Nimble Nook aces hit the jackpot
Reporter: Keith McHugh
Date published: 11 May 2010
WEEKEND WINNER . . . Jimmy Derby was on the mark in one of the region’s top crown green events.
BOWLS:
TWO Of Nimble Nook’s brightest stars landed big prizes at the weekend.
Gary Ellis, the reigning Waterloo champion and prolific competition winner, picked up £500 when he won the St Andrews Invitation 32 Classic at the Alexandra Hotel, Burnley.
And team-mate Jimmy Derby, another player high in crown green bowling’s rankings, pocketed £400 when successful in the RRG Toyota Open at Allens Green BC, Bury.
Ellis won five games in the one-day tournament in Burnley.
After reaching the quarter-finals, he beat Yorkshire’s Chris Mordue 21-17, and followed that with a 21-17 semi-final verdict against Failsworth’s Lee Lawton.
Preston’s Simon Coupe – who has recently joined Ellis’s Manchester Premier League club Tonge – also reached the final, but it was Ellis who prevailed 21-15.
Derby, another Tonge performer as well as a Nook regular, stared defeat in the face at Allens Green when he trailed Garswood Hall’s Phil Boydell 20-16 in the semi-finals.
But he showed his battling qualities to hit back and win 21-20 and then turned on a master class in the final, slamming in-form James Grimston (Blackpool) 21-5 with some stunning corner play.
Grimston had beaten the luckless Lawton 21-13 in the semi-final, but at least the Failsworth bowler had the satisfaction of avenging his previous day’s defeat at the hands of Ellis, winning 21-17 in the last eight.
GREATER Manchester juniors may have been beaten by Shropshire, but there were some notable performances.
At the home venue of Stalybridge Rec, Amanda Ridley hit back from 18-5 down only to lose 21-20, while 10-year-old Natasha Sands did well in her first game at this level and Nimble Nook’s Jonathan Copeland took the player of the match award after winning 21-5.
At Stalybridge (Manchester names first): Jack Hargreaves (George & Dragon) 21, Robert Roden 16; James Jones (Norths) 19, Adi Bradburn 21; Nick Turrell (Tottingham Cons) 21, Ashley Gregory 13; Ryan Bancroft (Grapes) 21, Kelly Baugh 20; Matthew Sands (Lowes Arms) 21, Chelsea Gregory 16; Ben Gloag (Lowes Arms) 21, Aaron King 9; Natasha Sands (Lowes Arms) 9, Lee Taylor 21; Jonathan Copeland (Nimble Nook) 21 Sam Millward 5, Christopher Crowther (Lowes Arms) 13, Liam Jones 21, Jack Holland (Norths) 21, Nathan Parker 12, Amanda Ridley (Lloyd Hotel) 20, Anna Preece 21, Daniel Sands (Lowes Arms) 21, Martin Gaut 17. Manchester 229, Shropshire 192.
At Bicyon BC, Shrewsbury: Tom Eccles (Bullough Moor) 15, Ben Talbot 21; James Hynes (Rhodes) 17, Kiah Roberts 21; Richard Pertoldi (Springbank) 14, Anthony Price 21; Sarah Vincent (Stalybridge) 16, Dan Williams 21; Sophie Stockton (Millbeck) 12, Ben McCormick 21; Laura Vincent (Stalybridge) 8, Tom Jones 21; Keiren Wild (Delph) 14, Dan Jones 21; Josh Donald (Millbeck) 12, Jacob Reese 21; Michael Shore (Grapes) 16, George Williams 21; Jonathan Pertoldi (Springbank) 8, David Payne 21; Jonathan Stockton (Millbeck) 11, Jonathan Mansall 21; Kyle Kirby (Rhodes) 21, Sam Onions 11. Manchester 164, Shropshire 242.
Overall: Manchester 393, Shropshire 434.
