Dom McVittie has qualified alongside Matthew Orrey for the World Indoor Bowls Championships pairs after success in Hartlepool.
In the first round against David and Samantha Ronald they won in straight sets (8-3, 8-2) and repeated that 12-7, 8-1 against Alan and Scott Davies.
The third round saw them win a close game against Lee Collins and Alan Rough 6-4, 7-3 before a quarter-final tie against another Spalding player and England international, Stephen Harris and his partner Russell Robinson. Their first tie break of the day proved fruitful (6-3, 2-9, 2-0) to set up a semi-final against Kenny Johnstone and Paul Wallace. Their fifth match of the day saw another tie break win (4-6, 6-4, 2-0) to put them into the final against home club players Conrad Morrison and Mark Squirrell.
The Spalding pair won the first set 6-4 but the Hartlepool team hit back to win the second 9-2 to set up a three-end tie break. After winning the first end and getting a slightly fortuitous result on the second end, it was McVittie and Orrey who won 2-0.
It will be McVittie’s first time at the WBT World Championships at Potters in Norfolk, in both the open singles and open pairs, but Orrey made an appearance in 2016, reaching the quarter-final.
Annie Dunham was missed off the list of previous World Championship qualifiers from the club in last week’s report. She qualified for the ladies world matchplay singles in 2024.
☐ Spalding Lightning men’s o60s lost by 76 shots to 65 in their latest match, gaining one rink and two points from the 14 available. The winning rink was skipped by Anthony Cronin, with Tony Westland, Roger Billingsley and Malcolm Easey, who won 22-19.
Other scores: Mike Taylor, Martyn Stanley, Ian Harwood & Paul Turner lost 14-15; Mick Dolton, Keith Jackson, Pete Bendell & Martin Simpson lost 14-17; Ian Stafford, Derek Chamberlain, Gavin Staite & David Nunney lost 15-25.
☐ Owen Aspinall, Kevin Ekins, Stephen Harris, Dominic McVittie, Dan Mills, Mathew Orrey, Jordan Philpott and Martin Spencer have been selected for Lincolnshire CIBA in the first round of their national defence of the Liberty Trophy against Yorkshire CIBA on Saturday, October 24 at Grantham IBC, while Brian Martin, Martin Simpson and Nick Wilkie are in the team for the first round of the o60 Inter-County team against Northamptonshire CIBA on Tuesday, November 3, with three rinks at Lincoln IBC and three at Desborough IBC.
