EAST Lothian Indoor Bowling Club stars Jamie Higgins and Derek Oliver were in sensational form in last week’s British Isles Championships at Stanley IBC in County Durham – and they did the local and Scotland banner proud by capturing the pairs title.

Wales provided the opposition in the final, and the partnership of John Downey and David Prosser were always on the back foot as Oliver skipped Higgins to a commanding 23-15 victory that was highlighted by carding 3, 4 to lead 19-7.

Earlier in the week, their preliminary-round action against Todd Priaulx and Chris Dyer of the Channel Islands saw them drop only two singles as they stormed into the semi-finals with a stunning 26-2 victory.

The Garden County duo then clashed with current World Indoor Pairs champions Greg Harlow and Nick Brett of England in the last four. The Scotland camp were ecstatic as Oliver and Higgins hailed a magnificent 22-14 victory.

The flow of the match saw the Scotland partnership lead 7-2 after seven ends, then produce a spectacular purple patch run of 2, 4, 4, 1, 1 that accelerated them out of sight to lead 19-2.

Meanwhile, Higgins and Oliver were joined by Willie Wood, Graham Robertson, Alex Marshall, Scott Kennedy and Billy Mellors to form a strong East Lothian contingent in a Scotland team that participated in the weekend’s British Home International series, also, at Stanley IBC.

They all played a huge part in helping the Scots to beat defending champions England to take the series and bring their total of Hilton Trophy wins to 31. They went into Saturday’s winner-takes-all confrontation with England unbeaten after defeating Wales 119-91 in their opening match, then powering to a 114-88 triumph over Ireland in their second match.

Apart from the opening end, the Scots were always in total control of proceedings and by the halfway mark led 69-38.

A fightback from England was anticipated but never looked like materialising as to a man Scotland were magnificent and secured the title with a comfortable 114-88 victory.

On the overall performance ladder, the rink skipped by Marshall signed off the series as the top Scottish rink with a 100 per cent record and an impressive shot margin bank of +37.

Kennedy played third in a rink skipped by former World Indoor Singles champion Stewart Anderson and they also had an unblemished record and finished +27 on shots.

Higgins enjoyed a wonderful debut series as he and Wood formed a formidable front end pairing for Midlothian ace Colin Walker and they also recorded three excellent wins.

Oliver skipped his rink to two wins and one defeat, while team captain Robertson played third in the rink skipped by current World Indoor Singles champion Darren Burnett, but they could only manage one win, against Ireland.

The form of the senior side from East Lothian IBC in the knockout stage of the league wasn’t too hot, but the Garden County ‘auld yins’ have a good tradition in the Senior Scottish Cup and the two-time winners are back in the final after a hard-fought 65-61 victory over Elgin in last Wednesday’s semi-final action at Dundee IBC.

Wins for the rinks skipped by Tom Young (+9) and Peter Laidlaw (+6) tipped the match scales for East Lothian, with Ronnie Douglas held to a peel and Jock Brodie losing by 11 shots.

Glasgow-based club Whiteinch will provide the opposition in the final, which will be staged at Arbroath IBC this coming Wednesday (March 26).

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

The club is running a coach to the final and there are a very limited number of seats remaining for any supporters wishing to travel and support the team. The coach is scheduled to depart Meadowmill at 8.20am and anyone interested is requested to contact senior convenor John P Hamilton on 01875 614166 for further information.

East Lothian will also have an interest in the final of the Central Seniors Top Six Championships after defeating Tweedbank 4-2 on points in Sunday’s semi-final action, played at Meadowmill.

Dave McLeod lost his singles battle 21-12 but home triumphs in the pairs and triples clashes enabled East Lothian to book a place in the final, where they face holders Perth at West Lothian IBC next Saturday (March 29).

The action in the Jock Brodie Senior Challenge Cup, sponsored by Norman T Craig and Co-operative Funeral & Monumental Services, continued last Wednesday and East Lothian B qualified through to the knockout semi-final stage following a 6-2 points victory over Headwell.

In the other clash, West Lothian defeated Berwickshire 6-2.

The action continued on Wednesday when East Lothian A tackled Abbeyview to decide who wins Section 1, while the other clash is an all-Borders affair between Tweedbank and Teviotdale.

The youth side from East Lothian IBC make the short trip to Dalkeith tomorrow (Saturday) to participate in the Midlothian IBC Youth Team tournament. On the domestic front, Cameron Shaw and Craig MacKintosh will contest the under-13 singles final, which will be played on finals week.

Emerging stars at East Lothian IBC Calum Darling and Calvert Allison are chuffed to bits after being selected to participate in a Scotland Under-18 trial match at Abbeyview IBC in Dunfermline on Sunday.

Members of East Lothian IBC should note in their diary that finals week will run from April 7 to 11.

Members of Gifford Bowling & Sports Club are reminded that their AGM will take place on Sunday, April 6, at 1pm.