Buckley in call to fans

BOWLS:

GREATER Manchester captain Andrew Buckley has called for local bowls enthusiasts to rally to the county’s cause in their Crosfield Cup final showdown with Warwick and Worcester on Sunday (2pm).

Manchester have chosen Springbank as their home venue, while Forget Me Not BC, Birmingham, will stage the away leg.

And Buckley, who has been ruled out of the final with a recurrence of a long-standing hip problem and whose replacement has yet to be decided, is expecting a huge following for the Midlands men.

“It will be like a cauldron at both venues,” he said. “They expect to have about a thousand supporters at home and I know they are bringing two coachloads up here.

“So it would be great if our supporters could turn out in force to match them.”

Manchester hand a debut to Waterloo and Taunton’s Anthony Walker, who faces a baptism of fire at Springbank against opposition captain Anthony Bracken.

Other Oldham-based players at the home venue are Darren Griffiths, Colin Lane and Mark Dwayre.

Manchester’s away team is particularly strong, with top open handicap players Jimmy Derby, Andy Cairns and Gary Ellis expected to take the fight to the opposition.

And Springbank trio Steve Copeland, Paul Heap and Alan Hodson will be keen to do well in the face of plenty of flak from substantial home support.

Draw (at Springbank, Manchester name first): Darren Griffiths v Paul Gamsby; Chris Heyes v Peter Davenport; David Walker v Gareth Herbert; Colin Lane v John Evans; Anthony Walker v Anthony Bracken; Michael Holden v Simon Trentham; Jack Hargreaves v Paul Hemming; Mark Dwayre v Darren Round; Ryan Goodman v Colin Weaver; John Wade v Carl Fielding; Peter Fielding v Justin Hemmings; Peter Craig v Steve Darling.

At Forget Me Not BC: Jimmy Derby v Neil Clarke; Andy Cairns v Ben Harris; A N Other v Scott Saunders; Nigel Greenhalgh v John Sturdy; Steve Copeland v Gary Morton; Lee Turner v Steve Jones; Paul Heap v Dane Hopwood; Colin Price v Peter Dunkley; Darren Holt v Greg Smith; Alan Hodson v Gavin Dunkley; Gareth Gwilliam v David Wolverson; Gary Ellis v Mark Denman.