Stuart Greenhalgh brings us the latest news from the Mid-Cheshire bowls scene...

ON Saturday, 15 bowlers who had qualified for the Cheshire Senior Merit – around half of whom play regularly in the Mid-Cheshire League – arrived for the tournament at Great Moor Sports.

Last year’s winner Andy Hamman was there to defend his title and what a defence it was, reaching the final after coming through a tough semi-final against Andy Gregory 21-18 after putting out Tom Vickers in the quarter final.

However, it was to be Glynn Cookson’s day, making his way through the rounds before beating Sean Chappell in the semis having eased past Lee Johnstone in the quarter final.

Glynn made his way to his 12th final having won five and lost six, but beating Andy 21-14 gave him his sixth victory and I doubt anyone would be surprised if he adds to that tally in the next few years.

At the same time, 16 young bowlers descended on Stockport’s Crown Hotel hoping to win the Junior Cheshire Merit and add their names alongside some of the county’s best.

In a closely fought competition, the final was between two Mid-Cheshire Juniors in Castle Sports’ Finley Harrop and Luka Jones Dakic of Comberbach.

The final was closely fought, but Luka just took the win 21-14 – very nice to see Mid-Cheshire has a few talented young bowlers starting out on their journey.

Meanwhile, after last month’s defeat, the Mid-Cheshire ladies county team went into the game with Lancashire knowing they needed a win.

The away team at Burscough won five of their twelve matches but managed to only lose the aggregate by seven points, giving their home team a great chance.

Mid-Cheshire chose Kingswood for their home match and after the first four, the teams had two wins each.

However, Mid-Cheshire only had one more loser in the next eight games, giving them a great aggregate home win of 242–157.

This moves Mid-Cheshire up to second place in their division and with Greater Manchester providing the opposition in their next match, another win could see them top the division.

In the Mid-Cheshire League, Frodsham Red Lion – unbeaten after seven matches – made the tricky journey to Wharton Cons on Friday night.

They came away with one winner, but their unbeaten record was gone and they dropped to second place in the Premier League with Wharton’s nine winners giving them a great winning score of 198-144.

Castle Sports A played away at Comberbach and with six winners to four and a winning score of 181-172, they leap-frogged Frodsham to take top spot.

In Section One, Both Shavington A and Meadowbank had 10 winners at home – Shavington’s 210-134 home win over Comberbach B kept them top while Meadowbank thrashed Sandbach Park 210-119 to move up to fourth.

The only two remaining unbeaten records in the Mid-Cheshire League are both in Section Two, with Victoria and Comberbach C the only two sides yet to lose a league fixture.

Four games into the Mid-Cheshire Ladies League season and Frodsham Red Lion remain unbeaten following their second full house of the season, beating Bunbury 168-69.

Winnington are in second place after beating Castle 165-133 at home.

Division Two is closer with Hartford, Cuddington and Barnton B all vying for the top spot – Hartford currently lead the pack.