OVER the past weekend attention has shifted from local matters to the first weekend of National Championship finals.

Two teams from Cornwall took part on Saturday in the National Mixed Fours at Solihull Indoor Bowling Club which involved 47 teams.

Landrake’s Richard & Heidi Kerr and Dianne & Dennis Shorthouse were drawn in Group Two where they lost 3-14 to Devon’s Rita & John Redstone, Graham James & Lorraine Axtell and won 9-7 against Humberside’s Val & Simon Smith and Irene & Bill Ballam.  

These results together with a walkover awarded to them for the third match in the group saw them through to the knockout stages in second place in the group on 4 points +1 shot.0000.

Elise Daniell (Holmans), Sandra Worton (St Newlyn East), Peter Hore (Holmans) & Nigel Nicholls (Newlyn Trinity) were drawn in Group Ten where they won all three games recording the best score of all teams in the the group stages with 6 points and +33 shots.  

Hampshire’s Mick & Sue Potter and Emma & Baker were defeated 12-3.  North Yorkshire’s  Roger Green, Debbie Taylor, Helen Hurling & Paul Johnson were comfortably beaten 16-2. Herefordshire’s Kate Williams, Sophie Warner, Joe Loveys & John Mills were beaten 18-8.

In the knockout stages both Cornwall Fours had matches in the last 32 round against teams from West Sussex. Shorthouse won 8-2 against Simon Herbert, Jane Adsett, Richard & Sonia Burden. Nicholls won 16-3 against Trish Johnson, Jo Streeter, Steve Adsett, Steve Maslen.  

The last 16 round saw the two Cornwall teams against each other with Nicholls’ team prevailing 9-5. 

Into the quarter-finals Nicholls faced Gloucestershire’s Ryan Knight, Steve Holdsworth, Rebecca Finch, Jo Featherstone and this is where their run in the competition came to an end with a 5-14 loss.

The competition was won by a team from Devon, which included the former Cornwall county squad member and team manager Gillian Smith, who played with Diane Shepherd, George Main and Elliot James. 

The Devon team picked up three shots on the last end to win the title 7-6 against Essex’s Anthony Fautley, Steve Killington, Linda Lambert & Maureen Binstead.