Bowls: Louth master Sleaford in County League clash

The home team enjoyed a comfortable win on one rink and although the other four rinks were closely fought the visitors only managed to gain one win and that by only a shot.

The best winning margin for Louth was the rink of Keith Kelly, Dave Roper, Tony Powell and Steve Moore with a 26-7 victory.

John Welsh’s rink won by eight shots and Horace Cope’s rink had a five-shot victory, while Colin Smith’s rink won by four shots.

* On the club scene there was another surprise win for bottom side Avengers in the Newcomers League as they beat luckless Pure Silk 22-6.

Aided by newcomer Brian Todd the league strugglers are now within four points of second-bottom Perishers who were thrashed 39-4 by Ditchers.

Pure Silk’s defeat cost them second spot as they were overtaken by Merrymen who beat Golfers 15-9 to open a two-point gap and move within three points of leaders Cheekies who didn’t play.

* Five teams remain in the hunt for the Ladies’ Triples title, but fifth-placed Tyros lost vital ground when beaten 16-8 by leaders Flyers. They kept their two-point lead over Follies who just managed a 12-10 win against Woodentops.

Canaries are two points further back after beating Jayees 19-11, while Anglers are joint-third after a low-scoring 9-3 victory over Birdies.

* In the Friday Mixed Pairs League, leaders Horace Cope and Joan Stones suffered a 19-9 defeat against Alan Watson and Wendy Blyth.

But they remained three points ahead of Barrie Robinson and Pat Willoughby who were also beaten, 18-11, by John Welsh and Veronica Ball.

These results allowed Harry Putland and Judy Robinson to move joint-second with a last-gasp 19-17 win over Tony Saunders and Irene Bailey who came back from 16-10 down to lead 17-16 only to drop three shots on the final end.

In Division Three, Peter and Joan Hill stayed a point clear at the top with a 19-12 win over Dave and Lorraine Evans, while second-placed Ray and Sue Green scraped a 15-12 win over Martin Smith and Betty Cuthbert.