Mossley duo help steer Northern Ireland Deaf Bowls team to Four Nations success
Two Mossley Bowling Club members helped steer Northern Ireland to success at the annual Four Nations Deaf Bowls tournament.
The Northern Ireland Deaf Bowls squad, made up of 10 men and five women, participated in the fours format against England, Scotland and Wales during the two-day tournament at Newhills Bowling Club, Aberdeen.
The men’s team, including Kevin Blair and Derek Baird from Mossley BC, made an excellent start on the Saturday morning against Scotland – the favourites to retain the trophy - by winning one match (21-15) and drawing the other (13-13).
On Saturday afternoon, the Northern Ireland men continued to add more points on the board by winning both matches against England (27-11 & 14-12). The Northern Ireland ladies also dominated on Saturday, beating Scotland (16-13) and England (23-7).
At least one match win with a healthy shot difference would secure the Four Nations trophy for Northern Ireland Men’s team, and this was the case on Sunday morning.
A comfortable 30-6 match win against Wales made sure the trophy was returning to the province for the second time since the tournament started in 2013. The other match against Wales ended in a 18-16 defeat.
The Northern Ireland ladies fell at the final hurdle, losing 16-9 against Wales. Scotland ladies retained the Four Nations Ladies trophy, winning their matches against Wales and England and had a better shot difference compared to Northern Ireland.