Louth Bowls: Magpies maintain triples lead

They lead by two points from Yorkies whose two victories over Dreamers moved them into second on shots difference from Highgate Wanderers.

The Yorkies trio of Ian Bertram, Paul Hayman and Pam Thirde had to be on good form in the first outing to win 15-13, but with Tony Powell standing in for Pam in the second game they had an easier ride to win 34-7.

Highgate were given a tough time by In A Minute and were relieved to grab one shot on the final end to level the scores at 13-13.

In A Minute slipped up again in their next game as a 14-3 lead against Wasps turned into an 18-17 defeat. Wasps also beat Lightning 20-7.

In-form The Jays made it five straight wins as their trio of John Williams, Pete Fletcher and Joan Foster beat Hornets 28-7 to stay fourth, just three points off the leaders.

There was a surprise in Group A of the Australian Pairs where leaders Tony Powell and Liz Draper were beaten for the first time but stayed top on shots difference. They lost 16-13 to Brian Culham and Vic Matthews, who stood in for Bernice Culham.

In the battle of the bottom two, there was a welcome first win for Mo Dewar and Audrey Winn who beat Richard and Sylvia Foulds 14-12.

Group B leaders John Williams and Joan Foster didn’t have a game and saw their advantage cut to two points as Paul Hayman and Ian Bertram beat John Readman and George Chesman 14-12.

Barry Jordan and Pat Morley got their first points on the board with a stunning 28-5 win over Jim Brennan and Sally Brown who are still looking for their first points.

Initial attention to part of the playing surface appears to be having the desired effect and the rest of the work will be completed later in the summer.

Preparation of next winter’s league fixtures has begun but there is still time for new teams to enter the various leagues.