Bowling along nicely at Balerno

MARGARET TURNER won the two bowl singles Balerno Bowling Club beating Helen Girdler 21-18 in a see-saw battle in which both had the lead.

The two-time ladies champion, lost to Helen in the recent Ladies Championship final, but she started well going 4-0 and then 5-1 ahead before the newly-crowned champion hit back.

Helen was only one behind at 6-5 before Margaret took a two for 8-5 but Helen hit back with a single.

A run of three ends edged Margaret 11-6 ahead but Helen responded with a single.

Margaret won the next also with a single for 12-7 before Helen clicked into gear.

She won six ends in a row to lead 14-12 and it appeared that the momentum was heading firmly in her direction.

However, the tense battle took another twist and the talented pair were level at 16-16.

Minutes later Helen led 18-16 and the match looked to be slipping away from Margaret.

But she kept her composure to come with a late surge with scores of 2, 2, and 1 to take the silverware after a 31-end tussle.

Robert Douglas was crowned the men’s champion at Balerno Bowling Club for the second time. His other win was in 2013 and he achieved the silverware with a comfortable victory over another former winner, Stevie Watson, despite having a broken left wrist.

The 60-year-old Balerno-based window cleaner tripped on a kerb only six days before the final and was on pain killers for the injury which, luckily, was to his non-bowling arm.

The injury did not upset his rhythm and he beat the 43-year-old accountant, who was playing in his third final, 21-6, a scoreline which included a four end winning run with scores of 3, 4, 2, 2, for 20-5 and he claimed the trophy with a single at the 15th end.