North star Nigel Trotter wins Eastfield Winter Singles Merit
The third Winter Singles merit was staged by Eastfield on fine, initially sunny, but distinctly cool Sunday.
The chill did not deter the bowling community though with 51 entrants, some travelling from Castleford and Sheffield. A two-minute silence was observed at 11am.
In the first round Paul Morgan (Whitby) won 21-7 against Caroline Watson (Borough) while Simon Walker (Borough) won 21-11 against Katie Gates (Dukes Park). Derek Dale (Westgate) beat Albert Beggs (Brid Bay) 21-16 and Adam Chilvers (North Cliff) won 21-14 against Brian Dalby (Borough).
The closest game saw Richard Gowan (North Cliff) beat Tom Muckley (Hunmanby) 21-19 and James Arnold (Robin Hoods Bay) defeated Mally Kay (North Cliff) 21-15.
Round Two opened with Ashley Brunton-Douglas (Eastfield) having a good 21-14 win over Barrie Watson (Borough) to face Nigel Trotter (North Cliff) who crushed Ian Harland (Whitby) 21-7.
Phil Todd (Hunmanby) also won 21-7 against John Jarvis (Eastfield) while Josh Emmerson (Whitby) had a 21-14 win against David Muir (Eastfield).
Larry Dixon had a good 21-15 win against Cliff’s Ed McCormack to set up a game against Oliver Burnett (Eastfield) who had a fine 21-19 win against Darryl Harrap (Castleford).
Morgan brushed his Whitby clubmate Emmo Emmerson aside 21-9 to face Dale who won 21-19 against Walker.
Dave Knights (Sheffield) overwhelmed Chilvers 21-6 and Ellis Owen (Castleford) won 21-13 against Gary Thornton (Borough).
Richard Johnson (Castleford won 21-19 against Kevin Gates (Dukes Park) while Callun Malone won an all-Cliff game against Gowan 21-10. Alan Landers (North Cliff) crushed Arnold 21-5 while Liam Massey (Castleford) beat Dave Moment (North Cliff) 21-14. Cliff’s Scott Wardman beat Dave Wicks (Eastfield) 21-7 and Kenny Wale won an all-Whitby game against Alan Boland 21-8.
Round Three saw Brunton-Douglas push Trotter hard before losing 21-16, Todd winning 21-15 against Josh Emmerson.
Burnett won 21-16 against Dixon to face Morgan who ended Dale’s good run 21-14.
Owen & Knights and Johnson & Malone had very close games with Owen and Johnson eventually prevailing 21-20.
Landers cruised through 21-8 against Massey while Wale was pushed a bit more by Wardman before winning 21-13.
Trotter won the first quarter-final against Todd, also by 21-13, to face Morgan who had a 21-11 win over Burnett. Owen scraped past Johnson 21-19, also the score when Wale eliminated Landers.
The first semi-final saw Trotter edge out Morgan 21-19 while Owen had a far more comfortable win 21-9 against Wale.
The final was a “game of two halves”, Trotter winning the first end before Owen won 5 successive ends to lead 12-7.
Trotter then got into his stride and won 4 of the next 5 ends to level the scores at 13-13 after 11 ends. Owen won the 12th end but Trotter then scored an unanswered 6 in 4 ends to lead 19-14. Owen scored a 2 in the next end to keep his hopes alive but 2 singles were enough for Trotter to take the win 21-16.
Friday sees the first Winter Over-60s Merit, a singles at Eastfield, while on Sunday Bridlington Bay hosts an Open Singles.
Entry for both is on the day, draws being made at 9am.
There will also be Drawn Pairs T&Bs for first game losers and “late arrivals” weather and light permitting. To ensure entry for these it is advisable to arrive no later than 11am.