Nightmare end to campaign
Published 28 Jun 2012 09:27
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EAST Lothian's best bowlers ended a dismal Scottish Counties Championship campaign when they came off second best yet again in their final East section clash, against fellow strugglers Fife on Saturday.
The 108-105 reverse saw the defending champions finish rock bottom of the ultra competitive East section for the first time in living memory.
Wins for the rinks skipped by Derek Oliver (+13), Alex Marshall (+3) and Brian Young (+3) brought some consolation but defeats for Willie Wood (-6), Alister Kennedy (-6) and Steven Morgan (-10) gave cause for concern.
The strong East Lothian trio of Alex Marshall, Alister Kennedy and Derek Oliver will this weekend be part of a Scotland side looking to reclaim the British Home International series.
This year's series is being held at Llandrindod Wells BC in Wales and the Scots begin their campaign tomorrow (Saturday) at 9.30am against defending champions England followed by an afternoon (2.30pm) clash with Wales.
Meanwhile the Baillie sisters - Lauren and Leanne - from Port Seton were last week part of a Scotland ladies' side that completed a hat-trick of wins in the British Home International Series.
Elsewhere, the East Lothian Under-25 brigade lost out on three of the six rinks but still managed to escape with a thrilling 122-108 victory over defending national champions Midlothian at Bonnyrigg BC on Sunday.
Man-of-the-match Ross Irvine was the hero as he tipped the scales by skipping his rink to a 24-12 win over Stewart Wyllie. Scott Rutherford helped the cause with a 23-17 win over Scott Runciman, while national finals-bound Grant Thomson added a 18-17 win.
East Lothian will hope to make it two wins in a row when they complete their East section campaign on Sunday (2pm) with a home game at East Linton against Fife.
East Lothian's senior side get their Inter-County Senior League campaign for the Matt Purdie Trophy under way on Monday when the defending champions make the trip along the M8 to tackle West Lothian at Buchan Park BC.
Bus pick-up times are: West Barns 10am, Haddington 10.15am, Tranent 10.30am.
Any player selected who is unable to play is requested to contact Bill Bell or Douglas Kennedy immediately on 01620 825404 or 01368 862081.
2008 champions East Linton have hit the front in the race to win the Division 1 title of the East Lothian Leagues thanks to an impressive 6-2 away success at Tranent last Friday night.
It was enough to leapfrog both Port Seton and Castlepark after their match was postponed due to a waterlogged green. Weather permitting the clash was rescheduled for Tuesday evening.
West Barns added to their shock 8-0 midweek success over Port Seton by collecting another maximum points win at home against an out-of-sorts EL-Coop.
Foot-of-the-table Aberlady have given themselves a huge chance of avoiding relegation with two successive 6-2 wins against EL-Coop and East Linton A respectively. The clash between Macmerry and Haddington also fell victim to the weather and will now be played on Monday.
In Division 2 Elphinstone have surged back to the top of the table having powered to a 6-2 away win at fellow promotion hopefuls Gifford. EL-Coop A remain in second spot and only a couple of points behind the leaders following their hard-fought 4-4 draw on home soil against Dunbar.
Port Seton A suffered a shock 6-2 defeat against Port Seton B but still top Division 3, while Division 4 leaders North Berwick impressed again with a grand 8-0 home win over Castlepark B.
In tonight's (Friday) action, leaders East Linton host Macmerry, Port Seton host Haddington, Castlepark visit EL-Coop, West Barns welcome East Linton A and Tranent travel to Aberlady.
The climax to the ELBA Top 5 singles tournament for the Andrew McKellar Trophy will be staged tomorrow (Saturday) as Haddington and East Linton jointly host finals day from noon. Both clubs host semi-finals before the grand final is staged at East Linton at around 3pm.
The winners will represent East Lothian in the national event in August.
East Lothian Ladies League results: East Linton 27, North Berwick 38; Longniddry 44, Dunbar 21. Senior League: West Barns 16, Gifford 11; Tranent 13, EL-Coop 17; EL-Coop 2 13, Prestongrange 14, Aberlady 19, Port Seton 9; Haddington 5, Castlepark 20.
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