s Michael Wright narrowly went out 17-16 in the Over-50s triples at home to Stanley’s Brett Arkley.

But here was some success for Houghton as David Armstrong’s Over-50s triple progressed with a cracking 18-11 win over Shields’ Dave Paterson. Next up, Armstrong will entertain West Denton’s Peter Duffy.

Last year’s qualifier in the two-bowl singles, Alan Lawton (Shields) saw his hopes of a repeat ended as he lost 21-15 to club-mate David Bolt,.

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Bolt will head to Gateshead or West Denton in the next round.

Singles draw, north section: GR Smith (Durham) v S McIntosh (Shields) or S Hubbard (Shields); South section area finalist: P Hartley (Hartlepool)

Pairs draw, north section: M Higgins (Durham) v J Minto (Shields) or G Farquhar (Shields); South section: P Hartley (Hartlepool) v A Hind (Ferryhill) or A Ward (Hartlepool)

Triples draw, north section: D Paterson (Shields) or G Farquhar (Shields) v S Hubbard (Shields); South section: P Bostock (Redcar) or P Mosley (Hartlepool) v R Hudson (Redcar)

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Fours draw, north section: G Farquhar (Shields) v P Thomson (Houghton) or B Orrell (Gateshead); South section: P Hartley (Hartlepool) v P Bostock (Redcar) or G Skipp (Hartlepool)

Mixed pairs draw, Area final: P Mosley (Hartlepool) v P Browne (Parks) or D Bolt (Shields)

Mixed fours draw, Area final: P Mosley (Hartlepool) v P Dixon (Shields)

In the Egham Trophy, the last regional hope, Hartlepool ,were beaten 89-75 by Lincoln in the quarter-finals at New Earswick.

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Talented West Denton youngster Aaron Robson heads to the City of Ely next weekend as he competes in the latter stages of the Under-25 Singles.

In the last 16, Robson will face Riverain’s newly capped England Under-25 player, Glenn Williams.

There are a couple of rearranged Inter-County League games tomorrow.

Houghton Gilpin will be looking to bounce back from their previous loss to Gateshead B as they face The Parks in Division One.

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Houghton team – at Houghton: M Baker, J Scullion, D Wright, B Henderson (snr); J Sutherland, J Biggerstaff, F Fletcher, B Henderson (jnr); At The Parks: K Waterson, R Usher, I Whorlton, F Froud; M Noble, D Armstrong, M Davis, J Jones

In the Second Division, South Shields will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record against Shildon.

Shields team – at Shields: K Thompson, K Taylor, F Knubley, S Hubbard; M Baker, E Weightman, S Cairns, J Sneller; At Shildon: S Baker, D Robson, M Peach, K Storf; R Cragg, M Maher, D Wilson, A Harrison

Latest Seniors Inter-Club League standings, Area 1: Darlington A played 5 pts 20, Aycliffe 5-16½, Spennymoor 5-15½, Shildon 4-5, Durham 5-3

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Area 2: Hartlepool A 6-27, Darlington B 6-23, Ferryhill 5-12, Houghton Gilpin 5-6, South Shields B 6-2

Area 3: Stanley 5-23, South Shields 5-14, Houghton Sancroft 6-12, Gateshead A 4-10, Parks B 4-1

Area 4: Hartlepool B 5-22, Parks A 5-16½, Durham B 4-13, Gateshead B 5-5½, Houghton Kepier 5-3

In the Top Ten competition, Houghton head to Durham this morning looking to avenge the 27-shot loss they suffered in October.

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Houghton team – Singles: B.Henderson (jnr); Pairs: M Wright & AJ Dunn; Triples: J Sutherland, S Tindale, J McAdoo; Fours: E Downes, K Armstrong, D Wright, TW Todd.

South Shields are planning to run another Classic Open Pairs competition.

The two-day event will be restricted to 32 pairs, who will be guaranteed six games for an entry fee of £33.

The Coast Road Garage and Molston Coors-sponsored competition will take place on Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4 with a first prize of £500.

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The Area Two draw of the outdoor Bowls Durham County competitions has been made.

Reigning County pairs champions Gary Farquhar and David Bolt (Silksworth) will head to Roker Marine or Barnes Park in their title defence opene.

The Silksworth duo are joined by Phil Dixon in the triples and they will face either Sunderland’s Dennis New or Houghton Dairy Lane’s Ian Whorlton in the green final at Barnes Park.

In the fours draw, due to the area having six qualifying places but only 11 entries, Silksworth’s Josh Halcrow received a bye into the second stage.
Overall, the number of entries across the county has increased although there have been slight falls in the pairs and triples.

Area Two provides 39 of the 96 entries in the singles.

The 2018 Grindon League fixtures are now on the Bowls Sunderland website.