County team eye follow-up

BOWLS:

GREATER Manchester will be looking to build on their opening-day success against North Midlands when they take on Shropshire in their second group game in the Endsleigh County Championship on Sunday (2pm).

The home venue is Walmersley Conservative in Bury, a green which has been kind to a number of the Manchester players.

Home team manager Keith Rudman explained: “We are doing what we did for the first game at Tottington by including in the side a number of players who have won open competitions on the green.

“We managed to win by 51 at home against North Midlands and will be

looking for something similar. Then, hopefully, we can hold Shropshire away.”

The away side will travel to Newport for their match and both Manchester line-ups feature several players with Oldham connections.



TONGE revived their Manchester Premier League title hopes with a 13.5-3 (193-139) victory at the Railway Hotel, Congleton.

Winners for Tonge were Matt Gillies (21-5), Gary Ellis (21-8), Thomas Dobson (21-9), Chris Cooke (21-10), Darren Griffiths (21-11), Graham Hickey (21-13) and Colin Lane (21-20).

Tonge are at home to Warrington side King and Queen next Wednesday (7.30pm).



THERE is stacks of local interest in the first heats of the J W Lees Hopwood Unionist Club Classic in Heywood tonight (6.30pm).

Alan Hodson, Darren Griffiths, Andrew Buckley and Colin Lane are all on the bill, with Buckley’s match against Macclesfield’s Dave Jackson arguably the pick of the first-round ties.