News : National Joint Champs Get Underway

The National Joint Championships got underway today with well over a 1,000 visitors at the National Bowling Centre in Ayrshire. Ladies Internationalist Lynn Stein commented, “It is always fantastic to make it to the Joint Championships and the crowds at Northfield really make you want to play well and raise your game to get the cheers, there are so many people here today which is great for us players.”

Stein, an Internationalist since 2000 fought back from 8-2 down in her Ladies Singles match to emerge the victor in her first round bout. Stein said, “I really struggled to find a line and eventually decided to stick to just one side of the rink and hoped to catch my weight and it paid off.”

The Kennoway player beat Jean Sykes from Cumnock 21-15 and Stein’s son Christopher made it a double family celebration after he beat Forfar’s Phillip Nicoll 21-9 in the Junior Singles event.

Fellow Ladies Internationalist Lorraine Malloy from Deans successfully navigated her first round match with a 21-13 win over Margaret Durward from Banchory and earlier in the day Caroline Brown (Bellshill & Mossend) also made it into the last 16 after beating International player Lorna Smith 21-12, one of the biggest names in today’s matches.   

In the Men’s Singles event, Johnathon Ross from Priorscroft had a tight match against David Gedddes from Rosyth. The Irish internationalist who received his 50^th cap this year was 16-6 up before the rain set in, which saw his opponent Geddes fight his way back into the match to take a one shot advantage in the closing stages to 18-17. Ross said, “When it started raining he was pulling back well and a wee bit of sand on my bowls started changing the lines and I just wasn’t nailing it with my first bowl.

“He was a wee bit sharper than me for a while and I was feeling under pressure but I hung in there and got two 2’s in the end to win 21-18.”

Robert Marshall, brother of multiple world indoor and outdoor champion Alex Marshall made light work of his first round match, defeating James Cooper (Nitshill-Hurlet) 21-3 in less than 2 hours on the green. Marshall said, “I like to keep my games short if I can. I got off to a nice start which helped to settle the nerves and boost the confidence and always good to get the first match at the finals out of the way.

“I was ahead after the first three ends and never looked back. Last year I made it to the quarter finals, which was my best result at the nationals so I am really looking to go further this time around.”

East Linton’s Grant Thomson who plays alongside Alex Marshall in the East Lothian side won his singles match 21-17. Preparing for his first ever match at the nationals, he played a practice game with the Commonwealth Gold medallist last night and took a few tips from the Internationalist.

 The 20 year old commented, “I have been playing for as long as I can remember, as both my parents and grandparents play so it is in my blood.

“I was up early on but lost my way mid-way through, however I got four from nothing mid-way through which was really the turning point in the match.”

He added, “This is my first time at Northfield, so I am looking forward to every game and will try to win every one of them though I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. It was nice to see Alex (Marshall) watching me today, he is my mentor and a big inspiration for me and is really helping to bring my game on.”

Another up and coming player in the game, Tommy Mann from Newbridge - a new member of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Achieve Programme - lost out to Mark Campbell from Wellcroft, 21-18. The 38 year old from Rutherglen paid tribute to his young opponent after the match, “Tommy played some fantastic bowls and really began to pull the game back. I was up 20-10 and felt I was lying well at most ends but he got to 20-18 before I won the match.

“I knew he would be a tough opponent and I have no doubt he will be a player to watch out for in the future.”        

In the Ladies Pairs event, former champions from Zetland, Invergordon and Uphall Station kept their title hopes on course making their way to the second round which gets underway on Friday. Whilst in the Men’s Pairs event, Blantyre claimed one of the biggest winning margins today, beating Sandyhills 29-4. Dollar made their way to the next round defeating Edinburgh West End 22-14 and Falkirk’s Adrian Club duo took a 19-10 win against the pair from Abbotsford.

In the Ladies Senior Fours, Ayrshire clubs Irvine Park, Kilmarnock Portland, Hurlford and Girvan have made it through to the second round, whilst the Men’s Senior Fours start tomorrow. Other disciplines which get underway tomorrow are the Ladies Fours and Triples events, as well as the Mens Triples and Mens Fours – in which Paul Foster and Willie Wood will compete.

Please click on the following link for the Men’s results - http://www.scottish-bowling.co.uk/more_info.asp?current_id=125