Bowls: Riches leads the way as Durham start Middleton Cup bid with impressive victory

Roker Park president James McRoy bowls against Dawdon in last weeks Storey Bowl tie.

Durham County's A team made a winning start to their Middleton Cup campaign with a cracking 27-shot win over Nottinghamshire at Newark.

Across the green, Durham impressively returned five winning scorecards.

Silksworth’s Ian Riches steered his quartet of Darlington RA’s Keith Burton, Dairy Lane’s Dan Todner and Silksworth’s Gary Farquhar to an excellent 22-10 win over Steve Bailey.

Dawdon captain Alan Henry bowls against Roker Park,

Team manager David Bolt extended his Middleton Cup unbeaten run to 11 games with a 23-13 victory over Mike Owen, while there were wins for Silksworth’s Billy Ferry (26-19), Hartlepool’s John Mansfield (20-11) and Stockton’s Paul Mosley (19-15).

The only loss came from Silksworth’s Phil Smithson’s rink, who went down 25-14.

Points-wise, Durham sealed a tremendous 20-2 win, while Derbyshire beat Yorkshire 18-4. The next round of games take place next Saturday, with Durham entertaining Yorkshire at Houghton Dairy Lane (2pm).

Rink scores (Durham skips first): W Ferry 26 S Overton 19, J Mansfield 20 D Robinson 11, P Mosley 19 A Lockhart 15, D Bolt 23 M Owen 13, P Smithson 14 J Emmerson 25, I Riches 22 S Bailey 10

The Durham County ladies John’s Trophy squad had a day to forget in their opening group fixture against Nottinghamshire at Copmanthorpe, outgunned by 39 shots.

Durham could only muster one winning rink, as Consett Park’s Gill Jones beat Rose Lewis 24-13.

Darlington Woodland’s Ann Anderson was unlucky to lose by one shot, while Dairy Lane’s Joan Rodgerson went down 21-16 and Hetton’s Norma Stephenson lost 20-14.

Sunderland’s Sue Almond succumbed 28-14, while Durham City’s Joyce Woodward had a long afternoon, losing 39-15.

With only three teams in the group, the 20-2 points loss virtually ends Durham’s qualification hopes. It will take a set of perfect storm results for them to progress.

Durham return to Copmanthorpe next Saturday to face Derbyshire.

Rink scores (Durham skips first): S Almond 14 S Offler 28, A Anderson 18 E Adams 19, N Stephenson 14 I Wright 20, J Rodgerson 16 A Duceworth 21, J Woodward 15 T Wombell 39, G Jones 24 R Lewis 13

The ladies’ County B team endured a crushing 86-shot Stella Logan defeat at Bolton, on their infamous artificial surface.