Auld enemies face off with British Isles title at stake

Scotland and England go head to head in Paisley this afternoon to decide the British Isles men’s indoor international series.

Both teams made it two wins out of two yesterday with convincing victories over Wales and Ireland respectively.

While England are bidding for a fourth title in a row, Scotland are seeking their first Hilton Trophy triumph since 2014, and they would like nothing better than to regain the crown in front of their own fans – it’s the first time the series has been held in Scotland since 2010.

In the unlikely event of the title showdown ending all square, Scotland would claim the trophy on shots difference, the margin just two shots – 97 to 95.

Scotland were indebted yesterday to the free scoring rinks of Iain Mclean and Stewart Anderson for theirconvincing148-93victory over Wales. Mclean, with Martin Mccalley, Mark Allison and Neil Speirs, had two counts of six and one of five in a 43-9 defeat of Marc Wyatt, while Anderson, supported by Greg Mclaughlin, Scottkennedyandgraeme Archer, raced into an early 19-2 lead against Damian Doubler en route to a 28-12 win.

The rink of Alex Marshall stared defeat in the face until snatching four shots on the last end to force an 18-18 tie with Steve Harris, while Paul Foster’s quartet appeared to be coasting at 15-7 against David Harding until the concession of a five count, but they kept their nerve for a 22-19 win.

Darren Burnett’s rink scored seven shots in the last four ends to turn a 13-15 deficit into a 20-16 victory against Jason Greenslade, while Colin Walker’s quartet suffered a second defeat of the series going down 19-17 to Jon Tomlinson, having been 19-9 down late on.

England had a 141-101 victory over Ireland in the morning, winning on five of the six rinks through Sam Tolchard, Nicky Brett, Robert Paxton, captain Andy Thomson and Greg Harlow. Ian Mcclure prevented a ‘whitewash’ with a win over Jamie Chestney.