Skipton Devonshire A win close Clarkson Cup final

Gargrave, who had a 20-point handicap, got of to a good start, with the first four only losing two points, Martyn Cox won 21-16 and although the other three lost they all got good scores.

The three Devon winners were Nick Squires, who won 21-16, Peter Clark 21-20 and Dan Moore 21-20.

Les Foster then got a 21-15 win for Devon to reduce the lead, but it was all going wrong for Devon as Keith Moore and Cliff Taylor were in charge of their games with big leads.

Keith Moore led 19-4 against Graham Perry while Cliff Taylor was 15-3 up against Richard Baker, Graham Perry got a couple back but Moore got to 20-6, before Perry got on a run to pull back important points before going down 21-16.

Richard Baker also recovered to finish 21-11, which still put Gargrave in command, Devon Skipper Richard Perry got a good win 21-13 to leave Gargrave 19 points in front with the last two games on the green.

Devon had a strong back two in David Ryding and Stephen Lofthouse, while Gargrave hoped that Mick Cox and Chris Smales could get the required points.

The Devon pair got good starts, Ryding leading 12-3 against Cox, while Lofthouse held an 11-2 lead over Smales. The Gargrave pair started to haul back points, but David Ryding came with a 21-9 win.

Smales needed to score 14 and he was pulling back points at 11-18, a two for Lofthouse made it 20-11, Smales picked up one, but Lofthouse got the next point to give Devon the victory with a 210-208 result.

Devon have now won the Clarkson Cup ever three years since 2010. Devon skipper Richard Perry collected the Clarkson Cup from the league secretary.

The S H C Supplementary Cup between Whinfield A and Steeton B took place at Crosshills Bowling Club. Whinfield A finished fourth in Division Two, while Steeton B finished the season getting relegated from Division Three, and received 40 point start.

But watching the first four games, Steeton B looked like the higher team. They started like a whirlwind as Barbara Robinson 21-6, Jonathan Phillips 21-7 and Wendy Ward 21-17 put Steeton in charge. Kevin Burnett was Whinfield’s only winner 21-9.

Steeton now had a 64-point lead and it looked desperate for Whinfield. Idris Wade 21-3, Gary Bailey 21-4 and Philip Dunderdale 21-19 reduced the lead, but Steeton skipper Paul Woodwiss did what was needed by getting a 21-16 win. Derek Squires 21-15 and Brian Perry 21-7 both won for Whinfield but the damage had been done, and it was Steeton B 256-247 who collected the Supplementary Cup.

The Hargreaves Ltd League Merit and League Handicap were held at Colne Alkincoates PWA, and it proved to be another successful day for Skipton Devon bowlers, as Peter Clark lifted the Merit title and Peter Haworth picked up the League Handicap Shield.

Thirty-five bowlers were entered in the Merit and the first round losers moved into the Handicap.

In the semi-finals of the Merit, Peter Clark got the better of Settle’s Derek Seed 21-14, while Colne Cricket’s Dean Brown came back from 17-9 down to defeat last year's winner Richard Hargreaves 21-20.

The final was looking like a stroll for Clark as he galloped into a 18-5 lead before Dean Brown got hold of the jack long enough to start a comeback.

Brown pulled it back to 20-17 then Clark got the point needed to take the Hargreaves Merit title.

In the semi-finals of the Handicap, Rolls Royce skipper Steven Naylor took on the Rolls secretary Ann Longden, and it was Longden who did well to produce a 21-15 win. The other semi-final saw league secretary Peter Haworth play Alkincoates' David Clamp, and Haworth found the conditions to his liking with a 21-14 win.

The final saw Longden with a two-point handicap start. Haworth got the better start, but was soon pulled back, Longden held a slight advantage at 16-14, Haworth picked up the jack and changed the land which caught Longden out, with three twos and a single it was victory to the league secretary for a first handicap triumph.

President Steve Clamp presented the trophies and prizes.