Bowls: Balbardie keep slim title hopes alive with big win

They are now four points adrift of Stirling with just two fixtures to fulfil, but the first of these brings a chance to narrow the gap, as they visit the leaders this weekend before hosting Whiteinch at Bathgate.

Stirling finish with a visit to Cumbernauld, who are unbeaten at home, and, with Balbardie having a superior shot bank, they will have a glimmer of hope if they can win both matches.

Having suffered a costly two shot defeat at Whiteinch the previous weekend, Balbardie came roaring back to win on all four rinks against an Allander team that arrived at Bathgate with just one win out of seven.

Sandy McDougall emerged the star contributor as he added a majestic run of 6, 5, 2, 4 1, 4, 2 to skip Peter Lynch, Alistair Wilson and Gerry Duggan into a 29-1 lead before ensuring an astounding 47-4 victory over I Steven. Jim Speirs accelerated from 3-3 to 15-3 with a run of 3, 2, 4, 2, 1, then skipped Lawson Trotter, Lindsay Forrest and Diz Drysdale to a 30-9 win over D Beattie.

Walter McDougall picked up from 8-5 down to skip Ian Drysdale, John Gillogley and Mark Bonar to a 25-17 win over D Smith, while Graeme Keery, Davie Ross, Andy Forrest and Ewan Shearer added a 23-18 win over D Miller. The other results were: Whiteinch 74 Stirling 92; Cumbernauld 104 Fintry 61.

n THE Ladies Junior International team includes two new caps for local bowlers in the shape of East Lothian’s Kim Hoggan (lead) and Midlothian’s Megan Grantham (third). Midlothian star Stacey Laidlaw skips a rink that includes Emma Brown of East Lothian as her third, while Lisa Barrett of West Lothian skips another of the four rinks and her Livingston colleague Jenifer Richardson is a travelling reserve.

The Home International Series takes place at Bromsgrove IBC (England) in February.