Danny Cooper and Tony Flynn fight back for final success at Eastfield Drawn Pairs merit

Although the initial idea was for an Over-60s competition it was agreed that as this was an ad hoc competition it would be opened up to all ages, writes David Muir.

This turned out to be very successful as within a very short time span 38 bowlers had entered the event.

The weather was not all it might have been being cool and cloudy but, fortunately, it was mainly rain-free.

With 19 pairs it was possible to play the competition off scratch throughout and with only four jacks on the green for most of the time.

It also proved possible to run a consolation Tea & Biscuits (T&B) competition for players who did not reach the quarter-finals.

The three preliminary round games were won comfortably by Jo Gates (Borough) and Scott Wardman (North Cliff), Harry Old (Hunmanby) and John Jarvis (Eastfield) and Alan Lee (North Cliff) and Tony Bland (Borough).

In the first round Barrie Watson and Sue Holdsworth (Hunmanby) went through very comfortably against Peter van de Gevel (Hunmanby) and Eileen Greenwood (Eastfield) but the North Cliff pairing of Danny Cooper and Tony Flynn had a close, 21-17, win over Ronnie Noble (Borough) and Peter Fewster (Robin Hoods Bay).

The next two games were also close with Steve Lonnia (Borough) and Larry Dixon (Westgate) winning 21-18 against Gary Thornton (Borough) and Sue Green (Whitby) and Brian Whitehouse (Dukes Park) and Ashley Douglas (North Cliff) recording the same score against Tim Purcell (Whitby) and Deborah Thornton (Eastfield).

In the bottom half of the draw Billy Holdsworth (Hunmanby) and Mike Carter (Eastfield) had a 21-9 win over Andy Webb (Alverthorpe) and Judith Andrews (North Cliff and Geoff Watson (Whitby) and David Muir (Eastfield) had an almost equally comfortable 21-11 win over Pam Watson (Hunmanby) and Daphne Fewster (Robin Hoods Bay).

Gates & Wardman had an even bigger win, 21-5, against Jack Richardson (Hunmanby) and Rita Bland (Borough) while Lee and Tony Bland beat Old and Jarvis 21-16.

The first quarter final saw Cooper and Flynn eliminate Barrie Watson and Sue Holdsworth 21-7 while Whitehouse and Douglas has a far tougher game to beat Lonnia and Dixon 21-18.

In the bottom half of the draw Geoff Watson and Muir went through 21-10 against Billy Holsworth and Carter while Gates and Wardman had a 21-6 win against Lee and Bland.

Cooper and Flynn then had a comfortable 21-11 win over Whitehouse and Douglas and Gates and Wardman ended Watson and Muir’s run with a 21-15 win.

The final started quite evenly before Gates and Wardman established a 10-7 lead after nine ends.

This quickly became a 15-7 lead after they scored a 4 on end 11 but then Cooper and Flynn staged a steady comeback to trail 14-18 after 19 ends.

After that they won the next 6 ends, all single scores apart from one 2, to record a 21-18 win.

A total of 20 entered the T&B which was played as another drawn pairs but with seven on the card to ensure a timely finish.

In the two preliminary round games Judith Andrews (North Cliff) and Deborah Thornton beat Charlotte Carlton (Eastfield) and Steve Watson (Hunmanby) 21-16 while Andy Webb and Peter Fewster beat Eileen Greenwood and Ronnie Noble (Borough) 21-15.

Rita Bland (Borough) and Callum Malone (N Cliff) beat Pam Watson and Steve Dover (Whitby) 21-11 while Daphne Fewster and Harry Old went through 21-12 against Jack Richardson and John Burton (Eastfield).

In the bottom half of the draw Tim Purcell and Gary Thornton won 21-18 against Sue Green and Geoff Oldham (Hunmanby) while Webb and Peter Fewster had a 21-13 win over Andrews & Deborah Thornton.

In the first semi-final Old and Fewster reached the final by winning 21-13 against Bland and Malone while Purcell and Thornton beat Webb and Fewster 21-15.

The final was a one-sided affair with Purcell and Thornton scoring four in the first 2 ends before Old and Fewster scored 1.

Purcell & Thornton then won five ends in succession to lead 18 -8 before Old & Fewster scored again only for Purcell & Thornton to win the next two ends to win 21-9.

Next weekend sees our two surviving clubs in Yorkshire’s Eric Hutchinson Cup in action with Hunmanby taking on Farnley Tyas (Huddersfield District) at Whitkirk (Leeds District) while Borough travel to Magnet Sports (Tadcaster) to face holders Whitkirk.

The next merits are an Over-60s Singles event at Robin Hood’s Bay on Friday, July 19, and Sunday, July 21, sees the 100th competition for the William Boyes Cup first played for in 1923, it was not held in 2020 for obvious reasons. The start time for Friday is 9.30am and anyone wanting to play on Friday must register beforehand as the draw will be made in advance.

The start time for the William Boyes Cup is 10am and entries are now closed.