BOWLERS REGAIN THETITLE
Miners’welfare team one of the best in country
Blantyre Miners’ Welfare Indoor Bowling Club maintained their status as one of the top clubs in the country after regaining their Scottish Premier League title.
The South Lanarkshire club wrested the trophy from East Lothian, who won it last season, meaning Blantyre have won the title twice in the last three years.
Adding to that, Caroline Brown won the British title, holding that and the Scottish title in both of the last two years.
On Sunday, Blantyre beat East Lothian 81-73, with a large crowd at Blantyre treated to a closelycontested game throughout, with Blantyre only gaining the advantage in the last few ends.
Rink scores were: Mclaughlin, Brown, Kelly, Anderson 23 Betts, Sked, Higgins, Oliver 16.
Pillay, Meikle, Gilmartin, Mccann 10 Johnston, Riva, Mower, Mellors 26.
Irvine, Walker, Bowers, Irvine 24 Yuill, Jeffrey, Berwick, Marshall 18.
Meikle, Sullivan, O’hagan, Mclean 24 Fallen, Wood, Robertson, Kennedy 13.
The championship game was rearranged after heavy snow forced a postponement a couple of weeks ago.
Team captain, Gerry Sullivan said: “It was an extra special victory as club member Gwyn Jones is the current Scottish Indoor Bowling Association president.
“This is the sixth time we’ve won it and it’s great.
“We’ve won it two out of the last three seasons and we’re delighted. The profile of the club is up there and we’re on a great run of form, with an every increasing stock of silverware.
“We have a good mix of youth and experience, and if you’re successful when you’re young you only get that with experienced players around you.
“It’s good that we have that. If the younger players need advice they have somebody they can turn to.
“It’s a great achievement for us and while we have some high-profile players they had international players in theirs, including Alex Marshall.”
Caroline retained her British Isles indoor singles title by beating Laura Daniels of Wales 21-9 in her semi-final tie and then overpowering Channel Islands player Alison Merrien 21-4 in the final.
Gerry said: “Caroline is now British and Scottish champion two years in a row, and she’s doing great. She heads to the Commonwealth Games on Friday and we all wish her well.”