WHEN you are having a great time at the All England National Bowling Finals at Leamington Spa, there is no better way to celebrate success in the hot sun than with an ice cream.

That’s exactly what Helen Ellis, Liz Smerdon and Amy Bond did after their preliminary round victory of 20-15 against Watchet, Somerset.

The three ladies had qualified as Devon champions in the ladies triples and followed their Sunday, August 18 win with two more nail biting victories on Monday against Thirsk, Yorkshire in the morning and Hatfield, Hertfordshire in the afternoon.

Scores of 15-14 and 18-17 show just how close both matches were. Tuesday morning brought the quarter-finals and the three girls battled bravely only to go down 16-18. But to reach the last eight of the national championship is a great achievement and all three should be very proud of their journey. They certainly did Crediton proud!

Also enjoying success are Joan Martin and Pam Swan. Having won section four of the ladies over-70 pairs, they have just defeated the current holders of the title in the county quarter-finals. They will now play the semi-final on the first weekend in September when 43 of the clubs bowlers will have just returned from a tour to the Isle of Wight.

The over-60s league has two rounds of matches left and it looks like all three teams are likely to just miss out on either silverware or promotion.

The A-team are repeating their impressive end to the season with a 6-2 victory over Tiverton West End and 8-0 thrashings of Madeira and Okehampton. They are 16 points behind the leaders with 16 points to play for so second place looks likely.

The B-team have an outside chance of promotion but must win well this week. They had an 8-0 victory over Chardstock but were then beaten 8-0 by the leaders Wellington.

The C-team had an 8-0 walkover victory against Tiverton West End but then lost 6-2 to North Tawton. Fourth place is likely to be their final position which is a great improvement on last season.

Friendlies continue to be played and there have been victories against Ottery St Mary 104-75, Chagford 64-59 and Marldon 94-85. Not such good results against Chudleigh 74-115, North Tawton 68-70 and Barnstaple Ashleigh Road by four shots.

Fixtures this week: Thursday, August 22 Friendly v Uffculme 2.30pm.

Friday, August 23 Crediton Yellow v Ottery Blue 10.30am.

Saturday, August 24 Club Mixed Pairs 2pm.

Sunday, August 25 Ladies v Men 2pm.

Wednesday, August 28 Over 60s A v Seaton A 2.30pm.

Mike Canning