Scotland v England Para Test Match: Day 2 Session Two Results

Scotland were successfully crowned the Bob Love Cup winners for 2023 after triumphing over England in a nail-biting final session. After two days of high-quality bowls, it was fitting that the final test series finished as a draw with both nations winning three games apiece.

Billy Allan and Glen Livingston were the heroes for Scotland as they brought home the crucial victory that they craved to become champions. Both men were in excellent form throughout the weekend and saw off England’s Jonathan Stokes and Mike Robertson 20-11 in the Physically Disabled Pairs.

Unfortunately, Scotland’s other three PD pairings lost out to England in the final session as the away team fought hard to overturn the deficit in the last session. Mark Fleming and Alex Paterson suffered the Scots biggest defeat against the talented English pairing of Craig Bowler and Kieran Rollings. In truth the scoreline was harsh on the Scottish debutants who performed admirably during their international debuts.

The other two Scottish PD pairs of Mary Wilson & Michael Simpson and Ross Young & Stuart Stevens narrowly lost out by 1-shot and 3-shots respectively in contests that went right down to the wire.

Both Visually Impaired pairings for Scotland clinched late victories after delivering impressive second half comebacks in both of their matches. Cat Black (with Director, Jim Aitken) and Ross Noble trailed 4-7 in the early stages of their game against Kevin Betteridge (with Director, Jayne Sippitts) and Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall (with Director, Elizabeth Shipley). However, the Scottish duo showed true resilience to fight back and claim a 13-12 win.

James Dick (with Director, Iain Riach) and Sandy Mackintosh (with Director, Lawra Cox) were also involved in a terrific ding-dong battle with England’s David Wood (with Director, Nigel Morgan) and Sarah Marshall (with Director, Chris Vein). At peels playing the last end and the last game on the green the pressure was building but Scottish skip, Sandy, was the coolest man in Northfield as he played a terrific take out shot with his last bowl to ensure victory.

Well done to all of Scotland’s players, directors and coaches on their inspiring performances and results over the last two days. A huge thank you goes to England for providing vital competitive matches for both teams.

Scotland and England tie the fourth and final test series with 6 points each, the Scottish team win the overall event by 2.5 test wins to England’s 1.5. A full breakdown of the scores can be found below.

TEST SERIES FOUR SCORES:

• Physically Disabled Pairs – Mary Wilson & Michael Simpson 10 v Colin Wagstaff & Mike McDonagh 11
• Physically Disabled Pairs – Ross Young & Stuart Stevens 8 v Colin Milner & Anthony Page 11
• Physically Disabled Pairs – Billy Allan & Glen Livingston 20 v Jonathan Stokes & Mike Robertson 11
• Physically Disabled Pairs – Mark Fleming & Alex Paterson 6 v Craig Bowler & Kieran Rollings 18
• Visually Impaired Pairs – Cat Black (with Director, Jim Aitken) & Ross Noble 13 v Kevin Betteridge (with Director, Jayne Sippitts) & Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall (with Director, Elizabeth Shipley) 12
• Visually Impaired Pairs – James Dick (with Director, Iain Riach) & Sandy Mackintosh (with Director, Lawra Cox) 12 v David Wood (with Director, Nigel Morgan) & Sarah Marshall (with Director, Chris Vein 11

SCOTLAND 6 – ENGLAND 6

OVERALL TEST SERIES: SCOTLAND 2.5 – ENGLAND 1.5