Silksworth gunning for four County titles

In the Singles final, David Bolt will be looking to add to his singles success in 2011 and 2012 when he takes on Dipton’s Michael English.

In the Fours final, Shaun McIntosh, Stevie Cairns, Billy Ferry and Gary Farquhar take on the host club’s Paul Mosley.

It could be a cracking day for Jaxon McKenna as the talented youngster takes on Hartlepool Old Boy’s Carl Higgins in the Two Bowl final, and then in the Junior Singles, will take on defending champion Darlington RA’s Barry Hopkins.

Houghton Dairy Lane’s Dan Todner will look to win a first county title against Hartlepool Park’s Dale Oram.

Full Schedule (livescores via the county website): Today (2pm start) – Champion of Champions: P.Mosley (Stockton) v P.Hudspith (Lyndhurst). Tomorrow (10am start) – Pairs: M.English (Dipton) v P.Mosley (Stockton). Two Bowl Singles: C.Higgins (Old Boys) v J.McKenna (Silksworth). (2pm start) – Singles: M.English (Dipton) v D.Bolt (Silksworth). Triples: D.Oram (Hartlepool Park) v D.Todner (Houghton DL). Fours: W.Ferry (Silksworth) v P.Mosley (Stockton). Junior Singles: J.McKenna (Silksworth) v B.Hopkins (Darlington RA).

Houghton Dairy Lane are still in the box seat to take the Earl Cup title as they maintained their unbeaten record with a comprehensive 84 shot (7-0) win over Thompson Park.

Defending champion’s Silksworth remain eight points behind the leaders after a 7-0 win over Roker Marine.

Houghton Town’s 6-1 win over Seaham Town leaves the latter stranded at the bottom.

In Division Three, Whitburn’s 5-2 win over Ryhope has put them on the verge of promotion as they are 22 points clear of third placed Washington.

The only unbeaten record in the Swan Cup came to an abrupt end as holders Houghton Dairy Lane were beaten 5½-1½ at home by Barnes West End.

That result allowed Silksworth to open up a six-point lead after they won 5½-1½ at Seaham Town, although Dairy Lane do have two games in hand. The top two face each other in a couple of weeks.

In the Storey Bowl, Hetton Workmen’s only needed three points from their final three games to retain the title.

In the latest round of fixtures, Hetton’s 61 shot (7-0) win over Wearmouth was enough to secure an eighth Storey title, with two games to spare.

The Ladies County Stella Logan squad produced a cracking performance at top of the group Lancashire, despite only having two rinks up, Durham ran out 7-4 (115-112) winners at Heaton Park.

The win moves Durham into third place, but with Yorkshire unbeaten in six games, the best Durham can hope for is second.

The first of the season’s Sunderland & District finals takes place at Dairy Lane on Tuesday as holders Barnes West End will look to repeat last year’s win over Roker Marine.

The ladies’ Marjorie Marshall triples competition was concluded this week at Barnes Park, with the Whitburn trio of Maureen Smith, Brenda Harper and M.Felce taking the honours.

In the final, the impressive Whitburn trio defeated Ryhope’s B.Hardy, P.Charleton and Margaret Mitchinson 15-7.

Quarter-finals: M.Felce (Whitburn) beat N.Stephenson (Silksworth), B.Robson (Houghton Town) beat V.Moore (Sunderland), M.Pullan (Sunderland) beat B.Campbell (Sunderland), M.Nitchinson (Ryhope) beat P.Wayman (Roker Marine)

Semi-finals: M.Mitchinson (Ryhope) 12 M.Pullan (Sunderland) 4, B.Robson (Houghton Town) 9 M.Felce (Whitburn) 10.

The Under-25 Home International series was held at Bridgend BC and in a cracking finish, England, Scotland and Wales all finished on four points.

However, England secured the title on shots thanks to Scotland’s win over Wales and a 82-shot thumping of Ireland in England’s final game.

Final Table: England 4 (+97), Scotland 4 (+56), Wales 4 (+3), Ireland 0 (-156).

In the Bowls England competitions, it has been a mixed week for Dairy Lane’s James McKinney.

Firstly, a cracking 21-8 victory in the Senior Pairs over Hartlepool’s Harry Dougherty set up a trip to Darlington RA to face John Lynch.

However, it was followed by disappointment in the Mixed Fours as the Dairy Lane quartet went down 19-12 to Wigton’s Nicola Bowe.

In the Ladies’ Senior Pairs, Consett’s Gill Jones secured a place at Leamington Spa after defeating Pelton Fell’s Joan Brown 23-7.

Middleton Cup quarter-final results: Lancashire 120 Yorkshire 119, Kent 124 Surrey 101, Bedfordshire 140 Leicestershire 110, Devon 128 Warwickshire 97.

Johns Trophy quarter-final results: Sussex 86 Kent 136, Cambridgeshire 117 Hertfordshire 108, Cumbria 87 Lincolnshire 156, Somerset 111 Worcestershire 135.

The Team Indoor National competitions draws have been made and in the Denny Cup, Houghton face South Shields with the winners facing either Stanley or Gateshead.

Houghton Ladies face The Parks in the first round of the Yetton Trophy.

In the Over-60s Double Fours, Sunderland face Stanley A, while Houghton face either Durham B or The Parks.

In the Ladies equivalent competition – the Mason Trophy – Houghton Ladies face West Denton.

Durham’s County Liberty squad will have to overcome Cumbria in the first round of this year’s competition, while the County Ladies face Nottinghamshire.

The County Under-25s await the winner from the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire tie, while the Over-60s squad face Lincolnshire.

Over the season there has been lots of Open Pairs events and last weekend there was some local success as the Silksworth pair of Peter Brickle and Gary McPeators took the Charlie Martin Berwick Open Pairs title.

Club-mates Tommy Jopling and Terry Todd were beaten semi-finalists.