Seven years since final bowl was delivered at Crowtree
On Tuesday, it will be seven years since indoor bowls came to a sad end for the City Of Sunderland Indoor Club as the lights were finally turned out at Crowtree, to mark the occasion we reflect on that emotional final season for the 350 club members.
Although the future of Crowtree Leisure Centre was a continuing concern, the Sunderland club started its 37th year in good spirits.
However, come November, their world was turned upside down when the club’ s officials were informed the centre was to close, despite several assurancesfrom the council that an alternative would be in place before any closure.
They landed a knockout blow when in late February they stated April 21 would be the final day and that they would not be providing any alternative venue.
On the green it was a good season for the Sunderland A Vets squad as they went on to win the Seniors Inter Club play-off title with a 3-2 (+20) quarter-final win over holders Darlington B set up a semi-final clash with The Parks.
If the encounter was a boxing match, the referee would have stepped in as the Sunderland lad’s romped home 5-0 (+56).
In the final at Darlington, they faced Hartlepool and again they put in a five-star performance when running out 4-1 (+15) victors.
The full squad was Arthur Baker, Billy Hearne, George Brown, Billy Ferry, Ray Robinson, Ronnie Rob son, JoeFlett, team captain Ted Forster, Hendy Shields, Fred Knubley, John Jones, Tommy Jopling and Bobby Graham.
After the previous year’s relegation to Division Two, the Sunderland Inter County squad bounced back in style when winning their first five games which not only secured promotion, but also helped them to go up as champions.
The only blot actually came in what turned out to be the club’s last ever team game when a much changed line up saw them get hammered off Gateshead 10-2 (-52).
The various club competitions still took place, in the Men’s Blue Riband final – the club singles it was fitting that the last ever one saw two England star’s battle it out as Gary Smith retained his title after beating David Bolt 21-11 in the final.
The two England star’s then teamed up to take the Pairs title after beating Neal Rid ley and Gary Farq uh ar 18-3.
They then completed a treble when joinedby David Morgan in the Triple sand went on to beat Michael Laydon 16-9.
However, the latter got some consolation by landing his only Sunderland success in the Two Bowl Singles.
The Fours title went to Phil Dixon, Paul Baker, Hen dy Shield sand Gary Farq uh ar.
In the veteran’s competitions, two of the club’s best –Joe F let ta nd Tommy J op ling dominated proceedings–sadly both are no longer with us.
Flett landed the only seniors title missing from his collection, the Two Bowl Singles, after a 21-12 win over Ray Robinson. However, Flett missed out on the Singles double as the Four Bowl title went to Bobby Graham, who secured his first Vets title when beating Flett 21-19 in a thrilling final where the lead changed nine times.
In the Pairs, the Flett and Jopling combination secured a fourth win after seeing off Hendy Shields and Billy Ferry
14-9 in the final. They then teamed up with Dennis Hulley and John Jones to land a fourth consecutive Fours title defence,between them, F let ta nd Jopling racked up an amazing 34 seniors titles over 13 years.
The Triples crown went to Al fie Ferguson, Hen dy Shields and Billy Ferry.
In the Ladies Singles final, Alice Curtis clinched her sixth win in the last seven years after beating Margaret Egg les ton 2115. Curtis then teamed up with Ella Baker to make a successful Pairs defence when beating Florence Rodenby 12-7 in the final.
The Mixed Pairs title went to Marjorie Smith and Michael Wright, who beat defending champions Anne and Laughlin
Todd 17-6.
The final day at Crowtree was an emotional one, but one that will be remembered when half the club membership turned up to witness the end of 37 years bowling.
And it was fitting that at 5pm that club legend Jimmy Lambert bowled the final bowl which not only bought down the curtain on bowls, but was also the last sporting action at Crowtree Leisure Centre.
*The International Cricket Council played down speculationthis year' s T 20 World Cup could be pushed back to 2021 but admitted it is" exploring all options" with regards to contingency planning.
Australia is due to stage the global tournament from October 18 until November 15 but a number of major sporting events have already been postponed or cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the start of the T20 World Cup still six months away, the ICC has sometime on its side and while it is preparing to press ahead with all its competitions at present, the current uncertainty means that could change.
An ICC spokesperson said: "We are continuing with our planning for ICC events as they are, but given the rapidly evolving situation as a prudent and responsible measure we are also undertaking a comprehensivecontingency planning exercise.
"This includes exploring all options available to us based on a range of scenarios connected to the pandemic. We will continue to take advice from experts and authorities, including the Australian government and will take decisions at the appropriate time.
"We will utilise all the data and information available to us to ensure we can take well-informed, responsible decisions that are in the best interests of our sport."
Cricket Australia's decision to stand down the majority of its staff from April 27 for two months is understood to have little bearing on the T20 World Cup as the local organisingcommittee is still in post.