Bowls club stars prepare to battle country's indoor best

YEOVIL are through to the national finals of the English Indoor BA Championships.

Jenny Whitlock, Margaret Burton and skip Mary Sutton booked their place in the last 16 of the over-50 two-wood triples at Northampton on February 15 with an excellent 19-10 triumph in the inter-area final against Atherley at Poole on Wednesday.

"We were chuffed to bits," admitted Whitlock who took the major triples' title with Edna Bessell and Mo Monkton in 2005.

Atherley's Wendy Line has won the national two-woods national crown three times in the past 11 years but the former England skip and her colleagues from the Southampton club played second fiddle to Yeovil throughout.

Ahead 5-2 at five ends Yeovil led 8-5 on 10 ends but were pegged back to 12-10 after 15 before producing a one, two, four finish. Burton was subbing for Barbara Colby who will reclaim her place at Northampton where Yeovil open against Worthing.

However, when Whitlock and Sutton returned to the same Dolphin carpet 24 hours later they were swamped 22-7 by the daughter/mother partnership of Emma and Barbara Follis (Dorchester) in the Area 28 pairs final.

On Sunday Whitlock, Hannah Crinks (subbing for Colby), Burton and Sutton rekindled that winning thread with a thrilling 22-19 victory against Moonfleet at Weymouth in the area showdown of the fours.

Yeovil looked like sailing through when 22-13 ahead at 19 ends but suddenly the match came alive again after a wayward bowl from skip Sheila Baker contrived to give Moonfleet a five.

But Yeovil held their nerve and dropped only a single on the last end to set up an inter-area final against Joan Halliwell's Bournemouth rink. The winners of that one go to the nationals at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, on February 23-25.

Louis Ridout returned in triumph from the under-25 indoor British Isles International Series at Nottingham.

The 21-year-old Ilminster outdoor member, who plays his indoor bowls at Torquay, helped England regain the trophy with three team victories out of three against Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

Playing at lead for skip and team captain Ashley Clipston (Derbyshire) Ridout helped his rink score a 28-14 win in the 104-95 triumph against Ireland and had a slender 20-19 success in the 97-59 verdict against Wales.

His quartet's hopes of an unbeaten weekend, however, were dashed in a 20-16 defeat by the Scots though Ridout and company played their part in the overall performance by coming back from 16-6 down at 12 ends to help England win 76-72.

By David Briers