NEEDING only one rink to win the Yorkshire Over-55s League division one title, York looked to have blown the chance to win it in the home leg against their local rivals New Earswick.

Bob Howland, Jim Bone, Mick Stannard and Joe Cooper were beating Charlie Bateman, Peter Long, Tom Ellis and Doug Mitchell 13-6 after 11 ends, while at the same time Ray Clark, Ralph Tiplady, Dave Sykes and Mick Doherty were beating Fred Clayden, Eddie Howcroft, Noel Cammidge and Ken Patterson 14-6 after nine ends.

But Bateman's rink stepped up a gear and scored a six on the 12th, followed by a five. They then notched another six on the 20th end as they sailed home 32-14 winners.

Clayden's team also improved and won nine of the following ten ends to lead 23-16 with two ends to play which were both won by Clark's side, the final score being 23-19.

York's reward was to collect six points to guarantee the league championship for the third time in four years.

New Earswick Ladies disappointingly lost their top spot to second-placed Harrogate in the Yorkshire Ladies League second division. after they lost on aggregate.

They picked up only one point which came from the drawn game involving Lys Jerrum, Jean Bartnett, Barbara Brigham and Kath Hardcastle who came from 14-10 down to lead 16-14 with two ends to play.

Though they dropped a three, they drew the game with a single on the last end to make it 17-17, otherwise it was a sorry tale as the other three rinks were well beaten.

And it was disappointing for York in the Challenge Cup competition at Harrogate Indoor Bowls Club, where they were involved in an exciting semi-final against second division winners Thornaby 'A' which would have made an exciting final.

Herridge, Liddell and Eagles followed on from their game against Hornsea the day before and completely dominated winning 13-6.

Humphries, Cahill and Jamie Lee were facing a team which included a 14-year-old England U25s international Lauren Copeland and they struggled midway through, dropping a five and a six in the space of four losing ends to trail 15-5 after initially being 5-2 ahead.

They picked up a single and a three and went into their last end trailing 17-9. With the other rink having finished they laid the two shots needed to take the team into the final, but one of them was knocked away and with his last wood Humphries only just ran into the ditch.

Both rinks were required to play the extra ends with Herridge's rink winning theirs by one shot, but Humphries lost by the same margin.

On the next extra end Herridge needed to kill it for York to stay in the game after Humphries had dropped another single. Unfortunately he just missed and the place in the final went to Thornaby who had the luxury of ten dropped shots on the last two ends of each game to Hornsea and still won 30-23.

Unbowed surge to claim title

York were in top form when they beat second-placed Hornsea away 41-19 to win the Yorkshire Under-18s League division one title, going all season undefeated.

Phil Herridge, Adam Liddell and Zoe Eagles stormed through their game scoring an eight on the seventh end to lead 15-1 and finished winning 26-8.

In the other rink Paul Humphries, Josh Cahill and Liam Henderson led 4-2 after five ends and kept their slender lead throughout before extending it with a two on the last end to win 15-11.

New Earswick lifted themselves off the bottom of the league with an excellent 23-16 victory after beating Thornaby 'B', picking up the maximum six points at stake.

Rob Domville, Mike Ollis and Lewis Ashton easily won 13-7.

Steve Long, Nick Ollis and Josh Hough had a tougher game. After leading 7-3, the score stood at 9-8 in Long's favour with time for two more ends, both teams scoring singles which gave the home side a welcome 10-9 victory.

Son rises to the challenge to the relief of father Ted

IT was a case of he who dares wins when Iain Boyle played the bowl which won him and his father Ted the English National Father and Son Championship.

With two ends to play in the final at Northampton the York and District Indoor Bowls Club pair were level at 18-18 with their southern opponents.

On the penultimate end the York duo were laying with a two-shot advantage when Iain came to play his final wood.

"My dad did not want me to play the shot I did," Iain, a former English and British Under-25 champion, admitted this week after the title-winning triumph.

"He wanted me to go just for another shot to put us three up, but I knew that if I could push the jack forward enough we would take seven, so I decided to go for it against my father's advice.

"I think he nearly fainted when I played it, but I managed to push the jack nine inches and we picked up a seven."

The Boyles, playing in the Father and Son event for only the third time, went on to win 25-21 against Mick and Ryan O'Flanagan, from Riverain, Herts. This trophy adds to the English National Pairs title they won 12 years ago.

Another star bowls player from the York indoor club, Grimsby-based Amy Monkhouse, has been selected to play for the England senior team in the Home International Championship at Llanelli, starting on March 17.

She was selected after winning the English Under-25 singles title at Basingstoke last weekend, which earned her a tilt for the British Isles crown at Llanelli over the weekend of March 13-14.

When Monkhouse first won the English championship at the age of 18 there was no British U25 singles championship and this is her last season as an U25 player, so she is eager to finish with a flourish. She has played before for England seniors.

Updated: 10:47 Thursday, March 11, 2004