EAST Lothian and world bowls icon Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall put up a magnificent defence of his Co-operative Funeralcare International Open title but was denied a second consecutive success by good friend and former Garden County team-mate Paul Foster in the final.

A huge crowd packed into the Blackpool Newton Hall IBC last Friday evening for the clash of the MBEs and they were treated to a battle royale.

The first set was breathtaking, with a game of draw on draw and each player outplaying the last delivery of his opponent.

The sixth end had to be seen to be believed. With the jack driven into the ditch, both players then delivered three bowls within inches of the edge.

Going into the final end of the first set, the match was tied at 8-8 and it was Foster who carded a single to claim the set 9-8.

The early stages of the second set saw Foster move up a gear, if that was possible, and unfortunately Marshall lost his way slightly, with Foster relentlessly punishing every slack bowl played by him.

World No. 1 Foster claimed the title by winning the second set 15-3 with three ends to spare.

Marshall said after the match: “In the opening set I could not have played any better but Paul always had a response to everything I threw at him and winning the first set was always going to be critical as to the outcome of the match.

“I started the second set with a double but then had four loose ends and I simply could not afford to do that, as Paul was playing great bowls and punished me on every occasion.” East Lothian’s Ewan Fallen was last weekend part of a Scotland Under-25 side that finished in a disappointing third place in the British Home International series at County Antrim IBC in Northern Ireland.

The series was won by England for a third consecutive year, Wales coming second.

Fallen gave an excellent account of himself and was part of a rink that claimed a cracking win over Ireland, but then suffered defeats against Wales and England.

Meanwhile, Emma Brown, Dee Hoggan and Kim Hoggan were part of a Scotland Ladies Under-25 side that had to settle for runners-up spot behind winners England in the international series at Nottingham.

Brown played second and Dee third in a rink skipped by Midlothian’s Stacey Laidlaw and they enjoyed a magnificent series by winning both their games, including a staggering 43-5 win over Wales.

Most eyes in the world of indoor bowling will be on Auchinleck Indoor Bowling Club tomorrow (Saturday) with the play-off final of the Scottish Premier League between East Lothian and arch-rivals West Lothian down for decision.

The Garden County go into the eagerly awaited high noon showdown severely boosted by the news that icon figure Alex Marshall is available to play.

He will take up his customary skipping role along with fellow internationalists Derek Oliver, Scott Kennedy and captain Billy Mellors.

Stewart Thomson is the very unfortunate player left out of the 16-man line-up.

Team: K. Simants, D. Berwick, S. Morgan, A. Marshall skip. M. Johnston, A. Jeffrey, J. Higgins, B. Mellors skip/capt. E. Fallen, G. Darling, G. Robertson, D. Oliver skip. C. Cook, J. Gordon, W. W. Wood, S. Kennedy skip. Reserves: S. W. Thomson, T. Young and G. Muir.

The rink draw for the final was made recently and reads as follows: Rink 1: Alex Marshall v Mark Allison; Rink 2: Scott Kennedy v Neil Speirs; Rink 3: Derek Oliver v Tommy Mann; Rink 4: Billy Mellors v Calum Logan.

The club is running a coach to the final and a limited number of seats are still available for anyone who would like to go through to Ayrshire and support the side.

Anyone interested should contact club secretary Scott Kennedy as soon as possible. All players, officials and supporters are requested to report at Meadowmill by no later than 9am. After a lengthy lay-off, the ladies’ side return to competitive action tomorrow (Saturday) as the Ladies’ Scottish Cup swings into first-round action, with the elite of East Lothian IBC making the relatively short journey to West Lothian IBC in Livingston to tackle Headwell.

The ladies failed to shine in their recent Division 1C campaign but can take heart from the statistic that they performed far better than Headwell, who failed to win a match in Division 1B.

Morale in the side is further boosted with the news that Sheena Currie has agreed to return as team manager.

She has named the following line-up: G. MacKintosh, A. Irvine, M. Thomson, J. Fairnie skip. A. Barclay, M. Devine, M. Hamilton, E. Brown skip. R. MacKintosh, M. Murray, I. Gray, N. McNeil skip. J. McFarlane, J. Russell, C. Ward, Y. Veitch skip.

The senior side last captured the Scottish Senior Cup in 2006 and enter the 2014 campaign with strong ambition to emulate that previous success when they enter the fray this coming Wednesday with a first-round clash against West Lothian at Bainfield IBC.

“Bainfield is a venue we have good knowledge of, so I am certainly expecting our lads to put up a strong show and be good enough to secure a place in the second round,” said team convenor John Hamilton.

The following team has been selected: R. Maguire, J. Robertson, B. Higgins, W. W. Wood skip. K. Boyd, D. McLeod, B. J. Smith, P. Laidlaw skip. L. Middler, J. McLeod, B. Bisset, J. Brodie skip. A. Russell, J. P. Hamilton, R. Douglas, T. Young skip.

The action in the Jock Brodie Senior Challenge Cup, sponsored by Norman T Craig and Co-operative Funeral & Monumental Services, resumed on Wednesday when Abbeyview clashed with Tweedbank and Perth started the defence of their title with a tough opening clash against Midlothian.

Meanwhile, a senior side from East Lothian IBC is in Central District Senior Top Six quarter-final action today (Friday) when they make the trip across the Forth to East Fife IBC in Methil, where they tackle Stirling.