Home comfort deserts county

GREATER Manchester are out of this year’s Endsleigh County Championship following defeat in an amazing semi-final against Yorkshire.

Manchester produced a stunning performance to win by 24 chalks at the away venue of Crosland Moor in Huddersfield.

But the home team capitulated at Royle BC in Castleton, Rochdale, losing by 47 chalks.

The choice of the postage-stamp Royle green raised a few eyebrows among the local bowling community and it backfired in disastrous fashion as the Yorkshire players took to it easily.

The only Manchester winners at home were Rochdale’s Andy Lowe, Ryan Goodman of Heywood and Tonge player Steve Squire.

Away from home, in front of a vocal Yorkshire crowd, Tonge’s Andrew Cairns and Gary Ellis, Nimble Nook’s Andrew Buckley and Gareth McMahon, Springbank’s Steve Copeland and Waterloo and Taunton’s Lee Turner were among the Manchester winners.



GARY Ellis’s domination of crown green bowling’s major competitions continued unchecked at the weekend when he won the £1,000 top prize in the Smithy Manor Classic in St Helens.

In a classic final against Graeme Wilson, the two best players in the sport produced some awesome play and accurate striking to give a large crowd a treat.








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