Waterloo joy for super Buckley

WELL DONE, SON . . . Andrew Buckley (right), winner of the Waterloo bowls final, with his dad Stewart Buckley at Blackpool.

Bowls: ANDREW Buckley completed a great sporting journey by winning the Waterloo Bowling Handicap in Blackpool.

The 44-year-old Nimble Nook and Springbank star succeeded where his father, Stewart, narrowly failed.

Stewart would probably have won the 1976 Waterloo title had it not been for monsoon conditions, which saw him out-thrown virtually under water in the final by Keith Illingworth.

Buckley junior had also reached finals day, only to be denied.

And, when diagnosed with a severe hip complaint which required surgery, Andrew’s best chance of achieving his ambition of winning crown green bowling's most coveted title looked to have gone. On one occasion, he had to surrender his place in the last 64 when the hip problem flared up again.

But this season has seen a renaissance in health and form — and a relatively pain-free summer has produced spectacular results.

Major victories at Wakefield, Houldsworth and Spen Victoria suggested that this could be Buckley’s best chance of Waterloo glory.

And so it proved yesterday when he was the star turn on finals’ day. He picked up £2,500 after beating Kendal’s Ian Nicholson 21-12 in the last eight, Nook team-mate Jimmy Derby 21-13 in the semi-finals, and Preston’s Wayne Ditchfield 21-19 in a tense final, which saw the latter fight back from 20-15 down to lie game with two decent bowls in the corners.

Buckley, who took off his shirt and waved it around football-style, on clinching the title, could barely speak after his stunning triumph.

“It’s my best win ever, obviously. I need a pint!” he said. Oldham has a new sporting hero.