Sleaford Indoor Bowls Club miss out in national finals

Town bowlers came through months of area qualifying to reach the last 16 in men’s triples and men’s fours at the EIBA National Indoor Bowls Championships.

First up was the fours team of David Bristow, Richard Barnes, Paul Roberts and Trevor Bannister who faced one of the toughest draws against British Isles champions, Kingsthorpe.

Sleaford fell 6-4 behind early on, but battled back to lead 9-8 after 10 ends before the Northamptonshire club stepped up a gear, pulling away to win 19-11 on their way to the final.

Bristow and Roberts were then joined by Tony Stanley for the triples where they faced Torquay United.

Sleaford built a 7-4 lead after 10 ends, and were still narrowly ahead, 12-11, after 15 ends.

But the experienced Devon trio racked up eight unanswered shots to come through 19-12.