Published: Thursday, 22nd January, 2009 12:28pm

Marshall hungry for bowls again

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EAST LOTHIAN IBC high-fliers Alex Marshall and Paul Foster both moved through to the third round in the Potters Holiday"s World Indoor Singles at Great Yarmouth after coming through testing openers.

After a run of poor form, defending champion Marshall, 41, rediscovered the magic that has won him a record five world titles at Potters Leisure Resort when he beat English qualifier Robert Paxton in the second round.

It was underdog Paxton who made the running in the early part of the game, building up a 5-1 lead after five ends.

But a disastrous sixth end for Paxton, followed by an unlucky sequence of deliveries, earned Marshall two successive full houses which put the Scot 9-5 up.

After winning the first set, Marshall led 6-3 in the second with just two ends to go.

A single in the eighth left the Exeter postman needing three shots in the final end to force the match into a tie-break.

Holding one, Paxton delivered a wondrous bowl which removed three red Marshall bowls to make it "three green"!

But the top seed calmly delivered his final red amongst the winning three greens to clinch the match 10-5, 6-5.

'It was an absolutely fabulous game,' said a beaming Marshall.

'He started off like a house on fire – he was so consistent. But he was unlucky to lose four in that second end – that made a big difference to me.'

Marshall was in dazzling form back at his favourite venue at Potters – and the favourite admitted that he"d practised more on the WBT"s portable rink at Potters than he"d ever done before.

'I had my last game a few weeks before Christmas and then left it at that until I got here,' he said.

'I needed a break – to make me hungry for bowls again.'

Marshall was due to meet No.16 seed Simon Skelton from England yesterday (Thursday) for a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, in a dramatic semi-final last Saturday morning, Marshall and partner Debbie Stavrou of England narrowly lost out in the Potters Holidays World Indoor Mixed Pairs Championship after going down 6-5, 5-10, 1-2 to the English pairing of Sarah Seymour and Mark Royal.

Fifth seed Paul Foster trailed 3-0 in both sets to New Zealand qualifier Denis Leeden but finished strongly to come through 9-4, 10-6.

He was also back in action yesterday (Thursday) as he bids to overcome No.12 seed Billy Jackson for a place in the last eight.

A vastly depleted East Lothian IBC men"s side made it a magnificent nine wins in a row as they wrapped up the B section of the Scottish Premier League with a battling 66-64 away win over Aberdeen last Saturday in the penultimate match of the qualifying campaign.

They"ll face A sections winners Blantyre in next month"s play-off final at Dundee IBC as they bid to make it a record extending fourth title success.

Wins for the rinks skipped Graham Robertson (+4), Willie Wood (+4) and James Hogg (+1) just kept Aberdeen at bay and covered the 10 shot defeat sustained by Derek Oliver, ensuring a pleasant coach trip back from the Granite City.

'To pull off an away win at a difficult place like Aberdeen without the services of Alex Marshall, Paul Foster and Scott Kennedy is a tremendous result and speaks volumes for the amazing strength in depth we have at East Lothian', said team captain Jamie Higgins.

'I would like to mention Lesell Middler and Terry Kirkwood who were drafted into the team as last minute replacements. Both gave excellent accounts of themselves.'

They round off their qualifying campaign tomorrow (Saturday) with a home clash against B section runners-up Coatbridge (2pm).

Although the clash has no significance with regards to gaining points, East Lothian will be desperate for the victory so they can go into next month"s final boasting a remarkable 100 per cent record in the qualifying campaign.

East Lothian"s IBC senior side recorded an unexpected loss (71-55) against Abbeyview at West Lothian IBC in the Scottish Senior League Cup quarter-final last Wednesday.

The defeat came as a major shock to a side who had won their qualifying section at a canter.