HOLDERS Clarrie Dunbar took the honours in the local derby against Christie Miller in the latest round of group matches in the central section of the Wessex League last Sunday, writes DAVE EATON.

The Standerwick-based club dominated the fixture after making a flying start and leading 35-6 across the board after only five ends and five ends later they had extended that lead to 57-25.

Christie were always playing catch-up from that point and were 85-36 down at 15 and 99-48 at 18 before finally losing 108-59.

The clean sweep in all four games gave Clarrie a full house of 16 points and enabled them to join Bristol at the top of the central region table but with a far superior shots difference of 180 to 99.

Christie remain in fifth place in the seven-team table but eight clear of Purnell who they meet in their last match of the 2015/16 campaign on Sunday, February 21.

In sharp contrast Wessex League overall winners Clarrie Dunbar face Nailsea this Sunday, February 7 (10am) seeking maximum points to win the central region title and claim a prize draw in the end of season play-offs as they begin the defence of their crown.

RESULTS Home - Rink 4: Colin Little, Adi Bolwell, John Crowder & Justin Davis lost to Adrian Taylor, Brian Hawkins, Craig Doughty & Graham Shadwell 19-23. Rink 3: John Bailey, Steve Gedge, Tom Newman & Andy Moore lost to John Freeman, N Gregory, Keith Bailey & Barry Barry 14-31.

Away - Rink 2: Steve Snook, Paul Barnes, Darren Anteney & Wayne Snook lost to J Smith, Alan Brown, Dale Taylor & Andy Colebrooke 12-26. Rink 3: Chris Easton Dale Hayward, Nigel Price & Paul Macdonald lost to P Hooley, Colin Easton, Terry Perkins & Russell Francis 14-28.

Score: Christie Miller lost to Clarrie Dunbar 59-108 and by 0pts-16pts.

OTHER SCORES: Clarrie Dunbar 108 (16pts) Christie Miller 59 (0pts); Nailsea 79 (14pts) Purnell 64 (2pts); North Wilts 63 (2pts) Thornbury 98 (14pts).

REMAINING FIXTURES

Sunday February 7: Bristol v North Wilts; Nailsea v Clarrie Dunbar; Thornbury v Purnell.

February 21: Christie Miller v Purnell.

THE MEN’S national indoor championship in Area 30 are coming to the boil with all the finalists now known in the four main competitions - singles, pairs, triples and fours.

Clarrie Dunbar’s Graham Shadwell features in three events while Craig Hadfield-Doughty also has notched a treble if you also include the national mixed fours competition.
No dates have been arranged yet for any of the Area 30 men’s finals.
Shadwell will meet Dave Williams (North Wilts) in the singles final while in the pairs Shadwell teams up with Doughty to face Clevedon duo Mark Woods and Nick Pearce.

The triples is a Christie Miller versus Clarrie Dunbar affair with Steve Snook, Darren Anteney and Wayne Snook due to play Dale Taylor, Terry Perkins and Andy Colebrooke.
And the men’s fours area final is an all Clarrie Dunbar affair.

The foursome of Doughty, Colebrooke, Russell Francis and Shadwell are due to lock horns with the quartet of John Freeman, Brian Hawkins, Keith Bailey and Barry Barry.

Elsewhere the Clarrie foursome of Marcia Hartley, Teresa King, Hadfield-Doughty and Neil Collett, the Area 30 mixed fours champions, meet Area 29 winners Chenda Harris, Wendy Merchant, Dick Dyke and Tony Foxwell (Taunton Deane), in the inter area final at City and County of Bristol this Sunday morning, February 7 at 10am.

Dunbar also supply representatives in the two O60s men’s competitions. 
In the area singles final John Freeman is set to play Clevedon’s Pip Branfield this weekend while Duncan McGovern and Dick Discombe beat Bristol’s Eric Seavill and his partner in the O60s pairs area final 25-18 last week to advance to the inter area final against Weston-super-Mare side St Andrews led by Barrie Forse.

THE SEVEN players from Christie Miller who have featured in both of Wiltshire men’s wins this season against Gloucestershire and Hampshire retain their places for tomorrow’s (Saturday) quarter-final tie in the inter-county championship against Northamptonshire in the Liberty Trophy at Westlecot (10am).

The rink of Chris Easton, Nigel Price, Paul Macdonald and skip Andy Moore stays together as does the rink of Steve Snook, Darren Anteney and skip Wayne Snook which is supplemented by Tom Warner (Five Rivers, Salisbury) at number three.
If successful against Northamptonshire, the Moonrakers will face either Dorset or Kent in the semi-finals on March 12.

THE Clarrie Dunbar Open Singles tournament will be staged this season on the weekend of February 27-28.

Once again it is the first leg on the three week Open Singles Circuit (OCS) west swing that also includes Bristol which is scheduled for March 12 and North Wilts on the weekend of March 19-20.

This will be the third OSC tournament to be run by Clarrie Dunbar and carries a prize fund of £2,300 with a grand going to the winner and £500 to the runner-up.

A top-class field is well on the way to being assembled which includes recent world indoor bowls championship contestants Robert Paxton (Taunton Deane) and Jamie Chestney (Exonia) as well as local favourite Graham Sharwell and the first Clarrie Dunbar Open singles tournament winner Trowbridge’s Andy Colebrooke.