SHIELDS REACH DENNY CUP QUARTER-FINALS
South Shields will face reigning champions Cumbria in the Denny Cup quarter-finals after overcoming 2017 winners Kingsthorpe in the last 16 at Leeds.
Winning three of the four rinks, Shields triumphed 7562.
Dave Paterson, Josh Minto, James Sneller and Gary Farquhar defeated new England cap Connor Cinato 18-14 while Jaxon McKenna, Paul Sainthouse, Josh Halcrow and Chris Yeomans recovered from 13-8 to beat Mick Sharpe 24-18.
Phil Dixon, Mal Peach, Kris Storf and David Bolt defeated another England player, Jamie Walker, 19-14.
The other quarter-finals are: Wey Valley v Victory, Swale v Exonia, Nottingham v Wellingborough.
There was disappointment, however, for Shields in the mixed Top Club as they were beaten 10-6 by a strong Blackpool Newton Hall.
And further heartache followed for Houghton Ladies, who were beaten 10856 by defending champions York in the last 16 of the Yetton Trophy.
The sole Houghton win came at Houghton from the rink of Susan Forster, Sam Richardson, Brenda Robson and Jennie Smith, who beat Carol Instone 20-18.
Houghton Sancroft’s hopes of reaching the Seniors Inter-Club play-offs suffered a setback with a 4½-½ loss at group leaders Stanley.
The only bright spot came from Frankie Froud’s rink of Peter Thomson, Trevor Joicey and Jimmy Swinney, who, leading 9-4 against Michael English, lost the next seven ends to trail 13-9 before a single and a last-end treble snatched a 13-13 draw.
With the Parks having withdrawn, Sancroft do not complete their campaign until late February, when they host Gateshead A.
In the Men’s Inter-County League, Houghton snatched a 77-75 defeat from the jaws of victory in a relegation battle against Great Aycliffe.
Down the A1, both away rinks were beaten and left 21 shots in arrears.
At one point 23 shots up at Houghton, it looked as if the home squad were going to pull off a remarkable comeback win.
But despite Mal Baker, Richard Thorpe, Alan Patterson and Frankie Froud’s 31-9 win over Dave McDonald, it was not to be.
As such, Houghton only collected a single point and are now looking down the barrel of relegation to Division Two. They face Hartlepool next.
Houghton Ladies return to Inter-Club action on Wednesday as they face South Shields.
At Houghton – M.Eggleston, D.Fenwick, B.Robson, E.Faith, J.Watt, E.Barkes, S.Forster, J.Rodgerson.
At Shields – M.Hall, A.Vout, F.Phythian, N.Stephenson, M.Metcalf, E.Morris, J.Baker, JB.Smith.
The Durham County Liberty squad head to New Earswick today as they look to secure a semi-final place with a win over Lincolnshire.
This is the fourth meeting of the teams in the last five years, with Durham still smarting from last season’s 23-shot loss at the same stage.
The full squad is B.Henderson, M.Laydon, P.Smithson, M.Barkess, R.Bewick, M.Higgins, GR.Smith (all Durham), J.Sneller, J.Halcrow, P.Dixon, M.Peach, G.Farquhar, D.Bolt (all South Shields), M.Ray, C.Boston, M.Squirrel, D.Oram, C.Higgins, G.Skipp, V.O’Neill, P.Mosley M.Jones, P.Hartley (all Hartlepool), J.Harston (Aycliffe).
There has been plenty of action in the local stages of the national competitions, with South Shields’ Gary Farquhar enjoying an impressive 21-5 singles win over Durham’s Michael Laydon to set up an area semi-final against another Durham player, Mark Higgins.
In the other semi-final, Hartlepool’s Vinnie O’Neill will have home advantage against David Bolt, of Shields, after ending Ferryhill’s Alan Hinds’ recent good run 21-9.
In the pairs semi-finals, P.Hartley (Hartlepool) plays I.Peacock (Stanley), and J.Sneller (Shields) takes on D.Paterson or I.McIntosh (both Shields).
In the triples, Durham’s Gary Smith won a thriller against Shields’ Stewart Hubbard 13-12, and will now head to Hartlepool to face Glen Skipp.
There was better news for Shields as Neal Ridley ended Houghton’s Frankie Froud’s run 23-9, and he will now have home advantage in the area semi-final against Houghton’s Peter Thomson.
There will be an all-Hartlepool area semi-final as Paul Hartley meets Paul Mosley.
Hartley reached the semis with a 22-6 home win over Aycliffe’s Barry Attwood while Mosley defeated Darlington’s James Humble 24-19.
The other semi-final should be a cracker as Durham’s Gary Smith hosts Shields’ Gary Farquhar.
Smith booked his semi-final place with a 16-11 win over Shields’ Ian Riches while Farquhar recorded a 26-16 win at Houghton against Peter Thomson.
Talented Shields youngster Josh Minto has booked a place at the latter stages of the Under-25 singles later this month at Ely.
In the area final, Minto beat Hartlepool’s Matty Ray 2-0, and in the last 16 he will face the 2014 champion, Malvern Hill’s Ryan Atkins.
In the over-60s singles, Houghton’s Michael Wright booked a last-eight place with a 21-17 win over Durham’s Peter Miles.
Wright heads to Stanley next to face John Thurlbeck.
There was disappointment, however, for Wright in the over-60s pairs as Shields’ Billy Ferry inflicted a 19-11 defeat on the Houghton player.
The current over-55s triples champion - Hartlepool’s Dale Oram - made a first-round exit at Thornaby, losing 19-8 against Graham Fordy.
There was some good news for Silksworth’s David Bolt as he has been selected to represent England in the 2019 outdoor Atlantic Championships.
Bolt is part of a five-man team that will head to Cardiff in early May.
Men:- David Bolt (Durham), Ian Lesley (Devon), Steve Mitchinson (Essex), Sam Tolchard (Devon) and Jamie Walker (Northamptonshire). Reserves: Tristan Morton (Huntingdonshire) and Andrew Walters (Worcestershire).
Women:- Natalie Chestney (Devon), Sian Honnor (Kent), Lorraine Kuhler (Sussex), Rebecca Wigfield (Northamptonshire) and Jamie-Lea Winch (Leicestershire).
Reserves: Katherine Hawes (Oxfordshire) and Laura Holden (Somerset).
Finally, there was some sad news for the sport as the former women’s junior international captain Hannah Overton (28) sadly lost her battle against leukaemia.
The Huntingdonshire star was the inspiration behind the much-acclaimed charity nude bowls calendar, which to date has raised just under £10,000 for Cancer Research and Bloodwise.