Spalding Indoor Bowls Club are celebrating after a sensational showing at the National Championships finals at Melton Mowbray over the weekend.
Graham Smith won the two-bowl singles title on Friday before joining forces with Matt Whyers, Martin Spencer and Matt Orrey to win the fours on Sunday.
Smith, who helped England retain the British men’s team title in Paisley less than a week ago, became the winner of the English national men’s two-wood singles title when he defeated World
Outdoor Champion of Champions winner Tom Bishop 21-16 in a high quality final.
“I had to work really hard for that, because Tom played very well,” said the 46-year-old Spalding star. “In fact, it was a hard day, with four games to play.”
Earlier, Smith had beaten Chawton Park’s Adam White 21-6 and in-form Martin Puckett, from Weymouth-based Moonfleet 2000, 21-15, before reaching the final with a 21-14 victory over WIBC world Under 25 indoor champion Ed Elmore (City of Ely).
Smith always seemed to have the upper hand in the final, but Bishop, who plays alongside legendary Anglo-Scot Andy Thomson at the Cyphers club in Beckenham, stayed in the hunt until the very end.
Indeed, bowls more than a foot from the jack had little chance of counting.
Smith took his momentum into a star-studded fours final against hotly-tipped British Isles fours champions Kingsthorpe two days later.
History was made in the final, with all eight players having played at international level, while Orrey was the only one who was not in the England team that won the British team title and lifted the Hilton Trophy in Paisley earlier this month.
To say that the final was a classic would be an understatement. With all eight players in top form, every time a player stepped onto the mat spectators expected the position to be changed – and it normally was.
Kingsthorpe’s Andy Manton, Connor Cinato, Neil McKee and Jamie Walker made the better start and were 4-0 up in three ends – and they were still 8-5 up after nine of the 18 ends before Spalding opted for shorter jacks.
The move paid off, with Spalding scoring nine shots to Kingsthorpe’s two in the second half, finishing with five singles over the last six ends to win 14-10.
Spalding had earlier come back from 0-5 down after three ends to beat Oxford City and County, skipped by Mark Charlett, 21-9 in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Ruby Hill – also of Spalding – narrowly lost in the women’s two-bowl championship semi-final on Friday.
She lost 21-18 to beaten finalist Bex Field (Norfolk).
Teenager Nicole Rogers (Loddon Vale) took the overall title, seeing off Field 21-10.
