British Isles Championships 2024- Day One, Session Two Report

Scotland saw some strong results in the second session of day one at the 2024 British Isles championships. Of the six games played, us Scots saw three wins, in what was a great display of bowling all round.

Gents Singles

Starting on green A, our gents singles representative Alastair White, from Jedburgh BC, was in a true game of two halves against England’s Lewis King, on rink two. Alastair scored in all of the first seven ends, racing into a 10-0 lead in the opening exchanges, before King was able to peg him back. The Englishman pulled it back to 11-6 in the five ends that came after, before Ally’s bowling ability was truly shown, as he scooped up another three shots over two ends, to extend his lead to 14-6.

Despite the eight-shot deficit, King was not to be deterred, and the English champion rattled off 15 shots in six ends, to cross and overcome Alastair. The game was played in high spirits, with Alastair praising his opponent’s comeback after the game. He noted his fast start, though could not shy away from King’s quality in the latter stages.

Ladies Pairs

Alison Ross and Susan Allan of Bainfield BC, faced mother and daughter duo Anwen and Alis Butten from Lampeter in Wales. The Welsh ladies rushed into an emphatic lead, and after nine ends, Alison and Susan found themselves 18-2 behind. They dug in and controlled more of the second half of the game, including an impressive five in the eleventh end, however it sadly wasn’t enough, and exchanges of shots in the latter stages meant that Scotland crash out of the ladies pairs at the semi-final stage. It was a valiant effort, and the ladies done themselves proud.

Gents U25 Singles

In the result of the afternoon, Daniel Martin, from Dunfermline Northern BC stormed into the semi-finals of the U25 singles, with a 21-2 victory over Taylor Greechan. The heads were tight in the beginning, with Daniel ahead 4-1 after three ends, though his expertise proved to shine through, as he cracked on in the later stages, scoring two trebles and two fours, in four of the last five ends, in the eleven-end demolition. Here’s what Daniel had to say after such a win:

“I kept trying it at different lengths, having watched him in the morning session. I caught him out at the shorter lengths and was able to control the game from there. Hopefully I can play as well tomorrow as I have done today”.

Ladies U25 Singles

Moving onto green B, on rink one, we saw Rachel Pirie, from Broughty BC, playing against Lowri Powell in the ladies U25 singles.

As Rachel noted in her preview, she tends to be quite a fast starter, and done just that this afternoon, racing into a 12-0 lead after just six ends. 

Unfortunately, as she also said, she has the tendency to let her opponents back into the game, and Lowri was able to ring off two doubles, two trebles and a full house in five of the following six ends, to find them both level at 14 all, after 12 ends. Despite Rachel picking up a single in the next end, it was Lowri who came away with the win, rattling off seven shots in four ends, to advance to the finals.

Gents Pairs

Darren and Ryan Gualtieri were on top form when they faced Wales’ Chris Ashman and Phil Robins. The Hyndland duo knew that they were in a game from the start, which seen them trail five shots to one after four ends, before a superb four shots brought them back level. The game remained tight for the next three ends, with the Scots trailing by one after eight. This was when the brothers cracked on, securing nine shots in five ends, to lead 16-8 with just four ends to play. Despite losing a single and then a double to Ashman and Robins, the pair used their expertise to see the game out, securing a spot in the semi-finals.

Ladies Fours

Jane Anderson, Anne Bone, Julie Sword and Lynn Stein cruised to victory against a strong Welsh rink in the preliminary round of the ladies fours. They started fast picking up a four, before taking another three two ends later. The shot of the session came from Lynn Stein in the fourth end, as she drew a fantastic shot when there were five shots against her, and the Windygates team. From there, the side never looked back, and were cruising at 14-2 after nine ends. They lost the next two ends, taking it to 14-5, before another count of four saw them out of sight. They only played 15 of the available 18 ends in the game, advancing through to the semi-finals 21-6.

Report by Oliver Anderson