BOWLS: White Hart Over-60s A team impressively beat a strong Colebrook A 121-91 to march into the third round of the Heart Of England Cup.
They made a flying start with wins for Graham Arnott 21-4 and Stephen Turner 21-9, which was followed by captain Mike Estell winning 21-16 and Tom Hawks 21-20. Norman Batchelor was only beaten by a single shot and Ian Humphreys by two in an excellent team performance by the Redditch club.
The Over-60s B team, however, were knocked out of the competition at Baldwin by 95-118.
In Division Two of the Heart of England League, the A team were narrow 137-133 winners at home to Alcester. The five winners were Ray Richards (21-8) ,Ian Humphreys (21-9), Seila Humphreys (21-16) Ken Brown and Stephen Turner (both 21-17), lifting them to second position four points behind leaders Stoke Prior A.
The B team were defeated at The Valley 103-156 where their only two winners were Rob Faulks (21-19) and Anne Batchelor (21-13).
In the Saturday Warks and Worcs Premier Division Five, White Hart found life difficult at Hamstead Social where they were beaten 182-230.
They had only three winners – Stan Pritchard who won comfortably for the second time in a fortnight (21-9), Mike Estell (21-14) and Dave Edwards (21-18). The team now lies at the foot of the league table.
In the SW Birmingham Over-60s Tuesday League Division One, White Hart A were beaten 84-109 at Kings Norton A. Their two winners were Norman Batchelor 21-13 and Mike Estell 21-12 while Ian Humphreys and Ken Brown both achieved double figure scores.
They then reversed the result in the home fixture, narrowly beating Kings Norton by four shots despite having only two winners – Tony Sugden (21-5) and Norman Batchelor (21-16). Mike Estell (20-21) and Ken Brown (19-21) contributed well.
The B team stretched their lead at the top of Division Four after a 105-97 win at Moorpool A where their three winners were Graham Arnott (21-13), Sue Sugden (21-7) and Tom Hawks (21-14). Anne Batchelor, Rob Faulks and Mick Perrins all give good double-figure support.
In the Northfield and District Sunday League Division Two, White Hart A were comfortably beaten at Woodbourne Sports A 121-156 where their winners were Ian Humphreys (21-16), Paul Matthews (21-15) and Mike Estell, who is currently playing as well and maybe better than anybody at the club (21-20). The team are now in eighth position in the table.
The B team lie in second place in Division Four after a 156-131 home win over Weoley Castle B who performed above their bottom position placing despite only having seven players.
Harts had three single shot winners (Kirk Wright, Neil Laxton and Tony Buckley) who all recovered from losing positions near the end of their games. Norman Batchelor (21-14) and Dave Edwards (21-15) recorded more comfortable wins.
In the Wednesday Yardley Wood and District League, White Hart lost 122-152 at Woodlands Park. Neil Laxton (21-18) and Tim Hollingshead (21-4) were the only winners. Captain Gill Croft was only beaten by two shots and John Bridger, John Meredith and Kirk Wright recorded double-figure scores.
