Five members of Spalding Indoor Bowls Club played a key role as Lincolnshire were crowned national double rink under-25 champions.
The players – Martin Spencer, Calvin Leuty, Matthew Whyers, Ryan Huskisson and Ashley Caress – teamed up with Jonathan West and Alex Tomlin from Boston and Mathew Orrey from Grantham as they saw off Kent at Melton IBC.
Opponents Kent had a familiar face in their ranks too, with local lad Ben Wilson playing for them while at University down there.
Lincolnshire could not have wished for a better start and went 15-3 up at five ends, thanks largely to a helping hand from Leuty’s opposite number in their second end.
Already four down in the head, he fired heavily with his last bowl and finished up giving away seven shots.
Lincolnshire were never behind – and although Kent did reduce the arrears to eight shots at one stage, they never looked in any trouble and won quite comfortably by 38 shots to 23, with the game conceded after 20 ends.
Five of the team will be too old next year, so this was a fitting end to their under-25 county careers.
For the Spalding lads, it was the first part of a potential double.
They will now represent Spalding IBC in the final of the club under-25 double rink against Torquay – in what is a repeat of last year’s final.
That was won by Torquay on an extra end.
• On Sunday, February 24 Friendly bowlers from the Deepings came to Spalding for a cracking match.
Spalding pulled ahead from the start and maintained the lead throughout to record a winning score of 124 shots to 98, with both sides winning three rinks.
Spalding’s best winning rink was Jan Sinclair, Geoffrey Patterson, Gill Haydon and skip Jenny Horner.
Captain of the day was Mick Jennings.